Match Day Rnd 8. North Melbourne V Sydney. 16.40 pm. Etihad Stadium.

[aardvark]

It was good to see Newman recover to play so well after a nervous start. Ultimately the value of his performance will be decided by the selectors this week.

[MattW]

So, three things for me.

The next d-head that says Grundy is expendable should be banned from RWO as a matter of principle. Ben Brown didn't get a look in today.

Papley adds such value. He's occasionally a bit excited, but adds an energy, pressure and pace to our game that is crucial. And like all good small forwards, if he can add the odd moment in the centre as he has the last couple of games, his bursts will be priceless.

Hayward really is going to be ridiculously good, touch wood. There were four or five things today that made you go wow. His kick into 50 to Towers in the first quarter, a shimmy through the middle, that handball tight on the boundary in the last quarter, a squared up kick into 50 in the third quarter, and the way he kept his feet and put on a few sharp steps to create space for his own goal late. Love him.

Right on re all 3. I'm also a massive Hayward fan.

I thought each of our midfield guns were back on form today, and this was the game I've been finally, definitively been convinced by Hewett. He was very good. Good to see Reid play well again after a couple of quiet weeks.

[Cheer_Cheer]

I loved that one hander by Reid. I noticed after that how he has added some bulk... Please can we keep him. He is only just coming into him prime. I know others say he is a tease but he is such a great swingman. An underrated craft that he seems to be perfect at.

[CureTheSane]

The negativity towards newman is crazy. Yes, his error lead to a goal and he had a poor 5 mins. Lets put it into perspective, from that point he regained his composure went on to have 30+ possessions and contributed to our win. All this from a kid in his 5th game. Newman should be receiving nothing but praise for what he did today.

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Talk to Towers about negativity.
Couple of errors in early games and he was written off here.
Some posters are now stretching and warming up for their back flips.

oh, and the desperate pessimists who completely wrote off finals will be also in a couple of weeks...

[Beerman]

After years of watching the ball land on top of the head of our forwards, I was shocked when Hayward kicked beautifully to Towers' advantage in the first quarter. Then when Hewitt kicked to Papley in the third it was nearly too much for me and I started to break down. Great game.

Zak Jones was very good again too. Plus the players you *expect* to be good (Kennedy, Hannebery, Parker) went well. Good signs all round.

[barry]

I would think nainsmith is more likely to make way for tippet than Sinclair. Tippet/Sinclair is a better combo IMO.

I think we can put to rest that we need McVeigh in the backline pointing to win. Unless he was doing some serious long range pointing, including some monster 150m points.

So far we've beaten 16th and 18th. Saints are our first real test of this mini revival.

[RogueSwan]

I loved that one hander by Reid. I noticed after that how he has added some bulk... Please can we keep him. He is only just coming into him prime. I know others say he is a tease but he is such a great swingman. An underrated craft that he seems to be perfect at.

He does seem a smart footballer, doing a lot of little things, to help out his team mates. Last week he sacrificed his game because Buddy was in such good form. This week he stepped up, kicked some goals and took some strong marks both forward and back. Definite keeper.

[DynamoJim]

+1

[Industrial Fan]

Talk to Towers about negativity.
Couple of errors in early games and he was written off here.
Some posters are now stretching and warming up for their back flips.

oh, and the desperate pessimists who completely wrote off finals will be also in a couple of weeks...

FWIW, I dont think Towers is out of the woods yet. But to be honest if it were up to me I'd have stamped his papers as not fit for senior level after the Port game and his portfolio in 2016. He is an undoubted beneficiary of our instability this year, and probably has a few weeks to prove he's top 22. I still hold my doubts. Happy to see him do well though as its good for the team having competition for spots.

As far as finals, its a crazy year and anything seems possible, but I think we lost too many easy games to make it. Would make it easier if there were one or two teams putting everyone to the sword rather than bunching up as a big pack.

[barry]

After a few wins the thought of finals creps in again, but when you look at the ladder we are still a long way off. Even from here on in, the 8th team will need to win more than 1/2 their games to stay 8th. For an non-vic side, that means all home games, plus a couple away. For us to get into finals we have to win a very substantial number on the road, and win all at home.

[mattybloods]

All in all very happy with the win! Don't want to get too negative but I didn't think Sinclair or Naismith were particularly good. They really don't offer much around the ground, would much prefer to play one ruckman unless Tippett is available as he can play forward.

Tippett in next week for either player. If Naismith is 100% fit I would keep him in and drop Sinclair, leaving Tippett up forward 80% ruck 20%. If Naismith can't ruck for 80% then I would drop him and have Sinclair ruck 60% forward 40%. Bearing in mind Naismith has had a limited pre season and came straight back into seniors after injury, he might need a rest

[CureTheSane]

FWIW, I dont think Towers is out of the woods yet. But to be honest if it were up to me I'd have stamped his papers as not fit for senior level after the Port game and his portfolio in 2016. He is an undoubted beneficiary of our instability this year, and probably has a few weeks to prove he's top 22. I still hold my doubts. Happy to see him do well though as its good for the team having competition for spots.

As far as finals, its a crazy year and anything seems possible, but I think we lost too many easy games to make it. Would make it easier if there were one or two teams putting everyone to the sword rather than bunching up as a big pack.

I've always thought Towers had what it takes.
This year I've seen a bulkier, slightly more aggressive Towers and slight skill improvement.
Holds his spot for now. Not saying consistently best 22, but he's on his way if he can continue the way he is.