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View Full Version : What Changes to team for Round One?



bornadog
05-03-2007, 12:54 PM
This was the team that was defeated by West Coast in the final last year. What changes do you see for round one? We know Harris is out. Smith has retired, What abouty Darcy for his first game back? Is Street and Cooney fit enough? Higgins is playing well, but who do you drop? Aker if fit, is a cert.

Matthew Boyd
Adam Cooney
Daniel Cross
Nathan Eagleton
Daniel Giansiracusa
Lindsay Gilbee
Chris Grant
Ryan Griffen
Ryan Hargrave
Brian Harris
Brad Johnson
Jordan McMahon
William Minson
Brett Montgomery
Dale Morris
Sam Power
Farren Ray
Matthew Robbins
Rohan Smith
Peter Street
Scott West
Cameron Wight

Go_Dogs
05-03-2007, 02:07 PM
Akermanis
Boyd
Cooney
Cross
Darcy
Eagleton
Giansiracusa
Gilbee
Grant
Griffen
Hargrave
Higgins
Johnson
McDougall
McMahon
Minson
Montgomery
Morris
Murphy
Street
West
Wight

I left out Robbins for Higgins, but it was a tough call. Not sure whether both of Murphy and Darcy will play first up, I guess it depends on what happens over the next few weeks.

bornadog
05-03-2007, 05:54 PM
With basicaly the same team in that got thrashed against West Coast, do you think this is going to be good enough to win the first half dozen games. We have Aker, Higgins, Doogs and Darcy in and out Harris, Smith, Ray and Robbins. By round six, hopefully Murphy and Hahn will be available as well and hopefully some of the younger players have lifted to another level. Its going to be very interesting.

southerncross
05-03-2007, 06:21 PM
McMahon, Morris, Wight
Griffen, Grant, Gilbee
Ray, West, Eagleton
Akermanis*, McDougall*, Hargrave
Robbins, Johnson, Higgins*
Minson, Cross, Giansiracusa

Cooney, Boyd, Power, Street, Monty, Murphy (two players to miss out)

Four new additions against the Cats. Cooney on the bench because his fitness won't be great. Murphy perhaps available and Darcy to be considered if fit.
Hargrave up forward because Grant is play in defense to cover Harris.

Mofra
05-03-2007, 07:40 PM
At this stage I'd have it:

Morris, Wight, Addison
Hargrave, Grant, Gilbee
McMahon, West, Eagleton
Akermanis, McDougall, Power
Robbins, Johnson, Higgins
Street, Cross, Giansiracusa

Minson, Boyd, Griffen, (last spot up for grabs)

Morris, Hargrave & Power will probably switch throughout the day to play on the no 3 & 4 forwards respectively. McMahon I like on a wing, more of a creative licence and given Power will probably spend time back we need someone else who is excellent with assists.
The biggest shock would be Addison for Ray, but we need a defensive type player more than Ray who seems to need to go back & find some form.

Could be a few players vying for the last spot, would wait to see the form for the rest of the pre-sesson, assuming Cooney, Murphy & Darcy are all possibly a couple of weeks away from playing on round 1.

southerncross
05-03-2007, 07:42 PM
Mofra, Griffen on the interchange bench is a real surprise. Any reason why he isn't in the starting 18?

Mofra
05-03-2007, 09:05 PM
Because he is behind Cross, West, and realistically a fit Cooney & Gia as a midfielder.

I didn't put him on the HBF as he will rarely play there this year & he needs to get used to being a midfielder first, anything else second. I'm prepared to sacrifice a couple of minutes a quarter to have a player of his calibre learn the midfield role quickly.

southerncross
05-03-2007, 09:12 PM
Because he is behind Cross, West, and realistically a fit Cooney & Gia as a midfielder.

I didn't put him on the HBF as he will rarely play there this year & he needs to get used to being a midfielder first, anything else second. I'm prepared to sacrifice a couple of minutes a quarter to have a player of his calibre learn the midfield role quickly.

