Preview Changes & Preview Thread for Round 8, 2025 vs Western Bulldogs @ Ballarat

[Willsy10]

I said "As good as any other time". I think they're easily performing as good as their 2021 form, undoubtedly they had an elite stretch in 2016 that probably beats any, but they are playing really well given their talent and their injuries. To think they can cover JUH and Darcy out, Treloar and Weightman and still spank the Giants is not something I would've expected, but if you've been watching them this year you'd know they're looking very very solid.

Will be an extremely tough game. I feel like the $3.15 odds on us are probably a little longer than they should be. Result should be closer than that. Win and it'll be a huge step in the right direction for us.

they were a top 2 team for the majority of the 2021 season and only fell away late but rallied again in finals.

Whilst they have been impressive this year given their injuries, i'm not sure a big win against St Kilda or against the out of form Giants is enough to see them anywhere near on par with their 2021 team just yet. The Giants have been awful the last fortnight.

 

[bringbackbucky]

Dante needs to be given a run at some stage. If we are serious about making an impact in the finals, Sweet should play a max of 15 regular season games...

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

5,000 capacity at the construction site for 2026 Commonwealth Games main stadium.

The Comm games were cancelled but construction wasn't.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Didn't see the Centrals game, but if Hugh Jackson contributed as much as he did in the South game, then its time to give him a game and give Berry and/or Moraes a spell. Looks like he has finally put on a bit of size and doesn't look like a skinny 14 year old anymore.

Got close to being selected late in 2023, was an emergency several times and though 2024 would be his break out year, but had that bad hip injury in February 2024 and needed surgery. Reckon he needs to play this year or will get cut.

 

[Duckimus Prime]

id probably potentially bring BZT in as he seemed to go strong against Naughton last time

The ball didn't get into the Bulldogs forward line in the first quarter, and Naughton concussed himself running into BZT fairly early in the second quarter.

 

[Rash]

Crucial midfield match up

English vs Sweet (Sweet killed him last time)
Bont vs Drew (Drew has absolutely gave bont a bath last few matches, bar the first half of 2023)
Libba and Ed Richards

20

Ed Richards

Age

26

Ht

188cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.4

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

5.2

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

2.4

4star

CL

0.7

3star

D

11.3

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

5.3

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.5

3star

CL

1.1

3star

D

14.6

4star

K

9.8

4star

HB

4.8

4star

M

4.8

5star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.2

2star

vs JHF and Butters

We have won every game since 2021 prelim vs dogs, we match up well

Win farken

 

[Doggy]

Crucial midfield match up

English vs Sweet (Sweet killed him last time)
Bont vs Drew (Drew has absolutely gave bont a bath last few matches, bar the first half of 2023)
Libba and Ed Richards vs JHF and Butters

We have won every game since 2021 prelim vs dogs, we match up well

Win farken

You're missing Freijah, Treloar and Sanders.

 

[Rash]

You're missing Freijah, Treloar and Sanders.

trelor isnt playing

Freijah i forgot, sanders i dont see as a threat, rate the others more highly

 

[Doggy]

trelor isnt playing

Freijah i forgot, sanders i dont see as a threat, rate the others more highly

Treloar expects to be available

Sanders has been great

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Let's go out there and belt them like we did in the 2021 prelim!

 

[The White Mouse]

Has a team tried to put some time into Richards
His score involvements are off the charts for the role he plays

The Saints did and the rest of them ran riot.

Given our recent history, your mob is the acid test for our new midfield. You've beaten us in the middle consistently.

It's a table we need to turn if we're serious.

 

[VineValerian]

5,000 capacity at the construction site for 2026 Commonwealth Games main stadium.

The Comm games were cancelled but construction wasn't.

But. But.......

.... the Games were costing us too much, hence we dropped out of hosting it.

So we're now building infrastructure that won't be used - at huge cost?

Makes perfect sense!

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

But. But.......

.... the Games were costing us too much, hence we dropped out of hosting it.

So we're now building infrastructure that won't be used - at huge cost?

Makes perfect sense!

They arent spending the money for an athletics track and facilities (and warm up track) and 20,000 temporary seats, but FMD why start in the middle of the footy season just before winter sets in.

Either start in September or play the 2 games there early in this season then start construction and play the 2 x 2026 games late in 2026 season when most of the construction is finished.

Makes the Bulldogs look like a povo club that they wont transfer the game to Docklands as too much money is made playing at Ballarat.

 

[JimmyBC]

It's played on Mars I expect Elon to be there.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

It's played on Mars I expect Elon to be there.

Well we are playing the Doges.

