Preview Rnd 1 - Fremantle vs North Melbourne 24th March 3:20pm

[Simmofreo]

Case in point that Richmond were second for marks inside 50, Collingwood 3rd, with Hawthorn, Essendon, geelong and Brisbane also isn’t the top 8 on average.

None with more than one key forward of note. Some with none.

Look, all this crap and statistics mean absolutely nothing. All that matters is :

We have

Hogan
Lobb

You = don't

Drops the mic

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[Simmofreo]

Ha ha. Unprovoked. Hmmm... Funny how all the other North posters have managed to stay respectful and so have we in response. Suggest you try Facebook if you want to debate using stats like inside 50s and contested possessions.

I'm a psychologist

People that have "big" in their screen name are compensating for small things elsewhere

Common knowledge

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[Simmofreo]

"Swanning in" eh? How about "offering a contribution to what seems to me a pretty clear cut case." tbl wasn't being disrespectful in the first instance and it's a considerable stretch to suggest he was. (If you think he was, I'd be genuinely interested to hear why.) It was a good conversation - which he acknowledged himself a couple of posts earlier - until he got disrespected by wayToGo's personal comment.

You're welcome to draw the drapes analogy, but it's more like your kid hit my kid, but because it happened at your house, your opinion rules supreme as to who was to blame. [emoji14]

You'll see, from the context offered in the second half of my post, I'm diffusing things, and shifting the conversation. You might want to play along too?

Interested to see what steps you guys take this year, and if Brayshaw and Cerra, in particular can back up their good first year and to see what difference the new KPPs in your forward line makes.

Round 1

Our kid is gonna hit your kid

Hard

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[theGav56]

Hogan's actually said he should definitely be ready for round 1 to people on the Freobigfooty board. Id expect him to be there as well.

Hogan may not be at peak fitness and may not have the touch he will have after a few games. He also will take time to get into the swing of a new side. But the structural significance of a a genuine forward line will transform us I reckon. I think it has full ground repercussions for us. I really expect us to play with a far greater sense of purpose.

In the event that Hogan is not available for round 1, I am still pretty confident that we have the stocks to assemble a dangerous forward structure. It certainly won't be a case of "no Hogan, no Freo".

 

[Bigeasy]

I'm a psychologist

People that have "big" in their screen name are compensating for small things elsewhere

Common knowledge

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[sherrif]

Again, I don't think Hogan will play so it will be Tarrant to Lobb/Sandilands and McKay to Taberner .



For pure clearances, Fyfe and Cunners differ little based upon last years numbers. Jacobs will just sit off Fyfe and Anderson & Tyson will be our next best clearance players. Anderson alone finished ahead of Mundy for clearances last year. Ziebell will also swing in there now & then.



There's no shame in that considering it's talented kid vs seasoned veteran at the top of his game.



Okay, when you are weighing up our outside mids you are looking at our entire group of Polec, Hall, Higgins, Simpkin, Dumont & Ahern. Luke McDonald also won our shuttle runs and is as fit as he has been, so he might also be in that group. This is where I see our biggest advantage.



We'll play finals mate. Agree it's nowhere near a laydown for North, and the HGA will make it a very tough ask.

At the end of the day I favor us due to the fact we are a little bit more forward in our rebuild than the Dockers, who still have some shedding to do (Sandilands & Mundy).

The respective talent on the interchange benches tells the tale for me:

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

I don't think Conca, Bewley or Banfield would get a run in our side, and we would have retired Mundy (great servant though, he has been).

So Conca's good enough to play in a prelim finals team, but not good enough to make your side even though his form last year was a lot better than Tyson. Mundy's fitter than he has been coming into a season than any of the last 4 and was still super consistent last year yet apparently he would have been told to retire (if he was on your list) This is despite the fact you keep Scott Thompson on your list even though most North fans in this thread have argued he wont be in the side. Cerra's only one of the most talented first year players last season and wasnt even fit after injury layoff coming into his debut year. This season he'll be a lot fitter and has disposal skills that are a ton better than any of the North bench players. Bewley could very well be one of the better mature age prospects as well as he's already drawn rave reviews from club insiders already. Yeah I think you're dreamin.

Im pretty sure you're forgetting Waite was super important the last time we played and he's not in your team anymore. If Alex Pearce controls Brown Im not sure where your goals come from. Logue is also a terrific match-up for Mason Wood as they are both similar sized athletic beasts. Ill take Tabs, Lobb, and Hogan over Brown with no significant aerial support in terms of our main advantage. Hogan's actually said he should definitely be ready for round 1 to people on the Freobigfooty board. Id expect him to be there as well.

The truth is with the new rules no one can be certain their team will play well in round 1. Id still be very, very surprised if we lost though. I cant see where your goals are going to come from and for the first time in a long time I see our forward line as being full of options.

 

[Bigger]

I won't tell you what Simo is Latin for.

(And you know what they say about blokes with small noses...()

 

[Tas]

Oh wow, there are 9 pages in this preview thread, there must be a lot of stimulating conversations going on.

<reads the last page>

 

[theGav56]

Oh wow, there are 9 pages in this preview thread, there must be a lot of stimulating conversations going on.

<reads the last page>

Thanks for your wonderful contribution. Never seen that Simpson's clip before...

 

[Monument Hills]

Oh wow, there are 9 pages in this preview thread, there must be a lot of stimulating conversations going on.

<reads the last page>

I did the same

 

[Yeti]

What happened to LDU?

