Qualifying Final. Magpies v. Demons. All comments.

[piffdog]

Feel for Noble. Says something about the strength of the team if he and Ginni can’t make the starting side. They do talk about the strength/skill of your bottom 6 when it comes to finals and while our bottom six might not be in excellent form, they either have a role to play, or have experience on their side (people on this forum can’t seriously believe they would omit Adams of Sidey do they?)

This bottom six in my view would be:
McStay, Cox, Markov, Lipinski, WHE and maybe McReery (?)

All of these guys have had a good season and/or play a specific role.

Still have to make way for Nick too at some point (hopefully not for a fortnight)

[Haff]

Markvov > Nobel is an interesting one. Happy for Markov, Nobel didn’t deserve to be dropped but there you go.
Thought Ginni had done enough but he’s still in the mix.

Worried about going in to top heaving if it belts down. Oh well. Guess I’ll find out around midnight (have to watch delayed, damn Thursday night rubbish).

[melliot]

Maybe it's considering Melbourne's contested game and a leaning towards bigger bodies .

Just a thought.

Noble is very very stiff

[melliot]

Whether it be Ginni, Oleg, Nobel, Mccreey, or Hill. They were going to be stiff to miss.

[uncanny]

Johnny Noble extremely stiff to be dropped. Does he breaķ the record for the most consecutive games in the side(80 plus) before being dropped in a final? However you can see why they did it. Last year's finals performances have come back to haunt him. The prelim in particular. You couldn't choose between him and Lipinski to drop though. Different roles. Runnng half back compared to midfielder. It had to be a choice between Johnny and Oleg Markov. Others have pointed out Leggys edge in height and probably speed as well as recent form so you can see why. But gee that goes down as one of the hardest calls i can recall. Howey playing half forward is smart thinking. They can't ignore his marking threat and he along with Checkers Cox Cameron and McStay offer high targets with Jeremy's dual focus the disruptor role for May and Lever's marking strength down there. The likes of McReery and co can then be more effective.
The inclusion of Markov Mitchell Hill and McStay to the team from last year will go a long way to determine the result. If they can at least break even or do bettwr in their roles it goes a long way towards getting a win. Go woods.

[inxs88]

[VicParkTragic]

[ANNODAM]

Stevic fk me sideways!

[Take_a_Screamer]

Daicos says Pies were trialling ‘different things’ during slump
By Jake Niall, September 6, 2023

Collingwood were looking at the bigger picture and trialling “different things” when the Magpies had a form slump late in the season, according to star wingman Josh Daicos. He said it was possible that the Magpies were impacted by being games clear of the second team when they lost three out of four games from rounds 20 to 23 – but that their defense had been vulnerable without skipper Darcy Moore, who will return for Thursday night’s huge final against Melbourne.

Daicos, who made the All-Australian team alongside his brother Nick this year, said the Magpies had “potentially” been affected by being well clear on top of the ladder, but added of that late-season form slip: “I think ... a lot of people don’t know what goes on internally, whether the boys are banged up that time of the year. “We obviously moved ‘Howey’ [Jeremy Howe] to the forward line, we had Darcy [Moore] out. So our defence was a little bit vulnerable, we had a few debutants over that time. So we were trying things. “And it’s not so much about the outcome for us. We were just trying to try things, the bigger picture. And obviously winning’s really important and it wasn’t like we were going out to those games just to (trial things), but we had a month where we would have loved to have done better.” Daicos, who was speaking earlier this week before the Magpies ruled his brother Nick Daicos out as he recovers from a knee injury, said Nick would play in this finals series “for sure”.

“He was just worried about getting his knee right,” said the elder brother. Daicos said it meant “everything” to make the All-Australian team alongside his brother, who was the Brownlow Medal favourite until his late-season injury, and that the pair had never imagined such an achievement. “It means everything ... It’s something that we never, I don’t know, I don’t think we could ever picture it in our wildest dreams, and to do that in a year where you also play finals and finish first is amazing. “So first and foremost the team is doing well. But then the team is doing well and you’re recognised as a part of that – it’s amazing and it’s something that Nick and I will always look back on.”

Daicos, who is in his seventh season and has improved enormously over the past two seasons, said he had been mindful of the All-Australian possibility for himself. “I was mindful of it ... like going into the season, I just wanted to get better and I was just pumped to make the squad last year. “Then we got to the latter part of the year, there was a bit of talk about the team. Obviously it was very humbling to be involved in it, yeah it was awesome to have like Jordy [De Goey], Isaac [Quaynor], Nick, myself, Darcy [Moore], probably had a couple of others in the squad. “So pretty cool.”

Daicos said Thursday night’s game did feel bigger than other finals. “It does feel bigger. I think just another Melbourne team, the talk about [a crowd of] 95-96,000.” He said to take the tradition of the King’s Birthday clash to a final “will be amazing”.

Link (login required)
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/demons-unfazed-by-grundy-s-meeting-with-power-goodwin-s-eyes-firmly-on-magpies-20230906-p5e2h4.html

[Mr Miyagi]

Would Melbourne prefer Noble playing? Might explain why he was dropped if it throws a spanner in Melbourne’s plans and makes us less predictable. John is stiff, but so would McCreery, Hill, Markov, WHE. I feel for him but we have our reasons and we’re not giving the opposition any hint as to why.

[Take_a_Screamer]

[Piesnchess]

[Magpietothemax]

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

[choppa]

I'm not really surprised Lippa wasn't dropped.

I remember hearing a comment from Fly whilst Lippa was injured saying Lippa was our best kick going inside 50 (or best kick in transition...I can't recall exactly). I remember that comment giving me the impression that Fly highly rated Lippa.