Pre-Match. Pies v. Dockers. All comments.

[Take_a_Screamer]

I've taken the official team and repositioned players in their more usual spots

FB: Charlie Dean, Billy Frampton, Brayden Maynard
HB: Isaac Quaynor, Darcy Moore, Steele Sidebottom
C: Edward Allan, Scott Pendlebury, Josh Daicos
HF: Beau McCreery, Brody Mihocek, Lachie Schultz
FF: Bobby Hill, Mason Cox, Harvey Harrison
FOL: Darcy Cameron, Jack Crisp, Nick Daicos

IC: John Noble, Joe Richards, Lachlan Sullivan, Patrick Lipinski, Wil Parker (Sub)
EMG: Nathan Kreuger, Finlay Macrae, Ash Johnson

IN: Charlie Dean, Beau McCreery, Brody Mihocek, Edward Allan, Wil Parker
OUT: Finlay Macrae (Omitted), Will Hoskin-Elliott (Injured), Jordan De Goey (Injured), Reef McInnes (Injured), Oleg Markov (Personal Reason)

[Gerry Cooper]

^
Agree with you Rudeboy on Macrae. We want hm to do well but he just never grabs it with two hands.... he lacks any significant single strength that separates itself from another. !

One of McRae's biggest issues is he lacks any physical presence and thus can't exert much pressure in a contest. In the seniors his tackles rarely stick and he cant impose himself on a contest right now. Richards is similar but at least he annoys them like a little stinging wasp as he makes multiple attempts to win the ball from opponents. McRae just seems to get thrown off or shrugged off now often. Sullivan has a bigger body and goes for the core when he tackles. Same with Harrison.

I dont think Finn's body has matured yet and he may need more physical development to be his best version. He seems quite mentally tough and if he keeps coming back despite these adversities he is currently experiencing he may find his place with us yet.

[MagpiesTheGreat]

Confident. Pies to win by 24 points.

[David]

I’m glad some people are optimistic because this almost looks to me like we’re tanking. Obviously our hand is mostly forced through injuries but leaving Macrae out doesn’t seem very sensible to me. I’m also going to assume that Markov has a genuine reason for being left out and it’s not just a nice way of saying he’s omitted.

I think if we were treating this like a grand final and picking our best available team, Johnson and Macrae would be in and we wouldn’t be loading up with newbies. I get that it’s not a grand final and McRae is thinking long-term with these players and trying to give others opportunities. But on that last point, Parker, Dean and maybe one or two of the others are almost certain to be dropped again next week when we get our injured players back, so I really wonder if this is the right way to approach this situation.

[Gerry Cooper]

No doubt Schultz will cop a bit of stick from his Freo ex-teammates. Hopefully he doesn't lose the plot like he did against West Coast. Pendles and Co will need to help him to keep his cool this time.

[Take_a_Screamer]

^^ I'm sure Schultz will learn from his mistakes

[Magpietothemax]

I’m glad some people are optimistic because this almost looks to me like we’re tanking. Obviously our hand is mostly forced through injuries but leaving Macrae out doesn’t seem very sensible to me.

If we were tanking, we would have left Checkers out to rest up for another week and brought Kreuger in instead.
Beau replaces Fin, so leaving him out does not shock me
Thought that Fin might make way for a tall.
I would have liked to see Kreuger come in, to play alongside Checkers in F50 as an extra, and very unpredictable tall target.
however, we have obviously considered that we should go into this game with an extra tall in the backline
I see no reason why we would invent a reason for the omission of Leggie - why do this for him, but not for Fin?
I was surprised by the inclusion of Parker, but clearly because we thought that with Dean down back, an extra fast half back might prove useful later in the game.

[Piesnchess]

Look at the VFL of late.
Our side has been flogged by bottom sides.
No one has stood out in the VFL including the newbies.
I am a bit skeptical about some of these newbies.
Hope I am wrong.

Absolute garbage, Richards and Harrison have been great, as is Sullivan,McInnes has done well, and from what I hear young Allen could be anything. Enjoy your glass half empty mentality, on your own.

None of your quoted players has done anything yet.
Richards had one good half.
The rest nothing much. We wIll see how they go.
You need 30 to 50 games to really judge a player.
You cant just grab rookies and late picks and expect a silk purse.
We have done better with these types of players than any other team.
But sooner or later you will fall off the cliff just like Richmond did.

And NO doubt you will get a buzz out of them fallng off the ciiff hey. Whatever, Mr glass half empty. whatever.

[RudeBoy]

I’m glad some people are optimistic because this almost looks to me like we’re tanking. Obviously our hand is mostly forced through injuries but leaving Macrae out doesn’t seem very sensible to me. I’m also going to assume that Markov has a genuine reason for being left out and it’s not just a nice way of saying he’s omitted.

I think if we were treating this like a grand final and picking our best available team, Johnson and Macrae would be in and we wouldn’t be loading up with newbies. I get that it’s not a grand final and McRae is thinking long-term with these players and trying to give others opportunities. But on that last point, Parker, Dean and maybe one or two of the others are almost certain to be dropped again next week when we get our injured players back, so I really wonder if this is the right way to approach this situation.

I usually concur with your analyses David, but this time round I have to disagree. Based purely on form, both Macrae and Markov have been our poorest performers, so I'm not surprised to see them omitted, though like you I'm a little perplexed at Markov's 'personal reasons'. As for Johnson, I'd be very surprised if he ever plays for us again, after his lethargic and insipid performances in the first couple of rounds. Unless he demonstrates a complete reversal of intensity and competitiveness in the VFL, I expect him to be traded/de-listed at season's end.

There is no way we are tanking. We are out to win, and win we will. Go Pies!

[masoncox]

How original...glass half full jibe.
Go back to your playpen.
Next time make some intelligent comment that relates to the players or club and not direct your nonsense to posters.

[Jezza]

Interesting line-up. A wide ranging set of inclusions ranging from experience (Mihocek and McCreery), debutants (Allan and Parker) and a young player trying to establish his AFL career (Dean).

I think if Mihocek and McCreery weren't named, I'd be very worried about our chances here. Those two inclusions give me hope that we'll be able to cover some of our losses adequately.

Hard to know what to expect. The bookies seemed to have jumped off us which is understandable given our injury list, but I'm not one to write this side off after what they've produced under Fly for the last two years. Our system has held up brilliantly regardless of losing personnel so far, and I don't expect it to be any different here.

Big result either way because of how tight the competition is. Win this and we could be in the top 4 depending on the results of other games. Lose this and we'll be struggling to stay in the 8.

[Jezza]

^ The coaching panel at Collingwood, now, is simply the best that they have had since Phonse Kyne sat in the chair. If a way to win can be found for any given game, they will find it. We may win, we may not - but we can be very confident that Collingwood won't lose because our game-plan and in-game strategy suck.

Well said.

I'm only 30, so I have a shorter sample size to rely upon compared to many other posters here, but McRae is the best Collingwood coach I've seen in my time followed by Malthouse who did a good job overall but had his flaws.

[Jezza]

Milestone: Lachie Schultz - 100th game.

Impeccable timing against his old club, which follows on with Ed Allan making his debut against the club his father played and coached with.

[LaurieHolden]

^Ben Allan was Freo's inaugural Captain.

[SLORT]

RudeBoy wrote

As for Johnson, I'd be very surprised if he ever plays for us again, after his lethargic and insipid performances in the first couple of rounds. Unless he demonstrates a complete reversal of intensity and competitiveness in the VFL, I expect him to be traded/de-listed at season's end.

I'm thinking that Johnson may be offered to Adelaide as part of Mark Keane trade as he originally hails from SA.