Remove this Banner Ad

Player Watch Josh Rachele

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Pretty much. You're better off risking being burned by rushing Rachele in finals then getting knocked out when he's having a tune-up game as the payoff is the difference between your season ending this week or not.

Can't see even a half fit and rusty Rachele giving us less than the guys that have been getting a game due to his injury.
 
If we can get him as a sub in a quarter final, that would be a huge shot in the arm.
Imagine the roar!


That said, if he can't play a full game, we can't risk the dude having to come on in Q1 and play a full game.
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

Can't see even a half fit and rusty Rachele giving us less than the guys that have been getting a game due to his injury.

Yup, the bar is on the floor here.

Imagine the roar!


That said, if he can't play a full game, we can't risk the dude having to come on in Q1 and play a full game.

A rusty and managing himself Rachele is still going to provide more than Cook, Murphy, Pedlar and Taylor in a big final.

The only risk is injury, however even then, you don't get that many shots to win a flag. You almost have to put your chips on the table.
 
Bit worried that his return timeline is still 'TBC'. Didn't much of a mention in the injury report.
Has the getting out of the brace time been pushed back?

I thought that was initially early last week if not late week before but may have stretchy a week delaying updates.

Not ideal if so but I’d have to look back at old reports to be sure
 
Whether or not Rachele plays in finals comes down to two things.

How is his form and is he fit?

From the form side of things, I’d say a rusty Rach is better than what Jones, Pedlar or Cook could provide. We saw last year, while playing injured he put up better numbers than any of those guys have done this year.

Is he fit?

They’re not going to send him to play a SANFL game if they think he’s not strong enough yet to withstand the tackling, jumping, running etc demands of a game of footy. The issue is whether he’s fit enough and strong enough to withstand the volume demanded of him in an AFL game. That’s why I think playing him as sub makes perfect sense. Even if he has to come on early they can manage his minutes. While that’s not ideal, for what Rach can give us, it’s a risk worth taking I feel.

So I don’t really see the point in making him have a run around in the 2s.
 
Yup, the bar is on the floor here.



A rusty and managing himself Rachele is still going to provide more than Cook, Murphy, Pedlar and Taylor in a big final.

The only risk is injury, however even then, you don't get that many shots to win a flag. You almost have to put your chips on the table.
Getting him back for finals will be a bonus. We are currently winning ATM without him. I don't want him back unless he's fully recovered and ready to go.
WE ARE NOT PORT ADELAIDE.
 
Getting him back for finals will be a bonus. We are currently winning ATM without him. I don't want him back unless he's fully recovered and ready to go.
WE ARE NOT PORT ADELAIDE.

If we make a prelim or a GF and he's able to run, then he will be playing.

Akermanis won Brisbane a GF on one leg one year.
 
Getting him back for finals will be a bonus. We are currently winning ATM without him. I don't want him back unless he's fully recovered and ready to go.
WE ARE NOT PORT ADELAIDE.

No, but we also understand that the iron must be struck while the iron is hot and our small forward depth is flaming garbage.

Getting a player of Rachele's quality in could be the difference between a grand final or not. These things can be decided in moments. You gamble if you can.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

I wouldn't rush him back. You would only think about rushing a player back for finals if they're one of your best players or key to your structure. It would be great to have him back, but he's not at that point imo.

I'd argue that Michalaney is more important for our finals chances than Rachele. At least it's looking likely he'll be there for week 1.
 
I wouldn't rush him back. You would only think about rushing a player back for finals if they're one of your best players or key to your structure. It would be great to have him back, but he's not at that point imo.

I'd argue that Michalaney is more important for our finals chances than Rachele. At least it's looking likely he'll be there for week 1.
....and as we have discovered, Michalanney gives us added flexibility and coverage in Rachele's absence, as he can also play forward if needed! I believe we should play fully fit players in the finals.
 
....and as we have discovered, Michalanney gives us added flexibility and coverage in Rachele's absence, as he can also play forward if needed! I believe we should play fully fit players in the finals.

Michalanney has played one game as a forward which was against a bottom side and he tagged a defender. The ball fell in his lap 3 times, that doesn’t in anyway suggest he’s a reliable forward option.
 
If he can get an SANFL final or two in on Adelaide Oval, that would be ideal.

Crows will be playing SANFL Finals bye week and week 1 of AFL finals and possibly/likely at least one of week 2 or week 3 as well.

That gives Rachele, and selectors, the best opportunity of impressing and making himself available even if only ready to play deep in September.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

If he can get an SANFL final or two in on Adelaide Oval, that would be ideal.

Crows will be playing SANFL Finals bye week and week 1 of AFL finals and possibly/likely at least one of week 2 or week 3 as well.

That gives Rachele, and selectors, the best opportunity of impressing and making himself available even if only ready to play deep in September.

Isn’t there some silly minimum games rule for afl listed players playing sanfl finals
 
If he can get an SANFL final or two in on Adelaide Oval, that would be ideal.

Crows will be playing SANFL Finals bye week and week 1 of AFL finals and possibly/likely at least one of week 2 or week 3 as well.

That gives Rachele, and selectors, the best opportunity of impressing and making himself available even if only ready to play deep in September.

He doesn't need to 'impress' the selectors, lol.

If he's fit, he'll play.
 
Fell into his lap ??

Not quite

He was playing on Vlaustin and did a very good job. However, the goals he kicked came about largely because Vlaustin was trying to play interceptor, and the lack of pressure up field made it easy for Max to get on the end of it.

That in no ways is a replica of what finals will be like, or an indicator that Max could have even close to the output that Rach can have at half forward.

Josh was having a near AA season before his injury. You can’t just dismiss what he brings and say “Max can do the same” off the back of three relatively fortuitous goals while playing a tagging role.


If he can get an SANFL final or two in on Adelaide Oval, that would be ideal.

Crows will be playing SANFL Finals bye week and week 1 of AFL finals and possibly/likely at least one of week 2 or week 3 as well.

That gives Rachele, and selectors, the best opportunity of impressing and making himself available even if only ready to play deep in September.

If Rach is ready to play SANFL then it means his knee is strong enough for AFL footy.

The only reasons to give him a SANFL game are because he’s not ready for the load of a full AFL game or because you’re worried about his touch. If it’s the former then play him as sub, if it’s the latter, then that’s a risk worth taking given what he can bring.

Imagine getting to the end of a tight final and being able to inject a fresh Josh Rachele in to the forward line. That is the absolute last thing an opposition defence would want to see.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Player Watch Josh Rachele

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top