Changes for Qualifying final V Freo

[ScottH]

According to the regular training watcher, all trained strongly except for Bird, so he is the only one likely to miss.

[sharp9]

Interesting stat from the match was that Lloyd was the leading mark taker on the ground (10)...so the question is whether he has more value in that role (spreading and delivering) by playing the whole game and using his long distance chops or playing as a sub to do that when the opposition is already a bit a stuffed.

Have done my team and have to leave out Naismith, Biggs, Towers and Jones for Pyke, Kennedy, McGlynn and Buddy. So no place either for Laidler. Mitchell holds his place but could be a very interesting decision if Bird is fit in a week or 2! Shaw has done nothing since coming back from injury - but too big a risk to leave him out for Biggs. Shaw does (sometimes!) make crucial defensive plays...wouldn't be too keen to trust Biggs there if he got stuck with Walters or Ballantyne during the play. Mind you he's less likely to give away a stupid free...and his handling in the wet will be dramatically better than Shaw.

[111431]

Interesting stat from the match was that Lloyd was the leading mark taker on the ground (10)...so the question is whether he has more value in that role (spreading and delivering) by playing the whole game and using his long distance chops or playing as a sub to do that when the opposition is already a bit a stuffed.

Have done my team and have to leave out Naismith, Biggs, Towers and Jones for Pyke, Kennedy, McGlynn and Buddy. So no place either for Laidler. Mitchell holds his place but could be a very interesting decision if Bird is fit in a week or 2! Shaw has done nothing since coming back from injury - but too big a risk to leave him out for Biggs. Shaw does (sometimes!) make crucial defensive plays...wouldn't be too keen to trust Biggs there if he got stuck with Walters or Ballantyne during the play. Mind you he's less likely to give away a stupid free...and his handling in the wet will be dramatically better than Shaw.

all the reasons to retain Biggs and leave Shaw out

[RogueSwan]

all the reasons to retain Biggs and leave Shaw out

Agreed. Even though I love the dash of Shaw, I like and trust the game of Shiggsy more.

[longmile]

all the reasons to retain Biggs and leave Shaw out

I wish they'd do something like this but it's probably to risky in finals, so they'll go with the experience

[Go Swannies]

This is funny - I've included an excerpt.

AFL promises ANZ Stadium's surface to be ?sort of safe? - Titus O'Reily

AFL Football Operations Manager Mark Evans said he thought the chances of players getting injured were ?high, but not really, really high.?
?We say we take player safety very seriously and we?re committed to continue saying that,? said Mr Evans.
?That?s why we are taking immediate steps to make the surface sort of safe for the Sydney-Fremantle game.
?I?ve spoken to both clubs and assured them the surface would be safe-ish by Saturday.?
Swans Coach John Longmire said the proposed works on the ground made him a bit less worried.
?I guess it?s good they?re doing something. I mean, I sort of thought they?d do nothing, so this is better than that,? he said.
Fremantle Captain Matthew Pavlich said he and his teammates were really looking forward to the game and hopefully not getting injured.
?It makes perfect sense to me to play at the white elephant that is ANZ Stadium, instead of the iconic SCG,? he said.
?The SCG just lacks the terrible surface, poor atmosphere and inconvenience to get to, that ANZ has in spades.?

[Go Swannies]

Saturday forecast now - a bit better
Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the morning. Winds south to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h turning southeasterly during the morning.

[wolftone57]

Why isn't a missed shot at goal called a clanger? It has missed the target, given the opposition a free kick and cost the team five points. (Not asking you in particular Wolfy)
Also, if the kicks were under pressure, surely that is a team problem, not the kickers.

Didn't mention his missed shot at goal. Everybody misses shots for goal that is a given. I am talking about fiels kicking that went directly to the opposition that came back and eventually after a few HB was turned into a goal. They really hurt. I am talking about those RS.

[Swansinger]

Why isn't a missed shot at goal called a clanger? It has missed the target, given the opposition a free kick and cost the team five points. (Not asking you in particular Wolfy)
Also, if the kicks were under pressure, surely that is a team problem, not the kickers.

I believe a 'clanger' is defined as an unforced error.
Maybe players and media would disagree on what constitutes 'unforced' , especially as there must be psychological elements at play , not just athletic elements.

If a chap is ten metres out , directly in front , then misses , it is a clanger.
But fifty metres out , on a very tight angle and shaves the post ? Naaahh , that's not a clanger.


Here are some real clangers. I loved them. Still do !

