deelusions from afar

That was an incredible year. Many people seem to forget though that we were struggling mid year with a few big injuries and had more losses than wins - I think we got belted by a rapant by a Kouta lead Carlton by about 100 points in early June before Farmer's 9 goal second half on Queens birthday lit a spark in our season where we won every game from then on (bar a close loss to North) until the grand final.

Agree with most of this - I think M Brown didn't contribute in a big way in terms of defensive pressure so can make one of them as you say. I reckon they will want to wait a week to try a forward line with Weid, Brown, Jackon and Fritsch and play TMac on the wing - if it works against the roos, they'll see how it goes against the swans. I think TMac on the wing could go either way - most wingers will not have the size or aerial capacity to go with him but he will be a liability if he's on someone with good pace.

Surely only one of Weid / BBB come in at a time - sounds like Weid is ready so Mitch Brown will have to make way. May and Fritsch would come straight back but I don't think either would be ready. Jones deserves the 300 but can't see him staying in the team for much longer - Harmes, Bedford, Chandler, Sparrow all offer more. It might even be a case of TMac moving to the wing and Brayshaw filling Jones' role. Interesting times!

Thanks for the reports guys. For those that watched it what positions did Weid and BBB play. Did Weid play full forward (out of the goal square) or did they change it up. TMac seems to be playing further up the ground so it probably makes sense if Weid play close to goal if he comes in.

Match against the Hawks is a good test with May and Fritsch out. May is well known for his one-one-one ability to defend and outmark but his kicking is also critical for us when we have the ball - he regularly takes our kick ins and often gets us going with his long precise kicking. Hibberd can do this but won't have the height needed when coming up against teams with multiple key talls. Similarly fritsch is well known for his marking ability but his pressure and tackling has gone up a few levels this year. I don't think any of our options do both. Good teams can adjust to this and find a way for their system to get the job done and I am confident we will - but until we see it, it's an unknown. Re your comments about what RIchmond did - I think we're not far off doing that in all in wins. We've had so mnay more shots on goal than the opposition - if we had kicked straight everyone would say we look unstoppable atm.

Great post - agree 100%. Would kind of like to see them give more ruck time to Jacko, play Gawn forward and see how Chandler could go in our forward rotation.

It makes sense, I just get the feeling that they have players playing particular roles - someone like Petty who doesn't have great experience at senior level they would probably want to get comfortable playing in a defence with Thomlinson and Lever etc - particularly if he's going up against Lynch and co the following week.

Mitch Brown or Majak surely - I don't think TMac and Jacko can carry the forward line (unless they planned to give Jacko more time in the ruck and Gawn more time forward)

I think I'm more just trying to manage expectations - things are never as good / bad as you think they are. I agree, there does seem to be something different this year - the selflessness, the stars maturing, the evenness of the team effort etc. The team seems to have a steely resolve - I have a feeling many of the confident people here won't match the steely resolve when we lose when they expect us to win.

Thanks. I hope you're right re Harmes. He was one of my favourite players in 2018 (and before) but seems to have lost his way since being sent to defence. I think his tactics of pushing the player he was tagging into the contest also got a bit more attention from the umpires after 2018. He has the attributes to be a real asset - tough, quick, can run both ways, strong in the air and a goal kicker. But I feel like his disposal lets him down a bit and maybe he's lost a bit of confidence. I'd probably have him fighting for a spot with Sparrow, Jordon and Jones atm. But I suspect the first two in particular are making a big difference to the team largely to their efforts when they don't have the ball. Can Harmes do the same? I don't know. While he has shown he can tag - it seems like Viney is more likely to get this role these days. Can he do what Viney's doing as a pressure forward? Don't know - but I suspect he will need to show he can if he's to stay in the team as the centre square is already pretty chockers! As I say - I've been a big fan of Harmes so hope they can find a role for him to get the best out of himself

