Team Selection: Round 12 v Adelaide

[imuninformedtwo]

None of this is perfect given the limitations of injury but I’d be inclined to

- obviously put McInerney into the centre line
- put Melican back clearly, as well as (gulp) Francis
- release Blakey to play a bit higher
- drop Hamling
- give Bueller a go and recognise, despite his form, we probably need to keep McLean for structure and to occupy their marking defenders
- send Ollie to Rachele, in Wicks absence, despite the risks - and you don’t say this to a player, but it becomes make or break for him
- make Corey Warner the sub and start Adams in the guts
- keep Isaac and Chad on ball as much as possible, as if we don’t win it and use it effectively from there, we’re stuffed anyway.

Oh, and make Mills walk around the boundary at half time wearing a dunce’s cap, as well as a sandwich board draped over him that reads “Sorry Coxy, I was stupid and let you down.” (I still can’t get over what an appalling decision he made as captain of the club, in his first game back, with a coach in desperate need of help from his on field leader.)

[stevoswan]

The coach has gone public and said heads will roll. I'll believe it when I see it. I've heard this many times over the years and often nothing materialises.

However, it's different coach now.....let's see what Coxy does first before setting him up for condemnation.

[MattW]

The coach has gone public and said heads will roll. I'll believe it when I see it. I've heard this many times over the years and often nothing materialises.We know that Melican and McInerney will automatically come in and Francis for mine comes in. No idea who else but you can bet your bottom dollar there will be a few who should be dropped but will survive. I think Campbell should go back into defence unless the Cox lightbulb goes off and he puts him in the guts. That brilliant defensive forward, no 9, will survive even though he only had 1 tackle out of a team total of 82. Ollie seems to be on the outer with the coach so will probably get the axe. The "soft" Cory Warner should be flicked. He's more outside than barrier 24 in the Melbourne Cup. What I do know is that whoever plays must have a red hot go otherwise we will be slaughtered.

Where/when did he say that heads will roll? He doesn't seem to have done his press conference this week.

[Roadrunner]

It’s time for the whole team to stand up and be accountable- whoever is selected! Where is the Bloods spirit? Let’s see bodies on the line at the very least- if the opposition is more talented and beats us, at least we can feel that you played your guts out. Which sure wasn’t the case last week after quarter time, and that’s being generous!

[wolftone57]

Shall we go again?

OUT: Mills, Wicks, Hamling
IN: McInerney, Melican, Francis

Melican returns in time for the job on Thilthorpe.

Man, the forward stocks are thin. There aren't really any good options. If he has recovered from concussion, Francis should play ahead of Hamling. I think they should give Buller a shot for McLean, but I don't think they will.

Also wonder whether they'd consider bringing Mitchell in, but not sure who he'd come in for. I don't think dropping Bice or Florent for him adds much.

Cunningham and Fox to return through the reserves and press to return next week, with Mills.

Mitchell, Paton, Kirk and Buller are the only ones who deserve to be picked out of the reserves. If Buller kicked straight he could have kicked 4-6 goals. Mitchell, who's form has been ordinary, had a blinder last week. Paton the same.

If I could I would suggest dropping Wil but we can't at the moment.

Possibility of these being available: Harry, Francis and Fox. Andrew in the next 1-2 weeks. Can't wait to see him in the reserves. Both Harry and Fox will play reserves if passed.

Who can actually play seniors;

Melly, Francis, Buller, Mitchell, Kirk, Paton, that's All Folks

Who SHOULD GO OUT;

Wil, Hamling, Wicks (injured), McLean, Rampe, Jordan and Rowie. All were very poor last week.

Who WILL go out;

Hamling & Wicks (injured)



What else should GO;

Blakey as a lockdown defender

Long bombs of any kind. Jake Lloyd, Matty Roberts and Dane Rampe learn how to kick a foot pass please

Being obsessed with getting the ball to the centre corridor. If you spread wide you make the ground bigger. Then you can bring the ball back. But not until then.