 

[benfica]

What happened to LDU?

overrated overwhelmed dud

 

[Unique Name]

What happened to LDU?

Last year's most 'AFL ready' draftee wasn't quite AFL ready... or even VFL ready.

 

[dropbear101]

Nah LDU will develop remember mundy didn't play at all his first season.

 

[armpit]

Be great to start with a win. Norths' bench is a joke. The Pearce/ Ben Brown matchup should be a classic. Norths' forward line is looking weak, whereas our defence is looking filled up with talent. They won't have a clue what our forward line will look until teams are announced let alone what our game play will be and half of their backline I haven't even heard of so they can't be very good.

It's going to be huge for both teams. A statement about whether you're middle of the ladder or top 8 maybe. I just don't know where north think they can beat us.

 

[Groin guru]

Nah LDU will develop remember mundy didn't play at all his first season.

Exactly. The days of chucking in kids and expecting them to play inside roles are all but over (good way to pick up injuries and ruin confidence). LDU had a limited pre-season and his fitness wasn't at the level required to play full games. Asking him to play midfield when North had Cunnington, Jed (had a big year), Higgins, and later Dumont and Ahern is a bit much. Every scout I spoke to said they'd take LDU over Cerra. When I asked the same question at the end of the year their answers were still the same.

 

[wayToGo_]

Every scout I spoke to said they'd take LDU over Cerra. When I asked the same question at the end of the year their answers were still the same.

Every expert I talked to last year about whether North would make finals lost it laughing. When I asked the same question this year they laughed even harder.

 

[Wally Walpamur]

Every person I asked if Josh Kelly, Dustin Martin or Jordan De Goey would end up at #lololnorf laughed at me.

 

[dropbear101]

Exactly. The days of chucking in kids and expecting them to play inside roles are all but over (good way to pick up injuries and ruin confidence). LDU had a limited pre-season and his fitness wasn't at the level required to play full games. Asking him to play midfield when North had Cunnington, Jed (had a big year), Higgins, and later Dumont and Ahern is a bit much. Every scout I spoke to said they'd take LDU over Cerra. When I asked the same question at the end of the year their answers were still the same.

Yeah the kids should never play inside roles unless their true man childs.
But cerra over LDU for mine hes a rolls Royce as ever ive seen one.
LDU was just getting a taste to show him what required for mine you rarely get first year players who are best 22 locks often their played on potential.

 

[SHill Shall]

Yeah the kids should never play inside roles unless their true man childs.
But cerra over LDU for mine hes a rolls Royce as ever ive seen one.
LDU was just getting a taste to show him what required for mine you rarely get first year players who are best 22 locks often their played on potential.

The issue for mine is that LDU is more a pure inside mid. He was next to useless playing as a half forward and North didn’t afford him much opportunity inside - to the point where he was dropped. Freo played Brayshaw a lot in the middle and he did well - thriving on the defensive side/tackling and getting OK possession numbers for a first year.

On exposed form, Cerra and Brayshaw are way ahead of LDU - but much water to go under the bridge.

 

[rgauci]

Exactly. The days of chucking in kids and expecting them to play inside roles are all but over (good way to pick up injuries and ruin confidence). LDU had a limited pre-season and his fitness wasn't at the level required to play full games. Asking him to play midfield when North had Cunnington, Jed (had a big year), Higgins, and later Dumont and Ahern is a bit much. Every scout I spoke to said they'd take LDU over Cerra. When I asked the same question at the end of the year their answers were still the same.

You’re telling the truth, problem is, you haven’t spoken to any scouts.

 

[tonygeeks]

Exactly. The days of chucking in kids and expecting them to play inside roles are all but over (good way to pick up injuries and ruin confidence). LDU had a limited pre-season and his fitness wasn't at the level required to play full games. Asking him to play midfield when North had Cunnington, Jed (had a big year), Higgins, and later Dumont and Ahern is a bit much. Every scout I spoke to said they'd take LDU over Cerra. When I asked the same question at the end of the year their answers were still the same.

I don't think you should be talking to scouts or cubs and brownies either for that matter


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[Snake_Baker]

The issue for mine is that LDU is more a pure inside mid.

You state that like it's a bad thing.

Flankers are a dime a dozen.

 

[Unique Name]

Exactly. The days of chucking in kids and expecting them to play inside roles are all but over (good way to pick up injuries and ruin confidence). LDU had a limited pre-season and his fitness wasn't at the level required to play full games. Asking him to play midfield when North had Cunnington, Jed (had a big year), Higgins, and later Dumont and Ahern is a bit much. Every scout I spoke to said they'd take LDU over Cerra. When I asked the same question at the end of the year their answers were still the same.

Are these the same scouts that said he was the most 'AFL ready' draftee? Didn't he struggle at VFL level aswell where they played him as a mid?

 

[Snake_Baker]

Are these the same scouts that said he was the most 'AFL ready' draftee? Didn't he struggle at VFL level aswell where they played him as a mid?

Finished the VFL season with a 28 disposal, 6 mark, 7 clearance display where he kicked the match sealing goal, and finished the season being named in the best players in last 4 matches.

Will strip a lot fitter in 2019 (recent pic).



I see his improvement curve going along a similiar path to other big bodied inside midfielders like Josh Kennedy & Jobe Watson so he'll probably need another year to get his tank right before becoming a full time fixture in the AFL, but please don't kid yourself, he WILL be a gun.