Exactly Windy, and that goes for all the 'in's'

Also you can all add Campo to the 'outs' as the reports this morning are that he'll miss 2.

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We're on a mission from Judd.

Having scans today.

Campo ? 2 wks

Carazzo ? 4

Chambers ??

Longmuir might need a couple of full games in the 2nds, to improve his fitness and improve his confidence. Davies if he does okay with Bullants might get another go.

Unless Norman pulls a finger out, I think our tall defenders next week will be out of Thornton, Teague (nearly always plays on talls, even though he's not very tall himself), De Luca and Prenda.

Don't think De Luca and Prenda are defenders. Guess we'll have to see who plays well in the VFL.

DeLuca won't be dropped.
Who else would ruck for us if Barney needed a rest or went down?
DeLuca will play all 22 matches this year pending suspension or injury.

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

I'm with Phoenix on De Luca. Very strong chance he'll play on Stafford or Simmonds I would think.

That may be true this season, but the evidence for the "DeLuca is not the answer" case is piling up as far as I'm concerned. We get exposed whenever he rucks. He can't play defence. He is ineffectual as a forward (and we have too many of those anyway). I can definately see us making a big play for a ruckman in the offseason cause at the moment the lack of a reliable back-up for Barney is holding us back.

True.
But dropping DeLuca this week is like the old saying...

"Cutting off your nose to spite your face"

Seems to be suffering from the second year blues, but I have faith that he'll come right, eventually.

His best game for us this year was against Essendon* and really showed that he is a forward more than a ruckman.

I agree with you about chasing another ready made ruckman at season's end. However, I still think DeLuca has a lot to offer us in terms of mis-matches up forward.

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

So why was Norman dropped?

I reject the notion that Archie's performances this year demonstrate that he is not up to it. His performances aren't consistently poor in any event.

But the main thrust of my argument is that he has hardly had a preseason.

Remember that Kouta had a similar problem at the start of last year, and had a very poor first half of the season (so much so that many of us thought it was curtains for Kouta). After he gained match fitness, general fitness, and confidence, he returned to form with a vengeance in the second half of the year.

Now, Archie is not a champion like Kouta. But I think that strengthens rather than weakens the analogy. After all, Kouta was a seasoned and proven performer at the start of last year. On the other hand, Archie has only had a bit less than 30 games. He would have taken a bit of time anyway to gain the necessary experience to begin to dominate games, even if he had not been injured.

A couple of months ago, I posted that I had written off Archie as a force for this year on account of his lack of a decent preseason. He is actually doing a lot better than I expected. He should improve in the last half of the season, absent any further injuries. And next year, he will have the magical 50 games worth of experience and will be a real force to be reckoned with.

There is a Deluca thread somewhere - but Phoenix is right he will play all 22 games this year unless injured - he is a big boy and they take longer to mature.

He will be an asset and when we are back at full strength provides the breathing space for our key forwards as he takes a key defender.

Deluca demands a key defender from opposing sides - ask James Hird how he feels playing on him.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

I agree with the DeLuca sentiments. He is only playing average at the moment, but he is our 2nd ruckman and our best option to create a mismatch in the forward line. We need him to play.

The national draft at the end of the season will be the right time to pick up a good young kid to draft into our ruckman of the future.

I think that McGrath Prender and Bentick might come into the side. Bentick to take the back pocket role with Carrots out for up to four weeks. McGrath to come into the midfield rotation taking Campo's spot and Prender adding some much needed height as well as pace to the team. Although not a key defender I think Prender can play a run with role against the Tigers ruck allowing Barnaby to take the tap and then play across half back. Prender as a ruck rover would also allow Whitnall to play more within the forward line drifting between full forward and half forward.