The Demon 2565

The way we've been playing over the last 6 weeks relies on setting up our attacks from defence - I think I read somewhere that we scored 100+ points from turnovers against the blues and the crows? That's why guys like Frost and Hunt can't get a game (aside from the obvious fact that turnovers close to your goal are more likely to result in a goal against), their turnovers kicking the ball up the line will rob us of the momentum when moving the ball forward Pedo is a reliable kick but not necessarily a damaging one. In terms of a floating or intercept defender he's a good option in the sense that he has a good footy brain and decent size, but collingwood has quite a mobile midfield these days so safe kicks out of defense are likely to be shut down. Weid could be an inspired choice, will force him into more contests etc., but big risk to trial someone is a position they've never played in such a crucial game (win this week and we have a genuine claim on top 4 contention) I don't know enough about the current form of guys down at Casey, but Smith certainly struck me as one with the right attacking mindset in his brief exposure at the top level. As others have commented, his basketball background is a real asset as far as fitting into a team structure goes, and he 'plays tall' as the cliche goes so his size won't be a problem - the Pies most dangerous forwards are all mid-sized too so athleticism is much more important than height is for this game at least Wagner showed a bit early in the year, and I don't recall recoiling in horror when he disposed of the ball so that at least has him ahead of Frost, so I think he could be another worth considering. Keilty and Petty to debut on the big stage seems an unnecessary risk *cough* Watts in 2009 *cough* when there are other options who have a genuine claim to the position and exposure at the top level already Obviously Plan A will be to dominate them out of the middle and not give our defenders too much work to do, but Grundy is in excellent form at the moment so they will be getting their fair share of opportunities from stoppages, not to mention their own ability to move the ball quickly from turnovers

Nibali had mounted a couple of late attacks on the final climb which destroyed the main pack and dropped off the other Sky support riders (massive effort from Rogers) leaving basically Wiggins, Froome, Cadel, TJ and Schleck in an all star chase group. don't think there was any big move that broke Cadel (if there was, the coverage missed it), he just dropped off in the end. TJ dropped off to try and bring him back in touch with Wiggins, but Cadel looked absolutely destroyed and to be honest in the end was probably lucky to only lose the 1 min 20 odd that he did. TJ was looking strong, and it would have been a great opportunity to attack general apology for probable misspelling of names

At least he is going down swinging and actually trying to create an opening, rather than sitting on chief's wheel and waiting for one. Such a shame that his legs deserted him at the end, was in a prime position with the young fella who looked like he had plenty left in reserve. Given how it played out though I suspect froome would have rained on their parade - he looks in better nick than wiggo!

I'm with you IRW, it's over

Not discounting the Aussie coloured glasses we're all wearing, but that works both ways re the British sites Would like to see a bit more aggression from Evans. 2nd mountain stage in a row with a big voeckler (sp?) attack that he hasn't gone with. Could be a handy partner in crime

Yep, Sky's approach of effectively sacrificing blokes who could otherwise be contenders (certainly stage winners) in their own right to run down any challenge (not just Evans) is looking for all intents and purposes unstoppable. Still ain't over but right now luck looks to be Evans' only chance

didn't stay up last night, disappointed to hear the results this morning. long way back from here, will take a major attack probably with help from a couple of rivals, plus a whole lot of luck. not impossible, but given how strong Sky have looked so far coupled with Chief's domination last night, well...

fellow armchair expert here. interesting comment from Cadel after last night's stage that he is anticipating getting a little help from rivals of previous years looking to make up time. early days still but it would be nice to see someone from BMC going with him on the climbs. Think their young guy tried to go with the attack at the end and got left behind, which is a worry. Having said that he managed last year without the same level of support on the flats let alone the hills, not to mention that monster effort on one of the latter climbs to burn off both Schlecks, you'd reckon that he'd be relatively comfortable with where he is sitting for now makes tonight all the more important, goes without saying that he will have to keep any loss of time to a minimum

Good sign for Evans there that he was able to ride past wiggins who couldnt go with despite the extra support he had from his team, surprise finish from froome indeed. Dark horse? Hopefully BMC can stick around to the pointy end on future climbs, Sky look much stronger

they have been advertising an official tdf app available on both iPhone and android. Not sure if it's free or paid though

Well that was eventful! So long Schlek, well done by Evans and wiggins to stay out of trouble Shame green edge went missing at the end after doing the hard yards, Sagan is a dead set freak Looking forward to tomorrow night

impressed with Goss last night, positioned himself well to take out the mid-stage sprint and wasn't far off it at the finish despite seeming to get caught in a bit of traffic. Cavendish ain't no slouch, either early days but BMC are looking very organised, looking forward to seeing how they perform tonight