In the VFL and probably not.

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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.

I think we're in with a chance.

- I'd like to see us match them for rotations. The pies rotate better than anybody else in the business.

- Whoever is on Swan better be on-song and stay on him. I can't understand the reasoning behind some coaches allowing him so much space. If Juddy was given the same amount of freedom, he'd have had 4 brownlows to his name by now! A Job for Ed maybe?

- Henderson as a Sub.

- Aggree that White should make way for Jamo, but I shudder to think of Thornton heading back to defense. Yes he was good against the Gold Coast as a forward but the week before against shitmond he was woeful. Play him and Waite up forward and if he's getting owned, sub him with henderson after half time???

- Pressure in OUR forward line. Rather than see Eddie hell-bent on kicking assy goals, i'd like to see him be a pain in the ass to the likes of O'Brian, Shaw etc. Their run out of defense is what won them a premiership. Give these guys a hard day at the office and the rest of them all suffer because of it!

- WAITE................ PLEASE!!!!!!! - DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!!!!!!! We have Essendon* the week after and i'd kinda like all our best 22 available for that one.

- Intimidation.
The other day, i saw a collingwood player miss an easy goal and the opposition player almost looked as if he wanted to say "Bad luck mate" to him. WTF!...... Don't be such a pussy! These guys pride themselves on being the ones to intimidate.............. flip the cards on the pricks! So what if we loose, at least the next time we meet them they wont assume we'll be easy walkovers!

(Insert clip of Jarrad bodyslamming that bully here!!!!!)

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

Jamo in for White. Collins got a lot of it on the weekend for the Ants and looks ready. Might come in for Army. That would be it for mine. We are not without a sneaky chance this Friday night. Go Blues.

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

1st minute .... Scotland takes out Didak in a legitimate contest for the ball.

2nd minute ..... Cloke misses from in front

rest of game Blues outscore Magpies by 7 to 1 each quarter

end of game ... Eddie's head explodes

you can't always be serious .... I'll settle for a draw

PS : maybe when they unfurl the flag on Friday night ... we shouldn't boo ... just keep repeating 16 .... they might ge the message

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NG
S M C , S F L

I'd like to think that in early October, with about 15 minutes of AFL Football left in the year, that a booming chant will echo around the MCG as the aisles fill with balck and white,
SEV-EN-TEEEEEEEEEENNNN!

White for Jamo is pretty obvious.

Watson deserves to play and he could be a zone buster with his excellent long range kicking.

Not sold on Duigan at all to be honest - i'd much rather armfiled be in and mind one of the attacking smalls like didak, krackour or even blair.

Armfield can actually break the lines abit with his run and dare and we need to take these bastards on.

Collins is the ideal sub in terms of adding some run, grunt and polish.

Let bower come back via the twos to make sure he's 100%, same with hendo - unless they went with him as the sub.

Waite to be the swing man if we are struggling down back which means thorton and walker would have to carry the lead up work.


IN: Jamo, Collins
Out: White, Duigan

Collins promoted to Sub, with Armfiled in the 21 (we need his run).

Duigan is not yet composed enough for this level even though he gets his hands on the footy a lot. Armfiled can do a lock down job yet play with some dare going the other way.

Got a really good feeling we will give a great account of ourselves.

This will set the tone for the year. Big Game

Dunno why anyone would want to drop Armfield ... he was in great form against the Tigers ... and did not get a run until late in the game against the GC. He provides heaps of run in the side .. one of the few players to take em on. Absolutely a must for this Game ....


however would not be surprised if the MC dropped him ...

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

Cannot believe Duigan is preferred to Armfield.

Stupid Match Committee.

Duigan might be good with the ball, but don't really like his work off the ball. Too slow, players run around him to easily. His tackles are easily broken.

Stephen Icke quoted in today's paper as saying that the players pulled up a little bit sore after Saturday night's game (Gabba's a hard deck), so with a short week we might see some fresh legs come in...

Jamo is a certainty.
Bower has probably missed enough footy now to require a run with the Bullants before he comes in.
I didn't see the Bullants' game on the weekend, so not sure about Hendo yet. He has a few games under his belt now, but his form has only been solid at best in the VFL (from what I've seen) and he plays a style of game that requires peak match conditioning. Having said that, it might be time to get him back into the team - he's our best option at CHF when fit & in form.
Ellard, Collins, Lucas, Brock, Davies & AJ are the other players in contention (roughly in that order, IMO).

