DeeSpencer

Kent had a nice penetrating long kick when he got the ball in space he could clear a line or kick to space, but he wasn't a good kick in tight confines. Averages 1 goal assist a game, let's not pretend he's Jake Melksham. I think we've replaced Kent adequately with Hunt going forward. Hunt's a little shakier with his kicking but offers more in the air and defensively. Kent's also out for the season. 3 year deals for Kent or Vanders were both mistakes but we went with the guy who had got healthy and played very well in the run in to finals and is the better overall player. Hogan - 0.3 goal assists a game and 62.7% disposal efficiency, he's not a good kick at all. Rarely turns and plays on to create space and doesn't trust himself to hit long targets. Watts used to get the ball on 50 and hit up Hogan. Hogan used to get the ball on 50 and pause afraid to give Watts the same service. We're missing Melksham. We're missing Spargo's best footy last year which was very good. We're missing ANB just being a baseline competent ball user. And we're missing the ability to upgrade the wings. Fritsch and KK were looking great in summer but Bayley's barely had the chance to settle on the wing and KK's out all year.

Misson's injury update looked a lot more like Weid would miss the game against the Eagles and Tim Smith would play.

That's true, and a lot of them are just adding corporate mumbo jumbo on top of saying we need to stick to the game plan, fight the year out, encourage the good aspects of play etc etc which is spot on. I'm saying there's more he could elaborate with but there's little incentive to do so when it's only going to be negative. As boring as it is there's a good case for sticking on message.

I dislike it too but the reality is you have to spin some kind of BS at a post match press conference. Roos was very slick but occasionally he ran out of smart answers and we got the 'veil of negativity' or him blaming players. Honest answers at a press conference right now would involve criticising a lot of players for basic errors, reinforcing just how bad the injury run has been and how little there is at Casey, highlighting the ways they have moved players around to try to get a team going - which then lays out their plans to the opposition as well as focuses in on the players who are out of position or under performing. I think the real Goody gets along very well with his players, but we have to see more wins to get the real version at press conferences.

I can't find clearance differentials online but last year we were 3rd in the league with 39 clearances a game, this year we are 6th with 40 clearances a game average and 0.8 behind the 3rd place team. I'm not sure we've fallen all that badly in clearances. Last year we used 1 or 2 off the back of the square to help our lack of speed in centre clearances, we can't do that this year which I think is a big reason Brayshaw has fallen out of the centre square group. I still have confidence that Gawn, Oliver, Viney (who's looked better post bye), and Harmes (who has been shifted to the wing, I think to protect his body) make a very good clearance unit, but we're doing all sorts of different things to find the right midfield balance. Lewis as a tagger is the latest. Jones and Melksham as mids was tried. So many things have gone wrong this year that isolating individual problems gets away from the bigger picture which is that we are robbing peter to pay paul with so many decisions. It's summed up by our best wingman in Fritsch having to move positions during games as an intercept marking defender one week after Hore's injury and then as a full forward the next after Tommy Mc's absence.

No, on everything he's done so far in his career he looks like a key defender and one decent game up forward where he was in the right place at the right time doesn't convince me he's a forward. Nice that he made 3 regulation shots on goal, probably helped that he wasn't being relied on as a regular forward so didn't feel the pressure the rest of our forward line probably feels week to week.

I agree. From stoppages it's more on the coaches and forwards to create a structure that sees a bombed or hacked kick contested. One of the worst errors we make at the moment is we pass up simple short kicks on slow plays that would get an easy 15-20m of field position AND worst of all we go long down the line not to talls advantage. Whether it's boundary side or more corridor if we're going long to Gawn or Preuss (or other tall) they have to be in position for that kick. Nothing annoys me more than the bomb that lands 15m from Gawn for no good reason and Viney is one who does it a lot.

