DeeSpencer

We haven't recovered from a long season going a month longer than the bottom sides and 3 tough finals, not just the one we lost. We haven't successfully implemented game plan changes but I don't think that means we didn't learn from the Eagles game. There has been a shift if more possession retention but the Cats are the form team of the comp playing far quicker and more aggressively than they did for most of 2018. They've got fresh legs in Rohan, Dahlhaus and Atkins up forward and added something new to their midfield in Constable and Parfitt and are vastly improved (for now). I just think the sample size is a bit too early to really get a read on what we are trying to do. The first quarter against Port looked great. Then we chased tail for 3/4's. Geelong is a narrow ground in the wet, so we bombed it in and tried to press up, that's a strategy that's worked for us before down there. Against the Bombers we had the excellent patch in the 2nd quarter that used the ball nicely to get some high percentage inside 50's. The rest of the game the midfield defensive work and backline were so bad there's nothing we could do. We made some clear list changes - May in, Kolodjashnij replacing Tyson, Fritsch in on a wing, Joel Smith as a mobile marking/spread the field forward, adding in 4 small forward/flank options in Lockhart, C Wagner, Bedford, Chandler. I think those moves were focused on a stronger backline, more outside run and spread. We are getting little to nothing from those additions so far as well as so many of our best players being down or out. I'm not a Lewis fan but he's spent the last 2 years as our backline organiser who controls the uncontested touches and has been missing. I agree on the need to use the wings from centre clearances but on way it goes to Jones who can't free space and the other way it goes to KK who can't do anything. And most of the time the mids could barely keep track of their opponents yet alone break in to space to hit up a forward on a lead (in our outside 50).

I'm not sure the prelim is all that relevant, the best team in the comp ambushed us after a big couple of finals. There's some tactical things with teams hitting the 45 switch that the Eagles did very well and teams doubling up Gawn but really we were smashed in the midfield and not good enough elsewhere, which we knew all along. I hope Goodwin and Co are disappointed but I also think they'd be pretty understanding of where the issues are right now. A dominant midfield side has lost it's edge - none of Viney, Oliver or Brayshaw look fully up to speed with their work around the contest and particularly with their spread. Harmes looks like the only midfielder who is really covering the ground - both in close and when spread out. The wingers are struggling even more and the forward line is a mess, with one of our most likely goal kickers being a back flanker added to the list only a few weeks ago. All of that said I think the one big list improvement we made was Steve May and if he was fully fit and not suspended for rounds 1 and 3 we might be sitting at 2-1 on the ladder.

He's playing like a guy who's missed a heap of footy and has also missed the gym. Looked more effective forward than on a wing, and he sure as hell isn't playing down back with his lack of will for the contest. Right now I'm thinking the best case scenario is getting some VFL in to him and maybe he has another few cracks at games later in the year, he's not lightening which I said when we got him but I think he has enough pace and skill to be something, but he looks entirely like a player who needs another preseason training at a high level before he'll play well.

Yeah Petty makes me nervous, I really like him so don't want him burnt before he gets a fair run at it. If he were playing down back I'd give Keilty a go. In fact I'd send him down back at Casey whenever they next play. Tim Smith and Preuss might be the more likely forward options anyway.

As for ANB - it's the same thing. Had a good go at it as one of the fittest players in the comp and that's why he keeps getting picked. Our runners aren't fit enough so we pick the best runner, it's simple logic really. But as our game style has been worked out he's another guy who doesn't bring speed, doesn't bring ball winning ability and certainly doesn't have the skills required. He was a useful role player who out shone his talent but eventually those kind of guys fall back to the pack more often than not. The game evolves and unless they adapt they struggle.

Oscar had 1 intercept possession. 1. One. Uno. Imagining playing 120 minutes of football as a key defender and only once getting the ball from the opposition. That's laughable. Is Frost better or worse, I'm not sure, but the guy at least will get the ball back sometimes. Oscar was an ok talent - nice kick, works hard, seems like a good guy - but he never had the speed in the legs or speed in the mind and he's peaked. He had a good go of it the last two years but there just seems nothing left in terms of physical ability, physicality or picking up the game quicker.

Jetta and Salem are playing well enough, Hibberd up and down. The speed at which the ball is coming from the midfield is undefendable. There's plenty of bad stuff but it starts with key defenders incapable of influencing contests even semi reliably. Even Josh Wagner played ok tonight by getting to good spots and attacking the ball. I won't judge an assistant coach until they have some level of talent to work with.

