DeeSpencer

They weren’t the only team doing it! The kickers, Gawn and Tommy did a poor job in the last quarter as they tired of getting separation for the long down the line kicks. If we can’t get one on ones we need to get separation so one tall can stand under it and the other fly over to stop the intercept marks

I’m sure he’s right in contention but it very much adds to the strain on an undersized and/or not strong defensive group of small/medium players. As it stands Salem mostly gets the defensive forward and Rivers, Hunt and Jetta share the 3rd tall duties when a big is off as well as the lockdown roles. If Bowey comes in then one of him or Salem will spend more time defending good forwards and the other two have to cover the bigger/more dangerous opponents. Maybe we throw him in and work the rest out later, but it wouldn’t shock me if the first priority is getting the defensive ability sorted if Hunt, Rivers and Jetta/Hibberd can do that

Awful news for him. The new list rules do provide some relief for all involved. We can replace him for this year, and next year we can possibly invite him to train with the group until he’s fully rehabbed and beyond. It’s too early for those decisions but we can do the right thing by him.

Try again Picket

3 is too many but 2 unfilled spots wouldn’t be unreasonable. That gives us 1 for a needs based pick at mid year if required ie. Majak or similar. And 1 for the best junior who was overlooked last year. There’s going to be quality juniors who didn’t get to show their stuff last season. If he’s a way off AFL footy then he’s had a great preseason and should make progress at Casey with or without being a full time footballer. As long as the coaching and physical development is good he really isn’t missing much once it’s in season, especially if he has heaps of room for improvement.

Missing an entire year and several other stints with injury when he was late to the elite pathway was probably the biggest killer, but with super athletic guys it can all come together. Frosty really took years to find it then it clicked for him. Stef Martin similar. Odds aren't looking good especially as he's had another niggle and missed the practice game but Smith could go from bad to good in a hurry if he can just get continuity of games at a decent standard (VFL then AFL). Brayshaw didn't do a lot of the preseason though, so even though he's in full training now he has to still be behind, I hope they hold him back. Melksham's done plenty and just had a niggle, but as you said it's form that he needs to show to get his place. Viney did a lot too so he should be a solid chance but it's more his role that should be adapted. I doubt they'll even predict too much with Pickett until he's back, I'd say 50/50 right now but if he's physically and mentally healthy I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

Melksham and Brayshaw's injuries and Pickett being away have opened up a chance for Jones but so far it's just a chance. The one thing I find hard to rate with Jones is that his disposal can be shaky but he does still find the ball. We've had guys at half forward go quarters on end without touching it. Obviously can't turn it over if you don't have it to begin with. I really hope he's truly on board with the possibility of missing 300 and his desire is to see the team succeed. The team having success and Jones sacrificing a milestone to ensure that would really enhance his legacy more than 300 IMO. To stay loyal through the dark years, captain the club and then put the club first at the end would be a career fans would remember for a long time.

Melksham’s an option but his lack of tackling makes him more of a midfielder. Vanders has only ever been a midfielder. Jones and ANB can’t mark. Harmes can rotate in to that role. Theres a spot on the list for a guy who’s 183-188 and can kick a goal, half an aerial contest and ideally has decent pressure. After Fritsch we have no back up, it would be nice to have someone even if they are at Casey.

Who?

I think fans need to understand that to play the zone defence and keep May at home we need to live with key forward vs back pocket on a flank at times. It’s why Geelong have all 190cm defenders. It’s also why Hibberd and Joel Smith took Nev’s spot last year and why they are his real competition this year. Possibly Rivers too. But yeah, Lynch marks on a flank, good luck to him, we’ve got May in the hot spot. Yep. But remember Petty loves flying for marks and also struggles one on one. He has more agility but also isn’t quick and his disposal is a little shakier than Tommo even if he has more upside. But mostly he doesn’t have the same tank and again, the zone is predicated on work rate. I’d give Petty some chance at round 1 but he’s underdone and Tommo is cherry ripe. We might be better being patient even if it hurts short term. I only watched the first quarter but I was disappointed he wasn’t rucking. He’ll get more physical and learn the game faster in the ruck. His movement for his size is still excellent, but he has to be given the chance to compete. We can’t stunt his development behind Casey guys. Reading between the lines and from what I’ve heard has been the same. We should be doing an Essendon to Essendon and chasing Waterman for the second spot to go with Deakyn. Sign Maj to Casey. Nuggety mid sized marking forward is more of a need than another small anyway.

1. A best 22 is a bit pointless given there will always be injuries and out of form players. A round 1 team is more realistic. 2. There’s no way we have both Jacko and Tom on the bench. Take out one of the key forwards for Pickett or Spargo, a team needs more than 1 small forward. I’m a Chandler fan but both of those guys are ahead of him still as well 3. If Hunt’s the 7th defender then you need a wing, otherwise you need a 7th defender. Harmes or Baker for Jones to start on the wing

Alan Richardson was on to start the B game and he said Petty is one of Goodwin's favourite players, I don't think Goody or probably any of the coaches are the reason he isn't in the A side. He missed all of last year and had a slow start to preseason. It was hard to get a read on what Lamb was thinking apart from the plan to save at least the potential Hore spot for a mid season addition. Just from hearing a few comments I think Deakyn might be ahead of Farmer and as much as we could send Deakyn back to the Stingrays we could do the same with Farmer to Casey.

