Prediction Round 2: Changes v Melbourne

[estibador]

I take exception to people saying that Darcy isn't professional enough or insinuating that he slacks off. He's clearly been trying hard to get his body right and it's just not happening for him, it must be frustrating.

This time last year I would have fully agreed with you when he came out looking fit and trim only to be unlucky with injury again.

But it was disappointing to see his condition last weekend. He looks very heavy again and appears to have put most of that weight back on. He's not doing himself any favours trying to lug his body around in that condition - both in terms of injury and in terms of effectiveness with the new ruck rules favouring rucks who can jump.

 

[dominguez]

Inb4 people still say JL is too scared to make big calls at the selection table...

Picking Darcy over Cox is a huge call.

He's poor on match day though, when's the last time JL did something mid-game on match day that turned momentum and got us the win?

So many players were poor after half time on the weekend and it was obvious that we'd lose early in the final quarter so try something to give the team a spark.

 

[PrancingPony]

Hayden Young is 24, I'm confident they'll get his body right.

Darcy is a worry though because we have no real ruckmen coming through. If we had a 21 year old ruck tearing it up at Peel I'd say do a Clayton Oliver at seasons end if Darcy's still struggling and get him off our books but then we're left with just Jackson, Cox who is 36 next year, and Riddle who is very green. We're stuck with Darcy for at least the next 18 months, lets hope he stays fit but Cox should have played this week and last.

Jesus I'm the same age as Youngy. Where do the years go?

 

[dominguez]

Is there a time frame on Youngy?

It'll be a standard 21 day hamstring but with his history surely we won't see him until the Pies or the Derby.

 

[BurnedScones]

This time last year I would have fully agreed with you when he came out looking fit and trim only to be unlucky with injury again.

But it was disappointing to see his condition last weekend. He looks very heavy again and appears to have put most of that weight back on. He's not doing himself any favours trying to lug his body around in that condition - both in terms of injury and in terms of effectiveness with the new ruck rules favouring rucks who can jump.

I'd agree he looked a bit slow, but it's odd because from all accounts he was having a pretty strong preseason up until his calf injury. Seems like a lot of conditioning lost for a short term injury.

 

[dominguez]

Huge game for my buddy Amiss too.
If Sturt was fit he'd be in some serious trouble. Needs to get involved. There's not a lot of room to carry a 7 possession forward these days.
I beloeve he's got the talent. He just needs to believe in himself a bit more.

We looked so slow last week and Melbourne looked fast.

I'm not usually a Jeremy Sharpe fan but hot day Saturday predicted. I would have loved to see Young, Amiss, Darcy out for Sharp, Scerri, Mason Cox. Cox as a ruck/forward and much more run.

Cox gives us so many more options than Darcy, Cox could play forward/ruck and replace Amiss with Murray for more forward pressure. Amiss looks like he needs a month at Peel to find touch.

 

[Diverbelow]

Mason Cox

18

Mason Cox

Age

35

Ht

211cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.7

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.2

4star

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.3

2star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.0

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.8

5star

's family are in town this weekend. Did the club invite them or did they just want to check out the new team. ?

If JL plays Darcy and we get beaten it is as we said in the corporate world "A career limiting decision"

 

[Alfonz]

I do hope Darcy doesn't cop too much from people online, he seems to cop it unfairly quite regularly, it's the match selection committee people should be directing their criticism towards, it's not like it's Sean's fault he's getting picked every week.

Sure, it is true that it's the selectors fault and he shouldn't copy any abuse. But he could also front up and say he's not right to play and doesn't want to let the team down. Same applies to Pearce. Players have done that before and are respected for such an attitude. Berry pulled himself out of the GF for example.

 

[PrancingPony]

Sure, it is true that it's the selectors fault and he shouldn't copy any abuse. But he could also front up and say he's not right to play and doesn't want to let the team down. Same applies to Pearce. Players have done that before and are respected for such an attitude. Berry pulled himself out of the GF for example.

True, I see where you are coming from, I also get the mentality of trying to push yourself through when you're not quite right, we like to all think we're stronger and more invincible than we are at times, we like to think it'll eventually pass if we just keep pushing on. I respect it but I think Darcy probably needs to cut himself some slack and take some time to work back.

 

[2big2strom]

This time last year I would have fully agreed with you when he came out looking fit and trim only to be unlucky with injury again.

