DeeSpencer

It's hard to argue with a beautiful safe clearing handball. Just a matter of how risky we want to be. You're probably right, in that area of the ground the clearing handball is a wise decision. But in general Melbourne need to handball forward more and break out of packs, not go back behind them. Again, so many positives with him, I just think if he develops a bit of smoothness around the rough edges he'll get better and better. That's my main point.

He's not tall for his position but the bulk of Lynden Dunn will come in handy to counter his opponent coming third man up. McDonald is tall and strong enough as well. We are in a bit more trouble if teams have a 195cm + midfielder, we'll have to keep Watts/Vince/Tyson/Lumumba etc whoever is available at the stoppage on the lookout. Or we start to rove the 3rd man ups, which when done well can really stuff with another side as they are sending an extra jumper and still losing.

A very sweet handball, but the Salem kick is just as good if not better. Although next step for Clarry is probably to hold the ball in a bit more and get the exit out the front of the stoppage where Vince and Viney are or even sneak a tight handball to Jetta and run it out the open side. But that's nit picking. A bit more work on his left hand handball should be part of his development as well. I'm sure he's seeing both sides of the stoppage and has the vision. A good left will see him able to really open up the field. Even his right hand I think he holds the ball up and punches it a bit much. I think he can smooth it out a bit and make sure he's hitting team mates spot on. I find it exciting knowing that Oliver has a lot of traits that are really hard to teach - hardness, vision, agility, presence and still lots to work on with his body and skills (which are at a solid baseline as well, it's not like he's a mile off).

Just strange they haven't done likewise with Buddy Franklin, even though he lined up someone last year and has done it for years. I think it's on the harsh side and I think they take the injury in to account too much. Add 1 extra week for the injury but if not injured I think this would've been 1 or 2 with the guilty plea. He's a good player and mainly a ball player. Players across the comp need to get the message that deliberate acts highly likely to cause concussion must be outlawed, but this seems just a bit too much. Sustained strong penalties for everyone will do that better than random targeted decisions that the tribunal/MRP often produce.

Impact is hard to judge. But Brayshaw's tackling, hardness and direct style of footy was instrumental is us scoring against better teams I think. His impact was greater than his stats or talent. He lit us up at Geel, QB'day, North game, Tigers game. Even round 1 he made a big difference. Clarry has shown me some special abilities but Gus set the bar pretty high. I'd drop a footy in front of Clarry in a pack situation and he'd do some great things. Playing on him I wouldn't lay a finger on him. I'd roll a footy out in front of Brayshaw in space and I expect similar. He's such a natural tackler I wouldn't want to pick up the ball, and if he gets the ball he's so determined to get it on to a team mate in a good spot.

When Grimes first started he was a handy half back flank who would play on a half forward flank, use his height (he was tall for a flanker then) and work rate to intercept mark away from that opponent. Then he'd run off and guys like Rivers or Cam Bruce would get him the ball and he'd kick it out to the next player and away we went. He was a decent back flanker. He missed some time with injuries and the forward pressure started to make life harder for back flankers without accurate kicks. Then Mark Neeld came in and preseason was about getting super fit to run hard and defend. His reward for that was the captaincy. Lacking fit midfielders Jack was thrown in to the middle without any training in clearance play. He ran hard, tackled pretty well and had some decent games. But again more injuries and no real improvement. He returned to the back flank under Roos and eventually shed the captaincy. He still worked hard and took some marks, but his skills just weren't picking up fast enough to keep up with the modern game. His only option was safe sideways footy. So now he's send to the wing where he can use his best remaining AFL attribute which is his ability to run. Plus his ability to read the play will help him position well to be the outlet for the backline. A decent mark as well so he can retain possession. Hopefully he can then get the ball out in space and move it on to the right target without being under such presssure. Plus he'll defend well, although a lack of pace off the mark might be exposed. I think it's the right move and he'll be good wing depth. But the bad flaws in his game are still there. Besides the average kicking skills (which aren't the worst for a wingman) it's his lack of awareness that really lets him down. He was outmarked 3 times on Sunday waiting for the ball instead of going hard at it and we know about his infamous hospital handballs. The reality is his prime development years were wasted running laps, injured or burdened by leadership. His kicking has improved since 2014 but I just don't think he'll get the awareness back (if he ever had it). If they pick him I'll live with some mistakes knowing at least he works on them and the coaches have devised a role to hopefully suit his game. That's the best we can hope for.

That's true. But then again he was back off the mark by a step or two and handball sideways, yet it was smothered. Would like to know how that happens. Then he picked up and drilled a pass what I thought was a good 15m easily. But the ump didn't like that one either. So multiple efforts it was!

