CHF

I think we will go close to losing this match with the selections we have made. IMO we are light on for run and rotations in the midfield.

Wonder what we will do with selection this week. In the first half of this season, except for the first few rounds, we have not had a settled effective setup with our tall forwards. While some on here and even our esteemed coach site the fact that we have scored the most points of any team so far this season, we have only played three teams presently in the top eight and lost to all of them. we have scored our points in 8 wins against teams in the bottom 10. Not a reflection of a good effective forward setup. Some here also look at the delivery into the forward 50 as an excuse. To me it is a bit of a chicken and egg issue. Could our delivery be better? Of course it could be but it would help if we had a settled structure to the forwards and then it would give the deliverers a clear idea of what was happening ahead. So what to do over the Wednesday night cheese platters? Where to start? Midfield, always a good place to start, as that is where the ball starts with a bounce. Oliver is out for another week so we need to get more run and cover in the midfield. Hunter comes back but do we slot him back in straight away? Langdon looked better last week and Gus had a very good game playing back on the wing. Same set up this week? Do we persist with Gawn and Grundy in the same team? Petracca, Viney, Sparrow, Pickett, ANB, Rivers, Harmes and Laurie all rotating through the midfield at times. Langdon, Jordon, Brayshaw and Woewodin to the wings with the last three to have time on the ball as well. In the defence we have a pretty good structure with May and Lever as the kingpins. I am of the opinion that Petty, when fit, returns to the back line as we look a lot better with him there beside the other two. With him injured, we may look at Tomlinson for this match and possibly the next. He did a good job at the back when required earlier in the season and I think we will need tall options against the Blues. Rivers and Salem back there and a choice of two of Hibberd, Bowey and McVee. Forwards are a problem and have been for the last few seasons. Even in 21 we looked fragile up the pointy end during the season. I would keep Spargo in there and drop Chandler. Chandler has been good but he has not been as effective in the last couple of games and might need a freshen up. Fritsch is there, of course. ANB and Pickett will spend time there. The rest??? A lot of questions. Dr Seuss, in one of his books has The Cat In The Hat saying to someone "Sometimes the questions is complicated and the answer is simple." If we accept that, then the reciprocal is also true. "Sometimes the question is simple and the answer is complicated." Unfortunately, we suffer from the later when discussing the forward setup. I think there a a lot of versions of an answer but no idea how effective they might be. Anyway.... this is the way I would go for the Blues game. Backs: Hibberd, May, Rivers HB: Lever, Tomlinson, Salem C: Langdon, Sparrow, Brayshaw HF: Spargo, Grundy, Pickett F: JVR, Brown, Fristch Fol: Gawn, Petracca, Viney IC: Bowey, Jordon, Harmes, Laurie, Woewodin ( One selected as sub) McVee having a rest

Disappointing game and result. I said in the pre-game thread that I thought we had not selected enough to fill midfield rotations and that we did not have enough run. I think we did a bad job of selection and a very bad job of ingame coaching. We lose a wing and our best mid field driver and do not use players such as Pickett to fill roles in the midfield. One of Chandler, Spargo or ANB should have made way for Jordon in the selected team or at least made way for him as sub at half time for Chandler. That would have given us the chance to run Brayshaw through the middle while Jordon ran a wing. Pickett should have been given some time in the middle. In the first half with Viney being sat on we could have swapped Pickett and Viney to give some more drive and to try and break the tag on Viney. The situation with out tall forwards is nothing less than a shambles.... omni or otherwise. When Petty gets back play him as the third tall in defence and settle the forward situation. Give Brown a few weeks there with JVR or Schache. Get back to the structures that stood us in good stead in 21. due to a reluctance to change things and injuries the team looks incomplete and disconnected. Partly the fault of the players but a lot of it needs to rest at the feet of the coaches and the rest of the footy department.

Our record as Naarm is not good. We are yet to win a game. Any chance we are tanking to get a priority pick for the best indigenous talent in the next PSD?

