Preview Rnd 1 - Fremantle vs North Melbourne 24th March 3:20pm

[estibador]

Goldstein has never beaten Sandi H2H, even in his AA year. Sandi ALWAYS eats him alive.

Every year there's a new flavour of the month 'best ruckman in the AFL' and every year Sandi beats them when they go H2H. I doubt there's another player in the comp who wins their position so consistently.

 

[Dale147]

Must be getting close to season start, WA media doing the most trivial of wet toast stories, a few of my egirl supporter mates getting mouthy. I just warn them that we’re coming.

 

[sherrif]

Seriously think Swita is making a pretty strong case for Round 1 inclusion. Looks fantastic yesterday at the feet of Tabs predominately. I also like Logue for Mason Wood and Hamling for Ziebell if he is playing close to goal. Mason Wood is a running machine just like Logue.
Even if you go to training its impossible to get a read on Harley Bennell and his availability. Last week he came out and did enough on the track to suggest he hasnt had a setback, but was joining in less than the previous week. Colyer does look very good. Ive been impressed with his long kicking since joining in main training.
Round 1.
B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
HB: Ryan Logue S.Hill (only if Hill is 100% not 80%.( Duman to play if he is not 100%)
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
R: Sandy Fyfe Blakley
HF: Colyer Tabs Walters
FF: Swita Lobb Hogan

I/C Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield (Banfield f Ross wants to tag Hall).
Em: Duman, Matera, Giro, Bewley//Banfield, McCarthy

Bennell for Bewley or Banfield if he proves fitness. With Colyer spending time on a wing rather than forward. If we go with three genuine tall forwards speed at their feet becomes very important. Mundy to play forward when Lobb is rucking. As a guess that will e 20-25% of game time.

Blakley to go to Cunnington and play an accountable role. Conca to spend time on Higgins but not start on him.

 

[theGav56]

Seriously think Swita is making a pretty strong case for Round 1 inclusion. Looks fantastic yesterday at the feet of Tabs predominately. I also like Logue for Mason Wood and Hamling for Ziebell if he is playing close to goal. Mason Wood is a running machine just like Logue.
Even if you go to training its impossible to get a read on Harley Bennell and his availability. Last week he came out and did enough on the track to suggest he hasnt had a setback, but was joining in less than the previous week. Colyer does look very good. Ive been impressed with his long kicking since joining in main training.
Round 1.
B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
HB: Ryan Logue S.Hill (only if Hill is 100% not 80%.( Duman to play if he is not 100%)
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
R: Sandy Fyfe Blakley
HF: Colyer Tabs Walters
FF: Swita Lobb Hogan

I/C Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield (Banfield f Ross wants to tag Hall).
Em: Duman, Matera, Giro, Bewley//Banfield, McCarthy

Bennell for Bewley or Banfield if he proves fitness. With Colyer spending time on a wing rather than forward. If we go with three genuine tall forwards speed at their feet becomes very important. Mundy to play forward when Lobb is rucking. As a guess that will e 20-25% of game time.

Blakley to go to Cunnington and play an accountable role. Conca to spend time on Higgins but not start on him.

Would be pretty happy with that side rolling up for round 1. I especially like the forward line with the nitpicky thing being I'd switch the position of Lobb and Hogan, but I suspect you have them like that because Hogan has been recovering and Lobb has had awesome training form as a/the target. You are clearly not a Matera fan, and I hope he has had a good hard look at himself over the break and decided that he wants to be an AFL player, because he is in danger of needing a new career.

I also like all the run we have available in that side from the bench. It is the way to go, and interestingly, apart from Conca they are pretty good users of the ball.

 

[Demons09]

Seriously think Swita is making a pretty strong case for Round 1 inclusion. Looks fantastic yesterday at the feet of Tabs predominately. I also like Logue for Mason Wood and Hamling for Ziebell if he is playing close to goal. Mason Wood is a running machine just like Logue.
Even if you go to training its impossible to get a read on Harley Bennell and his availability. Last week he came out and did enough on the track to suggest he hasnt had a setback, but was joining in less than the previous week. Colyer does look very good. Ive been impressed with his long kicking since joining in main training.
Round 1.
B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
HB: Ryan Logue S.Hill (only if Hill is 100% not 80%.( Duman to play if he is not 100%)
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
R: Sandy Fyfe Blakley
HF: Colyer Tabs Walters
FF: Swita Lobb Hogan

I/C Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield (Banfield f Ross wants to tag Hall).
Em: Duman, Matera, Giro, Bewley//Banfield, McCarthy

Bennell for Bewley or Banfield if he proves fitness. With Colyer spending time on a wing rather than forward. If we go with three genuine tall forwards speed at their feet becomes very important. Mundy to play forward when Lobb is rucking. As a guess that will e 20-25% of game time.

