Unofficial Preview Round 8 vs Hawthorn. The Luke Brennan Cup

[SGBeach]

Strange

Its the way you write.. some things I agree with, some I dont.
eg, you were very keen for OConnor to get picked - Hes never played a proper game of AFL - not at school, not in the NEAFL - Never! He might get a chance with a massive injury list and an extended bench?? Dont get me wrong, He excites me more than any other young defender or young tall.
You write as if you know more than the midfield coaches and Horse.. You most definitely do not

Hard to read sometimes

 

[SGBeach]

Don't hate it, but worried about the effect of so many losses on a culture build from not giving an inch.

The culture was built from an undesired move to Sydney, followed by years at the bottom of the ladder, players not wanting to be in Sydney, Trade bans, etc etc, even last year we finished 15th but had a great percentage (suggesting - never give up attitude) won our last 2 games with the last being Buddys 300th and club legends Jack and McVeighs last game to end the season on a high.
Culture was built on adversity.. this season is just as likely to strengthen culture as damage it.

 

[bungee]

.....You write as if you know more than the midfield coaches and Horse.. You most definitely do not

Hard to read sometimes

Classic. I put him on my Ignore list. A break from the BS and negativity.

 

[Troystenvic]

Looks like Ben Reid is going to have a blinder for us against Scum atleast according to their board and the Dickhead Scum fan that was here wonders why I have no respect for their moronic fans.

Bloody hope Sam does have a blinder but he's more likely to tweak a calf on the team bus

 

[sthmelb_dimmies]

McEvoy - O’Meara - Mitchell - Worpel
Sinclair - Parker - Rowbottom - Florent

 

[mikey_san]

McEvoy - O’Meara - Mitchell - Worpel
Sinclair - Parker - Rowbottom - Florent

Cool - we've got the fastest mids for a change. Bring it. (But DO NOT under any circumstance win).

 

[brad cooper]

Cool - we've got the fastest mids for a change. Bring it. (But DO NOT under any circumstance win).

You don't want to beat Hawthorn?

 

[bungee]

If Reid comes back let him go to defence.

AA was ok as a forward and another few weeks of good performance will give him a good confidence boost and he will be off and running again.

I'd be thinking Lizard gets another crack but would like to see more from him TBH.

Loving watching Rowbottom this season

AA doesn't have the physical impact to hit the packs hard, nor does he have the leadership that Reid brings to the forwards. He doesn't have Reid's contested marking nor does he have Reid's tackle pressure. Let him take his new found confidence and play the intercept role down back. Reid should only go back if Aliir is struggling to play on a tall.

Talking of defenders it seems Fox may have found a home down back. His game last week up against Sam Day showed he could play on a much larger opponent (11cm and 18kg bigger). His disposal is sharp, he can contest in the air and he's quick. He's started throwing his weight around a bit more these days and he likes to tackle. Could he become another Dane Rampe ? He's also a late developer, can play midfield, about the same size as Rampe and his stats this year are quite similar with the exception of metres gained. I'd like to see Fox have the confidence to tuck the ball under his arm, run & carry then hit a target.

Fox was unlucky to have only played 3 games in his 2017 debut season, due to a knee injury. With consistent games I think he could cement a top 22 spot this year. I'm calling it.

 

[bungee]

Do you ever not complain?

Perfect

 

[bungee]

Looks like Ben Reid is going to have a blinder for us against Scum atleast according to their board and the Dickhead Scum fan that was here wonders why I have no respect for their moronic fans.

Bloody hope Sam does have a blinder but he's more likely to tweak a calf on the team bus

He's more durable than most think, especially for a big man. Take out 2016 & 2018 and Reid's averaged >20 games/season for the other 7 seasons. He played his first 6 seasons at an average of 20 games/season. I wish all our talls were that durable. Buddy's been even more durable over his career but Naismith's at the other end of the scale.

 

[Millky95]

Remember we have a 5 day turn around after this game, so expect to see more changes after this regardless of who ends up getting injured

 

[MarkP]

Remember we have a 5 day turn around after this game, so expect to see more changes after this regardless of who ends up getting injured

Said it last week but this has confirmed it - it is more of a rotation strategy now certainly brought on by the injury list but I reckon he is just taking a few spots in turn now.

And fair enough, what more can he do at the moment?

I am just hoping for;

1. Not a smashing

2. No injuries

Nothing special, just that.

And all the best to the kids - now is the time to take your chances if not established. Spots are there going forward and the seats on the bus are getting fewer with the virus in all likelihood.

 

[robbieando]

Remember we have a 5 day turn around after this game, so expect to see more changes after this regardless of who ends up getting injured

We have a full week after this game. The 5 day break comes after the Saints match leading in the Collingwood match

 

[Millky95]

We have a full week after this game. The 5 day break comes after the Saints match leading in the Collingwood match

Sorry got my rounds wrong. Days blur

 

[Jewelsbon]

Do you ever not complain?