Same reason that I thought the same last week: We do not have enough run through there to cover the whole game. We did bring in another mid but have lost Hunter that spends 90%+ time on the ground and Oliver that spends 80%+ TOG. We shall see. I hope that I am wrong.

I think we are a bit light on for midfield rotations with the team that is named even if you include a mid as the sub. We may not have the legs to run out the game and may get found out in the 4th quarter.

Nah. If I did have any influence on those guys there would have been changes a couple of weeks ago.

Knew I had missed someone. Have him in there instead of either Sparrow or McVee.

Yep. Really. I believe that it is a dire situation with our tall forward mix and has been since the first couple of rounds with the different things we have tried. Need to find a solution and work with it.

That was a good game of footy. No quarter asked and none given. Heart in mouth stuff for us Dees supporters when what-his-name had a shot to tie it up but good to get the 4 points from the game. We came off a trip to Adelaide, a 5 day break and then a tip to Queensland for this game. I know that The Suns also had a lot of travel to deal with recently, but I was surprised at the tempo and intensity delivered by both teams. My big take from the game is that while the coaches bang on about the way the team looks to reset during games in response to the circumstances, I do not see the same 'reset' from the match committee at selection given the dire situation of our forward line. One of the cornerstones of our 21 Premiership was the stability and structure of our defence. We built the gameplan around this structure and it was a success. I heard that Goodwin was talking about clearances and that we base a lot of our attack on winning turnovers after possessions out of the clearances and I cannot argue with that given our results but what I would argue is that if that is the case we need to ensure that we have the best people in the best places in defence. To my mind that means rebuilding the defence around May, Lever and Petty as the talls with Salem (when fit and in form), Bowey, Rivers, Hibberd, Brayshaw and McVee as the smaller running defenders. Petty back is what is needed at the moment. It seems as if in his absence, there has been a little too much pressure on May to perform and it is to the detriment of his game. Well we have to discuss the forwards and there is a lot to discuss. Petty is not the answer to any question regarding the forwards. JVR out for couple of weeks. This leaves a couple of large holes at the pointy end. What to do? I would try Brown and Schache as the talls for the next couple of weeks with Gawn/Grundy resting there as required. Fristch as a genuine spare medium forward and have Chandler, Spargo, Pickett and ANB as crumbers/harassers at the fall of the ball. I would have Harmes in the team to cover any tagging roles that crop up during the game. I would have loved Goodwin to pull the trigger on the sub much earlier and get Harmes into the game to tag Anderson yesterday. With these suggestions I am not sure what that does to the team selection. B: Lever, May, Hibberd HB: Bowey, Petty, Rivers C: Langdon, Viney, Hunter HF: ANB, Schache, Chandler F: Fristch, Brown, Pickett Fol: Grundy, Petracca, Oliver I: Gawn, McVee, Sparrow, Harmes/ Jordon (one of these two as sub) A lot of flexibility and options in that team and all playing primary position to their strengths.

Petty in Schache out.

No real idea on selection this week. Defence and Midfield pretty much as is except that we may bring Petty back in place of Hibberd if there is any doubt on his fitness. I did notice he was icing his achilles when he was subbed at the end of the game last week. It may have been just a precaution but if there is any doubt he should get a rest. That, to my mind, is the only contentious issue in the back two thirds of the team. The forward 50 is where the selection gets interesting. Looking at the first 7 rounds we just do not have any tall forwards that are fit and in form. I find it amazing that we can score enough points to win games let alone being one of the top scoring teams in the comp. This season we have a few more avenues to goal and improved accuracy but we do need to find a couple of talls that can add to the scoring in a meaningful way. Fristch is there along with the Buzz Brigade of Kossie, Chandler, ANB and Spargo. all good and effective in front of goals and also with effective controlled inside 50s. Talls for this week for me would be JVR and Schache with Max putting in guest appearances as we see fit. I would like this even more if Petty was in the side in place of Hibberd as he could swing forward if Schache or JVR was not effective. Any tall forward that has a good one at Casey will get a run the next week.