 

[Blinky Nyland]

Mead needs to stick his tackles and hit his targets. Far too often he misses simple 30m kicks, often when entering F50, and gets brushed off when tackling.

Like Drew, I don’t think anyone is expecting he becomes a 20+ possession regular but he needs to be more effective.

Meady is indecisive. Fakes a give, then looks around, then gets caught or blocked. More often than not the first option would be best but he rarely takes it.

 

[Scodges]

Yes, Berry had a good game but hardly a knock the door down kind of game.

Hugh Jackson should have been given a chance. This is his fourth year on the list, he is fit, give him a game. He has pace, contested ball and clearance ability and will give 110% (not saying Berry wouldn't but Jackson is playing for his career).

 

[MrChow]

Meady is indecisive. Fakes a give, then looks around, then gets caught or blocked. More often than not the first option would be best but he rarely takes it.

Mead is in - until we trade in a better midfielder - than he is depth.

 

[MrChow]

The Saints did and the rest of them ran riot.

Given our recent history, your mob is the acid test for our new midfield. You've beaten us in the middle consistently.

It's a table we need to turn if we're serious.

Well, you’ve probably got us in the patchiest form we’ve been in for a while. New gameplan we haven’t adapted to yet. Super young side.

You stop Butters, you win the game.

 

[Willsy10]

Mead is one player you can genuinely say has improved on last year, there aren’t many others you can say that about but we want to drop him despite showing signs of improvement.

If we are being honest he is offering far more than Moraes and Berry.

 

[Rash]

Mead is one player you can genuinely say has improved on last year, there aren’t many others you can say that about but we want to drop him despite showing signs of improvement.

If we are being honest he is offering far more than Moraes and Berry.

I know this is a bit harsh, all 3 should be playing (mead,berry,moraes)

this year is a write off, im putting games into the future guns in moraes and berry than some vanilla average player in mead

 

[Enoch Blaze]

Really don't get the hate for Mead. He'll never be a superstar but he doesn't need to be. We have JHF, Butters, Wines and Drew as the 4 main midfielders. Mead provides a solid option for rotation and can do a job. To my eyes he doesn't look lazy or lacking in skill, he just doesn't get as much ball or have the same X-Factor like the other guys. Which is completely okay at the moment. Name me one other team in the comp that has 5 midfielders regularly racking up 25+ disposals and a goal every week.
He's a role player and I think he's been pretty solid each week without needing to be a star player.

Kicks well on both sides

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Rozee and Houston off half back would be droolz ngl

Would be best transition team in the AFL by a mile

 

[Willsy10]

I know this is a bit harsh, all 3 should be playing (mead,berry,moraes)

this year is a write off, im putting games into the future guns in moraes and berry than some vanilla average player in mead

Why is this year a write off. Looks like a lot of shit teams this year in an even comp. We are 4 and 3 not 1 and 6, there is no reason why we can’t push for top 4 again.

I think you just play your best 23, and at this stage Mead is clearly in that. At 23 years old I also think he has plenty of improvement left in him. I’d argue besides Georgiades no player has grown more than him this year.

 

[Freak Dodgeball Accident]

Been in Ballarat since December and the weather has been good, couple of degrees cooler than Adelaide but not much.
No rain until last week, only in the last couple of days has the ground had a drink.

This week though, that 4 degrees will be a shock.

View attachment 2297805

Saturday is looking ok.

My pick of the pubs so far is: https://www.thenorthstarhotel.com.au/

If you have a car here and want a good spot for coffee and cake: https://www.edibleindulgence.com.au/lamiettepatisserie
I go there once a week with the missus.

Oh boy, in a couple of months time you'll be yearning for that day with minimum of 4. Pretty soon most of the time that will be closer to your maximum temp!

For some stupid reason I lived there for 18 years and I will never miss the weather. To be honest I could handle the cold, and there was something about a calm, clear morning in the middle of a Ballarat winter that I actually enjoyed.

What I absolutely hated though was the rain and the wind. Come mid July you'll get weeks on end where every day is cold, wet and windy. Barely ever get above 10 degrees. Every day is grey, and even if it isn't raining hard there is still drizzle. So miserable. There's just mud everywhere, can never hang your clothes on the line, shoes are always wet. We have 3 young boys and they could never play outside, everyone is always sick, the house is full of clothes horses trying to dry, it's dark by 5pm. But that's not just winter, that's most of autumn, sometimes a chunk of spring, then can also get a few days like that in summer haha.

So enjoy those sunny mid teen days while you can because there won't be many more between now and spring!

We're on the Sunshine Coast now and just about every winter day is 18-22 degrees, it's amazing.