I think he will still play a fair bit of footy in the back line. I wonder if they should just leave him on a wing and see what havoc he can cause.

dog town
05-03-2007, 09:38 PM
Griffen will still play plenty of footy in defence. He doesn't get enough of the ball yet as an onballer to push out a regular. Will spend more time forward this year but will always be a very good option down back.

I wonder if Higgins has done a bit of damage to Robbins strangle hold on the second small out of the goal square role? He is very strong through the hips and can hold his ground in a one on one which means he can pretty much play Robbins role as well as giving us another midfield option. Robbins gets a little bit on the lead but increasingly he ends up just wrestling in the square and trying to get the sit on his opponent. If the kick isn't waited in his favour he tends to struggle to take a grab and I dont think the new rule is helping him. Higgins is a more versatile option and although he will be in the side regardless of whether Robbins is I think the ability he has shown up forward combined with guys like Cooney coming back could see Robbins drop out. I am a Robbins fan I just think he has fallen away slightly and without the versatility of others he could be in the firing line.

southerncross
05-03-2007, 09:46 PM
Griffen will still play plenty of footy in defence. He doesn't get enough of the ball yet as an onballer to push out a regular. Will spend more time forward this year but will always be a very good option down back.

I wonder if Higgins has done a bit of damage to Robbins strangle hold on the second small out of the goal square role? He is very strong through the hips and can hold his ground in a one on one which means he can pretty much play Robbins role as well as giving us another midfield option. Robbins gets a little bit on the lead but increasingly he ends up just wrestling in the square and trying to get the sit on his opponent. If the kick isn't waited in his favour he tends to struggle to take a grab and I dont think the new rule is helping him. Higgins is a more versatile option and although he will be in the side regardless of whether Robbins is I think the ability he has shown up forward combined with guys like Cooney coming back could see Robbins drop out. I am a Robbins fan I just think he has fallen away slightly and without the versatility of others he could be in the firing line.

Fair point there dt however, Robbins finished the year well in 2006 and has an injury interrupted preseason so his form so far was always likely to be patchy. As good as Higgins is they are vastly different players and Robbins' terrific work ethic in the forward line is something that Rocket must hold in high regards. It's great to see a stalwart like Robbins actually be under pressure though and this can only be good for the team.

dog town
05-03-2007, 10:04 PM
Fair point there dt however, Robbins finished the year well in 2006 and has an injury interrupted preseason so his form so far was always likely to be patchy. As good as Higgins is they are vastly different players and Robbins' terrific work ethic in the forward line is something that Rocket must hold in high regards. It's great to see a stalwart like Robbins actually be under pressure though and this can only be good for the team. They are different players but Higgins can do everything Robbins can do because he has a strong body and is good both on the ground and in the air. I am not suggesting a direct swap in roles just think that Higgins just adds another competitor for Robbins in what is about to become a very crowded forward line. I thought Robbins was ok towards the end of last year but had lost a few of the extra strings to his bow including his ability to put forward pressure on. He still applies good pressure but nothing like what he was doing in say late 2005.

Got no doubt Robbins will do a good job if he plays but 26 wont go into 22. Going to be someone who is extremely unlucky.

bornadog
05-03-2007, 10:19 PM
Given the comments todate, the biggest difference to the starting 22 from the West Coast loss will be:

The addtion of Aker and Doogs, improvement of some of the younger players like Higgins, Griffen, Cooney, Wight, Minson improving further as he gets older and wiser, the return of injured players and anything else????

Have we changed the team all that much to go one step further? With Harris out for the first two rounds, I feel the backline is going to have to rely on the old brigade and hope like hell that Wight can hold his position. We need a good start to the season again to set us up and I think the first three games are going to be tough, especially for the backline.

Dry Rot
05-03-2007, 10:29 PM
They are different players but Higgins can do everything Robbins can do because he has a strong body and is good both on the ground and in the air. I am not suggesting a direct swap in roles just think that Higgins just adds another competitor for Robbins in what is about to become a very crowded forward line. I thought Robbins was ok towards the end of last year but had lost a few of the extra strings to his bow including his ability to put forward pressure on. He still applies good pressure but nothing like what he was doing in say late 2005.

