CHF

I do not underrate his performance against the Blues at all. However, he is now the Captain of the team and his on field leadership needs to be evaluated on a game by game basis. While he may have been leading by example, he will need to do more in the future to try and change things on the ground as the situation requires. I did not see that on Saturday.

DL has got a banner with lot of our favorite players featured. My review of the banner performances Round 2 below. Petracca - An excellent game with power, balance and vision. BOG. Banner place justified May - Just a game. nothing to do for a quarter and a half and when the pressure came on was part of a disorganised defence. Oliver - A good game from him he does what he does and does it well. Banner place justified Jetta - Not a good game. Has it passed him by or is it just a form slump? Gawn - A very good game from him but do I sense a bit too much arrogance in his game. Want to see how his leadership progresses. Banner place justified Viney - Loved his tackling. when he gets hold of someone they do not get away. Banner place justified vdB - Would like to see him fit and in the team. he need his hardness. TMac - Turning circle of the Queen Mary and out of form. Or maybe it is a lack of fitness standards he had in 2018. Goodwin - Calm in the box but he seems reluctant to make changes during the game.

I have to say that I would have liked to have Omac in defence today. when we were winning the middle we had no problems but when that turned around we were in troble.

Loving Petraccas game. he looks dangerous every time he goes near the ball. With viney, if he gets hold of you you are gone.

Rivers is looking the goods and the run will do Jackson a lot of good. Bennell is doing a job and will be pleased so far.

I have a similar concern with regard to our lack of height in defence compared to the Blues forwards unless we can dominate the center and get the clearances. Depending on how things work out there may be some saying " If only we had had OMac down back...."

I do like the fact that we have a lot of flexibility in the team. In defence we have the usual names of Jetta, May and Lever that will be in the back half the whole time. Rivers I can see would also only play there. Salem Will have a defensive role but is a more re-bound attacking player. Hunt, Jones and Smith can all rotate through there as well as into other roles. Tomlinson, TMac and Fritsch all have experience in defence if required. That gives us a lot of options in the back 50. With the midfield I always like it when I see any three of Brayshaw, Viney, Oliver, Petracca and Harmes at Gawn's feet at the center bounce. There is also Melksham and Jones that are in attendance at times. Jones less so these days. On the outside with Langdon and Tomlinson on the wings we have a couple there that may spend upwards of 90% TOG. In Fritsch, Bennell, Hunt and possibly even smith we have a few quick players that could fill in out there. Forwards are the biggest problem but with this team we have plenty of structures we could try. I just hope that the coaches are prepared to ring the changes to look for scoring avenues. We need to be proactive in this way.

My opinions on the matchups you have above are a little different. Bennell v Bedford (Bennell more skillful but will he be able to run out the match?) Rivers v Hibberd (No idea re River's skill level at AFL level in a match.) Jackson v Brown (See Rivers above) Salem v Lockhart (I would take Salem every day of the week) Omac v Smith (OMac better skill - agree with this ) Jones V Spargo (Jones better - Agree with this) Hunt v ANB (I have Hunt as a better set shot at goal but not a lot between them otherwise.)

A very interesting side. I just hope that we have the skills across the team to exploit our strengths. Speed is all very well but if we cannot cut down the turnovers we will be in trouble.

A post on here showed a tweet or whatever from Jackson that alluded to Smith playing against the Blues.

Interesting confirmation that Jackson, Rivers and Bennell will play and that it also looks like Smith will be there also. With those players in the team there is a huge amount of conjecture on the structure of the rest of the team. Will Jones and Salem both get back after being unavailable for R1? Will either of Omac or Hibberd get selected? What sort of structure will our forward line have? I can imagine that these and other questions will need to be addressed by the Blues Selectors. It will be interesting to see how they line up.

It is going to be a tough selection to get right for this match. Almost a complete injury free list to select from, no match from to give guidance and limited match sim at training. For the defenders I think that May, Lever, Omac, Jetta and Salem are definitely to be named With Harmes to rotate through there and to possibly take up a tagging role on one of the Blues mids. Smith or Lockhart may be on the bench as cover defenders. Midfield is pretty straight forward. Gawn leading the ruck with Viney, Oliver, Petracca and Brayshaw in some combination at his feet for center bounces. Harmes and Melksham to also be there at times or as required. Langdon and Tomlinson to spend almost all the game on the ground with Fritsch and Salem to roam through there at times. Definates for me in the forwards are Tmac, Fritsch, Melksham, Pickett and Wiedeman, I would look to rest an inside mid in the forward line. Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw or Viney. All can kick goals there and rotating there may help to change up a tag. Bench: As I said, either Smith or Lockhart to cover defenders. Whichever one misses will be very unlucky. Jones on the bench along with Neal-Bullen and Bennell. With Bennell I would want to be confident that he could spend 60%+ TOG and contribute either in the midfield or as a forward. So, My team is: B: Jetta, May, Lever HB: Salem, OMac, Harmes B: Langdon, Brayshaw, Tomlinson HF: Melksham, Fritsch, Petracca F: Wiedeman, T.McDonald, Pickett FOL: Gawn, Oliver, Viney IC: Jones, Neal-Bullen, Smith, Bennell

Old Dee, I live over in Europe and miss going to the live matches. I am always watching the games live each and every time the Dees play. I would take a win in any match. this season is compromised but I am sure that none of the players will be holding back. If we get to a finals series and a resolved season, I hope that the Dees are at the top, playing in the final and win the bloody thing.