Out: T Mc (rested) In: Preuss/Keilty take your pick Out: Weid In: T Smith Out: Oscar In: Petty Out: KK In: Stretch Out: ANB In: Spargo/Baker/Garlett/Sparrow whoever.

No it means we need to make sure Viney, T Mc, Gawn and Jetta are qualified and doing the job and then empower Lever, Oliver and Brayshaw to do the same with the younger players. If Goodwin is the coach we all expect him to be then leadership will flow through him to the playing group. Josh Mahoney as well. We really need to look at the process the Tigers put in place in 16/17 with Balme and fresh assistant coaches coming on board, filling a few gaps with smart trades, using their wasted year to get some good young talent some games and backing the coach. Not that this year is wasted just yet but there's a lot of sings pointing that way. The way the Tigers leaders all went to a new level in 2017 was something our senior players should look to. Our senior players could invest in some mindfulness to sort their heads out and that could help with a bit more belief and confidence for the younger guys. No more Jordan B Peterson either.

Did it for a second time in September trying to come back for finals. The 2 injuries in short succession mandated the long lay off. Was in the rehab group all summer until Feb/March as they slowly built him back up and has only played 2 or 3? Casey games. He also appears more of a speed athlete than a natural endurance runner so putting him in on a wing at anything less than peak fitness would be setting him up to fail. Kolodjashnij, who has a bigger natural tank and AFL experience was awful after an interrupted prep, I don’t want to see that for Baker.

Geelong 2006 and Hawthorn 2009 beg to differ.

By the way there's actually a photo of Oliver right next to where I'm posting this and it shows just how high and elaborate his ball drop is. It's certainly a concern I have with him as well as other talented youngsters we've had like Hogan and Petracca that they are so gifted we forget to really work on developing their fundamentals to a high standard. A more compact and fluent kicking action would help him.

Not too worried about his kicking in general, but all of our inside mids need to work on getting the ball out to a player running towards goal who can hit up a target rather than bombing it. In two games this season the inside players haven't taken the ball forward in the stoppage nearly enough. Gawn also has to be part of that both with his taps and by being involved at ground level so it's not 4 v 3 against mobile rucks at centre clearances. And when they do go for the quick kick it has to be to advantage and with numbers running on to the ball. There's no point having Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, Viney getting 120 touches between them and nothing coming from it. If those guys do get 30 each then I want Fritsch and Kolodjashnij getting fed the ball on the wings from them rather than 70 inside 50's for no score. I think we went for far too much wet weather footy against the Cats, acting like it was a swamp rather than playing to the conditions but still maintaining smart football.

Spot on. Had a couple of nice kicks against Port, competed well in the air, put his head over it and looked like the running wasn't too much for him. I'd say at this stage with any kind of decent development he should be at least a guy who carves out a career. Certainly way too early to say whether he'll be good or not. We're getting a pretty rude reminder right now that development of players isn't linear. Petracca, Stretch, Kolo, Fritsch, Weideman, Hunt, ANB, Joel Smith, Oscar are all in that 22-24 year old range and we don't even know what they are or will be over the next few years, yet alone the 18 year olds.

It's not so much about reinventing Jones but using what he still has - experience and ability to know where the ball is going - as well as adding what the team needs which is that experience at half back to make sure the set ups are right and hopefully control possession. That said, the wing was always a reinvention for him and I was never convinced it would work. Back or forward made more sense to me. Lewis had that position at half back but if he's out Jones should have a go at it. We also don't have near 22 players who are performing, so we should be working out which players can contribute in roles that make others better. Be it physicality, leadership, unrewarded running etc.

May will be injured and Oscar, Frost, KK, Lockhart, ANB, Sparrow don’t really look up to it whilst Weid, Jones, Hunt, Petracca, T Mc and even Hibberd and Fritsch are struggling. It’s a disaster really. After 6 debuts in 2 weeks I don’t think kids are the answer although we probably need at least 1 more debut with a big bloke. I’d probably go T Smith, Keilty, Stretch and C Wagner for Weid, May, ANB and Sparrow and move Jones to half back.

