Preview Round 3: Melbourne vs Essendon, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Friday 01/04/2022 @ 7:40 PM

[Lore]

Throw him in the middle against Petracca and Oliver so he can see what it takes to be an A grade clearance winner at AFL level.

I'm slightly worried that if he's not yet dominating at VFL level (~20 touches) then he may struggle at AFL level. Don't know if carrying him to 12 touches in a flogging would be good for him or if we should wait another week and debut him against Adelaide instead... although as you say he would get a close up view of Oliver and Petracca which is at least one point in favour.

 

[TheGrizz]

Wouldn't throw Hobbs in this week. On a hiding to nothing against the best midfield in the comp without Zach.

Give him another week as the number 1 mid in the VFL and then bring him in vs Adelaide would be my preference.

 

[faible]

I'm slightly worried that if he's not yet dominating at VFL level (~20 touches) then he may struggle at AFL level. Don't know if carrying him to 12 touches in a flogging would be good for him or if we should wait another week and debut him against Adelaide instead... although as you say he would get a close up view of Oliver and Petracca which is at least one point in favour.

My tongue was firmly in cheek there, he'd be like a lamb to the slaughter if they threw him in at center bounces against the Dee's setup, but yes seeing how some of the best in the league operate would be beneficial given both Petracca and Oliver had to learn themselves the level of work required.

If anything he'd come in to play a Smith / Snelling type HFF role I would imagine.

 

[JT_the_Man]

Throw him in the middle against Petracca and Oliver so he can see what it takes to be an A grade clearance winner at AFL level.

Not tagging per se but I don’t think there could much harm in telling him to follow one of them around.

North did it with JHF in a praccy against them.

 

[Shane Heard]

Shiel has to take the pain and toughen up and make himself available this week.

Rotating Parish, McGrath, Caldwell, Stringer, Shiel and Perkins in the centre bounces is the best we can do atm

 

[Shane Heard]

Wouldn't throw Hobbs in this week. On a hiding to nothing against the best midfield in the comp without Zach.

Give him another week as the number 1 mid in the VFL and then bring him in vs Adelaide would be my preference.

What’s the difference? We’re going to get smashed regardless. Put him in so he can have the experience of playing against the premiers

 

[Ati Tude]

I'd definitely save Hobbs for another week. Prefer to give Perkins some more midfield opps first.

 

[Lore]

My tongue was firmly in cheek there, he'd be like a lamb to the slaughter if they threw him in at center bounces against the Dee's setup, but yes seeing how some of the best in the league operate would be beneficial given both Petracca and Oliver had to learn themselves the level of work required.

If anything he'd come in to play a Smith / Snelling type HFF role I would imagine.

He might get a couple of centre bounces – we did it with Perkins a little bit last year so I could see it happening here (though perhaps remarkable if it's in his first game). Putting him on the flank and Caldwell to the middle could work though.

It's a bit of a funny situation because the only players that are available and have played more than one AFL game are Phillips, Zerk and Waterman, and none of them are like for like with Cox and Merrett.

Available:
Andrew Phillips (52 games)
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (17 games)
Alec Waterman (14 games)
Tex Wanganeen (1 game)
Kaine Baldwin (1 game)
*Nic Martin (1 game – if cleared from isolation)
Nick Bryan (1 game)
Joshua Eyre (0 games)
Cody Brand (0 games)
Ben Hobbs (0 games)
Alastair Lord (0 games)
Garrett McDonagh (0 games)
Patrick Voss (0 games)
*Cian McBride (0 games, Cat B, n/a – seems to be injured but there's been no word)
*Tom Hird (0 games, Cat B, n/a – needs to be upgraded for an LTI)

Injured:
Jones (ankle, 3? weeks)
Hurley (hip - training)
Snelling (calf - 1-2 weeks)
Walla (calf/match conditioning - no ETA)
Cox (ankle - no ETA)
Langford (hamstring - 8-10 weeks)
Shiel (side strain – no ETA)
Reid (foot - training)
Merrett (syndesmosis - 6-8 weeks)

Almost guaranteed another debutant at this stage...

