DeeSpencer

A lot of the ground is protected but it’s going left to right for our guys infront of the sticks

Hibbo, Melk, Howes, Woey, Salem, Fritsch in the crowd. Assuming Hibbo, Howes and Woey late scratchings

McVee for hibbo only logical best 22 change missed spoil from McVee, poor ground ball contest from petty and bad midfield defending gives the saints an early one

JJ Jvr emer Bowey, Grundy, Sparrow, ANB bench

His kicking, lack of burst speed and just ok ability in aerial contests would all be found out down back. Pretty much all the downside of Gus at half back without the elite overhead marking and passable left foot to bail him out. There’s a big difference between folding back to fill space or receive the ball at half back and actually playing half back. If JJ slips behind Hunter in the pecking order - which we are presuming, we don’t know for sure - then I expect he’ll be outside the best 22 waiting for a wing or on ball opportunity. Langdon and Hunter are both big minutes wingers so any 3rd winger will need to impact forward and that’s not JJ’s go. Going to Casey and starring on ball isn’t necessarily a bad thing either, he skipped the stage in his development. Having 30 a week at Casey for a while would be good for him. He’ll up his contested possession game and practice more aggressive decision making and ball use.

Yes, will be full contact. My guess is they’ll go best 22 for 2 periods, then sit the veterans. Go with a solid side for the next 2 periods making sure everyone who’s in contention for round 1 is getting a fair look in. Then finish the last 2 periods by replacing everyone who started the game with the kids and Casey players. Or they could just go 3 and 3 if it’s super hot.

Knew I’d miss one.

FB: Hibberd May Petty HB: Bowey Lever Brayshaw C; Langdon Oliver Hunter HF: ANB McDonald Viney FF: Chandler BBB Spargo Foll: Gawn Petracca Pickett Int: Rivers, Grundy, Harmes, Sparrow FB: K. Turner Tomlinson D. Smith HB: Woey D. Turner McVee C: Howes Laurie Buntine HF: AMW JVR Burgoyne FF: Sestan Schache Jefferson Foll: KFW JJ Munro Int: Verrell, Goonan, Edwards, Baldi, Gregory, Macrae Missing: Salem, Fritsch, Dunstan, J. Smith, Adams

I think with defensive efforts we wouldn’t be too worse off. Fritsch was looking better this summer, and JVR seems really strong at that. Not sure if he can repeat effort for 4 quarters but early in games he’ll be elite for a tall when pressuring and tackling. But there’s another aspect of why smalls get picked over talls and it’s mobility and fitness to create space in attack as well. Fritter is a good cumber and he’s excellent at creating space by strong leads and off ball running. In that respect and without the need for more aerial support I think the first choice to replace Fritsch would be adding another mid sized player.

Obviously it's rough for anyone who has reserve seats in the Ponsford. But largely I do like the idea of keeping most of the ferals in the same spot. Ideally just wall off the Ponsford stand and AFL members for Melb v Coll games and don't let any of them in the rest of the ground.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to mess around with a young tall too often but JVR’s ability to play back is probably what makes him more of a sub candidate. He could slot in as a back pocket, move Gus to cover an injured midfielder. That’s a way to cover forward, mid and back

Thanks for the reports. At least good to know Fritsch is back out there and on 2 feet. Unless it’s a serious set back he can hopefully progress with rehab and get in to full training fairly soon.

There's 3 big problems when it comes to Casey that make me think it won't ever be Geelong of the East, and whilst we can mitigate against them I think they are significant obstacles in the place being successful at all: 1. Unlike Geelong, the immediate surrounding area (15 minute radius) isn't an attractive place to live for AFL footballers. At a minimum they'll be living back by the bay, 20-30 minutes away. Many staff and players will probably stay towards the city and won't enjoy the commute if it's permanent. The peninsula - which is an attractive place for players - can very quickly be way out of budget for even on AFL wages. And it's not an easy place to rent (although nowhere is at the moment). There's a lot of places in and around Geelong that are the right fit for a footy players budget and lifestyle. In and around Casey it goes from too cheap and undesirable to too expensive or too far away pretty quickly. 2. We won't be playing regular men's games there. The best way to truly capitalise on a population - particularly one that either supports existing AFL teams or is new to the country and follows their own sports is to play games. VFL, an occasional practice game and AFLW don't really cut it. You don't get large crowds of potential members at those events. There has to be an understanding that establishing a foothold in the area will be very slow. 3. There's a lack of commercial opportunities involved with the site as is. Ok, you get a new facility, that's great, but if you aren't turning that investment in to a profit you're losing out. If we were to go all in at Casey there's 3 things I'd like at a minimum to stop it being a disaster: 1. A commitment by the club to house young players somewhere between Chelsea and Mornington. Whether that's by buying homes and renting them back to the players or finding host families they have to be proactive. We won't be able to run the same kind of protection Geelong gets when they stuff up in local nightclubs but at least we'll have them in the area rather than living close to the city and wondering whey they spend close to 2 hours in car all day. If we're promoting the lifestyle of coastal living and convenience we have to provide that. 2. Vic Government commitment to build the Casey Fields railway station as part of the Clyde rail link. The station is vital for growing the AFLW and VFL crowds and it's just important for the area generally. It puts Casey Fields on the map and provides foot traffic for the area. 3. Opportunity to develop the area around the train station, the stadium car park and even other parts of Casey Fields to build seemingly the only bit of dense housing in the entire area as well as a some business opportunities and a profitable community center. You aren't going to be able to run cafes or other businesses when it's suburbs full of people who jump in their cars or on trains and are seen 9 hours later. The only cafes in the vicinity are at the shopping centres. The place needs a development like Toorak Park or Caulfield Village with a minimum of a few hundred homes located next to the stadium and new train station. You'd obviously need the council and state government on board for the planning issues and cost involved. Our pitch to the Government would be that instead of further funding to build the 10th elite AFL footy facility in the state - something of very little community benefit - please direct us funding so we can help shape the Casey area with actual community infrastructure. Transport, housing and genuine community facilities.

