2025 AAMI Community Series - Hawthorn V Western Bulldogs Thu 27/2/25 UTAS Stadium, Launceston 5:20PM AEDT

[Rusty12]

It's a bloody long season.
Let's see how dads army is going in June, whether injured or being managed.
There were periods last year, the pies had some very poor players out there, they added 2 good ones, and the rest got a year older.

To say our line up looks a bit weak (for a practice match) with 7 walk up starts missing is to say the game is played on an oval.

Great chance to test the depth, and a few blokes to stake a claim.

[Aidan7557]

I agree Collingwood look strong but lets face facts here, most side are going to do to Richmond what the pies did to them ,i think id keep my powder dry about Collingwoopd this early , and at full strength no way is Collingwood that much better then us , coming into the finals last year we were pounding sides like Collingwood in fact we beat all the top side , so at full strength you might be selling us a bit short.

Maybe, I just worry about our bottom 8ish players a lot. Seems to be the difference in big games. Most clubs have good top end guys but the best teams have good 22's not 17/18's. Just on Busslinger I am getting a bit worried. He is only in his third season and for a key position player it normally takes 5 or 6 years to fully get going but I thought he would be a touch stronger. I know he had a bad shoulder in his first season but still looks slim. I actually walked past him in Carlton a couple weeks ago and he really hasn't got much meat on his bones at all. Whenever I watch him he is never bad but also never dominates. Strange. His kicking and set up play is great for a key back but I think the one on one stuff is probably the issue. He had outstanding VFL games last year and again is never a disaster like Gardner so maybe we just need to be ultra patient with Busslinger. There is something there to work with and he has great skills but it would have been nice to seem him even for a half in a praccy game.

[NAUGHTY100]

Maybe, I just worry about our bottom 8ish players a lot. Seems to be the difference in big games. Most clubs have good top end guys but the best teams have good 22's not 17/18's. Just on Busslinger I am getting a bit worried. He is only in his third season and for a key position player it normally takes 5 or 6 years to fully get going but I thought he would be a touch stronger. I know he had a bad shoulder in his first season but still looks slim. I actually walked past him in Carlton a couple weeks ago and he really hasn't got much meat on his bones at all. Whenever I watch him he is never bad but also never dominates. Strange. His kicking and set up play is great for a key back but I think the one on one stuff is probably the issue. He had outstanding VFL games last year and again is never a disaster like Gardner so maybe we just need to be ultra patient with Busslinger. There is something there to work with and he has great skills but it would have been nice to seem him even for a half in a praccy game.

I think that bottom 8 or so players your refering to has been made stronger through this last draft in particular , with the likes of Hynes , Dolan , the 2 Kennedys , Davidson and Jaques , of course only time will tell but they appear to have strengthen the bottom of our list . Just on Busslinger i think the reason his missed out on this side is because of his pace , against the Hawks if he dosnt take the mark and the ball comes to ground the Hawks smalls will destroy us , so maybe like someone else has pointed out thats why the MC has opted not to play him agaisnt Hawthorn, he may quite well get games this season , but it will be horses for courses , he dosnt play against sides that have quick moving small forward lines .

[NAUGHTY100]

Welcome aboard Aidan 7557 , look forward to reading more of your posts .

[doggies ftw]

Might be pessimistic here but that team on paper is not great. The big thing that stands out is how many "iffy" players we have right now. Go through Collingwood's team last night without de goey, mitchell and maynard. It is loaded from player 1 to 22. Feel like even with adz, red, weightman and jones back we still are about 4 or 5 players off the mark compared to the best teams. I feel like the only way we challenge this season is guys like sanders, davidson, mcneil, west etc go from D or C players to B's and our top line play out of their minds. Overall feeling like we are in a transition period with the list as a whole and it might be a frustrating season or two. Not saying we will be bad but all this is in the context of challenging for a premiership. Lots of good teams this year and looking at the Pies team on paper last night really woke me up to see we are a bit off their pace right now.

We’re missing 8 best 22 players - Dale, Red, Treloar, West, Marra, Cody, Jones, JJ - that’s a hell of a lot. Best two defenders, 2nd & 3rd best midfielders, best two small forwards and 2nd best key forward etc (based on last year) no team is looking solid with that level of outs from their top 15 players.

Looking at that pies side there’s a heap of role players/C (at best) graders - Mcreery, Markov, Frampton, WHE, Mcinnis, McStay, Membrey. Our midfield and talls outside of Moore completely wipe the floor with there’s on every level.

