CHF

Well I’m off to bed. Game starts at 11.25 my time. So a watch of the game, a glass or two of wine and then a late lunch to celebrate.

Fitness?

I would go further to say that that VFL team would be better than a majority of the AFL teams we have sent out over the period between 2005 to 2015.

Ben had an interrupted pre-season and it may have been that after 3 games of 'kicking the tyres' the powers that be decided that he was not fit enough and needed a good block of training to bring him up to speed.

With regard to B. Brown, how long is it since he has had a game? I did read somewhere that he was having a mini 6 week pre-season as far as fitness goes. In My opinion, this is a good thing. Give him a run or two at Casey and we have a chance to look at his form. Would love to see a fit in form BBB in our forward 50.

I like this change and I like the forward structure that is named. Viney in is a big plus in my opinion a is the retention of Sparrow. Gawn and Jackson to spend time in the forward 50 as will Petracca.

Favorite win: Has to be the win against the bulldogs for me. With that win I started to have confidence in the team and the players. There were (and still are) a lot of questions being asked of us and with each winning game we answer more of the questions. Game Highlight; TMac's goal against Brisbane after the best in close buildup work I have seen from the Demons. Love the movement and handballs that worked to get the ball free and moving forward from the wing. The goal was icing on the cake. Other random highlight: the quality and consistence of Salem's games. He has always had the talent and ability but this season he has really put it all together. Top 5 in the Bluey: Petracca, Oliver, Gawn have to be in that group but after that there are more than a few that could fill the last two spots. Lever, May and Salem in defence. Langdon from the wing has to be in the discussion. In the forward 50 you might get TMac or Fristch sneaking in. Most improved: again, a few that could be in the discussion. Rivers is on a steep improvement arc for me as is Spargo. Charlie does not get a lot of the ball at the moment but puts in a lot of work putting pressure on the opposition defenders. When he does have the ball in hand he uses it very, very well. His game compliments Pickett's nicely.

A lot of the time this season I have looked to our defence to be the bedrock on which we build a win. While I still understand the importance of the defensive structure we have in place and the success of it, in this game winning the midfield is of primary importance. They are very good at finishing inside their forward 50 so we need to disrupt their supply of quality ball into that zone. We have the talent and the systems in the middle to contain their key play makers in Parish and Merrett. I would be asking Harmes to close down Parish with a hard tag the way he did with Libba in the Bulldogs game. He does that and it takes away a lot of the ball and drive they get from stoppages.

11-2 13 Rounds played…..11 wins….. still only 44 points in the premiership bank and nothing has changed from last week. We still sit on top of the ladder thanks to a Cats win against the Bulldogs Bit different this last weekend not having any football from the Demons. Still I am sure they have enjoyed a weekend off. And so, to Round 15 and we play the Bombers, the team that suffered a number of player suspensions due to systemic drug cheating. We play them on Saturday night on the G….. maybe. I am not sure what to make of this iteration of the Bombers. I find their list a strange mix of bits and pieces. Some good young talent and some older more experienced guys that tend to run hot and cold. Biggest interest for me is to see what sort of shape we turn up in after the break. Will we be switched on or flat? We seem to be making all the right noises but the time over the white line will tell us what the players understand and believe. The facts: We have the week off – Advantage us Their home match – Advantage them We play at the G – Advantage us They are coming off a win last week against the Hawks – Advantage them (maybe) Problem areas of the game for us. Still the bloody forwards…. Our defenders are well settled and have the first half of the season in form. They did not look shiny and bright in the outing against the Pies but I am looking forward to seeing them re-set and work back into form. Stringer and Jones look to be their main avenues to goal and I see that they have their own version of our Wied in Wright. He is not in good form up forward and would not be surprised to see him ‘rested’. Our defenders will need to be sharp as a number of their forwards apply good pressure and tackles. As long as we stick to our structure and trust in each other we will get on top in this area of the ground. We have the talent in our midfield… I am sure that is not news to anyone. This week I think we will add Viney to the mix and it will all be for the better. Not just a break to freshen up but the return of a fired up Viney to spark the others. Parish is the one we need to shut down he is the one that drives a lot of their scoring ….. Harmes anyone? Merrett and McGrath are his main partners in crime but if we contain Parish we will go a long way to winning this. Max and Luke will dominate the ruck contests, but we need the players at their feet to work off them properly. Essendon will have done a lot of work on our ruck’s tap work. It may be that Max spends a lot of his time either back or forward depending on the state of the game and Luke taking the rucks. Now for the forwards……. The good; Well in the bigger picture we are 11-2 without a performing forward structure. And while we have the least points scored against us so far this season, we are only have the 5th highest points for. The bad; Weid’s form but that may not matter this week The ugly; It could be BBB’s hair this weekend. I really hope that there has been some in depth thought and coaching that has gone into our forward 50 structure. While our delivery into the forwards has improved, I am not sure that the delivers have confidence in where the forwards are going to be. We do not seem to be able to consistently find space on the lead and in static marking contests we lack some weight and strength. Selection will make for some interesting reading this week. I expect Weid to be dropped and for B. Brown to come in. Viney in for Sparrow? Most likely. The Bathwater Express is all polished up and ready for the sprint home. I have not started it up since it has just been serviced so I am not sure how it runs at the moment. Expect it to rumble into life with a power surge come Saturday night. Tough to predict this week. I want to see us turn up to this game a we turned up in Round 1….. Fresh, tough and well disciplined…. If we do that, I believe we will run out winners by 6 goals. Go Dees!!!

