binman

And Cross jumped at a surprising number of packs to contest marks and bring it to ground. That's Melk's go too

Kentfield in if Fritter goes out? Or maybe Laurie, with Melk covering Friiters role?

Well i got that totally wrong on Melksham. Surprised, but in King I trust. He'll probably kick a bag. It's terrific that Turner is ready to come back in after just the one game. Just two changes is another big positive.

Great answer to that question EO. I'd add that in the Australian context I reckon a big factor in participation drop off is how sports like athletics, soccer, basketball and Australian rules football all have entrenched pathway systems that aim to funnel the supposedly best players into the elite level (eg AFL). My son was a pretty decent basketballer, and played at representative level. Domestic level basketball, which he had to continue ayimg, became a chore, and it showed. Which of course irritated teamates who only played at the domestic level (and me as coach!). One he plateaued, and it became evident he wasn't going to get any higher, his interest in basketball dropped. And he stopped playing all together. I read a few years back that one theory why Australian soccer has failed to replicate the so called Golden generation that saw us punch well above our weight at an international level and have mutiple players playing at the highest domstic levels (eg EPL, Serie A etc) was during that era there were less rigid elite pathways and players were not so 'over coached' Rather than being funneled off to eite rep teams, players like Viduka, Cahill, Kewell and Aloisi played in their clubs junior teams before being promoted into their club's senior teams (tgough from memory kewell went straight to Europe). The theory was that by staying with their club, they played with their mates, enjoyed their footy and were able to play instinctively amd with more freedom and creativity than would have been the case if they were taken out of that environment and put on an elite pathway with all the attendant coaching, discipline and training. The other part of the equation is by staying at their junior club for longer all their teammates benefited from playing with super talented players. A related point is young players develop at different rates, amd having quality teammates helped their development amd made it more possible to get to a higher level. The bottom line is despite a massive increase in participation and the development of talent spotting and elite pathways we are producing fewer world class players (particularly strikers) than we did in the mid eighties to the mid nineties. I'm convinced that the same issue is a big factor in the appalling drop in the number of indigenous players in the AFL.

Steven King has been continuously involved at the elite level of Australian rules football since he made his AFL debut in 1996. He played 204 games of AFL football, then after his retirement spent 2 years as an assistant coach at the Saints, 10 years at the dogs (including in their 2021 side we beat in the GF), two years at the Suns (including 7 games as senior coach after they sacked Dew) and two years at the Cats as their midfield coach. Then if course he was appointed senior coach at the dees. In other words he knows football. A serious question lorn. Given his comprehensive knowledge amd experience of elite Australian rules football, do you think that given King selected Howes in the seniors at his first opportunity to do so agrees with your assessment Howes is a VFL standard player?

Spot on red. I honestly find amazing how wound up some people get about this stuff. I mean, who cares.

Cripps and Walsh are our claz and tracc. Great ball winners, contested beasts, rack up huge disposal numbers and metres gained by foot - but slow and average kicks. Very blunt instruments not particularly suited to thevway the game is being played atm. Every team still needs some blunt Instruments- I just wonder whether, unlike say 5 years ago, clubs want their highest paid players being blunt instruments.

I'm not sure about that. I was really impressed by our defensive system against the Blues. And even more impressed with our pressure, intensity and contest- suggests to me that we're not just an outside team. Amd I'm not the only one. I heard Simpson say on SEN that before the blues game he had us pegged as an outside team that would score heavily against bottom teams but get beaten up by the top teams because we couldn't match their contest work. He said that he was super impressed with our contest, pressure and ability to match the blues at the contest and stoppages. Said we clearly more than the one trick pony he thought we were.

He is a really clever kick - and he makes good decisions. Regularly hits little 15-20 metres, often on the 45. Those kicks atr not as sexy ad a koz 45 metre bullet that laces out a forward but they are critical in footy these days to maintain possession, avoid turnover and set up scoring g chains. Its a kick many of our players over the last few years, including our best (eg trac, claz and may) could not regularly hit. Did my head in. It's something Windsor and riv both need to improve - doing so would make both much more dangerous.

So infuriating that the club would use AI to put Culley's head on my body

I've never rated tmac as a one in one defender, but if he can take King that's frees Disco up to get up the ground mote and be more aggressive - which suits him a he's surprisingly quick and agile for a big fella. That woyld also allow kolt to go forward I agree on melk's smarts, but he looked miles o his optimal condition when I saw him against footscray two weeks back, and his knee was heavily bandaged. Still, if Fritter can recover from his foot being amputated so quickly, anything is possible.

Spot on jnr Three of our biggest issues last season were we weren't fit enough, the athletic profile of the team was not a good fit for the amount of high-speed running and spread the go fast, transition and turnover game demands and how woefull our kicking was. As ive noted elsewhere, leaving aside any of the fugazi and cultural stuff, Tracc, Claz and May are all dead slow, not great runners and poor by foot. They are not a great fit for King's game plan (or Goddy's last year). They've been replaced by better athletes and better kicks - for example Sharp, who if selected last year was inevitably the sub, but under King is thriving and has been one of our best players, in large part because he is perfectly suited to King's game plan. It was actually fascinating watching the blues as Voss is actually trying to implement the transition game plan, but despite trading in a bunch of players with decent athleticism, he faces the same barriers Goody did - too many bulls and clearance players and way too many ball butchers.

