titan_uranus

Agree, I thought Jetta was fantastic. Played his best game so far. Really good defensive pressure, great tackling, and some sublime inside-50 passes. In: Watts/Cheney Out: Sylvia I'd prefer to see a youngster than a has-been (therefore Bell, Whelan, Dunn and Newton are all excluded).

I'd like us to beat all of them. But since that's neither a realistic probability nor a good outcome for the club, I'd most enjoy us beating Carlton and Richmond. However, it's more likely that we'll lose to Carlton and beat Fremantle instead. Really, so long as we win two more (and only two) then it doesn't matter who we beat.

Really? I though the crowd was good. It was cold, it was drizzly, it threatened to rain even more during the afternoon, and we were playing an interstate team who the previous week recorded their lowest home match attendance in 8 years. And we got about 5,000 more than I (and a lot of people on Demonland) expected.

I'm hoping McNamara gets fit quickly enough so that he gets a game towards the end of the year. I get the feeling Wonnaeamirri won't play this year, which really sucks. I would have liked to get all our Aboriginal players together for one match. I remember Davey saying at the start of the year that he would like that too.

Damn it. I really was hoping Strauss was going to get some game time this year. Pity that neither him nor Blease will get on the park this year. Mind you, it doesn't seem to have hurt Grimes.

Well done Grimesy. Star in the making, and the Rising Star nomination was richly deserved.

:angry: Unfortunately, that's much more likely the case.

15,767. Weather will conspire against our attempts to crack 20,000. Not to mention the fact that we've lost our last 9 and we're playing another dud interstate team. Likely to be a story or two about how 40,000 Saints/Cats fans won't get to see their match this week whilst 85,000 odd seats are empty at Melbourne-West Coast.

No Strauss is a bit worrying. Same with Hughes and Maric. Casey shouldn't have much trouble beating the winless Bendigo, you'd think.

Sorry jumbo, but neither of them are playing well enough to keep their spots in the team. It doesn't matter where Miller plays, the fact is that he hasn't been having anywhere near enough of an influence when he has been playing this year. Last week again, he went missing for extended periods of time. We need him to stand up and have an influence, and he isn't doing that. Johnson is just not good enough at AFL level to hold down any position. He isn't good enough in the ruck, he's been tried as a forward to no avail, and he doesn't impose himself around the ground. He shouldn't be surprised to find himself at Casey this week.

Why the heck is Wheatley in when Cheney remains at Casey? Stupid decision. Wheatley's form at Casey has been barely average anyway. Miller, Johnson, Whelan all dropped. Not good signs for any of them. But the right decision has been made in each case. Robertson is lucky to still be in the team however. We can afford one ruckman this week as West Coast is still playing only Naitanui. Jamar really should dominate in the hit outs. Pity Watts is out. Not sure if I should believe the (ill) next to his name.

This is disastrous on so many levels. No one can dispute that this man has done a hell of a lot for this club. There's the visible stuff, but I'll bet there's been a lot of invisible stuff that he's done to keep this club alive. A fantastic person and a brilliant servant of this club. We can only hope that his body responds well to the treatment he receives and that he returns to the club for 2010. As for the short term, we must, absolutely must, win this week for him.

I reckon McNamara was building up to senior selection prior to that injury, so to say that injury has no role in it is a bit unfair on him. His form at Casey would have meant he would have come under consideration. They've played Watts, Bell and Petterd based on worse form that what McNamara was in a month ago. Having said that, it's been 18 months now and he's still on 0 games. Doesn't bode well for a new contract if he stays like that. But I think there's a good footballer in McNamara. One of those guys that needs a bit of time to get going. Maybe.

This is debatable IMO. We could well end up this year with less than 3 wins. I think we've played more competitive quarters this year than we did last year, and I think we've seen improvement in a few players (Davey, Sylvia, Grimes). But on the other side of the coin we still aren't winning, we still have plenty of players giving the team little to nothing (Miller, Bell, Whelan, McLean) and we still don't have a game plan that looks like it will work going into next year. Sounds pessimistic, I know, but the next 9 weeks will say a lot. Easier draw, should mean many more competitive matches. If we continue to get wiped off the park then the whole '2009 is a step up from 2008' thing might be redundant. I don't think it will be easy enough to bring confidence into the team once they have lost to a team that hasn't won on the road for 2 years and typically puts in abysmal peformances in Melbourne. The media will come down on us hard if we lose on Saturday, and if we don't play a brand of football that doesn't make you want to walk out of the ground. That's why I think we need to win this week.

Hmmm. So many possibilities. In: Bate, Cheney, Valenti Out: Robertson, Petterd, Whelan

I guess this proves the system has flaws. Sylvia should definitely be above those 3. McLean shouldn't be anywhere near the top 4. And welcome back YM...

Given that this is one of only 2 chances for us to win a match this year, I definitely want us to win. West Coast should be good enough at home to get one more win, so we can 'afford' this one. Having said that, if we lose, I won't be that disappointed. Unless of course we get embarrassed by them. So basically, I'd like us to win, or lose a close game without losing respect. We absolutely must not lose like we did against Brisbane or Collingwood. The negatives of that would outweigh the one positive.

Yes. If he's injured, he shouldn't be playing. If he's not injured, he shouldn't be playing. He shouldn't be playing.

This is largely based on radio: Bennell - didn't do much Bruce - gave us something Davey - still our best Frawley - never gave up Green - good, not great Grimes - improves each week Jetta - best overall effort Johnson - a useless ruckman Jones - career at crossroads Jurrah - composed but inexperienced Martin - kicking an issue McLean - needs time off Miller - did he play? Moloney - not his best Morton - lacking in aggression Petterd - didn't justify selection Rivers - just a game Robertson - end of line Sylvia - loving the consistency Whelan - shouldn't be playing Warnock - unfortunately well beaten Watts - boy amongst men

FFS. He was good (albeit only for 1 quarter). He will be a star. Watts is a long term prospect. He too will be a star.

Garry has repeatedly said he doesn't want to coach. I think a better option would be to try to get him on the board. I think he'd be better suited to that. Bailey will coach next year. He won't be there in 2011 unless there's significant improvement next year.

Far too late, but what the heck: 6 - Grimes (how did neither paper have him in our best?!?) 5 - Bruce 4 - Green 3 - Frawley 2 - Sylvia 1 - Jetta

Major problem IMO. I've begun to notice his kicking woes. Can't keep this up I don't think. IIRC he kicked sideways across goal which was a bad option, missed the target and gave Brisbane a goal. Gotta get Jamar back so that we can let Martin play forward or back, but not ruck.

Nowhere near the top of the 'Major Worries' pile. Made lots of mistakes, but who cares when the rest of the team was not much better. Had opponents that were far stronger, more experienced, and better players than he is. Over time he'll bridge those gaps. Right now, it's just a matter of not playing him into the ground and/or destroying his confidence.

If Dunn's going to play it should be as a forward. Whether he actually gets another game depends on form at Casey, which, judging by yesterday, isn't that good.