DeeSpencer

Social media let a small clue slip with a prominent Laurie photo. Logically it with be Laurie or Woey and I think they’ll stick with Laurie as the forward. Same 22 as the Tigers game. Doubt they mess around with talls for no reason

He’s very smart, a beautiful short to medium kick and when committed a very good runner. But don’t overreact to a couple of preseason games when he’s been desperate to make a good impression. For one, we have to hope his commitment goes all year (and beyond). And his lack of burst speed and strength at the contest will both be tested at times. He’s potential a great help for Langdon but we also have to be prepared for teams running Blicavs through the wing and needing Hunter to go back or forward or Langdon forward to get a taller wing. Hopefully the coaches have plans for that.

Forward pressure wise I thought the Saints were good and the Tigers were at a minimum ok. Both sides weren’t at their peak in terms of midfield intensity. The saints ran a lot of numbers through and the tigers had experienced players cruising and new guys from gws learning the ropes. Of course neither were we, with Grundy new to the team and a stack of rotations

BBB was beaten in a lot of 2 on 1 contests by Grimes or others coming off Chandler as the 3rd man up. Fritsch back in his usual role could change that dynamic. Overall minus a couple of mistakes I think BBB did enough. I also think JVR’s willingness to chase and tackle looks great at training but might take a while to translate to afl footy. It’s damn hard to lay tackles on gun afl defenders when you’ve worked super hard to compete in the air and you don’t know their movements instinctively. Another factor is we love engineering the spare back by dropping the ruck out. That makes our key forwards compete 2v1. Not saying it’s wrong but our coaches have designed a game plan to boost the stats of Gawn, Lever, May etc and make life hard for the tall forwards. At the same time we absolutely have to be proactive with making the changes with the talls. JVR needs game time. Brown needs rest. I think Harmes will be sub if Viney and Fritsch get up. Pickett, Sparrow and a sprinkle of ANB will be the 4th, 5th and 6th on ballers (plus a dash of Rivers or Gus) and they trust Hunter to play big wing minutes. So they’ll prefer Chandler’s forward craft and left foot. I’m surprised Harmes is worthy of so much discussion. He’s a very good on baller, he’s a good wingmen, he’s very useful for versatility if used as a 3rd wing/on baller/forward as he was in 2021. If he’s a forward/mid and tasked with too many decisions with the ball especially around half forward he struggles and is fighting for a spot. Most players struggle in that role though, you can’t just go the shop and pick up gun 2 way mid/forwards.

It’s a bit unfair to compare as Taj came on fresh at 3/4 time to a fairly open game with most senior players pretty well in to junk time ready for round 1. He ran hard to get to get touches, had one risky corridor kick in to Petracca that was turned over but otherwise seemed to use it safely. Moved from half forward on to the ball late Laurie wasn’t involved much but his time on ground seemed to come mostly in the first half that was a tighter more contested game. I thought he worked hard to defend and seal off his opponent, but his lack of speed to lay tackles or break in to open space did seem noticeable. I was really happy he managed to have a great moment with the clever tap on.

You’re short a defender

Petty - in theory anyway - is a genuine pack marker, a thing Brown struggles with and JVR isn’t particularly strong in at this stage. I wouldn’t be dismantling our backline right now and making a downgrade, but if the forward line struggles we absolutely have to try Petty. And that means making sure we have options down back, so JVR would be a natural to move down back at Casey.

35.23 in his last 23 VFL games, I don’t think Chandler has too many issues. Hitting the right post from 50 with the wind blowing right to is the right kick with a bad result. I’ll have to see the replay but his long shot on the run didn’t see to miss by much, the other was pretty gettable but some days you miss an easier one and the stats look worse than the technique

Clydeaho still stinks to high heaven. Richmond supporters live locally and would rock up to Baghdad for a game of footy. But they’ve finally added a second entrance to the fields so you can get in and out. Plus almost enough car parks given the only way to get there is to drive. I literally heard Richmond supporters bragging about drink driving which is always nice. A stack of roadworks down Clyde road widening the road because they were too stupid or greedy to do that before they built all the housing. Not nearly enough toilets, food or drink facilities and there wasn’t enough capacity on the hill for todays game either. At least the usual gale force winds were replaced with sticky humidity. A nice change, especially when there’s next to no shade out there.

If everyone pulls up well then the selection questions will be; 1. Hibberd vs McVee for the back pocket spot. With the Dogs having 4 talls I think Hibbo comes right in to the frame 2. Who comes out if Viney and Fritsch are right to go. Laurie is one spot. I understand people will want to go smaller without Ben Brown but I doubt we will do that. Nor do I think JVR comes in unless he was truly excellent in the VFL. It comes down to Harmes v Chandler and I don’t have a strong opinion one way or another on that. My guess is Chandler in with Harmes as sub

Petty a little tired but I’d prefer he stops giving shots to Samson Ryan! Especially after beating Riewoldt all day

Got cheap shotted that led to the winding

Taj for Laurie?

Got a kick in the shin/leg area and jogged off. Wouldn’t be worried if it was anyone else

Clarry playing percentages and Tom to Tom. Nice settler

We’ve dropped intensity here with some silly decision making and half hearted contest. Would be nice to put it away with the breeze then slow tempo in the last

That’s his gait. By now it’s like saying Neitz used to wobble as he walked

Sure, but the 2 talls are in regardless of Fritsch. Theyve gone with Chandler and Laurie in Fritsch’s roles. Losing some height but getting more mobility

the music here is worse than anything I’ve ever copped at the G. It’s disgraceful

Too tall. JVR has to earn a game over T Mc and BBB. Brown’s game has been harshly judged, couple of costly drops but mostly playing his role.

There’s a demon shop next to the Richmond shop? lines here are massive tho, lots of cash left on the table for beer and food sales

There’s a demon shop next to the Richmond shop? lines here are massive tho, lots of cash left on the table for beer and food sales

Chandler saving his goals for the real stuff.

Maybe Hibbo too but hard to be sure

Can see K Turner, Verrell and Burgoyne in the photos on Richmond’s VFL twitter