CHF

My one word analysis of that game is 'FRUSTRATING'. Broke even in the first quarter, lost the plot a bit in the second and third and came home well in the last quarter. Frustrating when I can see what they are trying to do but fail on the skills and quality because of overuse. Frustrating when we have a tap ruck that is the best in the business and we still get killed on clearances. Frustrating when we have so many relatively easy shots on goal and cannot convert. Frustrating when there is no logic or consistency in the umpiring decisions. Frustrating to see us get so close to a win over the Lions when, for a majority of the game, we were just not playing well. Frustrating....Frustrating....Frustrating Our defence was good. it kept us in the game and gave us a sniff of victory. The structure of May, OMac, Lever and Hibberd at the heart of the zone is working well. Lockhart has surprised me as he is growing into the structure very well and I was not a fan. Jetta is a weak link at the moment and I think we will rest him next week after his couple of head knocks and only a 4 day break. Midfield is a puzzle to me. We have the talent there on the inside in particular with Petracca, Oliver and Viney with back up from Brayshaw and Harmes. It is the outside we lacked polish. It was also frustrating that I did not see us trying to adjust to what was happening with clearances. Gawn was dropping it to players in close and I do not recall him tapping it further out as a tactic. Forward play was ok with the structures that they had. I would have liked to see a swap between Weideman and Jackson a few times just to mix it up. have Jackson move to the goal square for a bit and have Wiedeman take his man further from goal. In all, as I said, I found it very frustrating...... Should I go on about the umps?

Just do not understand that 'dangerous tackle' decision????

Besides the HTB decisions/non decisions, The umps judgement of 15m leaves a hell of a lot to desired.

the way that they are umpiring/not umpiring the holding the ball is THE joke of the season!

Both teams last week had 10 goal scorers for a similar amount of points. Tells me that both have multiple avenues to goal with the form presently. For me there are two keys to containing the Lions, Neale and Rayner need to be contained and corralled when possible. Oliver to Neale or possibly Harmes are both possible and Viney to run with Zorko.

Pretty much as expected. I would have Jones, Jackson, Brayshaw and Jetta from that extended interchange. Just with Smith.... I just do not see him as a defender after the couple of goes he had earlier this season. He had a game or two as a forward but I am just not sold on him and do not get it with him. Is there a possibility he might be tried on the wing?

With AvB out and the game on Sunday we will be naming a squad with the extended IC. My squad: B: Jetta, OMac, Lever HB: Salem, May, Hibberd ? Langdon, Oliver, Harmes HF: Brayshaw, Jackson, Fritsch F: Pickett, Wiedeman, Bennell FOL: Gawn, Viney, Petracca IC: Melksham, Hannan, Lockhart, Jones, TMac, Tomlinson, Rivers, ANB/Hunt First 4 named on IC are the ones I would go with at this stage

I think that this fixture is ok for us. We now have clarity for the next 5 rounds and it will be interesting to see how we strategically program ourselves to get the best results. Between Round 8, Brisbane at Metricon and Round 9, Port at Gabba We have a 4 day turnaround and while Port have an extra day to recover, they have to travel in from Adelaide but have an extra day. Selection this week with a 4 day turnaround will be critical to giving us the best chance of success. We have only a few injuries and some good depth. My opinion is that we play a strong team this week (same as last week if posible with few changes) and look to freshen up the team with a couple of changes in all three areas of the team. Rivers, Josh Wagner and Smith to rotate in defence. There are a lot that could rotate through the midfield. Tomlinson, Sparrow, Jordan, Baker ANB, Hunt, Corey Wagner and Dunkley. In the forward we are suddenly looking stronger with the showing of Wiedeman and Jackson. TMac and Brown as talls to have a run when required with Chandler, Jones, Hunt, Bedford and possibly Sparrow. So, My strategy for the nest few weeks is to go in with a settled strong team in Round 8. 4 day break to Round 9 so assess who pulls up well and who needs a rest. For me look at at least 1 change in each area of the ground. Two if required. 6 Day break and travel to Adelaide for Round 10. Adelaide have two day less rest and will travel from Brisbane a well. Not too bad. Look to the future as we have travel to Tassie and a 4 day break before North. North have a ame rest as we do and will travel in to tassie from Brisbane.Manage players as required with bumps and bruises. we have a 6 day break so we should not be too bad. If we settle on a squad well before the Adelaide game I think we should look at getting the rest of the players into Tassie as soon as possible so they can rest and train in Tassie. It may not be possible but I would look at some going straight from Brisbane to Tassie after the Port game. 4 Days and travel between Round 10 in Adelaide and Round 11 in Tassie. Same strategy. Players not required in Tassie straight back to QLD to rest and prepare for Round 12. For Round 12 we have two days extra rest than Collingwood and we both travel between games. All in all, not too bad.

