Murph1524

From the Channel 9 interview, if nothing changes in Harry’s mind between now and 12 months from now, he’s gone

I do not see how we can keep Grundy in the side this week that would be a mistake. I think Tomlinson in to push Smith forward while Hibberd has another week to recoup as the sub may be our best option.

People calling for JJ out I’m not sure who his replacement is. Dunstan, Harmes and Woey being the options I imagine. Not a fan of any of them unfortunately. Jim you’re a lucky lad once again

Harmes very lucky. I’ll say Taj doesn’t set the world on fire but he also doesn’t burn himself like Harmes does. Tomlinson is also stiff I reckon. The super sub was working, no reason to change that IMO

Viney seems to be doing a fitness test out on the ground atm

Good finish but what I’m most happy about was seeing Gussy in the guts and winning the clearance immediately. Look out Harmesy

Think that’s the right call. Jordan can have a go on the wing imo 

Prayers out for Lockharts [censored]

2 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Welcome Ben Brown!

Welcome 2 first round draft picks!

@DavidNeitz9I've checked a few websites and they say Bradtke is OOC this year so I'll stick with that for now as one way or another it will be confirmed in the next month.

So Oscar, Bedford and Jordan are out of contract or am I misunderstanding?

If this is just a pick swap it doesn't need to occur today does it?

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

Per The Age: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-trade-period-deadline-day-all-the-trades-and-all-the-drama-on-deadline-day-20201112-p56dvm.html

North Melbourne and Melbourne are close to a deal to send Ben Brown to the Demons for an exchange of a suite of picks.

The deal, which is agreed in principal, cannot be lodged until later today after an AFL briefing.

The deal will centre on North giving up Brown and pick 28 and receive Melbourne’s pick 26 and either pick 31 or 33.

The clubs will also swap future late round picks.

If this ends up being the deal I think we couldn't be happier

How reliable is Daniel here?

Is there basis to this other than the fact he followed them as a kid?

3 minutes ago, Pollyanna said:

I understand your reservations with Brown, Weid, Jackson and Fritsch in the forward line.

If Brown doesn’t come where do you see Petty playing next year?  I like him back in place of Tomlinson and I know you're not Tomlinson fan.  If Brown comes then Petty can definitely play back. 

I think Brown and Weid can work together, it's not really any different to the previously planned TMac and Weid.  If Jackson and Fritsch are there too then we have to get crumbiing and pressure from the other forward - Pickett and ???

Of course I'd love that to be Viney but concede that's unlikely.  I think we need to trade in a pressure forward if we get Brown.

To the dismay of many here I think Spargo can play that role effectively, is a good kick, makes the right decisions often and is not as slow as people seem to think. The only problem is we have two of the shortest players in the AFL in one area of the ground

11 minutes ago, Patches O’houlihan said:

The thing is, even if Brown has an okay year, and kicks say 30 it means Weid gets the second defender, so his output should improve. and Jackson/Fritsch on the 3rd/4th defenders is dangerous as well. we just need to make sure we can get enough forward 50 tackles with that setup

 

I don't think Fritsch can play forward with the other three unfortunately, we'll need small crumbers who can lock the pill in

Thanks for nothing Chip

He did more than a decent job on Jeremy Cameron at the end of the season, if he can continue with that form and improve on his decision making I have no problem with this 

5 minutes ago, Axis of Bob said:

I appreciate that Murph, however whilst I am grateful and flattered by some positive comments I received of late, I'm pretty uncomfortable with it. I think it's really important important to note that I'm not an expert on any of this, and have only the barest amount of information and experience of those employed at football clubs. There is so much that they know about football that we don't know, nor would we even realise what information is around for us not to know!

I think we all need to realise this, and also that there isn't one way to skin a cat in a game as complex and random as AFL. 

But it's still fun to try to work these things out with many of the thoughtful posters on here.

So you’re not the messiah you’re just a very knowledgeable boy. 

9 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

I know I'll get howled down for this, but with the right coaching and development I think OMac will become a handy backman. Only 24yo, would do much better at Rich or WCE 

Unfortunately I don’t think that’s with us

Now we just need Goody to jump on the @Axis of Bob hype train

15 minutes ago, Axis of Bob said:

I agree that it isn't typical and also not a surefire winner, but the key is Jackson. 

The opposition may wish to focus on Weid, as they probably will, but they will likely be in different parts of the ground. Weid didn't have the high impact late in the year because he was forced to stand down the line and just compete for long balls whilst his best footy was as a move flexible foil for McDonald. Most of his success came from either getting out the back or getting it one on one. He's quite mobile and clever but couldn't use any of that doing the dog work down the line. By bringing in Brown/Petty, you can have them set up down the line to do the aerial competing and Weid can be set up slightly away either to attack the contest if in range or position himself to be dangerous as the next target. For instance, you may wish to focus on stopping Charlie Cameron, but if Brisbane are still going to kick it long to McStay then you still need to defend it and that creates opportunities for others.

As for whether it's possible, last night Port mostly played 3 tall forwards (Dixon, Marshall and Ladhams), which mostly shut down Geelong's strong interceptors and allowed their dangerous small forwards to reap the benefits. But Jackson is unlike any of those forwards because of his unique mobility for a player of his size. His unique attributes make him the sort of player that we can almost create a position for. You could play him as a medium forward, or perhaps even as a 'high half/tall forward' where he plays up around the ball but then pushes forward as a marking threat. Where he ends up, we don't really know because he's different to what has come through in the past.

I suppose my point is that we should be setting up a structure that functions without Jackson because Jackson's flexibility and mobility allows us to play him in unique ways, rather than pigeonholing him as a tall forward. But if we play tall then we do need to get the smalls right around them. 

Sorry, that's just kind of just a brain dump. I hope it made some sense. 

No that was great, you explained that perfectly cheers

4 hours ago, Axis of Bob said:

I'm not 100% against Brown (as much as he annoys me as free kick actor) because he at least provides us with a number 1 target that makes each of our other forwards more effective. Weideman as a second tall this year was very effective, but got smothered as a number 1. 

But I think we can use our chips in a better way. I think Petty can play as the contesting forward with Weid and Jackson being the dangerous secondaries, much in the way the McStay plays for Brisbane. Brisbane's worst loss this year was against Richmond when McStay was out of the lineup and Richmond key Brisbane to 4 goals (admittedly it was 4.17!). McStay only kicked 10 goals for the year, but he kills the long kick forward, which allows players like Cameron, Hipwood, Rayner, McCarthy and their midfielders to get good opportunities. Weideman did this at the end of the year when forced to, but he more valuable as the second banana. Jackson can play anywhere because he's a freak. 

But there's only so much salary cap and draft assets to spread around, and there are probably other way we can spend them rather than a key forward. But I can also see the argument in favour of recruiting a high quality marking forward at below market price. 

 

How do you see having 3 195+ blokes in the forward line working? I' don't disagree with you but surely at this point the main option defences will be focusing on will be Weid over Petty?

1 minute ago, bing181 said:

Injuries are starting to add up, so not many alternatives.

hannan, lockhart, sparrow all available but yes i agree the injury list is getting larger than we'd like

Nibbler, Hunt, Baker and Smith lucky

Lockhart still has Goodies nudes

1 minute ago, Dr.D said:

correct. which is why mihocek would be chosen before LJ

you'd rather not play LJ at all than the 3 tall forward line?