CHF

Off to the Red (and Blue) Center to play the Saints on Sunday. Good team selections and it will be interesting to see who will be the sub. After last week's game I could see Viney in for Spargo the only change with Sharp as Sub once again. That would mean besides the named 18 there would be McVee, Turner, AJ and Rivers on the bench. The three that miss out, Laurie, Adams and Henderson as emergency cover. Never know, they might decide to have another look at Laurie or give Adams a taste. Over the last 5 or 6 weeks the team have learnt how to play the game and win. they know what it takes to win. not just to win but how to defeat the opposition. A subtle difference, but an important one I think. It gives the players a good reference point to reset during a game. They know what bringing the pressure game feels like and how to execute it and that i important. The early part of the season they did not know and then something clicked. Really good to watch them play at the moment. Dees by 22 points in a strong last quarter.

Smiling here with quiet satisfaction with the way we won that one. A strong consistent team wide game. A few observations, excellent pressure from us in all areas of the ground. Quick response to turnovers both ways had our players a half a metre ahead of the Sydney players. The defensive team worked well together. Selection was spot on for this game. Talls of May, Turner and Lever repelled many attacks with smaller/mediums all doing exactly what was required. Play Turner back there as much as possible to learn as much as possible from the experienced talls including TMac. Bowey is firing on all cylinders with Salem back to somewhere his best. Windsor a better game this week. Rivers a good game running with Heeney all game in the middle and when he went forward. Midfield looking strong and dominant this week and last week and will get even better with Viney’s return. Max doing Max things that we have seen so many times before that we tend to take it for granted. Do yourself a favour, watch the replay and just watch Max whenever he is on the screen no matter where on the ground he is. Will give a different level of appreciation for his gameday work. Forward defending by all was as good as it gets and we kicked a bunch of goals. loved it. There has been a lot of talk on this thread about Spargo and AJ. Both, in my opinion, fill and execute their roles well. Spargo links well in attack and is like a limpet mine when he tackles. AJ brings an edge of the unexpected to where ever he is playing. He is never going to die wondering. He is a go ahead footballer. Influences ever contest he is involved in. A lot of good games from a lot of our players today with Petracca playing his 200th. Lovely game from him and great that Oliver and Salem chaired him from the ground. If we maintain this quality of football, there will be a lot of teams looking over their shoulders. Playing likes this we can beat any one, anywhere, any time. As I said, very satisfied. Onward and upward.

lots of plinks and I loved every one of them.

Good morning. That is the sound my pacemaker makes when we kick a goal.

Another breakfast bounce on my side of the world. At least this time I am not breakfast chef for the in laws and do not have to spend time being social at some ungodly hour before even coffee. Looking forward to this game. Certain it will be another 4 points with the boys running on top of the ground and plinking goals rather than points for once. Fit list. Strong team. The G. Coaching team showing the moves. All good. The Mighty Dee by 6 goals.

So? What happened at training besides the free coffee and Tom was there?

Fit, firing list with a good win on the board from last week and a tough selection call. Lever in for TMac looks hard on Tom but he may be ready for a light week to freshen up and part of the selection may be on perceived match ups in the Sydney forward 50. We also have the luxury/flexibility of having Petty that we can swing back if required. We could also swap Turner and Petty if we need a bit do variety. This move also keeps AJ in the team as second ruck. I also like his bull at a gate style of playing. He nailed a couple of good tackles when covering in ruck. Sharp looks the obvious sub but would not surprise if we went with Fristch and the same strategy as last week.

Hmmm. interesting selections and I don't think we are any wiser to who is going to end up playing or where they are going to play. Viney not getting up for the game has changed things around a bit. I would expect the on field 18 named would play but you cannot be certain these days. Of the extended bench I would have Rivers and Turner as definate on the bench. That leaves two more bench spots and a sub. I think we need a bit more midfield cover and would then have one of Laurie or Culley with Sharp dropped to play at Casey for a full game. I would have a look at Laurie this game. And now we are down to a spot on the bench and the sub. Fristch was very effective as the sub last week. Full of run and endeavor. Might be tempted to try the same again. Sub made early or mid 3rd term. Lever or AJ on the bench? A toss up for mine. With Turner in the team both these players give us options. AJ backs up Max and gives the option of slotting Petty back if required or allowing Petty to swap with Turner. Lever releases Turner to swing forward. Really don't know which way we will go. I do know we will win.