True. I understand that but what ha been published is what it is. I am sure the footy department will try to make the best of it.

Whinging about the fixture is like whinging to the ump after he has given a free against you. I have never in all my years seen them change their mind.

Watched it live over breakfast. (Europe) Have to say it was the best I have seen the team play since the finals run in 2018. A very complete team performance with a general lift across the board from a number of players that allowed the likes of Gawn, Petracca, Viney and Oliver to perform at their best. The defence looks very well structured and settled. I like the way that Omac and May are beginning to work together and develop and understanding. May's disposal was better this week and Omac is getting to run out of defence a bit to hit up a link. All very encouraging. I thought Jetta was better than last week and Lockhart is developing. I was doubtful about him but he is showing a bit. Lever and Hibberd are travelling well. Lever hass been improving over the lat two weeks. The midfield is going to put the scare into a few more opposition teams in the future. Petracca had a day out with just about everything working for him. A couple of his kicks to team mates were as perfect as you could wish to see. I pass to Fritsch in the last was one that will live in the memory for a while. Also enjoyed Oliver and Viney's work at the feet of the Big Man. we have come to expect the way Gawn goes to work but I took the time to watch the replay and concentrate on his game. It was a beauty. Langdon on the wing had a good one and I want to see him produce that a bit more. Brayhaw, Harmes and AvB are worth persevering with. Brayshaw and AvB both seem to be going through delivery nightmares but, to me, do not look too far off. I think Harmes is doing ok but needs to be a bit more involved. It my be the way the coaches are playing him. The forward performance was a revelation for me and I hope that it is not a one off performance. I would like to see this structure given a chance to develop. Wiedeman playing deep and Jackson playing further up the ground with a couple of mid size in Melksham and Fritsch leading and providing a link is looking good. Add Bennell and Pickett for a bit of speed, imagination and variety and it has the makings of a hard forward line to match up on. Add in Petracca rotating through there for e 'rest' and it creates problems. No chnges for next week for me but it would depend on aches and pains after the game and also the fixture list going forward.

Look forward to seeing Jackson play again in this setup. A couple of our more seasoned players will need to lift a bit for the way they have been playing to ensure they are there next week.

It will be interesting to see how they structure the bench out of the 8 named. For me, Fritsch would be the only certainty to be there. Toss up on all the others.

If TMac gets up then I think there may be no changes. If that was the case I would be disappointed. I think there are a couple of adjustments that can be made so that we are improving the side and also looking to the future. In defence, while the structure of the three talls looked better, there were problems with the medium/small defenders. Hibberd and Salem were passable but I would like to see more out of Salem. Do we play him a little higher up the ground and look to link through him to the forward half? My two concerns are Jetta and Lockhart. Jetta because he seems to be half a pace off and not reacting quickly enough and Lockhart because he does not look to get much of the ball. if both stay in this week I would have Rivers on the bench to put a bit of pressure on them to perform and to be able to slot him in to either position to have a look at him as a direct comparison. Midfield I do not have any problems with and I think the moves made last week during the game may give Goodwin the confidence to be more proactive with his match day coaching. Petracca, Viney, Oliver, Harmes and Brayshaw as the inside rotations are excellent. Langdon's game was excellent last week. If we could stick a clone of him on the other wing I would be happy. As we cannot do that ( I am sure the AFL has a rule about that) I would entertain the possibility of Melksham having the run there. He needs to get a bit of confidence back and it would help if he got a bit more of the ball. In the forwards I would have Wiedeman playing the role he did last week. he looked to be playing a bit deeper than Tmac was playing and it looked to work for him. Another tall in Tmac required. If his eye is not right then Brown for mine as he might just give Wiedeman a bit more matue support. Fritsch., Bennell, Hannan and Pickett to all fill their roles. VdB, Jones and Tomlinson all to be considered if matchups required or if there is a coach's requirement for them.

