DeeSpencer

McKenna - contracted and was back training at the start of preseason Johnstone - contracted, coming in to his 2nd year and we need to develop small forwards. Should be played down back at Casey to learn how to win more easy footy but more often that not his tackle numbers are up. Bit early to give up on him. JKH - received a contract mid last year presumably to give him belief to persist with dominant VFL form and break back in. Poor decision mid year but I get the logic Vanders - the club rates him as do I, with 45 on the list we can afford one long term injured player Flippers - young ruck, the club are clearly trying to develop the next ruck after Gawn now rather than later, if not him it would be another ruck in his spot Balic has a tight hammy so forget about him. Otherwise there is Hannan, Frost, Pedersen, Joel Smith, JKH, Maynard and Bugg (who was contracted) plus three draft picks in Fritsch, Spargo and even Petty all available to come in and whilst there's no world beaters there all of them (besides the young guys) have performed to some level at AFL. Also, Weideman competed just fine against the best backline in the AFL. He needed match fitness at Casey before he was ready to come in. It's too early to say he's really right to go as a long term player but aside from one terrible shot for goal he did a lot right. The biggest problem with our list is our top 7 or so A graders mostly aren't truly elite reliable performers yet and our decent B graders (say 8th to 18th picked each week) depth is a little short of what we need with some older guys (Lewis, Vince, Garlett) falling out of that category and leaving us without a good solid small forward or outside mid. No point getting caught up with the C graders who fill out the last 4-6 spots each week.

Didn't get the return for it up the field but Gawn, Oliver and Jones in particular did enough in the guts to keep Martin playing there and not able to go forward for large chunks. We kept them honest that way. And we kept Martin under pressure and bouncing from one fend to the other largely without sprinting away from contests and being dangerous with the ball. Many of his possessions went: A) Fend, fend, fend, uncalled throw Or B) Fend, fend, fend, shanked kick to no one.

We couldn't simply keep Howe. The clown thought he was a forward. Roos - one of the best defenders of all time and allegedly one of the best man management coaches of all time - couldn't convince him he was a defender. He was also very happy to pick and choose when to put in effort. We got Hibberd, a vital back flanker that we needed to fill one gap down back anyway. We gave up two first round picks and got Lever and a 2nd rounder that became Harry Petty. If they turn out to be quality 3rd tall and CHB then no one will complain about the two first round picks. Lever's contract might be more troublesome but not if it's well structured. Premiership windows are overrated. Richmond jumped right back in to one with 3 trades. We can open a premiership window with good coaching, development of young top end talent in to genuine A graders, refining the role players and finding a couple of big upgrades in certain positions of weakness.

Why can't we get the balance between who's up and who's down right in the backline: 1. most of our defenders are proficient over head but we can't seem to turn that to an advantage. Houli, Ellis and Short don't bother flying with Rance, Grimes and Astbury around mainly because they know they'll spoil but also because they just aren't that big or strong in the air. 2. We like the zone. Which means different match ups for different defenders. It's not always small on small. 3. Lack of trust in the talls. Oscar's only starting to win more than he loses now and Lever has been shaky. Eventually those guys will get stronger and more reliable. But more than anything: 4. Lack of continuity. Lever is new. Hibberd 1 season at the club. Hunt and Wagner how many games together? Oscar how many games? The 2nd/3rd tall spot might take some rotating but overwhelmingly we hopefully have a backline that can keep most of the parts together over multiple seasons. That will be a huge help.

ANB needs to just go back to winning the ball and not worry so much about what comes next. His worst mistakes have been attempted kick off the grounds and not the same clean hands (and clean tackling) as last year. He has a side step and a funny little kick that works for him and can handball pretty well, so I'll cop some bad turnovers if he can just win the ball cleanly again. Same thing is true of Jayden Hunt, just win the ball first, worry about what happens after that next.

McIntosh and Grigg run the wings for the Tigers and are high quality ball butchers. Kane Lambert plays the high half forward/midfield role and for his first couple of seasons he would spud it up as well. Castagna is a defender playing forward who can't kick for goal and makes dumb choices around the ground. Townsend is a cheat and a scrubber, nice shot for goal but holds his man all the time and otherwise does nothing but cheap shot tackles. They are strong over the ball and they are good athletes - quick, fit and strong. But otherwise they aren't exactly skilled. Stretch, Tyson, ANB, Harmes and Melksham filled those roles for us. Stretch, ANB and Harmes were particularly disappointing, whilst Tyson had good and bad. ANB and Stretch covered the most ground for us. Stretch, ANB then Harmes did the most high speed running. Harmes had our most tackles. As role players they did a lot of what they were supposed to do. I wish they were better but maybe the gap between us and the Tigers isn't that there role players are better but at the other end. Role players always look better in winning sides. Consider the top end talent: Petracca is no Dusty. Salem can't seem to keep his impact up for a full game and even he found the Tigers pressure hot after 1/4 time Oliver can't get anything fluent with Gawn and can't find a target from his kicks Hogan made some bad decisions by hand and foot and missed goals Garlett was a steaming pile of trash on a night when Higgins kicks 3 at the other end.

