Resting Players - Dead Rubber?

[johnnomac]

So still weary.

I think that we should be wary, whereas the team we beat to win the 2013 flag will be weary ...

 

[Pusswah]

Mundy and Barlow missed Geelong.

Yep, but they're our grunt. That was like a bunch of rounds ago now. Want 'em cherry ripe.

 

[The Anchorite]

Would be shocked if Ballas played.

That's what I said before this week's game.

 

[kp junior]

Send a development squad. Why fly two weeks in a row? Have a rest this week, travel for Geelong at Etihad, have another rest, play a prelim at home, then travel for the GF

 

[yoong]

Every game in the finals is a must win game. The team must play their very best and try their hardest or there will be no next week to contest. No flirting with form or effort from here onwards

 

[kp junior]

Every game in the finals is a must win game. The team must play their very best and try their hardest or there will be no next week to contest. No flirting with form or effort from here onwards

Yes but this week isn't finals

 

[BananaOnTheRun]

i reckon we'll rest a whole bunch. as bolshy as it was ross to say two consecutive weeks of travel is fine with us, i think we'll take the opportunity to fly in against geelong with rested legs in quite a few of the squad because that game is going to be nasty, physically and mentally taxing, and we'll be going in to win it.

 

[freo84]

Rest who needs resting.

If it isn't broken don't fix it.

Throw the kitchen sink at whomever we play in the first final.

 

[theGav56]

Every game in the finals is a must win game. The team must play their very best and try their hardest or there will be no next week to contest. No flirting with form or effort from here onwards

So if we win week one of the finals you think it is a negative for us having the week off?

We have a pool of 22-24 players who it would be good to have available and confident going into the finals. The Saints game has dual value in resting any who have niggles and playing some who need the time inside the best 22.

 

[theGav56]

Rest who needs resting.

If it isn't broken don't fix it.

Throw the kitchen sink at whomever we play in the first final.

To me this coming round is a bit like the NAB. You are preparing for week 1, and do whatever is best for that. A range of factors come into play.

 

[malpaso]

We didn't rest McPharlin last year and look what happened. We have adequate replacements for certain players, use them.

We should rest Ballantyne, Fyfe, Spurr and Clarke.

Bring in Crozier, C.Pearce, Chrichton and Sandilands.

 

[kp junior]

To me this coming round is a bit like the NAB. You are preparing for week 1, and do whatever is best for that. A range of factors come into play.

Exactly

 

[FyfesBoot]

Rest Dawson, bring in Silvagni for the specific purpose of smashing Milne into retirement.

 

[JungleMuffinFTW]

I don't think it's about flirting with form. If you're feeling good, feeling great, you don't need a rest. If you've got a slight niggle, 10 days will probably sort it out enough that you're fresh enough to roll for finals. If they need a rest after a long season, and they've played most of the season, a short sharp training session during the week/15 min warmup on game day is enough to shake out the cobwebs

I don't think "flirting with form" is an issue, because we've played 5 months of no silly buggers footy. Our touch, fitness and game sense isn't going to be impacted by a couple of days on the sidelines between a Thursday and Tuesday training session.

If players are tight or sore heading in to week 1 of the finals, making sure they're fresh is the best way to go. A smash out against a bottom 4 side isn't really going to help us with being up to date with high tempo finals footy. Saying that, playing the Saints is probably close to the best preparation we can get from a bottom 4 side, the Saints lads will want to be up and about to send a non aggressive **** you out to Lyon. I reckon we'll get a solid enough hitout from them to make sure our lads are up to pace for finals.

 

[coldlunch]

Not a huge fan of wholesale resting of players, but Barlow did look a touch off the pace last night.. maybe i just imagined that though.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

Play your best 22 next week and rest Fyfe, Mundy and Barlow against cats to save them for the home final against Collingwood. I wish !!!

Freo v Geelong will be an epic game

 

[PapaJ]

Why rest anyone?

Honestly, these are professional athletes who train specifically to endure an extended season. The fact is, everyone seems to want to believe that they are fragile and can only just scrape through. Form is more important than anything else and it makes sense to keep a good thing going. Momentum is the name of the game.

They're professional athletes, but like any professional athletes, they will perform better if they're not over stressed and not required to fly 16 hours in 7 day period. That's the thing, it's not the game, it's the travel factor as much as anything. Plus keep in mind that, if we lose the 1st final, which despite our confident feelings right now is a distinct possibility, we may well have a 6 day break after that. It could be away game, away game, 6 day break.

Not wholesale changes, but anybody who remotely needs it, gets the rest - if that costs us the game, no biggie, the benefits will easily outweigh any cost.

 

[leeloo]

Looks like it will be Milne, Kosi and Blakes retirement game. Emotion could be high for the Saints.

 

[yoong]

So if we win week one of the finals you think it is a negative for us having the week off?

We have a pool of 22-24 players who it would be good to have available and confident going into the finals. The Saints game has dual value in resting any who have niggles and playing some who need the time inside the best 22.

Yes, I understand that it is silly to push players too hard we risk injury for a game of no consequence (like ballas should rest). But our team success is build on team effort and pressure, which I worry will be disrupted not by the rest, but telling the guys it's ok to 'relax' a little.

Take the bye, we went in on a high, everyone patted themselves on the back and had a rest. The intensity is turned off, and we struggled with Brisbane and took us a while to return to the same level of intensity.

Maybe I'm just pessimistic or something, but I rather no lose this intensity going into the finals

 

[Righteo]

I'd be wondering about Mundy, Barlow, plus pretty much anyone else who hasn't missed a game, Muzz, Crawley, Johnson, etc.

Not all of them but i'd be thinking about 2-3.

I agree, probably shouldn't make wholesale changes but of the guys who've played all games so far this year I'd like to see at least a couple have a rest. Anyone under an injury cloud shouldn't be in the team either (Ballas, Subes).

 

[tofushark]

i think the best parallel is last year, after two weeks in a row on a plane, against Adelaide we just run out of legs. the mid season breaks aren't really relevant as players haven't been through the whole season.

anyway my best guess is anyone with a niggle or is down on any of the endurance indicators will be left out.

 

[Taylor]

We have been resting players. They were forward and back over large portions of the last three games.

 

[Two Planks]

Freo v Geelong will be an epic game

Especially at Etihad Stadium. I think its a 50/50 contest.

 

[Taylor]

If we are going to rest players why aren't we considering sending the A team against St Kilda, the B team against Geelong the following week and then playing a 5-8 side at home with our A team to get into a prelim final?

 

[coldlunch]

If we are going to rest players why aren't we considering sending the A team against St Kilda, the B team against Geelong the following week and then playing a 5-8 side at home with our A team to get into a prelim final?

because we want to win week 1 and earn a week off & home prelim