Can't see either Melk or Heath being selected. As i noted in the Casey v Box Hill thread, with King's game plan he selects a bunch of what are essentially utilities with no fixed positions as such (except at centre bounces when everyone starts in a fixed position). After a restart, players like Langford, Culley, Sharp, Chandler, Langdon, Latrelle, Kolt (if not tagging or playing at HB) and Cross (though he did play pretty deep) play roles similar to that of high half forwards across the comp in the previous 2-3 seasons - ie pushing up the ground deep into defence when required, running ahead of the ball on turnover to provide an option and tonnes of box to box running. So, i think under King the idea of a like for like replacement, except for some very specific roles such as key defenders, key forwards and ruck is no longer relevant. Meaning not focusing on who might come in as 'replacements' for CJ, Fritter and Cross. Kolt could go forward, play as a utility or play at half back. Culley can play as the medium tall forward if needed. Laurie would be a good fit because he can play the utility role, and whilst not particularly quick is not slow and has the tank required to cover the ground utilities need to cover under King. If they are 100% confident Disco is good to go, he'll come in (and i suspect they'll be keen to bring him in to play on King). If Fritter wasn't out, my guess would have been Tmac out for Disco. But Tmac might stay in and play as a key forward and chop out Maxy. My guess on selection: Out: CJ, Fritter and Cross (and pos Tmac) In: AMW, Laurie and Disco (poss Riv instead of Laurie or Tmac if he comes out)

HIS left foot? A sequel?

Who do you think might come in to replace said mystery player?

Indeed, which goes to my point the stat is of little use if it's not clear how it is defined and measured. Last season, according to Champion data, we were the second quickest in the AFL at playing on after a mark or free kick. I don't know if that's the same stat Hoyne referenced on the First Crack preview when he said we 205 from after a mark or free kick (but i'm guessing it probably is) because he didn't define it. But it's relevant because despite the myth that dees were a treacle slow down the line team that constantly held the ball up under Goody, whilst true for much of his tenure it decidedly wasn't in 2025. In the 2025 season we were in fact the second quickest at moving the ball on after a mark or free kick (something Hoyne highlighted all season in his 30 min Tuesday spot on SEN - my only not miss footy media). Does that misconception matter? I think so because already you can see the footy media, and many fans if DL is any guide, suggest King has introduced a radical new game plan, one that is chalk and cheese to what the players are used to - and are assessing his perfo4mance accordingly. Whilst King's game is different in lots of ways to the one Goody tried to implement in 2025 (and the first half of 2024 too for that matter) - for example, the concept of all team defence AND all team offence - the speed at which we move the ball on after a mark of free kick is not one of them (though its clearly even quicker this season). That's relevant because the team have had a full season of practising moving the ball on quickly after a mark or free kick, which can only be a positive in terms of making doing so instinctive, as seems to be the case this season (helped by the fact that we moved on players who clearly struggled to implement that method last season).

With King's game plan he selects a bunch of what are essentially utilities with no fixed positions as such (except at centre bounces when everyone starts in a fixed position). After a restart, players like Langford, Culley, Sharp, Chandler, Langdon, Latrelle, Kolt (if not tagging or playing at HB) and Cross (though he did play pretty deep) play roles similar to that of high half forwards acros sthe comp in the previous 2-3 seasons - ie pushing up the ground deep into defence when required, running ahead of the ball on turnover to provide an option and tonnes of box to box running. So, i think under King the idea of a like for like replacement, except for some very specific roles such as key defenders, key forwards and ruck is no longer relevant. Which means in practice, Cross wasn't a like for like replacement for Rivers, and as you suggest doesn't have to be replaced by a small forward (as you say he actually played quite tall in the sense that he obviously had the freedom for fly for marks). And CJ doesn't have to replaced by a half back flanker either. Kolt could go forward and play as a utility or play at half back. As you suggest Laurie would be a good fit because he can play the utility role, and whilst not particularly quick is not slow and has the tank required to cover the ground utilities need to cover under King. I can't see them picking Melksham because i thinks he's just too slow, unfortunately. My guess on who will come into the side (as opposed to replacing Cross and CJ) is Laurie and AMW. If they are 100% confident Disco is good to go, he'll come in (and i suspect they'll be keen to bring him to play on King). And sadly for Tmac, in that scenario, that probably means he comes out.

IMO, Mathhew's is no chance whatsoever of being selected this week, next week, or the foreseeable future. I would not be surprised if he doesn't play in the seniors this year full stop. But if he is, it won't be until the back end of the season. Likewise, Heath is also no chance of being selected this week, or for the foreseeable future (assuming no injury to Maxy). He'll get a go at some point this season, perhaps as a trial of using two rucks or in the unlikely even they rest Maxy at some point. And i can't see Xavier Taylor coming into the ones anytime soon either. He's got some work to do at VFL level, not to mention some serious time in the gym, before he'll be considered for senior selection.

In the sense that whilst King has suggested Riv is carrying some niggles, I suspect there's some aspect of his game King wants him to work on. And to do so likely requires some time at Casey. And if he does have some niggles, is one week not playing at senior level going to do much to help him get over them?

Total eclipse of the Suns. Sung to tune the of:

I saw that. It would of been handy to know how it was measured- I mean what's 100? What's 200?

That surprises me I have to say

Money spinner for the dees - and we need the money old

You'd be surprised at how many such jumpers they sell