Re Sheldrick, he did not play in the Community game in Albury, with Roberts preferred. Posters some time ago picked him to be the first debutant in 2022, and he appeared to do well in that game.
Roberts did not play last Saturday - not in the VFL against the Giants or, obviously, in the AFL.
My conclusion is that he either became injured, or has been caught up in the Covid protocols.
I'm not knocking Sheldrick, but cautioning his selection last weekend being affirmation of his current status in the pecking order
I think Jake Lloyd is absolutely needed in the backline to provide some steadiness in the backline when things are not going well.
Warner will come in for Sheldrick - that is a no brainer.
Does Harry Cunningham have a run in role with Isaac Smith as in the past? That may create a space for Josh Kennedy in the backline. But I am not sure if we can have Kennedy looking after Tyson Stengle or Luke Dalhaus. That will be a mismatch.
I think Logan McDonald will be replaced by Peter Ladhams this week. Not because Logan wasn't good but maybe a bigger body needed against good defence.
Stephens and Rowbottom both need to step up if we have to win this one.
I was at the Geelong game against Essondon. They dominated out of the centre and at clearances. Danger was on fire. We need to watch those areas plus clamp down on Danger. Maybe send Rowbottom to him?
I think Banga has summed it up pretty well in his post on this issue.
Kennedy has been dropping off the last couple of years. He was still good and had some great games, but generally speaking, just falling away from his best footy.
I started questioning his place in the middle last year because of his inability to defend at stoppages when the opposition won the ball. They would just blow by him. And now that teams are scoring more heavily from centre breaks, Kennedy is becoming a liability.
I thought our midfield did okay in the 2nd half, even with Parker in the forward line. Florent has shown that he can play at centre bounces. Chad has a similar profile at stoppages, with his quickness to break from the pack. So that gives us 5 centre bounce regulars in Florent, Warner, Parker, Mills and Rowbottom. Heeney and Stephens will get more time at stoppages around the ground. There really isn't much need for Kennedy in the mids now. That's why we tried him out at HB, but like Hewett, it hasn't quite worked out.
Thoughtful, interesting observation, Bangalore.
I was wondering about this after hearing one of the commentators talking about how important "big bodied mids" were in the midfield and then seeing our game. Mills and Rowbottom don't quite qualify as "big bodied" for mine - I think that category belongs to the likes of JPK, Cripps, Tom Green, Bontempelli etc. Yet our mids did well against the Giants elite midfield unit.
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Those 3 you mentioned are n' t Kennedy
Florent maybe , fantastic on saturday but 1 game
rowbottom less i say the better , everyone would agree
stephens was n't even inside hardly at all , so not competing with Joey . and hes no Joey anyway
Dont like that we are shafting an all time great because of some unproven mids . Kennedy is still a great mid , wheres the proof that he 'd struggle at centre bounces ? Why is speed necessary ? how is Mills quick ? Parker ? Rowbottom ? They are slow . Hewett slow, he dominated for Carlton . Its his contested work that makes him the champion he is , we cant replace that !
From AFL 360 the numbers were Essendon were -45 in contested possessions and -25 in the clearances.
I really like McDonald and it was great to see a newbie who did nothing wrong but we must have someone on Stewart and I believe Wicks can do the defensive job. Kennedy on Kolodjashnij looks good to me. My point is to make their defenders accountable and make them play one on one.
Not that McDonald wouldn’t be capable of drawing the ball to himself (he can and has done so) but Geelong thrive on their defenders playing loose, zoning off and supporting each other. He has a tendency to draw his opponent into contests. That’s a role already being done by McLean with more success.
The final point to my argument is that given Kennedy’s past and his current limitations a forward role is more appropriate and the likelihood we will need his grunt, strength and ball winning skills in the middle at some stage, for my money he has to stay.
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