Rd 13 Team vs Geelong

[Jaz]

According to Herald Sun Tommy Walsh is injured, that would explain him not being selected as an emergency.

[spert]

We are knocking on the door of a final eight berth, so any experienced player who is showing some form, will get a senior gig over inexperienced bodies who are still developing, no matter how promising they may look. Clearly Kosi defies that trend and is so far off form that it aint funny. Geelong's small to middle size players are very strong for their size, so its a no brainer to go with experience (though I thought Walsh might get a look in for size if nothing else) EDIT -I just saw the injury comment about Walsh

[Megsie]

Glad our KIDS are not being " burnt out " !!

They have such bright furtures ahead of them. Hopefully they

are being monitored & now is NOT the time to get their bodies

& minds smashed by the cats.

[Jacks Back]

I don't mind trying to win this one, before the bye.

Not sure what this means??

Were we not trying to win the last few weeks, or with youngsters (who all did well) in the side??.. 3 out of 4 games, we did actually win??

Looking forward to next week's inclusion of McQualter in the team...

Then it'll be back to round 1, and lets do it all again...

So you'd leave out Joey and Blake if they were available?

Obviously not.... Blake/McEvoy ruck has worked well, and Joey is a gun...

Those inclusions are fine...

But Raph has used up all his credits, and Gamble hasn't earnt any...

How they find themselves ahead of Lynch, Sippos, Johnson, who have the upside to match McEvoy, Steven, Armo, is beyond me...

It was discussed on SEN earlier this week if we did get on a bit of a winning run on the back of a bit of youthful excitment alongside the core, what would Ross do??...

Would he revert to the tried and true, play it conservative, or throw caution to the wind, and back the kids...

Looks like we know the answer...

This time last year, Malthouse dropped Medhurst, Presti, Lockyer etc, and went with some kids... Changed direction...

We're heading back in the direction from where we came...

Fully agree.
If Ross thinks were going to win the flag this year with pretty much the "same old same old's", that have failed to get it done in the past two seasons, minus Lenny, he's kidding himself and doing us a disservice.
Malthouse showed real guts last year, picking "kids" ahead of those he knew would probably perform better at the time and was rewarded with a Premiership, after the "kids" got better and better as the year went on. Ross has shown little this year, only picking the "kids" when he had exhausted pretty much every other option and now he leaves them out for those we know aren't going to win us a Premiership.
I probably haven't been this disappointed with our team selection since we played Geelong in round one (with all the old faces that failed last year).

HERE HERE. Show some guts coach. Get rid of the deadwood and play the kids FFS!!

[SainterK]

Kids are great, but not just as a general rule.

Don't see why we would retain (Simpkin) or bring in more pure defenders (Lynch) given Mooney and Hawkins remain outs.

I think the likes of Peake, Gram, Joey running forward of the centre, have more chance of ruffling Geelong, than a Siposs or Johnson sitting bored in the F50

[Jacks Back]

We are knocking on the door of a final eight berth, so any experienced player who is showing some form, will get a senior gig over inexperienced bodies who are still developing, no matter how promising they may look. Clearly Kosi defies that trend and is so far off form that it aint funny. Geelong's small to middle size players are very strong for their size, so its a no brainer to go with experience (though I thought Walsh might get a look in for size if nothing else) EDIT -I just saw the injury comment about Walsh

OMG. What's the point of limping into the 8 with that same old team minus Lenny. Surely it's time we found the next Lenny, et al.

[desertsaint]

bit disappointing - obviously not blake or joey - must ins if fit imo, but we've been winning playing the kids - add that bit of enthusiasm and possibly lift the experienced crew.
raph takes w hile to warm into a game so can't play as sub.
possibly kosi named in case blake doesn't come up.
it will be a bruising affair so i can see why ross might be loath to play the lighter frames, but i'd like to see siposs play - mind you gamble did stick 7tackles last week - something young sippo wouldn't do.
please do not start gilbert forward ross!

[saint66au]

I don't mind trying to win this one, before the bye.

