Where is it suggested that they will completely change game plan from week to week?

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Where doe sit say wholesale changes to game plan?

More likely minor adjustments. They probably have two or three adjustments to game plans up their sleeve every week. Like bachelors do...except after a few beers it goes out the window...

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Bawditawaba

then perhaps they shouldn't be drinking during a game.

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Traditional roles have gone out the window.

Watson is enormous, weighs a ton, and is tall tall, he won't be a HBF if he plays seniors this year. He will play tal if he plays.

Bower is not a no. 1 or 2 tall, that much was obvious last year. He is a 3rd tall, who generates run for the team. He is not one of your top 2 tall defenders. Watson was recruited to fill that void. Whether he plays much in 2011 remains to be seen, but if he plays you can bet he won't be a HBF.

And it was incorrect the season before that. Bower is no man mountain, but he can play CHB. Watson is a fairly unique player, I suspect he'll be a much bulkier defender than anyone on our list in a few years, including McCarthy.

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

In some of the games I saw last year, if Gibb's hadn't been cleaning up down back we would have got smashed.

I wanted him to be a more involved mid fielder, i.e. get his own ball every now and then, I'm not sure if he's up to it ATM.

Theres no doubt that if he does get the ball forward of the centre a lot more then we can expect him to kick more goals and our kicking efficiency inside 50 to increase substantially.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

Dont remember saying Watson was a HBF or would play there.

Look, Bowers season was destroyed by injury last season, Im not sure why people dont see that. He never got the momentum back. He had a successful 2008/2009 playing on guys like Franklin and Reiwoldt so much so that Ratten had him pegged to play on Jonothan Brown. From all reports he's bulking up a little this off-season, he'll have more support from defenders around him and we'll hopefully have a more accountable midfield

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"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

LAst yr teams figured out if You pressed up against our back 6 and shutdown russel then we really struggled to get the ball out and we turned it over. Gibbs going back was about adding a quality decision maker and ball user in the back half. U will have noticed Judd and Murphy running deep into defense later in the yr for the same reason. In short we don't have enough quality users of the ball in the back 6. If the new guys can provide this attribute then release Gibbs otherwise teams will again force easy turn overs and score.

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

As a side note ... I am less impressed with Bower than I used to be. I would seriously consider using Thornton again ...

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

I think Thornton is still capable of playing good footy.

I think Thornton is still capable of playing good footy. A 27 yr old player shouldn't fall off the face of the earth after a fine 2009 season. Thornton did - ego? coach-player relationship? inability to change playing style? He is up against it.

I think Thornton is still capable of playing good footy. A 27 yr old player shouldn't fall off the face of the earth after a fine 2009 season. Thornton did - ego? coach-player relationship? inability to change playing style? He is up against it.

I don't think its ego. Thornton has bad habits and ones that he is struggling to shake. Ratts obviously only wants certain types of defenders who play a certain way and is trying to change Thornton's style. Or perhaps there is only room for one stay at home defender and that is Jamison.

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Koperek.

..the loose.floating type defender than zones off to intercept and help out team-mates is a vital role in the defensive back six, and thornton is our best at that role, it's just now that same role needs to move play on quickly, and that is what thornton is least good at..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

I agree. He needs to get a quick feed to Army or Russell who can move the ball quickly or find a lose player on the wing or the middle of the ground. Hate his switch play when he goes across the face of goal getting the ball nowhere in a hurry. The thing is our players should be aware of this from him and try to free up space for him as targets.

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Bring the season on already. The wait is killing me.

Apparently Richo was on 3AW and said Ratts would coach from the boundary line for the entire season.

Good move IMO. Our form obviously picked up when this happened, may have been other factors as well of course.

He cetainly looked more comfortable down there.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

It seems coaching positions has done a full cycle from when Barassi first used an elevated position to watch the game from. Was it Roos who started the trend of standing on the sidelines with the interchange???

No, it was Sheedy against West Coast back in 2007 (?).

Good idea, Richardson and Brown can coach the team from the coaches box and Ratts can barrack from the boundry line.