I reckon Hadley is very overrated and should be dropped again this week as he is just too slow.

I'd bring in Robinson and Gartlett this week as we need to add some pace. Wiggins and Cloke to go. Maybe give Carlos a go as he can pinch hit in a variety of roles. I'd persist with Austin and Hampson. Yarran should be given the cahnce to play on the big stage...lets see how he reacts to it. Would be swapping him with Garlett during the game as both aren't at peak fitness.

Waite to play wing, Krueze CHF swapping with Hamspon in the ruck. Hampson to go to CHF when resting to put more pressure on their backs. Keep the forward 50 open and play down the middle.

Is Hartlett playing good enough to replace Thornton? Or is this just wishful thinking...I think the latter..

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

I'd be dropping Stevens before Hadley, sorry, but one has courage and the other one just does not.

I was thinking the same thing reading the previous posts, i would also drop him before Scotland and Simpson, at least they attack the ball and contest. If the MC wants to REALLY send a message this is it.

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The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

Ronald Reagan

What SHOULD Happen:-

Out's
Stevens, Russell, Cloke, Simpson

Ins
Robbo, Bannister, Setanta, Houlihan



Keyword = Should.

Stevens has been woeful all year and the attitude that he's been showing is worse than Fev's. Can't understand why nobody has brought this up?
He constantly slouches, whinges and moans and stands there with his hands on he's hips when things don't go his way.

Cloke, who i have always admired, just has to find something. That extra step up. And i think he can do it in the two's.

Simpson DOES NOT LOOK FIT. He has lost pace which means his confidence and decision making suffer as a result. REST HIM.

Russell has his Lovers on this site, and good luck to you all................. but in all honesty he would fail to get a role in other team. He's struggle to get into the Melbourne side.
(Can somebody give me the name of his opponent the other night?)



Houlihan had one bad game and was dropped, but Houlihan, for all his frustrations, does seem to play well against the Essendons, Collingwoods and such. Bring Him In..... If Fev's having a bad day up forward we need all the help we can get. Plus, he's kicking skills are FAR SUPERIOUR to any of the woefull crap i saw on saturday night!

Setanta too has his faults, but if we gonna insist on playing the "Kick along the wing to a contest' crap then you are gonna need a tall fast wingman, and i think Setanta could be good for that role.
(Note:- Even though he is no ruckman, he is CLEARLY better than both Hampson and Cloke together!-Stats even show that!)

Robbo probably should have been picked ahead of Yarren, but regarldess, he has gone back to the two's and put in the hard yards AND DESERVES a selection. Sick and tired of players getting picked on any other reason other than THEY DESERVE TO BE PICKED!

Bannister is a forgotten one. Bring him in. He has recoved well from his injury and can play a tag role, midfield or along the flank.

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

Wether we need to freshen up the side with the inclusions of Yarran, Robbo and Browne.

Does Aussie play forward in place of Cloke?

Do we bring in Hartts to play down back and Waite moves forward?

It would be exciting to see a side with Yarran, Armfield, Browne, Robbo, Aussie, AJ, Murph, Gibbs and Krooze light up the G

Hope we do freshen the side up.

IMO Harts is a long way off. Still gets easily outbodied at VFL level. A few people are calling for Setanta. I don't see why he is not up to it.

I would have Kruezer and Waite rotating between CHF and FP.

I would love to see Robinson, Browne, Anderson, Bannister, Garlett in for Stevens, Wiggins, Cloke, Simpson & Thornton

Collingwood aren't tall or physical.

Hammer can go with Fraser most of the day. We don't need two ruckman!

Key defenders in Austin, Bower & Jamo is enough. Bannister can play that role as well if needed. Gives us more run from defence that we need. Surround them with Browne, Anderson, AJ, Armfield, Scotland.

Forward line of Kruezer, Waite, Fev surrounded by Garlett, Yarran, Betts & Robbo.

Bring the excitment back from Rd 1.

All those clowns who are saying that we should drop FEV are bloody ridiculous. He has carved up Harry Obrien the last few times we have played them and he will again this week. Drop FEV what a joke.

