Fat Tony

Why did TMac take so many ruck contests?

Maybe down at Kardinia Park. Geelong is a marginal seat after all.

Hibberd was dropped against Brisbane.

Emergencies are Smith, Chandler, Bedford and Dunstan. Tomlinson not in the squad.

Assuming Smith recovers from Covid well, I would bring him back at Tomlinson's expense. I think Smith offers more than Tomlinson now and also think he has scope to become a really good player by September if we give him enough games. Plus GWS has a fairly small forward line and Hogan is the only player that Tomlinson could play on. Brown will come back for Weideman, who will also be stiff. TMac is better on the deck and gives our team more balance. Petty has only had one game in the VFL and could do with another run.

I like Chandler best of this lot. He is tough and capable in the air and a decent long kick. Bedford has a good tank but isn't clean enough. I know he has not had much of a run at it but Laurie has shown very little in his VFL appearances and lacks athleticism. While Spargo is a very clever and tough player, small forward is one of the few positions on the ground where we can find an upgrade.

He’s getting better but he’s still got another level with his marking. The main improvement has been his timing is now consistently good. If he can improve his hands/catching, he’ll be unstoppable.

We might have been a bit sub par in offence last night but I don’t think any side would have got within 3 goals of us. The defensive effort was incredible.

I hope you are right about the result tonight. I still think it will be a tough game and I don't think Port's form line is as bad as has been reported. The stats on the Port vs Hawthorn game showed Port winning inside 50 easily and they had +1 on shots on goal. Hawthorn also kicked 13 straight from set shots which made a big difference. Hawthorn have been able to walk in a lot of goals this year and Port's defence has been breaking down, leaking goals out the back. Hopefully we can do the same again tonight.

Port were stiff with injuries against Brisbane and they were superior in general play against Hawthorn and Adelaide but inefficient. This won't be an easy game. That said, we will win by a margin if we are at our best.

I got tickets.

Someone has to come out for Lever though and Tomlinson is the likely one out. And Petty is back in the VFL this week, so TMac to defence would only be a stop gap anyway.

I think Jackson as a centre bounce midfielder is definitely worth experimenting with. He is big and quick and hard to tackle and has great hands. If he can use these ingredients to become a clearance midfielder and also be a bit more consistent with his marking, he will finish the season as a top 5 player in the game.

Nick Larkey and Tim Membrey would be other comparisons to van Rooyen. I think he could end up as a defender at AFL level like Michael Hurley.

We will obviously be better with Lever and Petty back (and Salem), but I don't see turnovers at half forward as an issue. We are always so well set up behind the ball and usually play the boundary line. The whole game plan is about minimising the chance for them to score if we turn it over. The general clearance is also different than the centre bounce because we can set up with an extra behind the ball. Opposition clubs will usually give us this as they can't match Petracca and Oliver. We will often lose clearances badly because we are outnumbered but not suffer on the scoreboard.

I watched the replay last night and I think we played pretty well and much better than has been . We were excellent in the first quarter and would have been further in front had we not failed to convert from set shot. The Bombers scoring shots were from lucky wobbly kicks inside 50 or 50m penalties. The second half was a bit more concerning only because of the centre clearance. As much of a weapon the centre clearance was for us in the finals last year, we were not a great over the course of the season last year. I would like us to be a bit more conservative in there. I still think the only way we lose at the moment (when our pressure is high) is if we kick poorly for goal and/or we get badly beaten in the centre clearance. Both these things happened on Friday and we still won by 29 points.

Very good summary. Rosman’s athletic profile is exceptional but he fumbled too much yesterday. I think Chandler was better than has been reported. I don’t think he’s far off the AFL. He is better than Spargo and Bedford in the air and a much longer kick. Daw, Dunstan and Melksham were all underwhelming.

Howes looks clean and he has good pace and size. He runs on top of the ground a bit like Kelly from GWS and Gunston. He needs to find more of the ball but what he does do looks pretty classy.

How did Howes slide that far in the draft? Looks like he will be a star!

I think this day in 1990 was one of the greatest wins in my time.

Max gave away 6 frees against the Bulldogs and mis-timed some of his marks but he was otherwise ok, including his long 55m goal when we really needed it. He dropped a large number of marks against the Suns and looked exhausted in the third quarter on Saturday. Not his best game, but Witts is a tough opponent for him because he is just as tall and heavier than Max. I reckon he has been pinged twice unfairly this year for shepherding when he caught the ball in the ruck on the way down. The adjudication on this rule has been strange in some other games I have watched. I think it is premature to worry because he is covering the ground well and marking form can turnaround quickly.

Yep

Great to see they are making all the VFL games on TV or streaming this year.

James Jordon is a Flag Hero!

Salem is not really replaceable but I would still back is to win most games and we have some decent depth players. Having Bowey to release pressure and find a free target by foot is such a luxury.