Preview Round 8: Port Adelaide vs Essendon - Sunday, May 7th 1:10pm - Adelaide Oval

Who will win?

  • Essendon

    Votes: 18 48.6%
  • Port

    Votes: 19 51.4%

  • Total voters
    37
  • Poll closed .

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Why on earth is Reid named? Plays managed minutes in VFL then a bye last week. Either way comes in underdone or doesn’t play a game for a second straight week. Not exactly setting him up to exceed
 

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It seems unlikely that he would play, especially after all the hullabaloo about not playing them until they're ready to play at the level for the next ten years. Heck if he did play after saying that the hype would be ridiculous.

But with that said, he's been medically fit for at least three weeks, training in some form for six weeks, played VFL on Anzac weekend, and probably some match sim last week that we weren't privy to with the VFL team bye.

If he does play, it'll be his second AFL game, and second interstate away game. if he were to play again next week, he'd have played two at the Gabba and three interstate before even once playing in front of his family at home.
 
Also what was the point of dropping Davey if there was no VFL game and then bringing him straight back in?
 
I dint know what I was more surprised,

1) Trent Dumont is on an AFL list

orrr

2) he is apparently ONLY 27
 
Davey named on the field. So more likely than not to play.

But agree, think he was more rested than omitted after the Anzac Day game.
Correct he’s playing. Doubt he’d have been rested last week tho as he was managed vs Melbourne.
 

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My guess

Menzie (managed) in for Snelling (sub)
Hind to sub
Heppell (managed) in for Durham (suspended)

This means we go in with the same forward line as we had on Anzac Day (but with Walla instead of Snelling), and the same defence as we had in R3 against the Saints when Zerk missed with his ankle (so the only difference is Zerk instead of Laverde), which seems to represent our preferred structure at the moment after excluding LTIs.

Like the Saints game, Langford probably starts in defence, but moves forward when Hind comes on in place of one of Perkins or Phillips if there's no injury.

The only other way we've tried to make the defence work was to send Heppell back there, but if he is holding down a wing while Durham is suspended then that doesn't work, or there's Setterfield, and we saw how well that worked out.
 
My guess

Menzie (managed) in for Snelling (sub)
Hind to sub
Heppell (managed) in for Durham (suspended)

This means we go in with the same forward line as we had on Anzac Day (but with Walla instead of Snelling), and the same defence as we had in R3 against the Saints when Zerk missed with his ankle (so the only difference is Zerk instead of Laverde), which seems to represent our preferred structure at the moment after excluding LTIs.

Like the Saints game, Langford probably starts in defence, but moves forward when Hind comes on in place of one of Perkins or Phillips if there's no injury.

The only other way we've tried to make the defence work was to send Heppell back there, but if he is holding down a wing while Durham is suspended then that doesn't work, or there's Setterfield, and we saw how well that worked out.
Its a bit depressing injuries to two forwards has undermined our defence. .

To the point we're playing our best forward in defence instead :(
 
Not sure I understand what they are doing with Davey. One week on, one week off? He gets his 10 possessions, couple of tackles and usually a goal. Not bad for 1st year player playing forward pocket. He didnt even play VFL to win a spot back. Maybe this is the way they are managing him but is certainly curious approach.

As for Reid, seems to be them dangling the carrot. Get your act together quick son and we have a spot for you. No way he plays seniors yet though.
 
Davey named on the field. So more likely than not to play.

But agree, think he was more rested than omitted after the Anzac Day game.
Being named on the field doesn’t always mean you get picked

At the same time, it might be a pure match up thing. Thinking someone with elite speed can expose a match up in the port defence.
 
Gonna be interesting to see the VFL team named tomorrow afternoon.

Surely Flip can't play after his fortnight? And I hate saying it because he needs time in the VFL but Reid needs to play.
It seems unlikely that he would play, especially after all the hullabaloo about not playing them until they're ready to play at the level for the next ten years. Heck if he did play after saying that the hype would be ridiculous.

But with that said, he's been medically fit for at least three weeks, training in some form for six weeks, played VFL on Anzac weekend, and probably some match sim last week that we weren't privy to with the VFL team bye.

If he does play, it'll be his second AFL game, and second interstate away game. if he were to play again next week, he'd have played two at the Gabba and three interstate before even once playing in front of his family at home.
He played 7 games last year, 5 of which were in Melbourne
 
Being named on the field doesn’t always mean you get picked

At the same time, it might be a pure match up thing. Thinking someone with elite speed can expose a match up in the port defence.
It’s very rare that you get named on the field and don’t play

Like it hasn’t happened at Essendon at all since the start of 2016 (when I started doing the spreadsheets), short of a late withdrawal due to injury (e.g. Zac Clarke out for Daniher, Good Friday 2019)

Some other observations from tracking it;

At one time the first four on the extended bench were also nearly always the actual bench on the final team sheet

Some coaches have a sense of humour, name everyone out of position

Very rare to be ‘rested’ or ‘managed’ and not come back into the team the following week

under Worsfold, ‘omitted’ players missed at least two senior games before coming back into selection contention. Rutten didn’t do this. Not enough data on Scott

Injury updates are generally reasonably accurate with return to play time frames (when given - that short/medium/long term nonsense last year was awful!!!)

injury setbacks are usually also reported when they happen

highly paid senior players will nearly always play when medically fit (Don’t pay them the big bucks to play VFL!)

Worsfold took that to the extreme, would rather back in senior players to regain their form than play a kid

Coaches like to stick to their preferred structure, so changes are nearly always forced, and like for like

Coaches will not drop a player who is playing poorly if there are no fit and available like for like replacements
 
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