Cloke needs to go, i like him but he applies no defensive pressure. Replace with Setanta.

I would like to see Robbo back in too, he adds defensive pressure. Not sure who out.

Give them a roasting on track this week and they will be fine. We will roll the Pies this week and people will be on here next week raving about the players. Stop making wholesale changes and just get some blokes to pull their fingers out.

Fisher will add nothing that Cloke hasn't got, he is just as slow.

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Blue boy thru and thru

Wiggler played good games in round 1 & 2.
Russell has succeeded in his primary role to shut down a very dangerous opponent every week.

In the last 3 weeks Russell has shown truck loads more than Wiggins. So has Simpson. Not saying they have been superstars, but since round 3 Wiggler has been by far the weakest link, In other words we've been carrying him for 4 weeks.

Did you see what Wiggins did in the last 2 weeks? Neither has anyone else.

How does Wiggins survive your cut?

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Collingwood (MCG)
Adelaide (AAMI)
West Coast (ES)
Brisbane (Gabba)

If 6-5 was the benchmark for mid season, then the next four weeks will need to be when we start to get a run on.

Got to get a bag out of the big fella though.

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

Fev we know will kick a 'bag' on the G against the Pies.

That's a given.

Now lets get the rest of the forwardline structured so its multipronged.

I want Waite and Kreuzer forward rotating and creating a nuisance.

I want Yarran, Betts, Houlihan and Robbo at their feet crumbing.

Let Hammer follow Fraser around and when we've got the ball run Fraser into the ground. Bryan isn't much of a runner either.

Bring in Setanta to rotate in the ruck with Hammer, and if need be add Kreuzer in there too for cameos. Setanta can be used to tag Cloke again if need be.

I don't think it's necessary to have Austin in, but more games under his belt will only serve him and the club for the future. Whether he finds his feet for the 2nd half or for 2010 every game will be a benefit.

The corridor is there for the taking. I want to revert back to the preseason game plan and that of the first 2 games of the season where we were running the ball like a team.

Quick ball movement is our key...and forward targets who are in form the panacea.

I want a win this weekend to square the ledger. I don't want the season to slip away and think it is really important in the 2nd half for all the players to be playing for a spot in the 8.

Walks and Warnock will return imo and we should be able to get onto some roll and team structure which may threaten the top 3.

We are not expected to win the flag this year, but have to ensure 2009 is a stepping stone year, and we achieve our original charter of playing finals in 2009.

Pick players who show form and who can help us get the 4 pts every week.

No favoutism, no passengers please.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Fair enough - drop him............ but who do you bring in?

I've kept him in for the reason being that whilst he has been dissapointing in he's last 2 outings, he still is a great mark and has been our best leading forward. And sadly, that kick to a contest along the wing crap that we've been playing, you NEED somebody like that!

But, in saying that, he does miss easy shots at goal. But if you brought in say a 'Fisher' - he would be just as bad.

On Russell - Who was his opponent on Saturday night?

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

To be fair to Fish, he was averaging a good 1-2 goals PG for quite a long period. He's beefed up a little and probably deserves another shot at it. He's a good lead up marking forward and has better finishing than Wiggler.

Robbo should be in to replace Russell, but that'll never happen - Russell's like a antique vase - he can't be dropped.

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end of message

Exactly, Houlihan.......... i want him in too. But Wiggens has been a better leading forward in regards to marking the ball.
Not saying i like the style of play we choose to go for, but Wiggens leading along the flanks more often than not takes the mark.
But Houlihan is a much better shot for goal.

My only concern with putting Waite and Kreuzer up forward (which seems like a TASTY forward line along with Fev) is that we always seem so crowded! I don't know, it's like as if we have no forward line structure so that when we have a potential superstar forward line like a Kreuzer / Fevola / Waite & Betts they all lead to the one spot and spoil each other?

I could be wrong, but i see it week in week out.

Plus, more often than not, i see Eddie Betts as a leading forward........... he's a crumber. She should be hanging around Fevola's feet. THAT's where eddie is most dangerous.