Very very good. I hope that Kalani has been a keen student of his father's knowledge and analysis. ...and I hope he comes to us.

So, first of all soccer balls and now they are training to get out of the road of the balls. I shakes me head.

Yeah. I too noticed the 'brickies smile'.

Yep, possible. There are just so many different ways we could go this week against Sydney. I would have Viney in a tagging/close run with role before slotting him into HF.

Going to be an interesting week at selection. After a great win the impulse would be to go again with the same team. However, there are a couple of factors against this. We have a couple of senior, best 23 players returning from injury and available and we are playing a very different team to what we faced with the Lions. Sydney will have a couple of days extra rest over us. That may also influence selection. Sydney have a very strong, in form midfield lead by a couple of goal scoring mids in Heeney and Warner. Throw in Grundy to deliver the ball to them and it is the main contest of the game. As most have agreed on this thread, Viney to come in after missing the last couple of weeks. Before he was injured his tagging jobs were excellent. I would expect him to get that role once again. Most likely Heeney. Oliver steppeed into the tagging role very well in Viney's absence and that looks to have improved his form. Maybe a run with role on Warner given licence to attack the ball and hurt him the other way? I love that Petracca is spending more time in the middle and around the ball. It is where he needs to play for the team. I would be very tempted to leave the forward line alone for the time being. I can see Fristch being sub once again and stepping in as tactical sub during the 3rd quarter once again. It worked well against the Lions and it was great the way he responded. AJ did not get a lot of disposals but was effective as a backup ruck. 7 hit outs, a couple of tackles and a couple of clearances to go along with a right place/right time goal and a lovely pass to Melksham. I like the way he adds an edge to the forward 50. What we do with the forwards this week will depend on how we see the Sydney team lining up. here I am thinking about the roles of Petty and Turner. Turner was terrific in defence and Petty was not overly effective in attack. 2 behinds and 10 disposals. Not sure what the impact of possibly bringing lever back into the defence might have on this situation. Not a bad problem to have. I only watch the games via live streaming and my perception of the roles some players are playing lacks the broader vision of watching at the ground. I am interested in the role that Langdon is playing. seems to be given a licence to roam pretty much as he sees the game. A bit like ANB role. He is a bit like a pseudo wing running overlaps forward and inside as well as supporting in defence and attack. Interesting coaching and interesting to see Goodwin sitting him down during the game going over visuals. That is just an aside from team selection but I wanted to highlight one of the hybrid roles that are being developed in the team. there are others coming through a well. I see Windsor in a similar position. He was less than his usual effective self last week but I would give him another run this week with maybe a different role. As noted above we have Lever to possibly return into a very effective defence structure. How and where do we fit him in? My early selection for Sydney game: B: Turner, May, Salem HB: Bowey, TMac, McVee C: Lindsay, Viney, Langford HF: Sparrow, Petty, Chandler F: Melksham, AJ, Pickett Fol: Gawn, Petracca, Oliver IC: Rivers, Langdon, Spargo, Windsor/Lever, Fristch. A strong team and a difficult selection. Lever might have another half at Casey on Saturday and line up as an emergency on Sunday. The other good thing is that we have a few players at Casey looking to put their hands up for a run. Namely, Laurie, Brown, Howes and Sestan. Looking forward to seeing the selections. So many ways we could play this and it will have Sydney wondering which way we go right up until the first bounce.

Now that was enjoyable to watch even if I only watched the first quarter live streamed and then had to wait until after lunch to watch the rest. In-laws…… There is a lot to unpack from that performance. A few observations: great pressure team wide. Forced turnovers and did not let up. Having said that we made a lot of unforced skill errors that allowed the Lions to score, particularly in the first quarter. Skill errors by both hand and foot. Loved Melksham’s game. Lead Andrews a merry dance and rubbed it in. Max. What more can be said. Remember years ago John Eales, the Australian Rugby Captain was nicknamed ‘Nobody’. When asked about it, one of his team mates said, “Well, Nobody’s perfect”. Nobody Gawn. Loved the balance in the forwards. All contributed but we still missed, what appeared to be, some straight forward shots on goal. Ok, I admit that it was me watching on a screen half a world away….. but still. Lever available, Viney back, going to be some discussions during the week re selection. Defence looked very organised and settled. Does Lever get a look in? Good coaching today, Fristch as sub worked well and we managed to get the matchups we wanted to play the game on our terms. Sydney next week and I am happy with the way we are playing. I do not see any complacency setting given the position we are on ladder. Every game from here on in for the rest of the season will generate pressure to perform. Onward and upward…. Go Dees!

