DeeSpencer

I know we got belted at the contest last night but I struggle to think a team with Oliver, Petracca and Viney need another grunt player. I’d go either Brayshaw on ball and/or JJ wing/on ball and roll the wingers through the forward flanks more. Laurie hff an option too. Dunstan remains almost purely Oliver and Viney insurance to me. Jefferson might be years away from afl footy but boy he can run and jump at the ball. When he and JVR combine its exciting.

Good quarter from our young forwards getting going in that quarter. AMW and Seston both helping to break it open. JVR does some great things as an extra mid when in the ruck. Jed Adams gave away a goal with a free kick, then the next inside 50 he took a strong grab, played on and drove the ball long to advantage that set up a goal. He hasn’t had to do much and hasn’t been perfect but I’ve liked a bit of his game on debut.

Rough end of the half losing some centre clearances and getting beat by some good efforts by the Dogs forwards. JJ’s been impressive with his ability to cover the ground and contested work in important contests. Whether he’s truly an inside mid just yet is another question but he’s certainly pushing for a spot and they can move wingers and find room for him. He’s kept it simple. Dunstan’s been Dunstan. Hibbo’s had some good moments, he’s certainly still a star at this level. Howes flashes brilliance just needs to get more playing at half back. K Turner has more work to do on his kicking than I thought previously but he’s very willing Scache’s been the best of the key forwards taking marks and drawing free kicks. JVR’s best has been enticing but he’s made a few unusual errors with his kicking. Has been involved though which is good. I’ve really liked the game of Max Gregory aka Fake Bowey.

Messy start seemingly in to the breeze. Most chances were long distance shots that are low percentage. Jeffo missed the easiest one when he played on with a rush of blood. So far in terms of key position watch if you combined; Schache’s height JVRs physicality Jefferson’s anticipation Smith’s athleticism You’d have a gun key forward. They’ve all got involved and Schache maybe the most chances at goal but no one standing out. JJ the best of the mids. Very solid defensive performance across the board but not a lot of standouts from down back

Tomlinson played on no one and had 8 disposals apart from kick ins and 4 intercept possessions. He wasn’t good. Petty had a stinker that’s for sure, but I think we all know why. If he’s not hampered by the injury he should be fine. 1 week is not form. It’s just a game. If you include preseason Petty had 3 very good weeks including a complete shut down job on Riewoldt before they subbed big Samson on fresh on a disgustingly hot game. His form has been good. Its also too early to throw Petty forward. Let’s give Tommy another week and try someone fresh alongside him (hopefully JVR) and then reassess.

Ruckman not named Nic Nat are overrated at stoppages and that includes Gawn. Our mids and coaches can adapt to Grundy. Grundy can still sit behind the ball (needs to work on his positioning and fitness) and spoil. He had some quality spoils last night. We’ll still have numbers at the drop and Grundy can chain up at ground level which is where Max has declined significantly in the last 2 years. The bigger concern to me remains forward of the ball where Max especially was meant to be our contested target. We should be running and using skills more but long down the line is a strategy every team needs at times. Max can nullify or beat 2 or even 3 opponents. Brown’s ok one on one but otherwise we’re in trouble.

All our faults got abused and none of our strengths were displayed. The mids got hammered. Oliver was mentally all at sea and back to his worst habits. Taking the ball stationary, back tracking, ineffective handballs and awful rushed kicking. Viney was rusty. Petracca bizarrely fumbly. Harmes awful. Sparrow was great after the delayed restart - displayed some high level decision making and release handballing - which makes his lack of impact for 3.5 quarters more concerning. Forward line were shown up for an inability to take a pack mark and control play and the inability to pressure. Supply was dreadful but it’s bad combination. Gawn’s height and Pickett’s speed were both badly missed. We’re really short on high level AFL athletes up forward. Backline had a stinker even up against a very talented forward line. Brisbane loaded up with talls and our talls couldn’t get set behind the ball in the right configuration. And then we didn’t use mobility as an advantage on the way out. Petty was mentally cooked from the start. Lever did some nice things but his kicking is diabolical. I can’t keep making the same point about how costly Brayshaw is. Bowey at least had a dip and McVee seemed disciplined to his job on Charlie.

Hibbo, JJ (assuming the flight gets back), Dunstan, JVR, Schache, Laurie, Joel Smith and even a massive outside chance in AMW all should be desperate to push their case. Both the young rucks being left out should give Schache and JVR opportunities to take some ruck minutes. Would love to see JJ or Dunstan demand to get picked with a dominant midfield performance. And I'd like to see Smith or AMW offer something dynamic up forward, even if they are unlikely to get picked. A bit of speed and tackling would be nice to see.

Viney I understand, he was rusty and it’s not the strength of his game. Has to be better and hopefully will be (without ever being great). Brayshaw can’t keep butchering it at half back whilst also playing slow most of the time. If he’s there to be a controlled short kicking sweeping player then he has to do that. No idea why we feel we need a slow chip kicking half back to begin with but if that’s the role then so be it. The worst thing is how often Hunter and Langdon are free on the wings and don’t get used. And Bowey plenty of times too. I know we don’t want to get sucked in to playing the wings but keep the ball moving at speed and safely and things will open up ahead.

