CHF

Looks like Tomlinson the medi-sub

Well, I am off to bed. Been a big day of celebration over my way with a birthday in the family. will be watching over breakfast and a coffee. I have confidence in our systems and structures. Mighty Dees by 5 goals

I hope that if Jackson does not get up that they play Tomlinson so that he and Wiedeman can play the roles that Jackson and Wiedeman played last week. I would even rest Tomlinson forward and see what he might add in that area.

Could see them taking Tomlinson and Hunt to Adelaide with Brown and Melksham staying in Melbourne and playing for Casey.

The trades for Lever and May are critical for this club. Not so much the fact that we got the trade across the line but it reflects the time and work that goes into these situations. We were into these for quite a while before the trades were done. We had identified the players we wanted to fit the building strategy we had in place, worked to get the currency so the trades could be made and made sure we had the salary cap structure to fit them in and keep them happy. I am sure we are in a similar position of tracking other players we see as possible trades with an eye in the future.

Well done to the footy club for getting this done with Oliver. Quietly sorted it out and got it done to everyone's benefit. It gives me confidence that we will do our very best to sort out Jackson and Brayshaw in a successful way. if we can secure Jackson for another couple of years and Brayshaw for a longer term, say 3/4 years then we will be looking at an extended shot at multiple flags. Even if we lose one or both of those two I can still see us pushing for more flags in the next 5 years. Jackson is important to us over the next couple of years because we will need to look for additional ruck backup over that time and he is critical because of the role he plays for us at the moment. Brayshaw just has so many strings to his bow.... inside mid.... wing.... Half Back....and all those strings are first class. He just covers so many options for us and with skill and class. Oliver only does one thing... inside mid.... he does not look like he spends too much time thinking when he plays, it is all instinct with him. He has great vision and imagination when he plays. In all the years I have been watching footy i just have not seen anyone play the way he does. Great job to everyone involved.

Best game I have seen from the team since the GF. Great pressure on the ball and the ball carrier all over the ground. The first quarter I was seeing a lot of missed connections but upon re-watching, I think that was because the Lions brought their pressure during the first quarter. that dropped off towards the end of the quarter and the Dees kept the pressure turned up for the whole of the match. I was of the belief after selection that we were a player light in the middle but the output and pressure of the 4 Horsemen in Viney, Petracca, Oliver and Harmes negated any need for additional firepower in that area. All were immense with Viney having one of his best ever matches and Harmes doing a job stopping Neal and hurting him the other way. Jackson had a good game and the meshing with Weideman was excellent. In all, I loved seeing the return to form of the team and the players looking like they were enjoying themselves out there. Go Dees!

midfield unsighted.....

Fair enough….. different opinions. I want to see us win and win well. I just think we are light a midfield player in this team.

I can see in the named side only 9 players that have consistent and good experience in the middle and that includes the wingers. There are two others that are presently named on the bench that we could run through there on limited occasions and these are Bedford and Pickett. Both of thee guys have vey limited experience in the middle. I would rather have seen Dunstan named instead of Bedford as I think the balance would be a lot better and may allow out midfield to run out the game better I believe that for success we need to have a depth of 10 or 11 players in the team that can rotate through the middle. That is my logic.

While there is a lot of talk with regard to the ruck structure and operation of the forward 50, I get the feeling that we are going into this match light on midfield rotations. Jordon, Langdon and a rotation of either Brayshaw or Sparrow covers the wings with Langdon on the ground 99%+ of the time it is the onball brigade that looks light to me. Petracca, Oliver and Viney are a given but cannot be there 100% of the time. Harmes, Sparrow and Brayshaw can rotate through there as can ANB but after that there is not a lot of midfield depth in this team. Take into account that we have named an IC of two defenders and two small forwards. Bedford and Pickett can make an appearance in the middle or around the ball but they cannot spend a deal of time there during the match. I see this as a tough one to win for the Dees.