Thats not a more stacked line up than ours, are they a better team? Probably yeah, they’re extremely well coached. Their role players are just that, role players who have found a niche and do it well. Bevo wants our role players to play every position on the ground when they’re barely good enough at one position.

If they finish higher than us, which they probably will IMO it’s down to one thing - coaching

[Aidan7557]

Welcome aboard Aidan 7557 , look forward to reading more of your posts .

Thanks I'll try and chime in every now and then.

[GVGjr]

Thanks I'll try and chime in every now and then.

Spoken like a half forward flanker

[Scott2016]

For me the difference is other teams role players play a vital role in impacting the game to the point where some role players are first picked in selection. Our role players have no impact in the game and probably because they are not up to it so we call them role players. I remember Rocket Eade saying Liam picken and Dale Morris were first picked every week for the jobs they did. We had better players earning lots more money but the jobs Liam and Dale did won us games of footy by keeping their opponents quiet. We cannot say that about our role players week in and week out. If Bont doesn’t have a good day to make up for the 3 we have not touching the footy we lose. If Bont has a blinder those 3 aren’t exposed

[Pleather Sole]

We’re missing 8 best 22 players - Dale, Red, Treloar, West, Marra, Cody, Jones, JJ - that’s a hell of a lot. Best two defenders, 2nd & 3rd best midfielders, best two small forwards and 2nd best key forward etc (based on last year) no team is looking solid with that level of outs from their top 15 players.

Looking at that pies side there’s a heap of role players/C (at best) graders - Mcreery, Markov, Frampton, WHE, Mcinnis, McStay, Membrey. Our midfield and talls outside of Moore completely wipe the floor with there’s on every level.

Thats not a more stacked line up than ours, are they a better team? Probably yeah, they’re extremely well coached. Their role players are just that, role players who have found a niche and do it well. Bevo wants our role players to play every position on the ground when they’re barely good enough at one position.

If they finish higher than us, which they probably will IMO it’s down to one thing - coaching

Thankyou doggies ftw,
Indeed 8 outs are easy walkins, and, 5 of 8 are seasoned players and composed heads. Its unfortunate and it makes me a little nervous. However, its big opportunity for other players to get some games at top level.

Hopefully we also see more dynamic game day coaching as a result. Not just moving magnets but conditioning and teaching the team to adapt to different structures as needed. The Ballarat game against GWS was that and it was a ripper.

Jones, JJ and Dale out are huge, but I reckon our backline coaching has been the biggest improvement (no disrespect to Bubba) of late so I'm quietly confident we'll do ok considering. And if not, this is the game to make mistakes in, I hope we try as many approaches as possible without overloading minds.

[Rusty12]

We’re missing 8 best 22 players - Dale, Red, Treloar, West, Marra, Cody, Jones, JJ - that’s a hell of a lot. Best two defenders, 2nd & 3rd best midfielders, best two small forwards and 2nd best key forward etc (based on last year) no team is looking solid with that level of outs from their top 15 players.

Looking at that pies side there’s a heap of role players/C (at best) graders - Mcreery, Markov, Frampton, WHE, Mcinnis, McStay, Membrey. Our midfield and talls outside of Moore completely wipe the floor with there’s on every level.

Thats not a more stacked line up than ours, are they a better team? Probably yeah, they’re extremely well coached. Their role players are just that, role players who have found a niche and do it well. Bevo wants our role players to play every position on the ground when they’re barely good enough at one position.

If they finish higher than us, which they probably will IMO it’s down to one thing - coaching

So, the only reason, could possibly be coaching? Come On........ be more simplistic.

So McRae hasn't asked Daicos, De Goey, Mcrae, Frampton, Crisp, Sidebottom, Hoskin-Elliot, Mccreerym Markov and Howe to all play different roles at times? And on that basis, Mcrae is great and Bevo is no good?

Maybe Bevo understands when a player is not up to scratch for a particular role and tries them elsewhere. Is that bad coaching?

When the coaching staff move Lobb and Richards, it is great, but when they try one that doesn't t work, they are no good?

Weren't you asking for Tim English, who has a specific role to to play some hybrid, wing, utility rubbish? Isn't that the opposite of defined roles?

[GVGjr]

So after a lovely lunch at Flinders Island we have arrived at Launceston for this evenings game. Looking forward to it.
One of the passengers supports the Hawks so he is just 50/50 if he gets a trip back home

[doggies ftw]

So, the only reason, could possibly be coaching? Come On........ be more simplistic.

So McRae hasn't asked Daicos, De Goey, Mcrae, Frampton, Crisp, Sidebottom, Hoskin-Elliot, Mccreerym Markov and Howe to all play different roles at times? And on that basis, Mcrae is great and Bevo is no good?

