nutbean

Firstly - no one really deserves to be dropped but if Gartlett is fit there will be two changes for sure and certain - Vince and Gartlett. Anyone dropped is going to be very unlucky - The trouble is two players who didn't too much wrong are going to have make way - I can see Oliver making way - he was quieter yesterday ( but still did some nice things). Staying true to Roos words of not wanting to burn out the first year players he may get a run at Casey. Brayshaw looked a little rusty - but kicked a nice goal and is manic at the contest. May depend on his concussion. Is there room for Pedo and Frost ? Yesterday their certainly was. Harmes and Hunt - both made mistakes but that was completely overshadowed by what they did right which was plenty. And then there is whole discussion about when we unleash Petracca. He is getting very close to being ready. We have said before that we have had hard selection issues - but this is the hardest selection week I can remember for the last 5 years. Players that in the past would not have been dropped ( and don't deserve to be) will be dropped this week.

I also like that he his confidence is up and with that has come "the lowering of the eyes" - he finished of his work pretty well, hitting target long but importantly - hitting some really good short options.

I thought there was some very good and some not so good from Frost yesterday. My big knock on him ( as a forward) was he was getting to where the ball "ain't" but yesterday he was very involved. One swallow doesn't make a summer but it was a really positive game in my opinion and has earned a continuation of him as a forward. (note - I also thought Pedo did very well yesterday as well)

They thought they were getting someone to be their Jack Gunston. I questioned if he is prepared to work hard enough to be Gunston. Not so far.

Nathan jones coughed it up more than anyone today. Played a good game all the same...

We have reading it wrong all these years - I kept reading four to six weeks when it actually said four tee six weeks

I am going to use that from now on - I'm a little Ian Nankervis ( but only on the over 50's)

not sure about it being Dank but now i am very afraid - you dont get a head like that with all manner of stuff growing out of it without being on some illicit substance.

We have the perfect defense in any case. We have to be found guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs. We either didn't take performance enhancing drugs or if we did, we definitely need to ask for our money back.

better explained and absolutely spot on.. That's why I am with you on Petracca. With limited rotations you need players who can run out games and whilst older mature players have the smarts to run up bigger TOG %'s the fear with a Petracca is he could blow out before half time. I am not sure why Tysons time on ground was down but certainly we are carrying one player who can only play limited minutes and that's Oliver ( pretty delicious limited minutes though !) so calls to put Petracca and the Weed in are folly.

The reason he is not playing AFL is nothing to do with potential injury - see Roos and Jones comments below. The worry is he will blow up before half time ! He has played one game against a substandard VFL team in 18 months - he spent a lot of time not running due to his broken toe. He can star at VFL but the reality is he needs to get game miles into his legs and if he blows up at Casey it doesn't really matter (some reported he came on and off in the last quarter and was going at a jog). Roos - But the reality is the jump up from VFL to AFL is fairly significant, so we'll continue to monitor him." Melbourne skipper Nathan Jones said the 20-year-old was still "a couple of weeks away" "I love his confidence and I love his enthusiasm but I think he's aware he has to continue to work on getting his body 100 per cent and get that conditioning in.

Agree ( except I think you are being harsh on a lot of North footballers who are as hard as nails - exclude Harvey, Waite, Thomas who love to play for "umpire intervention"). I like what Stretch did - didn't like that he didn't take the mark but he was under extreme pressure from a kick that did him no favours - he is crashed into but stands upright and goes again and wins the ball to snap. I will re-iterate that a lot of footballers would have accentuated the contact earning a free. I watch the game and there are so many frees given to players who "accentuate" contact - drives me banana's. It is interesting that you mention character - in a lot of ways character is absolutely spontaneous. In that split second Billy went for the mark - the ball went to ground and he buttered up a second time. Lindsay Thomas in that split second would have gone to ground like he had been shot. I like Billy's character.

running with your back to the ball even if you are watching the ball , has consistently been interpreted one of two ways- unless the spoil has been made ( which it was ) with no body contact on your opposition then it is play on - once you take your opponents body it has been called a free. Problem is that Billy took the contact and tried to grab the ball after the spill. This is probably a good trait but had he gone to ground I would have thought the free would have been paid.

No it won't - Whilst you do in theory you want an even spread of TOG there are certain players who are aerobically better than others - it is no surprise that Tom McDonald played 97% game time. He will continue to do so.

OK - I'm incensed all over again. Fox Footy dropped a promo onto facebook saying "five reasons to watch footy this weekend" and each of the reasons gets a 2 second grab. One of them is - nail biting finishes and shows the pass to Billy Stretch and receiving front on contact in his attempt to mark the ball. I looped it 5 times and came up with the same thing - Front on contact - pay the free Front on contact - pay the free Front on contact - pay the free Front on contract - pay the free Front on contact - pay the free Jumping into a player with your back to the ball is front on contact Billy - your problem was you didn't go down in a screaming heap.

I'm not sure what the correlation between playing fully fit Wagner and Petracca who has played 3/4's of a game against a substandard opposition in 18 months, is.

It's not so hard to understand is it Rjay - let opposition midfielders waltz into our forward half unpressured your defenders are going to get cleaned up more often than not.

The flip out the back to Jones who was running at full tilt was pure poetry ( also not a bad finish from Jones)

Firstly - the pace and intensity of VFL is not the same as AFL. Secondly - he is having his time monitored so he is not playing "Full games" for Casey Thirdly - it is not so much injury risk - the risk of playing at AFL is around his fitness level - it will hamper the team if he can't run out a game.

deuce ? deuce ? You can’t be serious, man. YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! That ball was on the line! Chalk flew up! It was clearly in! You guys are the absolute pits of the world…”

I'd be surprised if he is picked and this is purely based on fitness. 3 quarters of one real McCoy game ( against a very poor team) doesn't mean he is ready fitness wise for an AFL game. I understand that they do play some players below full fitness but these are mature footballers with a few seasons under their belts and know how to pace themselves. Anywho - it will be the fitness team who ultimately have the final say.

That was an absolute disgrace - simply beyond me how that was not even cited.

Ahh yes...you mean the week that the MRP went on holiday ?

Ftizpatrick kicked four against Brisbane and Jamar kicked 5 against Carlton and I kicked 6 against Mazenoid year 7's and none of us were forwards.

could have been worse - just watched Hawks/Dogs - Razor Ray really needs to be taken aside by the umpiring boss and be told - a good umpire is one that isn't noticed....