Fat Tony

After a bad nights sleep reflecting on last night's loss, it is pretty clear the players were extremely flat and tired going into the game. They only had a four day break and have been on the road for a month, so it is a bit understandable to have a let down. (That's not to say it wasn't very disappointing.) We have played pretty well over the last three weeks and so the game needs to be put into perspective. In saying this, I am a bit perplexed by Goodwin saying last week that he wasn't going to rest any players over this period of compressed games. This is clearly a mistake. We should be making significant changes to bring in some fresh legs, otherwise we will just get the same result as last night. Our game style is about pressure at the contest and we cannot win if we don't get this right. And we need fresh players to achieve this. Plus, our depth is reasonably good. I would prefer to see a fresh Tomlinson play instead of a cooked Jackson.

Pickett needs to stop giving away free kicks at the end of his chase. The fact that this has happened about half a dozen times this season is an indictment on our coaching.

The lack of fresh players injected into the side off a 4 day break was a moronic decision.

I agree. Apart from Petracca, Gawn, Oliver, Langdon, Viney and May, our players are fairly replaceable. We would be better off swapping our depth players around than playing our tired B graders. We should back Jones, Brown, Rivers, Smith, ANB, Hunt, Tomlinson et al can all be serviceable AFL players.

I think we really need to adopt a squad mentality to selection for the rest of the season. The 22 that played against Hawthorn plus ANB, Hunt, TMac, Brown, Jones, Tomlinson, Rivers and Smith will be the core players coming into the side. Preuss may even get a run if Gawn needs to be rested. Players like Dunkley, Sparrow, Baker and Jordon might even get a chance. The question is how we manage our key players like Petracca and Oliver. May and Langdon are also important given they are not easily replaceable. Like with Gawn, I would try to play these four in every game, but it will be a game to game proposition depending on how they recover. Bennell probably plays every second game and freshman Jackson and Pickett will play less games than they otherwise might. Still, looking at our depth, and the fact that our key players are largely in the perfect age bracket to recover, we are pretty well placed to do well in this crammed fixture.

We have a reasonably healthy list and decent depth. This could be an advantage for us. The Port game will be the toughest to get up for. We should ask the AFL to shift our game vs Brisbane to Saturday night.

Goodwin just on SEN. Said TMac will be healthy but intimidated he was not a certain selection due to the form of Jackson and Weideman.

Great win but I still think we have another gear or two which we can get to. We played a bit like the Alice Game vs Adelaide in 2018, but not quite as clean. I hate Hawthorn more than any other club, so I have liked almost all the posts on this thread. It was great beating them but it also great knowing they are finally on the slide. Petracca and Gawn were awesome. Petracca's goal kicking is much more confident. The only downside was Viney missing that goal when he shrugged the tackle and gave a one-two from the centre bounce. I would have lost it had that gone through. Weideman has started to give us a real target and is kicking straight. Our tall backs are starting to gel and spoiling each other less. Jackson will be unstoppable if he can improve his marking and kick straight. Bennell is getting better every week. I spoke to a relative of Darren Burgess last week and he said how exited the club are about Harley, saying he is two weeks away from his best. The connection with our forwards was much improved and Weid and the other forwards did a pretty good job getting the ball to ground. Kossie looks so skilful and electric. He needs to be a bit cleverer about the way he finishes his chases to not give away free kicks. Hannan has been in really good form and has improved his goal kicking.

It will be a really tough selection week. Obviously the easy selection would be to make no change. But: TMac is in our best side and we need to get him up and playing at his best. And I don't think we should go with 3 talls, as pressure is so important. Charlie Cameron is a tough match up for us and a key to winning. He is way too fast for Jetta and too good in the air for Lockhart. Joel Smith could be our best match up from an athletic perspective. I still think Jones off half back would make us a better side.

It wouldn't bother me if Goodwin was watching re-runs of The Simpsons in the box. As long as we win.

Has anyone got the jumper yet or know when they will arrive? I am planning to give it as a present.

Are any of our players at risk of pulling out?

In offence, AFL footy is about finding space and having the ball kicked to advantage. In defence, AFL footy is about coordinating as a team, so that space is covered equally, and particularly so the dangerous space is covered. These changes have elevated the importance of having a good game sense for defenders and increased the importance of a leap for forwards, so that they can elevate and protect the marking contest. Smith potentially has a bit of Jarred Waite about him and would be much better suited up forward.

My changes would be: Jetta out for Jones. TMac out if injured for Smith playing forward. Harmes to play forward and Melksham at half back. Lockhart OMcDonald Lever Salem May Hibberd Vandenberg Oliver Langdon Harmes TMcDonald/Smith Bennell Pickett Weideman Fritsch Jones Melksham Brayshaw Hannan

My take: Kudos to Oscar. The two best parts of his game were his spoil on King on the wing when he was right on his tail and then going for the mark on the goal line in the last quarter rather than spoiling. It was his best game since QB 2018 and he looked more confident. Max Gawn was on 3AW on Sunday and was saying how Oscar is our best reader of the play down back and helps organise our defence, with Lever the main beneficiary. I am sure this is true, but he also needs to make sure he competes strongly, otherwise he is a liability. Some of our defensive efforts in the backline were a bit lacking and our small defenders were ordinary IMO. The second quarter was particularly disappointing given they had only 6 entries and 5 scoring shots. I think Jetta is almost finished and Jones or Rivers would give us a lot more drive out of the backline. Oliver and Petracca got a lot of it but were very sloppy at times and need to improve for us to take the next step. Viney was fantastic and Gawn played much better (although his kicking was poor). Weideman was both good and bad, but he is a key for us going forward and we need to persevere. Our forward entries were a little bit better and having Weideman as the main target meant that we weren't out marked as often. In saying this, he still needs to work harder when out of position on getting the ball to ground. Hopefully it gets better again with TMac and Weideman playing together. Hibberd is having a better season and looks to be getting back to near his best. Our kick in strategies are uninspiring. We allow too much ground to be taken off the mark in defence and May's kicking is inconsistent and the option is predictable. I would like to see Melksham and Harmes swap ends. Melksham is out of form but still one of our best kicks and could do with a stint at high half back and Harmes is better forward/on ball. If TMac is unable to play, I hope we go with Smith as a forward. He has the capability of competing in the air but also the speed to apply pressure on the deck. I feel like Smith is a player we need to get games into as a forward, because with his athleticism, he could take a big step.

Smaller ground dimensions will suit us IMO.

Interesting graphic, but Lever gets well looked after in his matchups.

Weideman needs to hold his marks when he gets two hands to the ball and clunk them. And then kick straight. Not only will this be the difference in him becoming a genuine AFL player, but it has the potential to completely transform our side. Until he does this consistently, he will not be in our best 22 players. That's not to say Weideman should not be picked for structural and/or development reasons, because he has certainly shown potential. Weideman won't get a better opportunity than at MFC given how desperately we need a key forward to stand up. He should look at how Casboult is playing for Carlton. I think the shorter games have also meant that the need for a second ruckman is reduced. Also TMac and Tomlinson are both able to play a large percentage of the game. These factors have brought a rethink about how the team needs to be structured.

This may have already been covered, but looking at the fixture, it would appear the AFL is likely to have to shift our game against Freo to Melbourne.

Jones for AVB would be my only change.

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.