Preview Gold Coast Suns v Adelaide Crows, Saturday 16th of March, People First Stadium, Gold Coast, 7.40pm Adelaide time.

[Cap]

I know we led at half time the last game against GC, but my memory is we played the 1st qtr and a half and then a couple of purple patches outside that.

Their midfield outworked ours, which is probably the biggest risk again.

 

[Jirik13]

Rain forecast for Saturday night too

Too early to say but no rain. Basically, the same forecast like against Tigers (and there were no showers during the game). Yes, chance of showers. Yes, it will be slippery, decent humidity, around 24 degrees. Nerang is the nearest station.​

Nerang, Saturday 16 March​

Summary Min 20 Max 27. Shower or two. Possible rainfall: 0 to 5 mm Chance of any rain: 60%

Gold Coast area​

Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Winds southerly 15 to 20 km/h turning southeasterly 20 to 30 km/h during the morning.

 

[Betts are off]

Was a humid night match in Darwin that wasn't wet?

Didn't really see that game, was at the Mark Normand show that night.

Well it was certainly slippery, but not raining is what I was alluding too.

 

[Betts are off]

We were horrible in wet weather and slippery games last year

Stifles our ball movement which is our strength ( last year at least )

Was that because we were playing our true mudders in Crouch and Berry?

 

[footy4ever]

I know we led at half time the last game against GC, but my memory is we played the 1st qtr and a half and then a couple of purple patches outside that.

Their midfield outworked ours, which is probably the biggest risk again.

My recollection is we played well for the first qtr, and for half of the last, and we still won by nearly 5 goals. Even with T & T out of the forward line and conditions advantageous to the locals, this won't be a Suns cakewalk.

 

[Cap]

My recollection is we played well for the first qtr, and for half of the last, and we still won by nearly 5 goals. Even with T & T out of the forward line and conditions advantageous to the locals, this won't be a Suns cakewalk.

Bloody hell, I forgot the round 21 game

I was thinking the round 12 game, and reading the fox news report your summary seems spot on.


I dont think this will be a cakewalk either it should be two teams who want to make the finals this year !

 

[AFC979810]

Can’t see him losing that much condition in a few weeks.
Had been training the house down all summer from reports.

He missed almost 4 weeks I believe which is a fair chunk.

Nicks mentioned his ankle injury as to why he might start as sub. You would hope that paying Burgess all that money - we would have a good idea of his fitness. It's especially important because we are heading the heat and humidity up north.

Having others carry more load in a warm humid game doesn’t seem like the smartest strategy.

It's not going to be ideal if we lose a player early regardless.

 

[AFC979810]

Soligo has been training since November? Apparently flying prior to his ankle. He would have been doing some fitness work even whilst injured. He’s had a few weeks back training, he would have a fitness base to play out a game.

Surely thats why we pay Burgess all that money.

If you’ve got concerns you play him and then sub him if he doesn’t last.

He’s too good to make the sub. But let’s assume he plays as sub, he’s going to go another week without a game, so what does that mean? He’s sub again against Geelong?

Another week on the track. Easier recovery from the 6 day break and make sure that he is good for Geelong.

Round 1 isn't an elimination final - think its smart to build into the season.

 

[FR0GGY]

Surely thats why we pay Burgess all that money.

To tell us he shouldn’t be playing a full afl game?

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Was that because we were playing our true mudders in Crouch and Berry?

Might have made some difference

But reckon wet weather takes away from some of our strengths

No 1 being ball movement

 

[AFC979810]

To tell us he shouldn’t be playing a full afl game?

To know the fitness levels of our AFL footballers yes. And he should be providing that information to Nicks as to where he thinks Soligo is at with regards to this weekend.

An excerpt from when he was at Liverpool

"I'm basically in charge of the players' fitness levels and so my job is to prepare them to play hopefully 50 to 60 games a season and to prevent injuries from happening."

"We need to monitor everything from their sleep to their eating habits. Each session we know exactly how far they have run, walked, jogged, sprinted and turned, so we keep a pretty close eye on them."

You would assume he has the same level of care and intimate knowledge of our players here. We are long past the days of being fit being a yes or no question. Its a very gray area.

To me - the decision to play Soligo as the sub due to fitness concerns is perfectly acceptable and understandable. Its a tough one to really be critical of, because we don't have all the information. Don't worry - if 2023 is anything to go by there will be a plethora of stupid Nicks decisions that we will be able to correctly be hyper critical of.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

To know the fitness levels of our AFL footballers yes. And he should be providing that information to Nicks as to where he thinks Soligo is at with regards to this weekend.

An excerpt from when he was at Liverpool

"I'm basically in charge of the players' fitness levels and so my job is to prepare them to play hopefully 50 to 60 games a season and to prevent injuries from happening."

"We need to monitor everything from their sleep to their eating habits. Each session we know exactly how far they have run, walked, jogged, sprinted and turned, so we keep a pretty close eye on them."

You would assume he has the same level of care and intimate knowledge of our players here. We are long past the days of being fit being a yes or no question. Its a very gray area.

To me - the decision to play Soligo as the sub due to fitness concerns is perfectly acceptable and understandable. Its a tough one to really be critical of, because we don't have all the information. Don't worry - if 2023 is anything to go by there will be a plethora of stupid Nicks decisions that we will be able to correctly be hyper critical of.