Nah Jack. All just a matter of opinion and probability.

We sit at 11-2 with the bye weekend coming up and I had a look at the second half of the season with a clear eye on how we have gone so far this season. Of course, with Covid there may well be some changes to the fixtures. Round 15 Essendon at the MCG. Away game for us. We have a weekend off and they play this weekend against the Hawks in Tassie. A 85% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 16 Giants at the MCG. Home game for us. The week before they play the Hawks at home. A 75% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 17 Port at the Adelaide Oval. Away game for us. The week before they play the Hawks in Melbourne. A 50% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 18 Hawthorn at the MCG (finally a team that do not play Hawks just before us). Home game for us. The week before they play Freo in Tassie. A 90% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 19 Suns at Metricon. Away game for us. The week before they play the Bulldogs at Metricon. A 80% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 20 Bulldogs at the MCG. Home game for us. The week before they play the Crows at Mars Stadium. A 70% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 21 West Coast at Optus in Perth. Away game for us. The week before they play the Pies at the MCG. A 50% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 22 Crows at the MCG. Home game for us. The week before they play Port in Adelaide. A 75% probability of a win in my opinion. Round 23 Cats in Geelong. Away game for us. the week before they play the Saints at home in Geelong An easy couple of weeks for them at home. A 50% probability of a win in my opinion. So, in the last 9 rounds of the season I give us a better than even chance of winning 6 of the games and a 50/50 chance in the other 3. Factoring in a disappointing loss against a team we should have beaten and one win from the other 3 that gives us 17 wins for the season and that should be enough to get us into the top 2.

11-2 13 Rounds played…..11 wins….. still only 44 points in the premiership bank after a loss to The Pies. A game clear at the top of the ladder that may or may not survive the next weekend. I hope the Cats can do the dirty on the Bulldogs. Well, I had a stress-free weekend in the delusional belief that we would perform well on Monday. That game has meant that I have been in an ordinary mood since the first bounce. It is all a matter of perspective, so my therapist is fond of saying. It is not the end of the world to have lost last weekend, it just felt like it. Losing to that mob while top of the ladder and 15 places above them. We are at the bye and have lost just 2 matches. Lets be honest, all of us would have taken that at the beginning of the season. But still…… bloody Pies, of all the ratbag teams to loose to this season! And so, to the Bye. Really, this time it is the bye round for us. No footy next weekend for us. A bit of R&R for the players and coaches. A bit of time to reflect on what has happened and to look into the future….. Yeah, yeah…. One game at a time and all that but I am sure that MFC will look at what they want to do in September. Only natural. For me, I am very happy with the first half of the season (thanks to my therapist), there have been a number of players that have developed well this season. The experienced players in Oliver, Petracca and Salem have all advanced their skills and in-game performance. Players like Spargo and ANB have stepped up and look to have a bit more in them and the young/inexperienced players Jackson, Pickett, Rivers, Jordon and Sparrow have developed nicely and look to be long term first 22 in the future. The defenders as a team within a team are very, very good. All good from my point of view. For the second half of the season, I want to see a re-set for the team and I want to see the players build on what they have done so far this season. I want to see real belief from the players. I think that they do have the confidence in their abilities, but I just want to see them carry that through the last 10 weeks of the season to ensure that we are in the best position come September. I would not mind seeing them hand out a couple of beltings to a couple of teams…… I am looking at the Bombers. The facts: We have the weekend off – lovely, no loss this week. Stress free Problem areas of the game for us. Looks like it is playing rubbish teams…. Our defence looked ordinary. Half a pace behind the pies forwards and not very well organised. Calm heads required and some thoughtful work to go into what is required in the future games. That is as bad as I have seen our midfield play so far this year. Lack of pressure bad, reactionary disposals. Now for the forwards……. The good; There was no ‘good’ …… there were no forwards The bad; all of it The ugly; my language watching that rubbish This break should give the coaches a chance to re-work the forward structure to make sure we have some firepower in the forward 50. It is an easy way out to blame the delivery but that is to cover the cracks and ignore the structural deficiencies. Sort it out! The Bathwater Express is in for servicing and to have the wheels put back on. It seems a if we can remove a few of the seats as it looks like a few are ready to jump off. Never mind, TBE will be back better than every come the Bombers. My prediction last week was nowhere near the mark….. this week I predict we will see nothing.