Blakley to go to Cunnington and play an accountable role. Conca to spend time on Higgins but not start on him.

They may of backed Harley’s training load off.

 

[sherrif]

They may of backed Harley’s training load off.

Yea I m sure that is the case as he woukdnt be out there at all if there was an issue with the calf. The only thing Im thinking is that that the annoying slow build-up might result in him still building by the time the season starts.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

Who is?

People are going to argue statistics on here all day as they interpret and sometimes misinterpret those stats

At the end of the day and season North were the better team.

As for round 1 next season I'm finding it impossible to argue a case for either side being clear favourite

 

[wayToGo_]

Think we're just being ultra cautious with the golden 8 (Fyfe, Mundy, Sandi, Walters, Hogan, SHill, BHill and Bennell) this pre-season. If 6 of those 8 are ready round 1 I think we have a really good chance of winning and setting ourselves up perfectly for the rest of the season. If all 8 are available, I will take that miracle as a sign we will be playing finals again. If less than 4 of those guys are available it's going to be a really tough start to a first half of the season that is pretty brutal.

 

[sherrif]

Would be pretty happy with that side rolling up for round 1. I especially like the forward line with the nitpicky thing being I'd switch the position of Lobb and Hogan, but I suspect you have them like that because Hogan has been recovering and Lobb has had awesome training form as a/the target. You are clearly not a Matera fan, and I hope he has had a good hard look at himself over the break and decided that he wants to be an AFL player, because he is in danger of needing a new career.

I also like all the run we have available in that side from the bench. It is the way to go, and interestingly, apart from Conca they are pretty good users of the ball.

Actually, I am a Matera fan. It's more I think Swita is slowly building an incredibly strong case for selection in opposition to him. Its obvious at training Swita has much better endurance and better foot skills than I thought watching him in his two afl games and a handful of Peel games last year on television. If we go tall with Tabs, Hogan and Lobb we'll need speed and tackling pressure at ground level and that is what Swita provides in spades.

To be honest I dont think Matera has to have a good hard look at himself at all, rather the coaches need to find a way of maximizing his skill set better. Ive seen him train a fair bit since he's been at the club and he certainly doesnt lack effort. Ross has even said he smashed his previous 2 km result this preseason and he certainly seemed to be working hard the preseason before. The thing is that Matera has always kicked his goals from roving off packs. When you play in a team that finishes dead last in marks inside fifty then the lack of aerial skill is also going to effect the effectiveness of players who relyon getting front and square at marking contests. For all the criticism on here not just at Matera, but also in recent years other forwards Tabs, Kersten, Ballaz and MCcarthy the fact is that to kick a goal you need accurate delivery from players up the field and in my opinion Matera suffered from poor delivery more than most last year. If you remember McCarthy having a string of games where he had opportunities to pass off to others close to goal Im pretty sure you'll find Matera should have received more than a few of those handballs alone.

If he's able to make the most of his chances and also get rewarded more for his efforts through better delivery up the field then I think he can contribute to the side. He would only have to return to his 2017 season form to be a significant contributor to our team. That year playing predominately close to goal and in a team with tall marking targets he average 17 possessions 2.2 goals and more than 5.5 score involvements a game.

Like I said though at the moment I see four certainties in our forward line in Walters, Tabs, Lobb and Hogan. I think that structure needs speed and tackling pressure at ground level, but I also still think Matera can be effective if given an opportunity to play the role he has traditionally played over the course of the season as opportunities will inevitable arise when we have a few unavailable.

 

[The Warlord]

North aren't rebuilding. They are doing what they can with what they have to be as competitive as possible. It's quite honourable.

North could do a lot more to invest in youth over bringing in established talent but they choose to try and win more games now.