But regardless, Houlihan shoud be in this week, so should Robbo and i'd be replacing Cloke with Setanta.

Re:- Russell
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I had no idea who he was on.

(just one last thing................. i know it seems like i'm blaming certain players, but in actual fact, you could bring in ANYBODY - it wont do much good if we don't change HOW we're playing the game!)

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

Is there a weaker overhead defensive player (ie. punching from behind, etc) in the AFL than Heath Scotland?

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"I had to eat"

Russell will be perfect for Medhurst or Didak or Thomas. Take them out of the game like he did Hayden and provide a bit of run and carry out of the backline like last week and the last quarter against the hawks.

Plenty of lazy footballers to go before him.

Robo to come in for cloke. We need to get our fwd defensive pressure back up to round one and two standard. Thats where we are falling down. Fev (not interested), Cloke(to slow), Betts (bad knee), Yarran (raw), Wiggins (shut down). We need to replace alot of those guys with hard running, hard tacking, and super hussling forwards to get 5 tackles each, to jag a few goals and slow down the rebound so some of our more lazy players can run back and get behind the ball.

Why mess around with a successful formula? Our previous defensive set-ups have relied upon our taller defenders taking the mid-sized forwards. Jamo and Thornton can handle Medhurst and Didak, with Bower capable of helping out. While Medhurst and Didak are good on the ground, they both are potent in the air, especially Medhurst who is essentially a leading forward. If Daisy goes forward, again a taller defender is vital as he's very good in the air for his size.

If JR survives the axe, he would be better reserved for closing down one of their rebounding half-back flankers as in previous years - either Heath Scotland or Marty Clarke.

That still leaves a spot open for a small defender to go with someone like Leon Davis.

Pretty sure russ wont get axed. He had a pretty good game the other night. Maybe that defensive forward role will work and if one of their forwards starts playing up he can take over.

Force yourself if possible to watch the freo game again. He played good.

Surely Joseph on Leon.

I reckon Armfield would be good for 4 tackles inside our 50 if we can find a way to play him up there. Might miss his dash out of the back half though.

I know Fev has bent Collingwood over many a barrel, but if he is not fit PLEASE don't play him.

I genuinely believe we are a better side than collingwood, even without Fev, and if we lose this week there is every chance I may just top myself.



Robinson back in please. These games are worth 5 to young kids I reckon. It doesn't get any bigger and he showed he's not overawed. Persist with Yarran so he picks up the speed of the game with every minute of game time.

Out with the Chief I'm afraid.

Would like to see Hampson start in the ruck and spend 75% of game time there. I hate seeing Kreuzer running at centre bounces, just keep fearing the worst coz the kid is fearless. Even Jacobs in for Cloke with Kroooze sitting forward.

Against the Pies we can run through the guts with confidence and get it into our forwards. Whether that be Fev, Waite or even... oh hang on. They're our forward options aren't they...

I genuinely think it's time Stevens was sent a message. This is not the vitriolic 'Trade Stevens' me of 3 years ago, it's a case of strolling back into the side still not in super shape, interrupted pre-season, etc. Go back to the Bullants and earn a spot on performance.

Structures are the key. Clearances and blocking.

Would love to have Carazzo in for their small forwards. Pity. Brown in to play on Medhurst?

AJ on Neon Leon and Russell on Pendlebury for mine. Seems Russel is capable of running with a player but needs to hurt them hard on the turnover.

We need a player to fill the line of sight between Dale Thomas and the Herald Sun cameras. It will disrupt his game completely.

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Congratulations CK95

Bring in Houlihan, Robo and Fisher.

Out .. Cloke, Wiggins and someone else?

Houlihan should never have been dropped.
Robo adds enthusiasm and go.. go.. go factor.
Fisher is need up forward ... not ideal .. but the next best option we have.


ALSO ...
When recruiting next year ... our main aim should be to get a young gun CHF. Thats where we keep breaking down. The smalls are ok .. but we badly need that CHF focus.

Dare I say it ...

If we lose this one .. its Tanking Time ... lol

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I am as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!!