other way round Bower on top

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Hale for North.. i'll be worried about but not Sandilands.

if thorton, simpson, russell, cloke, ohalpin and wiggens watch the replay of the hawks game and are not fired up this week after the pasting they were copping off wallsy they will never be fired up

He gave it to them all game long - followed it up on OWAAT and then on the radio

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

If we play with the same intensity we did the last two weeks, we will win comfortably, at least 5-6 goals, this, obviously is not a given.

I am confident we will get up, I rate Freo in the bottom 4, and the weakest side we have played thus far. Still they do have dangerous players (Pav, Haselby, McPharlin, Hill, Sanderlands). Pavlich I am sure will start in the middle, overall they really lack quality, and would have to have some of their guys play out of their skins, Angus Monfries style.

As for changes, the obvious one is Hadley in for Bentley, I wouldn't mind Cloke out and Hammer in either. As has been stated ad nauseam (justifiably) our bottom few were massively shown up against Hawthorn (they are Setanta, Cloke, WIGGINS!, Bentley), I wish like everyone else Warnock was fit so we could be more flexible in our use of Kruezer, or even another key back to allow Waite to play more in the front half, but we have to make do with what we have. It will be exciting when Yarran plays, as he will add another goalscoring option for opposition defenders to worry about.

It should be noted, Bentley is unlikely to, and shouldn't play another game for Carlton, he has good VFL player written all over him.

So:

Ins; Hadley, Hampson
Outs: Cloke, Bentley

a couple of them will be lucky to play against freo.

if they couldn't get fired up while playing last week... it will be hard for them this week.

For a large amount of them, its no coincidence that their in our bottom few ability wise, not a question of being fired up, more a matter of not being that good.

Mind you I don't believe external events really effect what happens on the field that much. Can give you motivation early in a match, but it isn't going to suddenly make average players perform super human Gary Ablett snr/jnr deeds.

Didnt think they were the bottom 6 he spoke of... but maybe..............

And he is correct!!

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Stay tuned We're in for a BUMPY ride

I think you'll find Bentley is in there ahead of Simmo...

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

Mark Harvey on 7 News Perth tonight (usual Tuesday night segment)....'who know's you might even see Pav on Judd'. Definately tongue in cheek for mine but there's no doubt Pav will spend time in the middle so may not be so far fetched.

I've noticed a few references over here in different mediums about how well they did against us in Bunbury. If they're rating us on that performance then they 'should' be in for a rude shock.

Freo do have some dangerous players and I hope we do not take them lightly. However assuming we bring our A game, a comfortable win should eventuate. The reality is, we should be a little disappointed with our 3-3 record and therefore there is zero excuse for complacency.

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We are on our way back...

pav did go head to head with judd in bunbury and killed him , kicked several long goals out of the middle

i dont think we were trying much in bunbury though

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

interesting stat on one of the footy shows last night was that we are ranked equal third for goals given up as a result of turnovers. we are still butchering the ball at times and it is costing us. this is something that simply must improve. we are not that good that we can afford to have this trend continue. And that includes against sides like Freo. If we go in with our round 1 attitude I expect a similar result to round 1. If we turn up with our Essendon* game mindset, expect a similar result. we should be looking to win every single quarter. We should be especially looking to intimidate freo, making every kick as hard as possible for them. everyone doing their bit to pile on the pressure. do that and we will win comfortably. leave the hard stuff to too few and we will struggle

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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

After watching the replay of Saturday's game tonight, I think we need to bring in Hampson. He's very raw, but I think we need to change things up in the ruck a bit. Hopefully it will mean that Kreuzer won't have to spend so much time in the ruck. Either Cloke or Carlos can have a game with the Bullants. I'd lean towards keeping Carlos in the side, simply because he has the versatility to play back or forward. A spell in the VFL should keep Cloke hungry too.

Not sure if there will be many other changes. Bentley might get dropped, but I'm not certain he will. Ratten has shown a willingness to persist with certain players, and perhaps there's an aspect to Bentley's game that the MC is looking to develop. I think it's always harsh to drop a player after 1 game, but I suppose sometimes it just has to be done - especially with Hadley, Robbo, Ando and Browne knocking on the door. Hadley would probably be my preference, unless there is a really good match-up for Ando.

I think I'd give Austin at least another week in the VFL to get his match-fitness up.

And assuming he's fit, it'll be interesting to see if they bring Grigg straight in, or via the VFL. I suspect if Simmo doesn't come up, they will probably bring Grigg straight in.

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

Intensity...........7 goals.

If we expect to win and play accordingly..........line ball.

Would love to see Browney get a run this week. He's all quality and a 10 year player. I'd also drop Cloke for Hammer and play Krooz mainly half fwd all day.

Gold Coast/Tweed Heads
Forecast for Wednesday
A shower or two. Moderate S to SE winds.

Thursday Mostly fine. Max 24
Friday Mostly fine. Max 24
Saturday Mostly fine. Max 24

Hadley and Austin in the selection "mix".

Interesting quote in their about Bentley too from Ratts....

http://sportal.com.au/afl-news-display/ratten-demands-intensity-69904

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Cripps is the man

http://www.goldcoastfc.com.au



The hurt must be put on these guys...

full ratten press conference today - http://sportal.com.au/mediaplayer/audio ... rence-5248

This game is played on a big ground, that is open to the elements.

Having players who can run and carry the ball in the team would be an excellent option. Stevens and Scotland come to mind.

Having players who can shut down or tag the opposition is an excellent strategy - think of Bannister and Hadley. To make room exit Bentley.

Having a tall ruck man who can leap high and get his hand to the ball to combat a giant ruckman seems a logical move rather than play someone much shorter who will be there just to be a match up - exit Cloke and bring in Hampson. This means Kreuzer is not in the ruck for too long and can go forward and show what he can do. Getting the control of the ball at stoppages has been donde well in the recent games, so a high pressure effort is needed when you may not win in the ruck to achieve this.

For Ratten to mention Austin is probably intended to distract Freo and cause them to study film and work out a way to play him. Without a doubt another mobile big defender at the top of his game would have been useful against Hawthorn but there may are now 16 plus weeks ahead before we have the capacity to plan a strategy that can beat them. For a game on 9/5, this may be premature. O'hailpan to stay and play back, forward or in the ruck as is needed (probably all three roles during the day). Versatility is a good thing. Jamieson, Thornton, Bower and Wiate are the tall defenders - the smaller players are Armfield and Joseph (unless Anderson comes in for this role). Consistency of the back six is what is needed in 2009 so they can develop as a unit.

Control the mid field and you win (as long as you do score often and freely when you get the ball in the forard 50 - think the 2008 Gand Final ). It is hard to see Freo stopping all of the following for 4 quarters: - Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, Stevens, Hadley, Simpson and other rotations. Some of their experienced mid field players are injured so they must call on younger and less experienced players for this role.

Fev, Betts and another tall and a mid size player need to kick the majority of the goals. If we can kick of 15 goals a victory is likely, over 18 goals it is secured. This needs to be either Kreuzer, O'hailpan or Hampson as the tall player and either Houlihan, Wiggins or a mid fielder as the smaller player.

Plenty of goal kicking practice on this ground would be a sensible move.

I really hope Ratts doesnt bring Hadley in to run with Pavlich....


I really hope Hadley gets used to guard the centre

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