Pre Match. Magpies v. Hawks. All comments please.

[BazBoy]

I watched the last bit of Hawks v Eagles in absolutely deplorable weather

Eagles eventually won by an opportunistic goal in dying minutes

Hawks made it very hard for WCE to win—-talent aside they still contest unsocial style

[Pies4shaw]

Team and changes are in the in OP.

[Clifton Hill-Billy]

The inclusion of the pincher and Lewis for the Whoreks just made a hard game even harder. We have nobody apart from Maynard who has aggressive tendencies and these ricks with a p, will look to target us. We need to hunt the ball as a team, stand side by side and demonstrate that last week was an aberration. Not confident at all, just want us to show something as opposed to nothing.

[PyreneesPie]

Very pleased with the ins - huge congratulations to IQ. Hope you have a ripper of a first game and many like it to follow.
Excellent that Sier was passed fit to go and of course, it's brilliant that Billy is back.
Thinking that we will really miss Levi and Trav Varcoe - both such tough, relentless, hard bodied types. Can't really understand why Varcoe was omitted rather than Josh Thomas, (even though it's rough for anyone who is dropped, at any time).

[Pies2016]

The Hawks are a shadow of their former glory days. They aren’t 15th on the ladder because they’re any good.
If we had a few less injuries, we would be all over them but our lack of numbers will be the only reason they could knock us off this time around.
They play the possession game by slowly picking their way through the oppositions defence.
For us, it all starts by winning the 50 / 50 contests and then retaining the ball until we get a return on the scoreboard. If we don’t win the stoppages tomorrow night, we will be in for a long night.

[ronrat]

There was a very scared dog every time Varcoe stuffed up last week. Deserves to be dropped.

Looking forward to watching Quaynor. Girlfriend goes to a temple in the morning for 3 days so the lounge room is all mine except for the dog.

[Haff]

I’m not confident (which generally means we win) but if we were to turn in another shocker, where does that leave Bucks I wonder. Will the wolves start to circle?

[Magpietothemax]

I am happy with those ins, all though I would have kept Travis Varcoe and dropped one of Josh Daicos or Callum Brown.
Great that Brayden Sier is right to go.
I would have kept Trav Varcoe in due to his hard body and ability to play off HB so Maynard could at times go into the midfield, but I guess that with Aish back we are thinking Maynard can do that anyway. I just don't like both Josh Daicos and Callum Brown playing in the one team: they are too similar it seems to me.
Anyway, looking forward to IQ's debut.
Hawthorn no longer has such a lethal combination up forward, and their midfield certainly does not strike terror in one's heart. I think you will see us coming out angry and switched on. The task will be to sustain it.

[K]

Carey:

Buckley resembling Malthouse as crunch time arrives for Magpies

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/buckley-resembling-malthouse-as-crunch-time-arrives-for-magpies-20190704-p5244f.html

"What makes tomorrow night, in particular, so important is the change we’ve seen in Nathan Buckley over the past fortnight. ...

Post-match, 'Bucks' has been more scathing than ever in assessing his own team. ...

But if the Magpies don’t come out breathing fire after such a public dressing-down, then Buckley has a real problem.

If he doesn’t get a response this week, what’s his next play? Or, even if he gets the desired result, is there any guarantee that type of motivation is more than a one-game fix?"

[Magpietothemax]

[simon tonna]

Very hard to access to whats going on at the club atm from a spectators view. We look like were preserving ourselfs for a bigger challenge and playing bruise free but injuries are proving that doesn't work. Would bucks be instructing to play this way and if so has he jumped on the fact he thinks were a team that can hold on to the ball and skillfully force the ball up the ground for scoring opportunity. If so kiss the season good bye. Our skills are shit. We cannot hold on to the ball when under pressure. It's been this way since bucks has been at the helm. Go back to plan A season last. I hate this new boring snore fest of play. Probably the players too.

[What'sinaname]

[BazBoy]

The emergency group includes Noble and of course and altho no chance to play it’s an acknowledgement that he is being noticed for his brief block of work

[Mr Miyagi]

Damn, the pig’s out? Just when the pressure is on us to go hard, we lose one of our hard nuts. Aish can take it though, he’s not shy of a bruise.

Just have a crack, boys. And Pendles, we’ll all chip in to pay the fine when you “have a chat” with the umps about you getting held and Cox pushed, etc.

[Pies2016]

I’m not convinced the sky is falling in just yet.
Injuries aside ( and that IS a part reason, not an excuse ) there is a history of many successful September teams who have failed the “July test “.
It is without doubt, the hardest part of the season to motivate yourself.
Everyone is sore, it’s the middle of Winter and you can’t yet see finals on the horizon.
It shouldn’t happen in a professional environment but it does.
I’m not saying we will be fine but I am saying I would be a lot more concerned if this slump was happening in August, as opposed to the end of June.

What we need as much as a win is a couple weeks without any new injuries.
If it keeps going the way it has in the last month, we won’t have 22 to pick from in the coming weeks.