This is about as good a position as we could be in halfway through the season. After the bye we will have virtually a full list to select from, top of the ladder a game clear and full of confidence.

"Video of the Weak"?

I just love the ongoing sense of crisis at the pies and do not think they have the experience or fitness to win on Monday no matter the circumstances. I do think that this unfolding in the week before the QB game will really focus our minds on the job at hand. We will expect them to be 'up' for the game as a send off to Buckley and will prepare for it. We also have the added incentive of this being a game in support of Neale. I just hope they go for the unemployed twin a coach.

Just as the players are becoming more mature in their approach to training and playing, the coaches are now more experienced and mature in the way they approach the season. I like what I see and love the results

11-1 (should be 12-0 except for some rubbish umpiring) 11 Rounds played…..11 wins….. 44 points in the premiership bank. A game clear at the top of the ladder and 3 clear of 3rd…… Love it. Stress free weekends and Monday morning hangovers….. I could get used to this. I have to put my hand up and say I cheated a little bit. Watched the game live at lunchtime Friday my time and had a few during the afternoon and had a beauty on Saturday morning. Rested during Saturday and then on Sunday watched a replay and did it all over again. Hence, another slow Monday morning…. All good though. This season just feels more and more like I have entered a parallel universe where My Demons Team is doing exactly as I always knew what they were capable of, winning games from whatever position they find themselves in. Watching the game on Friday, I never felt a twinge of nerves. I just believed they would work the lions out and ease away. A big pat on the back to the coaching setup for what they did at halftime. No big problems, just get back to the basics that we know work. Trust your teammate and go when it is your turn. We went for being half a pace behind the Lions to half a pace in front. And so, to the Bye. The boys have earned a rest. Most likely have a few days off and then a light training run around the witch’s hats to get the legs moving……. Ah….. I may have that wrong. Just checked and we play the QB match against Collingwood at the SCG on Monday. Still, the opening few sentences may still stand. Just so there is no mis-understanding, I hate Collingwood. Very happy to see them in a world of hurt both on field and off field. I do not like to kick a man when he is down but, hey, this is The Filth, where are the steel capped boots?. I am still not sure why Eddie resigned. Was it because of the systemic racism in the club? Was it the chronic mis-management of the list? Was it because of the everyone in the club was completely fed up with him? What ever it was, it should have happened years ago. The facts: We are coming off an excellent comeback win at the Giants stadium against quality opposition – Advantage us They are coming off a fall-over-the-line win against Adelaide in Adelaide– Advantage them We have one day extra rest – Advantage Us We are playing on the SCG – Advantage Not sure. Could be us…. Hope it is. Problem areas of the game for us. Who to leave out. Just let me remind you….. this will be 1st Vs 16th. We are 1st and the Filth are 16th….. Yeah, yeah, I know…… All that rubbish about … “coming before a fall”….. I don’t care. I will rub it in while I can and take the consequences next Tuesday morning Our defenders in the first half looked a little discombobulated* by the lack of the usual pressure from our midfield. May and Lever in particular needed to step up in the second