bing181

Also only 23 (OK, 24 in a week). The kind of player you can build a team around for a long time - which hopefully will be reflected in the huge contract we offer him.

Very few AFL teams have ex-forwards as forwards coaches. Coaching is a different game, different skillset.

I don't see how we pull this back. Still have the Pies twice, Dogs, Suns, all in-form teams, plus Adelaide at home where they're doing well etc. On top of that, we can't afford to stumble against teams like Carlton or St Kilda (twice), yet alone Hawthorn. If we're in the conversation, great, but going to need a LOT of luck. Letting those last few lazy goals in today didn't help our percentage either.

In a team that kicked the equivalent of 20 goals, AJ didn't manage a single score, even though he was mostly played up forward. He also only had 6 disposals - to go with his previous 5 and 5. And took zero marks. Hard to see how he's "getting better at playing his role". He has to do more than throw his weight around and give away free kicks.

Hopefully Viney comes back in. If not, he's in trouble with the concussion. Otherwise I wouldn't tinker too much. Windsor has been slightly off but was better today. McVee not back up to his old standards either, but not sure who could replace him, or whether anyone should. AJ is perhaps the big question mark. OK, a couple of smart intercepts and taps in general play, but overall he just doesn't bring enough for me. A 1 kick/zero mark/zero score game doesn't exactly scream "pick me".

Agree, but Petty is at least getting it to ground, not letting it rebound out. AJ. Not sure. Love the intensity, but not sure he's bringing much else.

Goal-kicking. Some of it down to having to rush kicks, but feels like a lot of it is between the ears.

Not just about wins, but also percentage. Given that ours is so low, we may need an extra win. I doubt that 13 will do it.

TMac has been omitted. Says it on the team sheet. Preferred KPD trio is now Lever, May, Turner. Tom will not play again while those 3 are available unless we come up against a team with lots of tall forwards. "Rested" would imply that he will come back in next week, but I'd be very surprised if that was the case. We always have at least one tall as emergency, so that's his role for this week at least.

Yes, like picking the better team regardless of who you have to leave out.

Perhaps. Depends on how AJ (and Petty) go. Also Jefferson breathing down people's necks, even though there again I'd try and give him a run of games at Casey, he seems to be building.

Emergency. Dropped.

He wasn't rested or managed. If that was the case, he wouldn't have been named in the team on Thursday (see Melksham 2 weeks back). He was omitted.

?? AJ, Fritsch, Melksham etc say high.

Peak Demonland playing out here. So many posters lament that the selection committee don't make big calls, yet when they make a big call we get half the site throwing their toys out of the pram.

He's not being rested, he was dropped.

Presumably Sharp to sub again (given that he was subbed out), though could have been an opportunity to bring in Brown or someone else (??) as sub. Interesting though that they're persisting with Sharp in some form or other. Another that might have earned a call-up is Howes, though unless they move Windsor up the ground or there's an injury, hard to see how he gets back into the backline.

With an almost complete list there is going to be selection pressure and some collateral damage. Tom will be back, though I suspect it's going to depend on the opposition as much as anything. Also suspect that Turner will now always be picked ahead of TMac, and therein lies the problem. Tom's also not always the greatest disposer, and when we're trying for fast ball movement his turnovers can be a bit of a momentum killer.

Melbourne has thrown its hat in the ring for out-of-contract Port Adelaide defender Miles Bergman, who is weighing up a move back to Victoria.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Defender | 23-years-old | 93 games The Saints, Bulldogs and Demons are expected to long-term make offers that could turn his head.

Yes, but he's only analysing what we're already doing. IOW, we already have the coaches and strategists who know all this and are implementing it. Also, there's more to being an assistant than being good at analysis and systems - not saying he mightn't have those additional skills as well.

One factor that hasn't been mentioned almost anywhere is that we've effectively turned over the whole coaching staff with either new people or new responsibilities. That was never going to come together overnight. It's not just the players who have had to get used to a new(er) way of doing things.

We're still going to lose games, even "winnable" games, and there'll still be bumps in the road going forward. This year is about consolidating a different way of playing and slowly turning over the team, where progress in those goals has to be judged over the longer term, not week by week.

You'd wonder if he'll ever get it back. Perhaps just needs another pre-season.

Watching this, kudos to the coaches and players. So much playing out there in terms of planning, but especially in execution.

No sense of humour Beezl.