Those stats heavily skewed by playing almost every game in 2020 when we weren’t great and mostly missing a stretch in 21 when we were excellent no matter who played

What’s your point? My point is the backline need a kick up the backside and to be coached far better. They get all the praise when it’s easy due to the upfield work and Bowey’s the only one who takes the game on. It’s not 2021, the game is more open and faster now, we have to match it

The midfields copped a bath but where’s the resiliency in our backline? I said all last year our backline are overrated and get a heap of protection from the players upground and it’s showing itself again tonight. The lack of run, spread and skill from our backs is just deplorable. Mentally they aren’t up for it. Same goes for our forwards but they’ve had no opportunity to show anything and we all know they’re no good.

They are because our depth is a mirage but they aren’t good players. Chandler is meh. T Mc is just hot and cold and the ruck isn’t helping. Gus is Gus. Probably a decent mid or tagger. An ok winger. A fraud at a half back against good supply, just wants to drop off all day long

Trying to play system footy without the elite players the system is designed upon. At some stage we have to play draft, develop and play the game on its merits. Players with the physical attributes and training to play the game as it presents itself rather than relying on Superstars like Gawn making life easy for them

Our added depth this year is McVee and Chandler. McVee is replacing Hibbo and Chandler’s fighting to hold a spot ahead of one of the depth mids as Pickett plays more midfield. As for the best possible 22 - which is mostly irrelevant as the chances of having all 22 fit and firing is slim - there’s still plenty of questions. Will our talls hold form and fitness through the year? Will the rucks and big forwards work? Do we need Brayshaw, Harmes or JJ on the wing for more height (some of Hunter’s aerial efforts were shoddy at best in round 1). Is Gus a reliable defender against good teams? Can we get away with 3 sub 185cm back flankers? Can we get away with 4 smaller forward flankers none of whom are strong aerialists? A strong first up effort doesn’t go close to answering any of these queries.

As for Charlie Cameron, I’d try to rotate McVee, Bowey and Rivers through him. Don’t ask one player to go it alone the full game

Laurie played a fairly defensive half forward game and I think he did a solid job of what was asked from him. But he would’ve know it was pretty much a 1 game contract. He can go back to the VFL now knowing he’s got the tank and discipline to do a job and he had a couple of skilful touches too. He’s not 23 and fighting for his last chance, he’s still a kid and 1 game in to a 2 year contract extension. Viney and Fritsch replacing Pickett and Laurie just means rejigging Harmes, Chandler and Sparrow’s roles a little bit. It’s not a big deal in terms of structure. They want Viney to do some stints at half forward and from what I saw at training they want Fritsch to do more on a flank too. So it’s not too drastic.

Have you seen any of his AFL games? No disrespect to Josh who I hope is ready to go if needed but I actually don't want to see him play. JVR will get his chance, there's no need to rush it. McDonald did little more than hit up and create space but look at the Dogs forward line and Lever being best on ground and realise there's a lot of value in a lead up CHF who covers a stack of ground.

He'll stir up as much controversy as he can this year about Pickett to try to make him unsettled and move to Port. He was relentless with North and JHF last year.

King wants every player who does something wrong hanged, drawn and quartered because he thinks it will somehow magically stop all incidents. Funnily enough he doesn’t apply the same logic to himself and numerous fellow North team mates who have had run ins with the law. Cornes is just a troll with a sinister motive.

I believe KC said we had 16 demons out there and no Woey who was getting a broken finger repaired. So the line up would be something like this. FF: Sestan Scache Jeffo HF: AMW JVR C; Howes JJ HB: D. Smith D. Turner Hibberd FB: J. Smith Adams? K. Turner Foll: KFW Dunstan? Int: Verrell That's a lot of young talls and an incredibly light on midfield if there's none of the better Casey mids in Munro, White or Grey. Whilst I hope they can win games which needs a bit more Casey and Melbourne experience in the middle I do like the idea of our young talls and mids actually getting a chance to be important structural players. Now he's had a taste of AFL footy I'd love to see Laurie in the midfield at Casey and getting 25 touches a week.

If it was high impact to the head then Bailey Smith would still be waking up. Medium impact at most. Kossie isn’t responsible for the afl hiring a fraud as their concussion doctor and various other mistakes over the years.

I’m happy sauce got a second chance. His kicking did improve from a low base. His endurance took a big step forward with the Burgo years and training with Langdon. He probably couldn’t had a chance last year but the coaches didn’t rate his contest work. The dogs flick the ball around more and he might do fine there. Laurie is an interesting player. There’s a lot against him making it but he has smarts and great character. I just see him as a project player which you don’t expect from an early pick mid/forward but sometimes that’s what you get. I thought he worked really hard tonight to do his role. McVee, still a list of talented opponents for him to play to frank his defensive capabilities. But he’s clearly got class and balance and his jump from year 1 to year 2 has been an incredible surprise.

And playing half forward. With Nibbler take a big stretch of wing minutes. We won’t be able to go with 2 (or 3) small wingers against certain sides in big games, I love that they’re working on versatility now

Most of the contact is shoulder but it won’t save him