half. I like what I see from Petty. He is sticking the marks and stepping to the fore when required. He just needs to stop giving away a silly free or two per game. This week I would like to see the defenders ‘on’ from the first bounce. Elliott will need a minder as will De Goey. Between them last week they took 15 marks with Elloitt kicking 6. Mind you, he was the only multiple goal kicker. They got singles from a few mids so we will need to keep the pressure on in that area. We will need to work on a couple of the Pies mids during the game. Sidebottom, Pendelbury and Daicos were responsible for 18 of their 31 clearances last week with Crisp picking up a lot of possessions just off the pack. Will be interesting to see how we rotate the matchups during the game. Just on that I did notice at a center bounce early in the first last week that a runner went out during the break and then Jordon and Brayshaw swapped sides, to get the match up right. I like to see these things happen. I think we have the players to really get on top in this area. Liked Jordon filling in for Langdon. I was surprised at his turn of speed and the tank he has. Really enjoyed Max’s game last week. I like the way the game is developing between him and Jackson and I like the leadership Max is showing. They strike a good balance. Would love to see Jackson stick a mark. Lynch to ruck for the Pies? Will they bring in Cox? Without Grundy there looks to be a giant step down to the backup Ruck. Now for the forwards……. The good; We kicked a winning score last week… again (love typing that!) The bad; Not a lot of that last week. Weid could have had a good game if he had kicked straight. The ugly; some of the posters and easy misses… I am not asking us to nail everyone, but just to take a bit more time and care to see if we can get a few. Against a quality defence we did well as we built in the second half. I liked the speed of delivery on the turnover and the space we found. This week while the pies have a couple of handy defenders in Moore and Roughead, a lot of their drive from defence comes from Noble and Quaynor. We will need to keep the pressure on these two to keep the ball in our forward 50. Roughead, Quaynor and Moore are all strong in the air. Selectors will have a one cheese platter night this week. Langdon to come in and Melksham to step to the Med sub. Very good play from Sparrow has to be rewarded. I expect Weid to play in a show of faith by the selectors. I picked up a new cassette for the Bathwater Express when we made a loo stop for Flat Track on Friday night. A song I have always liked. The Tokens, ‘The Lion Sleeps tonight’. An easy one to sing along too. Weeheeheehee dee heeheeheehee weeoh aweem away Weeheeheehee dee heeheeheehee weeoh aweem away In the stadium, the Giants stadium, The lions slept tonight In the stadium the quiet stadium The lions slept tonight My prediction last week was close…. This week I just hope the boys do not start their Bye too early. Dees to dominate the middle two quarters and then do what needs to be done in the last to hold the Pies. First might be a good contest. Dees by 7 goals. * Always wanted to use that word in a preview.

With Langdon out this is as good as the team is going to get. There will be some interesting matchup and I would expect some quick moves of players depending on the contests. Harmes to Zorko or Lyon for me. First up I would have him on Zorko to shut down his clearances. McCluggage to have Brayshaw with him if he lines up on the wing. Might give the inside job on him to Sparrow if he is damaging. Would not be surprised if Robinson goes to Oliver. Will watch the game with a close eye on how they line up. Dees to win by 4 goals.

Flat-track it is!