Not sure what this means??

Were we not trying to win the last few weeks, or with youngsters (who all did well) in the side??.. 3 out of 4 games, we did actually win??

Looking forward to next week's inclusion of McQualter in the team...

Then it'll be back to round 1, and lets do it all again...

So you'd leave out Joey and Blake if they were available?

Obviously not.... Blake/McEvoy ruck has worked well, and Joey is a gun...

Those inclusions are fine...

But Raph has used up all his credits, and Gamble hasn't earnt any...

How they find themselves ahead of Lynch, Sippos, Johnson, who have the upside to match McEvoy, Steven, Armo, is beyond me...

It was discussed on SEN earlier this week if we did get on a bit of a winning run on the back of a bit of youthful excitment alongside the core, what would Ross do??...

Would he revert to the tried and true, play it conservative, or throw caution to the wind, and back the kids...

Looks like we know the answer...

This time last year, Malthouse dropped Medhurst, Presti, Lockyer etc, and went with some kids... Changed direction...

We're heading back in the direction from where we came...

Fully agree.
If Ross thinks were going to win the flag this year with pretty much the "same old same old's", that have failed to get it done in the past two seasons, minus Lenny, he's kidding himself and doing us a disservice.
Malthouse showed real guts last year, picking "kids" ahead of those he knew would probably perform better at the time and was rewarded with a Premiership, after the "kids" got better and better as the year went on. Ross has shown little this year, only picking the "kids" when he had exhausted pretty much every other option and now he leaves them out for those we know aren't going to win us a Premiership.
I probably haven't been this disappointed with our team selection since we played Geelong in round one (with all the old faces that failed last year).

Collingwoods kids all "clicked" together, far more than ours did/have and demanded to be played ahead of Fraser/OBree/Lockyer etc

If Winmar and Lynch had played the sort of footy Beams and Sidebottom did early on, they'd not be running around for Sandy

[SaintPav]

We are knocking on the door of a final eight berth, so any experienced player who is showing some form, will get a senior gig over inexperienced bodies who are still developing, no matter how promising they may look. Clearly Kosi defies that trend and is so far off form that it aint funny. Geelong's small to middle size players are very strong for their size, so its a no brainer to go with experience (though I thought Walsh might get a look in for size if nothing else) EDIT -I just saw the injury comment about Walsh

OMG. What's the point of limping into the 8 with that same old team minus Lenny. Surely it's time we found the next Lenny, et al.

So what do you think Jack Steven is? and what makes you think we are going to limp into the eight?

[Old Mate]

We are knocking on the door of a final eight berth, so any experienced player who is showing some form, will get a senior gig over inexperienced bodies who are still developing, no matter how promising they may look. Clearly Kosi defies that trend and is so far off form that it aint funny. Geelong's small to middle size players are very strong for their size, so its a no brainer to go with experience (though I thought Walsh might get a look in for size if nothing else) EDIT -I just saw the injury comment about Walsh

OMG. What's the point of limping into the 8 with that same old team minus Lenny. Surely it's time we found the next Lenny, et al.

Get to the finals (whether we limp in or not) and you never know what can happen. Better than not getting in at all. Finals experience for Steven, McEvoy and Armo would do them good. And come finals, Sippos, Simpkin, Ledger ect may get a game depending on form and injuries. You can't just right the year off when we're one game outside the 8.

[Con Gorozidis]

What did the Ledge do wrong?
Oh he kicked a goal. Thats a no-no. Not defensive enough. Bad boy!

[Jacks Back]

We are knocking on the door of a final eight berth, so any experienced player who is showing some form, will get a senior gig over inexperienced bodies who are still developing, no matter how promising they may look. Clearly Kosi defies that trend and is so far off form that it aint funny. Geelong's small to middle size players are very strong for their size, so its a no brainer to go with experience (though I thought Walsh might get a look in for size if nothing else) EDIT -I just saw the injury comment about Walsh

OMG. What's the point of limping into the 8 with that same old team minus Lenny. Surely it's time we found the next Lenny, et al.