Going to be some interesting discussion regarding selection for the Lion’s game. In some ways I would prefer this to be an away game so that the team could be together and use that a way to physically regroup. A few weeks ago, with the game at the ‘G’ I would have tipped us with confidence. Not anymore. We will need to respond, and selection will be critical to enabling that response. So, My guess….. B: Hibberd, May, Lever HB: Bowey, Petty, Salem C: Langdon, Oliver, Jordon HF: Harmes, Weideman, Spargo F: Fristch, Brown, Pickett Fol: Jackson, Petracca. Viney IC: Hunt, Laurie, Brayshaw, JVR In defence we can bring May back and have a strong looking defensive group in the team. That is an excellent group to have patrolling the back 50. I would also be tempted to bring in Hunt on the IC bench as additional cover with an eye ion possibly moving Brayshaw into the middle if required. Midfield group also has quality but the disruption of removing Gawn from Ruck duties and not having him reading the game situation and responding will leave a big leadership role to fill. Forwards seem to be a mess and have been for some time. Injuries and selection have chopped and changed this group and they need to play a time together to work it out. On the interchange, Hunt Laurie and Brayshaw give a lot of flexibility and I would like to see JVR given a run to have a look at him. Most likely will not happen but you never know.

With this injury to Max plus the 3 consecutive losses and the stupid public scuffle between may and Melksham it is all come together to form a perfect mid-season storm over our bye weekend. For me, while I do not enjoy the situation, it will give us a clear insight into the quality of our coaching panel and the depth of our player leadership group. Goodwin, Williams and Yze etc. have had a very good ride in the first half of the season on the back of the team not setting the world on fire but winning 10 in a row. Now is the time they have to earn their stripes. This will require a massive re-set of the playing group, afterall the next game is against Brisbane who I believe are a very strong contender for the flag this year. After the last 4 or so weeks it is a hard task to win that game. Player leadership group will need to come up with a player response to the situation as well. No Gawn on the ground over the next two weeks and we will need the midfield leaders in particular to stand up and give direction to the team structures. One area where we need leadership from both the players and coaches is in the forward 50. in the last few weeks we have had no structure in this area of the ground. Hope the club uses the bye week well and come up with some answers.

No idea what you are talking about. give me a hint.

Been away playing golf in Scotland the last two weeks so it is probably my fault the boys were flat and got beaten.. back on deck at home and will be watching live tomorrow morning my time. Dees by a lot!

Off to bed and get rested to watch the Dees while I have my granola and coffee in the morning. Nite all.

Good team selections given the injuries and unavailability of some players. Fills me with confidence when I see Gawn, Petracca, Oliver and Viney named in the engine Room. Add to that the players we can rotate through there such as Jackson, ANB, Sparrow, Pickett and Brayshaw and that is a very strong, deep midfield. Dunstan as the sub? I think so. I do not think they would name Laurie as sub for his debut but he must be close to selection. Tomlinson and Weideman named in emergencies to cover late outs back and forward. Dees by 10 goals.

10 starts so far this season for 10 wins.... top of the ladder 2 games clear with a healthy % I am not complaining, just sitting back and enjoying it. Some on here complain that we are not playing well and are out of form. I would agree except that I believe that most are comparing our form to the football we played in the last quarter and a half of the grand final. I have been watching footy for more than 50 years and that was the cleanest, most dominant football I have seen a side play....EVER. Impossible to play at that level over a sustained period. This season we have been playing our game with the confidence that it will bring the results that we want. Good structures and systems all over the ground with defence and pressure on the ball in all areas of the ground. Made possible by player discipline to their roles and top class fitness. This game against North showcased exactly the way we play. We controlled the game and had the ability to lift when required and run out the game. I love the way we play to our strengths and have other teams reacting to our game style. They are looking for ways to minimise the damage we can do and therefore their game suffers from not being able to score. It will be interesting to see when a side decides to really attack us and play open footy. I still think we will prevail as we build every thing on our defence and we have shown that, no matter the players back there, our structures and system works and is very difficult to break down. A few observations from the North game - Oliver?? What more can you say about him? He is the best I have seen in the red and blue and by the end of his footy will be right up there a the best the league ha ever seen. A sensational game. - Spargo had a very good game with sticking tackles and delivering to team mates - I watched out transition footy very closely in this game and it really is excellent. We move in anticipation of a teammate winning the contest and when the contest is won we have players in position and running hard. - Forwards seem to be a bit dysfunctional, but what is new? With North pinned back in their defensive 50 for long periods, they really had crowds of player filling that space which made it hard for clean connection. I can imagine that the coaching panel will be trying a few things to over come this. next week, Freo at the G.

