Unofficial Preview Pies Round 6 - Easter Thursday

[Section 5]

if Lachie doesn’t get up (and knowing Lachie his foot would have to be about to fall off for him to miss), then i wouldn’t think we try to replace like-for-like. Give one of the existing 22 his midfield minutes, bring someone else in for a HB/HF/wing rotation.

Agree, with Levi now in the side we don't need to bring in Dev/Tunstill that sort of midfielder.
We have Reville if Lohmann returns and Marshall if needed.

 

[Nathan Barley]

I don't think Day is doing anything particularly wrong. I'd just like more support for Big O who copped a hammering from English.

His hit out to advantage to hit out ratio has been quite impressive

Unfortunately he had a couple of bad contests in a row up against Darcy which is probably standing out to most people

I'd say Day is an above average ruck for a key forward but definitely a below average ruck against key forwards

His ruckwork or forward work, at least one of the two, needs to improve though to lock his spot down

 

[3KZ is Football]

I don't think Day is doing anything particularly wrong. I'd just like more support for Big O who copped a hammering from English.

I agree. While we are winning it is easy to be ambivalent about Day. It would be great to see him on the lead out of the goal square a bit more, rather than just being a number in a pack trying to bring the ball to ground. The problem is that he is not blessed with pace and as far as leading forwards go, Ah Chee and Morris are much better options.

In the end I think his position in the team will be decided by how well he can play the second ruck role. If we have a game where we are killed in the ruck and it costs us , then Day will be out, because Fort is just as capable of competing in an inside 50 pack for a mark, if not more so and he is a Premiership ruckman who did really well against Grundy on the biggest stage.

 

[Section 5]

An early decision on K2K

I want the McDonalds blimp back

Round 6 Runsheet:
10:00am: Lions Shop Opens
5:00pm: Lions Park
6:00pm: Public Gates
TBCpm: On-field Warmup
TBCpm: Lions run out
7:30pm: Bounce
QTR Time: Ray White Activation
HALF Time: Auskick, Birthdays & Community Champion
3/4 Time: XXXX Handball Challenge - Nominate yourself now!
POST Game: NO Kick2Kick unfortunately.

 

[Dalions]

I don't think Day is doing anything particularly wrong. I'd just like more support for Big O who copped a hammering from English.

Personally I think that if we want to give Oscar more of a chop out, I think it should come via being managed and miss a game every now and then rather than bringing in a second ruck.
The more game time Oscar plays the better he gets imo and he always plays better when playing as sole ruck.
The more game time Sam Day gets the better he will get also, if he doesn’t get better we will make the change.
But I don’t think that will be until the second half of the season.

 

[Denno]

Berry has been fantastic this year. He has been flying under the radar to an extent, but he is doing all the hard, unglamorous things that have helped us win games. His physical pressure has been first rate and I’d love to see him get the assignment on Sidebottom.

Owes him one too after the 2023 GF 50M penalty........

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

His hit out to advantage to hit out ratio has been quite impressive

Unfortunately he had a couple of bad contests in a row up against Darcy which is probably standing out to most people

I'd say Day is an above average ruck for a key forward but definitely a below average ruck against key forwards

His ruckwork or forward work, at least one of the two, needs to improve though to lock his spot down

What do you mean by the bolded bit? Does he ruck better against proper ruckmen (if there is such a thing)?

 

[Section 5]

Oscar had an interrupted preseason like a few others.
Being a ruck, he may take a few more games to get things right, assuming he has no soreness in the shoulder.

His TOG 79%, 81, 79, 81 this year. His 2024 average was 81.3% so not much difference.
His H/O have increased with each game: 16, 34, 35, 43 - (average last year 32.4)
But his disposals have reduced each game: 18, 13,11, 8 - (average last year 12.8)

He will have a good battle with Cameron on Thursday evening

 

[Matt_BL]

It’ll be a tricky ask this week just based on a 5 day break and back to back travel.

On the Day debate, he has played his role so far. Has made a contest, and I thought he was a good hit up option on the wing the last couple of weeks. Only the coaches will know, but his contribution is likely more than just stats (intangibles). Smith needs to be more match fit before being named.

IN: Kai Lohmann
OUT: Will McLachlan

Move Bruce to sub, provided Kai is fit enough to play his usual half forward role. Otherwise you could ease him in as the sub for this week.

 

[KissKiss]

I said before the season that I wanted us to test out 3-4 weeks of each of the forward ruck options. I want us to test out each guy but not go the Gunston route and try too long when someone isnt up to it.

At the moment Day has been playing a handy structural role without setting anything alight. He's doing a decent job at protecting the young bodies who wouldn't be able to play a full season. But it's getting close to testing how Smith will stack up for a few games. If we end up back with Day come finals, that's fine as long as we have tried a few combos.

It's a massive shame that we haven't had more VFL games to test out Smith and Gallop. But maybe it's Smiths turn in one more week.