From the AFL website. https://www.afl.com.au/news/441279/curtain-raisers-back-afl-gives-clubs-the-green-light-to-organise-scratch-matches QUOTE: "Teams will have the option to hold these games as curtain-raisers or curtain-closers to senior fixtures, and they must be played at AFL-approved venues."

Serious Answer: Yes. I will be watching when we play Saturday week. Really looking forward to the game. I would also be interested in watching the curtain raiser if it was on in the same way I would watch the Casey games. Like to see how they are developing.

AFL has given the go ahead for possible curtain raiser scratch matches involving the players not engaged in the first team. A good move in my opinion as it will give all the players a hit out and give them a chance to impress for selection This team looks to be close to the one that could be selected. B: JETTA. MAY. LEVER. HB: HARMES. O MCDONALD. SALEM. ? LANGDON. OLIVER. TOMLINSON. HF: JONES. T MCDONALD. MELKSHAM. FF: FRITSCH. WEIDEMAN. PICKETT. Fol: GAWN. VINEY. PETRACCA. Bench: NEAL-BULLEN, BRAYSHAW, VANDENBERG, HIBBERD RESERVES? B: Lockhart Petty Smith HB: J. Wagner. Hore Rivers ? Hunt Sparrow Baker. HF: Bennell Brown Spargo FF: Bedford Jackson Hannan Fol: Preuss Jordan C. Wagner Bench: Chandler, Dunkley, Bradtke, ******** I think that covers all the fit players we have at the moment. If it happens I would like to think it would be televised on some platform.

LT, I like the team and the explanation notes. There is talk of the interchange being expended by 1 or 2. If it was expanded by two I would seriously consider giving Bennell a spot if fit. It would be a good way of giving him a run with limited game time.

Selection for round 2 will be an interesting exercise. So many questions that will need to be answered. What sort of condition did the players come back in? How have the injured players come up? Who and where are we playing? In so many ways this is a re-set of the season except we are starting 0-1 This is the Round 1 team that went down to WC sometime last century. It looks as if we will get Round 2 mid-June and I am sure we are all looking forward to it. FB: Neville Jetta, Steven May, Jake Lever HB: Oscar McDonald, James Harmes, Michael Hibberd C : Ed Langdon, Clayton Oliver, Adam Tomlinson HF: Alex Neal-Bullen, Bayley Fritsch, Jack Viney F: Kysaiah Pickett, Tom McDonald, Mitch Brown FOL: Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, Jake Melksham IC: Charlie Spargo, Angus Brayshaw, Toby Bedford, Jay Lockhart This is not meant to be a prediction of the round 2 team more a look at who might come into the team given the long break that we have had between rounds. Missing from the R1 team through injury were Jones and Salem who, I would have thought, were automatic selections if fit. They would have replaced Spargo and Bedford I believe. Of the longer term injured we may find Preuss, AVB or Bennell ready for a run. Afterall, if that have recovered and built a fitness base, then they are now no worse off than the rest of the list who will not have had any footy for a few months. A level playing field. I think Jackson and Rivers could only have benefited from the extended break that would have allowed them a little bit more time to grow into their bodies and to build and develop a fitness base. Selections will be based on training form only. I cannot imagine that the playing form in R1 would be considered. If it were Brown, Bedford and Spargo would be on the outer.

Not really the idea I had in mind......

I like the idea that is in the OP but I could see something like that being a trial for the future of the competition. Covid 19 is, of course, having a big impact on our lives at the moment and I believe that this impact will be felt in the medium and long term on all areas of our lives. With regard to the AFL and footy, I can see that the AFL will emerge form this with a tighter control over the footy clubs and finances and also a relatively free hand to reshape the game. So, what might we see? The competition split into two conferences with the teams in each conference playing each other twice and the other conference once? Mind you, with 18 teams in the competition that would result in a season of 25 games before a final series. It would work better with 16 teams as that would result in 22 games for the season plus finals. 25 games per season would not be out of the realms of possibility as that would then justify shorter quarters and an interchange extended to 6 players. All possibilities. Clubs may support that [censored] the additional games would provide additional income. The broadcast media would support [censored] a there would be additional games to broadcast and the players could be won over with shorter games and additional interchange and possibly retaining larger lists. If the conferences were decided on the ladder positions at the end of H&A of the previous year, this is how it would work out. Red conference · Geelong · Richmond · WC · Bulldogs · Hawthorn · Adelaide · Freo/Suns · Sydney · Melbourne Blue conference · Brisbane · Collingwood · GWS · Essendon · PA · North · St Kilda · Carlton · Suns/ Freo You might look at swapping Freo and the Suns in that case so that the two Queensland teams and the two WA teams are not in the same conference.

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........