Fat Tony

Fritch is meeting the doctor on Friday and a decision will be made then. Burgess sounded like he was better than 50/50.

Our best small defender since Alan Johnson?

Langdon always appears to be playing the far side wing, which is opposite to the interchange. We then typically kick long on a slow play to the interchange side. This helps the midfield rotations.

The rules for the NGA academies are based on minority parentage. The top 20 draft picks are now open to NGA players after the Dogs were gifted the number 1 pick last year. (The change was good for the game but could hurt us this year with Mac Andrew being a potential top 20 pick.) The NSW and Queensland clubs have different academy rules which are similar to the Father Son system.

This team is intriguing. I think Fritsch on the wing and TMac as a high half forward actually works better, but this is one way to juggle our best players into the 22.

The AFL is just scratching the surface in terms of African players IMO. There could be a premiership for the club that cracks it first.

Yes he looked a cut above. I am a believer in Joel Smith. Super quick and great endurance. The new rules are in his favour. Look how well players like Aliir, Hunt, Jiath and Howe are going. Hopefully he gets back and shows what he can do.

I watched the first 3 quarters before heading to the MCG. goodoil has given a great summary of the game. My takes: Rosman looks a great athlete and smooth mover. Looks a good AFL prospect IMO. Joel Smith is a super athlete and while he makes skill errors at times, we shouldn't give up on him yet. Weideman is a 50 goal a season AFL forward. He just needs to find a spot in the side. Bowey has good pace and balance. He needs to add strength but looks a good pick up. Deakyn Smith has good pace and used the ball well. I don't like his ball drop. Chandler has the pace and skill. Not sure he will ever get strong enough but certainly good signs. Casey are a good bet for the flag.

In terms of talent, TMac, Weideman, Ben Brown, Jackson and Fritsch are all top 10-15 players, so unless we get injuries, we are going to need to experiment with a taller forward line. TMac played 98% game time yesterday, Jackson 80% and Mitch Brown 79%. Gawn played 90% and Brayshaw 87% and Langdon 90%. Because Gawn and Langdon are so fit, there isn't that many second wing or second ruck minutes. On Friday, the Eagles played a side including Allen, Kennedy, Darling as forwards. Nic Nat and Vardy in the ruck. Brander and Waterman on the wings/flanks. McGovern, Barrass and Rotham in defence. That’s 9-10 key position players. So I think you can play a 3 tall forward line but there needs to be a lot of quick small players as well. I like Brayshaw how is going on the wing but a solution I would trial is to push Fritsch onto the wing and push Brayshaw back to half back. Brayshaw went back against the Cats when May was injured and was very good. Another experiment worth trialling is Jackson as an onballer in the Blicavs mould.

The Eagles are playing a side that includes Allen, Kennedy, Darling forward. Nic Nat and Vardy in the ruck. Brander and Waterman on the wings/flanks. McGovern, Barrass and Rotham in defence. That’s 9-10 key position players.

Patton is only 27, so not an old fella.

Just had a listen to this and got to say how great it is to have Choco at MFC. He is tough, passionate and a bit mad. We are lucky to have someone with some much energy. It is crazy to think he found his way out of the AFL system.

Petty for May seems obvious from a structural perspective. Fritsch is a tough player to replace and we could go a number of different ways. Mitch Brown or Chandler could come in, or Sparrow just comes into the 22 and we replace the sub. One option could be to switch Hunt forward this week and include Hibberd.

We were brilliant that day.

And how about they turn on the lights before three quarter time!!

The competition is already has too many teams and the talent is spread too thin IMO. Moreover, how many clubs are truly sustainable without significant AFL support? Probably 6 in Victoria, 2 in WA, 1 in Adelaide and 1 in Sydney. It makes no sense to be adding two new teams to be on the teet.

Against the Saints Petracca had the most Clangers (9) and equal lowest Disposal Efficiency (50%). We won’t beat the best sides if we turn the ball over like that.

Hibberd is ahead of Rivers, Jetta and Hunt IMO. While we are going ok, he needs to come in and it should be for Jetta. The fact that May had to play on Greene indicates that we have not solved the small lockdown defender role. Melksham should come in for Jones or Sparrow, who should remain in the 23.

It was great to win but this game really showed that our star players are flawed. We are really going nowhere as a side unless Oliver, Petracca and Gawn make significant improvement in terms of skill execution. All three have missed a number of very easy set shots this year. And Petracca needs to stop turning the ball over when he gets first hands on a clearance and hit targets by foot going inside 50. 22 clangers from 83 disposals for the year is a disgrace. Unless these three players fix things, we won’t be able to become a top side.

Assuming all our talls are fit and in form, we are going to have to play 3 key forwards because Ben Brown, TMac and Weideman are all good quality AFL players and Jackson will be a star. While Fritsch has been finding the ball inside 50 on the lead, he has been failing to convert and I think Brown will take over his role as full forward and will be very difficult to stop. I would look at using Fritsch on the non Langdon wing. Weideman, TMac and Jackson are both mobile enough to play up the field but I think we can only play two. I am a huge fan of Jackson but I can see him being squeezed out if we go for our best side. In saying this, there will always be injuries and a need to rest players.

Ben Brown could be the best forward in the competition with space in the forward line and no chopping of the arms.

Lever only came off for a short period in the last quarter when he hurt his foot. He would have played 100% otherwise. The other one with high game time the last two weeks is Gawn at over 90%. While the new rules have reduced the number of stoppages and long kicks to packs, they benefit him in terms of favouring his endurance.

Fritsch is a very frustrating player. He looks a good kick technically but obviously misses way too often for a deep forward (and often badly). With the rule changes, I can see Ben Brown being almost unstoppable at full forward if he is given space to operate and can get back to his best. The coach will also be tempted to play three key forwards given TMac's 2021 form, Jackson's potential and athleticism and Weideman's marking and endurance. Given all that, I can see Fritsch be pushed up on the Brayshaw wing once we get our full side back.

The balance of our side looks very good at the moment and, but for poor goal kicking, we should have won both games by 40 and 50 points. In saying this, Hibberd and Melksham are still in our best side IMO once they are fit and in form. Jetta, Jones, Rivers and Sparrow would be on the fringe at the moment, but they have all played well enough to hold their spots on Saturday. I can see why most posters are calling for no change, but IMO Hibberd for Jetta, Rivers or Hunt and Melksham for Jones would improve our side.

Is that a guess or information?