Young Blood

Awesome clarification. Exactly what I was hoping! Thats great insight. Thanks heaps! We have so many effective players to role through the middle to give us different looks and so good that its meaning less miles on our best mids. Also I think you're right we'll see the heavyweights in there more tonight.

Definitely not saying you're wrong but I'm curious as to how the mids have been rested. Do you mean less or lighter training, less % of time on ground? I've noticed our mids (mainly trac and clayton) look absolutely stuffed at the end of 3rd and 4th quarters at the last three games I've been to. But I might be missing some inside scope!

But you said! Still think Salem will be the sub

No harmes done

Its pretty strange isn't it. Although I think the media's questions have more been around whether Goodwin is starting to feel settled with what his best forward set up looks like, I still get a feeling around the AFL that people believe our forward line isn't fully functioning yet, maybe they are just looking at it more in a traditional sense where our talls are leading our scoring (ala Geelong) which is silly obviously. But I also don't know why Collingwood whose forwards have scored 10-20 less goals then our forward aren't getting similar queries. The below showing the inside 50 differentials between the top teams isn't overly significant. But the amount of goals we're scoring is. Our accuracy is outstanding (especially if you take out the Hawthorn game where I thought we were just a bit casual with our shot attempts).

OK cool thanks for confirming :)

Probably making assumptions going by Goodwin's presser. I did find it strange that he didn't rule it out when asked. I thought the answer would simply be that he will come through the VFL but made it sound possible of AFL return when he said he would see how Salem trains tomorrow. Made a point of saying he's had a mini preseason training fully for the past month. Would prefer to see him play VFL (even 70-80% game) but wouldn't be surprised if he ends up the sub.

Jordan should come in to the 22 with most likely sub options of Melksham, Harmes, Laurie, maybe even Smith. I hope its Melksham for some depth/insurance up forward, especially if Tmac or Brown play and are still not fully fit and firing. Need someone to make Alir accountable so Melk could be useful there as a sub option. Its a shame Dunstan got injured as this would have been his perfect opportunity to at least be a sub bringing similarly what Jordan and Sparrow bring to the contest.

This one really stings. Agreed with others was starting to see some continuity up forward and felt he was just about to see some scoreboard reward for how much work he does in marking contests and off-ball with his physicality. However I think its losing the flexibility that he gives us thats going to give Goodwin headaches. We have been going really well with the two talls and Hibberd playing as the third tall (doing a terrific job i might add) but against bigger teams the luxury of throwing Petty back and playing one of the rucks/Trac more forward will be a shame to lose over the next 4-6. I think for the above reason I can see McDonald getting the nod over Brown as he can go back where needed. Coaching department favorite Smith might also be considered for this role as the swing man.

Totally its something every team 'wants' to do in terms of efficient effective ball movement certainly. I know when opposition teams do it to us finding movement through the corridor it really opens us up and makes our strong backline much more vulnerable. Like I said luckily we are pretty good at utilizing the opportunities other teams present us. When they shut down the corridors it usually means we have players free along the boundary where guys like Langdon and Brayshaw are excellent at moving the ball while constantly relocating ahead of the ball to keep presenting and work the ball up. Its not always effective but I think we're better at this then most. We use the boundary for safety as well knowing we can generate movement out of the contest with our mids. Its definitely a plan b but I definitely see it as part of our game plan and makes us more dangerous as a proven avenue to forward 50 entries.

Look I definitely agree we need to improve our connection. In both those pre season games we moving the ball quickly using different angles through the middle of the ground to work the ball forward with more precision. This created more space and less predictability for our forwards to lead into. It worked against Sydney as well. However Richmond had the middle of the ground filled any time we won the ball and looked forward on the weekend. Most of the better teams will zone players in the corridor to reduce this, we haven't been able to do as well as teams like Collingwood of navigating this. We do seem to do a decent job of moving the ball side to side and down the wings but it usually results in longer kicks inside with the oppositions defense well set up. Sorry that was a long winded way of saying if we can find the 45 degree angle kicks off half back and move through the corridor quicker we will get so many better opportunities with leading marks inside forward 50

OK so it has nothing to do with the forwards leading patterns or timing? Bayley seems to do quite well... He gets great seperation and generally leads or points to spaces where he can mark the ball in front. I'll admit we don't have the best delivery and delivery inside forward 50 but its as much to do with the forward line and their positioning as it is those kicking it inside to them. The long bomb has been covered in other posts. It's not a dump kick, its deliberate. When the forward line is congested and teams are zoning off its better to kick deep for our forwards to make a contest. Gives you more options at goal (mark, ground ball, repeat stoppage). If you kick short in these situations greater risk is too high with turning it over and teams transitioning so quickly these days. With all our backs pushed up you get exposed so easily in these situations.

