DeeSpencer

We’re dead. This midfield has a ceiling of a low end mid table side. Sometimes it works but too often it just doesn’t use the ball well enough or dominate inside to cover it May and Lever don’t run well enough to produce an elite backline. Key forwards get the blame but our half forwards are just as plod as plod gets.

2 Casey players drafted. Hope they do well but also hope we didn’t miss picking them!

He hasn’t played since round 1 and given we had 2 rucks and 3 tall forwards in I doubt he would’ve been in line to play. Perhaps down back but I doubt it. Archer May (pick 6) took himself out of wafl on the weekend, by all reports Pies promised him he’d done enough

The young talls (Jeffo, Adams, Verrall) are all progressing in the right direction. JVR can play at the level, hopefully this is just a blip. Howes plays excellent vfl footy, just got to keep the pressure on him to get the next level. Sestan is improving. I wouldn’t worry about Kolt, he was strong at the contest and clean, just missed a lot of summer and didn’t get a lot of midfield opportunity. The depth mids aren’t hammering the door down but they’re also being moved around a lot. I think they used about 8 guys on ball and there’s probably 10 or more who could’ve had a go. I’d love to see Woey and Kynan Brown smash the door down but its probably more important they they’re ready to step up if needed rather than spoon fed 30 touches. McAdam and AMW come back on to the main list and we can replace cheap depth like for like if need be.

Sestan was the standout in the first half, then in the 3rd Casey dominated and the ball barely went behind play, then the ball dropped off in the last. He still has to add a bit more defensively I think. Either as an aerial player or a ground level tackler and ball winner. Howes did more defensively but doesn’t have the same boot. Jeffo’s first half was top notch, sticky hands and clean. Missed some gettable set shots. JVR played with power and confidence throughout, just still a question if he can find the space and leap up at the footy more, but he hit the contest and lead with more belief. Adams looks really good when he’s got a read on the ball, still a bit iffy when he’s uncertain in positions. Kentfield ran out of puff and mucked up in the second half but his combination of skills and movement are worth persevering with. The mids and half forwards were all a bit meh. Laurie the best of them but still doesn’t inspire confidence that he’s grown his game. Same with Billings. Henderson had a stinker which is a shame because he has a touch of class and good pressure. Woey better on the wing. Culley just played the half on the wing (potentially so he got through unscathed as the carry over emergency), he was fine, but I’d like to see him string some dominant midfield games together.

I'd only pick Lever if he's absolutely cherry ripe and able to move like healthy Jake not hobbly Jake. And I'd also have a very short leash to sending May or even McDonald forward and Disco back if things aren't working.

I think it will be either Windsor to the wing and Rivers back or we move Chin to the wing and Sharp stays in. Sestan is probably waiting on Bowey or Salem missing time. At least until later in the year when we may as well have a look at him

Spargo’s put together an excellent month before yesterday. I don’t think he’ll even be mentioned in match committee. Goal kicking hasn’t been good but if that was a criteria to play for Melbourne we’d have no players

Yeah he’s starting to find his confidence in his marking around the ground. For just a few minutes a quarter whilst one of the talls are on the bench he could be the extra marking option.

Nice goal, but it wasn’t express pace taking him away from defenders, he just had a good angle and the Hawks missed some tackles.

He really provides neither. His pace is a myth. He can sustain a run at good pace but he doesn’t burst away from a contest. Spargo’s as quick if not quicker over 5. And then he’s too slow to read the play to consistently pressure.

What game did you watch?

But there’s lots of little things with positioning at front and centres, leading to create space, not fumbling, halving a contest, tackling of which plenty don’t show up in the stats sheet and Spargo does that way better. Spargo has to nail a good percentage of inside 50 kicks and set shots and he did neither of those today but since the Freo game he’s been a positive. Sharp has made no progress

Not another larynx! (although potentially better than concussion if he recovers quickly)

If Disco can add some pressure to his game forward (has been surprisingly bad at it) then along with Petty we’ve got some mobile talls. Suddenly we can get Fritsch in the side as a medium not a tall if he can do the bare minimum pressuring and tackling without frees too. Spargo is doing a lot right, he just makes the saddest of errors when he misses targets or shots. But he’s still a cut above the other options like Sharp. I wouldn’t worry about what the afl side is doing with JVR. I’d just get him in form, if that’s forward back or ruck either works. (He should back up ruck at Casey and give Verrall a full game forward). Long term tho I think his weaknesses (undersized, flat footed, double grabber) would be worse back than they are forward. What he needs is belief to crash and bash. His one strength is literally that, he’s such a big boy, just needs to find a way to harness it.

Lever if he’s 100% right for AJ. Disco forward. Don’t love Viney for Sharp but that’s probably the move. Ideally we’d have a genuine half forward to come in but Casey is petty thin. With Viney back I’d like to see Rivers take some rotations as the 3rd wing. Chandler more forward to keep that pressure and forward craft. Wouldn’t be against a bit of shuffling the magnets with Langford deep forward in bursts and Lindsay high half forward. Just for development would be nice to give them some different looks Fritsch must stay as sub.

You’d have to take Windsor out and despite his poor game today his pace has proven so valuable when he’s able to sweep. And you’d have to move him to the wing and swap other things around.

6, MelK 5 Bowser 4 Gawn 3 T Mc Langdon Tracc Oliver contributed. But I’m not seeing where the votes are coming from. Neale clearly got the points.

Sparrow first in sprints, first in repeat sprints, first in distance at high speed. Routinely makes position across half forward both in defending and attacking. He hasn’t made it as a mid. Just doesn’t make decisions in tight quick enough. But he’s a solid worker across half forward and right now he’s well clear of Sharp who is very unreliable at the contest, no better with the ball and doesn’t have good defensive awareness despite his work rate. And Kolt who has the scope for more but isn’t in good touch. Kynan Brown is working his way towards another go and I’d like to give Jack Henderson another shot now he’s starting to get some VFL form. Back it’s pretty slim pickings.

We’ve seen him forward in practice games and early in the year and he’s not quite big or strong enough to compete as a tall against key backs, doesn’t create a lot of space on the lead and gets burnt defensively. He’ll develop all of that with more time but his best attribute right now is the smartness of his midfield running. Wing lets him show that without the heat of being on ball.

One big positive today was getting to see Langford’s overhead marking. Was a huge part of his junior game and one of the reasons I was a fan on him on the wing. If he keeps developing it now he’s got a taste of what he can do he’s going to be a match up problem for mids. Hopefully he keeps it up.

Every time he’s been tagged he’s been absolutely slaughtered. Clarry tag helped him provide a defensive midfield balance that we needed around the stoppage and Rivers, Pickett, Tracc feasted. Good coaching.

Today was still a fair bit of long down the line but it came with some switching and prodding and creativity at times too. We were also playing the best outside running side, why would you try to take Hawthorn on at their own game? Adapting back to a more contest and skinnier style was logical. And we created enough scoring chances that we could’ve been up 75-50 at 3/4. The plan was good. The ball movement around the back and middle fine. The ball movement inside 50 was ugiy. The finishing diabolical.

I’d go a triple change of key forwards: JVR, Fritsch, Jeffo all out. AJ, Melk, Petty in. Don’t think either Sharp or Kolt are up for it right now. Maybe Kynan Brown as sub.

None of our permanent mids are hard fit, Oliver, Tracc, 2 kids on the wings. Combine that with a few old boys (May, McDonald, Gawn) and some young talls and there’s no secret why it drops away. Combine that with such a labour intensive style (not necessarily game plan but such lack of flow in our forward ball movement) and once there’s a little heaviness in the legs it gets very hard.