Got no doubt Robbins will do a good job if he plays but 26 wont go into 22. Going to be someone who is extremely unlucky.

Injuries aside, will Robbins and monty be playing come Rd 22?

Go_Dogs
06-03-2007, 05:35 PM
Wight will be in the team for sure IMO. Interesting you left him out Morfa, haven't been convinced by his performances?

Personally I don't think Addison is a shot for the first round, his attack is good, but from half back you can't waste as many possessions as he does at the moment.

Griffen will still play back at times, and don't be surprised to see him play forward a bit too. He was always a goal kicking player in his younger days with a great goal sense.

LostDoggy
07-03-2007, 08:35 PM
Wight will be in the team for sure IMO. Interesting you left him out Morfa, haven't been convinced by his performances?

Personally I don't think Addison is a shot for the first round, his attack is good, but from half back you can't waste as many possessions as he does at the moment.

Griffen will still play back at times, and don't be surprised to see him play forward a bit too. He was always a goal kicking player in his younger days with a great goal sense.
I think you have hit the nail on the head. Griffen will be a starter not a bench player as Mofra indicated and I dont see Addison as an option unless injuries occur. We need to add a bit more body size to our best 22. It still looks too light on.

Raw Toast
08-03-2007, 09:55 AM
They are different players but Higgins can do everything Robbins can do because he has a strong body and is good both on the ground and in the air. I am not suggesting a direct swap in roles just think that Higgins just adds another competitor for Robbins in what is about to become a very crowded forward line. I thought Robbins was ok towards the end of last year but had lost a few of the extra strings to his bow including his ability to put forward pressure on. He still applies good pressure but nothing like what he was doing in say late 2005.

Got no doubt Robbins will do a good job if he plays but 26 wont go into 22. Going to be someone who is extremely unlucky.

Agree that Robbins is under the pump. Eade seemed upset with a few players on Friday night and I reckon Robbins might have been was one of these. He had a quite game and then late in the piece went for glory instead of doing the team thing.

Robbins is a great set shot (as a rule), but doesn't crumb that well and struggles to snap goals unless he has time to steady. Higgins is better on the ground and looks better at quick snaps from what I've seen. Robbins needs to get his pressure back to the late 2005 levels as you imply. He has to become really hungry again in a defensive sense (especially if Darcy or Grant plays forward), but a bit less hungry when he's got the ball in a pocket or under great pressure.

I think he's someone who plays a bit better when under the pump anyway, so won't be surprised if he steps it up a level in the next little while.

Dry Rot
08-03-2007, 01:30 PM
FFS, I don't want to see Robbins at FF again. Ever.

Go_Dogs
08-03-2007, 01:51 PM
Serious? I think the delivery and the amount of numbers back did him no favors. He kicked 45 goals last year - hardly a bad return. I don't think he'll play FF, but surely he can still get a run in the pocket. He will have his work cut out for him though, and will really need to work on his defensive pressure and ability to hold the ball in the F50 if he is going to stay in the best 22 by years end. Let's also not forget he had in interrupted pre-season.

southerncross
08-03-2007, 02:43 PM
Serious? I think the delivery and the amount of numbers back did him no favors. He kicked 45 goals last year - hardly a bad return. I don't think he'll play FF, but surely he can still get a run in the pocket. He will have his work cut out for him though, and will really need to work on his defensive pressure and ability to hold the ball in the F50 if he is going to stay in the best 22 by years end. Let's also not forget he had in interrupted pre-season.

Agreed. There is no reason to think that Robbins cannot play a vital role for us again this year especially with a couple of genuine talls available.
To take on board DR's comment about Robbins at FF what everyone needs to understand is that he played there out of necessity not because he was the ideal option. Credit to him for doing his best.
Providing McDougall and Darcy are available Robbins and Johnson for that matter can play a more natural role in the forward set-up.