Feasting oh our skill errors.

Breakfast bounce for me at 7.20am. Bad news for me as in- laws are staying overnight and in am on chef duty with pannenkoken. …… and then they will want to talk… I hate that.

Not so much a comment on JVR, more a general observation. Are some of the players being overcoached? Are we coaching the instinct out of them to the detriment of the team performance?

To answer your question as to why I believe Laurie is ahead of Tholstrup at this stage: For me, it has nothing to do about where they were selected in their draft years and nothing to do with average disposals last year or perceived potential. It is all about form and how they are playing and training week to week. Laurie has been doing all that he has to do at VFL level for the past few weeks and Tholstrup has been doing very little in the AFL team. I felt that bring him straight back into the team without a VFL run was the wrong move and keeping him in the team was also wrong. Personally, I am not convinced by Tholstrup. For me, he is a bit too concerned with ‘image’. The hair, the sunnies…. Kissing teammates. Needs to concentrate on his football. I hope he makes it. Not confident at this stage. I also note the comments regarding his performance for Casey today. It sounds less than satisfactory. That however was after my comment.

If I was Laurie, I would be giving some thought to looking elsewhere next season and if Tholstrup gets back into the team before I am given an opportunity, I would be straight to Goodwin and requesting a trade.

A few observations about the game: A little bit of love will take you a long way but it takes a lot of work on conditioning and fitness to run out the fourth quarter of a game. In retrospect, mistakes made at selection. When the team was announced, the selection of Jefferson had us all scratching our heads and asking questions. We were right, selectors were wrong. Similar situation with a couple of others in the team. What strange pathways will selection wander down this week? The team played well for 3/4 applying good pressure and had the Hawks on the back foot only to let themselves down kicking for goal. How many goals did JVR, Jefferson, Fristch and Spargo kick between them? Ahhh hello. Forward 50 is still a mess. Newsflash: it’s not the delivery that is the problem. Our young players coming through are showing a lot. The only one I am not sold on is Tholstrup. I just do not see what others see. To me he looks more concerned with his image rather than letting his footy establish his credentials. I think we need to see some of the players that are in the cupboard. I don’ think it is as bare as we think. I would like to see players like Laurie, Sestan, Brown, Adams etc. given the same opportunities as Tholstrup. A few weeks run in the senior team. Ah well that is the Hawks game done a dusted with the season creaking along held together by hope and secondhand sticky tape. Lions next. Where there is a heartbeat, there are possibilities. Look in the pregame thread for what I would do at selection and how I would coach the match. I know you are hanging out for my wise thoughts. LOL

Feels like a strange thing to say after a good win in the West, but it is going to be a hard night at selection for the Hawks game. Petty out will make getting the team balance for the game difficult because he is a very versatile player who, while he has been playing forward in the last few games can also swing back and be very effective. Playing as a forward he also backed max up in the ruck. There is also a few unknows with the form of a couple of mall forwards/midfield and availability of Oliver. ....and then there is the question of the opposition, Hawthorn. Firstly, my take on Hawthorn. Entertaining but brittle team that is playing in a bubble of hype and confidence. A thin veneer of quality. I will make a bookmark prediction here, we will finish the H&A season above the Hawks on the ladder and they will not make the finals. This is the game where we show them up. I would go with the same defence structure and players that we had last week. May and Tmac as the main talls with McVee, Bowey, Salem and Windsor at their feet as support/run. Rivers to rotate back there as required and Turner to drop back a a tall option in case of emergency. Midfield has a good quality rotation for the wing positions with Lindsay, Langdon, Langford, Sparrow and even Chandler has been taking a turn there. Viney to run with Newcombe but it might not be a hard tagging role. Petracca to be on the ball a majority of the time. I would have Oliver back in the team if he is good to go in the judgement of the coaching team. Rivers, Pickett, Sparrow and Langford to rotate through there. Max rucking but who to cover for him? that is a question also rolled up in the forward structure. The forward 50 is always going to be an interesting riddle from round to round. Turner, Fristch, Chandler and Melksham are in there without a doubt. The second tall is a tossup between, JVR, AJ and Jefferson. With the bye in the VFL last weekend the exposed form of the three is a couple of weeks old. JVR kicked 5 and AJ 3. I would go with AJ as he has a physical presence that JVR does not show at this stage of his career. He also can back up in the ruck. That would give us AJ and Turner as the taller options, Fristch and Melksham as mediums and Spargo, Chandler and Pickett as smalls. Sparrow, Petracca, Langdon and Langford as possible rotations forward. I would like to see Tholstrup have a run at Casey this week with a view to him working on his positioning and consistency. Sharp back to Casey to get a full game. I think that leaves one place in the 23 open. With no game at Casey last week except for a scratch match, it is hard to look at promotion. Laurie seems to have been in form as well as Sestan. Brown? Woewodin? Culley? I think we need to have a look at these guys as the opportunity presents. I would like to see Sestan get a run in the team as sub. So, the team... B: McVee, May, Salem. HB: Bowey, TMac, Windsor C: Langdon, Viney, Lindsay HF: Melksham, AJ, Sparrow F: Fristch, Turner, Pickett FOL: Gawn, Petracca, Oliver IC: Spargo, Langford, Rivers, Chandler. Sub: Sestan WTF is Hok ball? (I do not read responses to rhetorical questions)

