Pre Match. Stone the Crows - all comments please

[Sultan of spin]

Well said 35forever

[jimbeam]

i dont think eagan,fanning or willo will play.. must have woey and lonie in..

[Yarra Falls End]

I agree Jimbeam.

Cloke for Fanning, Rowe for Bucks and Maxwell for Williams. Although Fanning tried hard he still looks like he needs a season for Willo.Whoever plays /rotates through the ruck , they just need to be competative and Cloke will take the odd mark or two.

Naming Egan might be a warning to O'Bree and a few others that they need to show a bit more to hold their places.

[Johnson#26]

Lonie can hurt the crows.

Let's get bloody controversial.

In: Cloke, Egan, Rowe, Maxwell
Out: Buckley, Tarrant, O'Bree, Presti

If we are going to win the game, Tarrant is going to play!

Yarra, agree with your view on Egan's possible selection. Send a rocket up those who are playing sloppy football at the moiment (like O'Bree) and let them know their spot is up for grabs.

[M@®©]

Switch on Pies and smash the Crows.
Prove to us last week was just 1 of those games!

[Cannibal]

This side is looking much more like the side which should have been slected last week, so I'm looking for a vastly improved performance.

I like Rocca going into the ruck. I doubt he has the aerobic capacity to do it for long stretches though. Cam will definately play because he can play tall forward and ruck if necessary (who can ever forget that stuck out tongue last year?!) and Fanning deserves to go around again. With Walker at FF also capable of rucking, we've got a nice set of options.

Oh, I am so pleased to finally see Taz moved away from FF and my cup runneth over to see Tex there instead! One big boy, this, and he will give the Crows defence some serious grief. Taz is MUCH better suited further up the ground where his mobility and marking strength can come into play. However, since MM anointed C2 as our future CHF just a couple of weeks ago, I suspect he will start there with Taz on a flank.

I think the two players to be dropped out of the extended bench will be Egan and Williams, though I would not be unhappy to see Woey dropped and Egan play. The trouble is, I just didn't see anything from Egan in the Wiz Fizz Cup to justify his being given his debut. The guernsey must be EARNED, not just given away. Woey is far too slow and unaccountable for my liking but I wouldn't mind seeing him given a run as a small forward as he's a good mark and kick. With no disrespect intended, I think Williams has blown his last chance and the season at Willi calls. I couldn't understand why MM selected him last week anyway and he spent most of last season in the Twos and I trust that is it for good.

Welcome back Nick Maxwell and please run out to your favoured position on a half-back flank! I like the idea of Holland into a back pocket rather than a flank; he's a tough nut with a bit of pace in him and that seems to me to be a much more suitable role.

Johnno into the centre, please Mick! Have you forgotten his scintillating performances there last season already? Play him where he can best damage the opposition. Lonie and Rowe on to the wings, also, whilst you're at it, eh?

All-in-all, I feel a damn sight more confident that this side can Stone the Crows!

[Al]

Oh, I am so pleased to finally see Taz moved away from FF and my cup runneth over to see Tex there instead! One big boy, this, and he will give the Crows defence some serious grief.

Loved that goal of Tex's on Monday; but can anyone honestly tell me which position he's being groomed for? Each time he plays it seems to be at a different end of the ground; back, forward, pinch hitting in the ruck etc etc. Must be bloody difficult for a young guy just coming to terms with senior football to be swung all over the place like that. Surely he'd develop faster if he was given a reasonably settled position to work into?

MM seemed to move Lokan all over the ground like this in 03 and 04 and look at how well he's come on over the last 18 months ...

[3rd degree]

All 3 talls wont play, Fanning will BE stiff to miss out I thought he had a crack last week. But C Cloke would bring some good aggression to the side. Hopefully Rowe and Maxwell will help the side's depth.

[themilleys]

Tex is being groomed for CHB however he is seen as a backman who can be thrown forward if the need arises.

[ramjet21]

- while somewhat surprisingly - reliable centreman Shane Woewodin has been named on an extended interchange bench.

not before time either. the sort of player who, given he hasnt missed a game since about 2000(50 odd consecutive games for the dees, now 50 for the pies), needs a shock to his system. i'd even drop him for a week or two to make a point. o'bree and lonie are in the same boat.
cant see williams, obree or lokan surviving the end of year cull and therefore we should use up their fresh legs early in the season then push them to willy before delistment.
other than it means plenty of losses, im quite excited to think that by year's end the side will be filled with egan, maxwell(play this boy now!), rowe, richards, cam cloke etc with rusling and b. shaw pushing hard. where do people think david king and dane swan fit in all this? havent really convinced me...

[favourites 2008]

I see everyone has suddenly jumped back on malthouse's bandwagon, don't get ahead of yourselves yet, only one is a certain starter, it may look good from the outside In Maxwell Egan Rowe and Cloke, but if when they take the ground this week all it says is in Rowe out Buckley we haven't really gone anywhere

[Cannibal]

Loved that goal of Tex's on Monday; but can anyone honestly tell me which position he's being groomed for? Each time he plays it seems to be at a different end of the ground; back, forward, pinch hitting in the ruck etc etc. Must be bloody difficult for a young guy just coming to terms with senior football to be swung all over the place like that. Surely he'd develop faster if he was given a reasonably settled position to work into?

As themilleys said, Tex is being groomed for CHB but, since we have added a ruck crisis to our on-going forward crisis, I'm at least grateful that Tex, unlike a certain J Cloke, can be swung into the key forward role as (when) the need arises.

Once Josh Fraser, and then Guy Richards, returns, we'll get more stability into the ruck (and I'm delighted we have several options available to cover their absence) and, then, once MM finally works it out that Taz is not a good FF option, and swings Rocca there for good (he's anointed Cam Cloke as our future CHF), we should start to settle down.

I think that's when you'll see Tex pushed into the backline for good.

[you idiot sheahan]

Good to see Mick has made the changes we all wanted. Are they 4 Premiership points too late? I hope the eventual interchange reads C. Cloke, D. Fanning, N. Maxwell and S. Woewodin. Yes, that means one of my favourites, Lonie, can go back to Willy and realise how muck it sucks playing in front of a couple of thousand people instead of playing for our great club. I'd love to see him played on the ball - in the centre from the opening bounce. It would be ridiculous to see how much more talent he'd have than anybody else. However, I do think it is unfair on Lonie to still be playing negating roles. If he goes back to Willy, hopefuly Mick will see that he's being wasted where he is at the moment.

[DaVe86]

yep we cant have that many talls on our bench, especially if our weakness is lack of pace. It will be one of Cloke, Maxwell, Fanning to be dropped. Walker has probably earnt his spot, but id say its a battle between cloke and walker for that forward spot at the moment, if rocca is taking ruck and fraser is out. Walker has shown he cant ruck, and our defence is full, so his only spot is up forward which leaves c.cloke in the lurch a bit. I doubt we will hav both in the same side.

[scoobydoo]

Egan, Shaw, Williams will hopefully be the emergencies.

How can you say Rhyce should be dropped after last weeks game?
Did you see the game? (not saying he was great, he was good, but was a lot better than many). Does you opinion of him change whether he has 2 kicks a game or has 50 and kicks 10? Give the bloke a break!!

Becuase when he disposes the ball it either hits the ground before rolling to one of our players or he turns the ball over to the opposition. Sure he had 9 poss. in the 1st term, but where did they go? I would rather he had 2 poss. than 20 or 50 so as not to turn them over.
Lets face it (forget he is a "Shaw") he is crap, is not going to get better (after 5 years) & should be dropped to Williamstown until he can have at least 5 consistant games where he actully does something that helps the team win.