Pates

Pretty close to our round one side I’d say, big question looking ahead is whether Kozzie has done enough to warrant a spot vs the Eagles. I’d be leaning towards no but having said that let’s see what our forward pressure is like without him. Bedford has had some high praise by track watchers here so perhaps he gets first go. Plus there’s something about him debuting on the G that conjures up a bit of romance. As for this match I’d say for a pre-season match it’ll be played with pretty decent intensity, both teams will be keen for a good hit out before round one. (AvB please line up Scully if he’s out there! ?)

When do we find out what squad they have taken to Launy? It's a delicate balancing act for this last match because I think they should be seeing this as the last chance dress rehearsal for round 1, so we really should be looking at playing as close to our best 22 as possible.

That would be so good to see for once, as opposed to us blowing great chances against them! Of course bringing up Daniher I’ll never forget when he was missing stupid about of shots and then kicked something stupid like 7.1 against us!

I picture Jones being similar to what we had with Lewis and Vince in their last seasons, he’ll be in and out of the side potentially depending on injuries or demanding form. He will be valuable at times when younger blokes are tiring and he just knows how to get that extra 1% out of himself. He played very well in Marsh 1, so right now is in the 22 for round 1.

Actually I don’t have much of an issue with Stacks bump on Viney. It wasn’t aimed at knocking Jacks head off, and he just crunched him in the right spot for maximum effect. But I tell you what it won’t surprise me if Jack has pencilled the Tigers game in as a statement for himself. The physical pain would’ve sucked, but I reckon he’ll be keen to give one back.

Yep I think while Harley may be getting excited (which is fantastic) I suspect they are still going to have him ticking off a set of small goals along the way working to a plan. He may be fit but will he be Burgess fit?

I think Dees fans are going to collectively groan a few times this season because I suspect OMac will still be featuring in quite a few games. FWIW I think he’s serviceable as the second tall defender with May taking the FF and Lever acting as interceptor. It’s really good to see that leading into the final practice match we have competition for spots in almost all areas of the ground. With May and Gawn coming back from injuries I would imagine they may only play a half, if that’s the case I hope Bradtke gets a really good go.

That’s around where I have them, maybe pushing around finals.

Definitely no excuses for the Saints then, if they aren't winning then they simply aren't good.

True, but that's not what has happened. And while he got Freo to a Grand Final, since then they've been mostly mediocre and constantly going backwards (while putting their supporters to sleep). Perhaps overrated is unfair, but negative is not, and he's done little recently to have me want him at the helm.

Damn they are in really good condition!

Really trying my best not to jinx us but touch wood we're looking in pretty good shape.

Love the optimism from Harley but I think realistically he won't be out on a footy field for at least a little while after that. The cub should definitely be mindful of him trying to push too hard, particularly if they can see him getting excited to be back out there.

Jeez not good to hear, hope he's ok.

Genuinely there would be one thing that would make me question renewing my membership, that would be getting Ross Lyon on board. Overrated, and negative coach.

Thanks for the reports everyone, hearing Bennell get out there playing with the boys and kicking the ball, this has to be one of the most significant steps forward for him and after Jon Ralph posted his horse? tweet about "bad news" for Bennell, this is truly fantastic for him. Hopefully Lockhart's is just a light injury and he'll be ok.

No doubt Viney's delivery into the forward 50 was deplorable in 2019, he wasn't alone with that at the club (and you can argue that as co-captain he set the tone). But I think that was as much an awful forward set up plan, along with a depleted stock of options meaning that entries were easily covered. But yes it's something that I would very much hope he has worked hard on over the summer, same with Oliver and his kicking, same with Petracca and his ability to affect games for longer. Aside from Gawn and Oliver (at least with his ability to get clearances and feed the ball out) no one at the club could say they had a season they'd be personally satisfied with.

I think he’s going to make people eat their words this year, I think he will look better in a better team and sometimes you actually need to have players that have roles that are clearly defined. He has had periods as a tagger as well as an inside mid so he has an option there, I think he could also be looked at in rotation roles for holding jobs on opposition HBF.

Gawn was “expected” to play in Marsh 2 wasn’t he? I think if there’s the slightest doubt we won’t risk him.

It should also be said that most premierships are built on how good your best 25 is and how those who are in and out play their role when they are given the chance. It may well be he falls into that category.

Agreed, it's up to the players to prove them all wrong.

Pretty big difference! Good on Moons for really sticking his neck out (love the mic drop as well!), I don't see it happening this year but if we're not in the mix for top 4-6 I'll be disappointed. The first 4 rounds are just so important for us.

I could not believe that, literally reverse the players and it would've been a 50m penalty with Oliver getting two weeks.

Imagine him kicking his first goal in red and blue, just about the whole bench would want to clear! If we are lucky enough to get him out on the park, please let this happen at the G!

Perhaps he’s seeing AvB filling that role and potentially being able to hit the scoreboard.