I think the Binnies would be doing cartwheels at getting us now.
Think we might be fielding our weakest side in sometime.
This is what we always do too lock in that sweet pick 9 or 10 in the draft.
3 Likes
Their injury issues are about on par with ours, but as has been for the case for the majority of the last 15-20 years ā¦ their best is still significantly better than ours.
Even if they can perform to half of that ability, theyāll beat us.
I just think we have been cut down too hard in our ruck and backline.
Itās not gonna end well is my feel.
Iām probably ok with that. We clearly arenāt having a crack at the flag this yearā¦.i mean the players will but we are a long way off it
Big NO to ADJ, there are a few kids that deserve a shot over him
3 Likes
It sounds kind of bad, but I think Jones not playing actually makes us better.
He has been nothing short of a liability
2 Likes
Still on the Zak Johnson train, bringā¦
2 Likes
Absolutely.
4-3 is way too flattering for this list.
Iām assuming Ridley, Jones and Gresham will be out injured.
It looks like Caldwell, Shiel and Hayes are the ones to come in.
Iād prefer to see SEH come in for Menzie. Menzie has been sub in back to back games, so he should be due for a full game one way or another.
Matchups vs Sydney
Their deep forwards / resting ruckā¦
McLean - McKay
Aaron Francis - Reid
Tom McCartin - Hayes
They dropped Ladhams this last week, so Iām assuming they push McCartin forward which means we have a Hayes matchup. But if he plays forward, then we donāt have a matchup for Hayes and they could expose us with a mismatch.
Their medium forwardā¦
Hayward - Redman
Their high half forwardsā¦
McInerney - Archie Roberts
Braeden Campbell - McGrath
Centre square midfieldersā¦
Grundy - Goldy
Heeney - Durham (Setterfield)
Chad Warner - Caldwell (Shiel)
Rowbottom (James Jordan) - Merrett (Tsatas)
Tsatas cannot go with any of these matchups, but weāll have to shift Merrett to a high half forward. The last thing we want is Tsatas against Heeney or Warner. He may halve the contest, but heāll get burned for leg speed.
I donāt like the Shiel and Warner matchup, but theyāll contest the bounce, then seperate and run free. When Caldwell is there, it should be more defensive orientated.
Wingsā¦
Florent (Bice) - Duursma (Langford)
Jake Lloyd (Campbell) - Martin (Roberts)
I donāt like using Langford on the wing. Iād prefer SEH there. I think heāll get time there, but if the ball isnāt getting to our forward line enough, then he pushes further up the ground. I think Florent, Lloyd and Bice could expose the Langford matchup. Theyāll expose SEH, but I think he can help with transitions out of our backline more than Langford can.
Our deep forwardsā¦
2MP - Melican
Caddy - Rampe (Hamling)
We can expose them for height. I doubt Rampe plays off the bench and Hamling has missed a few games, so they may not select him. If selected, I suspect at some point, theyāll play Hamling back though and push Rampe onto Langford or Perkins. I think theyāll back themselves in to beat us in the midfield and to pressure our forward entries enough to not have to worry so much about the matchup.
Our medium / small forwardsā¦
Langford - Blakey
Kako - Wicks
Our high half forwardsā¦
Hobbs (Merrett) - Bice
Perkins - Matt Roberts
Benchesā¦
Tsatas, Shiel, SEH, Setterfield and Prior (sub)
James Jordan, Corey Warner, Hamling, Cleary and Sheldrick
The only reason I still have Prior in the team is because weāre likely to need a ādefensive firstā defender.
Iām fine to leave Zak Johnson at VFL level until later in the year. Let him get repetition at that level before giving him a shot.
Regardless, we lose this game. Not sure we get much value out of this game as the game style will be messy as hell. Weāll be chasing them all over the field just to break even.
1 Like
I think the ruck pain plus Ridley just cuts too deep.
Iām gonna enjoy taking a look at Hayes though. But heās not afaik a Ridley replacement. Laverde probably is.
Iām guessing Lav if named will be very hungry. Hopefully he brings his best footy.
And given the backline already has Reid and Prior in it, I think we will need the experience.
Lets be honest here, the Ridley loss is the only injury that impacts the team.
Jones and Gresham shouldnāt have been playing in the first place.
9 Likes
The two players coming in for Gresh and Jones will be an upgrade and Hayes finally gets his long overdue opportunity.
Brad quietly seething that Lav is suspended.
1 Like
Gresh has been ordinary but he was great until injured this game. Had 8 contested with 5 score involvements in 3 Qs. Some of his inside to outside handball releases were critical. Oh and 6 tackles.
2 Likes
Weāre only missing Ridley from Defence, and he struggles to put a month of footy together lately.
What I want:
OUT: Jones, Ridley, Gresham, Prior, Menzie
IN: Hayes, Johnson, El-Hawli, Caldwell, Davey (sub)
What weāll get:
OUT: Jones, Ridley, Gresham
IN: Laverde, Shiel, Caldwell
5 Likes
I like it,
But I could make a case for ADW instead of Johnson.
Body more AFL
Played more in the backline this week and had 5 tackles.
Even though Johnson gets a lot of the footy and can have beautiful disposal, he also has many kicks that are chipped in the air giving the opposition too much opportunity and turns the ball over in dangerous positions.
ADW is safer with his disposal but still pulls off kicks that open up play with great vision.
ADW is significantly better in the air.
Saying that I would love to see any of Johnson, ADW or Clarke debut.
Iād be very surprise if our risk averse Coach plays 2 debutants.
The crazy thing is that, no matter how you view our position, weāve still won four of our last five games and weāre sitting (based on ratio) on the same points as fifth. Yes our percentage is appalling.
Outside of the top 6, no team has been performing with any consistency. Most have had some appalling quarters, halves and entire games, sometimes against bottom 4 sides.
If we had any luck whatsoever keeping our best midfielders particularly on the park, weād probably be better positioned.
We have another test moving forward to see whether we have learnt anything from the last couple of seasons and can make some improvements. If we play to our best against the Swans & Tigers and pinch one against the Bulldogs (or at least keep it tight), weāre as well placed as anyone.
Time will tellā¦
2 Likes
I donāt disagree with you but he wasnāt too bad vs North imo and we need to see him play AFL this year before a decision is made. Iād say now is as good a time as any. But fully understand that others are certainly in the running.