10-1 (should be 11-0 except for some rubbish umpiring) 11 Rounds played…..10 wins….. 40 points in the premiership bank. A game clear at the top of the ladder. Be still my pounding head….. Monday morning hangover and the blame for my condition can be laid directly at the feet of the mighty Demons. A Friday night win over the top of the ladder to take over top spot a game clear meant for a stress-free weekend during the footy season. Good weather in my part of the world and a couple of friends over for lunch yesterday a few (too many) good wines and Bob’s ya uncle….. Monday morning slowness and headache. Watched the game and saw a very good team win. We looked very focused and composed both when we had the ball and when we wanted the ball. Excellent decision making and pressure all over the ground. Did not give them an inch. So different to the Adelaide game. A very tight back six that worked off each other well. Play like that week in week out and we will go deep into the finals. And so, to the Round 12 encounter with the Lions on Friday night to be played somewhere. This is going to be a big game no matter where it is played. The Lions are in good form with an excellent hard-working midfield and a lot of forward potential. Last week they had 13 different goal scorers for 19 goals so we will need the defence to perform well as well as our midfield to make sure they are held accountable for their roles in defence. The facts: We are coming off an excellent win at Marvel against quality opposition – Advantage us They are coming off a big win against a depleted Giants team – Advantage them We have one day extra rest – Advantage Us We are playing at ??? – Advantage Channel 7 As long as we play at a neutral ground there is not a lot of advantage either way. Problem areas of the game for us. Covering the loss of Langdon may cause a problem or two. 1st Vs 3rd at this time of the season just has to be the match of the round. Two very good sides in form with quality players across the ground. I think it will all come down to which side maintains their structure the best. Our defence is back to being water tight once again and that back 6 just looks so composed, tight and competent, do not change a thing back there just do more of the same. Another test this week with Big Joe and Hipwood as the leading talls. There are a lot of scoring options if we allow them to dictate terms in the middle. I will back our defence to do the job and keep the Lions to a small score. Nothing like the 34 scoring shots they had last week. A bit to sort out in the Lions midfield. Zorko and Lyon are their best clearance chances with Matherson also putting in for a few. Harmes to Zorko? Similar sort of job as he did on Libba would be nice. I can see us asserting ourselves in the middle but without Langdon we might find ourselves a bit exposed on the outside. It will be interesting to see how we play Robinson. He looks to be in a great run of form at the moment. Gus as his direct opponent? My tip for the players is to make sure that dead head Matherson does not suck them into anything distracting or silly. I love our pressure. Max was good again last week and is working back into some excellent form. I can see he and Jackson tag teaming McInerney and I think we will win the hitouts easily. Last week McInerney looks to have rucked by himself most of the day with Joe taking a few of the forward rucks. Now for the forwards……. The good; We kicked a winning score last week….. Never gets boring…. The bad; Some of Weid’s marking attempts The ugly; Looking in the mirror this morning….. Well, it all worked pretty well at the pointy end last week against a quality defence. We had talls doing their job and not getting in each other’s way too much. Looked to be much more space in the forward 50. We had smalls at the base of the contests and managed to snag a few. Looks like the plan is coming together…… maybe…. Langdon out will not do us a lot of good. Baker to slot in? Seems the most likely. The way selections are going this season we look to be trying to disrupt the structures as little as possible that is why I cannot see them robbing the back zone to move one of them on to the wing. Like for like as much as possible. Bathwater Express is back to purring along like the potent animal it is. Barrelling along singing the song and letting the world know we are on the way. We acquired a pet bulldog along the way. Ugly beast but as timid as they come and loves to be on the leash. Any suggestions for a name? Loser? Now for the prediction…. Don’t worry…… We got this one. There will be a spark from them in the first quarter but then it will be all us the rest of the way. Dees by 4 goals going away.

Pretty much what was expected in selection. During the first quarter last week Melksham looked the goods but them disappeared from the game. With him only playing a bit over 50% game time it is understandable that he did not have much more impact. It was a strange way to use him last week. Give him more game time and judge him on that. There will be some great tactical games played tomorrow night. The bulldogs have a lot of strength and height up forward with the inclusion of English to ruck along side Sweet and both rotating into the forward 50. Either of them along with McNaughton and Bruce will stretch our backline. Add to that Bont moving through there as well and we will need to be in top form back there. Hibberd to Bont when he is in the forwards. Salem will improve the defence this week. In the midfield there are a lot of Bulldogs that can cause problems. I expect McCrea, Libba and Smith to contest the first bounce against Oliver, Petracca and Kossie. Looking forward to that. We really need to exert our will on the game from that first bounce to make sure we are proactive for as much of the game as possible. we need to get them on the back foot and have them working to close our players down, not the other way around. Get on top in the middle and force them to make the changes. We need to make sure we are well prepared and well drilled to react quickly to any adjustments that are required. Not sure what we will get out of the forwards this week. One thing I would look to do is set Spargo to run with Daniel to try and curb his influence.

