Our best 22

[surfer1]

I know its early, but am keen for the finals to start, even if it's for one week. I am assuming, Thomas, Buckley, Tarrant available, C3 isn't. Likewise we have no injuries this week.


Johnson Presti H Shaw

C1 Clement R Shaw

Lonie Burns Swan

Didak Rocca Tarrant

Buckley Rusling Egan

Fraser Holland O'Bree

Res: Lica, Richards, Thomas, Lockyer

emerg: Wakelin, Maxwell, Iles

What do people think, maybe Wakelin for C1 likewise maybe Maxwell for CI

[panga]

It would all depend on who we are playing... C1 can't play unless the match ups are right. and no it's NOT CHF MM!

[silverphoenix]

Now that we are preparing for a finals campaign and with a relatively small injury list who are the in-form players who will make up the 22 for our road to glory?

On the AFL homepage there was an article of who the top 8 teams had beaten from inside the 8. We have beaten West Coast, Bulldogs and Sydney. We lost to melbourne and stkilda in our form slump and narrowly lost to adelaide in adelaide. Against melbourne and stkilda we were in our form slump and missing one of our most experienced midfielders in dutchy.

Firstly a few questions.

Can the forward line work with taz, C3, rocca, bucks, rusling and a resting midfielder?

Is richards fit enough to play an entire finals series or are we going to go into another campaign with only 1 ruckman?

Can we play C1 and Maxwell in the same backline?

Firstly, i think that the forward line will work, play taz as the roaming forward like we have all been screaming out all year, create the vacuum behind him at around the 35m mark up to the centre square, have bucks and ruz as leading forward pockets with pebs just being the body player in the goal square or moving out towards the 30m hotspot.

Is richards fit enough? Im not sure, hopefully he is, he is the final turn of the rubix cube that is a premiership, stretch playing 10 mins of each quarter in the ruck gives josh the ablity to have a rest or go forward and be a thorn in the oppostions side.

C1 or Maxwell? Thats what it comes down to, i dont think they can both play in the same team, whilst clemo can play on the small forwards, and maxxy can play on med-tall like C1, not many teams in finals contention have the right match ups, the only team i can see as having the right match ups to allow both C1 and maxxy in the same backline is Stkilda.

Presti-Gehrig
Clement - Voss
J.CLoke - Hamill (JC's BIACH!)
Maxxy - Riewoldt
Tarks - Milne


For mine Daisy has to come back in if fit, he adds that spark and unpredictablity to the team. To sundays team we also need to add bucks and Taz. So thats 3 inclusions, other than the straight swap of JClo for maxxy (JClo is in better form, anyone who disagrees is a cloke hater and im ignoring you) 2 of the omitions from sundays team are fairly straight forward, Iles and Rowe are out, and for me the other out would probly be rhyce at this stage.

in conclussion, my best 22 is as follows:

FB: Tarks, Presti, Clement
HB: Lonie, J.Cloke, Heater
C: BJ, Lica, Swan
HF: Taz, C3, Didak
FF: Ruz, Rocca, Bucks
Foll: Fraser, Dutchy, Cheesy
INt: Richards, Burns, Ego,

[Magpie Since 1986]

Clement has to, and will, take Riewoldt, Maxwell is not good enough yet.

[leonmagic]

im sure ill get hounded down by the usual suspect(s), but jason cloke is NOT in our best 22.

[Tannin]

I agree, Leonmagic. We have three players pretty much jostling for the same spot: Wakes (a little old and slow but still formidable); Maxwell (lots of talent, still learning the game); and JC (lots of effort but lacks class and very inconsistent).

It depends on matchups. Long-term, Maxy is the answer, but we have a finals campaign to win and right now we are much better off with the tried and true, ever-reliable Wakelin, who will always provide a contest and who is almost never beaten pointless. Team balance allowing, the pacy Maxwell is good to have around as well, perhaps playing off the bench, but the foundation of a reasonable shot at winning a final is a sound defence which can, if called upon, hold back the opposition onslaught for a quarter or two while the midfield and the attack get themselves back into the game.

If we allow a Freo or a St Kilda or a Melbourne an 8 or 10 goal first quarter, then it's game over. Bottom line: in the back half, favour experience and reliability over youth and brilliance. The foundations of our best-in-the-comp defence are Clement, Wakes and Presti. All three must play.

