DeeSpencer

They’ve missed pretty much those exact players (Rioli at one stage not Castagna) in both of the last two years and have hung around the lower part of the 8 before revving up to a top 4 spot and flag

I don’t think I am. We scored at will against bad sides in 2018, struggled to score against good teams. It was a reflection of the hot and cold nature of our mids. Last weeks game was a reflection of our mids playing solid footy against a good opponent and the forwards doing well. It’s not 1994 anymore. The top 4 sides really only had 1 dominant forward each, Rich (Lynch), Port (Dixon), Geel (Hawkins), Bris (Cameron). Both grand finalists sent their best midfielders forward at times to attempt to kick goals in finals. We need at least one tall really up and going, but after that it’s about guys playing their roles. The second or third talls don’t kick 50+ goals these days, they compete, chase, go in the ruck, tag interceptors etc.

I agree it’s really tough to have a high octane big scoring forward line. Consistently scoring against the top sides is a huge challenge. But I’m not so sure our forward line has such a huge amount of room for improvement compared with our other lines. The way the midfield drops away against good sides compared with the way they’ve often stomped on lesser sides is the initial fix I want to see. If our mids can lift the way they play against the best sides I think we’ve got enough to be a solid finals team.

He hasn’t played in years and currently is out with a hamstring. It’s a bit like predicting Bennell would be top 10 in our B+F last year but in a strong team ie. 2018

I’d imagined that was the case, especially if we aren’t hearing about him. But I also thought Gus hadn’t done much until very recently.

Seems like they might be learning with Viney that playing it safe beats the alternative. It leans towards yes for Koz but ‘available’ doesn’t mean he’s a certain starter. I wish he was asked about Melksham and Hibberd too. Hibberd could be crucial to curtailing Fyfe and Walters if he’s fit and ready to go.

When did ANB ever play in the midfield? I can’t remember him ever getting extended minutes apart from at Casey where he was a dominant accumulator but ok ball user. He isn’t hard. He doesn’t bodyline the ball, it’s mostly at arms length. He has good athleticism but isn’t a natural mover through traffic. He has no left side and too often tries to kick out of traffic. His first kick on the weekend tried to go through 6 legs. He probably should get some more midfield rotation time but he has to earn it by showing he’s stronger over the ball and better with it. Plus we’re stacked with mids. He showed some improvement last year. Clearly the scratch matches helped him find a stack of the ball and get better with using it. There were some positives on the weekend with a few clever underground handballs. That’s a rare sign of him adding a skill rather than stepping to his right foot and hoping it works out. Ideally he’d add a left hand and a left foot but if it’s the underground handball then that works for me. Overall though he is what he is - a tireless worker plying the hardest spot on the ground. High half forward is mostly a midfield position. The bulk of his time and possessions will come between the arcs. But he has to win and use the ball better under pressure otherwise he goes from a useful role player to sub par.

Could be, maybe the biggest take away from Friday’s games was Casey is light on and sure could do with some class. Good find. I’m all for cycling through as many players as we can to find the answer on the wing. His VFL stats show a lot of handball receives, decent possession totals and about a goal a game. That could be indicative of a winger.

I expect the inclusions of Higgins and Smith who have more to give, plus Cameron who is best running to space will take the load off Selwood, Hawkins and missing Ablett. Combine that with home ground average and it’s a finals team. But their game plan is very labour intensive. Id have West Coast as the old team most likely to struggle. They weren’t anything like a finals side when not at home last year. The key forwards are ageing and the backline is too. Yeo still out. One or two key injuries (Nic Nat, McGovern, Shuey) and Freo can flip the power balance in the west.

We’ve had 3 gaps for a while now though, and surely they’ve had a read on Farmer and Smith for a fair period of that time. I understand bringing Majak in as a flexible tall to cover the key forward injuries. I’m more surprised that they want to give an ok VFL player a look for 1 week - not long enough to really evaluate - on the back of an injury to a guy who was unlikely to play seniors anyway.

I’d give Goody an allowance for 2019, we shouldn’t have finished 17th nor won so few games. He contributed to mistakes that made us fall back to earth after 2018 - lack of run and skills - but the size of that drop isn’t really a fair indication of his coaching. The way I see it is he took over a rebuilding below 50% team, got them up the ladder and is now rejigging that side for another climb. His win percentage is lower than other coaches because we didn’t stay up for long because the list was really flawed. If he gets back in to the top 8 this year then he’s back on track

Was there some kind of hotdog eating contest to measure this hunger? Or is it a special sense that you have? How would you have measured Port’s hunger before last season?

Forget the AFL clubs, they aren’t all that important, it’s the AFL’s relationship with the MCC and their relationships as owners of Marvel with the companies they deal with that matter. When combined with the egg on face on fixing a problem that shouldn’t have happened to begin with the games were never going to be swapped. There’s still time to find other ways to move Essendon and Hawthorn if they really want. Swapping it with North v Port the next day and moving it to the G is the obvious one. Just have to give 7 a slight IOU for moving their Saturday night game to Bris-Sydney.

I’m trying to understand the logic behind this move at such a late stage. I’m assuming in December they were comfortable with the list composition and just wanted to give the young guys a look. Then the 2 big forwards, an intercepting 3rd tall defender and a flanker/wing type went down. Maybe Nietschke’s spot will be filled by Deakyn Smith in a like for like role, thus meaning they can be more specific with the other additions? Which means they are now targeting tall depth to replace Hore and/or cover the key forwards? Majak, Petty and possibly Tomlinson can play both ends so they might be thinking another versatile tall completes the depth options? Or are they not impressed by Majak and looking further down the list of tall depth? Im just struggling to see how Nietschke going down suddenly opens the door for a guy who they probably need a lot more time to evaluate even half decently. Unless they aren’t so worried about positional depth and he’s just the next best option.

Anyone else heard Kye Declase invited to train?

Game time when underdone is the fastest way to get injured too! A solid block of training before his first hit out helps prevent injury

There must be salary cap or other financial implications. We’ve got 2 spots on the rookie list that shouldn’t impact the salary cap, but using a 3rd spot to replace an injured player might. And how much money do we want to spend on someone if they won’t play and have limited potential?

No he didn’t

Not sure I'd call that a block on Cotchin, who works him in to the contest, first legally and then gives him a big shove in the back. Harmes does well to turn that in to an assist on Oliver but it could have easily turned in to the same problems of last year with players converging on the ball and giving the player who wins the ball no room to move. The big change up here is Oliver being prepared to take back spot and not always been so desperate to be first to the ball. Then the way he uses his legs to clear away from traffic Less of a focus on first to the ball and more of a focus on keeping good spacing around a contest is what our midfield need.

Pretty sure it's all members (assuming tickets still available). Your code is the number above the barcode on your card. The emails are for people who haven't received their cards and membership packs.

He won’t have a secret angiogram on his leg without it becoming news. Your first point is correct. If it’s true then either the press hasn’t got wind of it yet or they are waiting for health reasons.

Whilst operating under the 50% capacity rule: If all Vic v Vic games were at the MCG with a prearranged split of members. AND All Vic v interstate team games were at Marvel That would work out to a fair distribution of games at both venues wouldn’t it? It would harm our home ground and set a dangerous precedent, and I hate to agree with the SENers but it would be the right thing to do to maximise attendance. It’s too late to do now but shouldn’t the AFL have arranged this?

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.