I always saw talent with Gawn but he was a mile off. Tommy showed his endurance and energy early that was about it. Dunn was a first round pick medium forward, you'd hope he'd offer something. I'm not overly convinced by Oscar but the longer the game went the better he got on Sunday and he was much better than the Port game. I think his disposal and vision have been a step up from ordinary, certainly something to work with for a tall defender. Certainly he lacks strength and aggression but he does have endurance. I'm not going to hold it against him for not being strong or aggressive when he's 10kg lighter than his opponents. I'd like to see more speed and skills from him but I think he has adequate amounts of both. Tom Lonergan and Ted Richards have been two of the better key defenders for the last 5+ years. Both started as nothing forward types and were thrown back and developed by good clubs. Neither have been aggressive, both started with very average skills and Lonergan developed a lot of strength over time. Due to Dunn's injury Oscar got a run against a capable forward in Bruce and spent time on Riewoldt. The saints didn't find room for their young key defender in Goddard even though he was pick 20 or whatever he was.

Any successful team (dynasty is stupid, I'll take a top 4 finishes first thanks) will probably be on the back of multiple years of recruiting, particularly: 12 - Hogan and Viney (Kent, Ben Kennedy) 13 - Salem and Tyson (JKH, Hunt, Harmes) 14 - Petracca and Brayshaw (Stretch, ANB, Frost, O Mc, Vanders, White) 15 - Oliver and Weideman (etc) Plus Gawn, McDonald, one of the King boys providing the tall structure and some slightly older guys like Bugg, Melksham, Watts, Jetta, Trengove being up to finals level. If we don't nail a couple of really classy outside runners with kicking skills I'm not sure we will get anywhere. We need to draft or trade for them over the next few years. I'm comfortable with where our list is at but it's going to take more good recruiting as well as fantastic development to get anywhere. The top picks are the easy ones for recruiters. We've made a bold move last year and we'll need to nail this years draft to keep the momentum building. Plus it's time we get involved with free agency, up our delisted free agency game possibly and keep finding trades especially if we have players who want to leave.

But I trust Pedersen over Frost in the ruck, and given the way he was used on the weekend the coaches might as well. If Mumford starts getting hold of Gawn then Pedersen could be very useful to come in and physically attack Mumford for a while. Probably won't be successful but could slow him down a bit. Frost will just be spat out by big Mummy. If we had any kind of half decent 2nd ruck I'd pick them this week over both of them. I see both sides of the Pedersen/Frost argument, but I don't see the need for both. Wish we could combine Pedersen's skills and footy smarts with Frost's athleticism.

He could. But he also might lack the fitness and smarts. And GWS might not respect the match up anyway and swap it. Really though if Pedo, Vanders, Brayshaw, Kent and Kennedy are all part of the forward line mix I can't see a spot for Frost.

The other thing to consider is the MCG factor and how that changes things. It's got to be a positive for Lumumba. Our game plan, which resembled the Dogs of last years, held up very well at Etihad, but on a bigger ground the spaces for the zone defending are bigger and the amount of pressure on the forwards probably isn't as consistent. That means we need more speed and endurance across half back to make it work. Plus there will be more one on ones between the arcs. Lumumba might struggle with disposal, deep defending and seemingly his willingness to run. But I still expect he covers the ground as well as anyone we have and can win one on ones.

Whilst I think it's important to pick your best team I think you have to consider the opposition as well. If Shaw (back), Shiel (mid) and Devon Smith (fwd) are the crucial players (and that's simplifying but they are important) then we need to consider that somewhat when picking a team. Who's our best defensive forward to shut down Heath Shaw? Is it's Matt Jones? Or anyone specifically out of Harmes/Kent/Kennedy? Similarly if we have to move Bugg on to the ball to tag Shiel then he can't play half back so much. If that happens then we need an extra half back, which is important as there's probably no point tying Vince and Salem up with minding Stevie J or Smith. Hence where Lumumba might come in. Just food for thought.

Trengove's missed 2 years and more time before that. I wouldn't mind at all if we don't see him for 7 weeks or even 17 weeks if that's what it takes. Presuming he is good enough to get in the team. I'd be a little annoyed if Petracca gets held back that long but who knows how long he'll take. It's not easy getting a kick in the Casey forward line.

They are always used and the doctors have some responsibility to get them right. I don't hate the medical report, I hate how much they count the impact. Anyway, in this case the medical report was obviously all clear so it's worked for us.