Hamling as a Defensive Forward

Ollie in the backs, he needs to play mids/wing

Leaving a free opponent at stoppages and clearances. I don't know how many times Dees had a player free on their defensive side of the centre bounce or the stoppages. This has been a problem for years and it has become worse lately. At centre bounces and stoppages, two mids man up and the other lags off. If you lose the centre bounce or the stoppage the ball flies out of there and they get run on very quickly. We were absolutely cut up by Pickett on their defensive side and he never had a player near him. We tend to drop a player back into defence and leave one of their players free at stoppages. This is not the modern game and sides that do this get punished. So they should, you are giving the opposition an advantage. If they have a decent midfield they will punish you. The modern game exploits defensive measures like this. Set ups at centre bounce and stoppages are not good either. Our players tend to get caught on their wrong side. I think our mids coach is a right hander who doesn't realise some of our mids are Lefties. If you are trying to grapple with your opponent with your left hand/arm, left side, you have little chance, as a leftie, to get good purchase on the ball and get it out to a runner or to knock the ball on with alacrity.

We WILL get flogged, no matter who plays. They are healthy. We are not and have far too many players injured or suspended. They also have a proper modern game plan. We don't. With Amartey, Harry, Fox, Gulden, Wicks and Papley back it would be very different. At this stage we will only get Harry, Fox, Mills back next week.

I would play Blakey in the same role Cats have been playing Cameron while Danger was there. Make him the CHF. He will have lots of room to move and use his speed and skills. Plus, he can kick goals. If Cox has him as a lockdown defender again this weekend I will scream and the telly won't be safe!

[wolftone57]

Agreed Matt. It would be a big call and I don’t think Coxy will make it but how does Lloyd keep his spot? Maybe wait another week when Mills and possibly Fox/ Cunningham could return. He’s been poor recently and against the Dees he practically wasn’t there. It’s a shame but his game has fallen off a cliff now. A tough call is coming!

Llloyd, on a wing, had 17. Rowie in the mids, had 12. Rowie was slaughtered. They made sure he was Pickett's match up in the centre bounce and Rowie never went near him. McLean 7 disposals, 1 goal. His game was poor yet again. Florent 13, but he did play HB most of the game. Not wing. Hamling 5. Not good enough. He didn't stop their interceptors at all. They were able to take the ball away from the backs at will and transition. James Jordan 10 disposals. Not a good game and his year has been a disaster. Very poor most of the year. Most of you don't want to hear it but Rampe 8 disposals, a poor game. His opponent got plenty of goals and disposals too.

Cox. Poor coaching effort. Beaten in every way by his opponent. He did not make one right move. For a start, do not put Ollie back. Mills could have gone back but not Florent. Blakey still playing as a lockdown Defender. NO, NO, NO, NO, NEVER AGAIN!!!!!! One player behind the ball leaving them one player extra in the mids. NO N NO. Very old strategy. That is why none of the top opposition coaches ever do it anymore. They trust their back 6 and their mids and forwards to get back quickly. Ours don't, because half of ours won't run defensively. It allowed them an overlap all day and once they had a run on we could not keep up.

[Roadrunner]

Excellent points Wolfie. It is so frustrating to watch opposition players passing the ball backwards from a clearance to someone on his own, with time on his hands to launch an attack or create an overlap. Do our coaches not see this? It happens time and again, and you would think that our boys would wake up to it on their own. Instead we put ourselves under pressure by silly handballs and erratic kicks that get gobbled up. Where have the skills and footy intelligence gone?

[wolftone57]

Thats way too many ordinary players in one part of the ground, I am afraid and not sure Ramps would be much help bringing the ball out of defense

I think Ramps is almost finished. If not already. If Fox and Harry were available, he would not have played last week. He was incredibly poor. Those who were very poor last week; Hamling (5), McLean (8), Rowie (12), Rampe (8), Campbell (9), Wil (12) although this is an improvement, McCartin (11) and beaten by his opponent. Ollie took over on Pickett and we all know how that went lol. He is not a defender, never has been, he's a mid. But they play him on a wing, HB anywhere but mids. He is good in the centre square and at stoppages when they let him. I think Horse has stuffed some careers up and his is one. He would be better at another club where he can actually play. I think that goes for Blakey, Campbell, probably half our players, who Horse has tried to turn into different versions. I mean, look at our opposition captain, Horse told him he wouldn't get a game as a mid. Other than his girlfriend, that was the main reason he left. He wanted to play forward/mid like he did in our reserves. He was an absolute star in the reserves and now a star for Adelaide. We have wasted far too many players and didn't give some the time to mature, like Membrey, Cameron, Nanka etc.


