DeeSpencer

Um he did? For most of the first 3 quarters he played as our deepest forward. But Fitzy and Pedersen couldn't get open at CHF quickly enough to then get it to Howe one on one. Too often from the wing we went sideways and slow and then Howe had 2 opponents. There were a couple of occasions he was one on one but they didn't pull the trigger. The new game plan and sharing the ball across half back especially when the saints had a spare man back did Howe no favours at all. We didn't take enough chances from open play at half back/wing to get a bit of run and carry going and then straight in to Howe. Howe often led from his defensive position in the centre of the ground towards the forward 50 instead of out to the wings to get the ball. The obvious thinking being the the half forwards and midfielders have to be responsible for getting the ball to that stage and he could get the ball inside 50. Sometimes I'd rather him just take off and get the ball at wing/half forward and worry about the other forwards filling in behind him. He cost himself opportunities to get in the game, presumably by following the game plan.

How was he out coached? The saints played a pretty simple game plan - drop a loose man back and see if a VFL level forward line can kick goals against an extra defender. The result was obvious. The saints got enough fast break goals from dumb Melbourne mistakes which come through inexperience with a game plan and no confidence in the forwards. And yeah Richardson is a first game (well actually second he coached Port in a game last year) but he's been around footy as long as Roos. Besides a bad mistake of leaving McDonald on Riewoldt after half time Roos did what he told us he'd do. Create a game style that revolves around sharing and keeping the ball and play hard and sound defensive footy.

Sat next to David Neitz in the crowd. Suggested he would be a chance of a game. Didn't look too unfit!

Gawn obviously comes in but if Fitzy doesn't come up then we probably have to keep Pedersen forward. If McDonald does come up (and given how sore he was I think he wont) then we might need Pedersen down back. If West Coast play 2 rucks plus Kennedy (Frawley), Darling (Georgiou) and Sinclair then we need someone bigger than Dunn. Blease for Byrnes is obvious. Keep JKH as sub I think. Most of the rest of the running players went ok. Did Viney not play VFL? Jetta apparently ok but so were our small defenders.

The reality is right now I think most if not all teams in the AFL have guys who are as fast as Blease but also fit enough to run, chase and tackle etc. I don't think anyone is suggesting Blease has to do it in the midfield like Dangerfield but more like Yarran/Garlett/Michael Walters/Josh Green/Lewis Jetta/Jordan Murdoch, plenty of other quick guys who seem to run out games. For what it's worth Blease's endurance and second efforts looked better in the preseason. I think he's a limited footballer by way of talent and that's just as much as his problem. Can't mark, not a great kick, poor decision maker and doensn't get to the right spots.

You really haven't thought much of this through have you? Mandating kicks would increase short backwards or sideways kicking. If you have to kick under pressure you're more likely to go backwards or sideways. Same with the kick outs. For every attacking rule you aim to create will come with defensive tactics. Any rules that aim to stop congestion need to be thoroughly tested at lower levels and Preseason football because there is a huge risk that they backfire or have no effect at all. Take a drop punt from kick outs. When a team scores a quick point and the other side has an open defensive 50 you want players to move the ball as quickly as possible which means you wouldn't restrict them to an unreliable kick. Looking at that 1945 game you'd be tearing your hair out as a supporter. No chasing, no tackling, no smothers and the foot skills are pretty ordinary compared to modern players it's just they have so much time and space to get the ball. Watching that these days you would do nothing but complain it's like watching under 13's. Their would be media backlash about how the game has turned in to meaningless aerial ping pong. As for CTE it pays to remember the research is still in it's infancy. I doubt anyone suing at the moment could provide enough evidence, the US lawsuits have focused on hidden medical knowledge and aimed at the helmet company. But at the same time the AFL (and NFL) are way ahead of the curve. We've got the concussion sub rule. We've got advanced concussion testing. We've increased the penalties for head high contact at the tribunal. Footballers who played in the 90's and 00's may have cause for legal action although I doubt it will be a massive class action as seen in the US. But I hope the lawyers have protected the clubs and AFL from any players who play today because if you are playing today you should be well aware concussion is a risk.

Capping interchange or substitutes will just mean more rotation between positions and more athletes over footballers. Rohan Bail will thrive, Liam Jurrah will dive. The simple fact is that once full ground pressure footy became evident that elite endurance takes priority over everything. Ross Lyon with an interchange cap still plays Ross Lyon footy, he just makes the players fitter and more versatile. Already teams are down to one ruckman. Interchange caps will eventually kill the small and medium forwards who are already on the way out. It really will be come 5 big guys then 17 versatile runners. Interchange has to stay. Methods need to be considered to retrain the focus on style of play which will then dictate the athlete. I believe the TAC are looking at introducing a rule to keep players inside each respective forward 50. That should be considered. But so far we've had 6 games this season. Freo v Collingwood. The winners of the other 5 games - GWS, Gold Coast, Port, Geel and Ess all played attractive football. The Geel v Adel game was beautiful to watch and highlighted all skills AFL players have.

