DeeSpencer

Port - 38,886 - excellent round 1 crowd GWS - 20023 - not a good crowd but we were 3-6 Freo - 20211 - solid enough for a team at 3-9 Would be nice to up that minimum crowd to more like 25,000 but given our struggles it's not terrible if we're above 20k.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Carlton have only played 2 home games against non local clubs and they have been: v Sydney in round 3 - a game they could've won and would've felt somewhat positive going in to v Brisbane a few weeks ago after sacking a new coach. The old South Melbourne and Fitzroy fans would've made a nice boost to those attendances. I've seen a heap of Lions fans around whenever they've played in Melbourne this year.

Outside of the dumb free kick (the dumb part was going anywhere near a flopper when the team had the ball) and a couple of bad bombs inside 50 (one where he had Fritsch free for an easy sideways kick but burnt him in the 2nd in particular) I thought he was good across half back. Worked hard to get to contests and had some very important moments coming up in to play to win ground balls. Happy for him to play on in that high half back role on the basis that like Lewis this year he might not have 22 games in him.

Port are a well run club who have made solid decisions to build a decent list over many years. They've gone up and down a bit but they got close to beating Hawthorn in a prelim and have pretty much had a strong list since. I'm surprised they are 7th but not shocked, because it became clear they'd replace the guys they traded out with really good draft picks and then move experienced players back in to the midfield to cover their losses. But how good has there season been? - Started the year 2-1 with uninspiring wins against us and Carlton and a good effort at Brisbane - Dropped a game they never should've to a severely undermanned Richmond - Upset the Eagles who probably weren't going all that well at the time and beat the Roos - Blown out by Collingwood and Adelaide - Get an easy win with the farce that is the China game. Everyone would've beaten the Saints with the flu - Soundly beaten by Freo - Get a big upset win on the Cats Their remaining draw doesn't have any more easy beats: Dogs, Crows, Bris, Rich, GWS, Ess, Syd, North, Freo. Just as likely to trail off and miss the 8 as they are to host or win a final.

Jones played in Lewis’ sweeping half back role on the weekend and did it well. If we put Lewis in for Wagner we’ll either have to shift Salem or Jones to a more defensive role, or have Jones go back to the wing and Fritsch or Hunt back I think. This reminds me of the last two years when Vince v Lewis was the debate once it looked like only one of them should be in the same backline at once.

When Hogan went down we had a spare tall defender really so I’m surprised he was even on for that long. But it shows just how important rotations are, we could have had better match ups with the 6 more mobile defenders but rotations are vital. With the Lions playing 3 talls he’ll be needed for a decent chunk of the game.

Very easy on iPhone and probably the same on most other. Make sure the photo is saved in your phone. Click to choose files Chose the file from photo library

I'm as critical as anyone with Oscar but the guy had a limited preseason and was then thrust in to playing 9 of the first 11 games underdone and low on confidence. Obviously Lever and May were out and the decision was made not to risk Petty in to a bad side when he also had a niggling foot that cost him a week or two. So Oscar kept going and actually played ok in rounds 7-9 before a couple of stinkers. This seems like a smart thing to do to get his body and mind back on track and I expect he'll play well in the VFL from now. He might surprise a few as a depth player who can come in to the team and do a decent job once he finds some confidence and actually gets a run at developing his game at the right level for him.

He sure did, but only because holding the man has become legalised by bad umpires. The game would open up and more goals would be scored if players couldn't lock on to their opponents any time the ball was in dispute. I wouldn't want Trac going the big dive but I thought the handball out in front tactic was worth a go when he found himself in a bit of a pickle.

Ducked to draw a free kick from the May tackle. Went down like shot when Petty I think fairly made a spoil only milliseconds after he marked to draw a 50. Straight dived to draw that reversal with Jones. Throw in Fyfe and Hill amongst others throwing themselves desperately forward to get push in the back free kicks that weren't paid the other way and Freo manipulated the umpires very well. Those tactics rarely work long term though.

1. Fyfe is 27, Oliver is 21. 2. Fyfe is a gun forward, Oliver is maybe an ok forward 3. Freo were down 2 on the bench for most of the 2nd half 4. James Harmes strolled in to the goal square to kick a vital last term goal ahead of Fyfe. The kick in to him came from Brayshaw who got it from Oliver. In an ideal world Viney, Harmes, Oliver and Gus should all play 70% in the centre square, with Petracca or even someone like Hannan or Lockhart taking up the last 20%. Clearly those numbers could change in a blow out win or loss. They should all play about 10% of time in the forward line to try something different for a total of 80% game time. Hopefully in time we can get even more flexibility and mix these guys through roles forward or back. Our game plan requires our inside mids to charge around the ground in attack and defending. The days of playing anywhere close to 100% on ball are over.