I think we have more issues on the wing. Reville still doesn't look up to playing that role. Either bring Kai back in and drop Reville down to sub or out. Or bring McKenna into the backline and put Gletcher back on the wing. Fletcher has been great back but we are missing a lot from the wing rotation without him.

 

[SeaOfFire]

I prefer Fort to Day based on what I have seen thus far.

But, Day deserves more time in all fairness - he might really come good this week, who knows?

As for the Pies....I've not watched them play this year, but they'll be up and about. Good time for this game for us I think....I feel almost that we are still in "pre-season" mindset, slowly increasing the intensity in games.

Now the Pies get to come have a crack, and they will.......

.....and be brushed aside like the chaff that they are

Lions by 10 goals.

 

[Dalions]

The closer we get to this game the more I think that this will either be 1 of 2 things.
1. An early season statement win where we control the game start to finish, Or.
2. A loss we had to have.

 

[Dalions]

I said before the season that I wanted us to test out 3-4 weeks of each of the forward ruck options. I want us to test out each guy but not go the Gunston route and try too long when someone isnt up to it.

At the moment Day has been playing a handy structural role without setting anything alight. He's doing a decent job at protecting the young bodies who wouldn't be able to play a full season. But it's getting close to testing how Smith will stack up for a few games. If we end up back with Day come finals, that's fine as long as we have tried a few combos.

It's a massive shame that we haven't had more VFL games to test out Smith and Gallop. But maybe it's Smiths turn in one more week.

I think we have more issues on the wing. Reville still doesn't look up to playing that role. Either bring Kai back in and drop Reville down to sub or out. Or bring McKenna into the backline and put Gletcher back on the wing. Fletcher has been great back but we are missing a lot from the wing rotation without him.

Fletcher and Bez are without doubt our best 2 defensive wingers who also add to the offence.
Everyone else are all one way players really.

 

[Dalions]

I prefer Fort to Day based on what I have seen thus far.

But, Day deserves more time in all fairness - he might really come good this week, who knows?

As for the Pies....I've not watched them play this year, but they'll be up and about. Good time for this game for us I think....I feel almost that we are still in "pre-season" mindset, slowly increasing the intensity in games.

Now the Pies get to come have a crack, and they will.......

.....and be brushed aside like the chaff that they are

Lions by 10 goals.

We work best as a team when our team defence is up and about so I hope Fages puts a lot of time into team defence this week.

 

[irel]

It’s too early for Smith IMO. The VFL team have played 2 games this season (which is a debacle of scheduling). He had one average game, one good game - but got concussed.
I’d give him another couple of weeks to build some consistency.

I do think he should be the next in line, and while we want to build him - you don’t need to build the next line of players through the seniors when you’re a premiership contender.
If we stumble or start to look exposed with Day then it’s time to make the switch and give Smith a proper run at it. We have 5 wins on the board so a bit of a buffer for that to happen.

I don't think there's any hope of us replacing Day until there's clear evidence that it's hindering our chances of winning.

IMO Fort is a better footballer but we went into the season with a plan and its working do far , if at times luck is going our way.

Not sure how much more exposed we need to be than the first half of the Bulldogs game. Bulldogs had our number and exposed Day and Hipwood and were running off as we could not hold the ball in our forward half. It was genuinely trending for a catastrophic blow out that may have significantly damaged our confidence as we progress through the season and possibly given other teams a boost in how to deal with our forward structure.

I understand that for the first half performance all players should take responsibility as the defensive running was totally absent. Until the apparent switch of roles between Day and Hipwood in the second half when Hippy got in the zone and also all others lifted.

Whilst Day has been serviceable (so he should, he is an experienced player and should be more than that) we need greater contribution from a Key Position/Relief Ruck role. "Serviceable" should not be an accepted standard for what we are trying to achieve this year. if Smith is out of concussion protocol there is no question in my mind that he comes in. Will Henry Smith be better? Maybe, maybe not. However, at minimum he would also be "serviceable" with an eye for future development.

In my opinion Day is a “break glass” type player to cover for a game or two when options are limited. I don’t believe he is our solution to our long-term finals’ viability. We are building our season brick by brick and yet to reach our full capacity. I understand that finals when we need to be at our best. Therefore, it is imperative that we find ways and start pumping games into Smith, maybe even Gallop.

 

[BuntonRules]

Is Lachie a lock to play after taking a knock to the foot? Had a look at the depth in the ressies and there isn’t a whole lot there, which surprised me a bit. Basically our starting midfield group we have now is strong but after that there isn’t much. I can’t see them going back to Tunstill/Dev for example.

If he was to miss (or at any stage this year), I wonder whether we’d just throw Levi on ball a bit more and have McKenna come in to take his wing minutes / rotate with Jasper/Bailey for those minutes etc.

Sam Marshall

 

[Section 5]

It was not a bad half of footy from the Lions just the one bad quarter.

We were not great in the first and i think the Dogs should have led by 10-points because they missed a few easy shots.
But the Lions ended up leading by 5 points at quarter time.
Seven goals a quarter was the theme from then on.
Dogs with 7 in the 2nd quarter making the Lions look a second-rate team.
Lions with 7 in the third and 7 again in the last quarter making the Dogs look second rate.

