Doggo

The issue with St Kilda's regular guernsey when playing Collingwood is the back of the jumper. Both jumpers have black backgrounds with white numbers, and there is a definite clash there. I'm watching the game tonight also, i'm not sure where the clash u see with their alt strip is?

Martin will most likely play on Minson when up forward and provide 5 min bursts in the ruck. Warnock, i'd imagine, will line up on whoever plays at FF. Whether thats Robert Murphy, Brad Johnson, Mith Hahn or Welsh, i trust him to take whoever goes to the goalsquare. Martin v Minson Warnock v Hahn / Welsh (if plays) McNamara v Hill / Murphy Cheney v Akermanis / B. Johnson

Does anyone know if it's the same ankle he did in the intra-club match during the preseason? EDIT: DemonDave just confirmed yes it was the same ankle, the left one, in another thread. Cheers

Does anyone know if the leg/ankle Riv injured was the same one he did in the intra-club match in the preseason?

They'll say anything to sell a few papers... :angry:

Thats hilarious! LOL

Yep. Was so unfortunate for him at the time because we were finals bound, and he unfortunately missed that opportunity after such a standout debut season.

I might be in the minority, but i actually thought it looked alright. Of course i prefer the traditional home guernsey, but the red clash jumper is in no way a disgrace (unlike that thing we wore last season)...

McNamara MUST be an inclusion this week, surely?! Having lost Frawley and Rivers, both tall defenders, and with McNamara (also a tall defender) impressing in his last few matches with Casey, surely his inclusion is a given? He mightn't be as tall as them at only 190cm, but he's strong overhead and like Frawley, is creative with his run and dash. Occasionally drifts forward and kicks goals too, which is a bonus. As someone said earlier, Cheney has been an emergency for a few weeks now, and given the Bulldogs smallish forwardline he should come in. Talk of older players like Bell, Whelan returning from reasonably long lay-offs would be premature in my opinion. Cheney has been consistently solid all year, and he's young, fit and shows considerable upside with his hard-nosed style and strong marking for his size. More important for his development to play him now, than to rush back guys like Bell or Whelan who could probably do with some more strong performances in the VFL. If fit, Spencer could come in, but i think that's probably doubtful given he's missed the last month. PJ did a good job as the lone hand against Cox and i'm interested to see if he can back it up with another solid performnce on Hudson/Minson. Martin was ok giving him 5-min spells here and there, so i think we can manage without Spencer for now. I'd prefer to see young Spenny in full flight after a couple of games back at Casey regaining confindence and form, rather than have him thrown in the deep end and beaten. The extra runner could be important against the Bulldogs too. I can't see Spencer playing too many minutes given the amount of football he's missed recently, so in many ways we'll effectively be playing with 21 men. However, if he does come up, i'd like to see Dunn make way for him. Dunn's not a defenders bootlace IMO with his lack of courage in marking contests. Could you imagine Dunn ever being as commited to a contest as someone like Rivers, that he might injure himself the way he did against WCE? Defenders can't squib those kinds of contests, and Dunn is a serial offender in this regard. So for me I think its pretty simple- OUT: Frawley (inj), Rivers (inj), Dunn (if Spencer's fit). IN: McNamara, Cheney, Spencer (if fit).

I noticed early in the call he was still calling Robbo "Russell Robinson". Someone must have had a word with him during the break because later in the match he refers to him as Robertson. That one has annoyed me for years with BT.

Paul Johnson's game today was fantastic. The extra responsibility of playing as the lone ruckman really seemed to lifft him to a new level. He's copped a fair bit over the last few weeks, and deservedly so- his form had been patchy at best. But playing a lone hand for the first time in his career, he was really great. Worked hard all day, and understandably was absolutely spent at the end of the match. In no way was he disgraced by Cox, who's arguably the best ruckman in the AFL, and while Cox may have had 23 disposals and 27 hitouts, PJ held his own with 20 disposals and 21 hitouts. Against lesser opposition, PJ's contribution would have been even greater. I think today he showed that he really can step up to the plate and compete as a #1 ruckman in his own right. Now all he needs to do is find that form consistently and back it up again next week against the Bulldogs. He needed to stand up today, and he did. I'm very proud of his performance and hope that he can build on it, put his poor start to the year behind him and have a really good year.

Yep. Shocked that he wasn't included, yet Paul Hopgood was!?

Agree completely. Has been one of my favorites since coming to the club, its so good to see him fit and playing great football. I love his passion for the jumper, and have always admired his hardness and attack on the ball. And his disposal and decision making has improved out of sight this year! (Also not a bad pickup for my supercoach team this year, averaging over 100 ranking points per game). If he keeps this form and fitness up for the remainder of the season he'll definitely give the Bluey a shake up. Out of all our senior players this season, he has IMO shown the most consistent on-field leadership. Very vocal and always the first to stick up for his teammates and the young fellas. Might be a bit of an early call, but he could even be our next captain...

Me too. McLean has been struggling for a while and you've gotta wonder whether or not he's carrying an injury. Disagree about Moloney going missing, I thought he was still prominent and right in the thick of it late in the game. Don't know about Jones, might have been off the ground perhaps? He'd run his guts out all day, no doubt he would've been completely spent.

GUN!