I'm a Wagner fan but he didn't win the ball, didn't punch with conviction, doesn't tackle, doesn't intercept and how often does he break the lines and attack? I like Wagner but he seems to have won guys over by just returning to a basic level of competence. Hibberd, Hunt and Brayshaw offer more as flankers and I think we need Jetta, Lever and 2 big guys against Essendon. I also don't want to see James Stewart kick 5 on Lever and have to start him right back from the start. Maybe Vince and Brayshaw go in to the midfield and that frees up a defensive spot for the tall. Or maybe they just back Lever in. I'm not sold on it like the forwards changes but we the allowance for a 2nd tall I think we have 7 defenders better. With the short break it might come down to who's up and running, I certainly have concerns with Hibberd and Jetta but I'm hoping they are right to go.

He's small and light so I get he doesn't want to take the ball in the middle of heavy traffic but the problem is he's now extended his range of 'close combat' to about 15m from an opponent. He had a chance to run in to an open goal in the first quarter and now can't even manage to paddle the ball and keep it moving to pick it up. He's done.

Richmond at the MCG are the fittest, fastest and easily best team in the comp. I watched Geelong, Adelaide and GWS all play the same game we did against the Tigers last year in the finals. Want to spread it more against the Tigers pressure and work rate, good luck. Reacting to slippery conditions and a bad game where we over possessed the ball last week we were always going to play pretty safe but at least we had the ball moving faster. The 3rd quarter (and parts of the first and 2nd) showed it's not actually a cardinal sin to go long down the line if you have the talls and smalls in the right spot. Our hands aren't slick enough around the contest and we don't have the class on the outside to nail the kick that opens up the play. Besides that we need to work on our team work with men up and down but the side has and will keep changing and it can't all be fixed over night. Tonight was far better than the Hawthorn game obviously and not out of line with our first 3 weeks. Heck it might even have been better.

Out: Kent (inj), Garlett, Wagner In: Fritsch, Spargo, Petty Need the extra tall down back against the Bombers and really I don't see the point of playing Frost. Given the young kid a chance. Desperately need to change up the small forwards. Harmes and Melksham can stay deep, give Fritsch a chance to roam the flanks and use his class. I'm frustrated by ANB and Stretch. I wish they were doing more and making less mistakes. But who do we have at Casey who can run? No one! The reason we stayed with the Tigers for 3/4 - because Stretch and ANB were out there running all game. I'll take that over the other options which involve loading our midfield up with guys who can't run! Tommy Mc can go to Casey and get some form in limited minutes if he's right to play. Weid's was very good tonight and deserves the chance to show what he can do again.

He's been garbage since mid year last year and feasting on a bad backline when we were moving it in regularly and with ease doesn't change that. Has to go.

Far far better tonight playing a lot of half back. That's where he should play. Let the game come to him, win some contests, make smart decisions with the ball. Can move on to the wing in the second half. No idea why he wasn't given the half back spot to start the year after 3 promising games to finish last year but hopefully he stays there now. Some mistakes, but also a lot of really strong contests in the air and on the ground and some smart footy.

There has to be a question about the value of zone defending but if you are to do it the major problem is midfield and forward pressure. Teams are getting quicker and moving the ball much faster, that's the Richmond effect. They're also conditioned to facing zone defending. They've come up against it since about 2014 if not before. The inexperienced teams that are learning the zone defence now - Brisbane and Carlton particularly - are getting destroyed. What do we have to do to fix it: 1. Backline: Tighten the zone up and live with more one on ones if need be. If you're playing infront it's 3m infront not 10. Hunt for Frost is the obvious in for Richmond but that alone won't solve all our problems especially given Hunt is likely still a fair way from his best. Got to keep building the trust and communication between the defenders to get the balance right between who's up and who's down. And the backs have to stop feeling sorry for themselves once the ball is one the deck and work out how they'll support the guy who gets the ball. The ball carrier was a sitting duck against the Hawks, there was no one pushing as hard as they could to get a handball receive or spread for a switch. 2. Change the make up of the midfield and find players who will not let their men get between them and the goal. Speed and hard running are needed. As is more balance around stoppages. 3. The forwards have to be better organised and work harder with their pressure. It's why we went to 1 tall. I'd suggest we have to go back to 2 talls against the Tigers but there has to be that desperation to chase and tackle with force. As for improving our overall standard of play - we have to find some cohesion with our handballs. We can't just be flicking it around one hot potato to another. All over the ground we've been dreadful at getting the ball out to a free runner. Hopefully a bit of pace on the wings helps but it might not happen overnight.

