DeeSpencer

Because with Frost off we had no one else. When JDG and Stephenson were both forward: Hibberd had to to got to Stephenson. May had to go to De Goey. Any other defender - Hore, Lever, Fritsch, Wagner on either of those guys would've been a disaster. That's why long term we probably need to replace Wagner or Hore with a mobile shut down player, although short term getting Frost and eventually Jetta should be a good start. I thought May did a number on Cox a few times early, held a couple of marks and got good hands to others. Then he held De Goey pretty well. Ran him under the ball with good physical pressure on every occasion aside from once when De Goey turned him and goaled. May isn't a pure lock down defender but he can do it. Frost should be the lock down tall defender. Lever the interceptor. May then can take the match up and play it as per the circumstances.

I'm sure his training routine has them sailing straight through but under game pressure his desire to get it straight on to the boot seems him hook it right. The moment you get him aiming way to the right would be the moment he kicks it straight and it misses as well. It's a flaw in his game but I'm more worried about our forwards than Max.

Absolutely missing Melksham. He was one of our 2 reliable forwards with Tommy Mc last year. There's a few things I don't love about his game - he's not a good pressure player and can be a lazy defender when not given a task, he likes to draw a free kick and in particular this year he's been iffy about taking shots on goal from around 50m out. But he leads up at the ball, plays in front and can kick to a forwards advantage. I guess the silver lining of him being out for a while is it means he's not covering for the weaknesses of others. Every mid and half forward now knows they have to improve their inside 50's.

Lockhart was the standout in terms of playing a class above. His ability to break out of traffic, use the ball well, mark strongly etc etc was a cut above. Dunkley was really good to watch as well mostly around the stoppages. He has a natural ability to create room for himself to get a kick away and just as importantly he has the penetration to make that kick useful. I'm sure he has a lot to develop including using his hands more creatively but I can see why he was recruited. For some reason no Melbourne player can get a long snap out of traffic either at a stoppage or in the forward line so I hope we don't ruin Dunkley's ability to do it! Kyle Chandler is the other one who plays like he'll be a handy player. He's quick on to the ball or to tackle, seems to read it well and has a decent mark for his size. His sidestep to get on to his left is very nice as well. Oh and he's almost certainly too slow and small to have it work at AFL level but Mitch White dominated as a lead up 3rd tall. Played like Tom Lynch (crows). A little more speed and good health and he would've had a decent AFL career I think. Glad he's sticking around at Casey.

My first thought is there isn't much to this. He's probably one of 20 out of contract players we have interest in across multiple positions. Any time you can upgrade a key defensive spot even if you've got money and resources tied up in that area already then it isn't a bad idea to try. Frost is out of contract so we'll have to either sign him or a replacement anyway. Is spending an early 2nd round pick and an extra 100-200k a year on Keath over Frost a good idea? Salem, Melksham and Weideman have all signed on. Lewis and Garlett are going. Jones maybe 1 more on a veteran money deal. Oskar Baker the next priority and you wouldn't think he'd break the bank. So if we've our salary cap in decent order there should be some cash to go after some players.

It's true and it's probably because they are. We missed the Frost grunt from the backline and Wagner and Hore are not quick but otherwise the backs had a dip. The inside mids did too, as did Baker. But largely our wings and forwards are tentative and/or poor athletes and/or just incapable of running hard, fast and hunting the ball. Petracca was good and so was Weideman. The disappointment was that Pendlebury was put off his game and Gawn monstered Grundy. De Goey and Stephenson were too good but that's ok. Really all we needed was some outside run and forward line class/power to really pressure the Pies defenders and things could've changed.

Yes I saw the game. Yes May was good. 1 good game in 12 weeks, hardly establishing himself as a leader. Either way how well you play in any one game is largely irrelevant to what good on field leadership is. Constructive criticism is good. Yelling at team mates for mistakes is bad. His spray of Baker who had stuffed up and got himself a sore shoulder for his troubles was in no way constructive. Didn't see what he was saying to Hore, so maybe it was great instructions and leadership

Leadership is constructive criticism for lack of effort, not following the game plan or selfish play. Spraying people for mistakes is the exact opposite of leadership. Weideman made a costly mistake last week and his team mates supported him. He responded well today. May needs to be careful to keep it constructive, especially before he's had the chance to establish himself in the side.

Sprayed Baker for stuffing up at the end of the game too. Not great when one of the big reasons he dropped the mark was cause the kick was ordinary from Fritsch. I like that we've got a key defender willing to give directions but he can't get too emotional or it isn't good leadership. Particularly when plenty of players were giving May directions as well. Hore had a rough first quarter but once the pressure backed off a bit had another very good game.

My argument is they took a chance on Spargo because the alternatives are either no better or even worse (JKH, ANB, Stretch, C Wagner) or needed a run after injury (Lockhart). Baker looks good but his lack of tank creates it's own issues. Also if we had another Baker he'd be playing instead of Spargo, but we only have 1. We held a very hard running Pies team for a lot of the game, that only happens when you have guys like Spargo busting their backside. He'll almost certainly go back to Casey now but I'm not all that upset about his performance. If it were JKH or ANB I'd expect the exact same complaints.

Spargo compared with: JKH: has a longer future (by default) better tank and really no worse disposal. So he was set to the tagging wing role on Phillips, then moved forward ANB: He's a disaster right now, two head knocks recently, needed the run at Casey Lockhart: Missed time with a knee, isn't a huge endurance athlete, reasonable that they gave him a game at Casey. I would've put him straight in but I get it Corey Wanger: yeah/nah The reality is we need more talent but also more guys who are willing to run hard and to the right spots. Spargo's 17 touches and good pressure numbers show he did all the right work today, just very ordinary with the ball/contest.