Another game I enjoyed. 3 in a row now I am getting used to it. Had lunch after the game and noticed that even a very good red tastes even better after a win. A few observations: Max is the best Ruck of his generation easily and has to be in the conversation as the best ever. Monumental game. One of many in a wonderful run of 200+. Viney again given a role that he executed very well. Nullified and forced Reid’s move out of the middle. He then expanded his role. A very even team performance with a spread of quality performances from a number of experienced and inexperienced players. We covered Petty’s injury well and generally it was a good game from the coaches. Across the board the players look to have more confidence in the ability of their teammates to win the contest and exert pressure. Defence played well as a unit and managed to get matchups that they wanted. Caught out a few times, but that happens. Midfield did as it liked at bounces and stoppages. Interesting that it was without Oliver there. Will need to watch again to see what happened there. (One of my pet peeves is that after a goal they replay a few different views of the goal and reduce the vision of the center setup to the bottom right only expending it as the ump moves in to bounce the ball. I would love to see who is in there and where they are) The forwards did well but could have, once again, made a few of those points goals. One of the things the team and coaches referred to a number of times in ‘21, if I recall correctly, was the ability to reset. Either during play or between quarters. I see that happening a bit more from game to game. Next round is an early start for me so I will be having breakfast after the game. I hope my coffee tastes excellent. No matter how good we play, mistakes will be made. I accept that. It does not make it any less frustrating at the time but winning the game wipes a lot of that frustration away. I can reflect on the less good bits of the game in a day or so. Onward and upward.

11.35am start over here for me. Good timing. Watch the first, an apero or 2 at halftime and a relaxed lunch after the game to celebrate. Expect a win. Viney to wear Reid like glove and pester him to distraction. Sparrow to take him if he lines up at HB. Rivers to step up in a midfield role. Petty and Turner to not change ends at the breaks. Half forward, half back. All good…. Dees by 30 points going away.

So, we are off to Perf to play the Weagles. One of those classic no win matches. Win it and people will shrug and say “So you should have.” Lose and they will jump on us as a rabble. Don’t mind the selections. Where Petty and Turner line up will keep the opposition guessing as will who will line up at the bounce. Petracca, Viney and Pickett for mine with Rivers lining up on the edge of the square on a wing at the bounce. Viney to Reid… wear him like a glove and be a pest. Small forwards our key to scoring. Swamming at the drop of the ball with insane pressure. Dees to break the game open in the third and ease to a 5 goal win…… (says the heart…. Head not far behind) Go Dee!

My observations from the game: Bowey is in excellent form. AA? Just looks so good and confident with the ball. Besides Bowey, a number of others stepped up. Max, back to his best Langdon in everything eveywhere Someone must have woken Oliver up at halftime as his second half, third quarter in particular, was very good. Salem had his best game so far this season. Tight first half due mainly to our handling errors and good pressure from Richmond at times. Smaller defenders, Bowey, McVee, Windsor, Salem and Rivers looked very good as a running unit and will only get better with more games together under their belt. Viney another good run with game. Coaching team had another good day with tactics including putting a couple of weapons in the rack late in the 4th. 1st year players, Langford and Lindsay both look settled and as if they belong. Forward 50 still very much a work in progress. It all felt pretty much in control, even during the first half. After the game, a good lunch and a couple of glasses of wine. I am half the world away.