But it was disappointing to see his condition last weekend. He looks very heavy again and appears to have put most of that weight back on. He's not doing himself any favours trying to lug his body around in that condition - both in terms of injury and in terms of effectiveness with the new ruck rules favouring rucks who can jump.

Ehhh. I don't know. I guess I'm sick of comments like this where it's so so close to bodyshaming. "Lug" his body around, "very heavy", "not doing himself any favours". But we never hear the same type of criticism for Young?

Since 2020 (chosen as starting point as that is when young debuted plus ruckman take longer to debut + develop), Sean Darcy has played 15 or more games in 5 out of 6 seasons. Hayden Young only 3 of 6 seasons. Of the 1 season <15, Darcy played 12 games. Young played 5, 8, 9.

But no one ever says anything personal about Young, they don't make any personal judgements about him or his training or his professionalism. They don't comment on his approaches to contests or blame his game style. If he was treated the same as Darcy is treated, the comments would be like this: why did this useless shit sign on until 2033? He cost us getting Warner last year for what? Him to sit on the bench with his millionth hamstring injury. Does he not warm up properly? Conditioning? Why did he break up with his girlfriend last year? His life must be in shambles. Why won't be just piss off back East and we can get some value for him before he needs to be put out to pasture. Young must have pictures of JLO because he is never made to come back through peel, he should have to be able to string consecutive games together before he can just waltz back in with his hammys about to ping at any moment. Why is his hair and face always greasy he obviously eats like shit and doesn't give a **** about professional standards?

I am not doubting the legitimacy that it is harder on your body and joints to carry more weight. ESPECIALLY if that weight isn't balanced correctly with your muscle profile. BUT can we stop acting like it's impossible? Grundy, Xerri, Nank are all massive and heavy guys successfully playing a role for their team.

For all we know, Darcy has been instructed to put on more mass, so he can act as a battering ram on the oppo ruck, allowing Jackson to have free reign when it's his turn. The outcry towards Darcy's last game has certainly been over the top. I mean if anything, isn't it also showing that Jackson isn't an effective midfielder? But sure let's all heap the blame on the same people as always.

I'm sure this is somehow Banners and Freddy's fault /s

 

[estibador]

Ehhh. I don't know. I guess I'm sick of comments like this where it's so so close to bodyshaming. "Lug" his body around, "very heavy", "not doing himself any favours". But we never hear the same type of criticism for Young?

Ehhh... well I'm sick of this overly-sensitive 'bodyshaming' rubbish.

They're professional athletes. Keeping their bodies in shape is part of their job, and a bare minimum expectation at that. It's not like Darcy hasn't shown it's possible for him to present in better condition when he puts his mind to it.

And if you're comparing Darcy's conditioning with someone who looks like this then I don't know what to tell you.

 

[ignoramus]

I mean if anything, isn't it also showing that Jackson isn't an effective midfielder?

I actually wondered about this when seeing that scores from stoppages graphic. I mean, obviously it would be stupid to suddenly declare it a “failed experiment” after one round, but I did wonder about how many of Jackson’s clearances (for example) came from his role as ruck and how many came from his role as rover.

 

[2big2strom]

I actually wondered about this when seeing that scores from stoppages graphic. I mean, obviously it would be stupid to suddenly declare it a “failed experiment” after one round, but I did wonder about how many of Jackson’s clearances (for example) came from his role as ruck and how many came from his role as rover.

yeah and I was being extremely facetious with that comment too. It was clear to me last year, as well as this year, that Jackson plays better with Darcy in the team. Jackson is a fantastic ruck but he would be wasted in a pure ruck role for 100% of games. Whether that's because he gets an adequate amount of rest, or because the opposition have to still put their best ruck against Darcy where possible, or whatever reason, I don't know.

I went to re-watch the game to have a bit of a squiz and see when Jackson was winning the majority of his clearances but I got too enraged about the amount of non HTB calls I barely made it through the first quarter. It would be very interesting to see if Jackson can operate at the same level with MCox as his supporting act. I don't think MCox has the longevity of a season in him that people are expecting though.

Ehhh... well I'm sick of this overly-sensitive 'bodyshaming' rubbish.

They're professional athletes. Keeping their bodies in shape is part of their job, and a bare minimum expectation at that. It's not like Darcy hasn't shown it's possible for him to present in better condition when he puts his mind to it.

And if you're comparing Darcy's conditioning with someone who looks like this then I don't know what to tell you.