The backline are very much under the pump but Wagner and Vince are probably doing as well as can be expected given the stage of their careers and talents.Hopefully the midfield can pick up their defensive work rate and Hibberd, Jetta, Lever and Hunt can find form. Second half v Geelong, long periods v Brisbane and the majority of the North game our backline was rarely troubled. If we find the right match ups and the right pressure up the field they can look good but when it's bad it's awful. Petracca is in and out of games both mid and forward, but I wouldn't say he's not playing well (outside of Sunday). Salem is building pretty well in the midfield. Combined with Max, Jones and Oliver it's a start of a decent midfield but there's not the same talent on the outside. Tyson played ok but the wing doesn't seem right for him. Harmes and Gus aren't really suited on the wing. It's a mess. Hogan is in form as a forward. Kent seems to be back in much better form than he showed last year. Melksham was never reliable at Essendon and is a big disappointment right now. Fritsch is new. Bugg and Garlett would combine for a great footballer but otherwise they are what they are. Bugg is full of effort but no skills or smarts, Garlett has the talent but is afraid of contact. We might just struggle all year finding a reliable 2nd key defender, hard running wings and trustworthy small forwards.

His skill level was never great last year but he had his hits with his misses and that made him a good player overall. Needs to pick it up this year but I think this thread is fair to say good on him for running his backside off. The Hawks aren't just masters of pressure, skills and team work, they run hard through the midfield as well. If the rest of the midfield could run 17km in a game including some hard and smart defensive running our backline surely wouldn't be under so much strain.

Sure but he has to play somewhere and contribute otherwise it may as well be back to Casey.

First quarter was great but after his legs got heavy and his kicking went off. I don't know what to make of him. He's not overly quick and I know the team was getting steam rolled but in wet weather as the game goes on the pace should go out of the game and he should come in to it more. He knows where to go to get the ball and he can do things to win the ball and make decent decisions, but apart from that he looks a long way off. This is pure speculation but maybe the concussions have impacted his ability to maintain focus and energy for 4 quarters. I'm struggling to see where he fits in the team and really the only spots that look likely to me are the high half back role that Vince is in where he comes up to the back of a stoppage and can play up the ground and zone from a man. Or as a tagger against the right type of opponent.

Should beat any rucks aside from Nic Nat at centre bounces and we should take more advantage of that. But boundary throw ins aren't as much a case of tallest man wins. A shorter guy who has a lower centre of gravity can manipulate where his opponent can hit the ball relatively easily. McEvoy forced Gawn to hit it defensive side yesterday and the Hawks mids swarmed on us and forced turnovers. Yesterday really was a game where we would've been better with Pedda (or Tommy Mc) in the ruck to change the dynamic around the throw ins. And we don't use his marking around the ground well enough. Plus the game moves so much faster now that he can't get a kick behind the play and take defensive marks. Gawn will monster bad rucks. He'll be very good around the ground if used well. And if we defend well he's a weapon when he can get back inside 50 for the high ball. But against good rucks and good teams it becomes very hard for him to be an advantage.

This wasn't a Watts post. It was a Lewis post. Watch him desperately throw a foot at the ball afraid to bend down because the sheer might of Jacky boy was coming the other way. Lewis was done as a player then. Clarko knew.

The old team rule is no kicking off the ground in the backline though. I think kicking off the ground is valuable when it keeps the momentum going with the play, and if you can smash it forward from half back to the wing that's fine too. But after Lever had an air ball Bernie attempting a little dinky kick 5 metres out from goal when and that kind of thing is inexcusable. All in all he's actually played pretty well this year old Bern but as a senior player he has to do the fundamentals.

Yep. Hawthorn were much better than us especially in the forward line of just dropping it on first contact and either drawing a free of scrapping on the next contest. We were penalised for attempting to handball. Holding the man should only be paid for players who don't ever have the ball. If you've possessed it and haven't kicked or handballed then you're fair game I think. Pay a sling tackle if it's a dangerous tackle that results. How many times was Tom Mitchell tackling Jones or Oliver before they even got the ball yesterday. Astounding.

5;40 of this video. Must start behind the mark until play on is called. http://www.afl.com.au/video/2016-09-12/is-blocking-the-mark-allowed

Smart changes. We need a tall to play on Rance. Smith was doing it well last year before Rance put him in hospital with a well disguised knee to the ribs. I'd be keen to give him another shot at it.

There is something wrong with Lewis. He's old as heck and more interesting in a media career than playing football. Clarkson knew that 2 years ago. When the going gets tough against a high pressure aggressive team he doesn't have it any more. I knew it as well. I knew it at exactly this moment.

FB: Jetta Oscar Harmes HB: Salem Lever Hibberd C: Stretch Oliver Baker HF: Spargo Hogan Kent FF: Petracca T. Smith Garlett Foll: Gawn Tyson Jones Int: Fritsch - forward/wing Brayshaw - mid Hunt - back ANB - forward/mid Out: Bugg, Melksham, Wagner, Vince, Lewis, Frost In: Spargo, T. Smith, Baker, Tyson, Stretch, Hunt This is my massive overreaction team but if they want to play a side actually capable of running and taking the game on and matching up against the Tigers pace and forward pressure then this would be it. It's probably unlikely Spargo or Baker are ready, and Hunt isn't really back either. Stretch has limitations as does Tyson (and Brayshaw). As does Smith. And Harmes will make mistakes down back but at least he'll do it whilst hitting the contest and taking the game on. The current team is picked to excel against a theoretically bad and pressure-less opponent. If we're designing a fanciful football team then give me one that has class at half back, pace and spread on the outside and competitive forwards.