Fat Tony

Goodwin talks a big game about being ruthless. How about we be ruthless and use the sub like every other team.

Brown and Gawn apply no pressure and Fritsch isn’t much better. Brown needs to kick 3 goals to justify his place IMO because so many parts of his game are a liability.

I think we win that game 95% of the time. The Pies kicked 15.4 with 2 rushed. In saying that, our last quarters are a concern. We just cannot seem to transition the ball with any flow when we get into space. I also thought we defended poorly inside 50. I feel we need to play Jackson inside 50 more often and use him as a target. Brown is not marking it enough for the chances he gets and we are playing with 17 on the field when the ball isn't kicked to his advantage.

We need to start being a bit more willing to bend the rules like every other side.

Ben Brown had a season high 16 possessions last night and kicked 2 goals but he is such a massive liability when the ball is in his hands in open play, on the ground and defensively. I don’t think he is accretive to us winning. I am not saying Weideman is the answer but if TMac was fit, Brown wouldn’t be in my side.

The Pies are an excellent kicking side. We will need to make sure we win the contested ball convincingly and we need our forwards to fire.

Jackson looks a bit ginger with his knee.

Any idea who's spot will Hunt take? Brayshaw, Salem or Petty?

I started twitching my eye at the headline.

Who plays forward? Petty, Salem or Hunt? Or Jordon with Brayshaw to the wing?

He's not an animal He's not an animal He's a unicorn!

Do longer stops still exist?

I have not wanted to switch Brayshaw from half back to the wing, but I would this week if Jordon is out. Bowey or Hunt could come in at half back. Spargo on the wing has not really worked.

Cadman's highlights show he oozes class. While Jeremy Cameron has been used as a reference point, he doesn't look quite as strong in the air to me. (He would go #1 or #2 if he was as good a mark as Cameron.)

I don't see courage as being Weideman's weakness. Agility, reading the play, lack of height and strength and clunking marks are his issues.

I have a different perspective. Brown regularly gets blocked or pushed under the ball. They are similar in terms of contested marks and Brown averages 1.9 spoils per game versus 1.3 for Weideman. But Brown gives away 1.1 frees per game versus 0.8 for Weideman. And at least we can have more trust Weideman to put his body on the line for a ground ball.

Weideman and Brown both offer similar amounts offensively. Why does Brown get a leave pass? Brown can compete better in the air when he gets a run and jump but both get moved off the ball too easily. We can't play both in the same side and our best side might be with neither. We played exceptional footy at the start of last year with TMac and Jackson.

And the Dockers kicked only 7. 10 goals might be enough!

Ben Brown and Weideman offer about the same, so Brown being out is no loss IMO. (Can't play both IMO.) I love Salem but I wonder if he is safe? Bowey plays the same role and is more dynamic at the moment. N.B. The argument that Salem has been thrown out by Brayshaw being in the backline is a load of bollocks IMO. And Jordon has been fantastic this year on the wing.

Our form has actually been ok but we have faced good opposition and had a few loses where lady luck was against us. That said, we are too predictable, which has allowed opposition coaches to trial things and work out the best way to beat us. We need some variation in our ball movement from the back half and inside 50 (not every time but 1/3 of the time) and in how we set up for stoppages around the ground. We also need Max to get back in form. May was better on the weekend but has been mediocre since Entrecotegate and Salem has lost his drive.

Goodwin was confident on Brayshaw staying though.

Fritsch, Brown and Weideman are obviously poor pressure players and need to contribute on the scoreboard to be accretive. Gawn is also a pressure valve when he is at full forward. I don't think they aren't fully trying. (Although Brown could give a bit more effort at times.) They are just not very capable to chase and tackle because they are slow and lack agility. But I wonder if our forward pressure and pressure overall is also due to our efficiency inside forward 50 (which is good at converting entries into shots at goal) and the way we defend when they have control by foot (i.e. we fold back). We do have the lowest total points against in the competition which is what counts and second highest percentage. If we put more emphasis on forward pressure it might result in turnovers and scoring goals, but it might actually lead to being opened up on the counter attack.

I also hope that is the attitude of the players. It needs to be. But the coach needs to re-think our system as well because it is predictable and other teams now have a blueprint to beat us if we aren't perfect.

I know we played very well, but Brisbane played terribly and would have lost to 12 other sides that night.

I think that is a revisionist view. I think this year that the opposition are testing us with plans that we have not faced before. Apart from the second half against Freo (when May was subbed out and Petracca was ill) and the last quarter against Collingwood (when we were injury struck), I haven't felt like our effort has been sub-par.