Blakey, finally, gets to play the role he thrived in last season. He's been bang average this season, but he's been taking the best defender most weeks. He doesn't have the frame or know-how just yet to deal with that. Now he gets to play third fiddle and move up the ground a bit more. I imagine Sicily will mark him up which will be a huge challenge for Blakey, but he's got that edge to him that can put Sicily off and nullify him.

I'm all for playing youth, but we need some experience in the team. Hewett going out in the mids means Gray and Taylor provide a little bit of that. They're not going to be world beaters, but they'll give it 100%, which for this season, is all we need. Our named midfield has two players over 100 games in Parker and Cunningham. We need older heads out there to provide structure, otherwise young players, as they do, get sucked in and drawn to the footy, leaving us exposed.

We'll have four players under three games, seven under 30 and half our team under 60, with eight over 100. It's a good balance to have at this stage in our development.

Wicks will get his turn this season, as will numerous others, especially with the amount of games they have to play in a short amount of time. I imagine when Taylor/Stephens get a bit sore and tired, Wicks will come in.

Now, now, now, enough of that good sense and logic, this obviously isn't the place for it

 

[caesar88]

Its the way you write.. some things I agree with, some I dont.
eg, you were very keen for OConnor to get picked - Hes never played a proper game of AFL - not at school, not in the NEAFL - Never! He might get a chance with a massive injury list and an extended bench?? Dont get me wrong, He excites me more than any other young defender or young tall.
You write as if you know more than the midfield coaches and Horse.. You most definitely do not

Hard to read sometimes

There's an ignore button if you don't like

 

[BruceFromBalnarring]

does anyone hate any player?

I hated Lockett.........and then.......
I hated Barry Hall......and then........
I hated Lance Franklin.......and then.......
I figured I'd better stop with the hating........but then......
I've now decided I hate Christian Petracca.

 

[BloodySwan]

I hated Lockett.........and then.......
I hated Barry Hall......and then........
I hated Lance Franklin.......and then.......
I figured I'd better stop with the hating........but then......
I've now decided I hate Christian Petracca.

I hated Steve Johnson then he became a coach

 

[swanssince2002]

I hated Lockett.........and then.......
I hated Barry Hall......and then........
I hated Lance Franklin.......and then.......
I figured I'd better stop with the hating........but then......
I've now decided I hate Christian Petracca.

Inb4 Christian Petracca comes here as a free agent!

 

[sr20]

I think we structure up pretty well with this side. Would like to see McInerney playing but there must be something more to that story, he certainly didn't deserve to be dropped and has shown a lot more than others.

Fox - Gunston
Rampe - Lewis
Aliir -Brooksby/McEvoy
Cunningham - Wingard
Ling and Lloyd grab whoever else

Parker, Rowbottom, Florent, Bell, Mills rotate through the guts (Shiels will go to Parker)
Clarke, Stephens, Dawson the wings (Clarke probably runs with Isaac Smith)

We obviously lack as far as names go when comparing JOM, Mitchell and Worpel to Rowbottom, Florent and Bell but good luck to them.

Reid - Frost
McCartin - Frawley
Blakey - Sicily (this is the most important match-up because if we use Blakey (or he moves to the right spots, Sicily is moved away from where he wants to be)
Papley - Hardwick
ETaylor, LTaylor, Gray as the small forward line
This is our best forward line for the season - a lot of variety and targets, and guys who can crumb at the feet. They have Stratton who has to play on one of the Taylor, Taylor or Gray which should be exploited

 

[Dubai Quacker]

I hated Lockett.........and then.......
I hated Barry Hall......and then........
I hated Lance Franklin.......and then.......
I figured I'd better stop with the hating........but then......
I've now decided I hate Christian Petracca.

Any chance you might extend the hate to Tim English and Darcy Moore?

 

[The King!]

yuck

 

[The King!]

He's more durable than most think, especially for a big man. Take out 2016 & 2018 and Reid's averaged >20 games/season for the other 7 seasons. He played his first 6 seasons at an average of 20 games/season. I wish all our talls were that durable. Buddy's been even more durable over his career but Naismith's at the other end of the scale.

Reids durability is fine he just rests on the ground mulitple games at a time or yeah just discount all the games missed and wallah durable

ok ill shut up, i think he will actually have a good game this week v hawks, they dont have a match up

 

[The King!]

The culture was built from an undesired move to Sydney, followed by years at the bottom of the ladder, players not wanting to be in Sydney, Trade bans, etc etc, even last year we finished 15th but had a great percentage (suggesting - never give up attitude) won our last 2 games with the last being Buddys 300th and club legends Jack and McVeighs last game to end the season on a high.
Culture was built on adversity.. this season is just as likely to strengthen culture as damage it.

nice point i like it

i think also it was the decision to embrace the past and teach new players etc, i think that's still strong

 

[caesar88]

yuck

I would've been happy if I never saw that in my life