You wonder whether having a high quality player that can come on fresh ( in a game that will be influenced by fatigue ) give us good midfield minutes might also be part of thinking

But doubt it happens anyway , maybe Sholl is the player marked for sub

Let’s get back to debating whether the club thinks Pedlar is best 22

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Had no idea he was a suns assistant , good to see

 

[Betts are off]

Alright guys I've done my part. I selected the Suns in my footy tips

If you knew how bad a tipper I am then you would know that all but guarantees the win!

 

[George Kramer]

Surely thats why we pay Burgess all that money.



Another week on the track. Easier recovery from the 6 day break and make sure that he is good for Geelong.

Round 1 isn't an elimination final - think its smart to build into the season.

You’re assuming that Burgess isn’t passing him fit but Nicks is deciding to make him sub because he’s wants to go with the players who have played more games.

But I don’t think he will be sub, Nicks isn’t that stupid

 

[AFC979810]

You’re assuming that Burgess isn’t passing him fit but Nicks is deciding to make him sub because he’s wants to go with the players who have played more games.

No I am not.

I am assuming that Burgess is communicating to Nicks what his fitness level is and Nicks will ultimately make the decision whether he wants to use him as a Sub or start on the ground.

I am also assuming that the game has progressed far past whether a player is "fit" or "unfit" to play.

But I don’t think he will be sub, Nicks isn’t that stupid

I don't think its stupid to start Soligo as the sub if they think his fitness is subpar.

 

[Scorpus]

I don't think its stupid to start Soligo as the sub if they think his fitness is subpar.

 

[AFC979810]

You wonder whether having a high quality player that can come on fresh ( in a game that will be influenced by fatigue ) give us good midfield minutes might also be part of thinking

The sub rule is a tricky one to use for Strategy IMO as it rarely plays out how you think it will.

For me the sub role should be filled two ways -

1. to get a player back into the team (from injury) and taste AFL football or
2. Have a specialist sub like McHenry who is known to perform well in the role.

But doubt it happens anyway , maybe Sholl is the player marked for sub

Let’s get back to debating whether the club thinks Pedlar is best 22

I am just shocked that Sholl is in the side. I have been on the Sholl bandwagon for the past few years, but my hope faded in 2024.

Lets hope he dominates!

 

[George Kramer]

No I am not.

I am assuming that Burgess is communicating to Nicks what his fitness level is and Nicks will ultimately make the decision whether he wants to use him as a Sub or start on the ground.

I am also assuming that the game has progressed far past whether a player is "fit" or "unfit" to play.



I don't think it’s stupid to start Soligo as the sub if they think his fitness is subpar.

Yes you are. You’re assuming Burgess is making the call he’s not fit enough to play and Nicks would make him sub based on that. Whereas Nicks could easily just make a call for him to be sub irrespective.

And do you really think one extra week on the track after a long preseason where he missed a few weeks but has been back training for 3 is going to make him fit all of a sudden? The only conjecture is limited game time and that’s not going to be improved by making him sub and there are no SANFL games.

 

[AFC979810]

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What does an injured Tom Lynch have to do with an underdone Soligo?

Soligo played AFL football a week and a half ago and got through unscathed (albeit preseason). It appears that the club is worried that his fitness is underdone and in the wet and humidity its a big enough worry to relegate him to sub. This is a very reasonable take IMO, and you would hope that it is backed by Burgess.

 

[Scorpus]

What does an injured Tom Lynch have to do with an underdone Soligo?

Soligo played AFL football a week and a half ago and got through unscathed (albeit preseason). It appears that the club is worried that his fitness is underdone and in the wet and humidity its a big enough worry to relegate him to sub. This is a very reasonable take IMO, and you would hope that it is backed by Burgess.

Tom Lynch was the last time we selected someone with "subpar fitness" as the sub

 

[AFC979810]

Yes you are. You’re assuming Burgess is making the call he’s not fit enough to play and Nicks would make him sub based on that. Whereas Nicks could easily just make a call for him to be sub irrespective.

You know an awful lot about other peoples thoughts.

I am saying that there are levels of fitness and its not all black and white. I am assuming Burgess would have a number and an idea of how fit Soligo is. He would communicate this to Nicks who would then make the selection call based on the weather in GC, 6 day break, etc.

Once more - this isn't an injury issue this is a fitness issue.

And do you really think one extra week on the track after a long preseason where he missed a few weeks but has been back training for 3 is going to make him fit all of a sudden?

Well not just the extra week on the track, but also the conditions we are playing in and the fact its a 6-day break would also play into it. They might not want him to flog himself into the ground against GC only to make his recovery that much harder for the 6 day break.

 

[George Kramer]

You know an awful lot about other peoples thoughts.

I am saying that there are levels of fitness and its not all black and white. I am assuming Burgess would have a number and an idea of how fit Soligo is. He would communicate this to Nicks who would then make the selection call based on the weather in GC, 6 day break, etc.

Once more - this isn't an injury issue this is a fitness issue.



Well not just the extra week on the track, but also the conditions we are playing in and the fact its a 6-day break would also play into it. They might not want him to flog himself into the ground against GC only to make his recovery that much harder for the 6 day break.

So you’re not considering at all that Burgess could say that Soligo has the necessary fitness base to play but Nicks is being conservative and making him the sub because he wants to go with the team that’s played more practise games?

 

[SugarShane]

Geez I’m miles in front of Himmelberg

Username checks out.

 

[CrowBloke]

Surely thats why we pay Burgess all that money.

What's he getting; anybody know?