surely bower has to get a run this week - he has been in superb form over the pre-season - he is streets ahead of saddington and has age on his side - really - why play saddington ahead of bower?

You watch anderson when he gets a run.

White line fever at its best.

Saw him clean up Heath Culpitt in the NTFL GF.

He was BOG by a mile.

Plays like Fraser Brown...looks like Brown....the mongrel we have yearned for.

My favourite pick in the draft, Gibbs is a Ferarri....Anderson is a Mack truck.[/quote]

As a resident of Darwin and regular attendee of NTFL games I have often seen Joe Anderson play including the Grand Final where Daryl White won the Medal for BOG. To say Joe has "White Line Fever" is TOTAL NONSENSE. He also is not a Mack Truck and is not a similar player to Fraser Brown.

Joe in his time with the Darwin Buffalo's was a close checking defender who was very calm under pressure and never displayed any "White Line Fever" in my opinion. Joe is a hard working footabller who never gives in.

These claims of yours will give people on this forum a false impression of Joe Anderson.[/quote]


Whatever.

Hard hitting defender.

Heaps of run....rebounds...never takes a backward step.

HELLO!

He played on the HBF that day against St Mary's and was pivotal in feeding the forwards like White.

White was great...for a kid like Smokin Joe to stand out so clearly was nothing but impressive.

Was pivotal in the Buffs victory.

I am not saying he is a thug....I am saying that he hits the ball hard.

We have lacked players that can crunch.

If you look at our teams prior to the 5 year itch...we have always had some crunchers.

Ratts, Brown, Rhys Jones, Hanna, Sexton, Hogg, Diesel, Hickmott, Rice, the list goes on.

We have really lacked the calculated agression.

I elieve that Anderson will give Santa a help back there and will redefine the Carlton hardness at the ball.

Say hello to my colleagues at Batchelor Noonamah Blue.

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At the family day yesterday Bower was not walking that well to me - wouldn't surprise me if he missed again this week.

Same goes for Ackland.

White Line Fever infers a hot head - someone who can't control his temper on the field. I guess it all comes down to interpretation.

I agree he is very hard at it and doesn't give an inch. I was delighted when The Blues drafted him. I just did not want people to think of him as a hot-head when IMHO he has a good temperament.

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Hooked on The Blues

Cool

I was really happy when we got him too.

I have needed to have a number to stitch on my duffle coat

Not that you need a duffle coat in Darwin.

I reckon he has AFL written all over him

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i reckon the biggest mission will be stopping hodge. he absolutely destroyd us last year and his disposal is incredible. IMO i dont think we hav any1 on our list who can shut him down i think all of our midfielders are either too attacking (stevens) or not seasoned enough for hodge (murph simmo)

franklin is still inconsistant, and the only reason he choppd us last time was we playd corey mcgrath on him.

make no mistake if we play some1 like that on him again he' will shred us again, but either 1 of carlos, waitey and tbird could restrict him no problem

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thats pretty bad-ass!

Seriously looking forward to this clash. I reckon the Blues and Hawks will have a few classic encounters over the next 7-8 years.

Says a lot about the potential of Franklin when a team is worrying so much about a guy who is yet to play 50 games. From what I have seen though, I think either Walker or Setanta would be the best match for him. Buddy won't damage you in the air - it'll be on the ground - so I don't think that Thornton or Waite are the right options.

A few worries amongst the Hawthorn supporters over possible citings of Mitchell and/or Brown. Brown, I would expect, will be suspended. Mitchell should get away with his bump, but you never know nowadays. Either way, these are important players for us and certainly goes a long way towards evening the ledger.

A few comments re: Croad at the start of this thread. Croad has had a limited preseason, didn't play yesterday, and most probably won't play on Saturday. Gilham will get first crack at Fev, and he has only impressed in his short career. His record is 5 games for 5 wins so far!

For the Blues to win, they have to hold our midfield. Guys like Hodge, Mitchell, Crawford and Bateman have traditionally had a good time against Carlton, so this is where the game lies.

Good comments Laza. The hawks are ahead of us for sure but it should be a close enough game. Over recent meetings the hawks midfield has dominated us. I remember the first game at TD last year between these sides and I reckon the hawks rotated their midfield around 4 times a qtr compared to our zero a qtr!!! Hopefully that will change for us this season!!

Id go

Waite on Franklin
Walker on Williams
Russell on Hodge

Have to leave Simpson, Murphy and Stevens run free and play their own game

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Matty Kruzer you star!

in my opinion i wouldn't play russell on hodge, hodge will towel up russell.

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"I can't wait to win a premiership with this club" - Fev

And Waite on Franklin is the wrong match-up too. You need someone super athletic to take him - Walker or Setanta.

Waite would be best suited on Roughead I reckon because he would probably be able to expose him going the other way.

Yeah so true there Laza!

I'd be putting Setanta on Buddy. Similar height and pace (setanta is deceptivly quick........long strides!)

BATEMAN is one of the most under-estimated players in the leauge and must be address. Carrazzo imediatly comes to mind but i'd probably be willing to try Jordon Russell on him to match his pace.

Hodge is one of those players that is gonna consistantly get around 25 possesions a game. No point trying to shut him down, but if you look upfield to the plays he wants to set-up and shut THAT down, then you disable his effectivness andhe becomes just an accumulator of stats. So i'd be wanting to throw somebody who wants to 'piss-him-off'. You know, frustrate him a little.

I don't think Bower will play due to injury. But i'd like to give Grigg a shot, if only to throw on some pace on-and-of the bench.

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- Aristotle

I think Setanta, right now, is the most appropriate match-up in the league for Franklin. I'm not sure why Pagan didn't persist with him more in Round 19, because he held him quite well. From what I remember, O'hAilpin forced Franklin a bit further out from goal where he was unable to do as much damage. The damaging touches came when he was manned up by Thornton and especially McGrath.

Bateman's hard running into space is incredible, but his skills are almost substandard a lot of the time. He is only damaging when he finds that space and has the time to measure his kicks, otherwise he is liable to burn them. So you'd want to use a player who can match his hard-running ability, but it need not be such a hard tag.

I agree with your assessment of Hodge. You just can't let him settle. Get someone to piss him off.

And in tribunal news, apparently Campbell Brown has been offered 2 weeks (which he will take - he's lucky he didn't get 4-6) and no mention of Mitchell who I assume has no case to answer.

Should be a tight game

Carlton by 2047 points

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Really, Launceston??
They get Dawks games there tru the year. why do we have to play there in the preseason too.

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T E A M

DITTO!
FWIW.. I would like 2 see:

Waite v Franklin
Walker v Williams
Thornton v Roughead
O'hailpan v Resting Ruckmen
Carrazzo v Hodge

Oh yes, I too would love to see those match-ups. If they were to happen, who would the Hawks play in the third round?

Don't know how the regional challenge works Laza!!

Funny man Laza.

I agree...sorta

Santa v Franklin
Waite v resting ruck
T-Bird v Roughhead

Simmo v Hodge ( a calculated risk...I am hoping Simmo can P.O Hodge)
Kouta rotating with Scotland on Mitchell

Leave the rest to Gibbs, Murph and AWWWWW STEVENS

I would alo prefer to loose and play Grigg, Anderson and Austin than win and not give the pups a run.

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anyone else from Tassie going? i will be there bloody excited driving up from Hobart for the occasion! You guys get it live in Melbourne?