bing181

Ridiculous and superficial. How many of those 14 are fit and in form? Would be lucky if it was half of them. Gawn, Viney, Oliver, Petty, Bowey all well under where they were in that premiership.

Ah, Brayshaw, Oliver, Petracca and Viney when they were together and on song. Memories.

Amongst all the other outs, missing Windsor. Provides so much drive through that wing and is a key link between the backs and forwards.

Oliver a shadow of himself. Sad to see, end of the season can't come soon enough for him.

Bulldogs look very very good. Will go deep into finals if they keep playing like this, strong all over the ground.

Also last season.

Yes, playing week in week out directly affects your fitness. It goes backwards. But heh, if you think for one minute that your argument has any validity, put up some documentation to support it. Bizarre.

You can feel and like to think all you want but sports science is just that, a science, and all of this is measurable. Maybe do some reading, plenty of documentation out there.

With a statement like that, you clearly don't.

4 goals at the end of the last quarter against a top 4 side desperate to win was herculean.

This x 1000. And ... it will only get worse as the season gets longer. And a couple of others with compromised pre-season/season where it's not as pronounced but is still having an impact. Bowey for one.

I really don't understand comments like this. It was always obvious that losing Brayshaw and Petracca was going to cost us the season, add to that an unfit Oliver who can hardly even get through games yet alone have an impact. Yet people are surprised and calling for heads to roll? It is what it is. Why can't people put on their big boy/girl pants and deal with it?

4 goals in the last 10 minutes of the last quarter would suggest otherwise.

Through circumstances beyond anyone's control we just have too many key players out or underdone, and it's going to have an impact. Gutsy performance all the same against one of the best sides in the comp.

Howes or Hore for Woewodin? Not sure about the rest, midfield needs some class and talent in there but not sure where it's going to come from.

Hard to see from here. They have class all over the field.

Didn't we have interest in Georgiades? Perhaps with Jefferson + Turner emerging, Petty staying, JVR consolidating, not so much of a priority.

I don't see how we make the 8, we just don't have the cattle. Too many key players missing or down on form. Great to see the youngsters stepping up, but there's only so much they can do. Take the losses, focus on the draft/trade to bolster stocks. Big concern for me is the backline, May is a generational player and Tom Mac has done well this year as 2nd/3rd tall, but they're both approaching the end I would have thought. Jed Adams hasn't come on as perhaps we might have liked. Perhaps if Jefferson steps up Turner and/or Petty can go back, but it all looks a bit thin to me.

Back on the field, but I'd be surprised if he's back to his best. In the past, his form coming back from injuries has been OK at best.

I don't think people quite grasp what's involved in getting the kinds of loads into players that will set them up for a whole season. For starters, he would need a period of rest/unloading because unless you're fully fresh when you go into these periods, you can't complete the loads required. Then he would need at least, I don't know, 6 weeks of very high training loads for any meaningful outcomes. so that's ... 8 - 10 weeks I would have thought. If there was any way of overcoming his lack of pre-season the club would have done it. Same goes for Petty or any of the players with interrupted pre-seasons. The only players who can have a decent season on the back of a compromised pre-season are older players who already have multiple years of pre-season as a base.

Firstly because I suspect that he's "fit enough" albeit not at optimal fitness. But he can get through games. But I also suspect that one of the reasons he was brought straight in is because being part of the on-field team plus the routine of an AFL season is much better for his mental health. His mental/well-being demons started with that long period of rehab last year and the kind of isolation from the group it brought.

It doesn't work like that. In fact, the longer the season goes, the more players like Oliver (and Petty) will struggle. "Players were divided into three equal training load groups based on total distance accumulated during pre-season. Results: Players in the high training load (HTL) group performed more relative total and high-speed distance in matches compared with the moderate and low training load groups, with the differences becoming greater as the season progressed." https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326856433_The_influence_of_pre-season_training_loads_on_in-season_match_activities_in_professional_Australian_football_players

Then he needs a full pre-season. He can get through matches and his natural ability will get him enough disposals to justify his inclusion, but he doesn't have the depth of fitness to do more. He was never going to be the Clayton of old this year. He wasn't even the Clayton of old last year post-injury, he'd missed too much footy. Fingers crossed it comes together this off-season.

6 months managing/rehabbing a serious foot injury and missing the pre-season will do that to you.

Would be great going forward for the youngsters to get a taste of finals footy. On the other hand, part of me is all for finishing a gallant 10th so we have a better run at the draft. Also, if it's clear that we won't make finals they might be more willing to give players like Jefferson a game or two.