Wiseblood

Boring. Go with something a little... heavier.

The whole injury list is here: Harley Balic (plantar fascia) – 2-3 weeksLochie Filipovic (rested) – 2 weeksJesse Hogan (knee/ankle) – testDean Kent (hamstring) – 4-5 weeksMitch King (elbow) – 5-6 weeksCorey Maynard (hip) – 6-8 weeksPat McKenna (hamstring) – indefiniteChristian Petracca (finger) – testChristian Salem (thumb) – 1-2 weeksAaron vandenBerg (ankle) – 4-6 weeksJack Viney (foot) – 1-2 weeks It's certainly getting longer which is not a good thing, but the positive is that outside of Hogan, Trac and Viney they aren't really best 22 players. And those three won't be on the list for much longer as well.

They've also drawn with the Saints, struggled against the Lions and only just accounted for the Pies. Outside of thumping the Dogs, they haven't exactly set the world alight at this point of the season.

I'd say it was just being managed. He has missed plenty of game time so they would have wanted to ease him in a little. Goodwin was really happy with this game yesterday so, if he pulls up well, then I don't think it had anything to do with him being injured in any way.

It's because they've won a few games and it means the media is all over them. Apart from a good win over the Crows, they've knocked off Essendon and Carlton. They've been well covered in their 3 losses. But the Pies sell papers, so talking them up means more $$$$

I won't argue with the first half; it was one of the worst I've witnessed in a long time. But the second half was much, much better. The Bombers were very poor but we smashed them all over the ground and, when we show some composure and lower our eyes, we use the ball well going forward. Hopefully that's the footy we see more of in the coming weeks.

Petracca for ANB is the right move this week unless we have any other injuries. Stick with this same side to back it up again next week.

Or Daniher spoiling a marking contest right into the hands of Mitch Hannan for the first goal of the last term. I knew we were home when that happened!

I think we've all got a rather large slice of humble pie sitting here for you, @pewpewpew. In fact, pick one of the Saints players for next week if you could. Let's see if you can do it two weeks in row.

I'd say Petracca is the one to come straight in. No need to make any more changes than that I'd say. Garlett may find himself in the magoos for a while going by today's performance. Spargo, Hannan and Fritsch combined for 8 goals to go with some excellent synergy when playing alongside each other. The second half was the best our forward line has functioned all year.

Supporters will see what they want to see. Mediocre first half, terrific second half.

I thought the same thing, Skuit. It was eerily similar to least year - horrible first half before we go on top and put them away. We still miss Petracca and Viney in our midfield, as I believe a stronger midfield would have made things difficult for us today. But Essendon's is as soft as butter and once Gawn got on top we gave them no chance.

I agree, but I also thought that when he was dropped that it was the right decision at the time. He needs to continue to improve his consistency but today showed what he can do, and it's bloody fantastic!

Stayed out of the game day thread today. Enjoyed the game way more. It was a fantastic performance... after half time. The first half was a disgrace to football as a whole. The less said about it the better. However, in the second half everything just... clicked. Gawn was in sync with the midfield and we waltzed it out of the centre with ease. Many player who had underperformed began to regain some confidence and impact the contest in a positive way. We stopped bombing it long to contests and actually looked to hit targets inside 50. Our backline, which was left exposed in the second term when we went back to our old ways of allowing sides to run it easily out of defence, came together and repelled almost everything that came at the them. The third term was what our side CAN look like when we worked together as a unit. There were some real positive performances today. Hannan and Fritsch, in the same side together for only the second time this year, worked perfectly alongside each other. Spargo had a ripping little debut and gave us a spark that Garlett hasn't really given us all year. Gawn continues to have an amazing season. O Mac killed Daniher to add yet another scalp to his ever growing list, while Jetta and Hibberd were also excellent. James Harmes also played his best game for the season and our tackling and hunting of the footy was terrific. Jake Melksham was also sensational - had a hand in a heap of goals and kick a couple of rippers to go with it. There is still plenty to work on. The first half was awful stuff and we let ourselves be brought down to their level and we couldn't find a way to stop it. We ran out of legs a little bit in the last 6 minutes to cough up goals, and I know some will whinge about it until they are blue in the face, but we only played 5 days ago. We went hard when it mattered and put the game to rest early in the last so when we ran out of petrol tickets it didn't matter. It's great to be back on the winners list and even better to beat the Druggies. Enjoy every minute of it and be happy that our season is now back on track!!

I assume that will be the case, plus he can play more down there when Weideman gives Gawn a chop out in the ruck.

Good point re: Garlett. In our three big games (Geelong, Hawthorn and Richmond) he has gone missing in a big way. He was able to beat up the Lions in Round 2 but that's what he should be doing. He deserves a few weeks back at Casey and I'm glad that Goodwin has shown that he has the balls to do it.

This thread sucks.

What is mysterious about it? Both Maynard and King are injured, which the club have reported on. Filipovic is possibly dropped while the other two aren't on our list. I don't know what is mysterious about that.

I'm interested to see how we fit Hogan, T Mac and Weideman into our forward line. I can't imagine they'll throw T Mac down back, so you would assume that with Trac out they may give Hogan more midfield minutes and have Tom and Sam up forward. I agree re: Spargo's debut as I believe he brings some real pace and guile to the side, something we don't have enough of.

Good grief.

Seriously, it's a week. He'll be fine. There are far worse things that could happen. The fact we can potentially welcome back T Mac, and then Viney in a fortnight, is the bigger news to come out of today.

Our strongest team is not one that has all of Hogan, Weideman and Pedersen in it. There's no need. Charlie Spargo is not in our best 22 either. One day he might be, but he isn't right now. Some might argue Lewis isn't in our best 22 either. So no, adding the above does not make it our strongest team.

To me, and others may disagree, this is how I see it: Our backline should have their forwards covered. Our midfield is stronger than theirs, especially in contested ball. They love cheap kicks and handpasses. Their backline is probably, at the moment, stronger than our forwards, particularly if we bomb it long so Hurley and Hooker can just pick it off. Dees by 4 goals.

I did take it up with them by ignoring it. You'd be wise to do the same. Cheers.