DeeSpencer

You can see Mitch King's knee go at 18:18. Some fat scrub from Casey just rolls right in to him. Very unfortunate. Could've at least got the free kick for a slide not that it would be much consolation.

I'm bringing in him now despite not really needing him because 1. He should be able to play on Howe. Jetta to Fasolo, Dunn to Cloke, T Mc to Moore I'd have though. Rotating as necessary and giving us enough strength in the air. Frees up Lumumba from a dangerous opponent. Same for Wagner, Salem etc. I don't want us losing the run and skill aspect but I'm hoping Oscar can contribute with that. 2. I want to win a flag and I don't think Dunn is going to be the answer and I'm not even sure Tom will be (although he should make it as an above average two way defender). 3. Richmond are likely to have 3 talls next week. As will most sides up the top of the ladder. If we can find 3 key defenders who give us enough run, skill and intercept play then we need to play them.

Vince out. Garlett if right to go is an automatic inclusion. That could be the only change but I think it's important to find the right team balance. Question marks over: Vanders isn't doing much. Kent's first half was terrible but 2nd half saves him. Bugg needs to use it better. Dunn, I see why they left him out now. The Frost v Pedersen debate rages on. Did Wagner do enough? Speed and run are the keys to everything we do. Out: Vince (susp), Vanders In: Oscar, Garlett FB: Jetta Dunn Oscar HB: Wagner T Mc Salem C: M Jones Jones Stretch HF: Harmes Hogan Kennedy FF: Garlett Frost Watts Foll: Gawn Viney Tyson Int: Oliver Bugg Lumumba Kent To replace Vince: Bugg to play on the ball/tag with a bit of defensive forward as well. He'll provide the pace and run around the ground and his disposal issues shouldn't matter so much compared to when he's on the wing. Oscar gives us some needed aerial strength down back. Frees up Wagner, Lumumba and Salem to attack more and then can even spend time on a wing. Or in another way Oscar takes Wagner's spot, who pushes up and takes Salem's spot who can then replace Vince with stints on the ball and down back. Change for Garlett: Vanders is the unlucky one. I liked having the 4th tall and his physical presence but he's just not finding it or using it well enough. I don't think he's got full confidence in his ankle yet. Kennedy, Kent and Harmes have out played him. I don't think we can play 5 small/medium forwards when none of them are legit midfielders. One has to miss. Garlett should also do a stint per quarter on the wing.

The hacked kick forward is a weakness in his game for a player so very capable of getting out of trouble and using the ball well on both feet but we won't be better without him. He made a difference going in to the middle against GWS in the last quarter and he was involved in our best passages and ran more than most others in the slops of round 2. I'd say he's got room to improve but wouldn't quite go as far as saying average.

Hope for a reprimand but likely 1 week. Silly. We are a long way off mastering anti social football at the moment. Too many dumb down fields and silly incidents. Senior players involved in some of them. I guess sometimes you have to cross the line to find the right spot when for a long time we've been no where near physical enough. Just wish it wasn't Bernie!

I'm not sure Bugg is that great as a lock down either, but he's super fit and whilst a shaky kick can sometimes use the ball ok and runs all day. He was depth recruited for nothing really. More a state of where the list and culture is at, but at the same time at least he's played enough AFL to know his weaknesses and hopefully be working on them. Frost is a bit more frustrating, because he looks to have talent as a backman, but for now we only want to play 2 key defenders and have more run and skill for down back. Dawes is injured. Pedersen isn't up to it. The question is are we wasting a potential star backman up forward or are we giving a young player a different role to stay in the side where he'd otherwise be at Casey. I don't know what the right answer is. We need Frost to play more games first regardless of position or team.

He'd drop the odd mark or fumble a bit at training as well which is strange as he was very clean in his one AFL game. Good size. Runs all day. Kicks it very well. I doubt it's an eyesight issue and he looks pretty tough so I doubt he's scared. Maybe just losing concentration when he's already thinking of what he'll do with the ball. How did his speed look? If he can start to break the lines and cut out the fumbles then I'll be awaiting his return to the big league.

Neal-Bullen, Hunt and maybe Oscar McDonald the best placed to come in. Pedersen to put pressure on Frost to perform. I'd be surprised if Jeffy isn't right for next week. Not buying that much has changed with Brayshaw and definitely not Petracca on the back of one game against ordinary opponents. Same for the Weed. Petracca presumably played decent minutes, which makes it his first full game back. Surely he needs at least 1 more hit out. Weed got the end of a few up forward, but who wouldn't in a 150 point win? McCartin kicked 7 for Sandy, didn't touch it for the Saints last week, knocked himself out this week. Brayshaw looked a mile off it last week, really short of a run and not nearly as clean as we expect for him, 1 week wouldn't have fixed that entirely. I'm genuinely excited about what those 3 can do in the red and blue, but one night out doesn't change much for me.