I would like to thank all for their training reports tonight. It is really great for all of us that cannot get along.

Beers are tasting good.

Had to smile when I went to the drinks fridge to get the beer. Counted the different beers I had there cooling and came to a total of 6.

Thank you. that is all the encouragement I needed. Think I will go with a couple of Westvleteren for the first half.

Ok.... just gone 11am where I am.... 25 mins or so to the first bounce. Breakfast finished chores done. Have the house to my self and ready to stream the game. Could someone please assure me it is 4pm somewhere in the world so I can crack a beer?

Good team with the inclusion of Schache as a forward to support JVR. I expected that there would be more changes to the team given the 5 day break and then the travel the following round. The selectors may have taken into account the situation of North with regard to the travel/schedule that they have had to endure recently. If Chandler does not come up Then I would bring Laurie into the team and make Harmes the sub. We have our 7 defenders in Bowey, Lever, May, Hibberd, Rivers, McVee and Brayshaw with Brayshaw able to rotate into the middle as well as the wing if required. Schache can cover a tall loss down back if needed. On the wings we have Langdon and Hunter with Jordon, ANB and Brayshaw all able to run the wings on rotation. The middle we have well covered with Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Sparrow the main drivers with Jordon, ANB, Brayshaw, Rivers and, at times, Pickett all able to effectively move through there. I expect Grundy to take at least 50% of the ruck work and would not be surprised if it was closer to 60% with Max moving in front of the ball or behind it as required. The forward setup is pretty transparent with Schache, Van, Rooyen and Fristch as the talls and Chandler and Pickett working at the drop of the ball with rotations from ANB, and mids such as Viney, Petracca and Oliver. Could also see Sparrow and Jordon in there at times as well. Looking forward to see how Schache goes as I believe that he may surprise a few. If we settle quickly in the match and work the basics well and let the imagination and game come to us I think we will win well against a young North side. I also believe that with our stronger bodies and better fitness, we will pull away from them in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Go Dees!

I think that JVR will develop into a very good forward for us over the next few years but I would be vey careful in placing him in a position of being the No. 1 target in the forward 50 in the near future. I think we saw exactly what would happen if we did that this season in the game against Richmond. he had the Tigers no. 1 defender on him for 3 quarters and did very little. it was not until Balta was moved into the ruck that he had the chance to get off the leash a bit. I would like to see him get support of an experienced tall forward next to him to take off the pressure. Brown would be my first choice for that role as I think the opposition would need to have their best defender on him. TMac? not really going to attract the best defender every week and he is looking very limited at the moment. Might be time to give Schache a run there to see if he can fill the role. We need to support the development of JVR and the best way to do that is to make sure he ha the correct support up forward.

I would like to think that the selection this week is part of a planned rotation to cover this block of three games. It is critical that we get the management of the crucial players right this season. I know that it is a week to week proposition with regard to in game injuries and recovery but I hope that we have some idea to get through this section of the draw. To me there looked to be a couple of NQRs at the end of the game with Rivers 'cramping' and May just looking proppy. There are also some reports of Chandler carrying some injury. Not sure on any of these. but given the 5 day turn around we need to ensure that we have a team of fit and rested players on the ground. Defence - if May is not fit I would give him a rest and this is not because we are playing North. I would rest him if he is not right no matter who we are playing. Petty back along with Lever and Disco. Bowey, Rivers (if fit), Hibberd (if fit) and McVee to fill out the rest of the match ups. Brayshaw can rotate back there if required. Midfield - Pretty much as it was if they all pull up fit and rested. If Chandler does not pull up fit I would look at adding either Harmes, Laurie or Dunstan to the mix to rotate through the mid and also fill in forward when required. Forwards - JVR with Schache and Max resting forward as talls. Fristch the other option with Pickett, ANB and a rotation of Mids in there. We need someone in there as a tall to give JVR a chance to work the second or third defender. If he gets the No.1 defender then he works as a decoy to move them out of the drop zone and allows the other talls to work there including Fristch. I can see that there might be 3 or 4 changes to the team this week and a similar number again next week. We have quality depth in the list and need to use it.

