Macca

15 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

 with an unused sub 

Schache was unused as Gawn managed to battle through with a broken toe

So he wasn't needed but we did need him in reserve

15 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I know it's more than reasonable for you to be unable to find a spot for Schache, but if he can't get a game with T Mac, BBB, Petty, Fullarton and McAdam all (potentially) missing round 0 then he and the club should call it a day.

He's a "break glass in case of emergency" player and round 0 is looking like an emergency at the moment.

I feel as though I'm hyping up Schahce and will probably be set up for disappointment given his track record, but he's all we've got at the moment if those calf and foot injuries linger.

Tomlinson should be in defence in round 0 as May/Lever and him work well and our excellent defence is what will keep us in the game. Has Turner ever played forward?  

I wouldn't be sticking my neck out for Schache but I genuinly wish him well if picked

3 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Watch the Carlton final and the first quarter against Collingwood. If that's not wetting the bed then I don't know what is. Even the coach and match committee were damp after the Carlton loss.

Proper forward line in both finals and we win both finals

But I'm not going to change your mind and you won't be changing my mind

Thankfully, most here are happy to scknowledge our forward line woes but you won't even reference it

It's the elephant in the room

Also, there are up to 7 forwards unavailable for the Sydney game as well) 

It's a real issue 

6 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

I'm afraid that 2021 was the year OD was in world record pessimistic form. I think the GF win has mellowed him a fair bit, thankfully.

Cheers OD! 

What I also remember was that many here thinking that old dee's account had been hacked!! (in 2021)

You've got to admit that old dee gets it right a lot and his views on Clarrie could be on the money as well.  

5 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Teams with as much talent as ours don't bow out of finals in straight sets 2 years running. I think we can be rattled by clubs who really bring the heat. 

I disagree

The major factor was the replacement forward line being a big weakness

7 minutes ago, 58er said:

Seriously OD is one of the most negative posters of all D/Lers.

I can’t recall him re the flag in 2021. When did he make the call ( When Fritta kicked his 6 th goal).

 

No 'old dee' is a realist and he gets it right more than most.  And if you get it right most of the time you're keeping it real

But he's seen as a pessimist by the optimists

He made his call on the flag early in 2021 but I have no idea which threads

I noticed because I always read what old dee has to say.  rjay, Axis & bing are others who keep it real

And they never complain about umpires either.  Another thing I notice

7 hours ago, picket fence said:

Given our forward issues, I doubt we can win in Sydney😬

I still believe we can win but we'll need a few things going our way.  And Sydney aren't a great team either

Our team can still be strong away from the overall forward line but our half forward line at least can be relatively good (Fritsch,  JVR,  Petracca/ANB)

And on a small ground like the SCG that might cover it

But the other issue is our movement into the forward line - it has to be slick otherwise we'll be entering a crowded forward line filled with replacement forwards

And it's important to note that the yips in front of goal we had against Carlton in the SF came from the replacement forward line, not our first choice forwards

That gets forgotten by the doomsayers who conveniently put aside our forward line woes as if it's not an issue

Up to 7 forwards being unavailable is unprecedented.  At least 3 of which are starters in the 22

3 hours ago, Roost it far said:

an ever so soft underbelly

Teams with an ever so soft underbelly don't win 16 or 17 games 3 years running

And we romped in the flag in 2021 ... but no injuries that year

And that's the main issue - injuries (specifically to our forwards)

And most supporters and even the media are highlighting that facet

52 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Maybe in the event of necessity, Tomlinson will need to just step up. Sure, best suited as 3rd tall, but really very few games turn out as ideal for everyone.

If one went medium small as a forward line then of course bombing it to a pack would be stupid and fatal.  In the event all the medium smalls would just have to keep on the move with leads and dummy leads to stop presenting oppositions with marking contests.  Hard work but needs to be done. Which is why the fittest (conditioning not just injury wise) team has a huge advantage. 

Specifically in the first game, the ground (SCG) itself is quite small.  And given the fitness of the players who can run all game and then all the flooding, class is needed in the forward line

Forwards who can win their own ball

So we should expect Sydney to crowd our forward line at every opportunity.  And they'll double team Fritsch you'd imagine.  

We need 2 big targets who will compete hard, mono.  JVR & ????

