Changes for the Suns

[ernie koala]

Just an added note...this has to be the most unbalanced side I've seen selected for a long time.....
... we are one of the lowest scoring teams in the comp yet we have selected ... 10 defenders, plus Bird as a tagger, and 1 ruckman..... against Gold Coast ???
And I'll bet it's not a defender who will be the sub.
It's irrelevant whether we win or not this week, because this unbalanced team will never challenge a top 8 side.

[Big Al]

What's your side Ernie???

[Chilcott]

I will reserve judgement about team selection until after the game. However, the dropping of Everitt, White and Bevan is a step in the right direction.

Sorry, but I just don't have any time for these three players at all.

[Captain]

Just an added note...this has to be the most unbalanced side I've seen selected for a long time.....
... we are one of the lowest scoring teams in the comp yet we have selected ... 10 defenders, plus Bird as a tagger, and 1 ruckman..... against Gold Coast ???
And I'll bet it's not a defender who will be the sub.
It's irrelevant whether we win or not this week, because this unbalanced team will never challenge a top 8 side.

Totally agree.

[Captain]

What's your side Ernie???

Not sure of his side, but we need more mids and forwards.

L Johnston and J White are both potential forwards who have never been given an extended run there. Obviously TDL when his foot is better. Moore (who I don't rate massively) would be handy to try up forward as he can find a goal.

A forward line of Reid, TDL, Johnston and White is our future.

With regards to the midfield, Parker is very unlucky to be dropped. Nipper Gordan is also due a run. Meredith is a good player IMO and is a good option.

Not saying all of these should/will play at once but they are options not being considered.

[Wardy]

not so long ago this game would have been a guaranteed percentage booster for us, now I'm not so sure. I just hope that our lads can keep up with them, dispite GC being young and their skills are still in the testing stage, they have pace in spades. We need to keep up with them, not be 2 paces behind opponents as we have been in recent times. Give em a sniff and they will give us a real run for our money. C'mon Swannies - rip the suns to shreads (but in the nicest possible way of course)

[Big Al]

Not sure of his side, but we need more mids and forwards.

L Johnston and J White are both potential forwards who have never been given an extended run there. Obviously TDL when his foot is better. Moore (who I don't rate massively) would be handy to try up forward as he can find a goal.

A forward line of Reid, TDL, Johnston and White is our future.

With regards to the midfield, Parker is very unlucky to be dropped. Nipper Gordan is also due a run. Meredith is a good player IMO and is a good option.

Not saying all of these should/will play at once but they are options not being considered.

You know they're not being considered how??? Do have a Murdoch device in the match committee meeting??

[ernie koala]

What's your side Ernie???

I'm out for the rest of the day, but I'll have a dip at a team this evening.

[mocaholic]

Well done selectors...1. they've managed to leave us top heavy with talls but only one ruckman.
2. And this against a team whose strengths are, clearances, speed and skill.
3. Why drop Parker, who played well last week.
4. I would of thought this would of been a perfect chance for him, and also Sumner, to show their wares against players their own age.
5.The team is already overflowing with defenders.
6. Why is Kennelly still in the team, he has been woeful the last 2 weeks.
7. Why drop Seaby, who is in good form. Surely once the decision was made to play one ruckman Seaby had to be it.
8. Mummy was very ordinary last start and could do with some form and fitness finding, in the 2's.
9a. We'll probably win the game 9b. but the team on paper looks predictable and very defensive.......Against the Gold coast of all teams.