I feel for the proud folk who volunteer and support Frankston. Wouldn't they be better off in the Morny Peninsula league or otherwise. Just never seem to get the talent needed for VFL. Would be so disheartening knowing you can't win every year.

From the twitter seems like they are snapping points at well. Any chance they want to put it through the hands a bit and take better shots??!

Garlett's a big lost but it means Vanders, Kent, Kennedy and Harmes can all play closer to goal. They all have the talent to kick goals and put on forward pressure. Let's hope we see it. Frost should help the forward line speed as well. Clarry gets another chance. Vince back in to the midfield mix I think. Viney, Tyson, Jones. We have options there. Bugg can tag Wells or Harvey. Huge game for Gawny. Billy Stretch to give us some of the gut running we need. Matt Jones to hopefully continue what we can probably call reasonable form by now. Dunn to command the backline and hopefully Tom McDonald can put in a big game.

So far it's: Dunn for Garland. Wagner for Brayshaw, with Vince likely going back to the midfield Not really a surprised that they are making more changes and if Garlett doesn't play of course there will be one more. Of all the AFL websites bad ideas the 'late mail' column isn't too bad, but it's hardly shocking news at the moment.

Presuming: Stretch gets picked in the 22 Garland is being dropped, we've got 2 tall defenders in and Col needs to go back to Casey Oscar Mc isn't really ready either and needs a game to prove his fitness Michie, Terlich and Grimes have done little to show they are AFL standard this year JKH, Hunt and Mitch White are still kids who haven't done much this year either Pedersen and Frost are competing for a forward/ruck spot All the young talls - King, King, Hulett, Weed etc aren't in contention to play Clarry and Brayshaw are back to the 2's or rested Petracca and Trengove are coming back from injuries Then 'guys like ANB' is actually just ANB. So one 2nd year player with all of about 10 games of AFL and coming off an interrupted preseason has the right to be frustrated they were looked over. And it's not exactly like for like, Wagner is a skilled back flanker with a bit of height, ANB is a smaller inside mid who can play a bit of wing/half forward. I'm hoping Brayshaw, Oliver (if dropped), Trenners, Petracca, Garland, Oscar, ANB and many others can all dominate for Casey, the guys in the team can play well and then we can get some legitimate selection pressure on. But as of this week there isn't a lot of competition for spots. So it's not a surprise a mature rookie gets the call.

Gibson is: - Stronger - Fitter - reads the play much better - uses the ball better Garland was a decent player for a while there but my mail is ankle injuries have ruined his top endurance and now he's more suited to sitting deeper and playing on an opponent. Unfortunately he doesn't have the skill set to play on genuine talls (neither does Gibson) so is limited there. He's a great clubman and can come in and do a role, and maybe after being dropped he gets confidence back in the VFL and starts attacking contests more, but I'll be shocked if he ever compares to a star of the comp like Gibson.

He kicks it as well as anyone on our list at training. Time will tell if he can translate that to games. He's not slow, but for a half back flanker isn't quick either. He won't break the game open with blistering runs but might be able to link up and get the ball forward.

Choosing to look at the positives. He's a good size. Attacks it pretty well and he can kick a footy. His game against the Saints was a classic example of what I'd call a good bad game. He was dreadful, but it was because he kept putting himself in the play and with more composure he could've been very good. He started to play much better in the 2nd half. 1. Every time he has the ball means Lumumba doesn't have it 2. Vince goes back to the midfield 3. Salem gets dropped with a message to lift his game and become the quality player we think he can be. And if Wagner can hold down a back flank then Salem can play forward/mid which is even better.

The Dogs have Wallis, Libba, the Bont (who moves smoothly but isn't lightning), Koby Stevens, Picken etc in their midfield. They aren't exactly speed machines. Same for the Hawks with Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Shiel. The secret is to have fast players in the spots that really matter (wing and flanks), play fast and skillful footy and have options to cover faster inside mids. Jack Viney has burst speed and determination to cover anyone. Tyson, Oliver and Brayshaw aren't fast. But all are still building their bodies. I think Brayshaw often looks like he's moving slowly when he can run and hunt down opponents as well as burn them off. We've seen Oliver's side step and agility in action. Then of course there's Petracca. We need more half forwards, wingmen and at least 1 half back with real dash. That's obvious. I think we can develop speed in the forwards we have now (Watts, Vanders, Ben Ken, Harmes, Kent etc), they just need to play better. The wings is a bit up in air besides Billy Stretch we don't have a lot of options and it's Lumumba or Hunt for down back. But mostly we need to move the ball faster besides from getting a couple of extra speedy types. I think he's flat wrong on Hogan. He has the potential for great endurance, solid speed and really good smarts to turn and beat any quicker opponent. I think he could easily play as a midfielder when on his game. He's clearly not at his best right now and I don't know if it's preparation, form, confidence, the role in the team or what it is but you don't lose athletic potential overnight.