In a topsy turvy good game of footy we ended up 21-point victors

We will have to play a solid 4-quarter game against the Pies this week to get the win.

 

[braddsey]

In my opinion Day is a “break glass” type player to cover for a game or two when options are limited. I don’t believe he is our solution to our long-term finals’ viability. We are building our season brick by brick and yet to reach our full capacity. I understand that finals when we need to be at our best. Therefore, it is imperative that we find ways and start pumping games into Smith, maybe even Gallop.

I expect Day is in the team currently as he's experienced. Fagan has shown he won't throw young players to the wolves.
Henry Smith didn't have much of a pre-season due shoulder surgery and ultimately has only played 4 senior games. Ty Gallop was obviously drafted at the end of last year. Either of them will (or one of the other alternatives) will need to show some consistent form in the VFL, or Day will need to get injured or have an absolute stinker - as in really being exposed as a serious weak link.
If we keep winning with Day in the team playing his role, then the next up will need to show they have the potential to be a better option come finals.

I also don't believe Day is who we want in the team come finals - it would mean to me that the next players inline haven't been able to step up. I'll add that I don't expect Gallop to play more than a couple of senior games this season. Logan Morris is an awesome story, to have that story repeat is wishful thinking. I would expect Darcy Gardiner to get a shot at the position before Gallop.

 

[Lazza16]

I expect Day is in the team currently as he's experienced. Fagan has shown he won't throw young players to the wolves.
Henry Smith didn't have much of a pre-season due shoulder surgery and ultimately has only played 4 senior games. Ty Gallop was obviously drafted at the end of last year. Either of them will (or one of the other alternatives) will need to show some consistent form in the VFL, or Day will need to get injured or have an absolute stinker - as in really being exposed as a serious weak link.
If we keep winning with Day in the team playing his role, then the next up will need to show they have the potential to be a better option come finals.

I also don't believe Day is who we want in the team come finals - it would mean to me that the next players inline haven't been able to step up. I'll add that I don't expect Gallop to play more than a couple of senior games this season. Logan Morris is an awesome story, to have that story repeat is wishful thinking. I would expect Darcy Gardiner to get a shot at the position before Gallop.

Seeing Ollie vs Weazel in the ruck last night...is it out of the question Dizzy couldn't 2nd ruck? Bandaged shoulders might answer my own question but the day he did his ACL he looked dangerous up forward.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Day has taken 2, 3, 4 and then 6 marks in his 4 games. There is a steady uptick.

3.5 marks per game is only 1 less than Hippys career average

Henry Smith took 6 total in his 4 games last year

 

[martinson]

Not sure how much more exposed we need to be than the first half of the Bulldogs game. Bulldogs had our number and exposed Day and Hipwood and were running off as we could not hold the ball in our forward half. It was genuinely trending for a catastrophic blow out that may have significantly damaged our confidence as we progress through the season and possibly given other teams a boost in how to deal with our forward structure.

I understand that for the first half performance all players should take responsibility as the defensive running was totally absent. Until the apparent switch of roles between Day and Hipwood in the second half when Hippy got in the zone and also all others lifted.

Whilst Day has been serviceable (so he should, he is an experienced player and should be more than that) we need greater contribution from a Key Position/Relief Ruck role. "Serviceable" should not be an accepted standard for what we are trying to achieve this year. if Smith is out of concussion protocol there is no question in my mind that he comes in. Will Henry Smith be better? Maybe, maybe not. However, at minimum he would also be "serviceable" with an eye for future development.

In my opinion Day is a “break glass” type player to cover for a game or two when options are limited. I don’t believe he is our solution to our long-term finals’ viability. We are building our season brick by brick and yet to reach our full capacity. I understand that finals when we need to be at our best. Therefore, it is imperative that we find ways and start pumping games into Smith, maybe even Gallop.

One thing I can't envisage is Day in a big final on the MCG.

 

[braddsey]

One thing I can't envisage is Day in a big final on the MCG.

Did you envisage Darcy Fort being a premiership player at any time prior to Preliminary Final day 2024?

 

[braddsey]

Seeing Ollie vs Weazel in the ruck last night...is it out of the question Dizzy couldn't 2nd ruck? Bandaged shoulders might answer my own question but the day he did his ACL he looked dangerous up forward.

I don't recall every seeing Gardiner jump off the ground in his 150ish game career, although that's not necessarily a pre-requisite for being a backup ruck. AFL tables does show he had a single hit-out back in 2014.
Considering his shoulder history and coming back from an ACL, I don't imagine ruck time is high on his wishlist.

 

[Dalions]

One thing I can't envisage is Day in a big final on the MCG.

I can, he’ll tear it up!

 

[martinson]

Did you envisage Darcy Fort being a premiership player at any time prior to Preliminary Final day 2024?

Yes . As a ruckman he's perfectly capable of being a Premiership player.