CHF

I could see Salem in for Bowey but he would be stiff. He is a very calm player that has time with the ball and is very measured in his delivery. The same could be said re Salem. Bowey sticks his tackles and, without looking up the stats, I would say he has more defensive tackles than Salem per game.. Medi sub? How about Tmac? Can cover attack and defense and if he does not get a run on Friday night he can get a run with Casey. I think we have enough variety and flexibility in the rest of the team to cover most situations.

Yeah Red, that could well be the case. However, I am sure we are talking to a number of players to ensure we have a few options in place depending on what plays out. It is just that the Grundy meeting became public knowledge.

Earlier on this season I posted on this thread information that came to me from a usually reliable contact that the deal was all but settled and that Luke would sign within two weeks an extension of two years. That, of course, did not happen. Since then I have not bothered to post on this thread the whispers that I have heard. So many of them were conflicting and sounded more like wishes than a reflection of the true situation. My reading of all that I have heard is that, while there is a very, very good offer on the table from Freo for Luke, it is not a done deal. The main problem is Freo will have trouble meeting our requested asking price and that Luke is reluctant to consider a WC offer. This may end up in the Dees getting a deal across the line for a 2 year deal while Freo get their ducks in line for a reasonable deal. This is purely my conjecture. I do not think anyone outside the MFC have any real idea of what is going on as lips are sealed on this and there are no real leaks. Good to see and good that it is not really a distraction with the new Finals season coming up.

As far as I am concerned, it will be the midfield battle that determines the outcome. Our mids are well schooled in the transition from attack to defence and vis versa. Agains Brisbane we did not look to tag their most effective mids in Neale, McCluggage etc we opted to make them accountable by making sure they had attacking players on them. I like that we did that. With a tag some players have the freedom to attack as they wish without precaution, and not be accountable for an opponent. So part off the discussion I want to hear is do we do as we did against Brisbane and trust in our attacking midfield or do we tag players from the start? I think we attack from the outset proactively and, if required look to tag players that are hurting us as a plan B.

Had a look at the form of both Dees and Swans over the last 5 weeks of H&A..... Dees Won 3 lost 2 ..... Swans Won 5 lost zero..... This looks good for the Swan until you look at the teams they both played. Dees played 4 teams that made the 8, The Bulldogs, the Dockers, Pies and Brisbane. The other one we played was the Blues. The Swans played just one team that made the 8, the Pies. they beat the Pies, GWS and Crows all at home. the two games they beat away were North and Saints. I think I would prefer to have the tough run in to the finals rather than the run that the Swans had.....

Just want to let people know that The Demon Spirit is alive and well in this "small corner of a foreign field". reference The Soldier by Rupert Brooke

I think there will be one or two more coaching positions that open up this year other than Essendon that might be a better fit for Adem. Would not be surprised if he ended up as coach of the Bulldogs either this year or next. If the Bombers take a coach for another club there will be another chance for him.

Good bit of proactive coaching by the coaching team to bring Harmes into the team with everyone speculating that he would be a defensive tag on Neale. From the first bounce we backed our midfield to win the attacking matchups. I think it may have thrown the Lions coaches as they had planned on something very different. We were on the front foot from the very first and had Harmes as a plan B if anyone got ff the leash. excellent coaching

Spargo on the wing was ineffective. I said he was a tad slow and a bit short and, I believe, he was shown up in both those ways. If Salem is fit to go I would bring him in for Spargo. A bit tough for him having been played in an unfamiliar position but the other players stood up well. Salem to play his usual position and a number of players to rotate through the ‘defensive ’ wing. Hunt, Rivers and even Hibberd and Bowey might get a run through there depending on defensive matchups. Jordon as medi sub again?

2022 finals.... I am prepared to accept our team’s philosophy of “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime.”

