It would have to be a top shelf performance to keep Jobe out.
Woosha has shown, generally, that he will give young players a run of games (except Langford last time), but senior depth players coming in to cover other senior players, they are effectively just place holders (e.g. Howlett).
However if Bird was clearly BOG and a match winner, there might be a bit of shuffling to fit both Jobe and Bird in if this didn’t ruin team balance.
If it wasn’t do-able, and Jobe’s selectin clearly compromised team balance, I would think that Jobe would make the call, just because he is Jobe.
Mind you, Jobe is clearly best 22 currently, so this is entirely hypothetical.
Exactly what I thought. I hope he does well of course but I honestly thought he’d looked like a player who had given up on trying the last few weeks. Next week Woosha will bring in Jerrett just to mess with us even more!
I think most week’s selections all point to the same philosophy that once Woosha has decided on his preferred 22 his focus is building chemistry with minimal changes and like-for-like replacements
Often sticking to one change and making changes such as
Howlett for Green
Bird for Watson
Instead of just bringing in the 23rd best player (eg Begley)
Once Ambrose and Laverde are back in the 22 doubt there will be any long term change without a long term injury
For mine with finals clearly still on the agenda its a pretty elementary decision. Jobe is sore and needs a rest, we need to replace him with another big bodied, contested player, enter Craig Bird. Green continues to be backed in by the coach and although we all would have liked to see Begley debut it shows the value Woosha is putting on a consistent line up.
Everyone looks ■■■■ hot when they’re allowed to do things on their own terms. See our wins against West Coast and Port. You give anyone clean take always from the stoppage and you’ll get crucified. Their 2nd qtr against the Tiger is the result of a team winning it on the inside and going full downhill skiing mode. they’re no different to Port we’re a few years ago and are vulnerable as a result.
Call me stupid, however I’m not even sure what that means. The logic of Jobe keeping Bird out is pretty reasonable imho and seems to be the reality given he is in and Jobe is out. Seems similar to TB keeping Luey out or Gleeson keep Dea out or Green keeping Big Boi out (not for much longer i expect).
I reckon if he got those figures he probably would, yes. But that would be a surprise, wouldn’t it? We are not flush with inside mids at the moment. Jobe is our #1 extractor. If he goes down, we need another extractor. The alternative is to change our structure, which I think the coaches are loath to do while it’s still working.
Given Bird has managed to crack the 30+ disposal mark 3 times in a 155 game career, I wouldn’t be counting on midfield heroics. That said, the guy IS a legitimate tackling beast and will hopefully give us a hard edge in this area.
St. Kilda are #1 at generating a score from defensive 50 while for us, we average 30 defensive turnovers per game, the worst in the comp.
We need to tighten up tonight or I can’t see us beating them
Interesting how the papers have gone all St Kilda in the lead up to the game. No love for Essendon on the day of the game. Historically this level of attention works against a club but who knows? One thing is clear, supporters will know if Essendon’s season is still alive sometime after 10pm. Will be interesting to see how the boys lift (or not) for the massive challenge ahead. Go Bombers!
