Fat Tony

What a ridiculous decision by the states. The AFL players and coaches would be one of the most tested populations in the world.

Would be a good time to get the Tigers IMO. They have been ordinary since the restart.

A real positive was Pickett's speed, balance and skill. Every game he has played he has looked better and better. As painful as every loss is given North have our pick this year, we have got a beauty.

Cats finished top of the ladder in the home and away last season and missed the finals only twice since 2003.

It was disappointing to lose, but Geelong are a very good side and I think we are making progress. As poor a spectacle as the game was, it was good to see Goodwin develop a game plan to defend the MCG. The Cats had a lot of ball but had only 14 shots at goal and 12 scoring shots. If we had have executed our defensive skills better, they would have hardly scored. Offensively, we are still lacking potency up forward and that is a combination of our midfield not being skilled enough by foot and not having good forwards. The chemistry will get better as the year goes on. The game is now shocking to watch, but team defence is the only way to win. At least Goodwin has discovered a method to defend. I think we will win the next couple and get our season kick started.

Harmes might tag Dangerfield by the look of our side. Or Smith could go forward. May, Lever, Smith, Hibberd, Salem, Lockhart, Rivers and Harmes is one too many defenders.

I still hope they pick Weideman. TMac as the lone key forward is not a solution IMO.

The Freo game is listed as an away game, which is a good sign, as it means we will probably only get 1-2 more away games interstate. (We may play home games in the NT.) Also we haven’t really had a good record at the MCG under Goodwin.

I hate Essendon as much as any club. But we could easily find ourselves in the same predicament as the Bombers later in the year and we have already had two players suspended for breaking the isolation rules. So I don't think we should be complaining too much. This has a good chance to derail their season and at least we didn't play them before McKenna tested positive.

That's all good and fair, but it looks so far that we have spent a lot of assets (picks and salary cap space) and gone backwards.

Have we made the correct call on any of Howe, Dunn, Frost, May or Lever?

They obviously rate him highly, which is a good sign. Still, I think ANB will be stiff to get dropped.

The Bombers have a small forward line with McKernan and Stringer surrounded by smalls. I would swap Smith forward and switch Jones back. Hopefully this means we get less players jumping up to spoil. I would also swap Jackson for Weideman, who will give us a better target. I know Pickett is a talent, but it is unfair to drop Hunt or ANB IMO. Unless we have an injury or Bennell is rested, he will have to earn his way back.

I agree with this. We should only play two of Weideman, Jackson, Tmac or Petty up forward. I think Smith could play forward as a third tall in addition because of his speed.

While Landgon and Tomlinson are both improvements on last year , they are both still just ordinary wingers. Tomlinson is too slow and Langdon fumbles too often. I reckon Vandenberg, at his best, is better than both.

This thread is stupid because: 1) Brayshaw was excellent with his pressure and played a good solid game on Saturday. 2) We are stacked with inside midfielders, who are also our best players, so players like Brayshaw, Petracca and Harmes need to be able to play secondary positions.

Great to get the win and our first quarter was exceptional. The rest of the game, however, was pretty concerning. Our game plan is about pressure and this is clearly only sustainable for part of the game. Once we lost our dominance in the midfield our game plan is flawed. We hardly ever switch in the back half and need to chip the ball around more when it is a slow play. I think have a few structural issues with our side that can be fixed. Firstly, we would be better with just Lever and May as tall defenders. We often have three up in the contest and that is partly chemistry but it is also the players in defence and their mindset. I think we should play a smaller defence and rely on Gawn helping out. Lever and May need to earn their money and beat the key forwards. Secondly, Jones would be much better suited to half back. There he and Salem can play a quarterback role. I am a fan of Smith given his athleticism but I think he would be better as a forward. Thirdly, we need to have more rotations through the midfield to keep the heat on. Melksham, Jones, Bennell, ANB and Harmes need to get a few more minutes inside. Jackson was ok but is not ready yet. Weideman would give us more of a target and we need that given TMac’s form regression. Rivers looks a great pickup. It will be hard to find a spot for Pickett next week given the form of ANB and Hunt. Bennell was ok and composed but a fair way off in terms of intensity. Maybe he gets a rest next week.

I agree that Weideman hasn't yet been able to really clunk his marks, but at least he has shown he has the timing to hit the ball at the top of his leap. Jackson wasn't able to get his the timing right in the preseason and overhead marking wasn't a strength of his as a junior. Petty has actually shown the most promise in this regard, but he is obviously injured. In an ideal world they all come good!

Risky decision to play 2 debutants and second gamer in Kossie. Still, it’s a good sign that we have drafted well given the kids are in the side so early on. Also risky to play Harley for a different reason. It will be a massive win for us if he can recapture his early years. Hopefully Jackson has improved over the last few months as a forward. I would have played Weideman, who is more of an aerial threat, but good luck to the kid. Happy we picked Smith. His athleticism is off the charts. While we look short down back, Max will drop back and help. Hunt was a surprising selection but I like him more than other small forwards because he can at least complete in the air. My guess is he’ll play a negative role on Docherty. Another point in Hunt’s favour is the shorter games. (This goes against ANB.) Lockhart was stiff but how many very small defenders can you play? Jetta and Salem are better by foot and rightfully got a game. The biggest question on the result is how we negate Cripps.

I think McCartin might be a better defender and I hope we take a punt on him.

Trials at the lower level will not be meaningful, as the game is so much different at VFL level. Bold action is required now. The game is stuffed and taking players off the field will obviously reduce congestion.

Harmes plays his best footy in the midfield, but so do Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw and Jones. Clearly we are trying to fit Petracca into the rotation as well. In saying this, I think Harmes is pretty important in terms of running with big midfielders such as Cripps, Fyfe, Yeo, Kennedy, Dangerfield etc. Maybe Brayshaw will be used in that role like he was against Yeo and WCE in Alice Springs. I can see the reason why Harmes is being trialled elsewhere, but I think he would be better in the forward line given he is not an elite athlete and he doesn't have elite foot skills.

The Good Petracca was fantastic and dominant. Jones was excellent as well. I really like Jones as a high half back alongside Salem. Tomlinson was solid and composed. Langdon was ok and will be a good recruit. Pickett was quiet but looks quick, hard and balanced Vandenberg got through unscathed. Brown kicked 3 goals but looked nonthreatening. Lever was ok but his kicking is still a bit of a worry. The Bad The Crows were very poor and this win was actually pretty ordinary when you consider the opposition. Our forward line was dysfunctional and lacked a focal point. Hopefully it gets better with Fritsch. Weideman was just ordinary and dropped 6 or so marks he needed to hold. Sparrow got involved and lacked composure Hibberd was more 2019 than 2018. Spargo was hopeless. OMac was not improved. Jackson didn’t do much and I expect he will mostly play VFL this season. Harmes at half back didn’t really work. Harmes isn’t that quick or a great kick, so I don’t really understand the thinking on this move other than the coaches needing to shift someone out of the midfield to fit Petracca in. I would prefer we play Oliver, Harmes, Petracca, Viney and Brayshaw through midfield and have them share some time in the forward line.

It is actually unlikely that all those teams make it IMO.

Isn’t the proposal for a retractable canopy? I think it would be a great idea if it stacks up economically.