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Changes v Brisbane

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I would be very surprised if (in what may be his last game ever at Optus) a complete football romantic like Fyfe doesn't at least come out for a quiet look around and soak it up bouncing a footy and a bit of crack with the boys.

Something we're all guilty of at times is being impatient and not allowing sufficient time for people to grow into the maturity required for a very high stress industry. We do it with players all the time. I thought Voss lacked the poise and presence to be anything beyond a bull at a gate. That Wagner was too blue collar to be anything more than depth. And those things were true at earlier stages in their careers.

Where we don't know and can't quantify from a distance is how much capacity people have in them to grow. Some players don't find their sweet spot of intensity and poise to fully demonstrate their athletic gifts until much later than others while some players never grow beyond their abilities at junior level. Suban was a great junior footballer but never really developed beyond what he displayed in U18. Mundy just got better and better. I reckon he'd still be getting better.

Longmuir is not a naturally gifted media speaker but where he was always spoken of highly before getting the gig was as a tactician, educator and communicator at a person to person level. He has backed himself to grow into his role and IMO is displaying consistent growth across all the areas of a senior coach. I think he knows what he has with this playing group and with additions like Reid, Bolton, Voss as well as the growth of Treacy, Clark, Worner etc he knows he has decent weapons to deploy and the group has built cohesion, experience and synergy to the point he's starting to trust what they can do.

Compare that to say Lyon who kind of pulls the arrow back till the tension on the string is at breaking point and then points that energy at the completion and almost tries to bulldoze it - to devastating effect when you look at our finals campaign in 2013 (culminating and unfortunately peaking with our demolition of Sydney). JL is slowly building a football machine that while it may not always be spectacular is proving remarkably effective against all comers at all venues most of the time.
The difference I'm hoping is that what JL is building has much more resilience over a long haul. It doesn't peak and then destroy itself. Its a more sustainable model.

His gradually rising confidence and the way he presents is part of that build (which includes himself in the role).


Poor Cooper appeared to disappear into a hole in the ground when playing forward. His numbers a junior mid suggest he's better following the ball and his transition to rebounding suits his current skill set perfectly. Such a contrast to Reid who had never played forward but brought his enormous football IQ to the task and is thriving. Coops is more see ball get ball.
I'd be happy if he spend his whole career at half back if can be a competent member of a defensive formation and kick the ball into attack the way he does. He and Clark is a devastating 1&2.

TLDR. I'm manic (too much coffee and building excitement for Friday and needed to release a bit of energy into long paragraphs).
Spot on.
 
Joe Brierty talking with Mark Duffield

Young is unlikely. Should be available the week after.
Wagner - if he gets through training, he will be available for AFL selection. Played 60 minutes on the weekend.
Simpson - Hard to get back into the squad. Starting to put his name, and push for a spot. (He said something similar about Walker, I wouldn't read too much into it)
Johnson - Did a session over the weekend, but pulled up a bit sore. Should be available for round 24.

Pearce - pulled up well.
 

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Re Simpson
Playing high half as he did at Peel is a tough gig as far as finding the ball is concerned. This is especially the case at Peel where there is little or no connection between mids and forwards in most games.
I thought he had a good game in the GF. Could have had 4 or 5 goals if some of his team mates had decent skills.
 
Re Simpson
Playing high half as he did at Peel is a tough gig as far as finding the ball is concerned. This is especially the case at Peel where there is little or no connection between mids and forwards in most games.
I thought he had a good game in the GF. Could have had 4 or 5 goals if some of his team mates had decent skills.
Kind of goes for what I said about giving people time. Almost no one can come in at the highest level & adapt in a new role the way Bruce did. It’s a tough gig and even tougher in the big time.
The fact he’s shown that ability to do it down a level bodes well but meantime making more use of his weapons in a different role makes perfect sense.
I believe on athletic traits and skills his ceiling is Chad Warner but we can’t know if he’s got the mental capacity to develop to that level. Time as always will tell.
 
If we win this week, what are peoples thoughts on not playing Young until first week of finals.

Give him a practice match in WAFL or WAFL reserves or a practice match featuring 35 other random players during the bye week before finals, and have him cherry ripe for week 1 of the finals.

This is the last chance he gets this year, lets make sure we make it count.
 