[Tannin]

St Kilda is a major threat to us. (We can beat West Coast, Sydney, Footscray, maybe Freo; everyone can beat the remains of Adelaide; it's Melbourne and St Kilda who are our biggest threats.) Up forward, they have a number of goal scorers, but the obvioius big three threats are Gehrig, Riewoldt and Milne. Presti takes Gehrig, that much is obvious, but Riewoldt is so quick for a tall and runs so far around the ground that of our best big defenders, only Clement and Maxwell have both the size and pace to match up on him. As Magpie since 1986 says, Maxwell isn't good enough yet, not to rely on, so it has to be Jimmy. No other choice. And Milne - a player I particularly dislike, for no reason I can think of except that he's such a little pri*k - is another hard one to match up on.

I genuinely fear what Milne could do playing on Tarks. Milne is too fast and, on a good day, has far too much class for Lockyer. (There: I've said it: "Milne" and "class" in the same sentence. I'll go and wash my mouth out now.) But it seems a terrible waste of a good attacking backman/midfielder to put Heater or Jonno on him. Are any of the youngest players up to the task? Don't know what to do about Milne. (Maybe ask Dids to try another hip and shoulder trick? Better not!)

[Magpie_Dan]

Maxwell would not be an emargeny. Iles on the other hand may be just depending on who is available at the time and we have to make it first.

[labrooy]

It really does all depend on matchups. I would give serious consideration to playing C3 on Reiwoldt, for example, but at CHF against any other team.

Richards is not worthy of a place in the team. Josh will have to ruck all match with the odd rest here and there. I know we need a backup ruckman but having Guy in the team makes us weaker overall.

There is only a spot for, at best, two of C1, Wakes, Maxy and Harry. At this stage I would go for C1 and Maxy but it could be that only one of that four make it. Once again it depends entirely on the matchups.

[Johnson#26]

Depends on the opposition, and who plays well/is injured this week:

B: Wakelin, Prestigiacomo, Clement.
HB: Swan, J.Cloke, H.Shaw.
C: Lonie, Buckley, Johnson
HF: Didak, Rocca, Holland.
F: Fraser, Tarrant, Rusling.
R: Richards, Licuria, Burns.
INTER: O'Bree, Lockyer, Maxwell/R.Shaw/Thomas/Egan/Pendlebury.
EMERG: Maxwell/R.Shaw/Thomas/Egan/Pendlebury

[Cuthbert Collingwood]

It's a big call but i have gone with the experience. Have included injured players like davis:

Johnson, Presti, Clement
Swan ,Wakelin, H.Shaw

Tarrant, Lica, Lonie

Burns, Bucks, Didak
Rusling, Rocca, Davis

Fraser, Holland, O'Bree

Guy (insert ruckman here) Richards, R.Shaw, Lockyer, T.Cloke

Stiff to miss: Maxwell, J.Cloke, Egan, Thomas, Pendlebury, Davies, O'Brien, Morrison

The big call in the backline is Wakes over Maxy or J.Cloke: but he's an old and wiley (and very consistent) campaigner who still beats his man, can run up the ground, delivers the ball well, and also can take a good mark. On matchups J-Clo or Maxy can come in, or if we need four bigger backs then someone else has to go.

Taz on one wing, Lonie on the other - both true wingmen, one that can play back and one forward.

Onball division no explanation required, and we are a better team with someone to back up Fraser, and i believe that Richards will earn his place.

In the forward line I have the two key position targets with a more mobile half forward line, and on the bench with Guy is T.Cloke and two very seasoned and versatile finals campaigners in Tarks and Rhyce (who has "the speed we need").

On the stiff list, Maxy or JClo can come in on matchups, and i would prefer Rusling in the team (if the form continues) to T.Cloke if there had to be another backman. Egan and Thomas (X-factor players) could come in for Davis if he's still injured, or for Tarks or R.Shaw. Pendles and Davies, O'Brien etc. - your time is yet to come, and Chad, congratulations on a great career and giving your all to the black and white in the time you were with us.

I wish i could have selected Caracella, but it made selection a bit easier at least.

[axil06]

c3 should be in there, he only going to be out for a week then he will be rightand you have got rocks in your head if you thin wakelin will play hes finished and he is to slow now

[Inzi 34]

its tough but i think we need to take a risk and sacrifice a tall for another small

our running players are Heater, BJ, Swanny. Burns, Licca and Brodie (not fully fit) aren't going to run the games out fantastically unless we have extra rotations

[Cuthbert Collingwood]

mods can we merge this thread and the best 22 one

[Tannin]

I vote with the RU: a merge would be helpful.