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

[mattdally]

Our worst performed players yesterday were Cox, Elliott, McCreery, Johnson and Murphy.
Of that lot possibly one of Elliott and Johnson will miss. Murphy and Cox remain for structure. WHE comes in for Steele.
Reserves were well beaten yesterday - Bianco, Allan and Ruscoe were ok from what I saw. Begg tried hard up forward and kicked 2.
McInnes I didn't see?

[Pies4shaw]

[qldmagpie67]

Not knowing the form of the VFL players other than what’s reported here
Could we move Markov onto the wing and bring in Ruscoe into defence ?
Markov has the speed to get back and help or run as a link up player going forward
Yes his foot skills are up and down but his speed is electric and would add another dimension to the team and west coast are notable slow on the outside

[Pies2016]

Surely W H E ( Mr Fixit ) comes in on the wing or high half forward to help out between the arcs. I noticed Hill spent time in the wing in the last quarter, although I imagine it was more to keep him involved rather than any medium term replacement.

[dalyc]

[dalyc]

[mattdally]

I thought he let Larkey get away from him at times. His spot is not in jeopardy for this week's game, but I'd like to see a bit more lock down from him 1on1.

[watt price tully]

[watt price tully]

I like Kelly on a wing but who knows? Home debut for Ed Allen?

[Skids]

Bianco, Ruscoe & Ed best in the loss to North.

No opening training session in Perth. Grandson very disappointed.

[the fuzz]

[RudeBoy]

Apparently Bianco was best afield in the VFL game, with 35 (or thereabouts) disposals. He is certainly a like for like replacement for Sidey, and is experienced playing on the wing. I suspect that if he can't break into our senior side soon, his days with us will be numbered.

[David]

It's strange to think Bianco hasn't played a senior match this year. He was good in the run home last year and has always been a reliable ball user. Unlike some others in the VFL, he seems fully AFL-ready.

[perthmagpie]

[swoop42]

With Sidebottom out and a game against the bottom placed Eagles to come it does present an opportunity to give a couple of our younger players an opportunity.

While it's not a deal breaker our VFL team hasn't been winning, our most recent loss to the Kangaroos was particularly poor and bad timing leading in to this week.

You would expect WHE will simply take the position of Sidebottom within the 22 leaving one opening but whether the selectors decide to make changes beyond that looks unlikely if we take McRae strictly at his word.

So who could come in?

McInnes - Was injured in the first quarter of last weeks VFL game and while we wait to learn how serious it is, it will most likely rule him out of contention. If he's declared fit and we intend on using a combination of half forwards to fill in for Sidebottom he could yet be considered for more forward line depth.

Bianco - Had more disposals than any other Magpie against the Kangaroos so continues to work hard but I question where he fits in win the McRae game plan at AFL level with his lack of leg speed or obvious weapon to differentiate him from his peers. Is a solid well rounded player but what is the elite trait in his game that can see him overcome his weaknesses and transition to senior level regularly?

Macrae - Lower numbers than we've come to expect from him last week but has been developing well over the last 12 months and is one of our most consistent midfield performers. Like Bianco is one paced and a little vanilla but has a defined role within the team as that midfield extractor. His brother gives us hope he still has improvement left in him. If all of De Goey, Mitchell and Adams are named to play against the Eagles he'll likely be overlooked again.

Carmichael - Production wise a quieter game this week but still provided 10 tackles, 6 clearances and 3 scoring shots within his 15 touches. He's still rough around the edges and his kicking in tight needs to get cleaner but he's a thumping kick when given space, strong in the contest and can provide run on the outside. He has plenty to work with. Despite his starring performance against GWS reserves surprisingly wasn't named as an emergency last week so he mightn't be as close to senior selection as some hope. Is his scrappy kicking out of congestion holding him back in the eyes of the coach?

Harrison - His time at Collingwood so far has regularly been interrupted by hamstring injuries but against GWS he played his best game to date and provided a glimpse of why there was a lot of positivity surrounding him during his 21/22 preseason. Didn't find a lot of ball against the Kangaroos but had a nice moment late if I recall correctly where he ran down the opposition, caused a turnover and subsequent goal. It was only a taste but he clearly has traits that McRae wants in his small forwards and it's why (to the surprise of many fans) he's been elevated arguably ahead of time into the squad of 26. If Elliott is sore and could benefit from a rest then who knows he could be the one to replace him.

Allan - I was initially worried Allan was more athlete than footballer when drafted but given his pedigree that was probably always a non issue. His early season form was still a welcomed surprise however, he looked more advanced than I was expecting, he was clean and displayed composure, his kicks could be delivered with real penetration and we saw moments of his vaunted speed. Then he got COVID. Thankfully he showed signs against the Kangaroos he might be coming out the other side of his bout of illness and his 22 disposals was close to double what he produced against GWS. The other thing that stands out with Allan is just his size and you have to keep reminding yourself he's not filling a KP role within our team. It can't be ignored that we'll be playing in Perth this weekend, at this stage it's forecast to be dry which suits a young body with outside running power (more than a contested slog in the wet) and up against a depleted Eagles team he'll probably never get a better opportunity to debut at home in front of family.