Originally Posted by
bloodspirit
Selection is tough every week at the moment.
Obviously Joey comes back in. Probably Newman is out (I haven't heard anything definitive about the injury - is it season ending? 2 weeks? no big deal?).
I find deciding what to do about the rucks is tough - play 1? play 2? which ones? they all have a case to make. I would like to see Tippett given a chance to play himself into top form because I think his best form is good enough to demand selection.
Given that Adelaide have 4 good talls (Walker, Lynch, Jenkins, McGovern) I can definitely see the appeal of having a taller defence (even though our defenders often have to 'play tall' against taller opposition and have done so with success). At the same time, Aliir has been in good form for a while now, and it may be that we are losing a defender in Newman. So I am sympathetic to playing Aliir. It would also be good to see how he'll go. Is the high stakes Crows match the time to do it? Another solution to this conundrum is to stick with the resting ruck forward and shift Reid back to defence to cover one of their tall forwards.
I'm surprised there are calls to drop Hayward. He's been brilliant. I think he's played well defensively as well as offensively, even if there is room for improvement. He uses his pace to corral and place a lot of pressure on the ball carrier and he is good at challenging for balls in the air even when he can't mark them. He has also shown good stamina making 2nd and 3rd efforts and putting in sprints late in games. That said, if we were to drop someone to make room for, say, an extra, tall defender like Aliir, it's hard to see who to drop. Towers? Hayward?
So.... my vote:
Out: Sinclair, Newman
In: JPK, Aliir
but I'm really not sure. I keep changing my mind. Will be interesting to see what the match committee does.
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