Bring-Back-Powell

Any intel whether he'll be getting minutes in either the Richmond or Carlton praccy matches? Our round 0 side is lacking spark and potency without Petty and Kozzie so I'm hoping McAdam will be in the side.

Yes and Hunter too. I'd suggest the journo go back to his desk and re-submit a more realistic 22.

I watched last year's Port game the other day and it was the most obvious hammy strain that you'd see. How he received the green light to play out the game is just beyond me. Anyway the original diagnosis was 6-8 weeks for Fullarton which would have him available for the weekend we play the Dogs as a worst case/most conservative scenario.. Presumably he'd need 2 to 3 games at Casey from that weekend onwards, which would see a round 4 or 5 potential MFC debut if his form warrants it.

Optimistic having Petty, McAdam and Oliver in the side.

Foxtel's telecast is scheduled to finish at 1pm (3 hours in total). Doesn't mean they won't go over time.

I think they'll be conservative with Oliver and not rush him. I can see him returning in the seniors from round 2 (Hawks game) to round 4 if all goes well. However if they were to rush him back for Sydney, it would allow Trac to spend more time up forward and we need all we can get down there with Kozzie and co missing. I'd also want to see Sparrow increase his 'time on ground' from 65% - 75% to 80-90% to supplement Clarry's lower minutes in the initial few games. (I'm expecting a big year from Sparrow as he enters his 6th season)

I bet they're happy. We have helped Sydney become a far more improved side in exchange for a couple of mediocre draft picks (unless Sydney flop this year and the second round pick becomes interesting). I get that we had no leg to stand on in terms of bargaining power, but at the same time, we were under absolutely no obligation to trade him.

A poster last week suggested Disco Turner may miss the first half of the season through injury on the back of being in rehab last week. "Can't catch a break" was his quote about Turner. Hope he's wrong.

This is really pleasing news after a lousy couple of weeks of injury developments. 4 weeks of full training, then 2 weeks of VFL practice matches should have him good to go for the Hawks round 2 game - theoretically anyway...

That was one of our great wins of recent memory given Sydney had a home final at stake and we had 4th place locked up and therefore had nothing to play for. Not to mention the venue was jam packed with Sydney supporters celebrating Buddy's farewell. I left the ground thinking we were in the premiership hunt as much as Collingwood and Brisbane.

I would take it in an absolute heart break. Reckon we could even sneak 4-2 if our fwd line isn’t a complete disaster. Win over the Dogs, Hawks. Tigers and a possible win in SA.

I appreciate that the table is likely to do with top 4 finishes after the home and away season, not after finals. However essentially one, two or three sets of supporters of Collingwood, Brisbane, Carlton or GWS are going to be in for a rude shock this year. Only once has the 4 teams that made the prelim weekend one year all made the prelims the following year and that was 2009-2010. This was since the two prelims were introduced in 1994.

Someone on Bigfooty went to training and said it was a full match sim. Gawn was BOG by that far it wasn't funny. Sparrow, Viney, Spargo, Bowey and Brayshaw were reportedly good. May went off injured with a groin to continue our best pre season since 2018/2019 but he said it wasn't serious.

Excellent analysis. We'll never truly know how much of an impact that pathetic 10 day mid season break had on our 2022 and 2023 seasons but it could not have helped. The last time we went from a Kings/Queens B'day Monday to the next Saturday week (which is what's happening this year) was 2021 and that worked out quite well. Meanwhile I would hope we'll stay in Adelaide during our 5 day break and be as comfortable and rested as possible, compared to last year's Gather round travel schedule.

Are you referring to Daniel Turner possibly missing the first half of the season?

I know it's more than reasonable for you to be unable to find a spot for Schache, but if he can't get a game with T Mac, BBB, Petty, Fullarton and McAdam all (potentially) missing round 0 then he and the club should call it a day. He's a "break glass in case of emergency" player and round 0 is looking like an emergency at the moment. I feel as though I'm hyping up Schahce and will probably be set up for disappointment given his track record, but he's all we've got at the moment if those calf and foot injuries linger. Tomlinson should be in defence in round 0 as May/Lever and him work well and our excellent defence is what will keep us in the game. Has Turner ever played forward?