Schache?  I'm not filled with confidence

Turner or Tomlinson maybe but playing as a KPF is a lot harder than as a KPD

I'm holding out hope that T-Mac can somehow overcome the calf niggle as we know what he can bring (when fit)

Petty?  It's just fingers crossed with this bloke

By the looks of it, Jefferson isn't ready and Adams the same 

What we do know is that the MC must start planning the actual make-up of the forward line as soon as possible.  They need to practice together

It's so important to start the season off with a win 

If I was to hazard a guess I reckon Tomlinson will end up being the 2nd tall forward

B       Bowey       May       Turner

HB    Salem        Lever     McVee

C      Hunter  Brayshaw  Langdon

HF    Fritsch      JVR       Petracca

F      Chandler  Tomlinson  Billings

R      Gawn        Oliver       Viney

Int   Sparrow (Oliver)  Rivers (Brayshaw) Windsor (Hunter) ANB (Petracca) 

Sub  Tholstrup (?)

On paper, it's not a great forward line but I've got Petracca playing 35% forward as long as Clarrie plays (???) 

McAdam is in, if fit (for Billings) 

T-Mac is in, if fit (for Tomlinson) 

As for the 2nd rucking with or without Schache, who knows?  He'll possibly play but I can't find a spot for him unless he takes the place of Turner or Tomlinson

Losing all these forwards is a reminder as to what happened to us after the '94 Prelim

We lost Lyon, Schwarz & Jakovich for a huge amount of games.  Neitz was thrown forward but that left the backline short, IIRC

1996 & 1997 and to a lesser degree 1995 were write-off years but Balme lost his job.  Of course we bounced back under Neale Daniher but nevertheless, injuries cruelled us for 3 straight years prior to 1998

Forwards can and do win you the games.  A functioning forward line requires decent talent levels and right now, we are now highly dependant on the midfield, structures, game plan and the backline

We need to eke out some wins until the time comes where our forward line is a real threat again

Most of us would be a lot more confident if this was our forward line against Sydney

HF Kozzie/Petracca  JVR      ANB/Chandler

F    Fritsch                 Petty         Melksham

Melksham had found his niche as a defensive forward,  Kozzie can be absolutely dynamic and Petty was blossoming and is a sharp-shooter. 

Petracca playing forward (for good portions) is highly dependant on whether Clarrie plays.  Without Clarrie playing, Petracca has to play predominantly on the ball otherwise we'll be conceding the midfield to Sydney

Petty was also creating separation and space for himself, which is not easily replaced.  Certainly not with a player like Schache

So 4 first choice forwards not being available to use and we can't use that as a reason if a loss occurs?  What if we lose by 1 point?  Not a reason?  

One more question @Roost it far

If you reckon that Sydney will defeat us, will that have anything to do with our  decimated forward line?

Or will our decimated forward line have no impact on the result at all?  Nothing? 

On 07/02/2024 at 13:59, Roost it far said:

I’ll add that as a club we should be filthy on last year and wanting to absolutely prove our mettle. I just don’t have the proof that this is the club atm. We’ve been shown to ever so slightly weaken when we’ve really needed to galvanise and push ahead. Injuries have been a factor but they’re not the reason…….

How do you know that they are not filthy on last year and wanting to prove their mettle? 

And injuries were the reason we didn't advance past the 2nd week of the finals because they happened in one area of the ground (forward line)

If the injuries were evenly spread across the ground, then that's not a reason as a team should be able to cover for a total of 4 or 5 injuries

But losing Petty, Melksham, Brown, JVR and then having to play a proppy Fritsch and a bloke on one leg (T-Mac) took it's toll

Brayshaw getting king hit meant that we couldn't play Petracca forward as well

So 4 of our better or best forwards didn't play and 2 others were not match fit

Make no mistake, having a decimated forward played a large part in the team not winning the flag

And I've never seen a team win a GF with a C- forward line.  It's never happened

Collingwood's forward line might have only been B overall but that still beats the hell out of a C- forward line

And Hill won the Norm Smith medal

Who amongst our available forwards could have been even capable of winning a NS medal if we got that far?  Chandler?  ANB? 