I love Brayshaw and Viney (love all our players) so would hate to see one of them leave. But I had said a number of times that we have a surplus of inside mids and the lack of outside run is the thing that is hurting us. So at the end of last year, if that was difference between us succeeding or not, I thought we should have looked at it - I thought moreso it would be Harmes or Brayshaw. The signs are really good so far and I hope more than anything it continues. But we will lose matches this year and our flaws will be exposed (every team has them). Will all the love still be here when that happens or if we drop a few in a row? I hope people will not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I still think Brayshaw has played his best football as an inside mid and so for him to play on the wing or a flank is not only a sacrifice for the team - but also for his own career. But maybe that's what he and the club want. It is definitely working better than I thought it would in the preseason. I am very intrigued when Brown and potentially Weid come back, will TMac be fighting with Brayshaw for the wing position? And does anyone have Harmes in their best 22 anymore? What excited me most about the last few weeks on this issue (too many inside mids in the team) is that Viney has shown he can play a damaging role as a manic pressure forward when he's not on ball. I think most of us thought he could do it, but I don't think we'd seen it consistently prior to this year. Just like we'd want from Oliver, if our main mids can cause havoc when played forward it adds new weapons to the coach's kitbag that many teams don't have.

I reckon if Oliver could average almost a goal a game it would change how he is viewed. He had three very gettable shots against GWS - if the perception is that if he is tagged he either beats the tag or goes forward and kicks goals, then it makes him and Petracca almost untaggable.

Thanks GOTO - as per your rolling update in the first post, this is the highest number we've had at this time of year except for 2019 (which we were riding a membership wave from the previous year's success). 2019 was the only time we cracked the 50k mark. We seem like a decent chance to do this this year - especially if we can keep winning! Would be a huge effort in the covid era

Agree - but given what others have said here, he's a restricted free agent which means Essendon could match the offer - which would mean he would have to be paid a lot since (with a few of their big names gone) they could afford to pay him heaps! Intrigued how other clubs have done this in the past - eg stories where they've all taken a pay cut - how would this work? Would they all be asked if they'd be willing to take a 3-5% cut to allow them to bring a big name in? Would they only discuss this with the highest paid players? Would they just factor this in with players that are out of contract? I wonder if someone like Brayshaw would be wrapped to bring in a player like Merrett if he essentially takes his current position?

He would be a great get - but can't see it happening. With Gawn, Oliver, Petracca, Brown, May and Lever there's a lot of players on decent coin - plus the likes of TMac and Brayshaw who I think signed after big seasons. We'd have to off-load some big names and I think given the work they've put into bringing the group together, trading someone like Harmes or Brayshaw might really disrupt the group.

So is your prediction Jnr! I hope it can continue - I'm a little bit of a sceptic though. I think part of the reason why he got moved from the backline was that after 2016/2017 other teams did their homework on him. Obviously part of this related to his kicks that didn't necessarily hit targets... but I think they also worked out ways to lessen his impact. After his injury in the 70m torp game against the crows (i think) he seemed to also lose confidence when he returned. However, this year, he's looking confident, the rules suit him, he's improved his kicking reliability significantly and hopefully has enough other talented teammates that attract as much of the opposition's attention (if he keeps playing the way he is, it will come). Definitely an asset to the side - it's amazing that once you have him, Langdon and Kozzie in the side, outsiders talk us up as a "fast" team. It's a nice change!

I'll give it a go Jetta May Lever Rivers Tomlinson Salem Brayshaw Oliver Langdon Pickett TMac ANB Fritsch Brown Spargo Gawn Petracca Viney Hunt Jordon Melksham Jackson Em: Weid Harmes Sparrow Hibberd A lot of tough calls to be made - most likely we will have a few injuries along the way so the depth will be needed. If Petty comes in for May, it will be interesting if he comes in and we don't miss a beat down back (which I think is possible - I rate Petty). TMac deserves to be in the side on form - at the start of the season I would have had Weid there. Can TMac play the wing as he trained for over summer? If so, where does Brayshaw go? Back? But who of the back 7 go out? And is Brown, Weid, Jacko, Tmac too tall in a team with Gawn and Fritsch (plus the key defenders)? Amazing to think that the likes of Harmes and Hibberd aren't in my best 22 - although if they manage to break into the side through the season I think there's a good chance they'll stay in. We seem to be in great shape with options to fill every position - would love to see the draftees get a taste but it's going to be tough to get them in if the team keeps playing how they are. I guess having them develop at Casey is not the worst thing!