Manic tackling pressure? Even in peak form Hannan has a good sprint but is far from the best at sticking the tackles and ordinary at changing directions. The best of Hannan is decent forward pressure but a versatile attacking player who can get to the right spots to create goals or link up with clever run and carry. And the ability to kick a goal at an important time. I'd be inclined to drop him as well but more to get him some easy touches than thinking his pressure is going to drastically improve. The best argument to keep him in the side is he's a natural forward where as the replacement for him wouldn't be. It goes against the idea of keeping continuity in the forward half as well.

The only thing I can find about him online has him listed as 190cm. We an early developers frame that doesn't look like a speedy rebounder or laser like kick I can't really see the combination that screams top 5 pick and the player we should take. Never pass up best available if there's a clear gap but otherwise I imagine our focus will be on finding a player who can impact in the front half of the ground, be that a classy midfielder or a forward.

I just think Petty's lack of speed and for now strength will see him more as an up the ground defender. If your forward and midfield pressure is always great then you can get away with a guy like him deep but if we're playing a more open style I think a defender who can win a one on one in space with closing speed is vital. That can be May, and maybe it can be Hibberd and Jetta as well or another medium/small, but yesterday the ability to have Frost or May play the sweeping role and close down opponents was really valuable. I've actually been super impressed by Frost's skills this year in that his handballing seems vastly improved as does his kicking. Far more technically sound skills increases the chances of the ball getting where it needs to go. I know it's a low bar for a professional footballer but the heart in mouth of Frost was probably 50/50 decision making and execution. More often than not now if he picks out a simple kick he'll hit it. The decision making still needs to improve but I wonder how much that could improve by continuity with the same team mates. That said, I'm keen to see more of Petty. Right now I've got him as promising depth to cover Hore or Lever short term who could be more in the medium term. If he picks up the pace of the game quicker than I've thought and can start taking some of the strong intercept marks I've been at Casey at times then he'll go back up in my estimations.

Where what and when? First two years in the VFL as a forward showing rapid improvement. Then a season in 2016 typical of a young forward that was wildly inconsistent but still managed 30 goals! Maybe for a brief period in 2017 but since then he's been a super talented if somewhat unusual defender. http://www.aflplayerratings.com.au/Ratings/Player/117738/James-SICILY A far better Hawthorn comparison would be Kaiden Brand or even Tim O'Brien

Weid's played 2 VFL games this year v Footscray: 2.3, 7 marks (5 contested), 21 touches v Willy: 3.1, 6 marks (3 contested), 14 touches He had 25 goals in 10 games, being in the best 5 times last year in the VFL with a strong finish to the year. I wouldn't go as far as saying he's dominated but he's been very good at VFL level when he's sent back there and if his form drops off I'm happy for him to go back to the VFL again. But since he's came back in to the side he's had: Crows - very good game aside from missing the chance to win it Pies - decent game where he did some good things after Moore beat him early. 5 marks, kicked 2 goals. Solid And yesterday's game. It was a lot of running around for very little of the ball but sometimes that's the reality of a 2nd or 3rd key forward. He didn't get a chance to go in to the ruck which is often when he finds the ball - they used Tommy Mc in that role to get him in to the play (and out of the forward line where he stuffed up for 3/4's). The play often went through Tommy (28 disposals), Petracca (22 disposals) and Tim Smith who was running with Luke Ryan. Similarly Hunt and Hannan were often at full forward as we like mobility to get out the back in that role. The Weid was the odd man out in terms of getting the play but I can handle him in that role as long as it isn't every week. He took a couple of nice grabs, kicked a good goal, created another important one with 2 efforts and halved enough contests.

Petty and Lever are both interceptors, as is Hore. Plus they want to use May in a role that sees him get up the ground and in to play. If Petty takes a big step forward with a summer of fitness/strength and speed work that might work but I'd be surprised if that's the case so soon. If he holds his current form I think it will be Frost alongside May, allowing Lever and Hore the freedom to play on lesser forwards so they can attack the game. That said, Frosty's contract might be a difficult one. I want him signed up but for the right price/years.

Except for that fact Hogan is a hugely inefficient footballer who struggles at the MCG. Just as likely he would've dragged May to plenty of contests. Petty would've had a match up on Cox. And Freo would've had one less quick pressure player in the forward line. Those were the guys that hurt us all game. The vast majority of their goals came from our botched turnovers under pressure or creating free kicks with quick movement. We would've lost yesterday if Freo had their full complement of running players, so Hogan was a factor there, but there's plenty of evidence to doubt that he was going to have a big game taking marks or kicking goals on May. A typical Hogan game with a few nice marks up the ground but a lot of poor contests inside 50 and bad kicking was most likely. Weideman wasn't poor. He did his job. Created a goal going back with the flight. Kept away from McDonald and Smith. He has to get better but unless we land a big name key forward dropping him after a game like yesterday would be coaching stupidity. Shuffling him out for a player of similar talent on the basis of earning games would stunt his development. He more than earnt his game yesterday if you watched him play rather than the stat sheet.

