Wiseblood

The big question for mine is who slots into his position going forward. Do we do a 'like for like' swap and bring Tyson straight in? Do we push a flanker (ie Harmes) into the middle long term and go for someone like Bugg (just an example) to play that flank role? Do we take someone from a back flank like Salem and give him more midfield time? While it's a big blow to lose him, I think we can be creative in covering for it without losing too much on field. We did win plenty of games earlier in the season without him and there is no reason why we can't continue to do that.

It's also great to see Hogan hit 40 goals for the season, and he's currently second on the goal kicking table (with Buddy one goal behind with a game to play). His best haul was 44 back in 2015 and he's in with a big chance of getting at least 60 goals before the season is over. He and Tom worked superbly together today and you can see their synergy building by the week.

Why? That seems like a strange thing to focus on after an 8 goal win.

Pretty good this week joeboy. I think you're a little harsh on Jetta, only because I think him being unsighted is a good thing. It means he's playing his role down back and doing it with minimal fuss. Otherwise it's pretty much spot on from the snippets and highlights I've seen and read.

I haven't seen the game and only listened to snippets here and there after being out all day. But I'm very, very content with the result. It's been an important 48 hours for our finals aspirations, and with the Cats and Hawks dropping winnable games, it was very pleasing to see us win a game we should be winning, and doing it to the tune of 8 and a bit goals. Our percentage is now above 130 and we're in fifth. Right now I can't ask for much more than that. Sounds like we got good efforts across the board from pretty much all 22 players today. Maxy dominated, our midfield seemed to get better as the game wore on and it seems like we were much more efficient going inside 50 which is good to see. Obviously a few of our issues cropped up from what I can gather, but it sounds like we were on top for most of the day. Next week is the big one and I can't wait to see how we go. Hopefully Viney makes a speedy recovery as well.

What makes this game so hard to watch is that the commentary team want the Blues to win so badly. Every time they do something half decent they are making it out to be the play of the century. Everyone else can see the Blues absolutely stink and are a horrible football club who are going nowhere.

I'm pleased to see you've matured in the past 11 years, dazzle!

While I'm as stoked as anyone that AVB made a successful return from injury last weekend, I think we need to temper our expectations of him throughout this season and beyond. As you say above, AVB is actually a far different player to Nibbler and I don't think they would end up competing for the same position. Not only that, Vanders had the sort of weather that suits his game and he dominated in it. I just want to see him stay fit and do this consistently before he is even considered for senior selection. Plus there are still no guarantees he is contracted beyond this season as well.

My point Rod, is that JKH is just 173cm tall. Jetta is 180cm tall and is able to handle most defensive situations. Jay is too small for that role in the modern game. It's also probably the reason why they're giving Dion Johnstone a run down back, as at 179cm he is probably just tall enough to handle small and mid size forwards. I'm not saying Jay doesn't have the capacity for change, but we would be asking too much of him here.

JKH replacing Nev in a few years time? Since when is JKH, at 173cm, ever thought of as being a lock down defender? Won't happen. If he's going to make it, it will be in the role he has now, not down back where just about every player towers above him.

We are going to change your name to 'Opinionhome' soon. You fall back on the 'opinion' argument every time, but in the bolded part above, you show how good you are at not answering the question at hand and, instead, just falling back on your tried and true method of using opinions as something to hide behind. My query was - how could you be happy with the club if we recruit someone you don't rate? If, in your opinion, you think he is nothing but an accumulator, why will that change if the club recruits him? Why will you just accept it? I think back to the recruitment of Melksham and how many people were reticent at the time. Many didn't just go 'I don't rate the bloke, but now the club has recruited him so now I do' - it took some consistently good play from Melksham to win those people around, not just the fact he now wore red and blue. I have no doubt you would support him, but I can't see how your opinion on him could change so quickly that you be happy getting someone you don't rate.

Is having Bayley Fritsch roaming across half back, a wing and half forward another example of Goodwin being too clever for his own good, or proof that the bloke is willing to try and utilise the players in a way that makes our side better? Oliver at full forward last week was another master stroke. You think you're being funny with your above comment, but it simply makes you look like someone who is childish enough to make generalisations about the game and nothing more. Tom McDonald might spend 5-10% of his time on a wing. It's nothing. If it keeps the opposition guessing and allows us to play a fluid and flexible forward line then I'm all for it. No one was complaining when we were doing it during our winning streak, either.

Can someone let me know if SWYL thinks JKH is fast or slow? I don't think he's discussed it enough yet.

What the hell was Walker doing? He had all the time in the world to make the hip and shoulder legal, yet instead he smashes him in the face with it. Dumb football and he'll get 2 weeks at the very least for it.

At Casey where, for now, he belongs. There is no need to blood him with 7 weeks left and finals on the line unless we absolutely have to. I can understand the changes being underwhelming for some, but they make the most sense.

Sensible changes. With Frost now in the side, Vince for J Smith is the right move, and while I'd normally not be a fan, I'm happy to see the club reward JKH for his good form in the magoos and I think he's the logical replacement for Stretch. He can play that role better than the others at Casey, especially someone like Tyson. They have lost Bont but regained Macrae which kind of cancels each out. We should roll them without too many problems.

True jnr. We shouldn't be looking too far ahead. It was in response to another comment and snowballed from there.

Exactly. I still think, in it's simplistic form, a team still needs to have the right mix of players in terms of height, position and inside and outside ability. You can build all sorts of game plans and stay on top of trends much easier that way. Trading away one type for more of another, just to suit what is in vogue, is no way to manage your list.

I fail to see how it could be, considering you've made it clear you don't rate him and are now using childish, 12 year old names (Golden Balls) when discussing him. That all goes out the window instantly the moment we sign him? That doesn't make sense to me.

That doesn't mean that model for a forward line will last forever. Things change constantly. In two years time sides might be screaming out for 2 key forwards as one team wins the flag on the back of it. No need to trade out someone as talented as Hogan to suit another clubs style of football.

With three of the biggest sooks in the game in their side (Danger, Selwood and Ablett), you know they are going to get a few, if not more on their home deck. If our defence is on song and our midfield gets on top then it won't matter too much.

I'm with you on that, Red. I know our last trip down the highway wasn't flash in Roos' last game at the helm, but the ground will suit our gameplan well, as will our ability to win the contested ball. Of course, the Cats are formidable opposition on their home deck no matter who they have in the side, and we will have to be at our very best to roll them. But I certainly haven't written us off for that one at all. We are most definitely a chance at pinching the four the points.

That's what most said about Frost when we brought Petty in. Look how that worked out. I'm not against Baker playing, but I think with 7 weeks to go we add players with more AFL experience to the side.

After how badly Petty struggled a few weeks ago (and I do see a bright future ahead for the kid), do we risk bringing another on with Baker, or do we stick with more experience in the run home? I'll be very interested to see the changes later this evening.

You're on fire here @dazzledavey36. Cheers for the great reports throughout the training session. Might be hard to answer, but, did you get any sort of indication of possible changes to this weeks side, or was it training as normal?