CHF

Footy in the time of Coronavirus HEADLINE: Dees practice ‘social distancing’ whenever West Coast get the ball. my take aways from the game. 1. worst game I have seen from Max in a long time. Half paced and lack of contest. Not just against Nic Nak but also the WC back up. Very poor first game as Captain. 2. Viney was very good. 3. Oliver half paced and lazy. 4. Spargo? Spargo? If Spargo is the answer then you are asking the wrong questions. Very poor. 5. Forward structure is non-existent. It is all very well selecting three small, one dimensional forwards, but if they are not at the fall of the ball in the forward 50, th e they are a luxury you cannot afford. 6. kicking is as bad as I have seen. Both field kicking and goal kicking need to be a focus for the next two months. 7. key defenders were good. OMac, May and to a lesser extent, Lever, all played their roles well. We were let down by the medium sized defenders, Yes, I am looking at you Hibberd and Jetta. 8. Lack of pressure, awareness and accountability, hence ‘social distancing’. Poor poor poor. 9. Brown must have taken over Chris Dawes’ locker and found his brick gloves. Please give Weideman a chance. 10. Lockhart was ok but in the first quarter left his opponent and drifted towards the contest. Result? He is caught in no mans land, ball flipped over his head to his opponent unattended in the goal square. goal.

I see him as part of the 'ínside' midfield rotation along with Petracca, Viney, Oliver, Harmes, and occasionally, Melksham for a bit of variety. Gus, when in form, is one of those players that seems to have plenty of time to sort through and select the right option. I find it difficult to judge any of our players on last season form. The players were not properly prepared and the team structure, fitness and form made it impossible for any player to play to their potential

I could see Harmes given the job on Kelly first up with Viney running a loose tag on Yeo. I love it if we could force them into being reactive rather than proactive.

We have to get our hands on the ball in the middle to have a chance of stuffing it up like that.

Hmmm Bulldogs have been talked up a bit this pre-season........

IMO we have made a mistake in selecting Spargo, Pickett and Bedford together in this team. I don't think any of the three can rotate effectively to play on the ball. We will be down in Midfield rotations and WC will exploit this. I think we are at least one, maybe two rotations short in the midfield with this team. if we cannot win the ball in the middle or force turnovers we have no use for a quick, small fleet of forwards as the ball will not get in there. I would have taken Wiedeman over Brown.

I have him unwell with what ever it is they say it is. If he is fit I would have him in instead of Hore. (oops. I mean Sparrow. Sparrow to replace Hore in Emr.)

It will be good to see some meaningful footy played this weekend. Have been hanging out for it and after the last few virus weeks it will be a welcome distraction. It will be an interesting selection this weekend. We have a good strong list to elect from and only a few key injuries. In defence we have OMac, May Lever Jetta and Hibberd all locked in there for R1. Harmes i being groomed for the HB and I could see him rotating with Lockhart through there for this game. We may need to swing him into a tagging role in the middle if it is required so I can see Lockhart named on the bench. We need TMac firing up forward. Fritsch and Melksham will be there and I think will cause a lot of headaches for a lot of defences this season. I would have Weideman and Pickett in the team. Weideman as a support to Max and Pickett because I think he has shown enough to get a crack at small forward spot. Max to spend some time in the forward 50 when resting. Shorter quarters will allow this to happen more. Midfield to spread its new wings Tomilinson and Langdon with a mix of Petracca, Viney, Oliver and Brayshaw to run around at Max's feet. Melksham and Harmes to get a run in the middle a well at times. Jones and Sparrow on the bench with Lockhart and i would have ANB there as well for his ability to run all day and to cover a few different roles. B - Jetta O.McDonald Hibberd HB - Lever May Harmes C - Langdon Petracca Tomlinson HF - Melksham T.McDonald Brayshaw F - Pickett Fritsch Weideman R - Gawn Oliver Viney IC - Jones Lockhart Sparrow Neal-Bullen EMR: Jackson, Bedford, Hore, Hunt.

