Agreed. So many bad options if Bruce is out, I can't see any really good ones. This week the coaching staff really earn their money.
Actually, just thinking about this. The real challenge is to replace Bruce's tank. He spends like 80-90% of the game on the ground running up and down. That's crucially important in our current gameplan. If we replace him with someone with a smaller tank then that means more of that load falls onto others (or else it doesn't get done, which is worse).
In order of preference from that point of view:
Hind: is a runner so presumably he's got a lot to work with in the tank
Joyce: no idea about his but he was still going well in the last quarter in round 1
Longer: has never been known for having a huge tank, but he has done 8 AFL pre-seasons so surely he's better now?
Marsh: from what people have said on here, sounds like he's not fully match-fit yet, so that would be a risk
But each of them have challenges:
Hind: completely different type of player, means we no longer have a tall forward in the side
Joyce: no idea if he's ever played forward, or send Battle forward and disrupt the defence - Joyce + Brown together would seem to limit rebound
Longer: means Marshall has to move out of the ruck, and his clearance ability and possessions round the ground have been crucial
Marsh: sounds like the best drop in replacement, can play forward and give a contest
So we can either change the structure (Hind); change the defence (Joyce); change the midfield (Longer); or pick an underdone guy (Marsh).
Shitty options! I'd probably go with Marsh to keep the team stable, and back him to be strong enough mentally to keep running all day. No idea if that will work though.