So put a $1000 on it yourself. If we lose you will be over the moon for two reasons

Regards Cazzesman

_________________
Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

I have no problem whatsoever with the omissions.
Waite doesn't use the ball well enough and never has. Look at the stats and you'll see he had a disposal efficiency of 47%. Yes we had some other players getting those numbers but those players were winning the contested ball. Waite had 3 contested possessions (equal least on the ground) yet still had a disposal efficiency of 47%.
Compare that to Fletcher who had only 4 contested possessions yet had a disposal efficiency of 84%!

Coaches hate turnovers but despise them more under limited pressure. Skills are affected by confidence as much as any other factors. Watch the Carlton round 1 game and the commentators were gushing about Carltons high skill level. Those players haven't lost their ability in a fortnight, they've lost confidence. That comes from team mates turning the ball over. It becomes contagious. Watch a game a player will tap the ball to a team mate instead of grabbing it. Suddenly 1,2 and 3 players are tapping the ball. They instinctively act upon the actions of their team mates.
Essendon* had 1 player with a disposal efficiency of less than 58%. Carlton had 10!!! Then compare the goals from turnovers. Essendon* kicked 8, Carlton kicked 4. When you lose by 20 points, it's not hard to do the sums.
That's why Waite and Thorntons actions are counterproductive to the game style required. Thornton with his slow ball movement and Waite with his inability to positively impact the game on a regular basis. If you want to succeeded with a low disposal efficiency, you'd want some redeeming features in your game. ATM, they have nothing else.

As for the inclusions, I'm rapt to see White get a game but I would have introduced him 2 weeks ago. I'm gald though that Ratts has resisted the temptation to include Wiggo coming up against an experienced outfit like Adelaide. We need to look ahead.

IMO, Ratts is copping a lot of grief which is unwarranted. We beat Richmond and it was only our poor conversion that stopped us putting away the Lions. (Whi incidentally are playing good footy). Last week was very poor however our players disappointed more than our coaching staff. Essendon* worked super hard to pressure the ball carrier and we too often coughed it up instead of showing the composure required. Our inability to protect the ball carrier was due to a poor work rate and a poor attitude leading into the game.
Before anyone says "its up to the coach to motivate the players", it's not. Those days are well gone. If the players cant motivate themselves to perform in front of 70,000 supporters. They need their arses kicked.

In saying that, do I think Ratts is a good senior coach, no I dont. I believe he is a sensational development coach and his game sense training and drills are exceptional. I just think he struggles to compete in the box to an acceptable level at the moment and his selections dont give us enough flexibility or see us enter games with a sufficiently "balanced" team..

_________________
Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Agreed, obviously rucks are their only glaring weak point.
We need to exploit that - smash them with a few quick clearances and goals to get our confidence up.

Not sure if I can watch this game, might get the blood pressure up too high after last week.

So was Ratten wrong last year when he said we didn't have enough hard bodies to play Adelaide, or was he wrong this year for selecting a rookie and a twig, and declining to select a bigger bodied on baller to provide Judd some protection?

With these selections, it looks like he's repeating to a letter the mistake he himself said was made at the selection table last year for this exact match up.

Looking at the Adelaide squad, this is the first week in 3 where we can go in with 2 designated tall defenders. I agree with the team other than Garlett. I would have bought in Hadley instead and occasionally used Judd as a hit up forward.
Other than that, it's a good team IMO.

_________________
Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

And if Dangerfield & Tippet become late withdrawals for Griffen & McKernan?

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Can't wait to see the blues over here again.

We have one of the biggest followings over here, so I hope there is lots of noise. You do become so tired of the stage-managed cheering of the Crows with their 19th Man mantra being blown from the loudspeakers and scoreboard. Let's show some real footy passion SA Blues!

We must score and score early and heavily. That shuts this mob up very quickly. MacLeod and Edwards are shadows of their former selves, both have played one year too many. We must expose their lack of pace now and attack their bodies hard. We need to put heaps of pressure across their HB line. Sides have now worked out, you stop them from chipping/switching and they don't know where to go. Both Rutten and Bock (the robots) have looked like rabbitts in the headlights when this has happened this year. No Bock is a real bonus and with our inclusion of Garlett, we will have the edge in pace on the forward line.

I reckon we may see Henderson play CHB, with Warnock/Kruezer resting at FF to expose Adelaide's lack of a quality ruckmen. This will force them to play Tippett in the ruck (plus he's got a dodgey ankle and knee atm).

