Yeah, he was all fidgety and not laying a finger on anyone.
Seemed more of an outsider role.

WTF I say. I expect defenders to have some body against their opponent when the ball is not in our control.
Really strange body language from Bower today. Tentative. Observant. Really didn't get in and have a dig.

I know he didn't get a good enough chance to get into the game, but man, there's no time for rehearsals at Carlton.
He was a ball watcher whilst on today or he was waiting for the outside feed so he can run the lines as he does.
Reminds me of how I felt about Touhy's game last week. Shit happens.
I'm a Bower fan, but truth is, no one can afford to make too many mistakes or under perform in this team.

Bower and TBird would be the first big men to be making way for Waite if he was available. Laidler.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I may be a bit bias here because i know bret since he was a kid kicken the footy on the street but i think at this stage he is still an asset in defence for us. seems to be the wise old head we need at times and i reckon he uses the ball ok

Seriously guys, take a chill pill.
How would you feel if you had just come into the side after a fair while out and probably just trying to find your feet and suddenly realised you stood next 2 Jonathan Brown knowing too well Jamo has just given him an absolute bath and you had to continue the bath?
Bower will play next week!

Exactly. I'd be shitting myself, and would like another chance to strut my stuff.

He needs to perform to hold his spot.
Ask Henda what happened after his first shot in the seniors earlier this year.
Got to perform.

I'm a Bower believer and a fan, but I'm under no illusion that there's bona fide pressure on spots in the seniors.
I can always change my best 22 by dropping Bower if he has 2 shockers in a row: No Passengers.

I hope he's retained for the Swans game, but whatever the MC go with has my full support.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

MASSIVE couple of weeks ahead.
A couple of '8pt' games.

Congrats to the boys for stringing together 2 sets of 3 consecutive wins. It would be great to turn this one into a 'stretch'.

We are better than both the Swans and Weagles. But, as will be the case the whole year, we have to prove it in the heat of battle - a test we have failed in previous years but are so far passing well this year.

Hampson/Kreuzer combo massively important in these matches, esp against WC.
Will be interesting at selection if/when Waite is right. And Laidler.
Touhy looks like the answer to the Army question....

Bower was unlucky. The first ten minutes he was on were the only ten minutes for the game where our mids slackened off. THe protection the were giving the defenders earlier disappeared forcing them to defend deeper and under pressure. Bower copped the brunt of it but worked himself into the game as the quarter rolled on.

Ratts said they brought him in for insurance as Jamo's ankle was touch and go. He could head back to the ants to get his touch and we could bring in another running player or we could use him as a running player and play him back into form.

I think Thornton is going fine at the moment.

So with Waite and Laidler not ready and Jamo's ankle improving i would take Bower back to the Ants and bring in Armfield (sub).
That will give us more running options and see us overrun the Swans in the second half.

Whilst I dont have thornton in my best 22 - at this stage he hasnt done too much wrong and deserves his spot in the 22. Equally though bower probably deserves a second run (not a fan of in one week, out the next selections)

Buggered if I know who to drop for waite, laidler & houlihan...

If Bower was insurance to cove JamO on Brown, hard to see him keeping his spot

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"I had to eat"

2 bad games from ellard or touhey and they will go. the rest seem settled in the team

I reckon Ratts might rate Ellard higher than that

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"I had to eat"

Bower wasn't even on Brown to begin the last; that was Thornton's job. Plus T-Bird got a knock to the knee according to Ratten, who promptly swung him forward...

The midfield took their foot off the gas in the first 10, Brown got some junk time marks and goals. We saw Fev do that on all but the best two or three defenders in the comp when we were horrible. Bower then created some good play, and the ball was barely sighted down that end for 15 minutes.

Inconclusive, except that they hooked Thornton. That's where I've derived my intuition.

Oh and apologies to Springsteen: Thornton isn't awful, but he is surplus. We should look to cash in on him in the off-season.

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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.

Big game.

Hawks and Eagles play Suns and Port respectively which they will both win.

We win and we stay 2 points clear of Hawks, 4 of Sydney and 6 of WC. Lose and we're 2 points behind Hawthorn, level with the Swans and only 2 clear of WC.

I thought Laidler was listed as 3 weeks out? Not sure if you would bring him straight in anyway. I guess if Robbo is suspended you play McLean.

Why?

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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

Scary shit

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Alan Richardson said in his interview with Foxsports that Waite would 'be out for a couple' with his hamstring. I don't expect he'll be rushed back, so I don't expect Bower to be dropped immediately. And as good as Laider has been, 3 weeks out in long enough to need at least one game in the ants in my opinion.

Possibly, but they're getting better every week at the moment.

Ellard gets better with each game he plays.

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You heard it here first!

After the GF is played, and we've won it Ellard will finally have arrived.

Sometimes these rough diamonds are hard to see until the spitting and polishing in production is complete.

I've been watching him really close and watched quite a few replays this week. He is a work horse, has improved his pace, relentless, tough, great tackler, fearless...sounds a bit like Robbo...but we all know Robbo is plain crazy.

He is so important to us. As soon as he was available, Ratts/ MC selected him in the seniors, and never looked like being dropped, regardless of what some glass half empty posters have had to say about him. So mush for his kicking being off. People have to realise that sometimes just because you don't kick a couple of goals from the midfield, doesn't mean the players kicking is off. Every game is different, and that means the player plays in different parts of the ground than the last.

Ellard just gets better and better. I have him ahead of Carrazzo, and Carrazzo is the type of hard body we need to play for us in a GF. Good thing in 2011 we have a few hard nuts on every line.

You need the work horses like Ellard. Tough as nails. We have a few of them in the team. Great team with them in too.

God, it is great to be a Bluebagger.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Hopefully Robbo won't get rubbed out - he's become an important player for us - but I guess if he does, the upside is it gives someone like AJ, Armfield, Brock or Hoops an opportunity. And perhaps a 1-2 week break at this stage of the season wouldn't be the worst thing for Robbo anyway. It's a long season for a player of his type...

I think the ruck situation is getting interesting now that Kreuzer is back. We know that the 2nd game back from an extended lay-off is the most difficult. That makes it especially important that we make the right choice between Hammer or Warnock for the other ruck spot this week. Added to that, Mumford will be back for them and they are a very good stoppage team. Who is the best match-up for Mumford? I know Hammer took an excellent mark yesterday, and his form over the last 2 games has been OK, but Warnock is probably the better tap ruckman and a more skillful player. Then again, I love Hammer's energy and mobility. But how's Hammer's body after quite a heavy workload over the last couple of weeks? If Warnock's over his concussion, he might be fresher? With it being one of the few times ever that Kreuzer, Hammer & Warnock have all been available, I hope we take a 'horses for courses' approach. It'll be a tough call for the MC.

I don't think there will be any other changes - I've got a feeling that Waite & Laidler will need another week off, so Bower should keep his spot. As should Curnow, Ellard, Tuohy & T-Bird.

But one player I'm mildly concerned about is JR...he's been terrific for us over the last couple of years, and he's not having what I would call a 'shocker'... but he doesn't look right to me. If he's still carrying an injury, I think the time has come to rest him. If not, perhaps he could be used as Sub? Or even perhaps a spell in the VFL (especially if Lucas runs into some form with the Bullants)? Is he struggling with extra leadership responsibilities? Or is he just feeling the effects of a limited pre-season? Is he adapting to a slightly different role in the team? Or is he a victim of his own standards and I'm expecting too much from him? Anyway, I doubt he'll get dropped this week, I just think he's a good player that can (and we need him to) play better in the second half of the season.

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