Re Simpson
Playing high half as he did at Peel is a tough gig as far as finding the ball is concerned. This is especially the case at Peel where there is little or no connection between mids and forwards in most games.
I thought he had a good game in the GF. Could have had 4 or 5 goals if some of his team mates had decent skills.
I still havent forgiven Emmett for single handily ruining what would have been goal of the year in a GF by Coop
 
If we win this week, what are peoples thoughts on not playing Young until first week of finals.

Give him a practice match in WAFL or WAFL reserves or a practice match featuring 35 other random players during the bye week before finals, and have him cherry ripe for week 1 of the finals.

This is the last chance he gets this year, lets make sure we make it count.
Nope. I’ve done one of those minor groin strains. After 2 weeks off it was all good. I don’t have hyperbaric chambers and 24/7 physio access.

He’ll be all good for WB. We don’t need Young going back to WAFL. When fit which I believe he will be vs WB he plays.

Yes we need to win this week but equally important either way is next weekend vs WB - either to make finals or push up to top 4. As Fyfe has said we need to be aiming for the cup. Not settling for 5th or 6th. If we win against Brisbane then aim to win again and finish 4th or 3rd. Win round 1 of the finals and we have a home prelim.
 
Who you taking out?
Dudley, NOD, Banfield

Sucks for the latter two, great servants but just getting squeezed out.

Erasmus has put himself ahead of these three IMO.

I wouldn't be surprised if MC prefer Banfield over Erasmus due to versatility.
 
If we win this week, what are peoples thoughts on not playing Young until first week of finals.

Give him a practice match in WAFL or WAFL reserves or a practice match featuring 35 other random players during the bye week before finals, and have him cherry ripe for week 1 of the finals.

This is the last chance he gets this year, lets make sure we make it count.
Good thoughts but trust the ITKs.
A rd24 win is just too important. Home finals and a 2nd chance mean the world.
 

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Dudley, NOD, Banfield

Sucks for the latter two, great servants but just getting squeezed out.

Erasmus has put himself ahead of these three IMO.

I wouldn't be surprised if MC prefer Banfield over Erasmus due to versatility.
UNless of course Ras makes himself irresistible this week. UP THE RAS! Selection pressure is on.
 
Go back and watch Cooper Simpsons in the R10 Giants game a week before he got injured. Most here seem to forget how good dash, evasiveness and field kick he is. Showed so much confidence biting off the hard ones like Youngy does. Id love to see him back over the likes of Drizz, Banners or Duds.
 
Go back and watch Cooper Simpsons in the R10 Giants game a week before he got injured. Most here seem to forget how good dash, evasiveness and field kick he is. Showed so much confidence biting off the hard ones like Youngy does. Id love to see him back over the likes of Drizz, Banners or Duds.
Simpson was really exciting, the challenge is can he get to that level after a long term injury quickly and can he hold up when the pressure is ramped right up.

If the answer to the first is yes then you probably take the risk, but if there's doubts on it then I can understand how he may not get back in the team this year.

Doesn't mean he isn't a great prospect, and he should be training at half back across the pre-season.
 

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Its going to take a horrifc clanger in a big moment in a big game for Bailey to get dropped.

Unfortunately we all see it coming.

But by then its too late.
Tommy Sheridan moment comes to mind. Banners takes to long when running the ball out to kick it and is always in 3 minds. I have zero faith in him. Rather put the ball in Walkers hands and that’s saying something.
 
Its going to take a horrifc clanger in a big moment in a big game for Bailey to get dropped.

Unfortunately we all see it coming.

But by then its too late.
Sometimes these things happen because the observer expects them to happen
 
Like tapping the ball directly to the boundary, 20ms out from goal?
Seems like he is damn if you do and damn if you don't

In the Hawks game he didn't get the ball out of bounds and was crucified. Umps are red hot on deliberate.

He tries to tap it clear, with two port players hanging off him in the port game and still gets crucified. Maybe someone should also jumped in to try to lock it in, or was he better tapping it inside rather than boundary lol
 
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Unfortnately the media has taken bit of a crack at Charlie Cameron so we can expect him to be fired up tomorrow night.


He has the ability to cut us to pieces, as do other good small forwards.
 

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