If Dangerfield plays we need to test out that stiff neck. I hope that whoever plays on him politely asks the question and then suggests he'd better not put his head over the ball too much, because this time it'll get knocked completely off.

Our midfield MUST run hard all day, defensively and offensively. We need to put real tough pressure on the likes of Knights, Reilly, Goodwin, Vince and how they dispose of the ball, particularly when they move it by hand.

The key to beating this lot is full-court pressure. We must be prepared to run hard when we get the aggot. And please guys, play straight. You go wide at AAMI and you play into their hands.

Blues by 28 pts.
Judd BOG - 40 possies and 2 goals(finally against Adelaide)
The big Krueze to kick 3 and dominate the ruck
Yazz and Eddie to run amok
Russell and Walker to show the way from half-back.

How good would that be!

_________________
http://www.thesauce.com.au: 2011 Player Partner of Andy Collins

I'm personally hoping White will be twice the player Barlow is

You pick a team for the opposition you expect to play. Tippet and Dangerfield both trained well.
I'd also consider Carlos as an option to go back if required. Let's see how Rutten goes playing on a Judd or Yarran.

_________________
Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Ratts please please please use Gibbs as a trump card for us.

I really don't want to see him following a Crows player around the field.

I want Gibbs driving the ball into our F50 and scoring a goal or two himself.

Yazz, Eddie and Jeff to hover up all the ground balls and kick eight between them.

So pleased I wont have to watch Thornton holding the ball aloft and kicking it sideways. Lets hope noboby else takes on the role.

Blues to win by 13 pts

_________________
I support the Navy Blues whatever happens!

I noted that in the opposition review on CFCTV (not a highly reputable source I know, but it is done by Brett Munro), Dangerfield was completely left out of the presentation. Even when he skipped over a member of their team, the IT department still inserted a still and caption for each of these players, but Dangerfield was missed.

They spoke of Tippett and how he might be a chance because he trained well. No mention of Dangerfield. I think another tall is going to come in.

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Waite is no.1 at CFC this year for critical errors, so maybe jut as well he is out for the weekend.

_________________
It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

Ah BV, thank-you!

Where have you been all week?

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

If we continue to dominate clearances and improve our disposal efficiency around the ground and in front of goal we win the game. I could not give a flying flower whether Dangerfield plays or not.
Win the ball and use it well and it is game over.

That's right. And with Thornton back in the bullants I have a feeling we'll be more assertive in going forward from defence. We have to be more assertive against the crows or they'll smother us.

Hmmm, I don't know how to respond to that. I have put some cash on the outcome, not because of hope, more a pragmatic approach I guess.

Maybe you'd like me to say that I hope we lose by 10 goals? But I hate to disappoint you Cman, so I'll leave it at that .

_________________
end of message

_________________
Cheats never prosper (except in the AFL)

well.........

Last weeks game against The bombers was a mirror image of last years piss poor effort.
The Lions game was also very similar to the previous 3 games against them.
And the Richmond game we just did exactly what we did round #1 last year.


so i'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess say that we are gonna flood upfield in the 1st qtr despite having a 4 goal wind advantage!



anyways, on a serious note.
We have the best chance of beating Adelaide since, well - i can't remember. Last years final round match at the Telstra dome was such a disgrace that I left at half time so frustrated in the way we were playing. That stupid match cost us a home final, and we only have ourselves to blame for that!

We should be favorites for this game and with good reason to. But, we seem to just throw it away lately. And that goes for everybody........ i'm not just talking Ratten here. Everybody is accountable for how this football club is going and right now, it is going poorly and backwards at top speed.

LIFT -
For the love and pride of the jumper - LIFT!

All of you!

Ratts, Sticks, the 22 players that take to that field, everybody!

enough's enough!

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

I think Hadley will get a go soon when we play on a smaller ground. I think he was deliberately left out because of the size of AAMI and he would potentially have been exposed for pace. Also our impressive start to the year on clearances must give Ratts and co confidence we can cope without him. We a 12 mths on from when Ratts said we needed harder bodies so I think natural development has addressed some of his concerns.

Waite is struggling, but there are plenty of other examples where players come back from a knee reco and it takes months for them to get back to the form we know he is capable of ... don't give up on the kid. He will take time.

some excellent comments made on this thread, particularly re manipulating tippet and stopping the HBs

_________________
The glass is neither half full nor half empty. Rather the glass is twice as big than required.