57 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Jefferson is miles away from AFL footy, Adams needs 10 really good games for Casey at least......Turner is the only one and I believe he's injured. I'll be shocked if Schache doesn't get a guernsey. I really hope he can clunk a few, bring the rest to ground and maybe kick 1 or 2.......

One of the 3 if we have no other choice.  If we were desperate for a tall in the backline we'd be faced with the same dilemma

Take Lever & May out and what are we left with?  Maybe Tomlinson but he's best suited as a 3rd tall not the main man

If you go too medium/small in the forward line you end up conceding easy marks to the opposition

I wouldn't be playing Schache on what I've seen but again, what choice do we have?

Tomlinson is another option forward but what we need is a big bodied forward with a bit of phsicality or at least another tall who can play in front and put his body on the line

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

In match sims he has held his own vs Max and I mean if Max is no 1 Ruckman in the league, that should be a pretty glowing endorsement! Plus he plays forward BETTER than Grundy could ever do!

Ok, that's good to hear, picket

The way things are going with injuries to our forwards and without an ideal 2nd ruck, it's hard to see Schache not playing in some capacity against Sydney.  Not that I would be looking at him to stand out though

On what we've seen, not much can be expected (Schache) 

But calf complaints for older players can be notoriously difficult to shake off so it may well be Schache's time

The MC will be in his ear about getting to the front position as a KPF and if can do that, half the battle will be won (on his own part) But I wish him well if he gets a guernsey 

We might even have to look at Turner, Adams or Jefferson if Schache is the only genuine tall forward available (apart from JVR)

Remembering that he'll need to be doing the 2nd ruck duties as we don't want to be overdoing it with Max as he enters his 33rd year

It's one thing going medium-tall but you don't want to going medium-small

21 minutes ago, old55 said:

Maybe he's thinking about Callum Mills' Mad Monday shoulder injury, Buddy Franklin and Paddy McCartin retiring and the fact that we belted them with a depleted forward line up there in the last round last year.

All that is true but it's not ideal to have a decimated forward line ... and let's hope that it's only short term 

That includes Petty, T-Mac & McAdam being available sooner rather than later

24 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I 100% agree with you and have no issues with the contracts, just making an observation.

I imagine neither will be offered contracts past this year, which will free up a decent amount of cap space to chase a ready made key forward. The club just has to do it while we have some sort of window.

John Longmire would be grinning like a Cheshire Cat right now

19 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

I don’t think any realistic guide to Melbourne’s chances this year involve Brown, TMac or Schache. Schache May surprise as he still has a body that can handle an AFL season but Jeepers it’s a long bow. Smith is done you would think. So in effect bar Fritsch and JVR we’re all hoping Petty can get fit and stay fit. How many players have great seasons after missing large chunks of a pre season with a serious foot injury? Add to this the fact he’s not a key forward yet. He’s a back who’s showed some promise as a forward. Then there’s McAdam who from all reports has done a power of work to get to the standard our game demands, he’s now injured his calf. For a 29 year old with a long history of injuries what chance is he to play 20 plus games and be ready at the business end? On top of this Oliver hasn’t even begun full training yet. Look I want us to win but this has been an ordinary off season for the club. I love all the happy clappers around here, you guys rock with your training reports, enthusiasm and positivity, I’ve been there the last 4 years, I know how good it feels. This year doesn’t have that same feeling for me. I really hope I’m proven wrong. 

So we essentially agree but in the last week, the availability of our forwards has diminished even further

And that's new information

So the doom & gloom merchants & happy clappers are now getting closer to being on the same page

And if you reckon I'm a happy clapper go back and read some of the stuff I posted in 2011-2013.  All I could see was gloom

But here's the thing, Roost, we can't put forward a no excuses argument for last season and then use the same argument to predict doom & gloom

And I'm specifically talking about our decimated forward line

And I don't make excuses.  For instance, I've never once blamed umpires, never done it.  Not once

5 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

This is definitely not a pot shot at either of our premiership heroes, but the on-going injury issues to Ben Brown and TMac have really hurt us from a list spot/salary perspective. I do wonder if the coaches and list managers had any discussions with either of retiring early to free up a spot?