So what do you think Jack Steven is? and what makes you think we are going to limp into the eight?

Jack Steven is A GUN and already winning our clearances but is in his 3rd year I think. You've got to persist with anyone that shows glimpses of greatness. Who would of thought that Jack would be so good in the centre until he was tried there? It looked, to me at least, he would only be a small forward that would take over from Milney but he's proof of persistence. JACKS BACK!!

As far as STORMING into the 8 I can't see it the way we have been playing.

[Armoooo]

I'm fine with this, for the next 6-8 weeks keep playing for the finals. If we reach the stage where Ross doesn't think we will make the finals then cut the dead wood and only play kids.

However at about round 20 I think Ross needs to make a far more difficult decision, can we make an impact in the finals? if he thinks we can come 5th or 6th and really give the finals a good shake then he should continue to play our best team every week.

If he thinks that we will only be there to make the numbers, or might not make it at all then he should send all the players to get their end of season clean up operations early. Every key player can wrap up the season early and give the youngsters a chance to show what they're made of.

Can you imagine the incentive for a young team with 6-7 really young players playing off for a finals berth? the last four games would all be like a final to those kids, and if they actually managed to make it to the finals the experience would be incredibly valuable.

IMO we have no chance of winning the flag this year and a less than 5% chance of making a prelim, so I would like to see us send the players off early and start the pre-season early. 2012 is just about our last tilt at the flag.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Glad our KIDS are not being " burnt out " !!

They have such bright furtures ahead of them. Hopefully they

are being monitored & now is NOT the time to get their bodies

& minds smashed by the cats.

How "burnt out" do you think Lynch got from his one game a few weeks ago? A game where he did well and gave us another genuine lead-up forward option, something that we've been sorely lacking? And he's hardly a "skinny kid" that we have to protect from the big bad Cats!
How the hell can it be that we aren't able to squeeze someone that's had 33 and 35 possession games (with apparently 13 and 15 marks in those games), plus other good games, in the VFL this season, into our team?
Collingwood and Geelong manage to fit those who are doing that well in the VFL into their team, yet our 22 (or our 25, as he hasn't even been named emergency!) is too good for someone who is, who can also play at either end?
Extraordinary.

[Legendary]

Who do you drop for Ledger? Ask yourself that question.

Gamble maybe? But was excellent last week and coming up against his old side who he played well against in Round 1.

Raph? Different sort of player (although personally I think we have one too many half-backs in the team).

Peake? No, been in good form.

Steven? No, been outstanding.

Gram? Was good last week and hardness against the Cats would be preferred.



Before blowing off at the coach with the "youth vs experience" argument, have a good hard look at the side, our opponent and spend 10-15 hours thinking about selection like Ross Lyon would have done this week.


I think they've picked a very good side for Round 9 2011 to beat Geelong at night on the MCG.

Isn't that the aim?

[defacto]

i probably would have made the following changes
OUT: Clarke, Simpkin, Ledger
IN: Johnson, Blake, Montagna

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Who do you drop for Ledger? Ask yourself that question.

Gamble maybe? But was excellent last week and coming up against his old side who he played well against in Round 1.

Raph? Different sort of player (although personally I think we have one too many half-backs in the team).

Peake? No, been in good form.

Steven? No, been outstanding.

Gram? Was good last week and hardness against the Cats would be preferred.



Before blowing off at the coach with the "youth vs experience" argument, have a good hard look at the side, our opponent and spend 10-15 hours thinking about selection like Ross Lyon would have done this week.


I think they've picked a very good side for Round 9 2011 to beat Geelong at night on the MCG.

Isn't that the aim?