1. agree.
2. agree.
3. parker played ok, not great, but worthy of a second chance.
4. Not sure sumner's earned his place
5. definitely agree
6. agree
7. agree
8. kinda agree, but think we need him.
9a. disagree. i honestly think we'll lose this. b) agree. VERY predictable and VERY defensive

white & seaby are very, very stiff. Even bevo didn?t deserve to be dropped. ins are good but not like for like.
for me:
OUT - kennelly, everitt, bird (inj) LRT (who's he going to play on? Fraser?), AJ (stiff, but I was annoyed in the last qr when one of the crows was desperate enough to dive on the pill to knock it forward to create a free man and he went the toe-poke only) and ROK (I'm sick of the constant clangers. Yes I?m freakin? annoyed. Goodes - you're next!)
IN: jack, spang, mummy, moore, mal, smiff

B: smiff richards mattner
HB: mal grundy shaw
C: hanners jpk mcveigh
HF: spangher reid bolton
F: mcglynn white bevo
R: seaby goodes jack
Int: mummy moore parker jetta (Sub)


Better balance. Playing players where they should be played. Keeping the ball in the forward 50 (Benny, Bevo, Bolts). Now we need:
- reid to kick straight. Ditto bevo
- mids to keep it straight to a tall forward
- white to help with the chop out
- shaw / jack / mcveigh to run with ablett
- jetta to come on fresh late. Lucky to still be there

do your worst!

[4 the Bloods]

I also don't understand why Seaby was not played? You are a total stuff head Longmire (totally mired in '90's). i don't get the idea that you can't have 2 ruckmen in your team. The Blues seem to do it & it works pretty well for them.

The week we played Carlton Kreuzer had 24 touches and 2 goals and was as much an additional mid as a ruckman. There is no way Seaby can do that and without that ability you can't afford to play two ruckmen. In 7 games Seaby has average 5 kicks and 5 hand passes a game and kicked 2 goals....

If anything this is the way modern footy has gone, starting with Leigh Brown and rolling forward to be widely accepted today with even a player like Roughead who was a dominant forward a couple of years ago now praised for his ability to back up in the ruck. Name a team that plays two old fashioned ruckmen (ie with limited forward or roving ability) I can't think of one and would suggest that it is this thinking that is stuck in the past.

[Big Al]

I'm out for the rest of the day, but I'll have a dip at a team this evening.

Cool... I admire any poster that while criticizing the club provides solutions or alternatives.

[Primmy]

Its page 16 of this thread, and the game doesn't start for another 34 hours.....why don't we wait and see if the 5 brought in are playing their guts out for us......Spangh will, Mumms will, NicMal always does, Kizza? don't know about him his commitment to us - it's always suspect , as for Smooch, well he is not much good as a tagger is he, I think there was one Collingwood player that got the better of him this year......

Don't know about the rest of you, but I am waiting to see how this team plays together on Saturday night.

[gazza]

I will reserve judgement about team selection until after the game. However, the dropping of Everitt, White and Bevan is a step in the right direction.

Sorry, but I just don't have any time for these three players at all.

totally agree,hope we never see them again,offer all 3 to gws.great selection this week except for parker dropped,he is just what we need,young,determined in and under player

[jono2707]

Why all this talk of offering players to GWS? It seems to be a popular train of thought on here lately that we'll be offloading players to them willy nilly. I hope we give them absolutely nothing.

The only one I could see going to GWS is Bevo, as he's a western suburbs boy and it appears to me that he's heading towards being delisted at the end of this year otherwise.

I like the look of this week's team apart from us having being short a ruckman - it looks like a defender or two will switch forward according to Horse.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

I will reserve judgement about team selection until after the game.

Well they say "hindsight is 20/20 vision" don't they.

As for me, with each passing week the forward line looks even less structured. We recruit young forwards but we don't allow them a chance to settle there (Jesse & LJ). We have slender flanking forwards that play as keys, raher than send them some protection (Sam & TDL).
On paper we are going to play 5 tall defender this week? And while the Suns do have some height up forward, surely some of them are destined to play forward.
Who knows where this weeks key forward roundabout will stop, will we use our fullback (LRT) Our CHB (Reg) Or the new guy (Spanky)?

Is selecting Spanky as a key forward a mark of desperation from the selectors? Is expecting him to perform a mark of desperation for the fans? Don't get me wrong, I really hope he does well. But it seems we have an unreasonable expectation that our great forward hopes should become the new Lockett or Hall. Thats a big load for anyone, let alone a guy with a grand total of 3 goals in his 3 seasons of AFL.