Unofficial Preview Round 17 vs. Essendon, MCG, 7:40pm Friday 05/07

[iGNITER]

For the VFL watchers, has Johnson been playing well?

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Agree. I think he's our biggest x-factor in the back half of the year provided he stays fit.

I would throw McStay into that conversation as well. Predicted to be back for the Hawthorn game He could make a huge difference to our F50 setup and scoring potential.
The guy looks super fit as well. He looks like he could monster a few defenders at the moment....

 

[Fruit]

Did Essendon get any injuries on the weekend?

 

[No SPIN]

I think we are missing Cox more than we think. Even though he can be frustrating I always have confidence when he goes into the ruck. It has been a luxury having two players who can have an influence in the ruck most games as opposed to Krueger who is really just hoping he can compete in their.
Cox would have been a great match up for Witts on the weekend and may have been able to minimise his influence and change the result in our favour.

GCS game was a wake up call for those thinking Kreuger is a permanent replacement for Cox.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

For the VFL watchers, has Johnson been playing well?

Thought he tried hard on Saturday in tough conditions. Kicked the 2 goals, 3 marks and 14 disposals, was a decent game by him. Spilled a couple of marks he should have held, but it was wet, so there's an excuse for that....

I must admit if l was going to bring another player up it would be Eyre. He competed well, kicked the 2 goals, took 4 or 5 marks, and looked likely up forward. Plus he can be a switch hitter up forward or in defence....

 

[iGNITER]

Thought he tried hard on Saturday in tough conditions. Kicked the 2 goals, 3 marks and 14 disposals, was a decent game by him. Spilled a couple of marks he should have held, but it was wet, so there's an excuse for that....

I must admit if l was going to bring another player up it would be Eyre. He competed well, kicked the 2 goals, took 4 or 5 marks, and looked likely up forward. Plus he can be a switch hitter up forward or in defence....

Thanks for that.

Have seen a couple of Eyres games and he looks physically capable and can play at both ends which is a positive.

Had high hopes for Johnson and was hoping he could turn it around and get back into the senior side in the absence of McStay - looking unlikely now.
Mind you, with those stats it’s not a bad outing in bad conditions…

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

GCS game was a wake up call for those thinking Kreuger is a permanent replacement for Cox.

I think players like Krueger who have missed alot of footy through injury, need to be given time.
He was only playing his third game back in senior footy. I thought he was good against Melbourne, had an almost game against North when he kicked 1.2, and was a bit quieter against GC.
We need to give these guys time and the opportunity to settle into a role. It's a little frustrating playing guys for 2 weeks then omitting them.
Krueg's needs a good solid block of senior footy and lets see how he performs on a consistent basis.
McStay is said to be back around the Hawks game, so lets give Krueger the opportunity over the next 2 to 3 weeks, and see how he performs. If he's struggling then the natural omission for a McStay would be Krueger.
But if Krueg's is doing his job, and McStay is also available, then l think Cox would find it hard to be an automatic recall to the side.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Thanks for that.

Have seen a couple of Eyres games and he looks physically capable and can play at both ends which is a positive.

Had high hopes for Johnson and was hoping he could turn it around and get back into the senior side in the absence of McStay - looking unlikely now.
Mind you, with those stats it’s not a bad outing in bad conditions…

Eyre is a good mark of the footy. He does read it well in the air, we have seen that particularly when he was playing in defence.
There were marking attempts he went for on Saturday that if the conditions were drier, he would have held.

I fear AJ has missed the bus, unfortunately. With McStay returning in the next few weeks, we also have Krueger now playing senior footy and if Eyre comes along too, as expected he will, then l fear AJ may be wearing different colours in 2025....

 

[jmac70]

What characteristic does Moore have that would suggest he could be a strong midfielder at AFL level? I can't think of a single one. He's not agile, he's not aerobically fit, he doesn't win the ground ball, he doesn't accumulate, he isn't a great kick, he isn't a great tackler, he's not burst quick, he isn't a great handballer. Most midfielders need 3-4 of these things to be competitive. And please don't say that he could dominate the opposition 'ruck rover' in the air...

Moore's position set is key position forward or back, or ruck - that's it.

Wow, that’s a lot of things that Moore can’t do.

 

[gerryg400]

What characteristic does Moore have that would suggest he could be a strong midfielder at AFL level? I can't think of a single one. He's not agile, he's not aerobically fit, he doesn't win the ground ball, he doesn't accumulate, he isn't a great kick, he isn't a great tackler, he's not burst quick, he isn't a great handballer. Most midfielders need 3-4 of these things to be competitive. And please don't say that he could dominate the opposition 'ruck rover' in the air...

Moore's position set is key position forward or back, or ruck - that's it.

Yeah, but apart from agility, aerobic fitness, ball-winning, accumulation, kicking, tackling, burst speed and hand balling, is there anything else lacking that prevents him from being a midfielder?

 

[jmac70]

Yeah, but apart from agility, aerobic fitness, ball-winning, accumulation, kicking, tackling, burst speed and hand balling, is there anything else lacking that prevents him from being a midfielder?

I blame the Romans.

 

[SuperSub17]

Damn it it’s only Monday and I’m already itching for the weekend.