So how does this work - if he doesn't go in the top 20, we just have to have enough points to cover wherever he is bid on? And if no one bids we can take him with our last pick?

It might be a weekly exercise as clearly we both see this differently but I feel like you use every opportunity to kick goody - if we lose you'll say it's his fault and if we win it's thanks to Williams and Yze. Last year was the same game plan - its just being executed better. So sure - this is partly to do with the impact of Williams and Yze, but there a myriad of other factors (unrelated to Williams and Yze) that have contributed to our improvement this year. eg Fitness - last year we trained for one thing (to be fitter than everyone else) and then the parametres changed with Covid. We have a number of endurance specialists (Langdon, ANB, TMac, Tomlinson etc) who are all playing big roles this year. I don't think this is a coincidence. We have competition for spots - this is a combination of a solid pre-season, low number of injuries and development of younger players. In previous years Hibberd would not be spending so many weeks in the VFL - he would be straight in. Our personnel gives us greater flexibility - Jackson was growing in confidence last year and then went down with an injury. Having him fit allows Gawn to cover forward or back when needed. Similarly the likes of likes of Spargo and Kozzie are stronger, fitter and able to provide the manic forward half pressure and good ball use consistently - we were crying out for this last year. I've been critical of Goodwin like many on here but hate it when people take pot shots and back it up with things they can't possibly know. What I did notice last year was that the players (surprisingly) love Goody and play for him - this is evident particularly in longer interviews where the players talk about all the extra things he is doing to ensure they are better players and better people. So Williams and Yze might be providing a lot of the difference - I imagine the players would listen when they have something to say (much more than some of our previous assistants). But to me this year we are building on what we were doing last year - same game plan with a fitter, more experienced and confidence group of players.

Poor guy. My vote is for Petty

Best start since '94... surely this must do wonders for membership. If we are able to get over the Hawks we will head in to the ANZAC eve match against the premiers 5-0, Jonesy's 300th with a likely return for Ben Brown. Marketers dream!

I think I'll hold fire on the Melksham decision until after the game. Think its harsh on Sparrow but a fit and firing Melksham (2018 version) gives us another weapon that the opposition have to put time into. He's quick, capable of great ball use that most in our side are not and a goal kicker. He hasn't had to fight for his spot the last 2 years but if plays how he has in 2019-2020 then I can't see him staying in the side. Will be interesting to see how he approaches this. The fact that its wet today doesn't bother me - often the highly skilled players skills stand out in the wet.

It's a nice change to read these stories and think "wow what a good player he'd be here" rather than "yeah but he wouldn't be the same player if he had of been drafted to us" which always used to be said about players we previously decide not to pick (Nik Nat, Martin, Fyfe etc)

Partly right.... but it is interesting to note that high drawing teams like Collingwood, Carlton and Hawthorn don't have any Fri or Sat night games. The league does appear to be giving better coverage to the teams in the 8. If we keep winning, we'll get more prime time opportunities.

Interesting - my take on this was that either: (a) - Geelong are not fit / know their players are not suited to the fast footy played at the moment. (b) - Geelong are conscious of how taxing the game is and so are about conserving energy as much as possible while banking wins so that they can go up a gear when the whips are cracking. Scott said on FC that they tried to go quicker vs the crows and got burnt which is why they've gone back to what they know. But if we think a coach like Scott is going to publicly give people an idea of their game plan / strategy then we are absolute fools - he wouldn't give people an inch. My sense is that the cats looked cooked - even with some quality to come back into the side, it looks like age is catching up with them. But my fear is that it is more option b - and even if we knock them over now they are all about timing their run. Having said that, the fact we have so many players fit and ready to come into the side is going to make a huge difference from the middle of the season onwards.