I forgot Daniher and Viney as well as Crouch and O'Meara ahead of of O'Rourke. He's really the 6th best talent from his draft year as of the draft. Explains why Toumpas isn't perfect either I think.

Was there on Sunday. Didn't look like the place that would have a gentlemen of that girth behind the bar. They had a range of beers on tap (for a price) with some craft and international ones. Couldn't get a draft. Some nice upstairs seating areas and an outdoor area. I get the feeling it may have been gentrified recently.

I think Adams got a good deal for Collingwood but mainly cause GWS were so keen for Shaw. Caddy was an absolute bargain but he had Gold Coast over a barrel and demanded where he wanted to go. Not a fan of Josh Caddy in how he did that negotiation, very good footballer though. Those guys were both getting games at their club though. We need to be more careful for more speculative guys.

Probably because late 2012 was his purple patch of form that came off the back of solid match fitness. He was good that day as well but the 5 goals was a bit of right place right time, There wasn't a heap of spectacular crumbing or marking involved. The way I see it is Blease is competing for 3 spots with Bail, Byrnes and JKH in them at the moment (with one being the sub). Unless he proves he can be part of the midfield rotation there will only be those 2-3 spots available. JKH has shown me at training he has much cleaner skills and smarter brain than Blease. Bail has had decent preseason form and has elite endurance and good hands overhead. With Pederson at CHF we need some smalls who can present up and draw the ball as well. That leaves Byrnes v Blease. If JKH is the sub then you want the guy starting to be capable of 4 quarters of effort. Byrnes might just be the safer option. As I said before if JKH plays well and can be a starting 21 quality player then Blease can make a good sub or with some VFL form and match fitness he can push for the starting 21. I want a fit, in form and dangerous Blease in the team. I didn't see that in preseason, I saw much the same slow of mind, unable to find the footy, running in to trouble Blease. If he can get strong VFL form before returning to AFL he might get back in that late 2012 form.

Blease's rare runs are worth the goal (or often point) that results from them. Toumpas in the Rich and Geel game did nice kicks inside 50 to turn bad scoring options in to good set shots. That's worth much the same as a Blease run. It's more the negatives of how many times you look up across half back and see a man on streaming to the flank in Toumpas compared to Blease not in the right spot. That enhancement or disruption of ball movement is the key to us beating the saints without decent tall forwards.

I still think saints should be favourite. We really haven't improved that much over preseason personnel wise with the injuries. Vince is a good inclusion. But Viney is out and effectively replaced by Tyson and Cross and Michie are nice additions but not massive upgrades over Rodan and Sylvia. The saints preseason form has that huge mark on them from the GWS game but GWS have now shown they were in pretty decent early season form. If the saints had Montagna and Steven they'd be run away favourites. They don't which evens the game up but it's still at their home ground and who knows when we last won their in a real game.

Toumpas - top 5 in running all preseason. Blease - usually bottom 5. That's the extent of the reasoning required. Another preseason has come and gone and I think Blease is fitter than he ever has been but he's still probably AFL average at best. In the preseason games Toumpas has occasionally looked really puffed but if you watch him at games you'll notice he'll back at the back flank then next minute he'll be in the forward pocket leading then he'll be chasing defenders. Blease just doesn't move all that much besides his very rare brilliant burst runs. Ideal world I think is Toumpas and JKH both play well and Blease can put the pressure on Byrnes and Bail.

I don't know. Stagnation until slowly fading to delisting has been pretty common for a lot of our players. I think Matt is struggling with the Roos game plan. His best patches of play are when he links up well through the midfield as a runner. Using the ball more by foot across half back may suit Trengove and Vince but I don't think it suits Matt Jones. I'm also hoping to see a bit more power in his game around the contests and strong tackles. Mainly if he cuts out the bad turnovers he'll be a much better player. One reason he probably makes the side is because he's handy as a 7th defender capable of playing half back flank for a percentage of game time whilst each of the back 6 get their rest.

Well said. I don't mind alternative opinions. I don't even mind what I consider backward and even plain stupid opinions. But you got to back them up with some logic and discussion otherwise you are plainly trolling. Add insult to other posters and it's a step too far. And plain insults with no respect to players and It's a shame you have to spend precious time and energy dealing with this crap and you have no place here. I really hope we can get a handful of wins or more this season. This place needs it nearly as much as the club.

If we can repair ACLs in 6 weeks we do need more of these pea hearts. We'd be revolutionising footy and probably have Alex Johnson, Nathan Vardy and Dan Menzel joining the clubs. Thanks mjt you are a genius.

