DeeSpencer

It’s not a day to judge the forwards too much, she’s had a good start of the year. But she only likes to chase if she can nail someone in a tackle which is the wrong attitude.

We are. Playing way too fast. Need to slow down and get numbers around the drop. The lack of coordination from our forwards and mids is alarming

Zanker has to back up ruck and Parry stay at CHF because we are absolute a mess there

Some of these crows women will put a fortune through the canteen after the game too

Looks like we spent all summer practicing nice uncontested footy and forgot how to win and use the ball under pressure. We haven’t been able to string together anything remotely decent. The lack of coordination between the player giving and receiving a handball is particularly poor. There’s no point being a hard running fit side if you can’t give a handball to a runner who then gets in to space.

Anyone willing to join me on the Paxy is overcooked train?

A couple of nice plays others haven’t mentioned yet: Really nice to see the trademark Laurie sidestep and inside 50 hit up. Opens the candy store to no other than Clarry. And I really liked how Deakyn Smith bought time for himself, balanced up and backed his left foot. He has really nice defensive skills, if he can use the ball well too he’s got a good future

I don’t really agree with this. Forwards often have to come up the ground now because otherwise the opposition will set up a wall at CHB. It’s all hands on deck to get that contest halved if high kicks come in before worrying about finding an inside 50. Especially with so many teams aggressively zoning and gun intercept players. Then there’s often space created inside 50 for the forwards to lead back in to. And space is really the aim of the game. Find those one on ones with room for a forward to lead. We got much better this year at kicking out to space to a forward leading back who can hook their lead or putting air under the kick so the forward can balance up. A signature Fritsch move is him leading back towards goal. And Ben Brown would often be pushing back, body a defender who lost contact with him and then come forward to mark. In previous years we’ve expected Weid to move like Fritsch which hasn’t worked and played too fast for him. Fritsch excels at that quick back lead, and Brown excels at pushing back then out reaching a scrambling opponent. Front on contact and arm chop frees are just as likely in these situations. We certainly improved on slower plays that got to half forward and required a hard lead at the ball carrier, but that’s really plan B. Plan A for scoring is to score when the ball is in quick transition.

Might just be one photo but seems to have long arms and big buckets for hands. Handy attributes for a tall back

Harris is frustrating and often not that bright. But her skills are exceptional. She’s already done more this year than she did all of last. She could win a final in 5 minutes

Last years was on reputation. This year she’s just an ok player. Can’t find the space she used to. The players without balance or strength in congestion aren’t doing well under the heat teams can put on.

Libby Birch is a tool too. Way too keen on the dumb push and shove stuff. Needs to pull her head in.

Big call; the game has gone past Paxy. So many dodgy 1m handballs. Refuses to kick

The coaches and us as fans should also be open to players getting moved around. Not many would’ve picked Brayshaw to play a vital role on the wing in the grand final for instance. Im not a huge believer in him so far but Rosman might end up a half forward in the Tom McDonald role or how Isaac Smith played at Geelong this year. But I’d say it’s just about awful coaching if he plays anywhere but half back for Casey for the first half of the year until he develops his contested game with the ball coming at him. He needs the structure to learn the feel of the game. I think Chandler could really benefit from playing on the wing if the on ball spots at Casey are crowded and rather than being stuck forward. He’s a smart player who uses the ball well. Howes could end up back, forward or Wing. JVR back or forward. There’s plenty of guys on the list who should be given opportunities in a variety of roles.

Key back: May, Lever, Petty, Tomlinson, J. Smith*, Turner Medium back: Hibberd, J. Smith*, Hunt, Rivers* Small back: Salem, Rivers*, Bowey, Hunt, D. Smith, McVee, AMW? On ball: Oliver, Petracca, Viney, Harmes, Sparrow, JJ*, Dunstan, Woey? Wing: Langdon, Brayshaw, JJ*, Baker, Howes, Rosman Ruck: Gawn, Jackson, Daw Key forward: Brown, McDonald, Weideman, M. Brown, JVR Medium forward: Fritsch, Petracca*, Melksham Small forward: ANB, Pickett, Spargo, Chandler, Bedford, Laurie 1. Tall depth. A ruck, a ruck/forward, and another key defender would all be ideal. 2. A specialist speed machine winger. We've added Rosman and kept Baker but we might have to go again. Howes is probably more as cover for Gus than for Langdon. James Jordon probably doesn't get enough credit as being a very serviceable wing option as well but he's more in between. 3. Half forwards with some size. One of the trickiest spots to fill on the ground. Need to run like an elite mid and chase and tackle like a small. But our small forwards are exactly that - small. Ideally we'd have another 185cm+ forward with some aerial ability to provide a match up concern to the opposition. 4. A mid sized stopping defender. We do have options but a gun defender with the right mix of size, speed, athleticism would be a nice addition to take over from Hibbo.

