DeeSpencer

Grimes - finished at AFL level, a wingman if anything Garland - only tall defensive depth Michie - a midfielder sent to play a bit of half back due to lack of depth Lumumba - nearing 30 and ordinary Garland could be the only one of those 3 on the list next year. Hunt, Wagner, Vince sure, as I mentioned. White and Melksham as well. That's 5 guys for 3 spots in the team, of which 3 of them will be under 20 games of AFL experience, and the other 2 have midfield versatility. Salem can be, but he's better as a utility as he develops. I'm all for a key defender but you can't just pull them out of thin air. Hibberd's a decent option to give us defensive and attacking skills to support young tall defenders without overpaying.

It's a comment, but not really a simple one or always a good one. Terrible idea to make him captain. Terrible idea to give him 31. Shocking playing culture. Shocking development and coaching. A routinely picked younger player gets saddled with responsibility and injuries. Yes it's good we've been able to draft/trade and develop some other options but that's about all the good in the Grimes story for now. A bit sad really, his best was very promising - courageous, quick, strong over head, excellent reader of the play and work rate to provide an option and he's a ripper club man.

Update from Josh Mahoney in there. Unfortunate but I'm still very very confident with Salem and happy to wait for him to show his best. He's still only 20 years old. Just a baby in the scheme of things. Was one of may off in the Essendon game but otherwise was doing his job reasonably well despite some soreness and a concussion against the Saints and probably the thyroid issue surfacing before anyone knew it. Particularly in the wins against Richmond and Collingwood where the team gave him a bit more cover I thought he was excellent with the ball.

It was a day that had only 1 real skill that relates to AFL football and that was contested ball. Maybe mental resilience as well. Kicking, handballing, running patterns were pretty much out the window. And it was so wet and muddy that if you couldn't tackle you never will so that didn't really count. That said, from the half I watched on TV it was disappointing that a few of our players didn't adapt better so I hope they learnt from it. I'd like to have seen ANB be more effective around the contest given it's his strength. Hulett could've contested better. And Garlett was down right poor given the ball was on the ground for so long. Not much you can do about a truckload of rain but hopefully the MFC/Casey are always working to improve the ground conditions. I'd like to develop our players in better conditions if possible! Maybe some drainage work needed in the off season and more shelter from the wind is needed.

Who are these flankers? I can name 1 that I'm confident on. Bernie Vince. And we should have options so we can play him on the wing or in the midfield if required. Jetta's a back pocket. Lumumba (regardless of everything else) is about to turn 30 and probably close to the end after next year. I like both Hunt and Wagner, but they could both go either way. And right now they are best 22. Mitch White is our next best and he's the only depth. Melksham presumably comes in to this group next year, but we are still looking at only a couple of young rookie pick ups as our best depth. Chuck in the very speculative Joel Smith I guess at that's it for small/medium defenders at the club. Viv Michie has played at half back this year. If we were stacked with half backs he wouldn't get a game. With the right training and physical development Frost, Tom and Oscar can physically handle any tall forward in the league. Joe Daniher is 200cm but doesn't have a lot of strength. Walker is strong and athletic but is 194cm. Jon Patton is 200cm, strong as can be but moves like a glacier. We could do with a better key defender, particularly an experienced one as Dunn and Garland are battling and we apparently went hard for Cale Hooker, but there's only so many out there. If we bolster our backline in other ways it will make it a lot easier for the talls to develop if we head down the draft path. And if they don't come on we can trade in later. If we find players to make us better the spots to fill shrink and players will be more likely to come to us.

Took longer than Brayshaw to recover when AB had multiple concussions this year. I think we can all add 1+1 and get 2. But we aren't all desperate footy journo's. Apparently H is back training which means if things go well he can play again soon - be it at Casey - and things can progress from there. I hate the idea of reporting on a personal issue. If it's personal leave it that way. If it's family, mental or physical health, drugs, alcohol, crime or whatever that's fine, report that when the person involved has given permission or when it really is in the publics interest.

His versatility is pretty important to them and he's still likely their starting choice CHB. I'd expect Port to dump ageing guys in Schulz, Carlisle and maybe Monfries, Matty White, Butcher before losing Trengove. I also think he's a pretty similar player to Tom McDonald so unless Tom goes I wouldn't be interested. Edit: Matt White just signed on so it won't be him. Tom Clurey is one who fits more of a 3rd tall role at 193cm and hasn't had a lot of opportunities with Port. Highly rated as a junior IIRC he has great endurance and can do a job.