Raw Toast
08-03-2007, 04:42 PM
Agreed. There is no reason to think that Robbins cannot play a vital role for us again this year especially with a couple of genuine talls available.
To take on board DR's comment about Robbins at FF what everyone needs to understand is that he played there out of necessity not because he was the ideal option. Credit to him for doing his best.
Providing McDougall and Darcy are available Robbins and Johnson for that matter can play a more natural role in the forward set-up.

True and he is recovering from injury.

However, I'm not sure that talls like Darcy will help Robbins too much. They'll help a little, as he won't be called on to compete for high balls against more than one opponent. However, Robbins get's most of his touches through passes on the lead or one-on-one contests, and if McDougall, Johnson and Darcy all play he might not get much ball directed to him. This is where Higgins, Ackermanis and also Faulkner have the advantage over him as they can crumb off contests and kick opportunistic goals more than Robbins tends to.

There's still room for Robbins to play primarily as a defensive forward but his pressure-work needs to be top-notch for this.

Personally, I don't mind Robbins rotating through FF as long as he is isolated one-on-one (he tends to be surprisingly good at contested marks in this situation, though the new rules might hurt him and he doesn't stand much of a chance against two opponents), AND we have a tall hanging somewhere around who can contest the get-out-of-jail bombs.

dog town
08-03-2007, 10:00 PM
True and he is recovering from injury.

However, I'm not sure that talls like Darcy will help Robbins too much. They'll help a little, as he won't be called on to compete for high balls against more than one opponent. However, Robbins get's most of his touches through passes on the lead or one-on-one contests, and if McDougall, Johnson and Darcy all play he might not get much ball directed to him. This is where Higgins, Ackermanis and also Faulkner have the advantage over him as they can crumb off contests and kick opportunistic goals more than Robbins tends to.

There's still room for Robbins to play primarily as a defensive forward but his pressure-work needs to be top-notch for this.

Personally, I don't mind Robbins rotating through FF as long as he is isolated one-on-one (he tends to be surprisingly good at contested marks in this situation, though the new rules might hurt him and he doesn't stand much of a chance against two opponents), AND we have a tall hanging somewhere around who can contest the get-out-of-jail bombs.
Could not be more correct. That is the challenge ahead for Robbins and it will be interesting to watch.

bornadog
08-03-2007, 10:59 PM
We really need a crumbing forward once we have some height up forward and yes Robbins has never been that type, but then again he hasn't had the opportunity to be one as the last few years the forward line has been small and he and Johnno have had to lead out for their kicks. I think Robbins will adapt as there are a few lining up to take his place.

Mofra
09-03-2007, 01:43 PM
Wight will be in the team for sure IMO. Interesting you left him out Morfa, haven't been convinced by his performances?

I've been probably his biggest fan on these boards, and have him as our regular CHB for the season.

You might want to look at the FB position a little closer..... I've put a fella who is quite possibly our best spoiler (behind Harris) there for round 1.....

Go_Dogs
09-03-2007, 02:36 PM
Ah, true. In my haste I didn't even notice that you had left out Harris and positioned Wight at full back. I stand corrected.

bornadog
10-03-2007, 12:22 PM
I've been probably his biggest fan on these boards, and have him as our regular CHB for the season.

You might want to look at the FB position a little closer..... I've put a fella who is quite possibly our best spoiler (behind Harris) there for round 1.....

Harris is suspended so has to be out for round one

Go_Dogs
10-03-2007, 01:22 PM
I think that is what Morfa was doing when he named his team. :P

dog town
13-03-2007, 09:44 AM
With a few games under our belt it's probably now a bit easier to predict our side for Round 1.

The way I see it you have your walk up starts for reasons of form/structure and runs on the board.

Scott West
Daniel Cross
Brad Johnson
Daniel Giansiracusa
Ryan Griffen
Lindsay Gilbee
Jordan Mcmahon
Will Minson
Chris Grant
Cam Wight
Matty Boyd
Jason Akermanis
Shaun Higgins
Adam Cooney
Robert Murphy
Andrew McDougal
Dale Morris
Ryan Hargrave
Nathan Eagleton

I have 19 down as definite starters. Doogs , Wight and maybe Eagleton might be questionable in some eyes but I think Wight and Doogs are required for structure particularly without Harris. I am assuming Cooney and Murphy will both have an extra game under the belt by the first game. Have I left anyone out?

