bing181

Angus Brayshaw keeps getting better. Hope the contract gets sorted out.

If Lever can play, even if he's a bit sore, he should. We need him to get back in the groove and get some continuity, he's had a real in/out season so far.

One of the joys of being a top-of-the-table team is that we no longer get shunted off to the graveyard time slots and the consequences that has on those of us in far-flung time zones. After years of getting up at ungodly hours to watch our beloved Dees, we European-dwellers have been able to enjoy our wins at quite civilised hours. Until today. Setting the alarm for 4.45 a.m. brings back memories of the bad old days. Go Dees, he says through half-opened eyes.

Only bummer in all this is that the players that came in as cover are now all straight back out again. In spite of all the noises from the FD about "knocking the door down", there's still a gap between the chosen 22 and the rest - or most of them.

Me neither, but they're different types of players, not really like-for-like. So would depend on who's available/out.

Doing well it seems, close to best on last week. Though playing mainly as a forward, so lots of competition for a spot.

There's a difference between exercising and training, and the players who are housebound will have missed a week of training. Some will respond better than others coming out the other side, but I wouldn't assume that they'd all be walk-up starts just because they're available: ANB in particular and Petty possibly. Hopefully the other 3 will be OK, we really missed Sparrow for mine.

Yes, great. And all from close to the goals, which is where he rules.

Random thoughts on what the in/outs showed. - Sparrow brings more than Dunstan, and probably more than Jordan (though a different kind of player). Most important mid behind the big 3 for mine, and we missed him tonight. - Ditto ANB. Missed his run and all-over-the-ground presence. - Interesting Bedford vs Kozzi. Kozzi has that bee-in-a-bottle business, but Belford is more of a traditional small forward. I just wonder if Kozzi would have been in position for that mark that Bedford took (Petracca kick I think). - Weideman looks better when he's up and around the ground, gets him more involved. He doesn't have Jackson's mobility, but is more useful than McDonald around the packs. - Playing Ben Brown up the ground was a kind of smart move as it cleared out the forward line. Unfortunately he's a real liability in general play, slow and fumbly. - Lever still rusty. - Also not sure what's going on with Rivers, not as self-assured and solid as last year. If it's possible, I don't know that I'd be playing Rivers and Hunt together. - We still don't have a real lock down, one-on-one stopper, and that's been the case since Jetta left. - Back line looks better with Petty in it. Not sure why, but they seem to work better together.

At least we got a look at what the team would look like without Jackson. We have Van Royen in the wings, but Weideman isn't Jackson (though I thought he did OK).

Impressed by Viney after a week where he was quite crook apparently.

Hmm. All interstaters. Coincidence? Less chance to have caught it or be exposed over the off-season?

Emergencies are interesting. Could be the last chance Baker and Mitch Brown have to run out in the firsts, thought we'd seen the last of them. Thomlinson a decent backup for any of the backs.

If Viney doesn't get up, Melksham will come in. But would imagine it won't be limited to just these 3. We've seen with West Coast that once it gets into a club it runs amok.

You would think that there’d be others as well by Saturday.

Don't think it will. Suspect that Tom is now out for the long haul, he's going to have to find consistent form again, not just show up for one or two Casey matches. Could be wrong.

Has been looking better since being moved down back.

Good to see Weideman getting another go. If his issues are primarily confidence, having the support of the selectors would do him no harm. Also Smith ahead of Tomlinson. If he has a decent game there'll be a selection headache for the following week when Lever returns.

TMac won't play back with Smith and Tomlinson waiting in the wings. If they lose a KPD during a match, maybe as a stopgap, but not as a selection.

Hard to imagine BB not coming straight back in. Only question might be a lack of match fitness. Not sure who makes way, but personally I'd give Weid another chance or two, see how he works alongside Brown. TMac has been playing "almost" football for quite a while now, and the longer it goes on, the less likelihood that he'll return to being the dominant forward he was for a while there.

No accident that May plays his best game for the year the day that Petty comes back in.

One of the reasons they're outside the 8 is because we beat them.

Not just a star, but knows how to play to the back-line system better than Thomo. (Could be wrong, Thomo comes across as knowing what's what.)

Smith unlucky. If he hadn't lost his place due to Covid protocols, you'd expect that he'd still there. Now fighting to get back in against Hunt, with Hibberd looking over his shoulder.

Don't agree at all. There are few other players in the current team with his ability to read the play and position himself accordingly.