I'm sure they would if they could - and if he had the tank to do it regularly. He started todays game with the forwards. Moved back when Frost went down. He barely missed a target last week. 4 clangers from 26 disposals this week. Has to improve that aspect of his game but any of a) a bit of run, spready and carry around him, b) a good CHF forward or c) a safer/slower game plan with more switching would help as well.

You had T Mc but you didn't have Melksham nor the realities that beating up on bad sides has no relevance to how you perform against the good teams. We couldn't score against a top 8 side last year under round 22 against the Eagles. Took 22 weeks to get it together.

So due to the Pies wearing black shorts for a home game the jumpers now clash? Let me see that in writing. It's never been a clash when they've been in white shorts.

You've lost it with dropping Fritsch. One of the few in this side who can run and link up. Yeah his game has issues, disposal goes hot and cold and his defensive positioning isn't ideal , hardly a surprise for a skinny kid with very little backline experience but he's exactly the player we need more of not less. Almost any team in the comp would love to have someone like Fritsch developing in their side.

I assume he was the clown behind us wearing a clash jumper against the Pies. Weak rubbish like that won't help us.

8 problems and you missed the 2 of the 3 that really matter. Number 1 is Tom McDonald turning in to a cactus Number 2 is Melksham - the 3rd tall match up player who can goal as well as hit targets inside 50 Number 3 is the 110 point forward line largely existed against crap sides. We were held to a lot less by good teams for a lot of the year.

Jones played his best game of the year last week at half back. This week we drop Stretch (who isn't up to it but whatever) and put Jones back on to the wing, keep Wagner at half back. I would've had Jones at half back and Stretch on the wing rather than Wagner. There's a chance Nathan has one more year left in him at half back. A chance. He shouldn't still be captain but I don't think that really matters all that much, he's earnt having that a year longer than he should've. With the midseason draft and preseason supplement period I'd have no issues keeping Jones for one more summer with the reality being if he's not performing he's at Casey or retires.

There's clearly no connection between the forwards and mids. 50/50 blame. The only thing I can say to defend the coaches is that the forwards are trained to focus so much on defensive work - partially because the midfield and backline have been so poor defensively to start the year - that they have lost a lot of attacking focus. The backline and midfield are defending far better and the forwards are going ok in that regard. The focus can shift back on to attacking play. Also look at the personnel: Hannan's 3rd game this year - rusty as heck. Garlett - cooked Spargo - limited Tommy Mc - awful Hunt, Petracca, Weid ok. Judging a coach largely requires talent, which means a healthy and confident Tommy Mc or a different tall target plus some better smalls.

Agreed. I’d even want a good look at him later this year if he’s fit. There’s no point running Max in to the ground in August in dead rubbers, that’s the time to split Gawn/Preuss 50/50.

I’m happy to stick with Tom and Sam. I think you can almost win a flag with Tim Smith and Declan Keilty is you have the right mids, mediums and smalls. Pies nearly did with Cox and Mihocek. Dogs did with Boyd and Cordy. If the draft falls the way of taking a tall then that’s fine, but I wouldn’t break the bank for a B grader. Save the cash, we’ll need it elsewhere

The only goal kicking coaches I know of are: Carlton - Sav Rocca St Kilda - Ben Dixon The most well known kicking coach was David Rath at Hawthorn - the biomechanist who really set them apart with kicking as well as other smart tactics. He now works for the AFL. This isn't a bad video for anyone stuck in the 1990's who can't understand how footy has changed. Should we have a specialist kicking or goal kicking coach? I'm not opposed to the idea. Should we make sure all goal kicking training is done under game like scenarios, with routine and reviewed - that's a yes to me.

I don't particularly see the appeal of kicking it around at Casey for 10 weeks but good on him if he's willing to do that. The first 2 years were a success even if he was just hanging on under pressure really throughout both years. It was pretty clear for the get go athletically he didn't have a lot left in the tank. The benefits of some good football combined with bring successful culture and valuable on and off field structural leadership have to be weighed against the cost of money and game time in to a player without a long term future as well as whatever damage his slipping over and refusal to put his body on the line was worth. But even as a strong critic I'd say he was in the positives there. I'm convinced this 3rd year has been a futile effort but maybe he'll do well at Casey and give the guys there some value.

Too empathetic - nope I wouldn't say that. But Sam, Max and all our players need to use this to get mentally stronger. They can't go back in their shells. I remember when Gawn was finding his way he stuffed up in the Saints game we lost narrowly with a dumb hit out from the centre bounce. The next week he exploded down at Geelong and announced himself as a star. The Weid needs to respond with something similar. Roos was apparently quite good at having the players backs but knowing when to give them a rev up. Goodwin might have to do the same with Weideman. The Pies will try to get stuck in to him, he needs to be ready.

They had 2 extra picks last year (that they traded away in part for McGovern or Setterfield) plus the first pick of the midseason draft. They don't need more draft picks, they simply need to get in some half decent experienced players and they've had a heap of opportunities to do that. Their percentage of 74% shows they are far from hopeless at competing, just terrible at winning. Melbourne turned it around with Vince, Cross, Bugg, Garlett, Melksham, Hibberd etc. No reason the Blues can't offer up some decent picks to land some quality experienced players. This place (probably led by me as much as anyone) wasn't happy when we gave a 2nd round pick and plenty of cash for Jake Melksham. And I still think we overpaid for a late career rental of Bernie Vince. But it's those kind of deals the Blues have to make and refuse to.