Is there an argument to reorganise the fixture so that there is not travel in the first week? Freo Vs WC, Port Vs Crows, Swans Vs Giants........ you get the picture. That would at least rule out infection on flights.

I did a search and could not find a topic on a tipping comp for the board this season. Have I missed it?

B: Jetta May Lever HB: Hibberd Omac Harmes C : Langdon Viney Tomlinson HF: Melksham Wiedeman ANB FF: Bedford T Mac, Fritsch R: Gawn Oliver Petracca interchange: Jones Brayshaw Lockhart Spargo/Pickett Salem not considered at this stage because of illness. It is going to be a tough first up selection for the WC game. I think we need to play all three of OMac, May and Lever. Jetta, Hibberd and Harmes make up the rest of the back 6 with Lockhart to rotate through there. Midfield picks its self to a large extent and I noticed during the Hawks game that at the center bounces we seemed to have Petracca and Oliver there a constants with the third being Viney, Brayshaw and, in the second half, Harmes. Generally I like to see at least 1 players that can rotate into midfield positions during a game. I feel we are one short in this team but that is a reaction to the WC forward setup. In the forwards I think we have a very good, flexible mix of players that we can use to our advantage. All of them have good engines and can, according to matchups, use this to advantage. I have preferred Bedford to others for this very reason. He has surprised me this preseason with his fitness and general play. Spargo or Pickett in the I/C but I could have also thrown in Sparrow who I have a lot of time for. Wiedeman to to relieve in ruck and I would look at Max resting forward.

I would commit to Wiedeman 100% for the first few rounds of the season and make sure that there is complete clarity about the structure of the rucking/forward setup and the role that he is required to play. I believe that Jackson will develop a lot better and quicker if he is given time at VFL level. He is 4 years younger than Wiedeman and needs time to fill into his body and find his feet. In the past we have been very critical of the club's inability to develop young players properly so that they get to their maximum potential. I would like to think that the lessons have been learnt and that we have a few experienced heads that will structure individual development for each player. Jackson is a long term player with all the ability to be developed into a star on the AFL. We need to get it right and in my mind that does not mean pushing him into situations that he may not yet be equipped for.

Gotta smile with Max

A very good series that I really enjoyed. the showed the amount of work that goes into supporting the players and building the team. It reminded me that there is so much more to a footy club than what we see at a game or on the training track. a good insight into the club and well done.

A good hitout. There is a lot of competition for spots on the flight west for R1.

A good strong team and pretty much the one that I believe will be our Round 1 team. The only doubt I have is ANB. Bedford or Pickett in for him and then have the interchange as Brayshaw, Vandenberg, Brown and Salem.

I am quietly optimistic about the teams chances this season after watching the Practice matches and the first pre-season game. I can see the benefits of a solid off season that has been completed by just about all the players. They are fitter and stronger than at this stage last year and added to that is level of maturity that the adversity of last season has brought to them. I also like to see the structured approach to the rehab of the players. it does not matter if it is a serious injury or a minor niggle, the support team looks to have the right balance to getting the boys fit and back into training and ensuring that they have every chance of a proper recovery. Looking over the list we have a good spread of age and experience with a good concentration of these elements where it matters. We have 10 players on the list 27yo or older. The only one in this group that has doubts on playing in the top at this stage is Bennell. Vandenberg and Brown are in this group as well but I expect them to feature on the team on a consistent basis if fit. We have another 15 players in the age group 24 to 27. Of those 10 or 11 would be best 22 players. In addition to these players Lever, Hore and OMac will be in this age group in another month. To my mind that is a good mature playing group. As far a experience goes we have 22 players with 50 games or more with 9 of those with 100 or more. We have 7 defenders that have 74 games or more. We have 7 midfield players with 68 games or more not counting Bennell and Kolodjashni who both have around 80 games. In the forwards we have 5 player with 65 games or more plus Petracca who I have included in the mids. To my mind this adds up to a good balance of age and experience. I also have a degree of optimism for the future with the quality of the young players that we have introduced in the lat few seasons. If we can get a reasonable run with injuries and a hare of luck I think we will easily make the 8 with a finish in the top 4 not out of the question. My Round 1 team at the moment. FB: Jetta, May, Lever HB: Salem, OMac, Hibberd C : Tomlinson, Oliver, Langdon HF: Melksham, Brown, Vandenberg F: Fritsch, T Mac, Pickett Fol: Gawn, Petracca, Viney I: Harmes, Brayshaw, Jones, Wiedeman E: Spago, ANB, Sparrow, Jackson