It's a bold strategy, let's see how it plays out.

Hmmm, I'm not so sure about this one. We played a fair bit of youth last year, I expect we will again this year - Tarryn Thomas and Bailey Scott two draft picks who could easily play Rd1.

Last year we debuted plenty and found some really promising players like Will Walker as well as the more highly rated in the draft guys like LDU and Pauly Ahern.

We've recruited some older/more experienced guys this off-season, but they have come onto the list at the expense of guys who'd been there a few years and not delivered what we'd wanted - Ryan Clarke, Mitch Hibberd etc.

I agree that we're not rebuilding, largely because we don't need to. The team that went to consecutive prelims still has its real core intact - Tarrant, Brown, Goldy, Thompson as KPs, Cunnington, Ziebell, Higgins onball.

We've recruited to fill needs sure.

 

[The Warlord]

Surprised no one has given a margin yet , I do enjoy an early margin call 2 1/2 months out from the game


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

North by 25 points

 

[Taylor]

Hmmm, I'm not so sure about this one. We played a fair bit of youth last year, I expect we will again this year - Tarryn Thomas and Bailey Scott two draft picks who could easily play Rd1.

Last year we debuted plenty and found some really promising players like Will Walker as well as the more highly rated in the draft guys like LDU and Pauly Ahern.

We've recruited some older/more experienced guys this off-season, but they have come onto the list at the expense of guys who'd been there a few years and not delivered what we'd wanted - Ryan Clarke, Mitch Hibberd etc.

I agree that we're not rebuilding, largely because we don't need to. The team that went to consecutive prelims still has its real core intact - Tarrant, Brown, Goldy, Thompson as KPs, Cunnington, Ziebell, Higgins onball.

We've recruited to fill needs sure.

Granted (pun intended) North aren't using the Carlton rebuild model, where you trade away all your established talent for draft picks and bring in young players so you bomb the next year for even better draft picks.

I maintain that North are pushing for competitive, not at all rebuilding, in fact actively not rebuilding by trading draft picks for mature bodies, exchanging salary cap to attract mature bodies in free agency etc.

Geelong is doing a similar thing and I expect supporters of both clubs will enjoy that over the aforementioned Carlton model.

 

[tonygeeks]

Granted (pun intended) North aren't using the Carlton rebuild model, where you trade away all your established talent for draft picks and bring in young players so you bomb the next year for even better draft picks.

I maintain that North are pushing for competitive, not at all rebuilding, in fact actively not rebuilding by trading draft picks for mature bodies, exchanging salary cap to attract mature bodies in free agency etc.

Geelong is doing a similar thing and I expect supporters of both clubs will enjoy that over the aforementioned Carlton model.

Spot on Carltons ' list tanking ' stinks and hopefully for footy's sake it blows up in their face


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Joao]

Hmmm, I'm not so sure about this one. We played a fair bit of youth last year

Using wiki because it was quick but assuming it is correct.

LDU - 7 games
Ahern - 11 games
Walker - 4 games
Murphy - 4 games
Morgan (Dons) - 2 games

28 games between 5 players (including Morgan who is 22 and Ahern who is 23) is not really "quite a bit of youth IMO".

You guys are not rebuilding at all. Nothing wrong with that, but it is what it is.

 

[M_rash]

Using wiki because it was quick but assuming it is correct.

LDU - 7 games
Ahern - 11 games
Walker - 4 games
Murphy - 4 games
Morgan (Dons) - 2 games

28 games between 5 players (including Morgan who is 22 and Ahern who is 23) is not really "quite a bit of youth IMO".

You guys are not rebuilding at all. Nothing wrong with that, but it is what it is.

Yep... sounds like a bit of the old replumb, rewire, and restump to me. You know... the stuff before you actually start the rebuild!

 

[Purple Jesus]

Yep... sounds like a bit of the old replumb, rewire, and restump to me. You know... the stuff before you actually start the rebuild!

Freo circa 2016-esque

 

[freo84]

North by 25 points

Freo by 25 pinches...

Banfield might use Crowley's pinching method on Hall. Worked against Harvey.

 

[Wayne Campbell]

Granted (pun intended) North aren't using the Carlton rebuild model, where you trade away all your established talent for draft picks and bring in young players so you bomb the next year for even better draft picks.

