Pre-Match. Magpies v. Eagles. All comments.

[stui magpie]

No actual tall forwards except a resting Cox/Cameron, then plan will have to be constant movement in the forward line and lower the eyes and hit targets. Confuse McGowan (which should be hard, he's as bright as a 2 watt light globe) by not giving him intercept mark opportunities and making him chase.

Plus goals from the midfield, running goals from 40m. Any long bombs, Cameron/Cox must bring the ball to ground if they don't mark, cannot be outmarked.

Depending how their forwards line up, Moore forward and Howe back could be the break glass move. Their only tall forward (that I can see) is Darling and he's not that tall so Moore could either stay back and feast on intercept marks or send Howe back to him and put Moore at CHF.

[qldmagpie67]

Frampton on Darling
Moore to CHF he will attract McGovern’s attention and make him honest
He can lead up and play that checkers role. I prefer leaving Howe back he’s more of a general.
Cox or Cameron to have spells at FF
Rotate all our quick smalls around them
Harley Reid has been going very well. I would rotate Lipinski and Pendles through him see how he handles it

[Pies2016]

^^^
The eagles have two tall forwards to contend with, made up of a very out of form Jack Darling and young ruckman / forward, Jack Williams. It’s confusing because they also play Bailey Williams, who is their number one ruckman. They are not related to each other. I imagine, with Howe going forward, Moore and Frampton will take Darling and Jack Williams.
With the coach nominating Howe as a forward, he looks the best match up for McGovern. That leaves Barrass to take our deepest tall forward, likely McInnes or on occasions, either Cox / Cameron.
So much to look to forward this game with a positional change or two in the line up and two more debutants to keep an eye on.

[piffdog]

Didn’t really bring a back in for Howe to go forward - but I realise the coach confirmed they may use that on the weekend.

This game reminds me a bit of early last year when all our talls went down and we had no ruck stocks left.

Would love to see Quaynor show a bit this weekend. Has been poor this season so far. Interesting they didn’t bring Dean in again as a defender.

[David]

Final teams have been published:

In: McInnes, Macrae, Bytel, Richards
Out: Mihocek, Elliott, McCreery (injured), Schultz (suspended)

Bench is from Macrae, Bytel, Richards, Hoskin-Elliott and Sullivan. It's already been confirmed that Macrae won't be the sub (and I think suggested elsewhere that Sullivan will start in the 22), so one of the two first-game inclusions will probably be the sub this week.

Begg joins Allan and Dean as the third emergency.

Even though McRae has confirmed that Howe will play forward, that's not reflected in the named line-up; he's still listed in Back Pocket with Frampton at Centre Half Forward.

[BazBoy]

Gee another Richards wearing the Black & White

Wow!!!

[Pies4shaw]

I don't believe it. Sidebottom got picked again! What's that now - 316 gifts in a row?

[woodys_world69]

Elliott -->Reef
Mihocek -->Howe

the rest is a bit of a lottery IMO

[Pies2016]

It’s a bit of a no win for the Bytel and Richards selections in the short term ( assuming the injuries don’t keep coming )
They are both being selected ( probably Sullivan included ) on the back of a decimated forward line and starting midfield. These three players are all mature seasoned players, so the club isn’t looking to continue developing them in the VFL for the next couple years like an 18 / 19 year old.
Having said that, playing well this week and possibly next week is a great opportunity to secure a contract for 2025 and beyond when positions will open up quickly with the pending retirements of a number of senior players.

[warburton lad]

Hard to say who the sub could be- I think Bytel plays and Richards is designated sub- he has great pace and may be handy in the fourth quarter of what could be a slog.

I think Frampton plays back and Howe plays forward- Frampton to take Jack Darling and Moore the resting ruckman. Howe has far more chance of kicking multiple goals than Frampton.

The form of Bobby Hill, Howe and McInnes will be critical- we probably need at least 5 goals from this trio to win. I'm anticipating Cox and Cameron will each kick a goal so the remainder will have to come from our mids drifting forward: Daicos, Daicos, Crisp, Lipinski, Pendles, Macrae, Harrison and Sidebottom.

I think 13-14 goals will get us a win.

We just need to win- if someone offered Collingwood a 6 point win right now, they would gladly accept it and move forward to next week when a few of the troops may come back...

Floreat Pica

[RudeBoy]

Yes, I agree with you Laddy.

I actually think that Howe, McInnes and more often Cox will provide enough marking power up forward. I expect WHE will also float down there at times.

I'm excited at seeing the new boys, especially Richards, who has been talked up a lot for his elite skill set on both sides. If Harrison and Sullivan can continue on as they played last week, we should still be able to win this game comfortably. I'd be happy with a one point win, but expect we'll win by 5 or 6 goals.

[MagpiesTheGreat]

Exciting to watch 2025's team playing in 2024.

Pies to win by 10 goals at least.

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

I'm keen to see how Richards goes, we should know if he is too small to make it at AFL level within a quarter...if he can make it, his pace and skills will be something to watch.

[The Black and White Lion]

Would love to see Richards show his skills and make effective kicks from both sides of his body. Take the opportunity son!

[Gerry Cooper]

Collingwood by four goals maybe. Richards to play. I foresee some difficulty with transition out of the back-line due to the loss of Mihocek's field marking power.