DeeSpencer

It was just sitting there waiting to happen. Plus with Oscar KO'd that might take a while.

They usually have about 7 commentators, plenty of camera guys and no doubt a van full of producers, a player just involved in a push and shove is down behind play and not one of them thinks to ask why? Will be one for the MRP to no doubt miss as well.

6 - Viney 5 - Wagner 4 - Watts 3 - Tyson 2 - Tom McDonald Jones 1 - Nathan Jones

Came to ask the same thing. Pretty sure it would've been a cheap behind the play punch in the guts. Not sure how Ch 7 missed it.

Frost lining up from 55 on the boundary after the siren.... He has to kick a torp there. He can't get there with a drop punt. Load up a big barrel Frosty!!! Pedersen winning a kick and chase contest is testament to his increased fitness. He's just got to keep those efforts up!

Matt Jones is in hospital having his ribs checked. Harmes played out the second half not moving well at all ?corkie. 2 to watch for the rest of the week.

What do you find interesting? The main bit that interested me from that was the 9 marks for Weed! I think he'll need some training in to find more loose ball in general play but that's easy compared to finding marks as a key forward. And good on Terls for racking them up, as he should at the level but 41 is great. I presume Newton's on limited game plan/forward. Otherwise it's all about standard for a good win the in VFL. Michie got more of it this week, ANB less. Young talls didn't get a heap. Mids and flankers racked them up.

Watching the replay there's a heap to work on in the middle quarters and I presume the replay will show both teams (and the umps) were largely asleep in the last. But I like the way we responded quickly to goals from the Pies and held tough down back. 1 thing we stuffed up in the middle quarters was leaving the contest far too early. The other related thing was just trying for too much champagne ball movement instead of getting the balance between switching and taking the fast long kick to advantage and winning it down the line. The first 40 minutes wasn't footy, it was a training drill. After that when the footy started we had to readjust to doing the things that we do well and finding the balance.

I wonder what would happen if we played a Watts type these days (and we probably wouldn't, although imagine a Stretch or Hunt) and they were dumped in a gang tackle. I think we'd get a much stronger response than back in the day. Was great to see Kent and Viney get straight in to Toovey.

Bugg and Matt Jones are both limited players. Matty Jones needs to get forward more and impact with his disposals. Bugg needs to clean his game up a lot. But they are doing a mountain of work on either wing. You can't drop either of them without naming another hard running wingman option. Vince could play wing, but it's not really where we need him. Garlett, Petracca, any of the other ins unless people want Stretch or Grimes aren't wings either. If we don't run we don't win.

Vince for Hunt - easiest of the changes. Sorry Jayden, you showed a fair bit but we need Bernie to straighten up the backline and give some midfield minutes. Garlett for Frost - yes it's a big height change but not a big role change. Speedy pressure forward. Frost did some great things today but is still a luxury we don't always need. Petracca for Oliver/Brayshaw - just depends on how they train. Both look a bit off full fitness. Rest one. Time for Tracc.

Agree. Assuming good weather. We might have to leave out Wagner purely based on match ups.

Still got to see the player development from VFL talent to AFL regular, from AFL regular to guys who perform most weeks and then from that a handful of guys to show they are right up to the best in the comp. It's a long process so I'm not saying we have gone wrong but I don't think we can get too excited yet. The likes of Tyson and Kennedy need to find that consistency that proves they are good players. Brayshaw, Oliver, Salem etc need to prove they play good games week after week. And new guys like Hunt and Wagner need to show they belong at the level. I think driving professional standards as Roos has been can take any decent young draftee and make them stronger, smarter, fitter and too good for the VFL. That alone is a massive step for us, but it's only step 1. I'm still a bit dubious about Hunt's kicking, and suggested the rookie list would be reasonable for him. But he showed a bit last year for Casey and it was clear when he came back from preseason break that he was stronger, fitter and fast. I hope he's not shy on debut as he's going to be a bit like Lumumba in that his value to the side will require him to run and take risks. Fans should be patient with him.

Well we wanted more pace and attacking footy. Now we've got it. Hunt, Lumumba, Salem and Wagner maybe all off the same half back line. Young midfielders. Speed to burn up forward. Interesting times.