Post match one of the big talking points was that they could have taken JVR prior to our selection of him in the draft. Bagging their draft selection people big time.

As I said in the game day thread, it was a frustrating game to watch. In the first quarter we were second to the ball and wayward with our passing by hand and foot. Looked to overthink and over work the situations. We improved once we got back to the basics and looked to move the ball further from the base of action a bit cleaner and quicker. I think the coaching group did a good job to turn it around after the first quarter, we did outscore them in each of the last 3 quarters and in the second half we scored 9.4 to 3.8. A significant turnaround after quarter time. All this on a big stage in front of almost 84,000 crowd. As a lot of people have said, in defence, May looked a bit proppy, not 100% in my opinion. Slow to react and half pace at the moment. If he is not right, give him time on the sidelines to recover fully. we have to learn from last season where we played NQR players and suffered for it. The rest of the back 50 held up very well with Lever working his way back into good intercepting form and Hibberd doing a good job after quarter time on whats-his-name. the rest did as they were required to do with McVee just looking settled and more than competent at this level. Mids took a bit of time to get to work except for Viney who had a very very good game. Tough, direct and well used by the coaches. Sparrow and Jordon filled their roles and contributed very well. Forward 50 is a work in progress as Goodwin stated during his presser. I would not have Petty as a forward, to my mind, he is too valuable in defence and we were crying out for an experienced forward target for the first 3 quarters. I liked the game of Chandler who really shows the value of a small crumbing forward prepared to work the contests at the fall of the ball. Liked the way JVR came good in the last. A lot of people are praising him for his performance in the last but we need to weight that against his work and performance in the other 3 quarters. Hardly sighted. I want to believe that his last quarter performance will give him the confidence to present the way a bit more of the time in more matches. I also think that if he has Brown beside him he will get the freedom and space to do it more. I love the way we came back and took the game away from Richmond. I think that the first half is a good as Richmond could play at the moment given their list and injuries whereas during that time we looked as if we were a 50%. A good 4 points to take way from that game and always good to beat the Tigers. A word on the umps: Rubbish!

Damn frustrating game to watch with the performance of the umps and our dreadful disposal. backs look better with Lever there but they are suffering from the same as the rest of the team because of the Tiger's pressure their disposals are off. No forward line to speak of. Very dysfunctional. let's try playing an experienced forward sometimes soon. Mids.... so many superstars and so very little results at the center bounces. Who is our midfield coach?? Work harder at the basics, bring pressure and look to secure and keep the ball. We can win this.

We all like happy endings, DZ

I can see that the selections for the team this week have more than an eye on the North game 5 days later. 4 named in the team, Petty, Lever, May and Rivers I would imagine would play both games. Brayshaw and McVee are named in the team and I would imagine Hibberd will be on the bench for the match. I might be tempted to drop Bowey back to Casey for this weekend and bring him in for the North game. Possibly for either McVee or Hibberd. It would depend on injuries during the Richmond game and how the players recover. In the midfield, If we go with Hibberd and Grundy as two of the bench I would like to see Two of Jordon, Sparrow and Dunstan named on the bench with the other one as the sub. Forwards is where we are a bit thin on the ground for mine. TMac and JVR as talls with a resting ruck there some of the time. Fristch as a third tallish doing what he does and then the smalls in ANB and Pickett with a rotation through there of resting mids. Either that, or they bring in Laurie to fill out the smalls up forward but then they might be robbing the mid rotations. From what I saw of Laurie in his first game he did not do all that much in the midfield when given a run there. There seems to be a number of options to try in the Forward 50 and we may see a couple of these options come the North game. I hope so. We do have a number of players that can play a number of different roles and I think that is a good thing. will keep the opposition coaches guessing a lot more than messing with the team sheet. Will be interesting to see the final team once it is decided. Dees to bounce back and win this one by 30pts.