The Kennedy vs Judd situation has been well discussed and I understand why the club traded Kennedy, the problem I have is that after that we didnt try and replace him until we had the tall draft where we got Mitchell, McCarthy etc... Casboult and Rowe were the cheap gambles that have not paid off so far and dont look paying off either, they are not specialist KP forwards more just bit part players who are jack of all trades but masters of none and when it comes to KP forwards you need the real thing not cheap fill ins. Its like buying a J11 Chery FWD or Great Wall FWD and expecting it to last and perform like a Toyota Landcruiser, either they fall part or just dont go at all... There hasnt been a Podsiadly available as a low cost experienced player to cheat with like Geelong had and we are one short down the spine..... Its going to be that one player that makes us midpack rather than top 4-6 IMO.
At least we know that we can't really afford to have McLean, Curnow & Cachia in the midfield all at once. We also know that we can't afford to see much of Rowe and Bootsma anywhere on the field - hopefully MM has seen the same thing.
OK, i've asked a few people to do this and nobody has complied, so i'll do it myself and then maybe you'll see why i've been so 'negative' towards Bell and Robbo.
Best 22... FB Tuohy Jamison Simpson HB Walker Watson Everitt C Gibbs Judd Thomas HF Yarran Henderson Garlett FF Kreuzer Waite Menzel FOLL Warnock Murphy McLean INT Scotland Carrazzo Curnow SUB Armfield
EMG Cachia Bell Robinson Lucas Docherty McInness Casboult Graham Cripps
Which of my starters do you guys want to leave out to fit in Bell and Robinson?
If we have all those players on the park at once it will be a miracle.
Considering Army came in for Thomas there is your first answer. This would be my team.
FB Tuohy Jamison Simpson HB Walker Watson Yarran C Gibbs Judd Thomas HF Robbo Henderson Garlett FF Kreuzer Waite Everitt FOLL Warnock Murphy McLean INT Scotland Carrazzo Curnow SUB Bell
Armfield came in for Thomas....so that means he isn't in our best 22? Neither is Scotland, Carrazzo, Simpson.... Don't think you thought that one through.
FWIW, Armfield played every game last season. In fact he has missed just 1 game from the past 50! (R4 vs Ess 2012...boy we needed him then too!) Last season Bell played 9/24 Robinson played 21/24
Big call putting them ahead of Army...who offers a very similar role, yet more versatility.
Leaving out Menzel is a somewhat easy decision to make as he is still learning the game, but he does add polish as well as hardness up forward.
@Shadesy... Curnow placed 4th in last years B+F. Hard to drop him on last years form.
There's little doubt that Casboult will play in our best 22, with the most likely candidate to give way being Watson at CHB. Or, Waite could play a HF or wing, which would put pressure on Robbo and Scotland.
I'd prefer Henderson at CHB and Casboult at CHF and would like to see Kreuzer rotating through the bench as opposed to resting in the FP.
It's a pity you feel that way. I'm so bullish this year - I can see Casboult emerging up forward, Thomas adding an enormous amount to the midfield, Bell taking another step, Murphy, Gibbs, Judd, Kreuzer, Warnock, Robinson, Yarran, Simpson, Tuohy, Walker and Garlett doing their thing, Watson emerging, Everett and Dougherty adding plenty, Jamieson and Hendo solid and Waite with plenty of X factor. One more year under MM's game plan.
yarran jamison mcinnes docherty watson walker simpson mclean tuohy thomas henderson carrazzo menzel waite murphy kruezer judd gibbs warnock graham bell everitt
I cant fit in ellard scotland garlett cripps lucas?? i also think temay & holman might play some good footy in 2014
Interesting to see that very few have Levi Casboult in their starting lineup - he'll almost certainly be a key member of the team in 2014. Also, I'm not sure that MM rates Yarran's defensive game.
He Realised it was a final didn't he? So many times, gave up on first option, to take on the player and got caught. 2 shots in the last, barely scored...
