Fat Tony

Watts does a decent job as a second ruckman. He is clever in avoiding too much contact and has a reasonable go at the centre bounces. He is also very much an asset when the ball hits the deck, because of his pace and decision making. We obviously need to bring in Spencer this week, but I don't understand the angst about him being the second ruck.

I felt like one of the reasons we struggled to defend the Cats’ entries was the lack of a third tall in our defence. With Smith, Garland, Frost, Hibberd and Wagner all injured or underdone, Vince was playing the third tall role and I felt we did not get strong enough spoils in. Part of this also was Oscar not having enough impact when he did get the ball to ground. I hope that Goodwin sees this and we bring Frost or Wagner in next week.

Spencer for Gawn is obvious. I think we have been playing too small in the backline since Smith injured his shoulder because the potential replacements were either injured or short of a run. I would like to see Frost come into the side, with Vince going into the midfield to tag Fyfe. (I think he is too big for Viney.) On the other hand, I have no problem with playing a relatively short forward line, as the extra pace creates great forward pressure and generates turnovers. Weideman is a fine prospect but is still a year away IMO and needs to have a bigger impact to hold is spot, so I would go Frost for Weideman. Tyson needs to lift also because Brayshaw and Bugg are too good to be playing VFL and Lewis will come straight back after suspension. However, I would need to see a glowing VFL report on either Brayshaw and Bugg to advocate this change for this week.

It is buyer's remorse OD.

I would think we saved a chunk of salary cap space though. And we now have two players on the long-term injury list, so it doesn't matter anyway.

Garland's disposal efficiency was 93% against WC and the highest in our team. I know it can be a misleading stat and he is generally one of our worst users, but this is fake news.

The answer to the Weideman/Spencer debate is neither. Weideman will eventually be a very good player but isn't there yet. And we shouldn't every play two ruckmen given the influence Gawn has in the ruck. Either pick Pedersen or play small.

My take: Oliver is our best young talent. The Gawn/Oliver partnership is already dominant in the centre bounces, but we need to capitalise better on this advantage. Tom McDonald has had 3 ordinary games so far this year. He has done this in previous years and played well in round 1, so hopefully he does again. Our forward line was too tall and lacked forward pressure. As well as Spencer has played this preseason, I hope we go with just Hogan and Watts as our only talls in our forward line in round 1. Hopefully Garlett and Kent can play VFL next week. We lack a bit of speed around the ball. I would prefer to use Vince on the ball and Lewis and Jones off half back. Glad we didn't have any injuries. Garland played a solid game and probably needs to play against St Kilda given their marking forwards. Hogan's goal kicking technique has improved.

This is a very good analysis and this is how I expect the team to look in terms of structure. (I don't think Kent will be named due to fitness. I had JKH in his place.) Personally I had a smaller forward line without Weideman given the ground and opposition, but I can also see the long-term benefit in him playing every week.

Jetta O McDonald Hibberd Lewis T McDonald Hunt Vince Oliver Stretch Salem Hogan Brayshaw Petracca Watts Kennedy-Harris Gawn Jones Viney Vandenberg Tyson Bugg Melksham I have gone for a small side as I am much more worried about St Kilda’s pace than the height in their forward line. With a zone defensive structure, so long as the pressure on the ball is there, we should generally get third man up coverage to spoil. Two ruckman should never be considered IMO. Gawn is dominant in the ruck and needs to play there and Spencer is a hopeless forward. It might work with eight on the bench, but it won’t in the regular season. Watts is a capable second ruckman and is our second best forward. He must play if fit. Weideman is developing well but until he becomes consistently dominant in the air, he will be a liability. Tyson is the 22nd player I have selected for this game given his injury and it is at Etihad. Smith looks exciting, but needs to become a bit cleaner with his skills. Frost would be in my best side, but it does not sound like he is fit. I think Bugg has been solid this preseason and I like the tackling pressure that he and Vandenberg provide.

Surely Watts not playing VFL on Saturday indicates he is more likely to play against West Coast.

Two rucks would be a terrible decision, especially on a fast Docklands track. Watts or Pedersen has to play as our second ruckman (or both) IMO.

I hope we rest our stars. We need to work out our best 22 for round 1, so our fringe players need to play to earn a position in the side. There needs to be a balance between being ready to go for round 1 and fresh enough come finals time.

We beat all of Port, Bulldogs & Saints last preseason and went 1-4 against those teams in the real stuff. It's fun to watch but it doesn't mean much.

There is no harm trying things in the meaningless preseason practice matches. I think going to 16 a side and a rule requiring 3 players from each side inside each 50 at stoppages & at kick ins would probably make the game a much better spectacle. But we wouldn't be able to know either way without trialing it.

Who cares if they strike for the pre-season practice matches? While the players deserve to be well paid, the AFL should never agree to a revenue sharing model. Revenue does not equal profit and most of the AFL’s revenue is generated by a handful of clubs. The AFL is already propping up half the clubs at the moment and such a model could potentially put clubs in danger of folding in the future. The AFLPA are being short term in there thinking and their demands will benefit the best players but could also result in job losses among their union.

Yes I agree with this but it does not mean either are "best 22" and I would rather we pick the team that maximises our chances of winning in the early rounds.

I am unconvinced that either Weideman or Oscar McDonald are in our “best 22” at this stage. I am not saying that they should not play most games this season, as we really need them both to develop into bona fide AFL players.

Obviously there will be changes due to preseason form and fitness, but at this stage I would be looking at: Jones O McDonald Hibberd Hunt Frost Lewis T McDonald Vince Salem Kent Hogan Vandenberg Petracca Watts Garlett Gawn Oliver Viney Stretch Brayshaw Jetta Bugg Notes Vince has played his best football for us as an inside midfielder tagging high calibre opponents. While he can play other roles, I think he is one of our best players when played in this role and there are a lot of gun midfielders in the competition who need a minder. Oliver is our best centre square clearance player and thus should start in the midfield. Lewis should be played in a similar role to Matthew Boyd at the Dogs IMO, who plays as their highest defender up the ground. I feel our midfield will become too slow with him in there. T McDonald plays on Riewoldt. Tyson is best 22 but I am not sure about him for Round 1 as he will be coming off a limited preseason for a fast game at Etihad. I like Vandenberg as the third tall forward as he provides better tackling pressure than Pederson or Weideman. Smith is a chance for this role also. I am not a big fan of Oscar McDonald and he needs to lift his intensity in the contest. But the Saints have a big forward line. The only locks in my 22 are Jones, Vince, Lewis, Gawn, Viney, T McDonald, Hunt, Watts, Hibberd and Hogan.

It could be Vandenberg.

Thanks for the report. I am a glass half full with respect to Frost. While Frost will never be a complete player, he is one of the best athletes in the game and break away speed is crucial in today's game. I even wonder if he should be tried in the centre square as a midfielder just for the bounce.

Thanks Spence. So Kennedy-Harris returned to training?

Our midfield has a lot of potential, but it does not possess any elite players other than Max Gawn. And Champion Data have excluded ruckmen from its analysis. (This is a bit silly IMO given the ruckman is a key player in the midfield.) Personally, I feel it is more accurate to be judging midfields using team statistics rather than assessing players individually. On the basis of clearances, hard ball gets and loose ball gets, the Dogs are far and away the best midfield and we are slightly above average.

Fyfe and Martin are two of the best players in the competition. Of course we should go after them.

Taylor and co obviously think that there is value in recruiting from the state leagues rather than 18 year olds from the VSFL. It seems a bit of a moneyball tactic for our later picks.