That leaves 3 spots for the likes of Power , Robbins , Darcy , Ray , Monty , Faulkner and Street.

Darcy will depend on how he goes this week you would think. He needs to get through with no soreness and probably needs to show that he can impact as a deep forward or we are better off pumping full games into him at Werribee. I dont think both of Darcy and Street will play but one of them will so that leaves 2 spots.

I think Robbins will play as he takes a good defender and with guys like Aker and Murphy now joining last seasons mix it will be good to see how a side like Geelong manages it.

The last spot comes down to Ray and Power for mine. Power has had better pre season form but Ray gives us another runing option through the middle against a team who look like they are trying generate alot of run themselves. I cant split them and I think it could come down to how we structure the side. If Power has a match up down back then he will get the nod.

I might be a mile off the mark with all of this but thats how I would do it.

Raw Toast
13-03-2007, 11:20 AM
Agree with almost all of this DT.

Gotta be some doubts over Street's fitness as well as Darcy's fitness and form, which means I'd have Skipper as a dark horse for the extra tall spot. I agree that we're likely to add only one tall to your list of 19.

One question is how a not super-fit Street would match up against the Cat's ruck options of King, Ottens and Mooney. King and Otten's mightn't run that much off him, and the battle with Mooney might depend on Street's abiblity to actually put the ball in good places.

If Darcy is the only one of these selected then McDougall and Wight are likely to ruck a bit. Not sure either will be much good, but doesn't sound like Skipper's ruck-work has been impressing, and Street still needs to add another string to his bow (the revised hands in the back interpretation might be handy though).

At the moment I'd have Ray and Robbins battling for the last place with Power just ahead of them. The absence of Harris gives Power an advantage I reckon, as he can be part of back-line rotations if things are going awry.

Both Robbins and Ray seem to have been struggling and I reckon were the target of Eade's mini-blast after the Lions game. I think Ray is advantaged by the run he provides, and that Guido, Aker, Murphy and Higgins might squeeze Robbins out. Robbins' place might also come down to Darcy - if he's in, then Robbins is less likely I think.

Whoever misses out is going to be fairly unlucky.

Go_Dogs
13-03-2007, 11:21 AM
Street won't play early in the year.

dog town
13-03-2007, 01:46 PM
Agree with almost all of this DT.

Gotta be some doubts over Street's fitness as well as Darcy's fitness and form, which means I'd have Skipper as a dark horse for the extra tall spot. I agree that we're likely to add only one tall to your list of 19.

One question is how a not super-fit Street would match up against the Cat's ruck options of King, Ottens and Mooney. King and Otten's mightn't run that much off him, and the battle with Mooney might depend on Street's abiblity to actually put the ball in good places.

If Darcy is the only one of these selected then McDougall and Wight are likely to ruck a bit. Not sure either will be much good, but doesn't sound like Skipper's ruck-work has been impressing, and Street still needs to add another string to his bow (the revised hands in the back interpretation might be handy though).

At the moment I'd have Ray and Robbins battling for the last place with Power just ahead of them. The absence of Harris gives Power an advantage I reckon, as he can be part of back-line rotations if things are going awry.

Both Robbins and Ray seem to have been struggling and I reckon were the target of Eade's mini-blast after the Lions game. I think Ray is advantaged by the run he provides, and that Guido, Aker, Murphy and Higgins might squeeze Robbins out. Robbins' place might also come down to Darcy - if he's in, then Robbins is less likely I think.

Whoever misses out is going to be fairly unlucky. I completely forgot about Skipper. With Street having a limited preparation Skip would probably be ahead of him as a back up ruckmen. I think Geelong would prefer to go with King for most of the game and use Mooney and Ottens in very small patches so that they can keep them forward. I think that suits us because we can just have Minson and then give him small breaks as well.