Nicholson, Blease, Evans. It seems once again it's 6 months since we've played a real game and we still can't come up with any better depth ready to play than these 3. Oh well. For the actual team: Backline: FB: Georgiou Frawley Dunn HB: Grimes McDonald Terlich Solid. 6 guys who will attack the footy. Not fully sold on Terlich but the other 5 can at least defend. And I'd love a couple of elite skilled players one of which has break away speed but we just don't have that right now. Hunt, Strauss, Salem, Kent, Clisby there's development to be had. And Garland back would be lovely but I'm hoping Dunn and Georgiou can step up. Of course Tommy Mc probably has the biggest job of the lot. Forwards: FF: Byrnes Fitzy Howe HF: Bail Pedersen + resting mids, +JKH (who I think will be sub unfortunately). The weaknesses here are abundant but the strength is reasonably obvious to me. It's about guys who can get up and down the field and who can run to the spots to get the ball. That's where Byrnes and Bail benefit over Blease, not always but more than Blease and others they have shown the ability to get in space and to the right spots. Same with Fitzy he's a decent lead. Outside mids: Watts, Toumpas, Matt Jones Centre square mids: N. Jones, Tyson, Vince Versatile mids: Cross,Trengove, MIchie I might have considered Mckenzie (if he's fit) just as someone who will tackle and chase but I can understand why Roos has gone for as much attacking run and hopefully skill as possible. We need to run all over the saints and use our slight advantage in midfield experience. Jack Viney and then Aidan Riley not too far away but this is our midfield. Let's see them do a good job and run as much as they can, get the ball and use the ball.

Something I'd add is remember Jaeger O'Meara was on merits probably pick 1 in that year, Whitfield pick 2, Brad Couch I'd argue as pick 3. So for O'Rourke as pick 2 and even our own Toumpas as pick 4 are really much more traditional pick 4 and 6. I say that because there's usually only so many elite talents in each draft and the true elite talents are more in top 5 than after that. It's fair to say O'Rourke was a smokey at pick 2 who in reality was a smokey taken as 4th best player from his year bracket. I can't see him still having a top 10 pick value so far.

You do realise the fitness staff stop guys playing with tightness yet alone actual soft tissue injuries so they don't progress. Even with his massive ability to recuperate and play through pain Jimmy wouldn't have played all those games in a row.Calf and hamstring injuries aren't pain that can be played through. If you're attacking Dawes at least do it correctly

Experience and age will make him still important for GWS. And he'll get paid according to his form with some GWS levy. I doubt anyone will want him much or if he'll be too upset with a standard contract after his mega deal

Not sure what to make of O'Rourke haven't seen enough But he has some speed which we need Our second round pick might be set aside for Stretch. Not sure what we'd give for O'Rourke. I'll keep a mental note if we don't see him in the season for GWS that he might be an option. I think they'll look to trade away surplus talls first

Too slow, too soft. He'd be competing with Pedersen but I doubt he'd be an improvement. We might have cut him early but he wasnt ever going to make it. KPP take a long time to adjust to AFL level but Cook was struggling to justify his spot at VFL level. Troy Davis would also be competing with Pedo this week. He was a decent guy and was hard at it, just limited talent and athleticism. I was glad he got a game and had a bit of a crack. Something to tell the grand kids about.

But the earlier we get the person in place means the earlier we have a long term vision for the players as to the senior coach for 5 years. Isn't that what Frawley wants in order to stay? If we don't get someone this October/Sept we will run in to a situation where it is Roos coaching for the next 12-24 months and who knows after that. I wouldn't talk about it much for the next few months and let Roos settle in to coaching. He may then change his mind and figure he's good for 4 or 5 years and then we can just hire plain assistant coaches and see if someone emerges. If that's Caro's point then fine. But mainly Roos seems pretty set in his ways and I wouldn't be forcing him to change his mind and break the deal that was agreed to when he came on board.

Looking forward to them all. Particularly keen to see how Harmes and Hunt shape up at VFL level. I like Harmes at training he seems to have a crack at everything and could make a nice depth mid pretty adept at most aspects of footy. Hopefully he can put in some decent VFL performances. Hunt as well, some pure speed off half back would be great for this team. Obviously pretty skinny and raw but another who could develop nicely. If Georgiou is a confident and competent 3rd tall defender from deep in the rookie draft he must win the find of the year. JKH was pick 40 but he was also our second pick, we were obviously pretty keen on him and his training efforts were great he was switched on from day 1. But it's still early days for him. If he plays well he'll then draw interest from better defenders and so on. Have to remember it's not where these young guys start but where they end up in a few years time. And that applies to both rusty debut performances and great early career form.