Out; Mills, Wicks, Hamling, McLean,

In; Melly, Buller (deserves a chance), Mitchell, Paton,

Emergencies; Kirk, Francis, McLean

Our best player in the reserves is not even listed. Ben Edwards is normally our best

[wolftone57]

Excellent points Wolfie. It is so frustrating to watch opposition players passing the ball backwards from a clearance to someone on his own, with time on his hands to launch an attack or create an overlap. Do our coaches not see this? It happens time and again, and you would think that our boys would wake up to it on their own. Instead we put ourselves under pressure by silly handballs and erratic kicks that get gobbled up. Where have the skills and footy intelligence gone?

Runner, we play a zone. We allow far too much space. All other teams that play a zone, play a tight zone. We don't. We play an old fashioned Web. In other words we spread in an arc that looks like a web from the goal square in the kickout. This allows them time to free up an easy kick to a player short and then run past. We don't pick up the player running past often enough. When Amartey is there he does. He is a good chase down tackler and other teams are wary of him.

The other thing is we are letting them have far too much ball on the outside. This manes someone is not running defensively. Mids and forwards. So many times I have seen the mids or forwards stopping. To chasing.

[wolftone57]

Ramps needs the Boak treatment, stopping asking the guy to be superman, let him play off and organise the defence without having to lockdown someone 8cm taller

Lloyd and Ollie find space, better they are doing that fwd of the wing then where they are currently doing it.

Whilst Cleary is doing alot without the ball (something we seem to pride ourselves on) he isn't doing alot as a fwd, same with Corey.

Happy to see Hannily comeback but if they are playing Ollie and Lloyd get them out of D50

Hannily didn't play well in the reserves.

[wolftone57]

I forgot Macca comes back.

Out: Wicks (injured), Mills (suspension), McLean, Hamling

In: Melly, Macca, Buller, Mitchell or Paton. It looks like Paton might have been playing mids last week? I am not sure. Ressie Watchers?

[wolftone57]

I just can't see how Mclean is in the gun

We have no Amartey, no Logan and Mclean had been bounced around all year as a fwd/ruck.

The match committee is partly to blame for his form.

Tell the guy to start at the top of the square and own the fwd line, See what he can do before Amartey is available.

McLean is always Forward/Ruck. This year he has been more a forward and less ruck because Ladhams has played more. McLean's form is crap. If you play a team game you play for the team and his output is poor atm.

[imuninformedtwo]

Please, no Paton. Whatever our woes, we don't need or want him. A butcher.

I'm a bit surprised by the Rampe commentary. Ok, he's not quite what he was, particularly in playing on the biggest of boppers, and wasn't great last week (hardly on an island of his own there); but he's otherwise been sound defensively, had a few good games too, and underrated is how much he is in Tommy's ear all day keeping him calm and composed. And by the way, if we agree that we want Blakey to be released to play higher and with freedom, part of that involves keeping Rampe. Whatever our woes, and I get he can't go on forever, Rampe ain't top of the pops right now.

[UUaswan]

Excellent points Wolfie. It is so frustrating to watch opposition players passing the ball backwards from a clearance to someone on his own, with time on his hands to launch an attack or create an overlap. Do our coaches not see this? It happens time and again, and you would think that our boys would wake up to it on their own. Instead we put ourselves under pressure by silly handballs and erratic kicks that get gobbled up. Where have the skills and footy intelligence gone?

The main apprehension with Cox as a coach, he was the midfield coach for years and some of our setups have looked ordinary

Obviously something worked well last year as well as health but he values the same sh8t they valued 20yrs ago, lockdown, tackles etc

Can never question Rowies effort but as a 15 possession midfielder, it simply isnt good enough.

Maybe he needs the lead taken off and more freedom to chase it but we heralded the guy for ever due to his tackling, he is a f8cking mid, our most used mid and what he delivers isnt enough.

Case in point George Hewett, always used as a lockdown, a very good defence for a mid is getting it 30x yourself, which he always did blindfolded.


Pies, Hawks, Bullies, Freo, they don't give a toss what your mids are doing, they will back themselves in, to beat you at their own game in the middle. All their "run with " guys chase the ball as well

[UUaswan]

McLean is always Forward/Ruck. This year he has been more a forward and less ruck because Ladhams has played more. McLean's form is crap. If you play a team game you play for the team and his output is poor atm.

He has been playing on 2 blokes cos Hamlings man certainly isn't worried about Hamling.

P8ss Francis off down back too, that should give everyone the reality of the situation up fwd when we play Hamling and Francis fwd both should only ever be used as defenders and maybe they could allow are most dangerous player in Blakey to do another role. He would certainly have teams asking him if he wants to join them as a Midfielder.