Agree with Power having more value due to the absence of Brian Harris . Morris and Hargrave may be needed on taller opponents so Power could end up with a pretty big job.

bornadog
28-03-2007, 10:47 PM
This was the team that was defeated by West Coast in the final last year. What changes do you see for round one? We know Harris is out. Smith has retired, What abouty Darcy for his first game back? Is Street and Cooney fit enough? Higgins is playing well, but who do you drop? Aker if fit, is a cert.

Matthew Boyd
Adam Cooney
Daniel Cross
Nathan Eagleton
Daniel Giansiracusa
Lindsay Gilbee
Chris Grant
Ryan Griffen
Ryan Hargrave
Brian Harris
Brad Johnson
Jordan McMahon
William Minson
Brett Montgomery
Dale Morris
Sam Power
Farren Ray
Matthew Robbins
Rohan Smith
Peter Street
Scott West
Cameron Wight

OUT - Harris, Smith, Grant, Power

In - Darcy, McDougall, Aker and Murphy

Go_Dogs
29-03-2007, 10:33 AM
Grant not playing is your mail? I still think he'll play.

bornadog
29-03-2007, 12:27 PM
Grant not playing is your mail? I still think he'll play.

your probably right, just had that feeling listening to Rocket.

Sockeye Salmon
29-03-2007, 12:43 PM
I'm almost certain Grant will miss.

Go_Dogs
30-03-2007, 08:59 AM
Johnson said last night that there could be some surprises. Grant wasn't named in the team sheet that I saw, so he cannot play right? Given the extended interchange.

Really does leave us a bit short if that's the case.

Dry Rot
30-03-2007, 09:33 AM
Johnson said last night that there could be some surprises. Grant wasn't named in the team sheet that I saw, so he cannot play right? Given the extended interchange.

Really does leave us a bit short if that's the case.

Case for playing Power and Street?

I wonder if McD will play in defence? He's damned good in the air - McD vs Mooney would be interesting

LostDoggy
30-03-2007, 11:14 AM
Johnson said last night that there could be some surprises. Grant wasn't named in the team sheet that I saw, so he cannot play right? Given the extended interchange.

Really does leave us a bit short if that's the case.

90% sure Grant won't play.
Its a long year and he has an old body.

Go_Dogs
30-03-2007, 12:05 PM
I'd be surprised if Power and Monty didn't play then - both could be useful playing back, or forward if McDougall or Darcy are needed back.

Really looking forward to this game, even tonight's game. So good to have the football back in full swing.

dog town
30-03-2007, 11:06 PM
In Rockets first game as coach against the pies Johnson was not named because of a pre season injury but ended up playing and caught the pies off guard. Not sure what the rule is but that definetly happened. Grant may yet play but I wouldn't risk him if he isn't completely fit.

Sockeye Salmon
31-03-2007, 12:08 AM
In Rockets first game as coach against the pies Johnson was not named because of a pre season injury but ended up playing and caught the pies off guard. Not sure what the rule is but that definetly happened. Grant may yet play but I wouldn't risk him if he isn't completely fit.

This really doesn't sound like a Dog Town post.

* Johnson was named that day, everyone just assumed he wouldn't play because of the way Eade was speaking in the week leading up to the game.

* If Grant plays the club will be fined by the AFL

* Grant won't play. Let it go.

dog town
31-03-2007, 08:22 AM
This really doesn't sound like a Dog Town post.

* Johnson was named that day, everyone just assumed he wouldn't play because of the way Eade was speaking in the week leading up to the game.

* If Grant plays the club will be fined by the AFL

* Grant won't play. Let it go.
God damn I didn't think he was named. Malthouse did it in a final at West Coast against North from memory. Come to think of it he was fined pretty badly.

I would prefer we didn't play Grant if even the slightest bit of doubt surrounds him anyway . Not sure why I thought Johnson wasn't named but I remember it being a massive shock when he played.

Not too many shocks in the final side. Street was never going to play with Darcy and Minson already in the side. Robbins probably a little bit stiff but was always going to find it tough when your basically adding 3 new small forwards to the mix that were not in the side for our last game (Murphy, Aker,Higgins). Power needed for a bit of versatility down back

The cats have picked Nathan Ablett which gives them the option of going extra tall but I wouldn't be overly concerned. They will be that Ottens conscious that he will hardly see the ball anyway and if we play a Gilbee on him then he will create havoc for them.