Firstly, if you've got a theory without a lot of evidence you should at least get the guys name right. It's Justin Plapp. Secondly, he's the midfield coach but Ben Matthews is the stoppage coach. He'd have far more say in what occurs at the stoppages where as Plapp's role would be based on how the midfielders move and use the ball in transition. Gawn has been excellent and the midfield has taken advantage in a number of games particularly in wins - v Syd, v Haw, v Freo. Max doesn't have Nic Nat's ability to leap over and hit it 360's though, so he's not a cheat code in the ruck. There's hitouts to advantage and there's hitouts that go clearly in to space and result in a beautiful clearance and Max can only get so many of them in a game. As for Gawn's clearance numbers they come about because after the hit out he's got some space to work, where as the other 3 mids have opponents on them. That we can't find little link up handballs to create clearer clearances is a bad mark on our coaches but in several games we have created a decent quality of clearance. Oliver turns the chance at a decent kick forward 50m in to a handball to Gawn who then hacks it 30m. For most of the Dogs game we did very well around the ground at stoppages and throw ins. But we also lack burst speed and dual sided ball use, we need a quicker/smarter ball user in the mix and we need a summer of the mids training together. They spent the first 2 months of the season trying to get fit and cover defensively.

We did use our first pick on an inside midfielder with Sparrow as well as adding Corey Wagner for some mature depth and KK was set to come in and play on the wing/mid. I'm sure the plan was for Vanders to be fit and for Corey Maynard to be a depth option as well. Plus JKH who missed the first 10 weeks. And Stretch. The drop off between our first choice mids and our depth is too great but it's not like we don't have options. Unfortunately: Injured: Sparrow, Stretch, Vanders, KK and even young Nietschke Returning from injury within the last month: JKH, Maynard And by the way, also injured: Dom Tyson (calf TBC)

We were killed for pace by Essendon early in the season and by Neale and Zorko against Brisbane. Oliver, Harmes and Viney aren't slow but they need to get even sharper in two way efforts from stoppages as well as across the ground. As good as Gawn is he's also a bit of a liability at centre bounces compared with some rucks who can chase down opposition mids and can also be used as effective clearance players. So often a Clarry handball goes to a stationary Gawn who then struggles to get a kick away. Then there's Brayshaw who's too slow entirely to be in the centre clearances if he can't pick up his defensive transition and Petracca who's lazy in swapping to defensive work and lazy around the ground. At stoppages teams hold Oliver and rove to Gawn. Our best clearances have all come with Viney who actually has the pace and smarts to read a tap and get moving forward with the ball. Unfortunately it then means he has to kick it. Outside mid has been spoken about in depth. I still have a decent amount of faith in Fritsch and I like Baker as a developmental player who needs a huge summer. Otherwise the cupboard is bare.

Small forwards 1. Dan Butler - Out of contract Pros: quick, kicked 30 goals in flag season, good pressure Cons: small/light frame and lots of recent injuries, 1 hit wonder? 2. Anthony McDonald-Tippa - OOC Pros: Great pressure, accurate kick Cons: Likely to cost a lot in a trade and contract, likely keen to stay 3.Jamie Elliott - FA Pros: gun goal kicker at his best, free agent Cons: expensive contract with lots of risk given injuries, has he missed too much footy? 4. James Rose - OOC Pros: kicks a lot of neafl goals but can't stick a regular spot Cons: probably not very good! 5. Lewis Taylor - OOC Pros: knows how to get the ball and has some creativity Cons: is Lewis Taylor