Poor old Riv! Geez this guy just can't take a break! He's just so damn courageous... Fingers-crossed he's alright and doesn't miss a lot of football. Maybe a week off next week if its not too serious, IMO he was starting to look a bit tired. If its not a bad injury a week off wouldn't hurt. I just hope its not 4 or more weeks out!!! A very good opportunity for McNamara to come in and show us what he's got. He was probably on the cusp of selection anyway, so it'll be a good test for him. And one step closer to the Buthcer / Scully double!

6. Moloney - outstanding in close. So strong and fierce at the contest. Clearance king. 5. Jones - run hard all day was super impressive. Used the ball better, chased hard and made good decisions. 4. Johnson - My man PJ needed to stand up and he sure did! Career best game. 3. Morton - Untidy at times but just covers so much ground. Loves Subiaco... So much space! 2. Bruce - Like Morton, untidy on occassions but was influential. 1. Bennell - Gotta love this kid. Coming on in leaps and bounds! Little GUN Apologies to Grimes, who was great, and Maric who bounced back well after last weeks dreadful game. Miller's first half was great too.

*YAWN* Herald Sun poll??? What a load of nonsensical, inflammatory crap! They'll do anything to try and sell a paper... pfffft! :angry:

Correct. Add to that hand and hip injuries from last season. It's PJ's 50th match this weekend, and just off the top of my head, thats from around a possible 130 games. That's a horrible run with injuries. The only year i can remember him being able to play the majority of 22 games was in 2005, when he won the Liston at Sandy. Even the last two seasons he has missed 6 weeks both years. I'm with you on this Dappa. It's no secret my bias towards PJ, as i've followed his career pretty much from juniors to now. I hope he plays an absolute blinder this week, in his 50th, and that his next however many weeks playing as the sole ruckman he returns to some good form. Last week was solid, lets hope he can build on that. Good luck to the lad. RR is right in that he has the opportunity of a lifetime being the only fit ruckman (ironically) on our list. He needs to lift. I believe he can.

How many times in those 7 years has he rucked alone, or as the #1 ruck? I'd say once, maybe twice? Now i know your initial response will be "so what does that tell you?" in the negative, condescending prose you write so well in. My answer would simply be "that he's untried as a full-time ruckman". FWIW I never rated Ryder as a ruckman until seeing him take the job on alone on Anzac day. In all his seasons at Essendon, playing many different roles, including pinch-hitting in the ruck, i never once saw him do anything that suggested to me that he would be capable of playing as a full-time ruckman. Too short, not strongly built enough, lacking physicalityand intensity, etc. However, when Hille went down, the extra responsibility of having to do the majority of the ruckwork on his own lifted him to a level i'd never before previously seen. He could easily have sank and no-one would really have thought anything of it. But he swam. This is what we need to do with Johnson while our other ruck options are not available. All it takes is one exceptional game... I'm not saying PJ is Paddy Ryder, but they are similar types, and the situation is also similar. These next couple of weeks are huge in the context of PJ's career. It's sink or swim for him now. You're right (although a bit harsh in your assesment) that he has spent more of his career sinking than swimming, but i think you miss the point. What monoccular is really saying is after this 'nightmare' of having no ruckman is over, we'll definitely know if PJ will be 'sinking' or 'swimming'. You may have made your mind up already, but who's to say your opinion is 'more correct' than his, or mine, or anyone elses? I think he'll come good, as do a few others on here. You don't. Great. Let's just wait and see. Your complete lack of support for PJ is getting really old. He's in the side mate, wish him the best and get on with it. (God, i'm starting to sound like bobby mckenzie LOL ) If he doesn't make it, fine, you can 'tell us so' all you like, but if he does, be prepared for a slice of humble pie being forced down your throat .

As well as losing a lot of the improved conditioning he gained during his exceptional pre-season.

Bate back? I'm not convinced. I don't think he'd have the pace or agility to play 3rd/4th tall in defence. I'd much prefer to see Bate go back to Casey and regain some form playing in the forward half. If he's good enough, he'll dominate and won't have to spend more than a couple of weeks there before being recalled. Tom McNamara's form has been very promising at Casey and his ability to play tall as well as on smalls, and also to be an attacking rebound defender, could easily cover that 3rd/4th tall position, freeing Martin to play forward/ruck.

I've said in a previous post that i think Newton should be given more time to build some consistency at VFL, however i believe you may be right with those selections. I would not be surprised at all if he were selected, nor would i be if he weren't. Wouldn't mind seeing McNamara debut. Very impressed with his form, especially considering his interrupted pre season. Bate looks hopelessly out of touch, is hanging on by the skin of his teeth. Not sure if he'll be dropped, but it would certainly be warranted if he were. Stef Martin playing 2nd ruck could be interesting. Hasn't rucked (or trained for rucking) at all this season, can anyone who saw him ruck at Sandy comment on this part of his game? Would be a shame to take him out of a key post, either forward or back, but i do tend to be with u in the assumption that Spencer will not play given his lack of recent match fitness. Who knows, big Stef might even come out and play an absolute blinder a la Paddy Ryder a couple of weeks ago!

*YAWN* Here we go again... Can't you guys just agree to disagree???

That's a great post QueenC. Best one of the entire thread IMO !