Preview Round 1 vs St Kilda @ MCG – Sunday 15 March 2026, 3:15 pm AEDT

[Matrix10]

Thanks for the reply guys. Got Caleb Windsor. Looks like he is going to have a breakout season. Got all the skills , footy smarts .. reminds me a bit of your ex champ , Robbie Flower.

 

[MarcMaverick]

Thanks for the reply guys. Got Caleb Windsor. Looks like he is going to have a breakout season. Got all the skills , footy smarts .. reminds me a bit of your ex champ , Robbie Flower.

No Presh, Caleb.

 

[Lord Nev]

 

[Daemon]

View attachment 2549028

Looks pretty good strength side.

 

[wingersclub]

I reckon bench will be
L.Pickett , Sharp, Rivers, Culley and Milkshake on limited minutes like a few others last weekend.

 

[Lord Nev]

I reckon bench will be
L.Pickett , Sharp, Rivers, Culley and Milkshake on limited minutes like a few others last weekend.

For mine - Pickett, Tholstrup, Culley, Rivers, TMac. Think that gives us flexibility, especially with key positions/ruck.

Melksham has only played VFL practice games so far, and with Fritsch and Mihocek available not sure we need to rush him in. Sharp over Tholstrup a chance though.

 

[wingersclub]

For mine - Pickett, Tholstrup, Culley, Rivers, TMac. Think that gives us flexibility, especially with key positions/ruck.

Melksham has only played VFL practice games so far, and with Fritsch and Mihocek available not sure we need to rush him in. Sharp over Tholstrup a chance though.

Fair call. Has Culley had any match practice?
Surely Pickett will be announced at training tomorrow!

 

[schmuttt]

I know we suck now so getting a game isn't hard but Tmacs renaissance late in his career has been so good to watch.

 

[Lord Nev]

Fair call. Has Culley had any match practice?
Surely Pickett will be announced at training tomorrow!

Nah, but Culley did the whole preseason and was tearing it up, whereas Melksham missed a fair chunk of it.

Yeah, Latrelle being announced with Kozzy there would make sense.

 

[wingersclub]

I know we suck now so getting a game isn't hard but Tmacs renaissance late in his career has been so good to watch.

I don’t know…. We haven’t even lost a game this season…

 

[Daemon]

For mine - Pickett, Tholstrup, Culley, Rivers, TMac. Think that gives us flexibility, especially with key positions/ruck.

Melksham has only played VFL practice games so far, and with Fritsch and Mihocek available not sure we need to rush him in. Sharp over Tholstrup a chance though.

Agree. Tmac needs to be in the side.

 

[Proper Gander]

I think all of those guys should be in the side

 

[Topkent]

I'm guessing the bench is Rivers, Tholstrup, Pickett, Tmac and Culley

On paper weaker side this year than last year, see if King can get any improvement out of the B-C graders on the list to still make us a better team

 

[Bluelegs]

I'm guessing the bench is Rivers, Tholstrup, Pickett, Tmac and Culley

On paper weaker side this year than last year, see if King can get any improvement out of the B-C graders on the list to still make us a better team

Petracca and McVee the only real losses from our side last year and both were pretty meh formwise.

Oliver and May were cooked and Steele is like for like with Viney. I know you don’t rate him but Bowey is our biggest out right now.

 

[Topkent]

Petracca and McVee the only real losses from our side last year and both were pretty meh formwise.

Oliver and May were cooked and Steele is like for like with Viney. I know you don’t rate him but Bowey is our biggest out right now.

Not even taking the piss I forgot about Bowey

Even the most optimistic dees supporter surely admits that on paper Trac, Oliver, May, Mcvee and Bowey out for Steele Jiath, Heath and Mihocek is not an improvement on paper.

I'm hoping the team will function better and there's a strong argument it will but in a fairy land where everyone's happy a firing Oliver Trac, Bowey May and Mcvee is better than what we have

 

[Lampers]

Saints have a short forward line.

Sharman is 193cm and while he’s a good mark he’s not physically bullying defenders.

Owens 191cm and while he’s capable overhead he also doesn’t play particularly tall.

There’s no Marshall either, although he could be replaced with Keeler who kicked a few in the Alice Springs game last year. Keeler isn’t a player you’d be losing sleep over. Caminiti or Tauru are other named defenders who they may swing forward but again neither are terrifying prospects.

With that forward line I don’t think Tmac is required. There’s already Lever, Petty, Turner and Howes in the team. Collingwood had some luck with Saints’ inaccuracy, but got things done with that big dud Frampton as their only genuine tall back.

Mihocek, Jiath and Steele were all announced as club debutants so that suggests Heath won’t play.

Rivers will definitely play. sKing said he will still split his time between the backline and midfield.

Culley had such strong preseason until injury I think he’s certain to play.

sKing seemed really high on Tholstrup’s athletic profile and was also positive about him as a defender so I reckon he will play. Higgins and Ryan can be dangerous so medium defender options are required.

lPickett will surely get a game given there has been so much talk and positivity about him.

One more spot between Sharp or Melksham.

I saw or read somewhere that so far every game has a had a player who has been on the ground only 61% or less due to five on the bench but no additional bench rotations. Melksham might be well suited to this role as it’s effectively a managed minutes style role and his preseason has been interrupted. Sharp under the old regime was often the sub so I could also see him used as a low time on ground, but when on run like a maniac player.