Really looking forward to see how Aker and Doogs go. Aker looked in 2nd gear during the pre season matches. This should give us a better indication as to what level he is capable of getting back to. Doogs had a good pre season but a regular season game against one of Harley,Scarlett or Egan will be a very good test for him.

Cant wait to see how Wight goes. Had a beer with him last week and he certainly doesn't look to be a heap bigger but looks very cut and defined. If he can pull it off as our main defender then his confidence will sky rocket which I think can be a problem for him.

Raw Toast
31-03-2007, 03:43 PM
God damn I didn't think he was named. Malthouse did it in a final at West Coast against North from memory. Come to think of it he was fined pretty badly.

I would prefer we didn't play Grant if even the slightest bit of doubt surrounds him anyway . Not sure why I thought Johnson wasn't named but I remember it being a massive shock when he played.

I'm 99% certain that Johnson was named as an emergency for that game. It was a pretty big shock as he was supposedly out for at least the first 4 games and Eade had a radio interview half an hour before the game and said he definitely wasn't going to play (the radio people were a bit p***ed but all's fair in ...).

I'm pretty sure that you can bring in someone from outside the 25 as long as you give at least 2 hours notice to the other club, and that otherwise you cop the fine.



Really looking forward to see how Aker and Doogs go. Aker looked in 2nd gear during the pre season matches. This should give us a better indication as to what level he is capable of getting back to. Doogs had a good pre season but a regular season game against one of Harley,Scarlett or Egan will be a very good test for him.

Cant wait to see how Wight goes. Had a beer with him last week and he certainly doesn't look to be a heap bigger but looks very cut and defined. If he can pull it off as our main defender then his confidence will sky rocket which I think can be a problem for him.

I think it might take Aker a little while, but we'll certainly get some sense of what he'll offer and whether he can take some pressure off the rest of our midfield (and what he might do up forward). Also a good chance to see if Doogs can work as hard up forward and keep up his intensity in the face of fairly stiff opposition).

What was Wight like? He has certainly taken a bit of time to get his confidence up, but are you saying he might get a bit over-confident?

dog town
01-04-2007, 11:15 AM
I'm 99% certain that Johnson was named as an emergency for that game. It was a pretty big shock as he was supposedly out for at least the first 4 games and Eade had a radio interview half an hour before the game and said he definitely wasn't going to play (the radio people were a bit p***ed but all's fair in ...).

I'm pretty sure that you can bring in someone from outside the 25 as long as you give at least 2 hours notice to the other club, and that otherwise you cop the fine.




I think it might take Aker a little while, but we'll certainly get some sense of what he'll offer and whether he can take some pressure off the rest of our midfield (and what he might do up forward). Also a good chance to see if Doogs can work as hard up forward and keep up his intensity in the face of fairly stiff opposition).

What was Wight like? He has certainly taken a bit of time to get his confidence up, but are you saying he might get a bit over-confident?
I am saying he can struggle with his confidence and I am not sure that he really feels like he belongs at time. Not over confident by any means. Still knocks around with the same guys he went to high school with and is very quiet. Could do with a shot of confidence.

LostDoggy
01-04-2007, 07:06 PM
Cant wait to see how Wight goes. Had a beer with him last week and he certainly doesn't look to be a heap bigger but looks very cut and defined. If he can pull it off as our main defender then his confidence will sky rocket which I think can be a problem for him.

Well done here.
His arms seemed to be everywhere.
Our defence today has to comended.

southerncross
01-04-2007, 07:54 PM
Well done here.
His arms seemed to be everywhere.
Our defence today has to comended.

We looked like we were struggling early with Mooney and NAblett but we eventually got on top of them. Wight should singled out for his effort today. I think I read an article that referred to him as the Wight Night. Based on todays game he should cement his spot for a number of weeks.
Would Hargrave to the forward line be a chance when Harris returns and perhaps Grant has the right match up in the back line?