I get the concerns over his body and fitness but the guy had plenty of tackles and pressure acts and really looked to me like someone who has somehow lost all confidence with his play. Defensively and repeat efforts he seemed fine to me. Fumbling, dropping sitters, not going for the ball, bad decision making. He's all at sea when it comes to getting and using the ball. He's also playing full forward a fair chunk of the game because it looks like we're looking to rotate multiple players through that role but don't have a reliable option that doesn't badly weaken the side. Tracc's never looked comfortable in that role. I would've put in at half back for the last quarter to see if he could get a few easy touches but otherwise I'm not sure what to do now. We need him in the side, even a shocking game like tonight beats the alternative, but then again maybe for his own confidence he needs to go back to Casey and tear it up for a couple of weeks.

Based on last week Gaz played almost always forward, Danger rested at full forward at times. I'm pretty sure they did overlap. Gaz really played as a traditional half forward flanker. Will be interesting to see if they send Nev to Ablett and therefore drag Jetta up around the ground or if Nev stays deeper and they task someone else with the role on Gaz. Kelly, Parfitt, Selwood (rotating to a wing), Danger seemed to do the bulk of the centre square minutes.

He was picked because he was the best available running player with a bit of grunt who could hopefully do his job in the forward line. The only other legitimate choices were J Wagner in down back and keeping Hunt forward, or Stretch in on a wing. Neither were that appealing. The old (Sheedy I think) formula of if in doubt play the kid came in to play. Playing Lockhart wasn't really an option given the limited time on the list, throwing him straight in would've rocked the boat. At least giving him a game at Casey and probably more importantly a couple of weeks training and showing his fellow players he's up to standard makes him far more of a selection option. Now that Lockhart and Kolodjashnij are both options for selection it could easily bump Sparrow out of the side.

I still like him better as a defender but my guess is May and KK will be added to the defensive mix to boost them up and Lockhart will play forward (that's where he trained a couple of weeks ago) with possibly some time on the wing. As to who he replaces: ANB, Spargo, Sparrow, C Wagner, take your pick really. Sparrow probably isn't ready but he did well so I expect he gets another go. C Wagner wasn't too bad. My guess would be Spargo but it wouldn't be my preferred option.

It looked to me like our defenders were actually too timid at coming up and getting to the ball ahead or with their opponents, whilst our mids were sucked to the contest and didn't hold their width. Rockliff, Boak, Westhoff etc seemed to be escaping out to the wing on a 45 degree run with their opponents stuck in the middle.

We won the centre clearances 15-9. I'd have to watch the replay to see what happened with the wingmen but setting them up defensive side to me looked like a plan to get them to room to go forward as well as defend rather than an unaccountable plan. Only having 53 tackles as well as 183 to 276 uncontested possessions to me tells more of a story about the set ups and run around the ground than at clearances. Salem and Harmes were pretty much a 2 man team in terms of running and getting the ball back or holding up their opponents. Apart from one Corey Wagner chase down tackle the rest of the midfield and flanker group couldn't run with or hold up the opposition.

Seems to happen that way, I think the inside midfield gives the greatest physical challenge as well as gets you most in play, so it makes sense that the experienced guys in the VFL play there, but I see the other side of that argument that they should play the role they'll be asked to do at AFL level. Ideally I think half and half would be about the right balance. The main issue with Stretch from the preseason was that he had very little confidence in his decision making, so was stalling play and/or turning the ball over. He'll never win a lot of contests in close or in space but he'll run hard and to the right spots, so really his game depends on how good his ball use is. If he uses it well he has some value, if he stops the flow of play or turns it over he's useless.

Most likely an infected cyst that they probably hoped would clear up with antibiotics but needed surgery at the last minute. Mid season with Preuss in good form in the 2's you'd either play both or rest Max entirely. Just bad timing that it happened in round 1. Max didn't play well but we still did very well at centre bounces and we should be good enough to move the ball around the ground without the safety net of the long bomb to Max. The off ball umpires should cop an absolute hiding in their reviews for missing copious blocks and holds miles from play from the first bounce and throughout the game. I actually like when a team targets a player but they should be copping free kicks for some of the stuff they did. You can't tackle a guy 100m from the play.

Is it really that great? He's a very reliable field kick who hits his short and mid range targets nicely but if you don't get the ball, don't break the lines and don't deliver inside 50 or even in the corridor it can't be great. I wonder how healthy he is after hip surgery but it's one of the reasons why I'd like to see him have a long spell at Casey. When he first played he at least showed some desire to run and counter attack. He's actually dropped away from 16.3 to 15.4 to 11.6 disposals a game. Some of that will because the ball has been up our end but that should've been countered by maturing and staying involved in the game more often.