Very Jaded

So then they can go and get fudged. Is Jackson really gonna walk out on us and his premiership mates to get to the bottom of the ladder team? Come on.

Look I know they’ve had a rotten time with Covid and injuries but FFS their team is really not that bad right now. There is enough talent there to make that level of laziness inexcusable. There is absolutely no desire from anyone wearing the jumper to do anything.

Imagine if we lose to West Coast

Eagles are tanking and will try to get their dirty mitts on English or Jackson by low balling their club with the threat of the pre season draft. Luckily I can’t see Jackson going from the premiers to the wooden spooners.

FML

Trac and Oliver is a love story for the ages. It is why I don't worry about Oliver leaving. He would never want to play without his bestie.

You completely undersell Petty. He is as important and arguably in far better form than both Kosi and Jackson. He would be a perfect match up for Gunston who has a fun time destroying us. Petty is so firmly embedded in our starting 18, and we are a far better team with him playing, which is why he was rushed back from injury and pushed Tomlinson out of the team. I will go out on a limb and say that he will take over from May when May retires. He is that good!

Exactly. Stop worrying about who plays when. We are getting prime time slots and these are some of the best games of the H&A season. You can all sleep when you’re dead.

As long as we get no more nasty last minute changes I think this is not a bad outcome. If we stick to our system we will win.

Same. I know spouses who share a bed where one got Covid and the other didn’t.

Breaking news. To beat Melbourne you need to be better than Melbourne for 4 quarters.

No it's not because Bedford is in the starting 22 not sub. We will need to bring in another sub. Could be Melksham.

I take it pet memberships aren't included in numbers? Just got one for our new puppy. He is the size and colour of Jake Bowey. Hoping for same winner vibes.

I think the changes are pretty simple Out: Kosi In: Bedford - like for like Out: Smith In: Lever - 100% improvement Out: Sparrow In: Viney - and Dunstan stays in, so we are covered for clearances Out: Jackson In: Nobody. Bedford is elevated from the sub position and we get Weideman and Brown to share the extra ruck duties. Gawn has played as sole ruckman for years. Weideman can pinch hit and Brown can take the forward ruck contests. We are lucky that Hawks are playing a kid in the ruck, and that it will be very very wet. A great chance for Bedford to show he can really make his mark, and we won't miss Jackson as much. Dunstan had a good game and will get another run. I think he will do well in the wet weather. If Viney doesn't come up, I would bring in Melksham as he can run through the middle as well to relief the other rucks and we can rotate ANB and Trac at half forward as well. The other smokey would be Baker, and we can push JJ into the middle and get Baker to run the wing. But I rather not mess with the wings, as JJ has really settled into the role so I think this would be my least preferred option. No point bringing in Tmac or Majak when it's going to be wet and they will struggle. It will just wreck their confidence and won't do anything to help us win. Hawks are fast. We need the speed to keep up with them, not more tall timber.

What sort of food are you after? I can send you an entire list

I bet they don’t play Tmac and we ruck Weideman. Hawks have no ruckman and it’s gonna be so wet. We don’t need to go tall.

Well I ruined everything

At least our next game which is against the Saints is not for another 11 days

My best guess would be Kosi as I am fairly sure he lives with Jacko and Bedford. As someone noted above, considering Jackson and Kosi spent a lot of time in the off season not in Victoria (and in fact Jacko was in WA for a lot of it where Covid was still non existent), it makes sense they have caught it now. It is also no coincidence in my opinion that guys like Lever, Viney and Goodwin who all have kids, have caught it recently. Daycares and schools are mass spreaders. School back on Tuesday could explain why Goody has it.

I meant pre-season. You don't need to isolate or even test if you have had Covid 12 weeks prior to coming into contact with someone who has Covid.

100% correct. He lives with this partner in Kew. Clarry has also bought a house and lives with his partner. Neither of those boys live with Jackson and Pickett. Jackson and Pickett used to live with the Brayshaw's but have moved out together. I don't know if Rivers lives with them as well.

He may have already had Covid recently

Yep and Lever was meant to be there today. At the end of the day every club has and will be impacted by Covid. It’s best to have it happen now and get it going thru the club than come finals. The players and coaches infected during the season should have decent immunity up until the end of the season now which is good. Of course nobody wants Covid and I suspect the recent issue with Wines is probably a post Covid issue as the exact same thing has happened to my friend post Covid. But it’s 2022 and we need to get used to this new reality. At least we have guys at Casey who are dying to take their chances at senior level.

Quarter time when we are down by 1 point

With Goodwin out there is no doubt that Lever and Viney being experienced on field leaders will be a welcomed addition to the side. The boys have risen to every challenge and this should be no different. You know your roles and you know your game, just stick to it and back each other.