Could be right about the ginger nut..... There is a bit on here re Spargo but I think he has been ok in his role. Tackles well and mostly nails his tackles. When he gets the ball he uses it well with measured kicks. I would like to see him kick a few more.... you never know....maybe this week. Do not see him spending much time on the wing. I think he is a tad slow for that position and a bit short. can imagine the opposition coach looking for a tall, marking player for him if he is plonked out there. No matter who plays there I hope he does his job and keeps his width. I have found it noticeable that our wings mostly stay and play very wide on the wings.

Good to see Harmes back a long as he does an effective job on Neale. With Neale attending the center bounces I can see us starting with Petracca at HF and Viney and Brayshaw in the center bounces with Harmes. not the worst setup. For Jordon's wing position we have a few that can cover there. Melksham has been named there but I do not see that as a full time gig for him tomorrow night. might have a bit part there but ANB might spend more time in that position and depending on defensive matchups I would give Rivers a spell there as well. Hunt I would try to keep in defense as we are getting god run for there with him. I see a win from the Demon Road Warriors..... Bad luck Lions.....

Yep. good move to bring in Brown in place of Weideman. Essentially the same team and structure as last week and that worked well. Harmes is unlucky but a similar situation to last season with Hunt getting injured and not able to get his place back because of his replacement's performance. Strong team with a lot of flexibility in the personnel and structures. If it plays with the same pressure as last week will get the 4 points. Want it to be a comfortable win... 4 goals +

Gameday once again huh? Seems to come around on a pretty regular basis during my summer months ..... and how good is that. Finished breakfast and the morning coffee and will now do a bit of work until Game Time. 12.10pm start time for me so it will be a late lunch with a few glasses of wine after the win. Dees By a lot......

Interesting selections that will give us a lot of flexibility during the game and will make it hard for Freo to detail their plans against us. The defensive team look good and well manned. May, Lever and Petty the backbone to build around. Salem, Hibberd, Brayshaw, Rivers and Hunt can al rotate through there as required. Brayshaw also offers cover on the wing or even in the middle. His time in there would be vey limited to my mind as he has not played there in a fair while. Hunt could cover on a wing or even forward. Not even I was convinced writing that and then reading it back. Midfield/Ruck has options as well. The Four Horsemen, Gawn, Viney, Petracca and Oliver is enough to scare a lot of teams but their record of clearances, or lack thereof, makes us vulnerable. As my teachers wrote often of me, “Must do better.” Langdon on his wing of choice with Jordon, Brayshaw and possibly Hunt sharing the other. Sparrow to spend time in the middle with Petracca resting forward a bit. Others to have bit parts in the middle I see as ANB, Pickett ( loved it when he was at the first bounce each quarter a while back), Melksham and I would not be surprised to se an appearance by Rivers in there depending on the state of the game. In the forward 50 we have the Line being held by Fritsch and Wiedeman and a resting ruck (?) Wandering around at their feet and trying to lay an effective tackle in the forward 50 will be Spargo, Pickett, ANB and Melksham……. Whoever it is down there needs to be told that the player with the lowest number of F50 tackles for the match will be making way for Chandler. That’s fair, I think. Medi sub… I do not see JVR making his debut a medi sub so it is between Chandler and Dunstan. Personally, I would lean towards Chandler, watched a bit of the Casey games and he ha been kicking goals and playing a bit in the middle. Dees to hit their straps and [censored] the purple haze.

Was in Kuching for 6 months 30 years ago and spent a lot of time in Santabong. mind you, at that time, we not won a flag in only 27 years.

Selections as expected and agree that Tomlinson was stiff to lose his spot after his performance last week. Petty will have a bit of pressure on him to maintain his quality of play. It may be that Lever does not come up and then we are looking at Tomlinson in for him. Our defensive structures and quality list depth for the defensive zone is incredible. Melksham keeping his pot is a good thing. I was of the opinion he was well pat his best but his game last week was excellent. Good to see both him and Hibberd playing well in the team. a good solid block of experience there at either end of the ground. The forward 50 looked a bit better last week and not just because of Pickett's 6. I do not mind the fact that we are giving them another week together. Bedford was the least effective of our small forwards and made way for Oliver. Tomlinson for medi-sub for mine.

