Go the Biff

This. Which is why ANB will be copping a suspension plus the weeks they couldn't get Burgoyne for

Richardson & Luke Jackson were on the club's "Before The Bounce" video before the Hawthorn game

Excellent post. In the past 40 years I can think of only 3 rule changes that have been for the betterment of the game. Probably a discussion for another thread though. Kossie is gonna be a gun. Well worth the investment. All we need now is for Norf to select a dud with "our" pick & my satisfaction with the deal will be complete !

Lockhart's also doing a lot of unrewarded support running. If you have a look at the passage that resulted in Harley's goal from Jackson, Lockhart gets the ball to Langdon then sprints like Jesse Owens to make position up the ground. Landon opted not to use him but it's that sort of effort that will keep pleasing the coaches. He just needs to do some revision on Back Pocket 101. Never, EVER, let your opponent get goal side of you (Nev could do with a refresher course too).

Of that lot, Petty, who I rate, is out for the year and Bradtke is very much in development. I'd also like to see Sparrow and Jordon get a run at some stage. Not much interest in the rest Preuss is one I'd like to see get a look in towards the end of the season. Just to remind the rest of the league that he exists. Then sell him to the highest bidder. Essendon, Geelong & GWS all spring to mind as teams crying out for a first ruck. I wonder what they'd offer for big Brayden.

additional positive - 2 weeks of skills practice

Not keen on the trip to Tassie. I like Max's suggestion on RSN this morning. Given we're sharing accommodation with Norf, we could play them on the local oval & phone in the results & best players to the AFL

These are pretty much my thoughts as well. I've long been a critic of our "all-in at the contest" approach. Makes it too easy for the opposition to put pressure on and results in a chain of short, pressured handballs and often a turnover. Gus is positioning himself as the outlet at stoppage, 2 - 3 metres off the contest and in my view, this is having a significant & positive impact on our clearances. Yes, he burnt the ball a few times yesterday, mainly off his left peg. If you recall last week, the current "No. 1 Player in Football", C.Petracca had a shocking day kicking. Couldn't hit a cow's arze with a banjo. A lot can change in a week & I believe Gus is not far off putting in a blinder. Most of the elements are there. Also, that was the best game our mids have played as a collective in god knows how long. Gus was part of that.

That plus space. You might recall Garry Lyon's comment last week when Weid took a one on one mark against Lukosios. "First, I'm glad he wasn't part of an 18 man defensive press". I thought he'd nicked my hymn book. TV angles make it hard to be definitive but it appears we are keeping one forward deep. At different times it was Weid, Fritta or Jackson. This means the oppo defence has to defend at least 50 metres of space and they're forced to adjust their zone to what we're doing. More green grass for them to guard, more green grass for us to run into. Earlier in the year, in fact for a lot of Goodwin's tenure, our forwards would all push up too much. They'd compress themselves into a 25-30 metre area, limiting our targets for players delivering into F50 and making it easy for oppo defences to control their zone. WCE pretty much ringfenced our entire forward line with ridiculous ease.. Additionally, it appears we've discontinued the practice of flooding our own F50 with mids. Whether this is a coaching directive or simply a product of improved F50 efficiency remains to be seen.

It's only there when they win. Never seen it mentioned in reports of a North loss.

I heard a whisper last night that we're Maroochydore bound. Reckon that would be a good outcome rather than being jammed into the Gold Coast with a heap of other teams

So all periscopes were from known & contained outbreaks ?

I think you've earned the position @binman. I was also a fan of Spud, particularly his work in the back pocket where his marking saved us many a goal. Reckon it was Bobby Skilton who said Spud could have been a terrific CHF if he's only got off his arze and put in a bit at training. An old workmate of mine used to play in the DVFL and would occasionally get called up to play for Preston in the VFA. Big unit he was. Ruckman. One such occasion he played against Williamstown when Spud was ruckman in residence. I asked him on the Monday how he went and he described rucking against Spud as spending an afternoon hurling yourself at a brick wall.

Yes, you do have a rampant Omac confirmation bias but I think your observations are spot on. Also liked his repeat efforts

I'd be interested to read observations from regular Casey watchers. Especially with regard to any games he played forward. Did he display an aptitude for forward play at the lower level ? Did he get many opportunities ? Plenty are clamouring for him to play forward but I can only note two bits of supporting evidence. 1) Smith can jump. 2) He kicked four goals in a practice match against Brizzy. Others obviously consider that significant but personally I discount that game as being compelling evidence that Smith is a gun forward in waiting. A couple of the goals were decent - one he slotted on the run from 50 plus and another was a good snap having sharked the ball off a marking contest. In the last quarter he was the beneficiary of one of the dumbest free kicks you'll ever see (thanks Mitch Robinson) and his final goal pretty much fell into his lap while on his own at the top of the square, his opponent apparently having nicked off to get a pie & a drink. The point being that none of them came from Smith displaying any "tall forward" tendencies. The gap between his best and his worst has been conspicuous and I think this is why he's out of the side. He has actually defended quite well for the most part but when he gets it wrong it's a train wreck Someone previously mentioned the Jeremy Howe role (apologies for not quoting). I like this idea as he has the physical traits to play this role, is a safe if not brilliant kick and he can run like the clappers. The additional benefit is that his mistakes are less likely to result in a shot at goal. Whether the has the footy nous is another question. Hawthorn mucked around with James Sicily for years before settling him in this position where he's gone on to be an accomplished player. In an ideal world Smith could be preparing for this role & honing his skills at Casey. It's really unfortunate for him that now that he's finally got his body up & going, his opportunities to develop have been severely restricted

I used to have a theory that if Neita slotted his first shot at goal, he was in for a good game I've a similar theory with Omac. If he takes an overhead mark early, he's in for a good game. The more he catches the pill the better because he does use it well.

