Prediction Who will finish higher - Western Bulldogs, Fremantle, Brisbane or St Kilda

[aussierulesrules]

I'll admit I don't have a good grasp of the effects of type 1 diabetes but I know multiple people with the condition who are extremely fit and lean.

I'd accept the training loads restrictions as an excuse if it was just his tank but he's just plain fat for an elite athlete and I don't diabetes is an excuse for eating too much.

No doubt Diabetes combined with concussions and the pressure of being a number one pick is a lot to manage for a young bloke but he should be held to the same standards as his teammates.

I've heard the "I know people with diabetes who are extremely fit" argument before, but it's one thing being extremely fit with it when you're setting your own program, based around your diabetes management, where you can just go out and say run 5km a day and get into a routine and rhythm with it and easily work out how much insulin and so-on you need, because you're doing the same thing at the same intensity every day, but it would be a whole different ballgame when you're talking about training for AFL team, where they're not just going out and training the same way and at the same intensity and so-on every day, and then they're going out once matches start and playing at the highest level of intensity.

I would suggest that it's a lot harder to get into a routine with that, where you're not the one who's able to set what you do and when you do it and keep it consistent with that, to make it easier to manage. Instead you're having to work in with their program, which is not based around making it easy for someone who has diabetes to get into a consistent routine that's predictable and so-on.

Hence taking until only recently where the club said they finally felt like he had his diabetes management down pat, resulting in him now being in much better shape and moving much better.

 

[Ambrosia]

I've heard the "I know people with diabetes who are extremely fit" argument before, but it's one thing being extremely fit with it when you're setting your own program, based around your diabetes management, where you can just go out and say run 5km a day and get into a routine and rhythm with it and easily work out how much insulin and so-on you need, because you're doing the same thing at the same intensity every day, but it would be a whole different ballgame when you're talking about training for AFL team, where they're not just going out and training the same way and at the same intensity and so-on every day, and then they're going out once matches start and playing at the highest level of intensity.

I would suggest that it's a lot harder to get into a routine with that, where you're not the one who's able to set what you do and when you do it and keep it consistent with that, to make it easier to manage. Instead you're having to work in with their program, which is not based around making it easy for someone who has diabetes to get into a consistent routine that's predictable and so-on.

Hence taking until only recently where the club said they finally felt like he had his diabetes management down pat, resulting in him now being in much better shape and moving much better.

None of that excuses him being overweight which is a dietary not training issue.

 

[Nunez]

None of that excuses him being overweight which is a dietary not training issue.

Are you a diabetes specialist, or at the very least a doctor or nutritionist?

If not, I'm not sure how you can make an assumption and try to pass it off as fact.

 

[RetroRandy66]

Saints are going to shock everyone by the looks of it.
We will finish 8th. These other teams wont make finals. People havent done their research. We have a good overall team where 6-6-6 helps is a lot. New coaches and facilities. Steele will become elite mid. Good luck stopping our run and brigade of gun forwards

 

[Ambrosia]

Are you a diabetes specialist, or at the very least a doctor or nutritionist?

If not, I'm not sure how you can make an assumption and try to pass it off as fact.

Doctor or nutritionist? Weight loss/management isn't rocket science.

Diabetes is the body not producing insulin and affects blood sugar levels - it's a fair reason for reduced work capacity and problems with fatigue. It's not however an excuse to eat too many pies calories especially in a professional environment with access to a club nutritionist/dietician.

It's all likely a moot point though as surely his concussions are getting to the point where the safe decision is to retire.

 

[Ambrosia]

Saints are going to shock everyone by the looks of it.
We will finish 8th. These other teams wont make finals. People havent done their research. We have a good overall team where 6-6-6 helps is a lot. New coaches and facilities. Steele will become elite mid. Good luck stopping our run and brigade of gun forwards

How are the Saints going to stop the opposition 6 forwards this year?

 

[RetroRandy66]

How are the Saints going to stop the opposition 6 forwards this year?

NBrown, Roberton, Webster, Battle, Geary and Savage

 

[joop]

None of that excuses him being overweight which is a dietary not training issue.

Pretty stupid thing to say really. Its pretty clear and has been mentioned before that the diabetes has something to do with his weight. He's not just sitting at home eating junk food.

 

[aussierulesrules]

.

Doctor or nutritionist? Weight loss/management isn't rocket science.

No-one's suggesting it is, but that doesn't mean it's as simple as you're implying it is when you throw something as serious as diabetes into the mix, and you then have to learn how to manage it while training with an elite sporting team, who's general training program is not tailored to someone with diabetes.

Again, apparently a lot if not all of his weight gain has been from having to eat sugary things to keep his blood-sugar levels where they need to be when the matches and training intensity really amp up.

That's very bloody different from someone being unprofessional or undisciplined and sitting around "eating pies", as you implied, and I reckon that's a really ordinary thing to be saying about someone under these circumstances, unless you know them personally and have seen it for yourself, or know someone who's very close to him who wouldn't make such a thing up.