I have fully recovered from the celebrations and I have to say that the celebrations were excellent. Awoke on Sunday morning with a little fuzziness in the head but was able to watch the Alice game unfold before indulging in another glass or two of Champagne. I always enjoy a win, no matter how it is achieved. I think this was a quality win, one that was very critical in the scheme of things for this season. Coming after loss down at the Skinny Dog Ground and with this game in The Alice it was always going to be a hard one to win. A few observations: - We have excellent structures in defence and top quality depth on the list to ensure the defence will perform week in week out. Tomlinson had a very good game filling in for Petty. - Without Oliver in the middle I thought that we managed quite well. I still shake my head that we are not better with the clearance work. we seem to look to be reactive first at the stoppages rather than proactive. We allow the opposition get to the ball first and then we react to the situation as it unfolds. - Good games from Petracca and Viney. Viney a bit wasteful but was there when it mattered. - Forwards looked a bit better organised and not just because of Pickett's 6. Deliver into that zone was better. That allowed the small players to exert a bit more pressure. - Liked Spargo's Game a I enjoyed watching ANB. - Melksham surprised me with his defensive work, well done that man. Now, Onward and upward..... Dogs next round and I think we will come away with thee 4 points. will be some interesting selection discussions this week. An extra tall in the forward 50? If so, I would go with the one that has the best aerobic ability and have them patrol up the ground as much as possible with Brown a bit closer to goal. Oliver back in if fit and what to do in the backs? Tomlinson or Petty? go Dees!

Bit of a different pre game for me this week as I am away from Homebase. Spending the weekend in the Champagne area in a luxury hotel in the hills above Epernay to celebrate my birthday. Champagne tasting and buying, Michelin starred eating, spa treatments etc. I will be watching live with a hangover. Dees in The Alice by 6 goals. First time I have started a GAMEDAY thread. Hope I have not stood on any toes.

I said in the post game thread after the 1st Round that the Dogs would not make the 8 and that whatever his name is would be out as coach at the end of the year..... Stand by those predictions.

No too disheartened by that loss... would always prefer to beat the cats..... with a big stick if possible. Far from our best collectively with a few exceptions. Also playing on that skinny dog of a ground takes away our best attacking weapons on our wings. I console myself with the belief that the ground is a really home ground advantage for the Cats and a real disadvantage when playing on the more open grounds in finals. Bad things. Defence, usually our strength was a bit disjointed with May having the fumbles and kicking woes. a couple of the others were not up to their usual standards... hello Bowey. The biggest problem we had was the connection into the forward 50. Badly directed kicks that were a result of bad skills. Overall a very disappointing result that should get a proper reaction from the playing group if our culture is all that it is cracked up to be. I will be looking for that next week.

Just saw Greg Stafford interviewed and he speaks really well. talked about the teams approach to the game and while it was nothing very notable he spoke with a smile on his face nd did not scratch his left leg once.

All the home teams except for the Demons this evening.

That is the way I watch week in, week out. It is a good coverage and would be worth the 20 bucks.

Good team selections. Gawn and Jackson had to be selected if fit. Our defence and the midfield are both in good form, well drilled and applying pressure all over the ground. We have problems in attack but scoring enough goals doe not seem to be the problem. More the inconsistent nature of how we score them. I liked the move of Petracca playing more forward and I could see that being used more often this season. Give us flexibility and a point of difference. Brown, Fristch, resting ruck and/or Petracca with a fleet of smaller players feeding off them sounds like a good setup if they can make it work. Last week we had 24 scoring shots with 14 goals from 10 goalkickers. The week before 37 scoring shots with 16 goals and, again, 10 goalkickers. 21 behinds against the Lions. We must be getting something right.