"The Clangers" - the beginning - YouTube

[wolftone57]

BT....Win a premiership......Thankfully that never happened. If it had, he would of worked it into his commentary every single week.

You're right Ernie he played in the Second Semi but was dropped for the GF due to Roach being the number one goal sneak.

[ernie koala]

OK, who would people like to see as sub this week?

For me it's Goodesy.

He's versatile, he can use his experience to give us a lift where needed and he can definitely have an impact.

He's also fit enough now, if required early in the game.

Doubt it will happen, but it's what I'd like to see.

[wolftone57]

I think were were building to this structure before injuries came into play at different stages during our streak:

B: Rampe, Richards, Shaw
HB: Malceski, Grundy, Rohan
C: Jetta, Kennedy, Hanneberry
HF: McGlynn, Franklin, Goodes
F: Reid, Tippett, Parker
Fol: Pyke, Jack, McVeigh
I/C: Cunningham, Laidler, Smith
Sub: Mitchell

This means:
In: Laidler, Kennedy, McGlynn, Franklin, Pyke
Out: Naismith, Towers, Biggs, Jones, Lloyd

Not sure why there isn't much support for Laidler. He adds stability to our backline and gives us a few more options to play utilities further up from half back. Finals are unpredictable.

There is no way Lloydy will go out. He gets 20 plus every week at 90% effective. He is the 'Iceman' in front of goal even in a tough game when he needs to kick it to win, see Port. He knows how to ice them. This kid is cool under pressure. I would love to have seen Horse call the other forwards out last week in the last and had Lloydy get some space centre, there was just too much panic. By the way the 'Iceman' is a reference to Richard Kuklinski, an American hitman, who was so cool that absolutely nothing phased him, not even getting arrested. If Lloydy kicks the winning goal in a GF I will call him the Ice Warrior (Dr Who anyone).

[wolftone57]

I guess we'll have to be the voices in the wilderness on this one, FS.

I still maintain that the beautifully underrated defensive play of three or four relieving handballs back to the goal line has been missing/slipshod since Laidler went out and was particularly exposed during the first 10 minutes of the Richmond game.

But A/sand the players that were exposed, Teddy, Reg, Shaw, Mal & Rampe are still there. They were dreadful early. Hanballing to the feet, fumbling, missing the player, kicks missing targets, total panic mode. The mids were asleep at the wheel in the first and a bit of that was Naismith's fault for gettin murdered in the ruck but our mids normally adjust and they didn't. The set ups were loose and Richmond took advantage of many uncontested possessions at stoppages. Never hope to see that a again. Not having a go at Big Sammy by the way it was always going to be a really hard task against the form ruckman of the comp.

[wolftone57]

I reckon there is as both Parker and Kennedy go forward - with Sandilands dominating the rucks we will need to be doing a lot of tackling to stop Mundy and Fyfe breaking away and Mitchell certainly can tackle - good to have McGlynn back but he will need the run for sure - Mitchell is good insurance given it will probably be damp

Banny if he plays will probably play more forward than mid this week so he can work his way into the game. No probs for him as he has always been a top small forward.

[wolftone57]

Interesting stat from the match was that Lloyd was the leading mark taker on the ground (10)...so the question is whether he has more value in that role (spreading and delivering) by playing the whole game and using his long distance chops or playing as a sub to do that when the opposition is already a bit a stuffed.

Have done my team and have to leave out Naismith, Biggs, Towers and Jones for Pyke, Kennedy, McGlynn and Buddy. So no place either for Laidler. Mitchell holds his place but could be a very interesting decision if Bird is fit in a week or 2! Shaw has done nothing since coming back from injury - but too big a risk to leave him out for Biggs. Shaw does (sometimes!) make crucial defensive plays...wouldn't be too keen to trust Biggs there if he got stuck with Walters or Ballantyne during the play. Mind you he's less likely to give away a stupid free...and his handling in the wet will be dramatically better than Shaw.

Last year against them Biggsie was one of the few not panicking. If they had blocked and shepherded we would not have had the pressure problem in the first place. We still don't shepherd enough and some sides, that is Hawks, Cats, Freo, Tigers & Port are able at times to use high pressure to take advantage of it. That got us into quite a bit of trouble last week in the first quarter. Our defencive players were all running or making position but nobody blocked therefore causing themselves to be under pressure. The backs weren't getting much help from the mids early either. We can't allow that situation to occur against Freo, they will wipe the park with us. I would back Biggsie over Rhyce when the pressure is on.