Yeah I see it a bit like that. But I also think Brayshaw reads the play pretty well and could take some overhead marks and win contests down back which is still a vital part of it. Plus his ability to kick on his left could be handy as long as he's taking relatively safe options with it. Brayshaw doesn't run or kick like a smooth mover the way Vince can, so it's hard to get a line on his kicks, that said quite often the ball does get to where he wanted it to go. I just think Jones, Oliver, Tyson and Viney will be in the centre square for a decent amount of the game. Kennedy, Garlett, Kent and Harmes should be playing forward. Matt Jones on the wing. Presuming they are all picked one of Stretch, Bugg or Brayshaw probably have to spend some time at half back.

Garlett for Vanders and Brayshaw for Vince looking more likely. The question will be does Brayshaw play half back and mid like Vince has or more his usual forward/mid with some time on the wing. I wouldn't mind trialling him at half back at some stage of the game. I think Frost gets another week over Pedersen. And I think Bugg should as well and I'd definitely put him on Treloar.

He's 27, had a career best of 46 goals in an attacking side, he'll cost a lot of money and a high draft pick for a team that's traded away it's first pick already, he seems very happy at the Crows and we've invested heavily in Weideman, want to keep Hogan on a big deal and Watts is coming out of contract soon as well. Yes he'd fill a big hole. But I can't see it happening.

So if Darcy Moore plays as the deep full forward and Cloke leads up the ground for most of the day as a CHF then what do you do? I totally agree McDonald is suited to CHB and Dunn is a better fit as the deep defender but it might not be that simple.

Nothing story. A player gets knocked out from a bump, you're going to submit the medical and make sure the league has seen it. Not exactly dobbing, just par for the course these days. Plapp's comments are right. Trengove seems to have moved on. The Frankston player has taken the 2 weeks which is about spot on as far as I can tell for a high bump causing injury. If Casey wanted answers then they got them.

They policed that well mid way through last year, then kind of stopped doing it. But the knee dropping is less clear cut. Less dangerous and more about taking on a tackler than risking injury. But there's just too much of it and too many frees paid for it at the moment.

I don't think there's that much difference between same knee and the other knee, it all comes down to individual circumstances. If it were the other knee he'd potentially have 2 dodgy knees going forward which obviously isn't an ideal result. If there isn't too much associated damage and they can fix this one well then it's probably a better result. At least he got a preseason in of skill development and learning about AFL footy and now he can do a lot of gym work. I'm not buying the 'it's better to have a year out with a knee' theory, but for an 18 year old ruckman game and training development is only so beneficial and physical development is a massive part of it. I've often thought about 15 games at any level might be enough and they should spend longer doing skills and time in the gym.

ANB not getting a game has nothing to do with his draft position. But I think your comment does. If we can develop his skills, poise and tackling I think he could be the perfect foil to the likes of Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw etc. All explosive players who need to build their fitness bases. ANB could use his endurance and determination to compliment them. West Coast had a similar set up with Rowan Jones, who was Chris Judd's most trusted team mate and his defensive work covered for Judd, Cousins and Kerr.

Played in the middle for a half v Port, and against GWS for a fair bit and looked very much like an out of place forward. He hasn't looked on his game since that 2nd half against Port way back when, so I think he might go out of the side this week.

Nah Gerard was saying that guys who drop at the knees have every right to in order to avoid tacklers and if it's too high it's a free kick. Dunstall, Brown and King were saying knee droppers need to not be rewarded and high tackles should be play on. I'm not sure where I sit. I hate knee droppers, but at the same time it's going to be hard to tell the difference between guys dropping knees and guys dipping and twisting to get out of traffic. I think tacklers should be very careful. Nev Jetta got a way with quite a few on the weekend. Tackling isn't the number 1 aim of AFL, getting the ball, running with the ball and then kicking/marking with it is the aim. Personally I think some kind of balance is right, even though that will frustrate fans. Call it play on when repeat offenders keep ducking, give the benefit of the doubt to others. And if the initial tackle is below the shoulders and a player drops after contact then call it play on.

Watching the replay of the first half he sure likes to still have a crack at us but I feel it's somewhat out of love. I get the same way when players are making mistakes and we are losing. I couldn't blame him for not liking Neeld and being frustrated at certain times of the Roos era. The end of the Daniher era as well. Not sure whether he was on or off board in the Bailey years. He's definitely been bitter for a long time. Would be a good result for everyone if he isn't.