My gut feeling is -Jamo & Hendo in for White & T-Bird. Bower to come back through the VFL.

T-Bird would be stiff, but I think Watson's kicking will be seen as a weapon against the Collingwood press (despite his inexperience), and I think the MC will want to get Hendo into the side. If Hendo needs another week in the Bullants, T-Bird holds his place.

And it depends who's still sore later in the week as to who else (if anyone) needs to come out of the side. We're fortunate in that we've got a few capable players ready to step in (with Ellard, Collins & Lucas at the front of the queue) if required.

It's fair to say this game is a massive test for us. Both teams coming off "soft" victories, but we'll need to play near our best to get even close to them...

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It's never as good as it looks and it's never as bad as it seems.

Some really good thinking by lots of posts.

I reckon Gezman has got it right with his line-up and reasoning. White is a goer but boy, his skills are poor and you can see him just taking that split second to think, 'what next?' in contests. It kills you against good oppo.

Agree with Duigan making way too, he's looked dodgy with his handling which I hope is nerves, but this is not the game to find out. Got the feeling they won't drop him though.

It's a huge ask for Watson to mind one of their monsters but hey, he looks the type that could learn a lot and he's a Blue now, these are the kinds of Blockbusters he needs to get used to. Really pleased that his kicking looks as sweet as prophesied.

Liked the idea of Walker on O'brien and making him accountable. I could see that being an excellent battle. Also quite like the idea of trying to get the Thornton/Shaw match up, despite not being a T-bird fan at all, if he has a future with us, it is as a smart forward. One or both of those guys need to really hurt the Pies. Is Collins one too many of those mid-size forwards?

Very worried our backline won't cope with the pressure. We need to win and win well in the middle so that our backs are less likely to be swamped. It's so hard to get the ball out of Collingwood's forward line once it's in.

Quietly optimistic but the Pies are in season wrecking form. Be tough Blues, stick to your guns, you're moving in the right direction.

I can understand the players feeling a bit sore due to the surface being hard, but surely they would have pulled up better in some other respects, considering how little physical pressure GC put on them.

If they have to make changes after that run, we may as well promote the entire Bullants squad after this week.

A little bit contradictory, don't you think?
Apparently this is not the game to test Duigan, a mature aged footballer but it is the game to test Watson, a 18yo second gamer? Whats good for the goose is good for the ganda!
Play them both, i say!
Watson to Cloke
Jamo to Dawes
T-bird up forward
Army is a bloody tough little nugget who is in good form and can provide plenty of line-breaking run from HB. MUST PLAY!

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i AM CARLTON

Looking forward to seeing where we are at on Friday. Hopefully it isn't too far behind.

MCG about 7.30pm, I'd say

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NG
S M C , S F L

Well played Sir.

thanks JJ, it's the quality of the competition that makes it worthwhile. R

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NG
S M C , S F L

Army has to be one of my favourite players,he is always working hard for the ball and the team and I think he is what be need against the pies!

Did anyone else happen to just see the report on channel 10 news just now with the footage of training
today?

I don't think I've ever seen a happier looking bunch of blokes since I went to a few raves in the early 90's
They looked so damn upbeat and enjoying each other and just basically having a right royal good time.
interviewed curnow he's got a good head on him too, no ego whatsoever and no fear whatsoever of facing the filth just keen as hell to get at them

To be honest it didnt look like satisfaction from a big scoring win but rather excitement for whats to come, not complacent if u know what i mean.



ive just gone from thinking I'd be happy with a 2-3 goal loss to thinking we could win this thing.
feels like a final

cant recall the last time ive wanted to win a game this badly (not including sydney final)

is everyone else feeling this

Yeah you may be right and thanks for reading. Just thinking that you expect the mature recruits to step in and be up to scratch immediately, signs were Duigan might not be and I worry against the Pies. But you're right, you've gotta give him a chance.

What is a ganda anyway? An old goose?

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Cheats never prosper (except in the AFL)