Opinion Round 6 Changes vs. Essendon.

[Moo]

I think they need to start referring to them by their first names...Brazilian soccer player style.. "Alex with some magic, Clancee smashes the contest open, the ball spills to Danyle and he slots the goal from 55 on the boundary!"

Goooooooooaaaaaaaaallllllllllll

 

[Simmofreo]

People underestimate how McPharlin has really made a difference this year.

 

[Dockernut]

I wouldn't get too excited. He's only got a game because our first 3 choices of key defender are all injured.

Nah, get excited. Have seen AP play in a few Peel games this year and can safely say he's got some real talent. He's raw, but for a 200ish cm player he has tremendous agility and speed. And even though he's skinny, he's got a tonne of courage and can take an overhead mark. Wouldn't be surprised to see him swing forward at some stage. Will be a quality player.

 

[Righteo]

Nah, get excited. Have seen AP play in a few Peel games this year and can safely say he's got some real talent. He's raw, but for a 200ish cm player he has tremendous agility and speed. And even though he's skinny, he's got a tonne of courage and can take an overhead mark. Wouldn't be surprised to see him swing forward at some stage. Will be a quality player.

Going to be a ****ing gun, I am very very excited to see him play on Saturday. Very unique player.

 

[ydraw]

Nah, get excited. Have seen AP play in a few Peel games this year and can safely say he's got some real talent. He's raw, but for a 200ish cm player he has tremendous agility and speed. And even though he's skinny, he's got a tonne of courage and can take an overhead mark. Wouldn't be surprised to see him swing forward at some stage. Will be a quality player.

Oh, I am definitely excited about seeing Pearce play. He looks like a genuinely good prospect. What I meant was: Don't get too excited about this being the start of a new era where we are going to see all of the kids playing. Pearce only got this opportunity because Dawson, Silvagni and McPharlin are all injured. And regardless of how well he goes, it will likely be the only game he plays this year.

 

[Simmofreo]

By the way AP's little video on the freo site said he luke knew quite early he was unlikely. I really hope it is just soreness because we need him next week against the dogs

 

[Bicco]

Just so stoked for Alex. I agree with AAACockburn, his parents and whole family will be so excited, it's really a reward for the sacrifices that the family has made.
On another note, it's a great managerial decision. I worked in hospitality for years and it was always good to bring in a new worker if you felt that your crew was getting complacent/sloppy. New blood makes the old hands refocus and lift. They feel the responsibility.

 

[Lost_Deputy]

By the way AP's little video on the freo site said he luke knew quite early he was unlikely. I really hope it is just soreness because we need him next week against the dogs

Lol! Come on Simmo. One week at a time mate. Just enjoy what we have in front of us

 

[Agenfrida]

By the way AP's little video on the freo site said he luke knew quite early he was unlikely. I really hope it is just soreness because we need him next week against the dogs

I actually think we'll be ok against the dogs if Alex plays instead of Luke. He'd most likely stand Boyd. Both in their second year and both green. As long as we dominate the midfield battle, Alex won't be under too much pressure. In saying that, they beat Sydney so we can't take them too lightly.

 

[Bicco]

By the way AP's little video on the freo site said he luke knew quite early he was unlikely. I really hope it is just soreness because we need him next week against the dogs

I love you. You're the only poster I read out loud to my wife. Your pessimism always cheers us up!

 

[democritus]

The more I think about, the less McPharlin's injury worries me. I think we are just being overly cautious.

Essendon have some tall timber and on paper their KPF's look formidable, but in reality they aren't performing well as a unit. Watching Daniher and Carlisle over the weekend they seemed to be quite stagnant in their movement and often spoiled each others leading patterns. It's almost as if they play too similarly.

I'm loathe to use the Eagles as a point of comparison, but Schofield and McGovern acquitted themselves quite well against McCarthy and Cameron, two players who are in far better form than the pair from the dons. In some respects. Johnno and Pearce are comparable to the Eagles backmen, Johnson a vast improvement on Schofield and Pearce an unproven quantity thus far, and the forwards they are lining up on are likely to face similar issues to those that GWS faced last weekend. Namely, quality supply from their on-ballers.


I'm fairly sure that Essendon are 18th in clearance differential, whereas we are 2nd. The bombers aren't getting first use and can't get it to their forwards quickly and with much advantage. If we dominate in the middle we effectively take their talls out of the game.

We also seem pretty flexible with our backline. Ibbo and Spurr are happy to fill the hole or drift in as the third man up to the contest. Likewise, Sandi (along with Clarke lately) seems content to run hard defensively and take some big clunks down back; denying opposition forwards a clean run at the ball. Taberner is also an option down-back if things go pear-shaped and Mayne, despite giving up a fair bit of height, will keep any opponent honest if asked to perform a shut down role for the team.