One half of VFL this year. Maybe none last year? 2 in 2017 5 in 2016 Plenty in 2015 My point is, this is a guy who's had less than 10 games in the last 4 years at the level where he should be playing to improve. At AFL level: - Slow - tentative physically - doesn't seek out the ball - doesn't run with the ball to counter attack At VFL level he can do all of those things time and time again and get better at them. Then when he comes in to the AFL side he can do that and either improve or not. I think he's also been underdone this year and carrying an injury, so at full fitness he can do it all with confidence. I wouldn't completely write him off until he's had a chance to develop properly.

Both. The next 5 weeks is: Bris Carl Bulldogs Eagles St Kilda No reason not to be competitive and try to win as many of those games as possible. Win 5 straight or even 4 of 5 we'll be in finals contention, win 3 or less and our draft position probably won't have changed all that much. With our percentage we could win 3 of 5 and still be at best 13th. Then we have a couple of big home games against Richmond and Collingwood. Would be lovely to knock them off as they go in to September. We're unlikely to win those games unless our form is massively improved, so it's unlikely to be an issue. But beating teams in flag contention (yet to see where Richmond is by then) in front of big crowds would be really important for the players and club. The last two weeks against Sydney and North might be time to put the cue in the rack and focus on next year. I know our history with tanking but there's still a strong argument for having our cake and eating it too. Again, if we're drastically improved things will be looking good, if we're not it's the time of year to try a few things for next season as well as getting all the surgeries and niggles fixed. If North and Sydney are in similar spots on the ladder and we're looking at pick 5 or pick 8 then just for the last 2 weeks I'd be thinking the results aren't that important. Of course we'd have to give our all and if we win that's good too but there's a way for the players to give their all but the club to make some strategic decisions.

Hibberd might be our best and only choice to play on Cameron. He’ll have a field day. In for Wagner. Good luck pig. Wouldn’t rush Lever. Hannan’s done nothing since he came back and looks a fair way off it. Actually think we’re better off with Hunt in his role as a deep forward. Corey Wagner back at half forward? Or Dunkley? Stretch or JKH playing wing and use Baker/Fritsch forward more?

Yep Fyfe is the weak defensive link in Freo’s midfield but usually a tagger sits on him so it’s irrelevant. Agree about Harmes, thought he looked flat all game, maybe a virus?? Took until the last to make Fyfe chase him. Fyfe’s such a beast, but I think he’s close to 10th than 1st. He’s a freak in the air and at stoppages but otherwise like Oliver but without the younger legs and upside (hopefully). The backs seem reluctant to switch because they don’t trust the mids and half forwards to win the spread race outside. Better spread and they’ll be more encourage. May needs to pick up the tempo to then use the ball to his potential. He’s still dump kicking every now and then, which is understandable given he’s played in perennially crap teams. His ability to slide through traffic for a big man is wonderful and was on display in the last term especially.

6 - Lockhart 5 - Frost 4 - Gawn 3 - Viney 2- Petracca 1 - Tommy Mc

The BAO would've had the old timer thrown off the David Neitz terrace if it was at the Marvel

I reckon Freo are a top 4 spreading midfield, if not higher than that. Mundy, Conca, Walters and fit young mids inside, then Hill and Langdon outside, plus hard running forward flakers. They are built to chop up teams and nearly did - might have without injuries. Fyfe's a lazy spreading player but they have 1, we have 4! Harmes looked off for most of the game. Viney was on. Clarry and Gus just meh. And then really babies on the wing in Fritsch and Baker. Plus playing Wagner (and Hore and Petty) as back flankers at times who really aren't suited to small quick opponents. Given all of that I think we did very well to run with them. A couple of preseasons for Baker and Fritsch or relegation to the 2nd and 3rd fittest wingmen and all of a sudden our outside mids have so much more run. Then clearly a big summer and big fitness focus for our inside bulls. Plus another quick flanker rather than Wagner. I really think the transition defending is the easiest thing for us to fix. We're already about 10 goals better than we were in the first 3 weeks. Same goes for switching. Baker and Fritsch were options. In another summer they'll demand the ball. And again, upgrade Wagner/Petty with Lever and another proper flanker, some more match fitness in to May and it starts coming out the other side rather than in to traffic. And it's not even switching that we need. The set up kick that looks like a switch then creates the open corridor kick and off we go. Just setting up and making the opponents cover the switch creates what we need.