Think he is a long way off..potential..but a long way off.
Was my worst in navy blue today. Daylight second.
The kid has the size and attitude right. Needs to wrap his head around the subtleties of the game and learn how to kick though.
Can't agree. He made some mistakes and the bump vs tackle was hard to watch, but he gives us enormous presence around the ball. Love him in there.
Farm knows what we can do here - it's a slaughterhouse.
Kreuzer has 2 possessions to half time Menzel has 2 possessions Curnow has 4 Henderson has 1 Jamison has 2 McInnes has 1 Murphy has 8 Bell has 8 Warnock has 3
Was absolutely fantastic to watch Casboult dominate the forward 50 in the second half today - he should not have been dropped for Rowe on the first place and he certainly should not have suffered the indignity of having to play VFL for as long as he has. I still think that we should use him exclusively as a CHF or FF, working in tandem with Henderson or Waite - he's so dangerous down there.
But what about the Bootsma to Riewoldt match-up??? How can you possibly go through a whole week of planning and decide that it would be a good idea putting skinny Bootsma on Jack? He was never ever going to be strong enough and it could have cost us dearly.
Liked the look of Graham and Tuohy's continued improvement is very exciting to watch.
I just hope we don't get belted by more than 10 goals which will completely kill the side spirits. Its bad enough Port are hard to pull out of the top 8, but West Coast, North and Adelaide snapping at our heels to add pressure to our club.
No Judd. Wow its been a bad week in footy. Can it get any worse. Oops I forgot we play Essendon and Port still. Its lucky I'm not an emotional f@ck or I would probably go right off. We don't have a choice but play Graham if he is up to it to see what he is worth. ROK should get a run too and bring Robinson in along with Levi.
I'm not sure that we can afford to play Graham and McLean in the same midfield as it will be rather slow. Levi, McInnes, Bell, Robbo and Graham (for McLean) should all come in if fit.
Why don't we try Cachia in defence, to release Gibbs into the middle?
I'm not sure what the MC expects when Curnow, Cachia, Mclean, Bootsma and Rowe run out of the race -they're all fairly ordinary really. Then you add Walker, Gibbs and Simpson in defence and you make it so easy for opposition sides to clamp down on Judd and Murphy and you're basically shot before you even start playing the game. Surprisingly disorganised for a coach of Malthouse's standing.
As I have been saying every week, Casboult must play FF, Henderson, Waite, Jamison, McInnes etc for the other key positions and for god's sake put Yarran on the wing and bring Graham in if he's fit.
Gibbs bashing starts when it was clear he was one of our best and beat (what should have been) Freo primary avenue to goal .
Gibbs was reasonable on Mayne IMO but probably got judged on some of his skill errors in general play where he turned the ball over......I keep saying it but Gibb needs to be played onball and in attack and I would have moved Walker forward as well.......Gibbs is a midfield goalkicker not a defacto FullBack. Mick didnt coach that well tonight IMO and let the game slide...
Gibbs is hardly the problem - he is in fact a champion midfielder being asked to play out of his natural position. Ditto Walker, who is wasted in defence and would have been useful running through the middle tonight.
Walker, Judd, Gibbs, Waite (on a wing), Robinson, Carazzo all playing through the midfield are more than capable (physically and talent wise) of matching it with Mundy, Fyfe, Crowley and Barlow. prefer to start Cachia in defence to play a lock down role, such as the one that Gibbs played on Mayne and lets never waste Walker on a pest like Ballantyne - bring back Joseph for those roles.
Up forward, we are kidding ourselves with Rowe - he's not up to it. Casboult has so much more to offer and wjo knows how good he could be stationed at ff with hendo at chf. Warnock also needs to play and i'd be cutting our losses with Brock and blooding Graham.
We'll all be watching Rowe closely this week. Last week he was very close to being a liability, whilst Casboult from all reports was very good again in the Reserves.
Graham is also unlucky, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is only considered as a replacement for McLean.
? 
i also think temay & holman might play some good footy in 2014