Bring it on!

 

[Gekko71]

Bloody stoked for Alex - I haven't seen him play this year, but when I last saw him play at Peel you could see he was something special - build like a skinny ruckman but he moved, ran, ducked, jinked and sold dummies just like a mid. I also recall him having a bloody surprising turn of speed for such a tall man - so really looking forward to seeing him play. I expect like many debutantes he will be a bit star-struck at first, but settle as the game goes on.

AS for Elvis having a rest, frankly I couldn't be happier. We got a great start to the season, he was solid as a rock in two big danger-games and now he's having a rest at the FIRST sign of a niggle, well before it develops into an injury - exactly what the doctor ordered. Dawson appears to be on the verge of a return, but they are being super-cautious with him as well. With a full month of training and rest under his belt, Zac should be fit and fresh.

If Alex can perform to even half of his potential on Saturday, then our back-line problems aren't looking quite as dire as they were.

 

[Simmofreo]

I love you. You're the only poster I read out loud to my wife. Your pessimism always cheers us up!

Well I love you too

I post about what I'm thinking at the time but I sometimes have to think twice and think how it will be perceived nowadays

 

[purplerunsdeep]

The backline and mids will be doing everything to support Pearce on his first outing. You will see ibbo constantly drift across / block and the mids will step back clog their forwards run as much as possible

I hope he gets a few one on ones for us to see how he goes but really excited for the guy

 

[mike91]

In retrospect, as soon as Silvagni got injured, we should known McPharlin wouldn't play. SCOS always seems to get injured at the worst possible time, I think he even got reported in the WAFL once at the worst time. Feel for the bloke, you know he must be disappointed right now.

 

[Gekko71]

...I hope he gets a few one on ones for us to see how he goes but really excited for the guy

Hopefully he'll surprise a few, he really is bloody nimble at times. His AFL draft footage is below - have a look at the last passage of play at about 1.05 minutes in to see what I mean about being nimble.




There's some really good footage of Alex in action in this video as well - loves the bit where he burns off his man around the boundary, breaks a tackle and slots a goal on the run. PS: Watch closely and you will also notice that he can kick off his left foot at speed as well as his right.

 

[Crippa]

AS for Elvis having a rest, frankly I couldn't be happier. We got a great start to the season, he was solid as a rock in two big danger-games and now he's having a rest at the FIRST sign of a niggle, well before it develops into an injury - exactly what the doctor ordered.

My thoughts exactly. Hence why I reacted like this when I heard it was Alex Pearce in, McPharlin out.

 

[mike91]

I just think we're not taking any risks with McPharlin, I think hes ok, not stressing.

 

[Sully90]

Nothing to see here people. McPharlin to be rested for 1-2 weeks, Dawson to play WAFL next week for the match practice. Then they'll both come back in at around the same time. Excited to see what Pearce can do, he's been slowly building to his debut for a while now.

 

[Freo88]

Remind me why Essendon is not a danger game? They knocked off the reigning premiers 3 weeks ago and pushed the swans all the way in round 1. Am i missing something?

 

[tacopavlich]

Am i missing something?

That they almost lost to the Saints and got belted by the Pies more recently? Yes. Essendon won't be push overs but this is a game we have no excuse not to win.

 

[Alfonz]

The AFL team sheet does list the injury as calf soreness. So that is some consolation.

If Pearce does his job, I'd honestly give Luke 2-3 weeks off, and then continue nursing him through the season. As much as RTB says we'll assess him as we go, I think we should be giving him as much rest as possible. With injury issues to SCOS and Dawson, we also need to give Pearce some decent experience, in case he is needed in finals.

Personally, this is what I would hope for Elvis in a perfect world:

• Rd 6-8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18-19, 22 = rest/byes ... covers games vs weaker opposition
• Rd 9 (Crows), 10 (Tigers), 13 (Pies), 15 (Hawks), 17 (Tigers) = play against harder opposition and/or good KPF (e.g. Cloke, Walker, Riewoldt). Decision to play in Rds 20/21/23 can be assessed later, depending on how the season has unfolded.

 

[Purple Maverick]

Chuck Norris has Alex pearce's number in his speed dial

 

[Wizard]

Chuck Norris has Alex pearce's number in his speed dial

I recall he had Brock O'Briens too so lets all calm down.

 

[Boppo]

Remind me why Essendon is not a danger game? They knocked off the reigning premiers 3 weeks ago and pushed the swans all the way in round 1. Am i missing something?

we're a different unit this year, its noticeable. We let them back in in 2013 ross will have this sorted this time.