9-1 10 Rounds played…..9 wins….. 36 points in the premiership bank. WTF???? (the same a last week) And now 2nd on the ladder. Firstly, an apology, usually I bang this out on Mondays but as it was a public holiday where I am I had a couple of other things I needed to do and yesterday I had a game of golf. Played like a dog. Managed to scramble 33 points without hitting too many good shots and leaving a lot of points on the greens with less than good putts. Bit like us on the weekend, thereabouts but not good enough. Hence, I am banging it out today instead. Damn, I found it frustrating to lose to Adelaide the way we did. Have to say no amount of “the umps got it wrong” from the AFL makes it any easier to accept. Hate it! Our defence was found out and may had a shocker against Walker and his murder of crows. Of all the people to have a bad day against??? The rest of the defence team were also out of sorts, we gave up the most points in any match so far this season. Adelaide also applied constant midfield pressure that paid off for them. I hope that our newfound maturity is reflected in the game next week. We need to learn from this loss. Still, as much as I was disappointed with the loss, Sitting 9-1 after the first 10 rounds is pretty damn pleasing. I would have ripped ya arm off taking that at any time before the season began. And so, to the Round 11 encounter with the Bulldog at Marvel on Friday night. Big match…. And that is an understatement. Whoever wins this goes a game clear at the top and builds that little bit of a mental edge over the other team. The Bulldogs have been cruising lately but have a couple of injuries that may take their edge off. We have a few problems of our own on the injury front but that may be on the improve. Salem looks likely to be back which will help in defence and will also give us additional drive from the back half. The facts: We are coming off an umpire error loss in Adelaide - Advantage the maggots They are coming off a light training run against the Saints witches hats. – Advantage them We are playing on at Marvel– Advantage them The odds are stacked against us. Problem areas of the game for us. Umps are a problem that we cannot do anything about. They are already responsible for effecting the results of 3 games so far this season. While the game itself ha the potential to be a classic, 1st vs. 2nd. There are individual contests within the game that will also be more than interesting. Who runs with Bont? Harmes? Who gets the job on Petracca and Oliver? There is going to be so much to watch. As good as the defence has been for 9 rounds, it looked to lose all structure on Saturday. As I said, May had a less than ordinary game and there looked to be a plan in place by Adelaide to bring the ball into the forward 50 low and hard. It worked. Last week the bulldogs had 15 of their 21 goals scored by 5 of their forwards. If our defenders are no better than last week we are done. And done by a lot. Salem back for Jetta should help settle the group a bit. One can only hope. Midfield improved their center clearances a bit and that will be needed to give us that initial drive to unsettle the Dogs. McCrea, Libba and Smith need to be controlled in this area. We can match them with Oliver and Petracca and last week Brayshaw snagged a good number of clearances as well. I see this area of the ground as a close arm wrestle that will determine the outcome of the game. We come up against the best midfield in the competition this week. It will be minus Treloar and that will be significant. Really looking forward to this contest. One area of the contest we might just have an advantage is on the wings. Looks like English might be back after a 4 week layoff to challenge Max. Good to see Max regaining a bit of form last week. We won the clearances last week and gave up 15 goals. How does that work? Now for the forwards……. The good; There was no good The bad; The goal tally from our KPFs The ugly; My mood after the game. Gee it must be tempting to go back to the initial setup we had at the beginning of the season that was forced upon us by injuries. There looked to be so much more room for the forwards to operate in. Last week it still looked crowded and the forwards were static with ordinary slow delivery. Not sure how you sort it out. I would still work this week around Tmac/Weid/ Fritsch setup with Jackson/Max working through there as required. Maybe best to leave all that to people that are wiser than I. Changes? Salem back for sure. The other thing I want to see is Sparrow get another run. I like the pressure he brings, and I think he will develop well over the next season or so. Bathwater Express is misfiring on a couple of cylinders and we missed out on the adding the twin overhead crow feathers to the aerial last week. Never mind, I will take 9-1 at this stage of the season. I am not one that will stop drinking the Kool-Aid at the first sign of stomach cramps or a bit of vomit in the mouth. I am in this all the way. Now for the prediction…. Head and heart in a big battle. Head says Dogs in a close one. Heart says “never in doubt!”. Have to go with the heart…… Dees by a couple of goals!

That depends on the definition of tall forewords. Not so much the definition of the tall part, more the definition of the forward part. Brown for Jackson is not really like for like and I would expect Jackson to spend very limited time in the forward 50. Weid and Tmac to spend a lot more time than Jackson at the pointy end. Forward roles will be defined a bit differently this week.

Petracca and Oliver have very different skill sets and have very clearly defined but different roles within the team. The great part is that both are performing at high level and driving the team performances. I also like the fact that they feed off each other in the games. Not that they look to move the ball on to each other to the detriment of the team but they seem to have an awareness of position that allows them to react instinctively. Great to have both of them in the team. I could not split them.

With the team selections I have decided to revise my prediction. Dees by 8 to 10 goals.