His work rate is great. To shut Sidebottom down whilst still getting the 20 or so touches we need from a wing is great. And unlike most wingmen he's adept at going in to the clearances and tackling or winning contested ball. Yeah his kicking is a bit hit and miss but his decision making by foot is usually solid. His main weakness right now is being one sided especially by hand. If he gets the ball running to his right he's more likely than not to spin round, slow momentum and get back on his left side. Tyson and Kent have the same issues, pretty standard for left footers. Interestingly Wagner can handball on his right and kick on his left so as long as he has an option he's not so bad. Viney just bulldozes forward. If we end up with the depth of talent at wing/half back/tagger to force Bugg out of the side we'll have a very good side.

Hibberd makes sense to me. Just hope it doesn't mean Jetta is going anywhere. Melksham then could tag/wing or half back, handy depth otherwise. Vince can play more midfield. Salem can play forward/mid where he'll be most damaging. I'd love a 2nd ruck but maybe draft/develop is the best option. 3rd tall defender is a needs position. Oscar/Tom/Frost tall defensive combination has merit but they don't kick it well. I'd rather those 3 fight for 2 spots. Then to have a Josh Gibson or Easton Wood style player next to them. Imagine those 3 fighting for 2 spots. A gun 3rd tall with Lumumba for depth. Jetta in a back pocket. Vince floating from a flank. Plus Hunt, Wagner, Melksham, Hibberd fighting for 2 spots, that's proper competition for spots in a backline with a good mix of pace, skill and defensive ability. If there's not a 3rd tall available then I'd hit up the draft for one as a priority.

I'm sure they always knew Frost was a backman. The priority was to give Pedersen some competition up forward, to make sure that Hogan had some help and to score more. Whilst also having some leadership down back in what is a young backline. If Dawes had been fit the whole year and had the footy department known Dunn and Garland would offer so little then they never would've tried the Frost experiment. I'm mainly disappointed Frost wasn't moved back against St Kilda. Aside from that, he contributed something in the early season wins. Hopefully Weeds and Hulett keep developing and he doesn't have to go forward in the future, but I'd also like to develop our talls with the ability to be swung to the other end. If it was up to me both Hulett and Weeds would spend some time down back at Casey this year.

Bit off topic but was that when Watts fell over and then had to sprint to the ball and take it strongly at pace? I had a laugh because Watts' slip took the doubt out of his mind and he hit the drop of the ball hard and marked cleanly. Was a window in to what Watts can do if he keeps winning the battle over his mind.

Matt Jones might actually be closest to a game of those who didn't play in the 22. He'd give us the other wingmen alongside Stretch, so if needed we can throw Bugg back/Vince midfield if needed and give us another speedy running player to get out in space. Stretch can play as the high half forward as well. The balance between strength and run seems to be our biggest issue against top teams at the moment. With so many young players it's hard to do both.

I agree with that, but I don't think it's best for him or us for him to be in the team non stop as he gets the pace of the game back. Just like a young player going to Casey where he can play full time in the midfield and get 30 touches is probably good for him. Finding a role in the midfield or at half forward in the AFL side probably won't come before he has a few different cracks at it. If he stays fit between now and the end of the year I can't see him not getting another year on the list and a chance to do a full preseason. Time will tell, but right now I don't think him playing another month at half forward/wing is going to achieve the big break through. Time will tell.

I expect at some stage Harmes probably comes back for Trengove. I love Trenners, but the speed just isn't there right now. At the SCG against a contested ball team in Sydney I'm sure he stays. Swans might bring in a ruck and Sam Reid, so the 3 defenders stay. Wagner's made a few mistakes but I can't see him going out for Grimes. Grimes is a midfielder/wingman now. Should never play again at half back. So unless Grimes came in and Bugg went back I can't see that happening. Mitch White might come in for Wagner if he was eligible for promotion from the rookie list but as far as I know he isn't.

His ruck work is no different to Pedersen's, his disposal and goal kicking isn't better than his, yes his work rate is better but that only matters if he does what he did today and held his marks! A beauty at half back in traffic and several other good ones around the ground leading up and marking out in front.

Yep, just this might be McDonald's career contract, his big pay day. So he probably doesn't have to sacrifice as much as Gibson in the new few years as long as it's reasonable. A perfect example for a front ended contract. If he has a good financial adviser he could make more from investing a big front ended deal than earning more money over a longer time.