The saints NAB challenge game was our best 4 quarter effort of our game plan. We defended and attacked very well with good balance. Defending: The forwards and midfield suck towards the player with the ball to trap them in their half and the backline push up and corridor side of their opponents. The risk is an opposition wingman can get free with a really good switch but if the side is awake as they were for a lot of the saints game they can spread over and cover that player and force the next kick to a contest. Attacking: Turning the ball over in good places leads to instant attack. If you get the ball in the forward half then kick it straight to a forward. If you get the ball at half back there should be space to attack, generally out the other side before the other team is in place. Watts was receiving a tonne of switches in that Saints game getting out to the open wing/forward flank. GWS opened us up from a lot of set plays. Particularly kick outs where they would stack one side of the field then run down the lines with run and carry. We simply weren't fast, smart or worked hard enough to counter this game plan. In some ways I wasn't too upset because GWS are a fantastic side at this plan. Their issue is plan B. Essendon smashed us everywhere. They ran rings around us on the ground. Dominate the air up forward (Daniher) and stacked numbers behind the ball when we attacked slowly. They overloaded the switch and we just didn't have nearly enough numbers for it. They also then always had our switches walled off with an extra man. I'm hoping this was mostly just really poor effort. Otherwise some of it will be teething pains. When you spend 4 years (2 Neeld, 2 Roos) playing very uncreative football it's going to be hard to be bold and aim to open the game up. My major concerns with our attacking game plan is: 1. We don't create by hand enough yet. There's simply not enough players who can get on the end of handballs and link up to move the ball that way. So that means we'll be kicking a bit and we still aren't good at that. We need to work much harder to have options so a kick can be followed up by another quick kick before space closes up. 2. Our forwards seem so keen to get the ball running back inside 50 and sitting deep when I'd love to see more leading up. Even if they start leading back to goal if they can turn and lead sideways or back to the ball carrier Otherwise it's work rate and skill that will cause the issues more than game plan. We simply have to cut out the unforced errors like long kicks down the line that go to a little guy instead of to Gawn or another talls advantage. The lack of mental application is staggering.

No idea why you've bumped this but anyway. 4 games in the VFL seniors. 22 and 23 touches in his last two. Bailey talking about how well he's done to manage his time and that he'll be managed. Far out we really screwed the pooch on this one by letting the narrative get out of control that he was the Queens Birthday messiah. Shows how distrustful and weak our senior players were as well that they couldn't support Jack. Watts has let himself down over the years, but the club did him no favours. And as they say history is written by the victors, if we want to move on from such calamities we need to find a way to start winning.

I'd say might, not will. Same thing was said of Nick Riewoldt, even more so when the Suns came in to the comp and could offer him the Earth. I truly think he won't leave if we are successful. The travel for Perth sides is terrible and the AFLPA keep pushing for longer holidays. There's every chance he could spend all of October until after Christmas in WA as a senior player. There's also the reality of him going from a boy to a man and if that means finding a partner from Melbourne he might not be going anywhere. Win a good share of games this year, sign him on to 2019/2020 and worry about the rest later is what I'm hoping for.

He certainly isn't chasing with as much vigour as last year. I had my concerns as was loudly shouted down when I said I was worried about talk of bulking him up, particularly in light of other key forwards slimming down and given he apparently returned a touch out of shape. Hmmm

I'd play Hogan at CHB or in the ruck before I'd drop him. In fact the former might well be an option. No one works harder and competes better despite being out numbered than Drew Petrie. In fact it's pretty much North's game plan. Long down the line to Petrie who gives his all to bring it to ground where Harvey, Higgins and co swoop on it. If we aren't dealing with Hogan's issues seriously then our coaches are derelict, but I'd be shocked if dropping him is the right answer. He won us the game last week. His issues aren't so bad for that to be forgotten. CHF for the first half of this week. If it's all going terribly then put him to CHB and Tom McDonald to CHF for the 2nd half.

Maybe the only reason why I'd play the Weed would be to have him lead up non stop and maybe Hogan might get the hint. That said, our coaches seem to refuse to play Hogan up the ground anyway.

1 first year player - Parish (Oliver) 1 second year player - Langford (Brayshaw) 2 third year players - Merrett, Fantasia (Salem, Hogan) A couple of mature recruits in their first and second games but they were guys who had been in the AFL or VFL system for years. They were older and had played more games that we had. We can debate what Lumumba, Garland and Pedersen are giving us but overall we are young enough with the group we have and need to start getting better now, not just throwing more youth in.

Daniher - 5 games McCartin - 6 games Boyd - 9 games Moore - 9 games I'm not buying the 'other teams throw their kids in' when talking about key forwards. Hogan and Watts have looked dangerous when we've moved the ball. They need to work better with the midfield and rest of the team to find the ball. Certainly Watts isn't perfect and Hogan has a few issues right now but I think they can be fixed. I don't think an 18 year old will be any better. We could chuck him in along with those 2 so we've got 3 talls, but are we going to ruck him? (Or Hogan or Watts)? I don't think so. That's asking for an injury. Patience for this year, see if he keeps playing well. His time will come but it's not now.