Assuming no Heath, that means JVR is very likely to relief ruck. Melksham would make some sense as the final bench player to be that additional aerial threat forward while JVR is rucking.

 

[Bluelegs]

Not even taking the piss I forgot about Bowey

Even the most optimistic dees supporter surely admits that on paper Trac, Oliver, May, Mcvee and Bowey out for Steele Jiath, Heath and Mihocek is not an improvement on paper.

I'm hoping the team will function better and there's a strong argument it will but in a fairy land where everyone's happy a firing Oliver Trac, Bowey May and Mcvee is better than what we have

I think we basically agree. We’re not going to be better than our 21-23 teams but I think there’s a decent chance we are better than last year when all those guys were either cooked or had one foot out the door.

 

[Topkent]

Saints have a short forward line.

Sharman is 193cm and while he’s a good mark he’s not physically bullying defenders.

Owens 191cm and while he’s capable overhead he also doesn’t play particularly tall.

There’s no Marshall either, although he could be replaced with Keeler who kicked a few in the Alice Springs game last year. Keeler isn’t a player you’d be losing sleep over. Caminiti or Tauru are other named defenders who they may swing forward but again neither are terrifying prospects.

With that forward line I don’t think Tmac is required. There’s already Lever, Petty, Turner and Howes in the team. Collingwood had some luck with Saints’ inaccuracy, but got things done with that big dud Frampton as their only genuine tall back.

Mihocek, Jiath and Steele were all announced as club debutants so that suggests Heath won’t play.

Rivers will definitely play. sKing said he will still split his time between the backline and midfield.

Culley had such strong preseason until injury I think he’s certain to play.

sKing seemed really high on Tholstrup’s athletic profile and was also positive about him as a defender so I reckon he will play. Higgins and Ryan can be dangerous so medium defender options are required.

lPickett will surely get a game given there has been so much talk and positivity about him.

One more spot between Sharp or Melksham.

I saw or read somewhere that so far every game has a had a player who has been on the ground only 61% or less due to five on the bench but no additional bench rotations. Melksham might be well suited to this role as it’s effectively a managed minutes style role and his preseason has been interrupted. Sharp under the old regime was often the sub so I could also see him used as a low time on ground, but when on run like a maniac player.

Assuming no Heath, that means JVR is very likely to relief ruck. Melksham would make some sense as the final bench player to be that additional aerial threat forward while JVR is rucking.

Good point about the saints height in the forward line but you could also argue Tmac is the best key defender we have still. Petty was shit as in the pre season I saw

 

[Lampers]

Good point about the saints height in the forward line but you could also argue Tmac is the best key defender we have still. Petty was shit as in the pre season I saw

On form from 2025 and preseason I’d have Tmac ahead of Lever and Petty for a one-off game. Especially as a genuine tall defender as opposed to a tall guy who plays in the backline (Lever).

But he’s not the future so I don’t think Tmac will play much unless there are injuries or a particularly tall opposition forward setup. I’d be confident Tmac knows he’s a horses for courses proposition at this stage of his career.

 

[Lord Nev]

With that forward line I don’t think Tmac is required. There’s already Lever, Petty, Turner and Howes in the team.

I've got TMac on the bench because we don't want JVR rucking, and there's seemingly no other option (Culley would seem risky so soon after injury but never know I guess), and King has already tried TMac forward so I think he could be a pretty handy 5th player in our current circumstances.

 

[Demon13304]

I've got TMac on the bench because we don't want JVR rucking, and there's seemingly no other option (Culley would seem risky so soon after injury but never know I guess), and King has already tried TMac forward so I think he could be a pretty handy 5th player in our current circumstances.

The first thing I noticed as soon Kentfield went down was that they put Tmac in the Ruck rather than JVR

 

[Lampers]

The first thing I noticed as soon Kentfield went down was that they put Tmac in the Ruck rather than JVR

Tmac going into the ruck also surprised me.

I also observed Mihocek doing forward 50 ruck stoppages instead of JVR. I can’t recall if that was against North before he had to go off or the intra-club the week prior.

 

[Lord Nev]

 

[Demon13304]

Tmac going into the ruck also surprised me.

I also observed Mihocek doing forward 50 ruck stoppages instead of JVR. I can’t recall if that was against North before he had to go off or the intra-club the week prior.

Now Mihocek being in the ruck is a surprise to me. The man is a big bloke but not very tall

I don't mind it, I just want to see how JVR goes for a handful of games without playing too much in the second ruck. Even though he competes okay in there.

There were games in 2024 where he was genuinely playing well as a key forward but would then have to ruck in the backline and around the ground - I feel like it would just kill any momentum that he had as a key forward

Game against Freo without Max Gawn comes to mind

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

Loving everything about the club that ive seen this preseason:

SKing and PGuerra not accepting any bullshit.
The players seem to be having a blast.
We are playing some genuinely exciting football.

While the talent on paper might not be as strong as previous years I think the players enjoying themselves will take us a fair way and surprise some people, feels like a weight has been lifted on the entire club with the killjoy's and sad sacks gone. Can see us finishing 8th - 10th.

Thanks again for those involved in getting my account back.