 

[estibador]

Isn't there another player with diabetes? Perhaps a different type though. Type 2 is a delicate balancing act

I doubt we'll ever see a player with Type 2 diabetes... not until after they retire anyway.

 

[Milanista28]

I wanna bag the Doggies for wearing this Thor themed kit in round 1 but i am scared Essendon would do something similar.

Absolutely ridiculous

 

[ManOfClay]

Saints are going to shock everyone by the looks of it.
We will finish 8th. These other teams wont make finals. People havent done their research. We have a good overall team where 6-6-6 helps is a lot. New coaches and facilities. Steele will become elite mid. Good luck stopping our run and brigade of gun forwards

WSmith is back

 

[Black Stripe]

I know GWS fans are new to this, but JLT form really means nothing. St Kilda treated it like their Grand Final, which is why they sung the song after both games.

That being said, something about Brisbane smells good this year. Their team looks pretty complete, and I think they could easily make the finals.

Bulldogs were closer to full strength than St Kilda when they played each other in JLT2 and they had 3x more free kicks than St Kilda.

Game was in Ballarat too which is the Bulldogs second home ground where as St Kilda have never played there.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Bulldogs were closer to full strength than St Kilda when they played each other in JLT2 and they had 3x more free kicks than St Kilda.

Game was in Ballarat too which is the Bulldogs second home ground where as St Kilda have never played there.

They were also playing to win, according to Caleb Daniel.

So much so that at half time he said they had spoken about it (pre game presumably) and believed it was as important as R1.

Further evidence that they were playing to win was in their pressure numbers. Went up from 168 in the 3rd quarter to an elite 208 in the last.

On top of the free kick count being 40-14, they also reportedly got a whopping 9 frees inside their F50!!

So I think it was further evidence that we're back closer to the team we were in 2016/17 than 2018.

A lot will depend on what happens with Roberton though. He's been probably our best across the JLT and intra games.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

Dogs forward line delivery is too s**t unfortunately

 

[PCORF]

I think all 4 teams will miss the finals in 2019 with Brisbane finishing the highest of them.

 

[bungalow_bill]

Dogs forward line delivery is too s**t unfortunately

How's Schache travelling?

 

[BallaratBulldog]

How's Schache travelling?

Kicked 17 goals from 13 games. Could get 30 with an entire year. Seems to compete well, maybe a better tank for some of those second and third efforts because he does intially work hard up the ground too.

 

[Virgin Dog]

How's Schache travelling?

Finished the year averaging around 1.7 goals/game, which puts him in the range of 35-40 if he had sustained that over the whole of 2018. Kicked two goals in the one JLT game he played (kicked 2.2 from 5 scoring shots, including an out on the full). Seems a bit rusty, but I think he's developing fairly well. Will never be our number 1 target I feel, but I think he's on track to become a serviceable 2 goal/game forward in the long term. Overall still a way to go, but I'm pretty happy with where he's at

 

[Ian Dunross]

If McCartin stays out, be interesting if they switch Battle back up forward

 

[Mofra]

If McCartin stays out, be interesting if they switch Battle back up forward

Would they be forced to play him back until Brown's suspension is over? Membrey plays tall and Bruce is a legitimate target so you could get away with it.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Would they be forced to play him back until Brown's suspension is over? Membrey plays tall and Bruce is a legitimate target so you could get away with it.

The most obvious move if we want to maintain that structure is to move Marshall back to the forwardline (where he mainly played last year) and put Pierce back in the ruck.

Pierce was picked ahead of Marshall for the ruck duties in JLT1, but got concussed and sat out this week, opening the door for Marshall to play, and go well.

You could make a decent argument that Marshall gives us at least as much as Paddy up forward, given he applies much more pressure, has a bigger tank and gives us a genuine 2nd ruck option (which means we're much less likely to need to ruck Bruce).

 

[99cents]

I wanna bag the Doggies for wearing this Thor themed kit in round 1 but i am scared Essendon would do something similar.

Absolutely ridiculous

First it was "Whiskers" Hocking, then the "Paddle Pop Lions", now "Thor" dogs.
The Kokoda hawks jersey might have a challenger

 

[Diehard Saint]

Would they be forced to play him back until Brown's suspension is over? Membrey plays tall and Bruce is a legitimate target so you could get away with it.

Brown’s only got one week, so not such a train smash.

It also appears we are likely picking up ex Pies defender Jonathan Marsh in this pre season draft, so maybe he’s a possibility. Has apparently got over his issues that made him retire prematurely and go back home and is raring to go.

If Paddy is out long term we do have Marshall to go forward but it also wouldn’t be a big surprise to see Battle go back there where he started.

 

[Chaisa]

Would they be forced to play him back until Brown's suspension is over? Membrey plays tall and Bruce is a legitimate target so you could get away with it.

Isn't that only one game?

But yeah even sans McCartin they still have Membrey, Bruce and Marshall.