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

I'm putting Jake Kelly

29

Jake Kelly

Age

29

Ht

190cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.5

4star

K

8.3

3star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.6

4star

MG

157.8

2star

D

8.1

2star

K

6.3

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.6

4star

MG

104.1

2star

D

14.8

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.8

4star

M

6.0

5star

T

4.2

5star

MG

107.0

2star

into the centre as a tagger on Petracca. We have enough medium defenders so someone can replace him.

 

[donlav99]

OUT: softness (Ham, Cutler,

What’s the difference? We’re going to get smashed regardless. Put him in so he can have the experience of playing against the premiers

i tend to agree. Strikes me as the sort of kid that would relish the opportunity.

 

[ghostdog]

It’s the stench of having sky high expectations, the second most difficult fixture in the league, and a team full of babies expected to pull off a miracle.

We have a midfield that has depth and is maturing in their mid 20s, with developed games and developed bodies earning them AA spots.

The next proper spine for this rebuild is severely under-experienced in comparison however, two are sitting on one game each, and three currently on the sidelines so not actively gaining much experience either; Jones (16), Baldwin (1), Draper (23), Ridley (50), Reid (1).

While we wait for them to get healthy and grow into those roles, we have Stewart and Laverde switching to play as defenders 12 months ago, and Wright at the other end goes okay and seems to be building some confidence. Hurley is around and hopefully gets back to playing but it won’t be a long term solution.

It’s not enough though, we’re not going to win many games of footy when the average AFL experience of your key forwards and key defenders in their respective positions is around 20 games. We need the entire line to play together for a while and learn each other’s strengths so they can cover for each other and don’t get in each other’s way. Individuals need to build up their fitness and learn their craft too. It all takes time.

And that’s before you look at the smalls… we basically don’t have any. There’s almost no depth in the small defenders after Hind and Kelly, and the small forwards have been discussed at length too.

So while it better not be a 90-point thrashing, if it’s within 3-5 goals we’ll be going okay. Winning would take a minor miracle.

Going to be a long week.

One of the best posts since Saturday. Everyone needs to calm their collective farms.

 

[Call Me Cake]

OUT: HEPPELL

Yes, I went there.

 

[ant555]

Shiel has to take the pain and toughen up and make himself available this week.

Rotating Parish, McGrath, Caldwell, Stringer, Shiel and Perkins in the centre bounces is the best we can do atm

If it is the same sort of strain that the fact bowlers get then I am not surprised he did not play. Many years ago I did what they call the grunt muscle while bowling and it was more painful than when I had a broken rib.

"Ultrasound can be used but MRI is the modality of choice. On MRI, an acute side strain is characterized by a high signal on the T2 image at the muscle, rib/costal cartilage interface, and often shows a complete or partial tear of the abdominal musculature. The internal oblique at its attachment onto the 11thrib is the most common muscle injured. However, pathology has also been reported in external oblique, transversus abdominus, and abdominal muscle attachments of the 9-12thribs. MRI imaging may also show rib or costal cartilage damage, including bone stress, bone avulsion or periosteal stripping. With these injuries, hematoma may be seen tracking between the internal and external oblique musculature"

Sounds rather mundane but I can say from experience it can be rather savage.
I know you think he is soft but it is a seriously painful injury.


"The fast bowler will commonly report an acute localized sharp lateral trunk pain (often in the mid-axillary line) that occurred during their delivery. They may also describe pain with breathing, coughing and sneezing, and they can be very uncomfortable moving around especially rolling over in bed. The pain may radiate slightly into the abdominal area. From this description alone a side strain is highly likely."

 

[pazza]

Out: Cox (injured), Merrett (injured), Stewart (dropped), Smith (dropped)
In: Shiel, Martin, Wanganeen, Zerk-Thatcher

 

[JayJ20]

I want Hobbs to play. Debut games are going to be average and nervous for most players so he may as well get it out of the way in a smashing. That way, he'll be prepared to play in winnable games the following 3 weeks (Adelaide, Fremantle and Collingwood).