Maybe Bevo understands when a player is not up to scratch for a particular role and tries them elsewhere. Is that bad coaching?

When the coaching staff move Lobb and Richards, it is great, but when they try one that doesn't t work, they are no good?

Weren't you asking for Tim English, who has a specific role to to play some hybrid, wing, utility rubbish? Isn't that the opposite of defined roles?

Obviously things like injuries could play a part, but for the most part yes it’ll come down to coaching between the two lists.

More than happy to have flexibility in the team and certain players who can be thrown around, Collingwood have clearly gotten more out of their role players though - this isn’t exactly a big call, they won a premiership on this. And they’ve done that by finding completely average players that have a few traits that can work in very specific roles.

Bevo is more of the pick a player and fit him into the side no matter what mantra, again not a big call - this is his method, right or wrong.

Pies have been one of the best drilled & system based teams under McCrae, they haven’t even been super talented as a list but won a premiership based on coaching & system - one which role players thrive in.

This isn’t controversial, I’m not sure why it’s upset you so much

[Bigdog]

We’re missing 8 best 22 players - Dale, Red, Treloar, West, Marra, Cody, Jones, JJ - that’s a hell of a lot. Best two defenders, 2nd & 3rd best midfielders, best two small forwards and 2nd best key forward etc (based on last year) no team is looking solid with that level of outs from their top 15 players.

Looking at that pies side there’s a heap of role players/C (at best) graders - Mcreery, Markov, Frampton, WHE, Mcinnis, McStay, Membrey. Our midfield and talls outside of Moore completely wipe the floor with there’s on every level.

Thats not a more stacked line up than ours, are they a better team? Probably yeah, they’re extremely well coached. Their role players are just that, role players who have found a niche and do it well. Bevo wants our role players to play every position on the ground when they’re barely good enough at one position.

If they finish higher than us, which they probably will IMO it’s down to one thing - coaching

I think our list is overated.

We have a lot of the same. We lack quality outside of Dale off Halfback. Our Midfield is still slow and ageing. Our small forwards aren’t dangerous enough or in Weightmans case discipline enough. Our KPD are also an issue with Jones going down - and who knows how he returns.

I’m not sure the talent is there compared with other sides.

Also Mcreery is far better than a c grader. Half forward is the hardest position on the ground. I’d say his an a grade for that role. The only one that I think is better than him as a hardworking high half forward is Will Hayward.

i think we’d kill for that sort of player. They are very hard to find to find.

[Bigdog]

We’re missing 8 best 22 players - Dale, Red, Treloar, West, Marra, Cody, Jones, JJ - that’s a hell of a lot. Best two defenders, 2nd & 3rd best midfielders, best two small forwards and 2nd best key forward etc (based on last year) no team is looking solid with that level of outs from their top 15 players.

Looking at that pies side there’s a heap of role players/C (at best) graders - Mcreery, Markov, Frampton, WHE, Mcinnis, McStay, Membrey. Our midfield and talls outside of Moore completely wipe the floor with there’s on every level.

Thats not a more stacked line up than ours, are they a better team? Probably yeah, they’re extremely well coached. Their role players are just that, role players who have found a niche and do it well. Bevo wants our role players to play every position on the ground when they’re barely good enough at one position.

If they finish higher than us, which they probably will IMO it’s down to one thing - coaching

I think our list is overated.

We have a lot of the same. We lack quality outside of Dale off Halfback. Our Midfield is still slow and ageing. Our small forwards aren’t dangerous enough or in Weightmans case discipline enough. Our KPD are also an issue with Jones going down - and who knows how he returns.

I’m not sure the talent is there compared with other sides.

Also Mcreery is far better than a c grader. Half forward is the hardest position on the ground. I’d say his an a grade for that role. The only one that I think is better than him as a hardworking high half forward is Will Hayward.

i think we’d kill for that sort of player. They are very hard to find to find.

[Bornadog]

I think our list is overated.

We have a lot of the same. We lack quality outside of Dale off Halfback. Our Midfield is still slow and ageing. Our small forwards aren’t dangerous enough or in Weightmans case discipline enough. Our KPD are also an issue with Jones going down - and who knows how he returns.

I’m not sure the talent is there compared with other sides.

Also Mcreery is far better than a c grader. Half forward is the hardest position on the ground. I’d say his an a grade for that role. The only one that I think is better than him as a hardworking high half forward is Will Hayward.

i think we’d kill for that sort of player. They are very hard to find to find.

From the best defence last year we haven't lost anyone to other clubs but do have Jones and Dale missing