DeeSpencer

Cap space. Not nothing, but we better spend it on something good soon

They all are B or even C graders, but there’s pace and/or a physical robustness about those players that has them equal if not better than the Melbourne counterparts.

He looked good his first few VFL games but as the Casey forward line has got taller and taller and the midfield less stocked he’s dropped right off. It’s a worry he’s getting progressively less output and the bye hasn’t helped.

Who? None of their backs are, that’s for sure, they play 7 very solid players who all complement Moore, a little undersized with Markov in for Howe but he’s not terrible. I don’t think their mids are. We’d love Josh Daicos on a wing or even WHE so we had a 3rd wing/forward. Their forward line aren’t big names but Cox is a forward/ruck when we have 2 rucks. Mihocek and Ash Johnson (in place of McStay) are better than our talls. Elliot >>>> Fritsch because he defends. 3 smalls - Bobby Hill, McCreery and sometimes Ginnivan all are better than Spargo and Chandler. Taylor Adams plays the ANB defensive forward role. They’ve got more run, more mid/forward and backline versatility (Crisp and Daicos can swap) and better more functional talls. The only advantages we have on them is 2 rucks - which we can’t leverage, and 2 superstar on ballers - which we struggle to leverage. If Petty plays back we have a height advantage with 3 tall backs but we need run from the backline and a CHF so that’s no advantage either. Don’t make the mistake Langdon did thinking the Pies are some coaching/game plan miracle. It’s not true, they’re a very talented and well balanced team that play to their strengths.

If you don’t think our handballing doesn’t need work I don’t think you’ve watched the last two weeks! Attacking handballing to get out of trouble allows a player running free to then balance up and kick to a target. Not saying kicking isn’t an issue too but handballing drives our scoring chains, the same for most sides

I know the 21 day hamstring isn’t a thing any more but I wouldn’t want to be the coach or medical staff telling him he can’t play King’s Birthday if he ticks off all the clinical indicators.

2 of those 3 are true. Carlton have been moving the ball like they’re drunk. Due to lack of half back skill and midfield pace they have no tempo. Much like us at times. Their midfield injuries actually open up a chance for Fisher and Dow to come in and be a completely different mix.

We’re all a bit sensitive today aren’t we. BBB is a premiership hero and a great person but he’s over 30 with a chronic degenerative knee issue. The poor guy can barely break out of a jog any more. Kane Lambert is a Richmond hero who had a bung hip and couldn’t run to his previous levels. He was 30 last year when Richmond - in finals contention - wound him up prior to the midseason draft. He’s now their midfield coach. BBB could be in the coaches box helping Stafford get the best out of forwards and letting Jefferson have a more prominent role at Casey. I’m not saying boot him from the club. But it really looks like time for him as a player

Riv mid. Riv mid. I know he’s been mostly good down back but Gus can roll back with Hunter in. It’s time to unleash Rivers on ball. FB: Hibberd May McVee HB: Salem Lever Brayshaw C; Hunter Petracca Langdon HF: Spargo T Mc ANB FF: Pickett JVR Fritsch Foll: Gawn Rivers Viney Int: Grundy Bowey JJ Sparrow s: Chandler

Why not today or tomorrow? The issue with this group is it’s one too many players unless they are providing significant midfield minutes. ANB usually gets a go on a wing or mid, but that takes him from his best role. IMO Pickett’s lost the trust of the coaches to play midfield due to his suspect attack on the ball and we need him forward. Spargo and Chandler don’t go on ball (they could!) and lack weapons to create goals through pressure or craft. And I’ve made my thoughts clear on Fritsch if we’re playing 2 rucks and 2 talls he has to provide pressure or a wing rotation to contribute to the team and not his stat sheet.

Which one of Curnow or McKay are you putting Tomlinson on because their goal kicking woes won’t matter when they have 20 shots. Lever just has to grow a set and win some contests, which in fairness he has been doing. With the occasional loss which I can live with unless it comes with the game on the line (should’ve been a free for unrealistic attempt not withstanding)

His consistent fend offs rather than using the first option are coach killers. If you don’t trust yourself and your team mates to give a quick handball you’re fundamentally broken as a player. Yet alone spoiling team mates in the air The problem is we’re crying out for a half forward with a bit of speed, power and size. Freo’s half backs were killing our smalls, but it can’t be Harmes

Collingwood have a far better list than us. Much better backline, deeper and more balanced midfield, much more even forward line. Goodwin crafted the perfect system to get the most out of our stars but so many of our players are one dimensional and fit in certain roles. It’s not a surprise that injuries or shifts in the game have opened up deficiencies quickly. We also maxed out every talented player on the list for the 21 flag. The only recent high pick who didn’t play that day was Laurie who still isn’t at the level. Look at what Richmond added in 2019 to cover really only the loss of Rance: Richmond fielded sixteen of the twenty-two players who had been part of its premiership team in 2017: Pickett, Tom Lynch, Shai Bolton, Ivan Soldo, Jayden Short and Liam Baker were the new players Grundy for Jackson and the downgrade that forces on Max, the tail end of Hunter, McVee, Chandler and a baby tall in JVR isn’t enough.

You don’t think we should take a gamble on a player on Wednesday and help turnover a list that’s got a lot of veterans that aren’t up to it? I wouldn’t want to waste the chance to have a look at a fresh player.