The way we're going, we're going to need both T-Mac & Brown to help out in the seniors (for 5 or 6 games each - at least) 

When they present themselves as fit of course.  But both will probably be able to play at some stage during the season

But contracts are contracts and having a few veteran players who are past their best and still contracted is going to be an ongoing issue that needs to be managed

Across all the clubs, not just our club

If they weren't contracted we might have been able to make a play for an experienced key forward

But that's in an ideal world and the football world is now way different with the longer contracts and even average players getting an extra year or 2

Something has to give at the tail-end of those contracts.  And we're seeing that being enacted

And it's not necessarily poor list management either.  10 years ago it would have been but not these days (in my view) 

17 minutes ago, gs77 said:

Yes. Do Collingwood win the grand final without the pinpoint set shot goals from De Goey and Sidebottom at important stages? Probably not. We need to nail those critical moments.

De Goey &;Sidebottom are A grade players and clutch players

Our sharp-shooters are either not available or are carrying injuries 

Our replacement forwards can't be relied upon so the missed opportunities are going to continue

We'll have our best chance of winning consistently when most (or all) of our best forwards are available.  And that might happen sooner or later ... we just don't know when

Brown, T-Mac, Petty, Kozzie, Melksham, McAdam and even Smith are often very good in front of goal

And at this stage, most, if not all, won't be available for the Sydney game.  If so, that's dire

We can still win (somehow) but we're going to need a lot of things going our way

On 06/02/2024 at 20:01, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

Stan wasn’t the bravest player to pull on a Dees jumper.

That's unlike you to talk like that, Jack

It takes a good level of courage just to cross the white line

Stan features quite a bit in the clip below playing as first rover

And if Caleb ends up as good as Stan, we've got quite the player.  Stan won 2 B&F's and ran 2nd in the Brownlow on one occasion

And captained the club for 4 years.  He was quite a decorated footballer

Coll vs Melb 1968 Victoria Park

3 hours ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

Forgot to mention Tracc drifting forward also Clarry key to this happening.

That's true

We can't leave the midfield short on top level talent

The good news is that we've got a number of choices* for half back so Brayshaw can remain in the middle

But I wonder if we might revisit Brayshaw as that defensive wingman again?  Hunter could play as a high-half forward either combining with Langdon or Brayshaw

ANB to play a similar role on the other flank

But to do that we need Clarrie playing

Just a thought

*McVee, Bowey, Rivers, Salem

@Gorgoroth @Go the Biff @DeeSpencer @titan_uranus @Clintosaurus @JV7 @Dee Zephyr @Dr. Gonzo  @DemonDave @BDA @layzie  

Tips Gentleman (and margin)

5 points for the win & 5 points for the correct margin bracket (1-6, 7-13 or 13+) 

San Francisco are -1.5 favs over KC so that's close enough to call it a pick-em

Here's the leaderboard so good luck! 

On 29/01/2024 at 14:22, Macca said:

Leaderboard Post Season Tipping Comp

22 - BDA

21 - Go the Biff

18 - DemonDave

17 - Clintosaurus

15 - Dee Zephyr

14 - Macca,  titan_uranus

13 - Gorgoroth

11 - JV7

9 - layzie

8 - DeeSpencer

3 - Dr. Gonzo

2 minutes ago, picket fence said:

No to T Mac, Im not even sure he's yesterdays hero. I'm backing the Lurve Shack!

Yeah you'd imagine that he will get his opportunities if, in the absence of Fullarton, he is regarded as the next best ruckman (JVR to preferably take a few forward line ruck duals only)

Question for you PF (or anyone else)

What's Schache like in the ruck at AFL level? His hit out stats on AflTables aren't all that startling

19 hours ago, MrFreeze said:

I am happy with the sub rule as is.

I love how fitness, both in game and as a factor throughout the season is managed as a strategic area. 

I also enjoy seeing the games break open in the 2nd half as the fitter teams push harder.

5 man bench will lead to stingier defences and more boring game styles.

The game is more open than it was 5+ years ago and that might have something to do with the limit on rotations and/or the 6-6-6 rule

2013 - Unlimited rotations

2014 - 120 rotations

2016 - 90 rotations

2019 - Introduction of 6-6-6

2021 - 75 rotations

I reckon the sub will become the 5th interchange player sooner or later but they might limit the rotations to 60 eventually.  (or they won't)