Re: the Bulldogs.... In the Round 1 post game thread after watching Beverage's presser I said that they would not make the 8 this year. I still believe that.

Things I like.... Having 9 straight wins to start the season. Beating West Coast by a record margin in Perth Winning all 4 quarters in the game Watching the team perform and feeling comfortable in the result. The all team performance. Being on top of the ladder with a healthy percentage. Things I don't like... Some supporters expectations Things I observed Max having a quiet but effective game. A really good combined effort in both attack and defence from the midfield A good covering defence that work to cover one another. Jordon's game was the best he has had at the club. Brayshaw's play at HB is making it hard to move him on once Salem is back. Once again we controlled the game from start to finish.

Ok. Just finished breakfast and the morning coffee. The footy will now fill the space between now and firing up the bbq and a drink. go Dees! Looking for a 10 goal win

Yep...His turn to rest in the back pocket......

Something I do not understand with the fixtures AFL/VFL. This week we play on Sunday over in the West and Casey plays the same day against North in Melbourne. we will need to take 4 players over as emergency reserves so they will not be able to get a run at Casey. Next week we play North in the AFL and both Casey and North VFL teams have a bye... am I missing something? The emergencies that travel across to Perth will therefore miss two week of matches. Please tell me that somewhere this makes sense. Have I read it wrong?

That squad is just about a strong as you are going to get week to week in the H&A season. Salem to come back in to the back 50 team when fit and in form and that is about the only thing we need to top up this team. Harmes, Jackson, Jordon and Pickett on the IC.

I am loving the way that we are controlling games this season and this latest game was a great example of that. The Saints were talked up as our first big challenge of the season as they were sitting in the top 4 and were the highest ranked team we had so far faced. Add to that the fact that we needed the win on Sunday to retain the No. ! position on the ladder a game clear of second and there was a bit of pressure. No worries. The team played the first half as good as you could wish. The defence stood tall once again with a lot of pressure all over the ground to ensure that the challenge did not gain any breathing space. Job done by half time and then the team went into cruise mode and carried the game to its conclusion with a few late goals to add a bit of cream. A few observations: The spirit and character of this team (including the whole of the list) is remarkable. There do not seem to be any egos straining at the leash. The players are playing unselfish, supportive footy but with a hard edge to the opposition. Credit to the coaches and support people for generating this environment. Great game by Brayshaw. One of his best. He is making the defensive 50 very crowded for talent and it will be interesting to see what the situation is once Salem is back and in form. Good response to last week's game by Langdon. I just shake my head at his endurance and his awareness of where to run to advantage. I am not sure that is something you can coach into someone but, if I was a young winger I would study his game closely and try to emulate it. Oliver and Petracca double act was on song again during this game. A huge amount of disposals each for them and yet, IMO, they were outshone by the games of a winger and a HBF. Max was down with an injury during the game but still managed to be effective sitting forward. The forward 50 team looked good to me. all worked hard, not just to kick a winning score but also to defend the 50m zone in attack and to do the defensive job further up the ground as required. Such a strength in the team structure. Last week I observed that we looked to be crowding the contest too much and I took note of this element in the Saints game. we looked much more controlled in this area during this game. 1 or 2 at the contest as required with a couple more outside the contest looking to go if required. Very good. This week the West Coast game. given the present situation, I believe this is a game we would win 19 times out of 20 so I am pretty confident. The main thing that gives me confidence is the club attitude that no matter what the situation is game to game, we will control the things we can control and accept the things that we cannot have any influence on. Go Dees!