Preview Round 9 North Melbourne Hosting the Sydney Swans - 7:25 Saturday Blundstone Arena

[caesar88]

Zak Jones has dropped off the last few weeks, at the same time that Hewett seems to have taken up more of an inside midfield position. Could be coincidental but I'd like to see Jones' run a bit more through the middle this week.

The last few weeks have been very heavily contested though, not suiting to Jones, Florent, Papley etc.

GWS absolutely thrashed us in contested footy, then the Brisbane game was wet and scrappy, and the Bombers game we played more of an aerial game to favour our talls (which worked.) Even Papley only came alive when he was closer to goals. Our mids will all take turns having dominant patches depending on whether games are free-flowing or whether they're scrappy. I'm guessing this might be a recurring theme all year as we work on getting that balance right in our midfield. It's way off at the minute which is why Jones and Florent are our best mids one week, breaking lines and being creative, and then Hewett and JPK are our best the next when they're dominating at the coalface.

 

[Tedeski]

How are these for some numbers this week...

Average games played:
North = 109.5
Swans = 70.4

Over 200 games played:
North = 3
Swans = 1

Under 100 games played:
North = 9
Swans = 17

Under 20 games played:
North = 3
Swans = 5

Tough assignment

Well I have this one pencilled in as a stinker of a loss. Ramps won't have slept with all the angst publicly thrown at him for his actions so we'll be 10% off IMO.
North by 36- 45 points. The run up king to kick 6 & Higgins & Cunnington to have 70 disposals between them.
Marley Williams to rebound out of defence all arvo.

 

[Swansujelly]

Well I was just thinking about how to manage Saturday night TV viewing.
Bit of a clash.

Kayo on the pc pollies on the tv

 

[caesar88]

Well I have this one pencilled in as a stinker of a loss. Ramps won't have slept with all the angst publicly thrown at him for his actions so we'll be 10% off IMO.
North by 36- 45 points. The run up king to kick 6 & Higgins & Cunnington to have 70 disposals between them.
Marley Williams to rebound out of defence all arvo.

Hope you're wrong Ted. I think Sir Dane will be sharp for some reason. His arrogance (which I think he pulls off) will probably make him rise to the occasion given the spotlight he'll be under. Unfortunately I think the umpires are going to forget the lube with him, and you may be right with Brown's goal tally because of it.

Also right that Higgins will give us a bath (when does he not) and Cunnington will run rampant if we don't bring the same level of contested footy we had last Friday night.

Really one of those games that could go in any direction, each just as likely an outcome as the next IMO.

 

[sataris]

There is a god.

You're welcome

 

[BruceFromBalnarring]

Reading this thread I’ve gone from “Might be time to give it away, Kizza” to “You get back in there, Kiz!!”

 

[Wolftone]

Really looking forward to see Blakey play again this week.

I just watched the bombers game again. Blakey made excellent holding the ball tackles in the last 30 seconds of both the third and fourth quarters. These were momentum killers that saved the game for us.

What an awesome first year player,

Yeah sure. His last minute tackle was super. But the kick was just terrible. Could have cost the game. He'll learn from this. So will his teammates. He'll learn to put the ball to advantage and they'll learn he has a pretty long bomb.

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[Wolftone]

Good opportunity for young Rowbottom, COR and Fox.
To be honest I quite like the tram this week.
Nice to have some more goal kickers available and cant see how we can get a winning score - but all things considered not a bad side.

Last week they played Fox in the guts. He was good. Every other time they have played him on a wing. He is Half Back, Back Pocket or inside mid not a winger. Just not fast enough for a wing. Dawson gets away with it due to his height and elite positioning.

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[Wolftone]

I agree. This bloke is wasted forward. He is a natural inside mid. Play him there

Please ffs play Towbottom in the middle. Stop this forward pocket crap.

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[replicant]

Reading this thread I’ve gone from “Might be time to give it away, Kizza” to “You get back in there, Kiz!!”

No kidding. How quick some people are to heap **** on a club champ. Sure he might not be playing as well as in the past, but we can still show a little respect and not insult him and celebrate it.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

The coaches at the Litter Box had a massive rethink of their midfield and fwd line over the off season. Selwood to the wing, GAJ and Danger fwd. They gave younger kids who were recruited as mids a crack at playing their natural game. Seems to have worked well so far.

Horse asks our young kids to play elsewhere. Would like to see Rowbottom, Fox, Mills, Heeney line up at least a few times in the centre square on Saturday night. Would be happy for Parker to play 100% fwd and Kennedy to spend little time at centre square.

 

[caesar88]

No kidding. How quick some people are to heap **** on a club champ. Sure he might not be playing as well as in the past, but we can still show a little respect and not insult him and celebrate it.

I agree with the celebrating part. Nothing good about any Swan being injured or ageing whether you rate them or not, especially a club champion.

But I’m not sure people are being quick to dump on him. I’ve felt like he hasn’t been good enough since 2017. I saw the signs that he was in decline, and others have seen it the same. So for me, it’s not been a quick falling-out-of-favour. It’s been a slow burn over about two and a half seasons that’s culminated in this year where his body really appears to be struggling to hold up to the demands of week to week matches.

Notice I said “appears”, because I can only judge him on how I see his movement, physicality, agility etc, I don’t actually know his true physical state. But the fact he’s yet to manage three consecutive games this year would probably prove my point.

