DeeSpencer

Harmes going back to cover Lever meant Gus was shifted to the wing a lot more. Think he shifts back inside more next week.

In a number of preseason training threads I said Gus keeps finding the ball but is sloppy with his kicking. Would've been nice if he started in the team from round 1 but I think reading between the lines Goody put the foot down and said he had to do the extras on his body and his skills at training. It's starting to pay off and should only get better if he keeps the focus on nailing the fundamentals. We got smashed at the clearances today so all the mids have a fair bit of work to do for next week.

His right foot isn't always any better! In space he should use his right, but I like the idea that he goes on his left to get out of trouble and hope he keeps using it. His dual sided ability has always been his stand out trait, especially out of congestion by hand and foot.

Gawn wins a lot of hit outs to advantage, so any midfielder playing with him is going to get the ball, but Viney and Harmes are the two I've noticed far more than others who nail the timing and get the ball straight from the tap on the run bursting to goal. Harmes kicked a goal earlier in the year from a hit out that was beautiful to watch. All of the mids have improved their work with Gawn massively since the Hawthorn and Richmond games which were disasters in that regard.

Played all last year with injuries. The plantar fasciitis was hurting him from the early rounds all the way through to the surgery, and then he came back underdone from that. He wasn't healthy at any stage last season. Hopefully he can get back to 2016 form and even more. He also seems to have the best combination with Gawn, somehow with Harmes the other midfielder who reads Gawn well.

At this stage, no I don't think so. The AFL approved a Saints ruckman to play for Frankston not Sandringham to get him more game time and help Frankston out, so they might be willing to consider a proposal.

I think a guy who hasn't played an organised game of footy in over 3 years is a bit of a gamble, but drafting any rucks at 18 is and this has cost nothing in draft picks, doesn't take a legitimate list spot and his pedigree is first class. My biggest issue with it is how do we get game time in to him without the VFL development league? Do we make him the 3rd ruck next year? If he's 4th in line and there's not injuries that's a hard ask to see game time. Might be a test case to take to the AFL and see if he can play for a VAFA team.

You don't turn down good players but wing/half back class and a gun small forward are probably still the priorities I'd think. Expect Carlton to put their first round pick on the table for Shiel or Kelly (or both), they are Sos' favourite players and they need to land a mature mid to kick start their rebuild before it massively flops. North will try the same as well. Anyway, unless ware linked to a player we don't need to be bringing up names. We have a team with a few weaknesses but also a few strengths as is right now.

A couple of long center clearances in to outnumbered forward 50's and strong defensive marks in those turnover stats I'd suggest. Kicks could be better but really it's part of the game plan. Bomb it forward and let the forwards do the rest.

Gus might have been best on today. Great game. But maybe his best moment was when he kept his head up and bumped a Saints player square in the side and kept after the loose ball. Hurt the guy too. Most importantly he kept that head of his well out of trouble and was safe to keep contesting.

The thing that stood out to me today with Gus was his defensive work rate. He was the midfielder fastest back to help the backline. I think that's the role which will make him most valuable in the short term. It should allow Oliver and Jones to hunt the ball, and Viney to hunt the man, ball and whatever else he likes to do. In terms of long term, finals are rarely won by match winners kicking 4+ these days but often won by a classy important big goal that caps off 2 or 3 or 3.5 quarters of sustained quality. Cotchin was the guy for Richmond last year who set the tone and kept them in or ahead in games. Martin then finished them off. Gus is far more like Cotchin and Tracc is more like Dusty. Both have a way to go but that's what I'd like to dream of.

I didn't watch the game live which makes it harder to see the defensive work rates and break downs but I thought from the TV he was ok in that regard. His clean hands to get the ball once again were a massive tick. People underestimate how valuable that is. But he was slow to use it and got caught (sometimes pinged unfairly IMO). Kicking was the usual hit and miss and not a lot of creative use. Again, it comes back to the fact I won't criticise an inside clearance player too much when he's playing on the wing all game. Not sure why they can't spread his playing time through the middle and half forward a bit more and it's interesting to see what happens with Viney back. But for now if Tyson breaks even then there's plenty of others who can win their match ups.

Going hard at a wingman, I definitely agree with that. Gaff looms as the logical target and I think our inactivity to solve the problem last year was to not pay overs for a stop gap and then lose the flexibility of going hard for Gaff. Heck I'd be on the lookout for 2. One to replace Lewis and one to replace Tyson. I can't have Garlett in the team until he shows he wants the ball. Insipid efforts at the contest and even refusing to go get the ball when 5m clear of an opponent. Yes, a good small forward deep and moving Spargo up makes sense. I can live with ANB until Jeff shows a better endeavour, don't want to rush Spargo in to too much either. The coaches went with Harmes on a wing at the start of the year but he's too keen to get in to the contest. Physically he can run the wing but Tyson is probably more disciplined and smarter at keeping space. Harmes is best used where his desire to compete is harnessed in a defensive role, be it as a defensive forward, a defensive inside mid (not a tagger so much but someone who can run contest to contest and tackle) as he was on the weekend or even as a combative backman. Viney coming back and no further injuries probably means Harmes competes with Tyson for a wing spot. I'm just not convinced that will be a long term answer either.