Dogs v Caaaaarlton is quite entertaining so far

That was a decent report. He still looks like the work experience kid though

Quoting myself, or cutting & pasting myself from the Teams thread which is probably poor form (how do you quote from another thread ?). Anyway..... With regard to Viney, something Ross Lyon said in the past week or so resonates. "Play what's in front of you" It's simple advice but it would make Viney more effective. If he emerges from a contest and has his back to goal he should be looking to dish of to a runner heading towards goal. No point trying to swing around - he's hopelessly one sided (like a lot of left footers) so everyone knows where he's gonna go if he keeps possession. Give off the ball. Attack the chaser if there is one. Shepherd. This approach would capitalise on his strengths and mitigate some of his weaknesses. It's also been noted that he's been slipping over - a lot. Something else I hate. But I'm wondering if whether Viney has a limited choice of footwear due to his history of foot injuries. Either way, Jack - play what's in front of you

You have a cunning plan ?

With regard to Viney, something Ross Lyon said in the past week or so resonates. "Play what's in front of you" It's simple advice but it would make Viney more effective. If he emerges from a contest and has his back to goal he should be looking to dish of to a runner heading towards goal. No point trying to swing around - he's hopelessly one sided (like a lot of left footers) so everyone knows where he's gonna go if he keeps possession. Give off the ball. Attack the chaser if there is one. Shepherd. This approach would capitalise on his strengths and mitigate some of his weaknesses. It's also been noted that he's been slipping over - a lot. Something else I hate. But I'm wondering if whether Viney has a limited choice of footwear due to his history of foot injuries. Either way, Jack - play what's in front of you

No question he went half hearted a couple of times but the fondly remembered Pedo did a lot worse & managed to redeem himself. So I'm kinda happy he's receiving a message but not thrilled he's dumped. Wing play has changed from the days of Stanley Alves, Robbie, Stinger & Matty Febey. Brisbane's Mitch Robinson wrote an excellent article on the subject and the stuff you do without the ball is nearly as important as what you do with it. Admittedly we're all limited because we can only see what the TV screen displays but I think Tomlinson has improved us structurally and is being underutilised, especially on kick-ins. Was disappointed that he was moved from the wing last weekend to ruck & play forward. At the same time I was heartened thinking that Goodwin had finally conceded that his one-tall forward structure doesn't bloody work. His defensive positioning and work rate was been really good. We can all recall how often we've been scored against by a switch to the fat side followed by a kick over the back of our defence in recent years. I'm of the view that the positioning & work rate of both Tomlinson & Langdon has reduced that pressure on our backline. He's also been burnt several times by May on kick-ins. He's made good position to May's right but Steven appears to have eyes only for the long kick to his left to Max (usually outnumbered), or a cheap dump off to Salem in the pocket. Finally, that exhilarating bit of play against Carlton where Rivers streamed through the middle & hit the leading Hunt lace out for a goal. Doesn't happen last year. Any our makeshift 2019 wingers would have been sucked towards the contest. Tomlinson had the discipline & awareness to hold his position & be the outlet which put Rivers into space. He's no Stanley Alves, Robbie, Stinger or Matty Febey. Nor a Brad Hill or Isaac Smith. But I think he's the second best winger we've got. Hope he learns his lesson & fights back into the side.

Excellent observations

I don't see anything in Smith that would make a forward aside from the fact that he can jump. I know he kicked four in a low pressure pre season game but a couple of them he got standing on one leg alone in the goal square. Baffles me why people think he's a solution up forward. Nev I'm not sure about. Despite what some track watchers tell us, I reckon he was playing hurt last year. For about five years he'd been one of the best one on one players in the comp. Last year he was getting beaten in one on ones by players who previously weren't fit to tie his bootlaces. So if he's back to pre-2019 Nev, get him in. But if he's still lacking the zip & power he displayed last year & the limited displays of 2020, I'd not be bringing him back. And as said, I'm convinced the FD have determined to settle this defensive lineup. So I don't see Nev or OMac getting a look-in just yet. On Jones, if he's still not fit I'd think (shudder) ANB would get a run for workrate & pressure on the young Suns defenders. Won't help our disposal issues though. Further with Jones, other posters have mentioned his habit of mindlessly bombing it in and they're right. However I reckon this occurs mainly when his bringing the ball out of centre clearances. Forward of centre I believe he's a bit more judicious with his "shot selection". Which is why I'd play him at half forward.

My wishlist for this week Out (all forwards) : AVB - want to see a sign of a bloke completely out of form ? Watch him overrun the ball four times. He's out of touch Hunt - like his uncle Andy Moir, Jayden will play one good game then disappear for weeks. His next good game isn't due for a while yet Melksham - effort was deplorable. His best is quality. Dropping him may make in realise he's not a walk-up start & needs to put in more In : Weideman - desperately need him for structure if nothing else. Also, even when he's not clunking marks, he's rarely outmarked Bennell - even with 50% game time offers more than my three omissions currently. Play him at half forward Jones - also primarily at half forward. While I still don't rate his field kicking, he is a scoring threat from anywhere around the 50. I've still got serious reservations about Smith as a footballer but I suspect the FD is wedded to this defensive mix. With Hibberd over the last two weeks showing that the "Hibberd role" doesn't need to be taken by anyone else just yet, I'd leave Rivers in, freeing up Harmes for a midfield role. I thought Pig was immense on Sunday.