 

[The Gong]

Last week they played Fox in the guts. He was good. Every other time they have played him on a wing. He is Half Back, Back Pocket or inside mid not a winger. Just not fast enough for a wing. Dawson gets away with it due to his height and elite positioning.

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I think Fox works really well in traffic. Doesn't panic and picks good options. I think he has a real chance to cement a spot in this transition.

 

[The Gong]

The coaches at the Litter Box had a massive rethink of their midfield and fwd line over the off season. Selwood to the wing, GAJ and Danger fwd. They gave younger kids who were recruited as mids a crack at playing their natural game. Seems to have worked well so far.

Horse asks our young kids to play elsewhere. Would like to see Rowbottom, Fox, Mills, Heeney line up at least a few times in the centre square on Saturday night. Would be happy for Parker to play 100% fwd and Kennedy to spend little time at centre square.

Parker just got his mojo back and you need leaders in the middle to support those kids in their development. I also want to see those young blokes blooded in the mids but you don't just throw them in the deep end and hope they swim. JPK has got a few more years left but Parker will end up being that midfield leader. Rest him forward by all means because he's got real smarts in front of goal but we need him in the middle still.

I know he's been out of form but I find it incredible how quickly people forget how good a player he is and are so impatient for him to find that form again.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Parker just got his mojo back and you need leaders in the middle to support those kids in their development. I also want to see those young blokes blooded in the mids but you don't just throw them in the deep end and hope they swim. JPK has got a few more years left but Parker will end up being that midfield leader. Rest him forward by all means because he's got real smarts in front of goal but we need him in the middle still.

I know he's been out of form but I find it incredible how quickly people forget how good a player he is and are so impatient for him to find that form again.

He's a wonderful player, inc at the contest. But I think he is better at round the ground contested possession than centre square.

 

[The Gong]

He's a wonderful player, inc at the contest. But I think he is better at round the ground contested possession than centre square.

Fair point but I think our general setup at centre bounces is off. Sinclair has been great in general play but he's not a great tap ruckman so our hitouts to advantage aren't great in a time when our midfield is in transition and the 6-6-6 rule has come in to top it off and we're being heavily exposed. I have faith that we'll get better as our young guys like Hewett, Heeney, Mills and even Rowbottom come through.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Fair point but I think our general setup at centre bounces is off. Sinclair has been great in general play but he's not a great tap ruckman so our hitouts to advantage aren't great in a time when our midfield is in transition and the 6-6-6 rule has come in to top it off and we're being heavily exposed. I have faith that we'll get better as our young guys like Hewett, Heeney, Mills and even Rowbottom come through.

Yes. I'm just saying - gives these fellas a crack. In a development year, let's also give Foxy and Smokey Dawson a go.

Our midfield has been smited all year (and last year). For me there is little prospect of gain from our current set up. Jose has been dipping his hoof in the water with a few change-ups. Hope he does more.

 

[The Gong]

Yes. I'm just saying - gives these fellas a crack. In a development year, let's also give Foxy and Smokey Dawson a go.

Our midfield has been smited all year (and last year). For me there is little prospect of gain from our current set up. Jose has been dipping his hoof in the water with a few change-ups. Hope he does more.

Absolutely. We're not making finals from what I can see so far so we need to start building our midfield of the future so rotate all those kids through there and they can learn on the job. I was just saying that I wouldn't play Parker 100% forward because he's still one of our best mids and they need mentors in there still to direct these kids on the field and to provide a role model.

 

[caesar88]

Parker would be close to All Australian as a forward.

It’s time we let Hewett, Heeney, Dawson etc handle a greater responsibility. Staggering the number of centre bounce attendances JPK & Parker have had this year compared to the rest in what should be a year of real change.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Parker would be close to All Australian as a forward.

It’s time we let Hewett, Heeney, Dawson etc handle a greater responsibility. Staggering the number of centre bounce attendances JPK & Parker have had this year compared to the rest in what should be a year of real change.

This is another reason Jose needs to move on.

 

[caesar88]

This is another reason Jose needs to move on.

He doesn’t necessarily need to move on, but he’s trigger-scared. He’s like the anti-Donald Rumsfeld. Just pull the damn trigger on these younger players, their crappenticeships are over - they’re ready!

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

He doesn’t necessarily need to move on, but he’s trigger-scared. He’s like the anti-Donald Rumsfeld. Just pull the damn trigger on these younger players, their crappenticeships are over - they’re ready!

Hahaha. Between them Rumsfeld, Trump Scott and an evil cousin have meant the name Donald cannot be used in polite company.

 

[The Gong]

Parker would be close to All Australian as a forward.

It’s time we let Hewett, Heeney, Dawson etc handle a greater responsibility. Staggering the number of centre bounce attendances JPK & Parker have had this year compared to the rest in what should be a year of real change.

Staggering how? JPK and Parker are still our best two midfielders. Horse is beginning to rotate younger players through the middle and I hope he continues to do that. That doesn't mean you have to move our best two mids out of there for extended periods. Who are the young blokes learning off? Who sets the example to follow?

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Staggering how? JPK and Parker are still our best two midfielders. Horse is beginning to rotate younger players through the middle and I hope he continues to do that. That doesn't mean you have to move our best two mids out of there for extended periods. Who are the young blokes learning off? Who sets the example to follow?

We need to face facts. Our mds led by JPK and Parker are the worst in the comp.

 

[Mick Oxlong]

We need to face facts. Our mds led by JPK and Parker are the worst in the comp.

A very skewed view of our mids. Just because they are led by these two, doesn’t mean they are the problem.