The zephyr Zephyr. We rushed our ball use really for most of the first half but we'd wasted chances in the first with the wind and then gave up a run of chances early in the second. A couple of settling goals all but evened it up before the half. Our 3rd quarter matched their 2nd, and the last quarter was a battle between our tired legs and the Tigers replacing some of their stars with fresh legs.

Our talls drop marks or spoil ineffectively which doesn't help the little guys. Rivers and Hunt probably get first crack because they have the speed and if he's in form Nev provides the strength in the air even if his legs aren't the same but it's far from a perfect group. I expect Petty and Bowey will be in contention for round 1 spots, even if they aren't lock down defenders. We might see Hibberd, Joel Smith and even Deakyn Smith early in the season too.

Surely you aren't suggesting Mitch Brown for Jackson? We could do with a 3rd key forward but we can't carry Fritsch and 3 talls who don't defend and don't offer a lot without the ball. It's an either/or M Brown or Tommy Mc and Tommy put the better case forward today. Jackson rucked a fair bit with Max going forward, it will be interesting if that's the case come round 1. Hopefully Pickett has enough time to be right for round 1, but either way I think it will be 3 smalls, Fritsch and the 2 bigs. The thing we do need is to get some marking or aerial contests from the rotating mids. Petracca clearly gives us that. And the other options will be some of Oliver, Harmes, Jordon, Sparrow, Brayshaw, Melksham who all have at least some size to create a contest.

I've heard from a mate that Geelong aren't manning the mark in certain parts of the ground. Instead they are remaining 5m behind the mark to allow them flexibility to move sideways.

Was hoping to see him have to defend more, because there's no doubt he's a guy we want in the team getting the ball.

Andrew Courtney, played well against North in a practice match last year, keen to see how he goes for Casey this year. He has a serious leap

44 keeps finding the pill, would like to know who he is

More positives than negatives overall I think. Line by line: Forward: Tom McDonald started well, faded out, still has to compete better when stuck under high kicks (punch Tom), but he looks confident to find space on the lead and hold a mark. If he can dish handballs more he'll be serviceable. Jacko didn't get much of it but showed his movement forward, he combined with Tom well early. Fritsch was solid and engaged in the contests. Spargo decent. Chandler lively and has talent, he won't always get much of it as he lacks top end pace but he knows how to use it and where to go. Mids: Petracca had a rough second quarter but otherwise was good. Oliver looked much improved. Sparrow and Jordon give us options and guys who will play their roles. Jones and ANB had chances, nice to see some variety. Wings still a little concern but I think both Harmes and Baker did the right running even if there's a lot to do on disposal and contest respectively. Defenders: Lever really came in to it after a horrific start. Tomlinson faded out of it, we have to keep him away from good forwards. Salem got more and more of the ball and was composed as ever. Hunt....up and down. His pure pace creates/shut downs problems but he can't tackle or read opponents well enough. Rivers looked a bit 2nd year bluesy, still can do some great work but can also be sloppy. Overall it was the area of the ground where I was most thinking we need to look at different options - Hibberd or Smith over Jetta, moving Sparrow back, Lockhart, Deakyn Smith even rather than Hunt? Petty or Big Majak at CHB if they can provide more than Tomlinson. Gameplan: We did well to stop and cut off chances were the Tigers overlapped which is where they cut teams to pieces. Probably would've liked to see us stem it earlier in the second but by and large we didn't get walked through and managed to keep our defenders in position. We probably didn't use the switch and our kickers enough. The new man on the mark makes it even easier to pass the ball around and we have to do a bit more of that. Otherwise we did get it to the corridor pretty well and use some really clever overlap to create holes. The forwards were found on hit ups not just looking for the over the top easy ones. It's our home ground that we've trained on for months now and we know the wind (and the travel, facilities etc). So shouldn't be a surprise that we got some advantage there and played it pretty solidly.

The long bomb kick outs need a plan for what happens next. Be it keep going forward, move it wide to one side or keep numbers in tight. It looks great until it goes back the other way just as fast. Id like to see the tall under the high ball just punch it to one side

Marking contests are hard but that wasn’t even it, was a ball bouncing around that he just had to kill. He’s Toumpas with pace to get out of traffic at times.

Every team will try to isolate him deep and draw May away. We need the forward pressure to stop that happening. He’s awful one on one. As is Lever. Mids got tired that quarter. And even more so half backs I think. Tigers work rate even when losing and in to the breeze is first class

His first quarter was dreadful. 3 turnovers in a row. Did lift a lot in the second

It’s not stacks on the mill for us whilst Richmond have free runners outside. It’s still a little like that. One Gawn contest at half forward had us at the drop whilst Cotchin camped corridor. But it’s not early 2020 or 2019 either