I maintain that North are pushing for competitive, not at all rebuilding, in fact actively not rebuilding by trading draft picks for mature bodies, exchanging salary cap to attract mature bodies in free agency etc.

Geelong is doing a similar thing and I expect supporters of both clubs will enjoy that over the aforementioned Carlton model.

Whilst we haven't traded established players for more picks, last year was the first year we traded picks for established players. Principally because we knew we were going to take Thomas with our first pick anyway. In effect we got Polec, Pittard and Thomas in return for that pick. Every other year we've used all our picks at the draft (including trading in a couple of extra second and third rounders). We've culled a huge amount of experience in the last few years including Harvey, Petrie, Thomas, Wells, Dal Santo, Firrito, Sallow, Hansen and Gibson. They have been replaced by younger players and yes we have also aggressively targeted experienced players through free agency but never at the expense of compromising our draft position.

 

[dropbear101]

With the loss of majak who developed into a player I really admire last season I think our forward line will trouble you.
Walters Hogan tabs lobb and McCarthy has potential.
Norths midfield I think is pretty damn good Jacobs, polec, cunnington (criminally underated), Higgins, goldstien and co is nothing to sneeze that core got them to two prelims including beating us in 2014 ( does anyone remember that).
I don't count hall as a second game player smashed him so bad last season.
However a fit freo midfield boasts fyfe, bHill, sHill, Langdon, mundy, cerra, brayshaw and sandi.

Alex pearce is a two metre tall defender he is one of the few defenders who might trouble big ben brown especially cause pearce will improve as it takes a while to get back to your best after two broken legs.

I believe neither team has the advantage.

 

[more_of_bito]

Whilst we haven't traded established players for more picks, last year was the first year we traded picks for established players. Principally because we knew we were going to take Thomas with our first pick anyway. In effect we got Polec, Pittard and Thomas in return for that pick. Every other year we've used all our picks at the draft (including trading in a couple of extra second and third rounders). We've culled a huge amount of experience in the last few years including Harvey, Petrie, Thomas, Wells, Dal Santo, Firrito, Sallow, Hansen and Gibson. They have been replaced by younger players and yes we have also aggressively targeted experienced players through free agency but never at the expense of compromising our draft position.

I like and agree with this post. I’d be happy as a fan with how your footy club has approached the trade FA and draft. Polec, pittard And Hall is a very decent offseason in the midfield. While I think it may take a few games to get these guys going though they are all quality “ins” and thought that Waite and Daw last year were influential and will be missed early especially at Optus. I think the Roos are finals bound will finish higher than us, but reckon we might pinch it at Optus in the first game.

 

[FlyHigh18]

Hello - It will be my first time visiting the new stadium.

Which level do you recommend i buy seats for or is general admin good enough? I assume it's not going to be sell out so no rush yeah?

Also, any areas to avoid? lol

 

[DaveLister]

Hello - It will be my first time visiting the new stadium.

Which level do you recommend i buy seats for or is general admin good enough? I assume it's not going to be sell out so no rush yeah?

Also, any areas to avoid? lol

You want to avoid areas in the sun and too close to a barrier. I've found I prefer being middle tier or higher to get a better view of the field but if you prefer atmosphere then middle or lower may be better

 

[Lach72]

Hello - It will be my first time visiting the new stadium.

Which level do you recommend i buy seats for or is general admin good enough? I assume it's not going to be sell out so no rush yeah?

Also, any areas to avoid? lol

If you look at the map, Block 148 is right in the sun.
Try something over the other side of the ground

 

[FlyHigh18]

If you look at the map, Block 148 is right in the sun.
Try something over the other side of the ground

Thanks!

 

[Tbonefreo]

Think we're just being ultra cautious with the golden 8 (Fyfe, Mundy, Sandi, Walters, Hogan, SHill, BHill and Bennell) this pre-season. If 6 of those 8 are ready round 1 I think we have a really good chance of winning and setting ourselves up perfectly for the rest of the season. If all 8 are available, I will take that miracle as a sign we will be playing finals again. If less than 4 of those guys are available it's going to be a really tough start to a first half of the season that is pretty brutal.

You hit the nail on the head there. Wonderful observation.