Francis has been much better than many believe. Has held a string of quality KF's to meagre outings, just quietly does his job. Nice dilemma to have, a fit Tom McCartin with Francis and Melican going along nicely.
Other than a couple of really poor games, we've done very well for the injury riddled season endured. Could easily be and should have been 2.5 further up the table.
I agree with you on Francis. He reads the play well and has a good “spring” and timing when defending in packs.
I have also been pleasantly surprised by Melican since his return from injury. We all know his injury history, and I think many of us (me included) had his papers stamped at the end of this year. It is no secret he was on the trade table last year without any taker’s. If he gets through the rest of the season unscathed, and retains his form he will get a contract extension.
Probably not good news for Arnold given his rookie status
So you are saying replace someone struggling with overhead marks with someone who struggles with overhead marks?Originally Posted by Maltopia
"Fortunately, this is the internet, so knowing nothing is no obstacle to having an opinion!." Beerman 18-07-2017
A draw, a 1-point loss and a 2-point loss are those 2.5 games.
Here is what the ladder looks like as a bar chart. ██ = 1 win
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 52 Collingwood
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 52 Port Adelaide
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 44 Brisbane Lions
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 36 Melbourne
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 36 St Kilda
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 36 Western Bulldogs
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 32 Adelaide
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 32 Essendon
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ █ 30 Geelong
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 28 GWS Giants
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 28 Fremantle
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ 28 Gold Coast
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ █ 26 Sydney Swans
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ █ 26 Carlton
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ █ 26 Richmond
██ ██ ██ ██ 16 Hawthorn
██ ██ 8 North Melbourne
██ 4 West Coast
Take away the top 3 and bottom 3 teams, and it is a very even season. Only two and a half games separate 4th from 15th.
To be in with a chance despite the mid-season injuries shows the underlying strength of the list. Now we've just got to keep them on the park.
"Unbelievable!" -- Nick Davis leaves his mark on the 2005 semi final
I've always liked Melican's best. His challenge has been his injury history, and the odd brain fade game.
I 'suspect' he is in Tom Mc's spot as the tall, lockdown defender (as opposed to the role Francis plays, which is a bit looser and seeking to intercept). But given last week was arguably one of the best three games of Melican's career, I'm not sure how you drop him. And I'm not suggesting we keep Tom Mc out for a second. So probably, Francis it is to go out.
'Delicious' is a fun word to say
Tom Mc can play forward, but I guess that's not happening.
Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
We have them where we want them, everything is going according to plan!
Richmond are $1.75 favourites.
Read an article that quoted Longmire saying Franklin will need a pain killing injection to get through the game…
Richmond are favourites because they know we don't play well with Franklin in the game.
If we go back to a Buddy-centric game style we all may need pain killing injections to get through the game.
It may be his last game.
Well said - and spectacular graphics!
I hope he turns back the clock and has a belter. It would be great for everyone to see him put on one more super performance before he bows out.
If that’s the case, maybe we shouldn’t play him?
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks