Review Round 1 vs West Coast Eagles, Optus Stadium, Sunday March 20, 4:40pm AWST
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Sunny_
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West Coast again over there?? How come they rarely play us at home?
Painful
Painful
RowellAnderson12
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Winnable game,
We got a fit and firing squad.
Eagles have had surgeries to key players so may be underdone. Kennedy hurn Shuey on their last legs, McGovern coming back from hip surgery and Shephard retiring. Not much of their young kids have had a Exposure.
Excited
We got a fit and firing squad.
Eagles have had surgeries to key players so may be underdone. Kennedy hurn Shuey on their last legs, McGovern coming back from hip surgery and Shephard retiring. Not much of their young kids have had a Exposure.
Excited
Which West Coast players are coming off surgeries? They drafted an outside mid in Campbell Chesser with pick 14 this year but he is coming off a meniscus injury and even if he does play in round 1, you wouldn't expect much from a debutant. The rest of their picks were outside the top 30 and probably won't have any bearing on this game.
Definitely winnable. We were ahead in the fourth quarter against them at Optus this year (without Rowell) so the boys shouldn't be intimidated by the prospect of playing West Coast in Perth anymore. If we were a little more composed/experienced then we would have beaten them in the same fixture this year but next year is going to be a different story with our younger guys having another year of development and games pumped into them as well as bringing in other mature recruits who are likely to play like Chol/Casboult. Then we have our AA star Touk Miller who had a quiet game against them in round 1 this year and we've got a few younger guys that look ready to explode whereas West Coast really are on the way down with their ageing list. Here is our team that took on the Eagles at Optus this year:
FB: Budarick, Collins, Lemmens
HB: Bowes, Ballard, Markov
C: Ellis, Greenwood, Lukosius
HF: Swallow, Day, Weller
FF: Rankine, King, MacPherson
Fol: Witts, Rowell, Miller
INT: Sexton, Brodie, Anderson, Powell
SUB: Holman
Greenwood and Brodie are obviously out of that team and I would guess will be replaced by Bowes and Davies (Fiorini gets in the midfield rotation too). IMO Jeffrey replaces MacPherson in the forward line, Powell replaces Bowes in the back line, Bowes moves into the midfield rotation by replacing Brodie, Davies likely also gets into the midfield rotation by replacing Greenwood, Sharp replaces Lukosius on the wing, Luko replaces Weller in the forward line, Chol pushes Day into the backline, Lemmens probably misses out for Day to provide coverage of West Coast's three tall forward line, Fiorini probably gets in ahead of a guy like Holman and I think Hollands finds a way into that team as well. It's going to be a tight squeeze for spots so guys like Lemmens and Holman will have to work extra hard to get in!
The guy that actually killed us in round 1 this year was Oscar Allen. Collins and Ballard were busy covering Darling and Kennedy so we had an undersized 187cm Bowes playing as a key defender on 194cm Oscar Allen and it was just too much for young Jack to keep up with. Fortunately we have taller options this time around with Day, Chol, Casboult and potentially even Big Mac able to swing into the backline and cover their third tall forward. Put Day on Allen and I bet he doesn't kick four goals this time around! Rory is a wildcard here as well because if he's fit and able to play then Ballas can play more as a loose tall and Collins can play more of an intercepting tall role, which is the preferred option for both of those guys.
To be fair, they did play us at Metricon in round 2 last year and spent over a month living on the Gold Coast. I would suggest it has more to do with the AFL wanting West Coast to play in Brisbane over the last few years because both have been finals teams in recent year and it's better for the game in Queensland to have bigger fixtures involving two finals teams. In the eyes of the AFL, having West Coast play us at Metricon instead of Brisbane at the Gabba would be a waster opportunity. To be honest the round 23 fixture between Brisbane and West Coast really was must see TV this year! Also, it's not really fair on QLD or WA teams to go cross country more than once a year (even though it does happen some years) so I'm sure they try to avoid it when they can.
If you wanted to go full conspiracy theorist on it then you would say the AFL are looking after West Coast because they've only ever beaten us once at Metricon and that was eight years ago. We've either won or drawn every other game against the Eagles at Metricon despite them being highly fancied team in each of those fixtures. But I don't believe that conspiracy theory
I think they just want big fixtures at the Gabba while the Lions are playing finals.
RowellAnderson12
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Which West Coast players are coming off surgeries? They drafted an outside mid in Campbell Chesser with pick 14 this year but he is coming off a meniscus injury and even if he does play in round 1, you wouldn't expect much from a debutant. The rest of their picks were outside the top 30 and probably won't have any bearing on this game.
Definitely winnable. We were ahead in the fourth quarter against them at Optus this year (without Rowell) so the boys shouldn't be intimidated by the prospect of playing West Coast in Perth anymore. If we were a little more composed/experienced then we would have beaten them in the same fixture this year but next year is going to be a different story with our younger guys having another year of development and games pumped into them as well as bringing in other mature recruits who are likely to play like Chol/Casboult. Then we have our AA star Touk Miller who had a quiet game against them in round 1 this year and we've got a few younger guys that look ready to explode whereas West Coast really are on the way down with their ageing list. Here is our team that took on the Eagles at Optus this year:
FB: Budarick, Collins, Lemmens
HB: Bowes, Ballard, Markov
C: Ellis, Greenwood, Lukosius
HF: Swallow, Day, Weller
FF: Rankine, King, MacPherson
Fol: Witts, Rowell, Miller
INT: Sexton, Brodie, Anderson, Powell
SUB: Holman
Greenwood and Brodie are obviously out of that team and I would guess will be replaced by Bowes and Davies (Fiorini gets in the midfield rotation too). IMO Jeffrey replaces MacPherson in the forward line, Powell replaces Bowes in the back line, Bowes moves into the midfield rotation by replacing Brodie, Davies likely also gets into the midfield rotation by replacing Greenwood, Sharp replaces Lukosius on the wing, Luko replaces Weller in the forward line, Chol pushes Day into the backline, Lemmens probably misses out for Day to provide coverage of West Coast's three tall forward line, Fiorini probably gets in ahead of a guy like Holman and I think Hollands finds a way into that team as well. It's going to be a tight squeeze for spots so guys like Lemmens and Holman will have to work extra hard to get in!
The guy that actually killed us in round 1 this year was Oscar Allen. Collins and Ballard were busy covering Darling and Kennedy so we had an undersized 187cm Bowes playing as a key defender on 194cm Oscar Allen and it was just too much for young Jack to keep up with. Fortunately we have taller options this time around with Day, Chol, Casboult and potentially even Big Mac able to swing into the backline and cover their third tall forward. Put Day on Allen and I bet he doesn't kick four goals this time around! Rory is a wildcard here as well because if he's fit and able to play then Ballas can play more as a loose tall and Collins can play more of an intercepting tall role, which is the preferred option for both of those guys.
To be fair, they did play us at Metricon in round 2 last year and spent over a month living on the Gold Coast. I would suggest it has more to do with the AFL wanting West Coast to play in Brisbane over the last few years because both have been finals teams in recent year and it's better for the game in Queensland to have bigger fixtures involving two finals teams. In the eyes of the AFL, having West Coast play us at Metricon instead of Brisbane at the Gabba would be a waster opportunity. To be honest the round 23 fixture between Brisbane and West Coast really was must see TV this year! Also, it's not really fair on QLD or WA teams to go cross country more than once a year (even though it does happen some years) so I'm sure they try to avoid it when they can.
If you wanted to go full conspiracy theorist on it then you would say the AFL are looking after West Coast because they've only ever beaten us once at Metricon and that was eight years ago. We've either won or drawn every other game against the Eagles at Metricon despite them being highly fancied team in each of those fixtures. But I don't believe that conspiracy theoryI think they just want big fixtures at the Gabba while the Lions are playing finals.
I think they just want big fixtures at the Gabba while the Lions are playing finals.
Pretty sure Oscar Allen And Jeremy McGovern had surgeries. Pretty sure was a few more. Jack redden shoulder is busted too. Kennedy and Hurn will be managed all year so won’t be raring to go
RowellAnderson12
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Which West Coast players are coming off surgeries? They drafted an outside mid in Campbell Chesser with pick 14 this year but he is coming off a meniscus injury and even if he does play in round 1, you wouldn't expect much from a debutant. The rest of their picks were outside the top 30 and probably won't have any bearing on this game.
Definitely winnable. We were ahead in the fourth quarter against them at Optus this year (without Rowell) so the boys shouldn't be intimidated by the prospect of playing West Coast in Perth anymore. If we were a little more composed/experienced then we would have beaten them in the same fixture this year but next year is going to be a different story with our younger guys having another year of development and games pumped into them as well as bringing in other mature recruits who are likely to play like Chol/Casboult. Then we have our AA star Touk Miller who had a quiet game against them in round 1 this year and we've got a few younger guys that look ready to explode whereas West Coast really are on the way down with their ageing list. Here is our team that took on the Eagles at Optus this year:
FB: Budarick, Collins, Lemmens
HB: Bowes, Ballard, Markov
C: Ellis, Greenwood, Lukosius
HF: Swallow, Day, Weller
FF: Rankine, King, MacPherson
Fol: Witts, Rowell, Miller
INT: Sexton, Brodie, Anderson, Powell
SUB: Holman
Greenwood and Brodie are obviously out of that team and I would guess will be replaced by Bowes and Davies (Fiorini gets in the midfield rotation too). IMO Jeffrey replaces MacPherson in the forward line, Powell replaces Bowes in the back line, Bowes moves into the midfield rotation by replacing Brodie, Davies likely also gets into the midfield rotation by replacing Greenwood, Sharp replaces Lukosius on the wing, Luko replaces Weller in the forward line, Chol pushes Day into the backline, Lemmens probably misses out for Day to provide coverage of West Coast's three tall forward line, Fiorini probably gets in ahead of a guy like Holman and I think Hollands finds a way into that team as well. It's going to be a tight squeeze for spots so guys like Lemmens and Holman will have to work extra hard to get in!
The guy that actually killed us in round 1 this year was Oscar Allen. Collins and Ballard were busy covering Darling and Kennedy so we had an undersized 187cm Bowes playing as a key defender on 194cm Oscar Allen and it was just too much for young Jack to keep up with. Fortunately we have taller options this time around with Day, Chol, Casboult and potentially even Big Mac able to swing into the backline and cover their third tall forward. Put Day on Allen and I bet he doesn't kick four goals this time around! Rory is a wildcard here as well because if he's fit and able to play then Ballas can play more as a loose tall and Collins can play more of an intercepting tall role, which is the preferred option for both of those guys.
To be fair, they did play us at Metricon in round 2 last year and spent over a month living on the Gold Coast. I would suggest it has more to do with the AFL wanting West Coast to play in Brisbane over the last few years because both have been finals teams in recent year and it's better for the game in Queensland to have bigger fixtures involving two finals teams. In the eyes of the AFL, having West Coast play us at Metricon instead of Brisbane at the Gabba would be a waster opportunity. To be honest the round 23 fixture between Brisbane and West Coast really was must see TV this year! Also, it's not really fair on QLD or WA teams to go cross country more than once a year (even though it does happen some years) so I'm sure they try to avoid it when they can.
If you wanted to go full conspiracy theorist on it then you would say the AFL are looking after West Coast because they've only ever beaten us once at Metricon and that was eight years ago. We've either won or drawn every other game against the Eagles at Metricon despite them being highly fancied team in each of those fixtures. But I don't believe that conspiracy theory
Need witts and Chol To limit Nic Nat and I’ll be pretty confident we can beat the eagles in the contested football and ball movement.
The eagles at times last year had no forward movement and just chipped it around before bombing it forward.
I feel it's a good opportunity for us. Optus big space suits us. We should be able to spread Eagles and use our speed. We dominated them for large patches of the game last season.Which West Coast players are coming off surgeries? They drafted an outside mid in Campbell Chesser with pick 14 this year but he is coming off a meniscus injury and even if he does play in round 1, you wouldn't expect much from a debutant. The rest of their picks were outside the top 30 and probably won't have any bearing on this game.
Definitely winnable. We were ahead in the fourth quarter against them at Optus this year (without Rowell) so the boys shouldn't be intimidated by the prospect of playing West Coast in Perth anymore. If we were a little more composed/experienced then we would have beaten them in the same fixture this year but next year is going to be a different story with our younger guys having another year of development and games pumped into them as well as bringing in other mature recruits who are likely to play like Chol/Casboult. Then we have our AA star Touk Miller who had a quiet game against them in round 1 this year and we've got a few younger guys that look ready to explode whereas West Coast really are on the way down with their ageing list. Here is our team that took on the Eagles at Optus this year:
FB: Budarick, Collins, Lemmens
HB: Bowes, Ballard, Markov
C: Ellis, Greenwood, Lukosius
HF: Swallow, Day, Weller
FF: Rankine, King, MacPherson
Fol: Witts, Rowell, Miller
INT: Sexton, Brodie, Anderson, Powell
SUB: Holman
Greenwood and Brodie are obviously out of that team and I would guess will be replaced by Bowes and Davies (Fiorini gets in the midfield rotation too). IMO Jeffrey replaces MacPherson in the forward line, Powell replaces Bowes in the back line, Bowes moves into the midfield rotation by replacing Brodie, Davies likely also gets into the midfield rotation by replacing Greenwood, Sharp replaces Lukosius on the wing, Luko replaces Weller in the forward line, Chol pushes Day into the backline, Lemmens probably misses out for Day to provide coverage of West Coast's three tall forward line, Fiorini probably gets in ahead of a guy like Holman and I think Hollands finds a way into that team as well. It's going to be a tight squeeze for spots so guys like Lemmens and Holman will have to work extra hard to get in!
The guy that actually killed us in round 1 this year was Oscar Allen. Collins and Ballard were busy covering Darling and Kennedy so we had an undersized 187cm Bowes playing as a key defender on 194cm Oscar Allen and it was just too much for young Jack to keep up with. Fortunately we have taller options this time around with Day, Chol, Casboult and potentially even Big Mac able to swing into the backline and cover their third tall forward. Put Day on Allen and I bet he doesn't kick four goals this time around! Rory is a wildcard here as well because if he's fit and able to play then Ballas can play more as a loose tall and Collins can play more of an intercepting tall role, which is the preferred option for both of those guys.
To be fair, they did play us at Metricon in round 2 last year and spent over a month living on the Gold Coast. I would suggest it has more to do with the AFL wanting West Coast to play in Brisbane over the last few years because both have been finals teams in recent year and it's better for the game in Queensland to have bigger fixtures involving two finals teams. In the eyes of the AFL, having West Coast play us at Metricon instead of Brisbane at the Gabba would be a waster opportunity. To be honest the round 23 fixture between Brisbane and West Coast really was must see TV this year! Also, it's not really fair on QLD or WA teams to go cross country more than once a year (even though it does happen some years) so I'm sure they try to avoid it when they can.
If you wanted to go full conspiracy theorist on it then you would say the AFL are looking after West Coast because they've only ever beaten us once at Metricon and that was eight years ago. We've either won or drawn every other game against the Eagles at Metricon despite them being highly fancied team in each of those fixtures. But I don't believe that conspiracy theory
There is a decent chance that Witts and Budarick will not be ready round 1 (~11 months post-surgery). It should be interesting to see who will play ruck if Witt is out. Budarick after ACL is not straight in my best 22.
Lemmens is a lock for me. He did a very good job on Liam. Not sure who else could guard him. Nobody probably.
I agree that Allen killed us. Playing Bowes on him definitely did not work. Question is do we bring another tall defender (Thompson?, Day, Graham, Burgess, Casboult) or go with e.g. Farrar. I have doubts about playing Day in defence.
My tip is Fiorini replaces Greenwood. Davies not in best 22.
Holman in. Our best pressure forward. Sexton could be out/emergency.
I would be very surprised to see Casboult in round 1, just emergency depth in my opinion.
No chance Mac playing AFL early, IMHO.
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The Kings Ransom
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Plus reports as of 2 weeks ago 3 of their players haven't been vaccinated yet.
Most West Coast supporters seem to think Jack Darling is one of the unvaccinated players. Darling was their leading goalkicker this year so it would certainly help our cause if they are without him for this game! It would also mean we wouldn't have to drop a guy like Lemmens or Budarick to bring in another tall.
I believe Gaff had ankle surgery.
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I like all your optimism but I still think it will be an L not a W.
There’s still a lot of class and experience on the Eagles list and it is at their home… Kelly, Yeo, McGovern, Barrass, NicNat, Sheed, Ryan etc. Plus Round 1 is three and a half months away, plenty of time for their players in rehab to recover.
We’re a chance if we approach it like George Kambosos Jr. Belief and preparation.
There’s still a lot of class and experience on the Eagles list and it is at their home… Kelly, Yeo, McGovern, Barrass, NicNat, Sheed, Ryan etc. Plus Round 1 is three and a half months away, plenty of time for their players in rehab to recover.
We’re a chance if we approach it like George Kambosos Jr. Belief and preparation.
RowellAnderson12
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Hey north beat eagles at Optus last year, have faith
We had a good crack at them too last season
We are normally competitive against them over there. Will be watching our preseason games leading into this one with interest.
woooooo!
pumped!
pumped!
Easy fix AFL will do is swap this and the return game later in season.
But if eagles and freo forced to hub, it could be their home game but at Adelaide syd
But if eagles and freo forced to hub, it could be their home game but at Adelaide syd
I’m meant to be travelling for this game. Doubt it’ll happen now
As much as a home fixture would be great in round 1, we may be better off playing this one on a neutral ground somewhere else in Australia so we retain our home fixture against the Eagles in round 20 when we are hopefully pushing our case for a finals spot. Obviously that line of thinking completely backfires if we don't perform in the first half of the season but I'd like to think this could be the year we really start to climb the ladder and we go into that round 20 fixture against West Coast with a lot of excitement about potentially playing finals a few weeks later.
HereIam86
Club Legend
WA keeping their boarders shut haven’t said when they will reopen can’t see this game being played in Perth now. West Coast and Freo will get sent to hub if it’s in Melbourne Suns will probably play West Coast there.
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We play twice this season, would be as simple as swapping fixtures, we can play you at Metricon in round 1 and then in Perth later on in the season. Of course, your club would have to agree to it.
It seems simple but it's really only simple if round 1 is affected. If round 2 or beyond is affected then suddenly it's not simple at all.
As of right now, I think the AFL would rather send West Coast to Melbourne (or another other neutral venue) for round 1 and hope the rest of the fixture is unaffected. There is currently only one fixture scheduled for a Melbourne venue on that Sunday and it's at the MCG. The AFL could very easily switch this game to Marvel Stadium for that Sunday and I think that's probably the most likely outcome right now.
RowellAnderson12
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Marvel stadium is a win for us
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