nutbean

Los Trios Petraccas ?

When I played - think Simon Godfrey disposal, Tony Libratore marking, Aaron Sandilands pace, and the heart of Joel Bowden - I was the complete package

I think the side can still be improved. I am not suggesting that Frost is playing badly - I am suggesting that he doesn't do enough and I am suggesting that Pedersen doesn't do enough either - they play a role but for me it will end up one or the other. We dropped Brayshaw - a mid ( although he has been playing forward) for a forward. I am purely speculating that Petracca will live up to his hype and therefore I feel he would take one of those two place which frees us to bring in another mid. When we have Oliver and Brayshaw both fit I would think that either Pedersen or Frost would make way. I also concede that both of them in the team has worked to date.

Im not quite as hard as you. Rance's act was a cowards act that is out of character for him. He had a brainsnap that we haven't seen before and would suspect we won't see again. He got a well deserved whack and we move on.

It has taken 3 preseasons for us to get up to speed - which is what Misson was saying from day one. It is a thumbs up to the fitness staff or is the ability to run out a game something we should expect from any team ? I also think that self belief that we can always win tends to make running out a game a little easier. ( in the past when we lacked that belief the energy levels dropped pretty quickly) Others were patting the fitness staff for our small injury list so my comments were addressed to all.

it is pretty simple. Rance should get credit for not being a serial offender - and he got that - 3 weeks down to 2 weeks. If you are a cleanskin you can get a reduction for a guilty plea. If you have a bad track record you can't get a reduction - To me that is the one good thing about the system. ( probably the only good thing)

So you are saying that the program has changed with a change in focus from running to football. I got into a conversation with David Misson in January and asked that exact question and he said exactly the opposite. His answer was if anything they were running more in preseason ( excluding draftees and rehabs) because after 3 preseasons they were fitter and needed to be fitter. He did say we are not running more in terms of time spent running but running harder/faster/more intensity than we have ever done before. He said we were light years behind other teams in terms of fitness and it would take 3 preseasons to catch up. He also said we were doing about the same amount of football work. I also asked him the question about soft tissue injuries and he suggested that each season a general running program is designed and it has been upped every season but special consideration is given to players with a history of soft tissue injuries - that is why they have reload days at training and put players in the rehab group more than others. They have been careful with Dawes but even that didn't help. So from what he said I don't think the injuries early in the piece were from too much running - injuries happen.

sorry - didn't read this before - absolutely spot on....

I don't at all. But then again I didn't hammer the fitness staff when we got injuries.

So do you think that indicates that Misson and his staff are doing something radically different from previous times or all that it proves is so much of players injuries and their subsequent recovery times is down to football being a contact sport played at breakneck pace. Injuries just happen and after players injure themselves all fitness staff can do is put a program together to get them back on field asap and the estimates of return dates is pretty much a best guess exercise and different player's bodies recover at different rates. For mine, as Misson is fairly well credentialed and human bodies break and recover at different pace depending on the individual, I go with the later.

i am of the opposite opinion - I think we only need one or the other and I lean to Pedersen until Frost shows me he can impact games more. If Brayshaw or Oliver were completely match fit I would have either in the side and have Petracca take Frosts place in the forward line. To me that looks to be a better balance - an extra mid and a forward whom I believe will impact more than Frost. If Frost was clunking marks ( as Pedersen sometimes does) then I would probably agree with keeping him but he is a tall that doesn't play all that tall.

Again, I ask the question - how on earth would you know. We can debate and have different opinions on Frost or Pedersen as to best for the team as they are both fit and therefore we can argue on frosts athleticism, Pedersens marking, whether we think there is room for both or not. As to when players are fit to run out a game, need to be managed is something we can only guess at - it is something only the fitness guru's at the club can best answer. So if we won't see all 3 of them in the team all year then you were right - if we do you were wrong.....

Again, I think you are missing the point. they are not considering the team balance when making this decision. They are obviously thinking of Oliver and his wellbeing and getting the most out of him for the entire season. It is a management issue. i will completely say WTF if someone comes out and he gets a game ( of course they could be playing a game and know he will be playing already because someone else is not going to play but now I am second guessing myself). Either way I accept that they are doing this to get the best out of him got the whole season.

Not sure what bearing Saturday's game will have. This decision is obviously not about the game, it's about Oliver. So win lose or draw makes no difference to the decision about what is best for a young player in his first season. I have no idea how Oliver is travelling but I do know that Brayshaw fell away in the second half of the season and Roos openly admitted they overplayed him. I want Oliver playing as badly as you . But I want him up and firing when he does.

I can understand differing opinions on whether fit, heathy players deserve to be in the team but I fail to understand that with so little insight into how young players are travelling physically and no insight into the monitoring of these young players that you can be so sure that the Oliver decision is wrong. I would have thought that your sports science degree would have taught you not to make sweeping pronouncements on such little information

So I suggest you email the club and tell them they know diddley squat about sports science and player management and offer them your services. I am sure Misson will get you onboard immediately.

As I said in my original post, leave it to the professionals. We can both agree that he wasn't left out for poor form, therefore I leave managing of 1st year players to the fitness staff who may actually have a bit more insight ( coupled with a degree of two) into these types of decisions.

Says more about your understanding of player management than player management itself. It is obviously not about form. The club has a team of fitness professionals who closely monitor loads and performance both on match day and at training and would know a touch more about managing a first year player than you, but hey, that's just my view.

Look, he has been average of late but to describe them as "lady weeks" I think is a bit misogynistic.....

Cameroon Clayton ?

if Hogan is 10% as excited as Demonlanders are about how we are travelling why would you want to leave ?

I agree with this - it is interesting that there was perception at the Pies that he wasted the ball. Even though he has been quieter every touch he has had over the last 3 weeks has been really meaningful.

Could not agree more - my surname is Robinson but lots of people pronounce it "opinionated-arrogant-snot nosed - upstart" and I'd prefer they didn't

Watts has been very good this year and Hogan has been solid for the last 3 weeks. The game plan is not to leave one deep and one up the ground for any great length of time. Hogan has been up the ground and deep as has Watts. It is obvious to me that both these forwards can play both and this is a strength. Most backs prefer to be either stay at home and wrestle like Dunn or be more mobile like McDonald. Therefore with Hogan and Watts alternating deep and up the ground means they will have to rotate defenders on them which to me is already a plus for us.

These stats are a nonsense as so much of disposal efficiency depends on where and how you play. Jones and Vince play inside games - so their D/E would always be a little lower than Dunn for example who gets his D/E number up as the backline switches and chips and that is an easy kick. Watts has definitely improved his contested ball which would lower his D/E as he is kicking more balls with heat on. To me you should judge disposal efficiency with your eyes rather than stats - Watts is a great kick as is Dunn and Salem. Jones has become much more reliable over the journey and Vince is also good by foot ( with the very rare fluff). To back up this argument you only need to look at Tom McDonalds D/E of 81% and tell me who you would prefer to have disposing the ball - McDonald or Watts ?