By the way there was a genuine intent for players to link handballs and get back towards the corridor yesterday rather than bail to the boundary from contests in the middle of the ground. So much so that we saw a comical passage of about 8 handballs whilst Gawn and someone else sat on the boundary side by themselves in the 4th quarter. There’s often evidence of the team trying to do different things if you actually look for it. The issue is it breaks down under pressure and/or fatigue.

Deadline is Tuesday before the draft on Wednesday. Who’s retiring? Brown, Melksham, McDonald, Hunter, Dunstan? Surely big Vitzmagic goes on the Long term injury list. Jefferson could have an extra 4 months in the gym rather than a string of more 4 touch games. Is our pro scout still banking cheques despite not finding a good mature age pick up since Vanders?

Highly disagree. We won the contested ball, won the tackles, won tackles inside 50, won centre clearances and lost stoppage clearances by 3 which means we probably won the clearances between the arcs and had more inside our forward 50 where we drop the ruck out and play 1 short. Distance, speed in defence numbers all look fine. Skill execution and a touch of structure (or more so structural break downs) were the problems yesterday not effort. It’s unfair to question effort.

Maybe I need to watch the replay but he laced out Fritsch/Spargo with the best inside 50 kick of the day and they spoiled each other. He also had a lovely release handball to Tracc on the wing, that’s just 2 I remember To me he wasn’t worse than the display of butchery Harmes had. Or Spargo or Chandler

He had a couple of shocking clangers, he had a couple of regulation mistakes that will happen when you have 18 touches and only 1 mark (ie very little uncontested kick mark). He had 9 tackles and some quality disposals and fought hard to halve a heap of contests. He definitely was not the problem.

Defensive half scoring is not sustainable against good teams though. What’s that number without the 3 easy wins? We lost the game when our transition defensive run dropped off in the middle to late 3rd quarter. Maybe it was time for an aggressive sub then? Or to play a 5th on baller. With sloppy execution pretty much everywhere. And with a lack of goal scoring forward efforts be they team or individual, you need a pack mark, a crumb, a laced out kick, a chase down tackle. Freo pulled a few out today and we didn’t.

The lack of run from our backline is the most mystifyingly aspect of our side. Lever used to be so good as a handballer who could go both sides and make quick decisions. May could link up. And Bowey, Salem, Rivers can all run, are very good handballers and good kicks. Maybe the mids aren’t back their quick enough, maybe our wings are too wide looking for outside ball (and slow if it’s Hunter or Gus). But there’s something really troubling about the way our backline has just lost all run over the last 2 years.

Our biggest issues are run, skills, speed and selfishness. Our defenders do no run the ball out nor attempt to hit corridor kicks. Langdon is always ready and waiting, the ball doesn’t get to him. Our mids don’t work in cohesion to receive uncontested kicks, leading in and out of zone gaps. All over the ground we are slow in transition and too defensive. Our wings drop back too far and leave their man for 45 switches. May goal keeps. The rucks drop deep out of every forward. stoppage and we never lock the ball in. Particularly up forward we have big issues with selfishness in terms of not blocking, not staying down, not passing to open team mates and in the case of Fritsch not chasing. We don’t smother. And of course our forwards don’t lead because our mids don’t kick to leads. A vicious circle. These aren’t coaching or personnel problems that can be solved over night and not with VFL players coming in. They are problems that have come from emphasising a way of playing that won a flag in 2021 and not adapting the list. Petty, Oliver and better goal kicking and I suspect we win with todays effort pretty comfortably. But we aren’t some super team that can just romp to victory. We have a lot of flawed players, including our stars.

The 8 touch game and the 9 touch game today and some of his 1 tackle efforts. ANB plays the toughest position on the ground and does his job week to week. His output with the pill depends on how he has it delivered and who he can pass to. When both of those things line up he excels. Sparrow’s crazily undervalued by Melbourne supporters who just look at disposal numbers. He’s a role player but also a very good one.

This I agree with a little more. Would love to see more shuffling of magnets. Pickett should always get a little midfield time but we desperately need his pace and pressure forward. So short stints. Lever was abused by smaller quick defenders turning him around last year. He also provides no skills and no run. So if he gets intercept marks he’s slow unlike Moore or Sicily or Stewart. Goodwin can’t change to be more like Collingwood and have Lever as a witches hat playing by himself. He’s still getting intercept chances whilst taking a man. I don’t believe he’s struggling all that much either, he’s struggling (like May) when the ball is on the deck which comes down to poor form and poor training for the backs on how to execute under pressure. It’s a huge team issue. You know who’s cool under pressure - Judd McVee. Gus also plays as an interceptor when back. We can’t have Gus and Lever both as interceptors when Gus is back. Today Gus wasn’t back so that’s different. But Hibbo was great as a tall back.

Nibbler was good. Sparrow made a huge difference to our midfield defensive run and had great aerial efforts. McDonald actually competed well for a fair bit and got stuck deep forward dragging a key Freo tall out of play at times. I’m not at all convinced Schache would’ve been better than Tom, it’s Schache! Dunstan’s injured. Laurie isn’t consistent at VFL, how does that deserve a promotion. Howes isn’t ready, he should be, but he’s not, really inconsistent contests and drifts though games. Turner, maybe, but Hibbo was fantastic today. Disco’s close but he’s hardly smashed the door down. The only selection issue today was Harmes for JJ and JJ hardly impressed when subbed on. I suspect one was going to be sub no matter. There’s no evidence JVR is significantly tiring, he covered plenty of ground today. Same goes for McVee who was very solid defensively and didn’t get turned around by Freddy at any stage.