After the weekend I think we could give it a shake this season. I have a few reasons for having some confidence. I saw a lot of improvement in the games of Harmes and Hannan. Both look to be building back to good form. Hannan is running well and free of any restrictions and Harmes is being used better by the coaching staff which is giving him confidence. Viney's game was excellent. I was hard on him last week but this game shows what he can do. his kick into the open for Pickett to run on to was very good. Petracca's kicking was off but he was in everything kicked the one that counted. OMac back in defence made a big difference to the structures and to the confidence of those around him. I liked Wied's game and liked that he looked to be playing deeper than what TMac was in the lat couple of games. Would like to see him paired up with another tall in the forwards. Tmac first preference, after that Jackson or Brown depending on form, matchups and player development strategies. Lat point.... I watched Petracca's interview after the game and saw a lot of maturity in the way he spoke and gave thoughtful answers. I am a believer Chook.... for this week at least.

Same as Rivers this week

We were better that quarter but the umps have no idea how they should be calling HTB

So many stupid turnovers and fumbles that are turning what should be uncontested possessions into losing contested possessions

At either end of the ground..... Being killed by Umps

Selection still bothers me.... we should have brought in Sparrow to run with Swallow..... (tongue in cheek)

I agree with you re Viney's game last week. He looks as if he is off the pace fitness wise and is not sticking tackles or staying anywhere defensively near his man. Also is not getting to contests as he should. I gave him one more week.

I would have retained Tomlinson in the team ahead of VdB as he would give us more flexibility to cover ruck chop out. As it is, it looks as if Wiedeman will cover Gawn for a while in the ruck each quarter. that being the case I want to see Gawn out of the goal square when not rucking. In my view, the inclusion of OMac will allow Lever to play his natural game with a bit more freedom and confidence.

I like this team a lot more than I have liked the teams over the last few weeks. Good inclusions and a better overall structure. Will be watching VdB closely as he is the one in the team that I would have replaced.

Yeah. Thought long about that position. For me it all gets back to playing players in positions they have excelled in in a structure that allowed them to excel. Was a toss up for me between ANB and Salem on the bench. Would not mind either

It would be a tough gig being an MFC selector specially as they have managed to get it wrong so many times. in the last few seasons I think we have lost the game on Thursday evening when the team is announced. This season we seem to be going to extremes to highlight just how bad we are at selecting a side. One out tall forward with a game plan and skills that do not support such a structure. In no one's mind has this looked like working or even looked to have the potential to work. Part of this problem is the form of TMac and the other part of the problem is, as mentioned, the mythical game plan and lack of skill to deliver the ball properly into the forward 50. The MFC really needs to get back to the basics in selection to have a proper base line to work from. To my mind this means the following: Three key defenders - May Lever and OMac Three inside mids - Petracca. Oliver and Harmes Three key Forwards - TMac, Weideman and Pickett Ruck - Gawn Fill in the spaces around these keys. Backs: Lever, May, Jetta Half Backs: Hibberd, OMac, Hunt Center: Langdon, Oliver, Tomlinson Half Forward: Jones, TMac, Fristch Forwards: Pickett, Wiedeman, Melksham Ruck: Gawn, Petracca, Harmes I/C: Viney, Brayshaw, Bennell, ANB