Outside Runners 1. Ed Langdon - out of contract Pros: Excellent runner and ball winner Cons: Ball use, likely to cost a 2nd round pick 2. Brad Hill - IN contract Pros: elite runner, solid enough ball user/winner Cons: Likely to cost a big contract and a big trade package (pick 10-15) 3. Brandon Ellis - RFA Pros: Excellent runner and penetrating kick Cons: Shaky at the contest and ball use can be unpredictable 4. Harry Cunningham - FA Pros: Good speed and endurance, could be cheap Cons: Shaky ball users and winner 5. Tom Cutler - out of contract Pros: Good size, long kick Cons: Best suited at half back, ball winner but maybe not the smartest player 6. Karl Amon - out of contract Pros: Good runner, neat kick Cons: Small, inconsistent 7. Stephen Hill - FA Pros: Classy user Cons: Ageing, expensive contract, recent injuries 8. Adam Tomlinson - out of contract Pros: Good runner, big body who can play 2nd ruck Cons: Not the most natural ball user or creative player 9. Jack Newnes - FA Pros: Good runner, long kick Cons: Average decision making and inconsistent at the contest, seems to have peaked a while ago

It might not be ideal value for a top pick but if you get a really good player I wouldn't worry about that. Worst case scenario we have 2 good really good back flankers, but best case is Salem finally goes in to the midfield and gives us the gun ball user we need in there. Every summer Salem trains with the mids before being put to half back because we just don't have good options. Unless we draft or trade for a ready made classy mid I think this is the summer to just leave Salem with the mids in to the season and hope we fix the backline in other ways.

PuT hIM baCK In hIs PrefeRred poSiTIOn Ignores the reality that he was absolutely butchering the ball AND was a defensive liability. He played a mix of wing, forward and on ball against the Dockers and did mostly pretty well. The foss Lewis is tagging. Harmes is on the wing saving his legs and shoulders for next year. Viney is on ball. Oliver is on ball and forward. Fritsch is on the wing or forward if we have no forward options, Hunt vice versa. Petracca is forward and on ball. That leaves Gus playing a mix of forward, on ball and wing. He’s perfectly capable of doing all of that. He did it as a 19 year old in year 1. Put his game on the weekend down to copping a corky. Otherwise he just has to play better.

Petty took a barely contested mark and drew a couple of free kicks. I’ve always been a fan but pump the breaks. He doesn’t have an athletic advantage as a forward - fitness is ok, speed is below par, agility is good but not great. I still think his future is as a CHB. Lockhart and Hore are both useful. Preuss probably has use as a back up. 2 of the baby draft picks have missed most of the year, the other 3 have had decent development seasons. Bradtke doing enough I guess, this year was about getting him used to footy. Fritsch tick, Baker probably a tick given no preseason, Spargo an awful year. In terms of young talent time it’s not great but not a disaster. Fritsch is the only guy who looks like a top 10 in the side player any time soon, but if the rest of these guys are 18-28 on the list it’s not too bad. Theres a bias to the new toys but overall they’ve had a better year than the likes of Oscar, ANB, Stretch, the Wagner’s, JKH none of which seem salvageable.

Petracca's field kicking has improved a lot in the last two months and his set shots now come with a routine. Not a particularly good one - he loses momentum and comes in too slowly, probably working on getting a good ball drop too much. His best kicks come when he has good momentum as well as balance and a nice ball drop. They worked on Petracca's ball drop over summer. They are clearly working on his goal kicking routine. Hopefully a goal kicking coach is on the way and I like many others want a dedicated kicking coach or a dedicated kicking program at least, which they may have. Finally I leave you with this: Marcus Bontempelli is the best field kick in the game with a wonderful action. He's also a terrible kick for goal. It's not easy!

Singling out one of the better players is an odd choice. Continues to run and put his body on the line as much as anyone, and is carrying a decent shoulder knock - mainly because his team mates keep giving him hospital handballs and kicks. I'd like his skills to be better but there's not much difference between Harmes last year and this year, in fact he's probably been as good in a lot of games.

Because even underdone they are better than the scrubs at Casey? Because we keep getting injuries to other players creating a gap in the side. Lever had done enough training and games, just have to get him back in and live with some mistakes and lack of footy. Jetta was rushed in to play limited game time out of the back pocket, at the end of the day he probably wasn't any worse than playing Josh Wagner. Wasn't any better either, but if he's made it through without injuries he'll be better next week for the run at AFL level.

