Does it also mean Mankini Trekcle will be drafted instead of Nigel?
Very pleased at how Ridleyâs preseason is unfolding.
I hope not. Iâd love to see Nigel get the last spot.
I would love Ridley as a perm half back.
More so though Mckeena as a once in a generation talent would be a natural forward and a very powerful asset.
This move is so radical that it I feel that
success & multiple All Australians will follow.
How do you stop a guy that doesnât know what he is going to do, at freakish pace until the last second?
I also absolutely love the idea of Smith perm mid Lochie Neale style.
All three moves are Efen Genius.
Is this move the joker in the pack we need to take us from pretender gap fillers to being genuine contenders?
Agreed, i get the need for a good ruckman, Phillips seems to fill the role. TBh will be back.
Nigel once his fitness improves could become a weapon Jurrah style.
Iâm a Nigel man.
Last year I watched a preseason game at Princess Park. I got excited for five mins when TBH did some good things.
Then this red headed bloke ( Phillips ) - a bloke Iâd never heard of or seen started to dominate and run all over TBH. I left wondering why / how this would happen as I simply expected belly T to take him to the cleaners.
TBH wasnât injured, he was simply outpointed, out rucked by a bloke that wanted it more.
I left thinking it wasnât good enough& thought sheesh we need a Phillips.
I hope that Draper & Phillips becoming a great combo this year.
Perhaps a fit TBH might fill a spot as a lead up forward. He is a lump of a Lad and kicks it well.
Not sure what others thought.
Cracking reports guysâŚThank you very much.
To be fair on Tom B, none of our players wanted the ball. It was the most pathetically insipid performance by an Essendon team I had ever seen.
To their discredit, however, they produced even worse a couple of times during the season proper.
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Yes I agree, but itâs not good enough really. We need to see some fight. Not a few flashes and thatâs it. We were a vastly superior team and should have won.
Ok itâs only preseason, but winning teams have a winning culture and it starts by winning. Losing a preseason game isnât the be all and end all, I would hate to cop an injury for example. But I just donât think losing is good.
Hope Tigers winning culture starts to infect us as a team.m starting this preseason
It would be fair to say the club advises players to be risk averse in practice games and pre season matches. That might account for the poor showing against Carlton. Even yesterday there were several instances in the match sim. In one, I think Ambrose laid a 'cage buster hip and shoulder, which caused a few gasps. Then Clarke backed into a pack and Marty Gleeson took the mark and crunched down on top of him. Those acts are ok when its a real match, but given the number of practice matches they play each week, potential to accumulate injury on the list is high.
Regardless of whether TBC is injured or not, I think Phillips will turn out to be a very good pickup. Mobile rucks are crucial in the modern game, they donât have to be a Grundy or Gawn but covering the ground well and pressuring when the ball hits the ground are key. Phillips can do these things and reminds me of a Nankervis type.
Belly has been cooked for years, we just have had no better alternative. Even cooked in running and not being able to move with any agility hasnât stopped belly being good at taps and contested marking. Itâs a shame because pre the ankle injury he was looking like he was going to be a top ruckman. Especially with that leap, marking and forward play. The injuries have been cruel to him.
Having said that I think he can lead the next crop this year and we can see what happens. We have Phillips to take the number one spot and Draper to push for selection and relief second half of the year. Add to that a skinny kid who can pinch hit in desperation.
So what about Cutler in the match sim? Was he playing on the wing? And how did he do?
There doesnât seem to be that much in regards to Cutler over the pre-season. Weâve recruited him to fill a need, and I wouldnât be surprised to see him round 1.
He could be one of those guys that does t catch the eye at training and will step it up come the practice games.
We especially need a mobile ruckman to followup inside the stoppages. We still do not have a rugged big bodied mid (ruckrover in the old parlance) so when combined with the immobility of TBell its no wonder our midfield is average, even though we have plenty of good smaller mids.
He just blends in. He was matched up on Zaka on the wing and possibly played off half back or was just helping defence. Nothing was eye catching. I thought the other wingman Mutch and Ham were really battling it out but probably due to more space.
Not sure if itâs just me but I find the hangar wing to be more congested and well defended and the other wing always has more space. Same thing at MCG, MCC wing. Maybe more instruction is provided in both cases from that side so their better positioned.
I donât know which ruckman lays the most tackles but Phillips if consistently played will have high tackle numbers for a ruck.
cheers - be interesting to see who is selected in the inter-club practice matches