Its a nice idea with Brown but when has this really worked? It was always his strength running into space at full stretch marking out in front. Many have criticized our kicking inside 50 as the issue but I think its more to do with Brown. Might be the wear and tear of injuries/fitness but he's unable to get much separation from his man these days. Also struggles to get his arms free in contests. The thing that hurts him the most is his inability to do much when the ball hits the deck, especially in contested situations. He doesn't do a great job of using his body to block and bump defenders out of position. Both Petty and JVR have shown more promise in these areas.

He's seemed like this for a while. I'm not sure its going to change anytime soon. He's still a running machine and I do like him presenting further up the ground. But his mobility just seems so limited for someone who was already a fairly stiff and upright type of player. It does feel like the more athletic types of Petty and JVR are looking more and more likely to be best 22 at the end of the year.

Noting Judd's particular style and movent playing with confidence and some flair when he gets on the move with the ball. Is there a player he looked to base his game on? Someone that influenced him in the way they played?

Where did the nickname 'Knuckle' originate?

Still two rucks vs one whose still finding his fitness and feet in a new side. Grundy will hold his own and most likely beat both for hitouts but its having to cover ground to make them accountable both forward and back thats the issue. Grundy looks great in the stoppages/ball ups/throw-ins but quite vulnerable covering the ground still. Even two lesser rucks can take advantage of this.

I hope Gawn is back in (yes yes if fit etc.) Grundy did well in the two games we won against the opposition playing one, single, less adequate ruck: Ladhams (SYD) and Williams (WC) However playing against two decent rucks proved problematic in both games we lost against Bris and Essendon. Seems Tigers are sticking to playing with two Rucks even if Nank is out. So I image similar tactics that were used and explained by Essendon post match to target Grundy will again be used if he goes alone. Food for thought.

I haven't been able to get down to watch a Casey game yet. For Casey Track watchers: How has Turner been performing? I am really keen to have Turner or Schache really make their case as the third tall down back. I am one of the Petty forward heads. I just think he gives us more physicality and is better when the ball hits the deck. Would like to see him spend more time there to settle a bit and form some chemistry with the other forwards

@binman to add to your basketball example another thing that teams do is create a zone in their back 50 by guarding space. Wings and mids will drop into the shallower parts of the 50m line to cut off short passes inside and block leading paths while halfbacks fill the pockets etc. I loathe the groans from the Melbourne fans when we bomb it long in these situations as they don't realise its mostly to avoid turnovers off shorter kicks which can really kill you now with how well most oppositions transition the ball. We're always looking for ground balls in these situations so the deeper the better. Going back to shots on goal. There's a few players you would prefer not to blaze away too often. But the likes of Bayley, Kozzie, Spargo, Trac, Chandler and a few others are all fine to take shots within their range. They literally practice and train for this all week. Plus a behind still gives us a chance to set up and try to win the ball back and lock it in.

You've also heard Ethan's guess?

I won't comment about other posters opinions of Oskar's on here (mainly because I don't care that much). But in terms of your last statement, I think you're assuming a bit too much. I saw a few Casey games in person last year where Oskar performed well. He certainly took the next step in his development and was fairly consistent from what I saw and the reports all year. The one thing I did notice often was his running/tank potentially wasn't up to standard. With wing being his best and most suited role that would be an issue but who knows if there were other reasons he wasn't selected for starting 22 last year. Also, unfortunately, there were others the coaching department preferred playing his wing/flank role they preferred. JJ, Brayshaw, Sparrow and the likes were and are just more complete players at this stage I think. Baker was actually de-listed after the trade period ended. Clearly, the acquisition of Hunter who would be considered one of the better and proven wings in the league played a part. Also with JJ and the others already mentioned it would seem Oskar might have had go even further down the pecking order and there just wasn't room for him with new players and draftees coming in. I'm glad he's getting his opportunity at the dogs and hope he can continue to play well. But I just don't see him playing in our best 22 this year with the amount of depth we have.

This is HUGE. Will be a star.

@Demon Dynasty Yeah so yourself and a few others missed the original point I made. To quote myself in previous post 'When I said he looked down I didn't mean his form. He was brilliant on the weekend!' And he has been all season in the games he played. The point myself and others have noted is that while he played a fantastic game, he didn't look himself emotionally. We're used to a more charismatic Kozzy on field that smiles and gets pumped up. He looked flat and not as engaged with teammates which is odd for him.

Echoing my thoughts as well. Lets enjoy him while he's here!