Where exactly do you want those guys to play though? ANB's best position is the high half forward role, he comes up to stoppages as an extra midfielder and then uses his elite endurance to get out in space, I'm fine with him there, he's just way out of form. I'd give Tyson a run at half forward and some time on the ball to mix things up but really the wing might be the best spot to get him in the team and what better options do we have? I'd play Stretch more but he got 1 chance in a huge pressure game and wasn't up to it. After him who else do we have for the wing? Lewis in on the other wing and he's just as poorly suited to it as Tyson is. Oskar Baker almost certainly isn't ready. Fritsch should be one day but he doesn't have the endurance and will tire and make simple mistakes. Spargo maybe, but that's asking a lot of a young body and no good if the opposition have a pair of 6'3 wingmen. The preseason plan was for Jones and Harmes. They were the starting wings in a lot of training drills. Lewis was half back. Tyson rotated in. Viney's injury and Petracca's form/fitness has forced Jones back inside and Harmes wasn't really working and been needed forward/ruck and is another player better on ball than wing anyway. I don't like Tyson on a wing but I'll live with it until we have other mature midfielders to push him out.

His kicking continues to be a let down but his clean hands around the contest has been super valuable the last two weeks. I certainly agree he isn't a wingman. Wouldn't mind putting him across half forward as the high half forward, replacing ANB and then moving Hannan and Fritsch to the wing. Maybe just rotate those forwards and Tyson through the forward line more and try lots of different options. Or we wait until Viney comes in and then move Jones/Harmes to the wing. Not that those guys are really wingmen either, both will be too see ball get ball to really make it on the wing but at least they can break the lines and keep up defensively. Harmes had the most pressure points on the weekend. His defensive in tight speed was valuable. So I can't see Tyson suddenly getting put in that centre square role any time soon. Wing really is the spot where we have the least depth. After Lewis and Tyson it's only Stretch as ready to go back up and he had a shocker against the Tigers.

I was saying yesterday to a friend that he has to be top 10 smartest footballers in the team already. Of course the challenge is for him to keep playing his natural game and not let the over coaching and criticism that all AFL players get, plus the oppositions attention get to him and start second guessing himself. Fritsch is another very crafty player and adding just a few more smart players really helps the team balance.

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.

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.

Reading a bit too much in to it. Any first picked draftee hit with a ban will get 'bid to debut delayed at least one week', doesn't mean he was or is in line for selection. I expect he'll play well at VFL level but will need to do so for a good period of time before being picked.

Weeds - born June 97 - 196cm Fritsch - born Dec 96 - 186cm Not really a fair comparison. Curnow had never kicked more than 2 goals in a game before tonight. So no different to Weeds. This is a year for Sam to develop a healthy, strong AFL body. Apparently with ankle surgery and a long preseason in rehab and not rushed in to AFL games that has hopefully been achieved. At VFL he has to find consistency with getting to and winning contests. If he's body is right he'll be able to rotate in as back up ruck and that will do him wonders.

My questions for Mr Misson are: If Tom McDonald is feeling so much better now after 10 days off legs then why wasn't he given 10 days off legs when he first felt sore 8 weeks ago? AND Why did he play in the AFLX shambles at on the Etihad car park if there was knowledge that he had any sort of niggle that could be exacerbated by a firm surface?

This injury update was seemingly the first bit of positive news in a long time for both of them. With McKenna it's hard to imagine that they can't fix his hamstrings eventually. Foot problems are on a different level but it's nice to here they plan for Vanders to run outside, being in rehab for an entire year is bad enough without having to do most of it without even joining the group outside.

Interestingly no update on Jones. That probably tells me they expect him to play which is good, but they also don't want to go public with an update on his back. I think Lewis and ANB get through, always have. They were back running a few days after the injury and have had a lot of time. I'm not confident on Tom. There's a big step between not running and being ready to play and at best that step using takes 2 weeks no matter the injury.

I haven't seen any tentativeness to get the ball or lay a tackle but at the same time that kind of stuff isn't only natural ability but it takes training and team work as well as the right mindset. It's certainly going to make selection difficult and it will be interesting to see how the forward pressure works in round 1. Apparently Gold Coast's small forwards have a club where the player who gets the least tackles buys breakfast or coffees or some such thing. I'd steal that idea for sure!