View attachment 2556571

Because Grundy has biceps?





pictures of Darcy from captain's run, looks pretty professional-athlete shaped to me

 

[Dockernut]

Ehhh... well I'm sick of this overly-sensitive 'bodyshaming' rubbish.

They're professional athletes. Keeping their bodies in shape is part of their job, and a bare minimum expectation at that. It's not like Darcy hasn't shown it's possible for him to present in better condition when he puts his mind to it.

And if you're comparing Darcy's conditioning with someone who looks like this then I don't know what to tell you.

View attachment 2556571

Remember when we had the chance to get him in the draft and opted for Josh Simpson. This club just loves to shoot itself in the ****en foot.

 

[wakojako]

yeah and I was being extremely facetious with that comment too. It was clear to me last year, as well as this year, that Jackson plays better with Darcy in the team. Jackson is a fantastic ruck but he would be wasted in a pure ruck role for 100% of games. Whether that's because he gets an adequate amount of rest, or because the opposition have to still put their best ruck against Darcy where possible, or whatever reason, I don't know.

I went to re-watch the game to have a bit of a squiz and see when Jackson was winning the majority of his clearances but I got too enraged about the amount of non HTB calls I barely made it through the first quarter. It would be very interesting to see if Jackson can operate at the same level with MCox as his supporting act. I don't think MCox has the longevity of a season in him that people are expecting though.



Because Grundy has biceps?

View attachment 2556597

View attachment 2556598

pictures of Darcy from captain's run, looks pretty professional-athlete shaped to me

Now do the front end

 

[Dockeroo]

This game has alarm bells ringing all over it for me.
Young hungry side with a new coach and zero pressure on them coming over to have a crack off a fancied side that is heavily affected by injuries and some key players that looked well out of form in round 1.
So many similarities with the lead into the North Melbourne game in R2 a few years ago when they turned us over unexpectedly

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Mason Cox's family are in town this weekend. Did the club invite them or did they just want to check out the new team. ?

If JL plays Darcy and we get beaten it is as we said in the corporate world "A career limiting decision"

I'd say Feeder is probably on the money if Cox' family are here.

 

[rubydoomsday]

This game has alarm bells ringing all over it for me.
Young hungry side with a new coach and zero pressure on them coming over to have a crack off a fancied side that is heavily affected by injuries and some key players that looked well out of form in round 1.
So many similarities with the lead into the North Melbourne game in R2 a few years ago when they turned us over unexpectedly

yep. genuine pace through the middle, Gawn is a beast. Mihocek is quality inside 50 and JVR looks to have gone to a new level.

this is a proper banana skin, at home be damned.

i do not understand keeping Darcy in after a poor performance for 45% TOG, when Cox form against Gawn specifically is quite good. it's a complete brain-shart by the selectors imo

and i'll still say it even if we win.

 

[freo84]

How are people saying we were out of form?

We kicked 50 points in the first qtr. It's not a form thing.

Geelong just knew the play book and shut us down. We really need to work on handling pressure.

 

[Paracleet]

Man the board is a slog at the moment.

 

[E Shed]

Man the board is a slog at the moment.

PTSD man. We’ve all been hurt so many times we go into a defensive pessimism spiral from one game.
I know I do & I understand what I’m doing from a psychological perspective but I still do it.

I don’t do it IRL but this is a safe space for me where I can sook it up without being judged (much).

I’m totally down with people being optimistic or pessimistic. It’s all just how we cope with what is a very emotional journey over the season.
The Dockers affect my moods more than anything beyond my marriage and sometimes my art.

 

[sumavich]

Freo have been generally shit for 32 long years! Current coach is in his 7th year. Plenty of reasons to slog if you are a Freo supporter

 

[poshman]

How are people saying we were out of form?

We kicked 50 points in the first qtr. It's not a form thing.

Geelong just knew the play book and shut us down. We really need to work on handling pressure.

Yes agree. It is almost as concerning as our form would be. We should be experienced enough to deal with pressure and absorb it. It doesn't help when parts of the leadership are the one's making errors.

We should beat Melbourne here well. We need to come out hard and hit the scoreboard early.

 

[Dirty_banchez]

We will get a hold of Melbourne tomorrow. It could get very ugly for them.

 

[PrancingPony]

I've kind of gotten over the Darcy selection now, obviously from the outside looking in Cox seems the better option, but the coaches obviously believe Darcy is fit enough, and they see a hell of a lot more than we do, so might as well back him in.