In Harmes Way

IMV the bye was introduced to maintain integrity of selections in the last round (not rest players) which was a problem with the betting agencies. Having the bye before the finals gives all 8 teams the opportunity to have concussed players involved in the finals which makes for a better finals series spectacle. I think it's just bad luck if a player gets concussed in the prelim.

That's a ripper of a picture of him with Nev. The club are all talking about connection, that's it in a nutshell.

Replays are available on afl.com.au (free) the next day...

I'm thinking Max will sit in the hole defensively this week....

You’d know, looking at your avatar

I’m not disagreeing that Petty isn’t a lock, but I hope they give both him and Daw a good workout this week, if not just to get them both as hungry as possible. Hawthorn will be a good dress rehearsal for the Tiges

I hope his natural sleeping position isn’t on his right hand side, that’d be bloody uncomfortable. In the preseason, I didn’t know how we would kick a goal without BBB and the Weid. I’m more comfortable now we can cover for Maysie out of the backline for 4 weeks, in part because our midfield/defensive forward pressure is so good and in part that we’re a better team than I gave us credit for.

I reckon that's what it will feel like though daz

Ed Salem Gawn Farr has a ring to it.

Given that Frosty never kicked the ball to us when he played for us, I'm trying to work out whether this means he'll kick it to us now or continue the rich vein of form and continue to play keepings off.

Bit of Harvey Keitel about him?

Great team win. My MFCSS wondering if we’re going to show up or not is starting to melt. We are lovely to watch. Special shout out to Jayden Hunt, you’re in career best form. Keep it up mate, love watching you and Langdon streaming forward in excess of the speed limit.

The difference between Sparrow and Melksham as our 22nd player shouldn’t be the difference between winning and losing. I guess the selectors needed to make a change at some point to keep the Casey depth focussed and driven. Thought sparrow was stiff though, I love what he brings. I just hope the guys one and all show up and beat the living suitcase out of those handbaggers.

In my view, the reward for finishing 1st or 2nd is just too great in the womens' game. A week off and a prelim at home in a three week finals series. I'd be amazed if it isn't 1st vs 2nd in the grand final. The AFL really sh*t me with their pandering of favourites (both men and women). Dees had an absolutely ripper season and should hold their heads high.

Thousands of people go to the footy each week who seemed to have worked it out.

Luke Jackson can jump that high without the need for helium

My straight shots are affected whether there is wind or not.

I feel a bit for Josh Mahoney having to spend his working life dealing with clubs who are in the "really crap" phase of their cycle. I think he's in for extended pain with the Bombers.

I've not seen anything from a FD negotiation perspective that gives me cause for concern on resigning our jets. Girls in the prelim, blokes haven't dropped a game, quietly managing resigning our talent in an orderly fashion. This must be what it feels like to be a Hawthorn supporter.

This is why I’m happier playing them at the G with more space to move the ball

My lineups for both teams (can’t wait for Werridee). Hibbo in for Jetta and assuming Josh Jenkins in for Higgins to try to create height mismatch. FB [14] Michael Hibberd (186), [1] Steven May (193), [8] Jake Lever (195) FF [31] Francis Evans (182), [26] Tom Hawkins (198), [9] Max Holmes (189) CHB [3] Christian Salem (183), [20] Adam Tomlinson (194),[29] Jayden Hunt (187) CHF [22] Mitch Duncan (188), [11] Josh Jenkins (200), [40] Luke Dahlhaus (179) C [10] Angus Brayshaw (187),[5] Christian Petracca (186),[15] Ed Langdon (182) C [7] Isaac Smith (188), [42] Mark O'Connor (191), [2] Zach Tuohy (187) CHF [36] Kysaiah Pickett (170),[25] Tom McDonald (194),[9] Charlie Spargo (173) CHB [30] Tom Atkins (180), [8] Jake Kolodjashnij (193), [24] Jed Bews (186) FF [30] Alex Neal-Bullen (182),[6] Luke Jackson (198),[31] Bayley Fritsch (188) FB [25] Lachie Henderson (196), [46] Mark Blicavs (198), [44] Tom Stewart (190) FOLL [11] Max Gawn (208),[13] Clayton Oliver (187), [7] Jack Viney (178) FOLL [1] Rhys Stanley (200),[29] Cameron Guthrie (187),[14] Joel Selwood (183) Subs/Medical Sub: [2] Nathan Jones, [23] James Jordon, [24] Trent Rivers, [32] Tom Sparrow, [18] Jake Melksham [3] Brandan Parfitt, [6] Jordan Clark, [32] Gryan Miers, [38] Jack Henry,[18] Charlie Constable I like the mix of our forward line (2 talls, 1 medium and three small pressure) against their defense (3 talls, 2 medium, 1 small) if the ball comes in low and flat as we have seen more of. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dropped Henderson for someone smaller and quicker to try to counter Fritta, Kossie, Spargs and Nibbler. I think the midfield battle leans our way, Gawn should give Stanley a towelling. Looking forward to the next round of Viney vs Duckwood. The wings should be an interesting battle to watch. Max Holmes (debut last week) and Francis Evans (2 games) in the fwd pockets are young, light and presumably quick. I’m not sure Jetts has a place in this backline, he’ll struggle to keep up. Hence the change Jetta for Hibbo based on their lineup (apologies Nev).

I always think of Dr. Nick from the Simpsons when I hear his ads.

After watching the Giants, I'm amazed they're +15 free kick differential. All I was off the ball sniping and playing the man. Mind you, there were a lot of missed free kicks (in my biased humble opinion), so this could explain it.

Always be wary of people with two first names.

I’m happy that the team are focussing on the positives to grow confidence in themselves, each other and the game plan. Beating yourself up because the win wasn’t a 4 quarter domination (which are rare) will only sow seeds of doubt and destroy morale. Goody is playing it perfectly - enjoy the win, back to work tomorrow and we’ve still got a way to go. We won’t be flag contenders if we win on Sunday, nor will we miss the finals if we don’t. Our form in round 4 isn’t as important as our form in R22, but getting ahead of the W-L ledger is great as a pressure relief measure to keep the guys focussed on next weeks game and not the noise around Goody being the coach under the most pressure and he should go (that went away quickly, didn’t it?)