No Daisy to work her magic any more and free passage for any player, they don’t have to rely on trades doubling the cost. Money will talk and I expect we’ll lose a couple

That’s my mistake. I’m willing to rebrand Chandlermonium as a positive

The shimmy around Tommy Mc is a classy move. I doubt he's in line to replace Hibbo. He's not a strong contested player. But I'm sure he's at least in the frame to put pressure on Bowey, Riv or Gus.

Heck yes, Goodwin wins a flag with a stack of players under 22 and there’s an idea that he won’t play kids or try new players. They didn’t throw JVR to the wolves. Hardly an unreasonable choice. They gave Bedford a decent go, he wasn’t up to it last year. Maybe, just maybe Chandler could’ve had another go but that’s about it. No other young player was worthy of games and no one was seriously clamouring for Dunstan or Sauce Baker were they.

I doubt ANB will suddenly add more skills but he’s shown in 2018 and 2021 that when the team is humming his decision making and ball use generally hums with it. I do think he’s right on the fringes if they want midfield flexibility from the half forwards. Of course ANB also has midfield flexibility himself but it doesn’t seem like the coaches are keen to give him an extended run at this stage. I’d actually love to see him go back to Casey and have 35 and remind everyone he’s got more to his game. Spargo’s decent upside comes if other players give him the ball when he’s open. He can add 4 or so decisive possessions per week if he’s used more often by a team willing to take more chances and play faster.

The following is roughly how he gets in the side: C; Langdon Petracca Hunter HF: Viney T Mc Spargo FF: Fritsch Bbb Chandler Foll: Gawn Oliver Pickett Int: DEF, Grundy, Sparrow, Harmes Overlooked: JJ, ANB Don’t get caught up on the names but just for an indication without injuries he probably has to pass 2 of JJ, Harmes, ANB, Spargo, Sparrow. The indications to me are they’re keen to use midfielders (including Pickett) as the HFF. Personally I doubt Spargo gets moved from the other flank given how much the coaches rate his inside 50 kicking. The criticism for the coaches not picking him last year is a bit misplaced because he doesn’t play the role ANB and Spargo were asked to play. And he wasn’t going to get picked over Pickett. If there’s a reshuffle of Pickett’s role (and Fritsch’s for that matter) it’s a different set of circumstances for Chandler. Not sure it will be enough but it’s different to have him try to do ANB’s job straight up

Give me $$$ amounts people, I want to see the level of belief

There seems to be consistent praise from coaches, team mates and track watchers for Kade Chandler in recent weeks. And in addition to Grundy and Hunter it seems he has a genuine opportunity to be a fresh face to make the best 22, with Kossie moving to the midfield rotation. Pros: He’s physically ready now, 23 years old, solid endurance base and muscle. He found consistent form in the VFL last year and broke open the VFL grand final. He can mark, he’s a willing tackler (as evidenced by his sling tackle ban) and he has an accurate left foot kick. Cons: whilst he can mark overhead he’s very much a small at 175cm so won’t be out marking too many defenders. He has quick lateral movement but not blistering speed to burst clear or chase down tackle. And maybe most concerning is that in previous years he’s very much attempted to fend or break through tackles and struggled to do so at AFL level. He likes to take it on and kick rather than use first option hands. When it works he can create goals, but trying too much without the strength or speed to get out of trouble is a receipt for turnovers and angry team mates. How about a little game. If $1.00 reflects the share price for a depth player on a 1 year deal and $2.00 is an established role player worthy of 2 years, and so on, then what value are you buying Chandler shares at? I think he came in to the preseason at about $1.30 but given recent good forecasts is now trading at $1.65. I’d have him about a $1.50. Who’s buying? Who’s selling?

We’ve practiced all year with a mix of teams. It sounds like they went with the best side for a half in the intraclub, well worth it to get them some cohesion. Then they mixed it up for the second half to get a more even contest and some quality v quality match ups. If you’re on the outside of the best 22 I think you’d want to know now rather than get a surprise come round 1 too. Hopefully those guys are really keen to impress in the practice games

Some people set the bar too high for JVR. At best he’ll be a Mihocek style hard worker this year rather than any kind of star. The big challenge for our forward line is the lack of ground level mobility for Brown, McDonald and a resting ruck. We might sacrifice goals for JVR’s defensive hunt, and it might be earlier in the season than the coaches think.

I despise Ginnivan’s on field game. And just about the only thing McRae got wrong last year was sticking up for him to the level that he encouraged him. He ripped at the seams of the game with blatant simulation and the footy gods might well have taken their revenge. He even played the mental health card last year too - although that might’ve been because he wasn’t told to can it earlier in the year. I’ll give him credit that he hasn’t done so in this case as is willing to admit to his stupidity in getting caught. As for footballers doing drugs in general. Well, I really don’t care as long as they’re as safe as they can be to avoid ASADA clenbuterol bans, the sensationalist media and addiction. They’re young, wealthy and deserve to have some relaxation time especially over the summer.

One year we should invent a player on here, hype them up and see if the media run with it. Edit: just saw it was Harmesy with the pump up and the footage of the nice move Judd put on T Mc. Very keen to see how he goes in practice games