I’m not sure why you’d particularly care. The draft is over and soon we’ll have AFL practice matches or VFL form to assess. But I’d say JVR got a top 10 ranking based on excellent bottom year form. Slipped out of the top 20 based on glandular and not being ready for wafl senior footy. Then came back in with some good colts games. The margin between 10-25 on a mock draft is just like the actual draft, it’s very thin. His prediction that he won’t play in 22 and maybe 23 is surely based on our strong side and him being a young tall who struggled with his first go at senior footy. But it’s a big guess really. If we don’t have injuries or covid he probably won’t play in 22. If he’s going to be a player he’ll probably at least get a taste in 23 but unless he’s exceptional or we have lots of injuries he still shouldn’t see a lot of footy within 2 years and that’s fine too!

One scroll through the dot points and their previous videos and absolutely no way I’m I listening to that. Anything that mentions noted scholar Andrew Bogut has me out immediately.

Smith was at 18 on our draft board. Smith, Buntine and you’d have to assume Conca would be a decent trio of experience to add to Casey. Conca in particular could be a nice break in case of emergency recruit. Lockhart might be a sneaky chance to play for the Suns if covid rages and he’s at Southport

The delaying play rule could be called rhe Harry Petty rule. He quickly established himself as one of the best in the comp at holding play up. The holding the ball rule could prove tricky for someone like Petracca but in general as long as he keeps moving through a stoppage he won’t get pinged by tackles bouncing off him. Not unless the umps and rule makers have completely lost the plot. Good changes in general but as with all afl rules there’s plenty of grey areas and they require consistent and quality adjudication and fans understanding it won’t be perfect.

The AFLW gives a great opportunity for people like me too young to see these grounds in full swing. Hopefully they can be preserved and even bring back some local character without the depraved behaviour. AFL teams haven’t really worked out how to get more unique experiences in shared stadiums. Every now and then you get a Yze or a Kreuze to get cheer for, but that’s about it. Port have their never tear us apart! Unfortunately you can’t just invent traditions and the ‘fan engagements’ have been awful.

I think I get where you're coming from with development now. You can't assume it's some kind of passive process. Head down to Casey, do my development time isn't the right thinking. I certainly want all our young players thinking of themselves as AFL footballers and actively working to improve. But that can be true without such a clear goal of playing round 1 or early. I think we're more process driven these days. It's about ticking off the skills required to play team football and improve in that way. AFL history is filled with guys who played very early then didn't have great careers, whilst others came in a long way off and played 200+ games. I look at Bowey who I don't think once expressed any great desire to be picked in the side. He seemed very relaxed about it when he was interviewed. His focus was ticking off the things the coaches asked with his defensive game. Bowey had the advantage of having AFL ready skills and facets to his game, so it was pretty clear what he had to do. JVR as a young tall might have a lot more to work on, but a similar focus on the process of what he has to do to be an AFL standard team player is what I'd ask him to do. Pretty keen to see how he goes with competing in the air, getting contest to contest and with his defensive work/tackling. If he can impress in those areas he might be closer than I think to playing.

I don't agree with that part. Sparrow played round 1 of the AFL season but we had a stupid injury list and he was miles off AFL level, then his VFL form in year 1 before injury wasn't pushing his name back up at all. Petty had great VFL games in year 1 but he was patchy. Excellent at intercepting some weeks, a little lax defending in others. He wasn't ready when he got a game in year 1, and even in year 2 he was patchy down back. Then missed all of year 3 before a breakout year 4. James Jordon looked vanilla in year 1. Clearly he played well in some of the hidden practice matches of 2020 but he was a shock this year compared with when I last saw him. Bailey Laurie just had a year ruined by injury and the VFL shutdown but managed a few VFL games without threatening a debut, I very much hope that doesn't mean anything long term for him. Jason Taylor always says something along the lines of 'they develop at different rates'. I think year 1 is more about getting the mind and body conditioned to AFL footy life and being ready to attack years 2 and 3 than it is Casey performances. Obviously we've drafted some standout young players but it's the physical and mental application to improve that's impressed me with many of our young players. Particularly given that's an area we struggled in for so long.

I’d argue it’s absolutely a passion project and he’s hardly employed by ESPN. A monthly article in season and a few extra either side of the draft won’t be paying him enough to really study the draft pool. Even watching a few games a week doesn’t get close to what recruiters do in full time jobs. He’s a passionate amateur draft fan with a little insight and adds a small bit to a very limited conversation. Certainly not worth getting hung up on his opinions.

Numerous reports had the Giants desperate to take Jackson and therefore likely to pass on matching the bid if we had made it. I like Knightmare. Sure, he’s a bit ornery at times. And his writing and videos could do with major reformatting. Of course he makes mistakes and the occasional short cut. But when traditional media is ever declining at least he gives it a go.

Jackson is a remarkable athlete and also capable of playing a role for which he was the standout option very early on really. Being able to hold up in the ruck in year and even more so in year 2 meant he was just about a lock in the side and could play quiet games. Further to that if the draft is a Bell curve then JVR at pick 19 is really miles from Jackson at pick 3 and somewhere between Weid, Pickett and Bowey, Laurie, Spargo, Sparrow, Rivers, JJ and even Petty. Of all those players he might remind me most of a key forward version of Sparrow. Athletic, decent build, likely to have a crack, but with a fair amount of development work to really contribute and find a role behind a number of strong team mates. But there's a range of options from Bowey's flag in 7 games to someone like Spargo. Making a real difference in year 1 as a skinny kid but taking unitl year 4 to really put it together consistently.