Round 7 v Giants at the SCG, 2.10pm Saturday 29 April (pre-game thread)

[i'm-uninformed2]

P.S: Anyone know if JPK is keeping himself fit, so we can have someone who can win the bloody ball at the coalface?

[Maltopia]

P.S: Anyone know if JPK is keeping himself fit, so we can have someone who can win the bloody ball at the coalface?

We would need to do a mid season delisting to pick him or anyone else up in the mid season draft.

Paddy is taking as long as he needs to recover and decide if he is going to continue or retire, and he won’t be rushed by the mid season draft timeline and I hope the club is not pushing him for an answer either.

[liz]

We would need to do a mid season delisting to pick him or anyone else up in the mid season draft.

Paddy is taking as long as he needs to recover and decide if he is going to continue or retire, and he won’t be rushed by the mid season draft timeline and I hope the club is not pushing him for an answer either.

We wouldn’t need to delist McCartin, just move him to the inactive list. That would be a concession he’s not going to play again this year but wouldn’t put a final line under his career.

[stevoswan]

P.S: Anyone know if JPK is keeping himself fit, so we can have someone who can win the bloody ball at the coalface?

Funny you say that....when I was at the ground on Saturday night I was thinking of JPK.....while watching our midfield getting smashed and Mills languishing down in the backline trying to fill the gaping holes.

[MattW]

Who knows who's coming back from injury??

This is not a knock on Hickey per se, but I'd be loathe to play two rucks right now. I reckon one of our woes is the lack of forward pressure compared to last year, when we were manic at holding the ball inside 50 or our getting repeat entries. People on here (rightly) remark on McLean's lack of defensive pressure; well, Hickey or Ladhams ain't gonna be any quicker.

It 'may' be that we can play Ladhams in the role McLean currently has, once Hickey returns to full fitness and resumes his role in the ruck. Ladhams did occasionally play that second ruck role at Port. The other argument for this arrangement is Logan is not yet a stand-your-ground pack mark inside 50, and works better roaming around; so there's a case for a big body closer to the goal square.

But I'd rather play a smaller, quicker forward line built around Logan, Heeney and Paps until we get the cavalry back after the bye. It also reinforces for me the value a good small forward like Konstanty will hopefully bring in time. Clarke is an excellent tagger, but he doesn't do the scrambling defensive work (the role Wicks had in '21) and as others have noted, his disposal is slow and a weakness.

If Franklin doesn't play, I think Ladhams and Hickey offer more than one of those two and McLean.

[Maltopia]

We wouldn’t need to delist McCartin, just move him to the inactive list. That would be a concession he’s not going to play again this year but wouldn’t put a final line under his career.

Thanks for the correction, Liz!

[Roadrunner]

We wouldn’t need to delist McCartin, just move him to the inactive list. That would be a concession he’s not going to play again this year but wouldn’t put a final line under his career.

I think this should be done Liz.
It is too risky to play him for quite a long time, and it should be his decision and based on the advice of the medicos whether he continues way down the track. Feel for him and the club!

[gloveski]

Reserves have the bye so they might as well play Hickey if they think he is ready .

Mid season we need either a ready made key defender/ forward or 190cm plus midfielder. Basically anyone with height and not stick thin


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[liz]

I think this should be done Liz.
It is too risky to play him for quite a long time, and it should be his decision and based on the advice of the medicos whether he continues way down the track. Feel for him and the club!

My guess is that it will happen so long as the club has identified a mid-season draft prospect that can come in and help us now, given we are so exposed for talls. (Reid MAY be back in the second half of the season but there are no guarantees given his history; who knows if Amartey will make it back into good form after his latest setback; Franklin is a wait and see; Melican is perpetually injured; and of course, Paddy's own situation). We really need someone who can make a difference right now, rather than the speculative / long term picks we've made ever since the MSD was introduced).

Whether we'll have access to someone decent will depend on how the next few weeks go - ie how far down the ladder we are by the start of the mid-season byes. Still a month to go.

[liz]

Reserves have the bye so they might as well play Hickey if they think he is ready .

Mid season we need either a ready made key defender/ forward or 190cm plus midfielder. Basically anyone with height and not stick thin


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The frequency of byes in the VFL is frustrating. Given there are over 20 clubs and not everyone gets to play everyone else, it can't be down to lack of opponents. It feels like every three weeks or so there is another bye.

[707]

Now Fox and Roberts. It's feeling like The Little Bighorn, numbers dwindling and no reinforcements in sight.

Not sure how we are such hot favourites against GWS

[Roadrunner]

My guess is that it will happen so long as the club has identified a mid-season draft prospect that can come in and help us now, given we are so exposed for talls. (Reid MAY be back in the second half of the season but there are no guarantees given his history; who knows if Amartey will make it back into good form after his latest setback; Franklin is a wait and see; Melican is perpetually injured; and of course, Paddy's own situation). We really need someone who can make a difference right now, rather than the speculative / long term picks we've made ever since the MSD was introduced).

Whether we'll have access to someone decent will depend on how the next few weeks go - ie how far down the ladder we are by the start of the mid-season byes. Still a month to go.

We are sitting 10th and on current form I can see us drifting lower, unfortunately. The lads need to really reach deep inside and find consistency for 4 quarters if we are to improve. Tactics need to change and avoid bombing up forward, for goodness sakes, how silly is that when we are so undersized! Surely this is up to the players as I can’t imagine our coaches telling them to play like this…….. so frustrating to watch game after game.
Let’s see who we can pick up in the MSD as we need more than 1 tall!