Go the Biff

I thought Kozzie was out injured with a bung ankle, not rested

Pretty much agree with this. Play him on the wing. He also gives the option to drop back into defence for the brief minutes that the likes of Lever & May are off the ground resting. Given that both play in the mid 90% of game time, it's not a lot to ask of him. Tomlinson also plays in the mid 90's of game time so we should be able to manage this without pulling one of our mids to the wing for any great length of time. I thought Tomlinson was stiff to get dropped in the first place. There were a few worse than him in that Richmond game

Spargo did everything Harley didn't do against Adelaide which I believe led to HB getting dropped and why Spargo should hold his place. HB looked slow and tentative and I'm wondering if he hasn't got full confidence in his body. For me he's already exceeded any expectations I had of him for 2020. He's shown flashes of HB brilliance but the big win is that he's back playing and can build on that for 2021 and beyond. I'm not knocking him. I'm all aboard the Harley Express but expectations should be tempered. When the rest of the squad were doing the toughest pre-season ever, Harley was doing rehab - with the odd setback. He simply doesn't have the fitness base of the rest of the team. Who knows how many pre-seasons he missed at Freo. You don't get them back and you can't catch up during the season. He played against Carlton on the back of a 3 week block of training All that said, I hope & expect to see him back in the team this season

I believe so (to be fair I think it was said in jest)

Was a shot duck when that trade took place though. It's in that light that the trade should be evaluated. Jeez he was good for us in the brief time he was up & going though

Pretty much sums up my thoughts on Dunn. Rag-dolling Boomer Harvey does not make you tough. Especially from a player who had a finely tuned sense of hearing with regard to footsteps. Haven't heard him slag the club but I have read him saying how much he loves being at the 'Pies. He probably deserves 200 on persistence alone but the 'Pies missing finals is a much greater good. I reckon one the main reasons he got the flick from us was because Garlo had a year on his contract & Dunny didn't. We didn't have room for both

I think he's been a great pickup. I was trying to watch his eyes tonight & I think he's moving into what he wants to do with the footy before he's secured it. I don't recall him having fumbling issues earlier in the season. Might just be a simple coaching point. Don't spend your cheque before you've cashed it !

Singing from the same hymn book. Here's a confession. I hate Wayne Schimmelbusch. Gun footballer, rate him far higher than the dual Brownlow Medalist on the opposite wing. May well be a champion bloke. However, in my memory, every time we had Norf by the bollocks, he would pop up and win the game for them. Goals on the siren god knows how many times. Each one a dagger to my young Demon heart. The post match analysis thread on Norf's Bigfooty page is a thing of great beauty

Love that description

Fine post overall but Point 7 is a quality observation

There's merit in what you say but I think he's too far gone at the moment. A week off might do him good & then bring him back for a specific role against the Doggies. Young Smith might be a good assignment (seriously good player & second only to The Bont in importance). The problem with that is, I can't remember the last time we tagged. Goodwin seems happy to let our mids go head to head with the opposition e.g. Oliver facing off on Cripps. Love to see Chompers back up and about because I think, when on song he makes players around him better and he's great to watch. But at the moment he's killing us from within

Need to think of a strategy for Darcy Moore, I'd love to see him follow his old man's footsteps & come over to us. With Howe out, if you can limit Moore's impact & negate Maynard, the 'Pies much-vaunted defence can be opened right up.

It's worse than that @A F. His ball handling makes Simon Godfrey look like Cyril. He's dropping marks, his disposal, on the rare occasion he gains clean possession, is horrific. He's missing tackles & giving away cheap frees. I disagree with whoever suggested that he needs to tag because he can't find the ball himself. At his best he's a quality midfielder He's just hopelessly out of form and has been all season. Nothing to do with his position. Needs a spell.

At the moment he's got the Liam Jurrah trait of turning what should be 5 or 6 goal games into 2 or 3 goal games. He is coming along nicely though. He's a big bag away from truly believing in himself. Yes @Whispering_Jack it would be superb if he broke out against the 'Pies next week. @dazzledavey36 I agree that Goodwin leaving him out early in the season was to the detriment of our team & structure. But it might just turn out to be the making of The Weed

Given Collingwood's likey forward setup, Lockhart to replace Tomlinson in defence. Tomlinson to a wing. Harmes out (or AVB if you insist)

Fixed it for you. Doesn't matter where you play if you can't pick up the ball. He has regressed to 2017 Harmes. Would rather have Jordie "Tackles" McKenzie playing

Getting coathangered & not receiving a free has nothing to do with discipline. I rarely get into the umpires but if this keeps up my TV screen is unlikely to survive this game

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.