We need 7 guys to go through the back 6. Lumumba gets in because so far Wagner and Hunt aren't up to it and he's the next best option. Plus he has speed and endurance to go on to the wing. Along with Vince going from half back on to the ball, and Nath Jones doing a little of the opposite that's our best backline I think. I'm a Harmes fan and I think he can play almost every position on the ground, but so far he's only been trialled as a half forward with stints on the wing and on the ball. Garland's had poor moments but he did a lot of good against the Saints. He'll be picked for round 1 and play on the 3rd tall as usual. They won't be experimenting with Frost down back for round 1. Garland has spent preseason learning the zone aspects and practising his kicking from the backline (with variable results). Taking him out and throwing Frost back is being very hopefully.

I really like the way he got the ball moving in to space and then delivered out in front this week. Took away a lot of the bad errors. I think that's the team and his responsibility. He needs to go get the ball when it's a fast play, but when it's a kick out or slow play he shouldn't be chasing kicks. Let Salem, Vince, Jetta etc work for those kicks, which of course means they have to work hard! The main criticism I'd have this week is he still gave away a goal kicking the ball when he could've handballed (the one to Grimes, which wasn't his fault but he didn't make it easy) and trying a one handed mark instead of punching. But he played really well within the zone defending which is something I was looking for him to do. I hope he brings his A game against Stewart/Lobb/Tomlinson/Patton now that won't be up against Jeremy Cameron.

FB: Jetta Dunn Garland HB: Vince McDonald Salem C: M. Jones Jones Bugg HF: Kent Hogan Vanders FF: Watts Pedersen Garlett Foll: Gawn Tyson Viney Int: Lumumba Kennedy Oliver Brayshaw Presuming Dunn, Lumumba, Brayshaw and Vanders are right to go I think the contentious spots comes down to: A) 2nd wing spot: Harmes v Matt Jones v Grimes. I don't expect Matt Jones to be popular but sometimes the hard choice is the right one. Similarly I don't expect leaving Harmes out to feel right but someone has to be unlucky. Harmes in the post match interview alluded to getting the opportunity to play wing and needing some big training weeks to get in the round 1 team. It might come down to who is using the ball and covering the ground better at training the next two weeks. Not an easy call. B) Frost or Pedo. And I think Pedo has the edge there. Frost or no Frost. Personally I think the marking power of Vanders and defensive pressure of Vanders, Brayshaw and the others who have played so far make leaving him out the right thing to do. Run and speed will be vital to beat the Giants. I don't think we need to be going in too tall and we need positional versatility given the rotation cap.

They are a serious football side. Don't be fooled by a practice game in wet weather. They were ready for round 1 after dismantling Sydney. We'll need our forward pressure up super high to stop their run and carry, in particular someone to mind Heath Shaw. Hopefully Dunn and Lumumba help our ball movement down back, get that wrong and it's game over. Do both of the above and we are in with a shot.

FB: Garland Dunn Jetta HB: Vince McDonald Salem C: Bugg Jones M. Jones HF: Vanders Watts Kennedy FF: Kent Hogan Garlett Foll: Gawn Tyson Viney Int: Oliver Lumumba Frost Brayshaw Unlucky: Harmes, Pedo (?susp). Matt Jones, Lumumba and Frost maybe the luckiest 3. Out: Pedo, Wagner, O Mc, Harmes plus Grimes, Michie In: Vanders, Lumumba, Dunn, Braysgaw

I've said the same thing the whole time and if Vanders and Brayshaw are good to go then it might come down to Harmes, Matt Jones or Oliver. Oliver is the obvious choice but Matt Jones has impressed and Harmes does a lot of good as well. Less rotations means it's harder to even out the spread of game time but 70% is reasonable, the question might be for how long can he run out his stints on the ground. 70% is fine as long as he's not tiring whilst he's on. I get the feeling he's still much more suited to being on the ball than forward, yet he'll have to rest forward a fair bit.

Might be hard to fit both he and Frost in anyway and whilst both offered something I doubt either nailed a spot today. Might save the coaches from a tricky decision.

FB: Jetta Garland O McDonald HB: Salem T Mc Vince C: M Jones Viney Grimes HF: Kent Hogan Kennedy FF: Watts Pedersen Garlett Foll: Gawn Tyson Jones Int: Oliver Bugg Frost Harmes Maybe nominal sub in case of injury/after half time: Michie, Wagner I hope we learn from Richmond and have all 24 available so we aren't overtaxing anyone in case of injury. Plus I'd love to see Wagner get a full run but the coaches might go with Oscar Mc. I'd probably make both available really, just a matter of how close to round 1 conditions of 22 only they want to go.

Doesn't matter how he players, It will only be if Geelong get close and he would've been the difference maker. Which I doubt. I think there will still be a huge gap between them and the top teams.

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