These videos are getting better and better. all the list look like they relishing the hard work and I hope we can transfer that to the games.

Love watching Petracca and Oliver together in the middle

A good win driven with intensity at the ball and good fitness that allowed them to run out he game in difficult wet conditions. Well done.

Dees 12 scoring shots to 1 and a 32-6 lead. Good pressure and good wet weather footy.

Half time lead 18-6 to the Dees.

Bit over a week to go before we get to see some 'competitive' footy. What type of team do we go with in this first hitout against the Crows? We do have 2 Marsh series games and 2 practice matches so there is plenty of opportunities to see who is up and about. We can use an extended bench in these matches. To my mind we need to get a look at the defence and the attack, both of these were cut up with injury last season and we need to see what is in the cupboard. In defence I would give Lever and OMac a run together. I think they will be very conservative with May and make sure he is 100% before giving him a run. Jetta and Hibberd I would also have back there. neither of them had good seasons last year and, although they have been training well by all reports, I would give them an early run to see where they are. Hbf will have a few rotating through there but I think Hunt might like the run and I would like to see Rivers get a taste. See how he handles the pace. To cover the talls in defence I would also have Tomlinson and Brown in the team. Hore to be on the bench to get a run and as cover. Our attacking options need a bit of time playing together so I would look at TMac, Wied, Fritsch and Petracca as a core. Oetracca can rotate into the midfieldand Fritsch to a wing. Given the injuries to Max and BP I would give Jackson a run as well. He might share ruck with Tomlinson and Brown with Tmac rucking in the forward 50. Melksham to get a run as well. Midfield to have a strong core group of Oliver, Viney and Harmes with Tomlinson and Langdon on the wings. Salem to cover a run in the middle and HBF. Jordan, Sparrow, NB and Pickett to get runs as well. FB: Jetta OMac Hibberd HB: Hunt Lever Rivers C Tomlinson Oliver Langdon HF Jackson Wied Melksham F Petracca TMac Fritsch Fol Brown Viney Harmes Bench Salem, Jordan Sparrow Hore Pickett ANB

I enjoyed Episode 1 and look forward to the next installments. Will be interested to see how they carry the structure forward. Set a scene in the first section, get into a bit of detail and then zone in on an individual. Start with a veteran (Jones), an established upper echelon player ( TMac/Gawn/Nev), potential star (Oliver/Petracca/Viney), a young player yet to establish themselves (Baker/Bedford/Sparrow) and a draftee (Jackson/Kossie/Rivers). You get my drift.

Binman, I agree with you. The pre-Christmas hard, consistent training was something that we lacked during the last pre-season. We are in a much better position than this time last year. Of the players nominally on the injured list, from media reports and our own training reporters, I am of the opinion that the following will be fit and available for Round 1. Max Gawn Michael Hibberd Stephen May Jake Melksham The following I believe are possible for Round 1 but not as definite as to above. Angus Brayshaw – Elbow… a difficult one to know the timeline for recovery as it is an unusual injury. Mitch Hannan – from the sounds of things, he is likely to be back with the main group very soon. Round 1 availability will depend on match fitness. Kade Chandler – Wrist.. Round 1 availability will depend on Match fitness/ preseason gametime. Joel Smith - ? not up to date on this injury. From reports he has trained well so far this preseason. Aaron vandeBerg – foot? I believe that this is not a serious injury and that he will be back to training in the near future. Harrison Petty - ? No idea The rest will not have a hope of making Round 1. I am a glass half full kind a guy.