If Richo's 8 weeks is correct, Fullarton should be available for Casey selection by the end of March/early April.

Anyone remember the day Schache kicked 3 goals in the last quarter against Hawthorn in 2019, as the Dogs came back from 30 points down at 3 qtr time to get the win? He kicked 4 goals for the day and was hailed the hero in that win. In the last 3 games of the home and away that year he kicked a total of 8 goals to help the Dogs sneak into the finals. Schache also played some good footy in late 2021, some as a defender including the win over us. He's clearly a confidence player and seems to lose it at the drop of a hat. I can't see how he's not a regular in the opening month. If you dislike or can't stand him as a player, you better get used to him.

Goody's going to be earning his money trying to solve the forward line issue for the first couple of games. He did extremely well in adapting after Fritta went down last year but this is absolutely next level. I would be very surprised if T Mac and McAdam are available if they have confirmed calf issue strains. The remaining forwards such as JVR, Fritta, Spargo, Chandler, Schache, Billings and ANB are all going to have to pick up the slack and play at their highest possible level if we're some sort of chance to beat Sydney. And the mids are going to have to make their lives easier compared to last year's finals.

Touch wood our defence is looking in outstanding shape heading into the season in terms of options, so we have the luxury of putting T Mac in the forward line to start the season. Not ideal but T Mac could still be capable of a 3-4 goal game at his best.

So a potential round zero forward line missing Petty, Pickett and McAdam (if his fitness isn't up to scratch) HF ANB JVR Spargo F Fritsch Schache Chandler And our forward line will be even smaller when Schache or JVR relieves Gawn. That Kozzie suspension will punish us for the Sydney game. He could've made the forward line his own based on what we saw in the second half of the Carlton final. Maybe they have no choice but to start T Mac in the forward line after all.

I forgot about that. Still irks me that the opposition's sub played a role in the last quarter, particularly in the match winning goal sequence while our sub sat on the pine the entire night. Oh well, we move on...

When the Pies beat Richmond in the 2018 prelim, did anyone go to sleep that night with a fleeting thought that 2018 could be our year? Richmond were absolutely the team to beat in that 2017-2020 era and if felt as though the door was kicked wide open for Pies, WC or us to win the flag. As others have mentioned, the 2018 finals at the G were amazing nights, particularly the Geelong game. Hopefully in 2024 we can finally once again win a final at the G as it's humiliating to be on the receiving end.

My prediction is that Melksham will be back for the North game in round 15 or Brisbane game in round 16. https://www.afl.com.au/news/1074815/brisbane-lions-tom-doedee-on-track-to-return-from-acl-injury-as-early-as-round-three-against-collingwood Using Tom Doedee (Brisbane defender) as an example above, he's targeting the final weekend of March as his return AFL game since doing his ACL in early June 2023. Essentially 10 months. Melksham did his knee in late August 2023. If you use Doedee's recovery time as an example, that puts Jake in the frame for a mid-late June AFL return. To add to that, I don't believe they'll be conservative with his recovery time due to his age, it might be his last chance at a flag and our forward line functions better to far better when he's in the side.

I reckon Max Gawn has been injured "in game" twice in his career. The Geelong game at Marvel in 2017 when he did his hammy and of course the Lions game in round 2 last year. Instead of using Schache as sub to serve only as a "break glass" for Gawn, the club should have played the odds and assumed Gawn would not get injured and play a smaller running type player - as Carlton did with Hollands. It was a warm night and we could have done with some fresh run late. However, as @old55 touched on earlier, we blew our premiership chances in the Pies final rather than the Carlton final. Collingwood were too good and too tough for us prior to the Maynard incident when finals are at their hottest, and also had all the answers in the third quarter when we were trying to come back. They were too good for us that night despite popular opinion.