This game won’t be easy - it almost never is against these bastards - but I think we can win in an arm wrestle. If we can get by the next two we’re back on track for top 4.

 

[No SPIN]

I think players like Krueger who have missed alot of footy through injury, need to be given time.
He was only playing his third game back in senior footy. I thought he was good against Melbourne, had an almost game against North when he kicked 1.2, and was a bit quieter against GC.
We need to give these guys time and the opportunity to settle into a role. It's a little frustrating playing guys for 2 weeks then omitting them.
Krueg's needs a good solid block of senior footy and lets see how he performs on a consistent basis.
McStay is said to be back around the Hawks game, so lets give Krueger the opportunity over the next 2 to 3 weeks, and see how he performs. If he's struggling then the natural omission for a McStay would be Krueger.
But if Krueg's is doing his job, and McStay is also available, then l think Cox would find it hard to be an automatic recall to the side.

The most effective way to neutralize a dominant Ruckman ( as WC did to Grundy in the 2018 GF), is to play 2 true Rucks. Cox would therefore have been selected against GCS if available IMO.
Kreuger is not winning us the GF as Cox did in the crucial CB’s last year.
I’m a Kreuger fan, but he has limitations in any talk as a Cox replacement.
It doesn’t matter how much time he’s given he doesn’t have the imposing body of Cox, so critical in Ruck duels.

 

[76woodenspooners]

He know that Noble went for a HIA mid way through the final quarter. But do we know if he failed it?

 

[Apex36]

He know that Noble went for a HIA mid way through the final quarter. But do we know if he failed it?

Yes he’s in protocols.

 

[manicpie]

He know that Noble went for a HIA mid way through the final quarter. But do we know if he failed it?

Apparently will miss this game so yes, he failed it

 

[Apex36]

Essendon doing Essendon things right now and shitting the bed in the second half of the year.

I have no right to feel confident after our last couple of showings, but I do. I think this will be a comfortable win.

 

[BuildEmUp]

Dean is as athletic as Murphy.
He just lacks Murphy’s ferocity and urgency.

might be a good thing .. prolong his career unlike kamikaze Murph ...

 

[BuildEmUp]

Krueger is a terrible back up ruck I know we have few alternatives till Cox is available but dearie me- he is poor. Teakle looked like Gawn on steroids against Freddy

Eyre is 199 cm . so maybe a better choice

 

[BuildEmUp]

GCS game was a wake up call for those thinking Kreuger is a permanent replacement for Cox.

I would think Big Roo or Steene are the replacements for Cox in long term - reckon Coxy will go around again next year

 

[Scritchyscroony]

What characteristic does Moore have that would suggest he could be a strong midfielder at AFL level? I can't think of a single one. He's not agile, he's not aerobically fit, he doesn't win the ground ball, he doesn't accumulate, he isn't a great kick, he isn't a great tackler, he's not burst quick, he isn't a great handballer. Most midfielders need 3-4 of these things to be competitive. And please don't say that he could dominate the opposition 'ruck rover' in the air...

Moore's position set is key position forward or back, or ruck - that's it.

Yeah Moore will never be a midfielder. But I've seen enough this year to know we need to seriously consider moving him out of defence and using him in a different role. He should be a weapon for us, not a weakness!!!

If we can get a reliable key defender like Battle in the off season and Eyre and Dean come on; then we could use Moore as a replacement for Cox as a forward/ruck.
It would be a neat solution to the issues we are seeing with both Moore as a defender and Cox as a forward. I'd back Moore to be way more impactful as a forward than Cox and way more impactful than any of our other options as a second ruck.

 

[Apex36]

Yeah Moore will never be a midfielder. But I've seen enough this year to know we need to seriously consider moving him out of defence and using him in a different role. He should be a weapon for us, not a weakness!!!

If we can get a reliable key defender like Battle in the off season and Eyre and Dean come on; then we could use Moore as a replacement for Cox as a forward/ruck.
It would be a neat solution to the issues we are seeing with both Moore as a defender and Cox as a forward. I'd back Moore to be way more impactful as a forward than Cox and way more impactful than any of our other options as a second ruck.

Moore would quickly become our most dangerous key forward. If we could make the move without weakening our defence we should do it, but I’m not sure we could without recruiting an elite defender as replacement.

 

[Tadpole]

The worst part is that even when we're flying, Essendon match up very well on us. The draw on Anzac day wasn't one out of the box by them, in fact outside of the dead rubber late last year they're usually quite close.

It’s very “Showdown” like. Essendon seem like they’re playing their grand final whenever they play us.

 

[Tadpole]

Did Essendon get any injuries on the weekend?

There were no reported injuries from their game.

 

[Scritchyscroony]

Moore would quickly become our most dangerous key forward. If we could make the move without weakening our defence we should do it, but I’m not sure we could without recruiting an elite defender as replacement.

I'm not sure we need to replace him with an "elite" key defender in order to get a net positive out of the switch. He'd also be a more than handy chop out ruckman you'd think.
I would back him to bounce back next year as a key defender and be much better than this year. But even so I think he could be more valuable to the team as a forward ruck.
Battle is better than most people think.