2 suspensions and 2-3 injuries tends to be a bit different than the offered "yeah lets drop 5 players".

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BLUES 2010: PAV AND JUDD = FLAGS. DOING IT FOR THE LOVE OF DICK PRATT.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR TALKINGCARLTON SUPERCOACH 2009 YET?

That's a fair comment but I guess my point is that you can't base a performance on disposals and marks alone. Different players have different matchday roles and us keyboard warriors will never be privvy to each players personal role on any given day. Anyway - I'm sure you will find another way to write off Austin no matter how well (or poorly) he plays.

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I'm shocked to be sitting here

Given Geelong's propensity to win without their stars, Hawthorn winning without Buddy, Roughead and their 2 key defenders, Collingwood managing well without Jolly, Swan and Thomas, it would suggest that staying true to your structures, not compromising your game plan and players knowing their role in the team are far more important than having your best 22 players on the park.

Gradually bring them back, individually they won't be the difference between winning and losing, if its been proven that Franklin, Roughead, Selwood, Bartel, Ottens, Gilham, Swan, Jolly, Thomas, etc aren't the difference between their clubs.

Plenty of weeks left to deal with that.

_________________
BLUES 2010: PAV AND JUDD = FLAGS. DOING IT FOR THE LOVE OF DICK PRATT.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR TALKINGCARLTON SUPERCOACH 2009 YET?

The advantage that Collingwood and Geelong have over us is their ability to instill the game plan at VFL level due to them having their own team. Blues players coming up from the Bullants don't have that luxury and seem to take time to adapt.

Riewoldt gave Thornton a bath in round 1 and i have not seen another player take so many chest marks in one on one contests since this season. Lucky this time around that Reiwodt is low on confidence and may be carrying a injury. Also the forecast of rain means we should be able to restrict Riewoldt to 2-3 goals regardless of who we put on him.

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You heard it here first!

IN: Waite Duigan Robinson Curnow
OUT: Jamison OKeefe Armfield Ellard


I wouldn't mind having Setanta available too.

I don't think they pick Laidler for the seniors after missing more than a month.

Bower's in my best 22, but I don't think the current one is in form. I wish he was.

Ellard needs a rest, OKeefe not ready, Armfield would be good for extra speed.

I am only interested in winning. I bet the blue boys are too this weekend.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Both their VFL sides are bottom of the table though. If their game plan is that decent, and non-reliant on key players, then surely it should still hold up at a lower standard of football.

Collingwood and Geelong are rotating their players though, keeping them fresh. We seem to do it differently, we wait for an injury, and turn a one week injury into a 3-4 weeker. They prefer to rotate their bottom 4 in and out to suit match ups.

Such an approach I think is good for morale in the sense that it gives the impression that if you're out of the side, you're only a few weeks away from getting in if you continue to work hard, opportunities will continue to present, something that I think will come in handy from a list management perspective at the end of the year, when players feel they're getting the most opportunities where they are.

_________________
BLUES 2010: PAV AND JUDD = FLAGS. DOING IT FOR THE LOVE OF DICK PRATT.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR TALKINGCARLTON SUPERCOACH 2009 YET?

According to CFC Twitter Carlos is 1 week away.

Our problem is that it's always our most important players that we seem to be without. Can't see them being part of a 'rotation policy'.

But that said, we always seem to be chasing our own tails when it comes to player management. I understand that sometimes it's just shitty luck, but I've been alarmed for quite a long time at the number of times our key talls (our biggest weakness) are always put on the sidelines for weeks on end. We've all lamented for years our lack of a settled back 6, and it continues today.

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

I reckon we've done fairly well. Judd's missed 3 games in 3 years, Murph maybe 1 or 2, Gibbs even less, Kreuzer a great run until his knee injury, then compare it to the other clubs and the players they've missed at times. St Kilda still made the GF without Riewoldt for most of the year last year too.

Waite and Kreuzer going down over the past few years I think has stopped has from overachieving, rather than fulfilling the potential we had in those respective seasons.

_________________
BLUES 2010: PAV AND JUDD = FLAGS. DOING IT FOR THE LOVE OF DICK PRATT.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR TALKINGCARLTON SUPERCOACH 2009 YET?

fly into melbourne thursday morning

better win @#$%&!

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

Enjoy!

I'm flyin' in for the filth game.

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THEY LIKE TO SEND UP!!!!!!!!

Until each team plays each other the same number of times, the AFL, as a fair dinkum competition, cannot be taken seriously.

He (Mr Swann) said the honour and pride associated with the club's traditional navy blue jumper was priceless.

White played on Jack Rd 1.

OKeefe out? What are you doing BB

FYI Curnow and Duigan are another week away!

I think the MC will go with:

In: Waite Robbo
Out: Jamo Armfield

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015

Agree with that selection. Have been a fan of Army but he's lost the edge he had last year and the team has improved around him. Robbo was a HUGE out for the team last week.

Been saying for a while that I would like to see Hendo play back. It happened last Sunday and, albeit too late, it worked better for both team and player. Waite forward, Hendo back given the match ups align. Need to get some sort of system going up forward.

Still confused as to the story behind Bower.

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"It was like calling your ex girlfriend after a night on the booze, just a really bad decision".

This is true, but look at our luck with talls this year and others

Kreuz: Knee
Waite: Knee, Hamstring
Jamo: Shoulder, knee
Bower: Shoulder
Walker: Shoulder (repeatedly)
206: Shoulder, knees, concussion etc
Hammer: Knee
White: Knee
Duigan: Calf
Laidler: Knee
Austin: You name it
Mitchell: Shoulder (which admittedly was an issue before he was drafted)
Fisher: Shoulder, knee
Setanta: Nigglesfrom the beginning
Ironically the mainstay has been Thornton (and Fev to a lesser extent)

Imagine if we had a full complement of these guys fit and available for selection, but I can't remember a time when we even had half our talls to choose from.

It's been mentioned before that perhaps it's been due to playing at Etihad. It just seems that if you're a tall player drafted to Carlton, and when you finally start playing your best, you'll end up under the knife. It's a curse, and I'm @#$%&! sick of it. ARGH!

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Fixed

FWIW Waite and Laidler sustained their injuries before our 4 game run at Etihad this year.

Standard article bagging our opposition alert
Can the Tigers bring old Jack back?

Now Now Psych. I understand where you are coming from. I did say I'm only interested in a win.
I'm not Nostradamus and I don't know if O'Keefe will play well this weekend, same for Ellard etc.
I'm a huge Ellard and Armfield fan....but I need to select on form and strength and versatility and speed...and that's what I think I've done.
I dropped my emotional connection I have with players and let my head do the thinking. I might be wrong.

I think all the ins I have selected will happen, and someone has to go. Someone has to make room, and I think Tigers will also go tall against us. I've gone for the weakest link. That does not imply I have no faith in those I have ommitted. I've got Carrots and Warnock in my firing line too, but I don't think that's going to happen.

I was going to explain that I wasn't keen on development time for a few of our peripherals (upcoming stars) given the injuries we have at the moment and our need to win every game we can to make sure we make 3rd or 4th position on the ladder.

WCE, Hawks, Swans and Blues are going to fight out for 3rd and 4th on the ladder. We must be one of them. Must.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Me too - and managing to stay for the Bummers the next weekend!

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I'm shocked to be sitting here

My opinion...

IN: Laidler, Waite, Robinson

OUT: Jamison (knee), Ellard (omitted), O'Keeffe (omitted - purely for matchup)

Armfield stays in because he can go with Nahas or Edwards.

Duigan would play if it were a final. It's not, so he won't and will be another week away - as will Curnow.