Team VS Essendon

[Bleed Red Blood]

Other than Brabazon and Thornton, who else in the reserves is Ablett's selection this week holding back.

Facts are both Braba and Thornton have both been given game time and while doing reasonably well have trailled off in their second or third game.

A finals spot is still up for grabs and 22 are needed this week, so while even Ablett maybe a shadow of his former self, he is likely to be contributing more than either or Brab or Thornton at present.

DST

Ablett's not a good enough player.

At this stage in their careers, it would be very very useful to find out if either Brabazon or Thornton can be good. Playing them for the next two months will achieve far more than playing Ablett. Both long and short term, I think at least Thornton contributes more than NoG. (I haven't seen much of Brabazon)

[Cant turn right]

I think it is really of a case of Ablett coming in for Macca who is unlikely to play because he's injured but being given every opportunity. Brabazon will play I reckon.

[Triple B]

The final team could be very different.

Eight players in the club have been isolated with the flu and the side that lines up may change dramatically dependent on how the situation is tomorrow.

Most certainly the ressies will be affected.

It appears Leo is one of those affected and his return will be put on hold because of it.

[satchmopugdog]

The final team could be very different.

Eight players in the club have been isolated with the flu and the side that lines up may change dramatically dependent on how the situation is tomorrow.

Most certainly the ressies will be affected.

It appears Leo is one of those affected and his return will be put on hold because of it.

They must have been here to Ulverstone...we had 13 staff away and 240 kids on Wednesday. ..unbelievable

[connolly]

It appears Leo is one of those affected and his return will be put on hold because of it.

So the greatest comeback since Lazarus has been nipped in the bud.

[Xie Shan]

Good thing I read through the whole thread before posting, because illness would be the only acceptable explanation for White not playing tomorrow!!

On a related note, Kurt Tippett kicked 5 goals last weekend at Carrara. I hope for our sakes the GC17 organisers were watching

[Dalai Lama]

Essendons Best Team for today

FIELD UMPIRES: Matt Stevic (9) Simon Meredith (21) Troy Pannell (28) EM: Craig Hendrie (24)
BOUNDARY UMPIRES: Luke McSpeerin Luke Roberts Michael Saunders Adam McDonald
GOAL UMPIRES: Sergio Villagra James Savage EM: Steve Stirling

[satchmopugdog]

yes!!!!!! Sergio Sergio go man go.

[ScottH]

I'll be at the Bundoora Tavern, Bundoora, again, -> @ 2ish, with swantastic, if anyone wants to come and have a beer.

[ernie koala]

Other than Brabazon and Thornton, who else in the reserves is Ablett's selection this week holding back.

Facts are both Braba and Thornton have both been given game time and while doing reasonably well have trailled off in their second or third game.

A finals spot is still up for grabs and 22 are needed this week, so while even Ablett maybe a shadow of his former self, he is likely to be contributing more than either or Brab or Thornton at present.

DST

The best way to avoid any chance of young players gaining confidence and feeling comfortable in the seniors, is to drop them after one ordinary game. Lets be honest here, we are, whether Roos likes it or not , at the start of a rebuilding stage. Whether we make the 8 or not is of little importance in the medium to long term. IMO these young players should be given the chance, to show what they've got, over a number of continuous games. We've also inexplicably gone into this game , like last week, with 1 ruckmen and no tall forward. Even though we have a future tall forward coming off an 8 goal game. We were crying out for a tall marking forward last week and just scraped home against ordinary opposition. Bringing Ablett in offers us the prospect of a rolling maul.

[liz]

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[ernie koala]

OK Liz ?

[ShockOfHair]

The best way to avoid any chance of young players gaining confidence and feeling comfortable in the seniors, is to drop them after one ordinary game. Lets be honest here, we are, whether Roos likes it or not , at the start of a rebuilding stage. Whether we make the 8 or not is of little importance in the medium to long term. IMO these young players should be given the chance, to show what they've got, over a number of continuous games. We've also inexplicably gone into this game , like last week, with 1 ruckmen and no tall forward. Even though we have a future tall forward coming off an 8 goal game. We were crying out for a tall marking forward last week and just scraped home against ordinary opposition. Bringing Ablett in offers us the prospect of a rolling maul.

It does feel like your sig is in charge, Ernie. I'd also like to see some consistency in selection of the young players. I can only guess that Roos et al are still experimenting - testing out players at the top level, holding them back for reasons of fitness, form, ability to fit into team structure. OK, and maybe they don't have a clue.

But I liked this column by James Hird about just how long it takes to build a list:

Think again | Herald Sun The Stars Blog

Clarkson spoke on Fox Sports on Monday night about how long the Western Bulldogs, Saints and Cats have been preparing the teams they have now.

He estimated that these three have been in planning since 2000 - building a list, training the players physically, and also preparing them mentally and tactically so that when the time comes the players on the ground know when to move into different phases of the game.

It doesn't exactly explain why Ablett is playing and White isn't, but it does take a while to rebuild.

[10Totti10]

It takes about a couple of years. StKilda were very good a couple of years ago then faded, then rebuilt. If u r effective and have a good mix of youth and age it doesn't take to long. The swans have a good mix, unlike teams like Melbourne, Westcoast, etc who chose to stick with their veterans and not play and youngsters.

[Pace To Burn]

Pyke in Mcveigh injured in the warm up