If we can teach him to body spoil - he really should have learnt some of this by now - then it's a matter of composure for him I think. The skills can come, the effort is there, he moves well and reads the play. Still would love to see a backline general type help him. He was on Pendles whilst Hunt was on White at one stage and they didn't swap (maybe for structures) and Pendles set up a goal. The mistakes like that are mental errors that a young backline can fix so they'll all benefit.

Salary caps going up and we have a lot of young players on minimum contracts. I hope Tom settles for a fair deal, which will be far more than 400k and front loaded but maybe not as much as he (or his manager wants). Good player with limitations. Can be great if he has super belief in what he does well and an understand of what he doesn't.

One more chance I think. But he's had more off days than on days this year, even if he has a skill set most of our players don't. Cuddle or whack is up to the coach. Either one starts with explaining the mistakes and why they aren't tolerated and from there it's a matter of how you get the best out of him.

Kent's had a few bad games of late/this year but he's also been very good in a number of others, giving us really good link play sprinting to open space and getting the ball forward. Grimes isn't ever going to be able to do that. What he did do in the preseason and the role he's mainly played for Casey is the wing role, which is where he's best suited these days. Doesn't have the skills or reaction time to play down back, isn't a forward, doesn't have the strength to play as an inside midfield. Bugg was doing well on the wing but Vince moving to the midfield saw him go down back. Which left Trenners, Stretch and rotating Harmes playing wing against the Hawks. I'd suggest Grimes might be a chance to come in to play wing, with Trenners going to half forward and rotating on the wing and either Harmes or Kent coming out but it might not happen either. Right now Bugg, Matt Jones before injury and Stretch have all outplayed Grimes on the wing. Time will tell if he can get a go in that spot.

Back on topic. I don't think we have a spot to make White eligible to be promoted right now, shame. He seems to be playing good consistent footy. You'd think Ben Ken would come in. Hopefully ANB, Newton, Michie, Grimes etc keep grinding away to improve. I'm actually most interested in Spencer. Gawn seems to be marking the ball forward better this year and could hold his own for 30% or so game time forward, whilst doing maybe 50-60% in the ruck. Which would mean Spencer could come in and do 40-50% in the ruck, maybe another 20-30% forward and spend the rest of the game on the bench. What did everyone make of Spencer's game today? Is he marking the ball well around the ground and forward? Is he dominating the ruck, is he using the ball safely when he gets it? I'd love to play 2 rucks,, swapping them deep forward and then just have Hogan and Watts working in tandem across half forward and inside 50. So I'm very interested in Spencer reports please!

We had 50 inside 50's and it's not like Dawes was marking any of them, there was plenty of chances to crumb. I don't mind him in the centre square but he's very risky in there, pretty much runs forward and hopes he gets it. I'd rather use the tactic Adelaide did with Charlie Cameron sprinting from half back at a centre stoppage.

We all love Jetta's work, although he's not perfect, he has to stay down a bit and then provide more drive. I like what Hunt and Wagner are doing but they are both so inexperienced that it's an unknown how they will develop. Bugg was solid back there in a change of role. Frost the same. The McDonald's are all over the shop and there was little cohesion with or without the ball from the backs in conditions that should've suited, even if the Hawks still have great forward pressure. Salem is out, Lumumba as well, Melksham might give us something next year, Bernie to half back and if he wasn't a rookie I think Mitch White would've had a look in by now. So there's options. But right now I still think I'm seeing a backline that is in the earliest stages of a rebuild, with new players all the time, a lack of leadership, a changed game plan and a fair bit of uncertainty. I know the recruiting probably focused on finding some midfielders who can win the ball and some forwards who can score but if there's a priority between now and the end of the year I'd like to see the legitimate emergence of a core backline group, including one of the talls - ie. probably Tom McDonald or maybe Frost taking some control of their game.

Frost sure looked like he could settle in for a while as full back. Garland might come in to considerations as a third tall, which - at least defensively - is a spot that would suit him much more.

We beat them easily around the contest, but I Nath Jones was making bad decisions and Bernie probably hacking it forward too much in the end. So they didn't quite dominate as much as they could. Then we just don't have enough on the wing/half back and half forward to capitalise on the clearance advantage. Dawes did a few good things but just isn't going to hold marks any time soon, his technique is shocking. Sprint under the ball, don't jump, hope like held his concrete hands hold them. Garlett was terrible. Kent not much better and Harmes burnt chances. Unless Watts or Petracca got involved - in Tracc's case by hand or by winning it and getting it on quickly - we didn't look all that dangerous forward and the defensive pressure dropped away. Similarly we are a mile off it down back.