When did Aaron Francis become notable absentee? Him being named in best 22 before start of season was illy enough.
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Youâre not aware of his mental health issues?
You will be sad then as the kid isnât that bad and Woosha likes him as a back up. Hell I like him as a back up⌠He played very well against the Swans last year in the first game - kicked a few and provided an excellent target. He played very well in the Intra a few weeks ago and was the best Big man in the X series recently.
He is a strange unit but has a roll to play, I for one are very happy to have him as a depth player. He will come in an help us win a game. Winning Premierships is as much about your lesser players as it is about your good ones.
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I think he meant to emphasise the notable bit, seeing as heâs clearly not a best 22 player yet. Thatâs my take anyway.
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Why the fk wouldnât McNiece play?
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Scared of flying.
I hope theyâre not made to wear white shorts.
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Can someone tell Nino itâs a practice match.
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Underrated post.
Luckily itâs a âhomeâ match!
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Top-notch Tigers to take on Bombers
By Scott Spits22 February 2018 â 6:35pm
Richmond are set to feature the bulk of their premiership team while Essendon will be without a string of their best players in Saturdayâs AFL pre-season clash in Wangaratta.
Only three Richmond grand final heroes are likely to miss the JLT Community Series match - injured duo Daniel Rioli and Dion Prestia, along with Nathan Broad who will miss the first three home-and-away matches due to suspension.
In contrast, Essendon will begin their pre-season campaign without Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker, Orazio Fantasia and ruckman Tom Bellchambers, but their three big-name recruits - Jake Stringer, Devon Smith and Adam Saad - are all set to feature.
The Bombersâ 26-man squad includes captain Dyson Heppell, Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, David Zaharakis and the clubâs other ruck option Matthew Leuenberger.
Essendon coach John Worsfold said players were missing the clubâs opening JLT clash as part of their pre-season management.
ââThose guys (Hurley, Hooker, Fantasia and Bellchambers) were part of a crew of about six or seven that didnât do a lot of work pre-Christmas, due to injuries late last year or surgeries post season,ââ Worsfold told the clubâs website.
ââOut of those guys that were in that crew only Daniher and Heppell have done enough to come in to contention for this week. Theyâll probably still be on limited preparations within the game.
ââThose other guys are prepping for the JLT two game, so theyâll train here and have a big hit-out on Saturday morning.ââ
A bumper crowd in Wangaratta for the Saturday twilight clash is guaranteed as reigning premiers Richmond take to the field with close to the outfit that famously broke the clubâs premiership drought.
Rioli is still recovering from the broken foot sustained in the grand final success while Prestia has a minor hamstring strain.
Richmondâs first pick in last yearâs AFL national draft - exciting small forward Jack Higgins - has been named on an extended interchange bench, along with Shai Bolton, Mabior Chol and Ryan Garthwaite.
⌠( rest of article omitted for relevance )
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Thats weird. I would have thought that if they are lacking fitness they would be the first picked. Surely the more work they do now the sooner they will be ready for the real stuff.
Youâd be referring to his 7 disposal, 2 goal, 2 hitout, 1 contested mark, 1 tackle game? The one where he played so well that when we had a final against the same team and were missing our full forward we preferred to go in a tall down rather than play him? Heâs not the worst third string ruck in the league and thatâs about it, and that ainât much.
Why the hell isnât there a game on tonight?
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Thanks for putting up the stats Split round for that game in round 14. They convey to me that he did pretty well all things considering. With limited opportunities against the best defense in the comp. You forgot to add his disposal efficiency of 71% and that he was playing only as a fwd, not on the ball as a ruck man.
It actually stacks up pretty well when compared to Stewartâs games around the same time ( and his historical average playing for Essendon), but you already know this?
Clearly Mckernan is excellent depth player, can play half fwd and chop out in the ruck and is an important part of our attempt to win a final in 2018 as are guys like Leuy, Brown and Dea.
Itâs your weakest link that will leave you exposed more than the best players, so if the average across the board is higher our team is more consistent and consistent teams win premierships.
You need to be in the lid off thread, if youâre this positive about Smack.
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Clearly weâre just going to disagree on this, and thatâs fine, but the undeniable fact is that when we needed tall forward depth at the end of the year, with everything on the line, McKernan didnât get picked. Thatâs not excellent.
Pendles tweeted something like this and is now regarded as a sexist misogynist.
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Pfffft thatâs absolute pure horseshit.
We didnât require Mckernan or any other tall depth forward at the end of the year.
Both Daniher & Stewart played the last bunch of games with both playing well at different times.