 

[Keystone agony]

If Shiel isnt playing then Hobbs has to

And in that case id have him tag one of the big 2

 

[citizen-erased]

Swing Stewart forward and Francis back both not working in there current spots

Makes too much sense for this club

 

[citizen-erased]

Head to heads could be interesting

Gawn - Draper
Tracc - stringer at cba/caldwell around ground
Oliver - parish
Viney - mcgrath
Harmes - shiel/hobbs/?
Jackson - wright

 

[foj1]

Just hope they have a crack like last week and don’t capitulate like the Geelong game

 

[Bombers36]

Surely Voss comes in - 194cm forward who can kick goals and has a fair dinkum crack at it


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Shane Heard]

If it is the same sort of strain that the fact bowlers get then I am not surprised he did not play. Many years ago I did what they call the grunt muscle while bowling and it was more painful than when I had a broken rib.

"Ultrasound can be used but MRI is the modality of choice. On MRI, an acute side strain is characterized by a high signal on the T2 image at the muscle, rib/costal cartilage interface, and often shows a complete or partial tear of the abdominal musculature. The internal oblique at its attachment onto the 11thrib is the most common muscle injured. However, pathology has also been reported in external oblique, transversus abdominus, and abdominal muscle attachments of the 9-12thribs. MRI imaging may also show rib or costal cartilage damage, including bone stress, bone avulsion or periosteal stripping. With these injuries, hematoma may be seen tracking between the internal and external oblique musculature"

Sounds rather mundane but I can say from experience it can be rather savage.
I know you think he is soft but it is a seriously painful injury.


"The fast bowler will commonly report an acute localized sharp lateral trunk pain (often in the mid-axillary line) that occurred during their delivery. They may also describe pain with breathing, coughing and sneezing, and they can be very uncomfortable moving around especially rolling over in bed. The pain may radiate slightly into the abdominal area. From this description alone a side strain is highly likely."

Tongue in cheek etc

If he’s right to go then play

If not …Hobbs in and give him a run

But they probably won’t do it

 

[Shane Heard]

OUT: HEPPELL

Yes, I went there.

Retire this week I say

He’s just wasting a very important position on the field that we need to develop in a young kid

 

[faible]

Surely Voss comes in - 194cm forward who can kick goals and has a fair dinkum crack at it


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

Someone remind us how he went in the VFL last weekend?

 

[beev]

In: Bryan, Wanganeen, Martin, Shiel (Hobbs)
Out: Merrett, Ham, Guelfi, Cox

Backs: Laverde, Stewart, Ridley, Hind, Redman, Cutler, Kelly

Mids: Parish, McGrath, Shiel (Hobbs), Caldwell, Heppell

Rucks: Draper, Bryan

Wings: Durham, Martin

Forwards: Wright, Francis, Stringer, Perkins, Smith, Wanganeen

I’d play two ruckman against Melbourne. Scores from centre clearances are so important with 6-6-6 and momentum being a big factor in games. This would allow Wright to stay forward to hold structure and somewhat occupy Steven May

1

Steven May

Age

32

Ht

193cm

Wt

101kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.7

4star

K

10.5

4star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.5

3star

MG

307.3

4star

D

15.5

4star

K

12.1

5star

HB

3.4

2star

M

3.4

3star

T

0.5

1star

MG

378.4

5star

D

12.4

4star

K

8.8

4star

HB

3.6

3star

M

3.2

4star

T

1.8

4star

or else he’ll have a field day.

Heppell back into the midfield to sit on Petracca or Oliver at stoppages.

 

[andleanback]

If Shiel isnt playing then Hobbs has to

And in that case id have him tag one of the big 2

Hobbs isn’t quite ready yet. Has hardly been banging the door down, happy for him to spend more time in the vfl and come in when he’s dominated a few games. Is it worth him coming in to play mainly as a forward at this stage, probably not.