DeeSpencer

Not convinced there was anyone really staking a claim from the Casey side today. JJ’s the only one who’s been a first choice part of the side and he played a very JJ game. The sub role and depth spots are up for grabs I guess

I don’t love the way he plays but they really missed Jimmy Munro today. 6 day break after a slog in the wet probably a factor too. The time to win the game was the back half of the second when they had the scoring end and momentum and they gave it all back

Brown takes a clear man in front mark. Commentator: ‘good decision’ Now for 77 more mentions of how many minutes Brisbane have been ahead for

Bedford with a blistering run, nearly falls over and blazes away with team mates wide open. Tomlinson struggling to run in to the wind and the backline concede an easy goal. Sums this one up

Casey have set themselves a fair challenge but do seem to have the wind in the last. If they crack in and win some clearances and keep it simple going forward they’ll be a chance. The ball movement has been a disaster all game with forwards looking for easy kicks and backs/mids messing around with it

Would like to see Weed as the back up ruck in the second half and keep JVR forward. Casey’s midfield need to lift if the steak is going to stay alive

That was a beautiful mark given the conditions

Kenty’s going to kick the goal that secures 2nd spot for us. I can see it

6 Oliver 5 Jackson 4 Petracca 3 Rivers 2 Lever 1 Pickett

Salo for Bowey assuming Salo’s healthy and has been producing kms at training prior to this soreness. No way am I rushing McDonald back after 3/4’s of a game. I think there’s a bit of a different look we can go with in the midfield and half forward. Gus on the wing a little more, Harmes on ball and forward, Tracc on ball more. But some of that will depend on opponents and the venue.

There’s no way it’s going away, also no way the afl wouldn’t get involved. But if it can be handled quickly and without fuss it might benefit us. It’s absolutely awful that Petty has to deal with this when our players should be absolutely buzzing for the next few days

He couldn’t try very hard after Mitch smashed his head in at Casey one day.

2 wrongs don’t make a right, imagine there’s some awful stuff coming his way and we can’t even be 100% sure it’s justified yet. Still a chance it was all a misunderstanding

We should back Petty 1000% but if he’s happy to not escalate things it would be nice if we could keep the details under wraps. Doesn’t mean we excuse Zorko, but it would show we’re focused on the job and protect Petty from whatever it was that set him off to begin with

Mitch has done well at Brisbane but speak to Rohan Bail about him

He’s taller than the 2 players we took with first round picks in the same draft! Poor kid has had an awful run in his first 2 years in the system, plus the 2020 season that they all missed. With a change of fortune he’ll work his way to being a good player, I’d say more like a Darcy Parish than a Swallow.

Breust’s forward pressure at his prime was excellent, and even now it’s still at least ok. Very good tackler due to his rugby background and a top 3 crumber of the last decade, his reading of the drop of the ball is a weapon both in kicking goals and for getting in position to tackle. But I don’t like the idea of expecting that next year at 32.

Godly might go and Cunnington as you said was out pretty much the whole year. Not sure Greenwood was the right cover. And Ziebell got moved forward because they had nothing up front. A decent half back organiser and a wing/half forward defensive player - 2 roles that young players can’t do - would go a long way. Their VFL team stinks too. By far the worst of any afl aligned side. Every good AFL side of the last 15 years or so that I can think of has built a strong VFL side and developed a winning culture. They don’t have to play a much older side, they just have to have options available to stop gifting games to kids who aren’t nearly ready.

In terms of experienced talent they might be as bad if not worse than we were. They’re crying out for a Vince and Cross injection of solid professionals. In terms of quality young players we had Hogan, Viney and not much else. They’ve got plenty. Any assistance should be geared towards experience and not youth.

They’re in a far better spot with young talent than we were when Roos took over and we won 10 games in year 3 of Roos and really should’ve played finals the next year. If they don’t make progress in the next 2 years he’ll leave, no player should go more than 8 years in the slop. But there’s no incentive to trade him as a pre agent next year, and absolutely no incentive to trade him this year with 2 years left. 2 or even 3 crappy first round picks aren’t worth more than a decent mature key forward for North. I’d only get interested as a North fan for 4.

Which part of Larkey’s remaining 2 year contract makes him potentially obtainable? This is a bit like someone in 2013 saying Nathan Jones is handy, surely he’ll move clubs. Outside of Oliver or Petracca there’s not a player on our list who North would trade for Larkey. Nor would they be interested in a package of mid to late first rounders.

Treloar AND picks 26, 32 and 44 were traded for pick 14, and a future 2nd (pick 38) The very flawed pick calculator values Treloar as a negative in that deal! Grundy on a 4 year 500k deal is an asset worth close to a late first or early second IMO. Preuss even got a 2nd. Grundy on a 5 year 700k deal is worth ‘thanks for taking him off our books, maybe chuck us a pick to save face’

Fair enough, but I’d take more notice of someone who’s worked with him personally than the documentary. The Giants were having a flop of a year after being destroyed in a grand final and Coniglio wasn’t a great fit as a new captain. Pretty easy to selectively edit that stuff. I’d imagine you’d find plenty on Goody from 2020 and even worse in 2019. The Tigers were premiers. Dew got pumped up. Sloane was Sloane. Someone had to be the bad guys and GWS were the obvious choice. I think Cameron did a great job at GWS but was probably at the end of his coaching tether by about 2018 and 2019 masked a lot. He’s keen to stay in Sydney for his kids schooling so I doubt he’ll join us next year anyway.

I’d see it as a triple swap from the current set up: 1. Gunston replaces Melksham, mixes between a deep forward and lead up role 2. Gawn/Grundy or other ruck replaces Jackson and becomes the primary long down the line target, giving us a more consistent contest than Jacko does 3. With a stronger but less mobile ruck presence we no longer have the need or mobility for Brown, so his CHF role reverts to T Mc until JVR is ready. Fritsch stays mostly as is, a 4th tall full forward, but takes time up the ground to allow Gunston some goals. At the same time Bowey, Laurie and Howes push for spots as skilled runners in a more spread out game plan. Plan A stays the same, but we get the complimentary ball use that worked so well last year. If we’re all in for the next 2 years then Gunston and Grundy make sense. The coaches will patch together combinations with T Mc, Gawn, Brown and JVR. The downside is their salaries will restrict the ability to find longer term solutions.

Is there a different Leon Cameron? By all reports an absolute gentleman. If anything he probably bought about his own downfall giving the players too much leg rope at the giants. Of course there were times he lost it as his job was slipping away but he’s a mild mannered family man. I’ve never been a fan of his tactics but he’d be an excellent skills and development coach.