Baker easily the most talented Casey player but also you can see some of the flaws with defensive work rate and getting lost at the contest. Still, he works to get the ball, had multiple hospital kicks on his head, can break and line and deliver accurately. Jordon, Chandler, Bedford developing. Jordon really lifted in the last, with a smooth kick through the middle that should've got the ball back to him for an easy set shot and he blasted a goal from 45 off half a step from a stoppage that was all pure timing. Chandler didn't have a great game but I still like the look of him. Bedford had some ok moments, nice crumbed goal and I like the way he moves around a pack up the ground, unusual player. Corey Wagner played well, but still every 2nd or so thing he does well is something that will work at VFL but probably not at AFL. He just isn't a smooth mover or smart at creating space for himself. The broken tackles and fends that work for him at VFL level probably end up not working at AFL level. I'd give him another run at AFL level but I'm not expecting he'll do anything more than provide some ok role playing efforts. JKH - pretty meh game. McDonald and Maynard both look like guys who still have hip injuries. Every now and then Maynard will do something really good but other times he doesn't pick up the play quick enough or move with the top line agility and power that he did at his best, and his skills are poor. Oscar the same, he's still lacking power and oomph even at VFL level.

I reckon the game was going to have one goal scoring chance left. We had Gawn in the middle, win the clearance and it's game on. The Dogs didn't need to score and clearly we would've had to convert our chance so in that case less than 50/50. Either way, it's not all negative because it really should've come down to the last minute or so and most probably wouldn't have predicted that to start the day given the Dogs form. There were at least a few things to build on.

First half was very good. Executed to the game plan. Did about the best we had with the talent available. 3rd quarter was rubbish, we were belted around the ball and couldn't clear the 50 despite having 2 7 foot long bomb options. Awful stuff. Last quarter we were the dominant side. Leaked a few easy goals and kicked a stack of points ourselves. Fritsch misses an easy goal to bring it under a goal and almost a 50/50 next goal wins game.

No other ruck ever has this paid against. Gawn rucking against a 6 foot tall player has every right use his arm to hold space, he can't sit there and have a small man jump on to him. I get he can't extent the arm to push off but that's not what he was doing at all. Contrived rubbish.

Thinking about it instead of dropping Petty at some stage they have to at least consider dropping Hibberd don't they? He's been really bad for most of this year. Butchering the ball, letting opponents slip out of tackles or contests and not providing any leadership or composure. Obviously he's had some injuries as well and he's still capable of some very good efforts including a clutch spoil last week late in the game but it wouldn't shock me if he made way.

If Jetta comes back in he'll play deep back and it will push Hibberd and/or Frost higher up the ground to the role Petty or Hore were playing and Fritsch on a wing. That means more speed where it counts. It looks like it's either Jetta or Petty, it's not like there's a quick back flanker on the list ready to play. Preuss and Weid will play on Trengove and Cordy, it's not like they're up against smalls. Hannan and Hunt are really the deep smaller forwards and have plenty of pace, they just don't provide consistent results. ANB has the right physical tools to play as a hard running half forward, he just often fails at the skills. I'm far more worried about what we'll do with Lewis who won't have the speed or physicality to mix it with the Dogs mids. I guess he'll sit out on a wing opposed to guys like Lipinski and Hunter, but I'm sure the Dogs will send speed his way.

Jordon's put up some high disposal games since shifting from the backline to the midfeld/forward rotation at Casey, but I'm not sure that means he's anywhere near a debut. With a late December birth date, skinny frame and limited TAC exposure he'll probably be better off just playing the year out at Casey. He's not going to get midfield time in the AFL team and we might have enough backline options for the rest of the year. Maybe if they give Dunkley a couple more games and if he then goes back to the VFL you could give Jordon a go but too many young guys at once if they haven't really bashed the door down at VFL level is a recipe for failure.