Depends if you're looking short term or long term. If you reckon we're a genuine contender for the Premiership this year, then sure, otherwise, we'll just make up the numbers and we'll have missed a great opportunity to give some of the younger ones some great experience and hopefully fast track their development, as Collingwood did last year.
Collingwood could have just gone and said OK, we'll just pick our best side every week and kept on picking the O'Bree's and Fraser's, but they didn't, even though they almost certainly were still in their best 22, at the time they decided to leave them out.
In the long term, it paid off for them, big-time.
We're so far off being a genuine contender this year it's not funny, but if we keep getting games into the younger ones we'd probably have a much better chance next year.
I'd rather win a Premiership next year than beat Geelong this week and I believe we're a much better chance of that happening if we keep on playing the younger ones who are showing genuinely good signs. But that's just me.

[Leo.J]

Disappointed Ledger is out.

[St Ick]

Gilbert named at CHF.

shame he cant kick straight

shame he can't get a kick ...

If we were picking our most in form team, we'd have to drop Sam. I really like the kid, pretty much from his first ever game, but he is dreadfully out of form. Based on form, Tom Lynch deserves a gig.

Maybe Ross got teased as a kid in school by a kid named Tom, we have Simpkin, Walsh, Lynch and Ledger who all are unlucky not to be in the team.

[plugger66]

What did the Ledge do wrong?
Oh he kicked a goal. Thats a no-no. Not defensive enough. Bad boy!

I have no idea how good you are at footy but kicking that goal should have nothing to do with playing in our side. How could he not kick it?

Anyway once Blake was fit he obviously comes in for Simkin. Blake can ruck and play back and he also is good at holding onto the ball in the last few seconds against Geelong. Joey had to play so a mid goes out. Not a forward like Gamble or a back like Clake so it gets down to Gram or Ledger. I would go with Gram every day of the week at this stage. Unlike what some think our first and second year players are hardly picking themselves.

[saint66au]

The difference between us and COllingwood is that their best 22 last year contained several kids who were playing compelling enough football to insist they be part of their best side and keep Presti/Lockyer/O'Bree etc in the seconds

...yet here we are saying "rest the kids and play our best 22"

[PJ]

Great inclusions - you get a sense that this game is important if we are to have a crack at the finals this year. Most experienced team in a long while and to honest the experimenting with the kids had to have life expectancy. Good that they've had a crack but I want to see our best team.

[Jacks Back]

Who do you drop for Ledger? Ask yourself that question.

Gamble maybe? But was excellent last week and coming up against his old side who he played well against in Round 1.

Raph? Different sort of player (although personally I think we have one too many half-backs in the team).

Peake? No, been in good form.

Steven? No, been outstanding.

Gram? Was good last week and hardness against the Cats would be preferred.



Before blowing off at the coach with the "youth vs experience" argument, have a good hard look at the side, our opponent and spend 10-15 hours thinking about selection like Ross Lyon would have done this week.


I think they've picked a very good side for Round 9 2011 to beat Geelong at night on the MCG.

Isn't that the aim?

Depends if you're looking short term or long term. If you reckon we're a genuine contender for the Premiership this year, then sure, otherwise, we'll just make up the numbers and we'll have missed a great opportunity to give some of the younger ones some great experience and hopefully fast track their development, as Collingwood did last year.
Collingwood could have just gone and said OK, we'll just pick our best side every week and kept on picking the O'Bree's and Fraser's, but they didn't, even though they almost certainly were still in their best 22, at the time they decided to leave them out.
In the long term, it paid off for them, big-time.
We're so far off being a genuine contender this year it's not funny, but if we keep getting games into the younger ones we'd probably have a much better chance next year.
I'd rather win a Premiership next year than beat Geelong this week and I believe we're a much better chance of that happening if we keep on playing the younger ones who are showing genuinely good signs. But that's just me.

I agree with AnythingsPossibleSaints. This year the granny is not possible. Hitherto, why would you not play the players that will win your NEXT grand final? It's the future or bust. The Aussie cricket side is (ever so slightly) starting to drop off players that won't be in their best 11 come the next Ashes.

Unless Rossy thinks we can still win it this year. Mmmm

[Hallalj#3]

Too many defenders for mine.. Thought lynch deserved another go..

[noob]

who should be the sub?!???!