Prediction Changes Swans V Dogs 3.20pm Sunday 28/7/24

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For Freijah and Sanders I definitely see managed. The game v Geelong was a muddy slog, probably could do with the longer recovery given the quick turnaround coming up.
Agree. Freijah is an 18yo who has played every game this year (initially in the VFL but then 10 straight in the seniors). It's a gruelling season for a kid so a few extra days off will be very timely. Not just for next week but in the run to the finals. You don't want the capable first year players falling away in September.

A VFL bye also means it's a great time to "manage" players because the VFL side doesn't suffer as a result.

Wouldn't surprise me if Macrae has a minor injury that they don't want to make public (ie alert the opposition to).

In the case of all three they can stay at home and look after themselves instead of board a flight to Sydney.

That said, let's see what the team selections are for next Friday's game against Melbourne. It's quite possible one or two of them won't make it back into the 22.
 
Not very often that we play late Sunday then Friday night the next week though.

Bizarre scheduling ny the AFL.

That is true, looking at Bevo's time as coach this is just the third time we've played Sunday and then the following Friday (excluding 2020) and the first time this late in a season...

R3 2019 vs. Gold Coast (Docklands) - R4 2019 vs. Collingwood (MCG)
R2 2021 vs. West Coast (Docklands) - R3 2021 vs. North Melbourne (Docklands)
R7 2022 vs. Essendon (Docklands) - R8 2022 vs. Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval)

As for listing managed/rested players, there have been 21 matches out of his 225 as coach where we have listed players as either managed or rested, but most of those occurred during the COVID years. Excluding those years it's just 7 matches out of 181 and none since R22 2022. So it is indeed a rarity for us to list managed players.

2015
None

2016
None

2017
None

2018
R21 2018 - R. Smith - returned to the AFL side in R23 2018

2019
R2 2019 - Williams - returned in R5 2019

2020
R8 2020 - Hunter - returned in R6 2020
R9 2020 - Weightman - played AFL the following week
R12 2020 - Bruce - played AFL the following week
R12 2020 - Vandermeer - played AFL the following week
R13 2020 - R. Smith - returned in R16 2020

2021
R3 2021 - West - did not play VFL or AFL the following week, returned to AFL side in R7 2021
R5 2021 - Martin - played AFL the following week
R9 2021 - West - played VFL the following week
R11 2021 - Scott - played AFL the following week
R14 2021 - Martin - did not player VFL or AFL the following week, returned to AFL side in PF 2021
R18 2021 - Liberatore - played AFL the following week
R19 2021 - Dunkley - played AFL the following week
R20 2021 - Duryea - played AFL the following week
R21 2021 - Weightman - played AFL the following week
R22 2021 - Ugle-Hagen - did not return until 2022

2022
R3 2022 - Crozier - played VFL the following week
R8 2022 - Bontempelli - played AFL the following week
R9 2022 - Martin - did not play VFL or AFL for several months
R22 2022 - Bruce - played AFL the following week

2023
None

2024
R20 2024 - Freijah
R20 2024 - Macrae
R20 2024 - Sanders
 
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As for listing managed/rested players, there have been 21 matches out of his 225 as coach where we have listed players as either managed or rested, but most of those occurred during the COVID years. Excluding those years it's just 7 matches out of 181 and none since R22 2022. So it is indeed a rarity for us to list managed players.
Yes, that is rare.

Could just be circumstances. Or could it be some additional wise heads on MC this year?
 
Yes, that is rare.

Could just be circumstances. Or could it be some additional wise heads on MC this year?

I think we need a bigger sample size, especially since this is the first time we've played Sunday to Friday this late in a season, but we've also shown this year that we aren't afraid to list players as omitted when you could argue that they were managed, such as Sanders earlier in the year.
 

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How can Macrae be managed off playing 20 minutes with no VFL game to keep touch in ?

Obviously Vandermeer and McNeil are better players than a 3 time AA with the 10th most Brownlow votes in Bulldog history ……
Don't understand this take. How is Macrae meant to fill in for a small or pressure forward? His merits mean absolutely nothing in this scenario.
 
I must be one out here. VDM is certainly bottom 6 but do see him as the whipping boy and does offer defensive pressure and does get up down the ground. He probably is lucky to not get dropped at some stage but I probably rate in the top 22.
 
Don't understand this take. How is Macrae meant to fill in for a small or pressure forward?

I must be one out here. VDM is certainly bottom 6 but do see him as the whipping boy and does offer defensive pressure and does get up down the ground. He probably is lucky to not get dropped at some stage but I probably rate in the top 22.

I think the broader issue is how Vandermeer continues to keep his spot despite providing next to impact on games. He's an extremely poor user of the ball and decision maker, the only thing keeping him in the team is his pressure and that has tailed off significantly over the past couple of weeks, but especially last week where he was ranked 22/23 for pressure, including a lower ranking than the sub who only played 10 minutes.

Assuming Freijah, Macrae and Sanders are available next week, I struggle to see how he keeps his spot unless he does something outrageous on Sunday.
 
Carlton's performance is a timely warning about what can happen after a 5 day break. And we have to travel ... Carlton didn't.

We need our best combination from the selected 23 on the ground for as long as possible against Sydney. Perhaps like last week, the sub, whoever that is, only plays a handful of minutes at the end.

Beyond Sunday, Duryea and Libba appear as the most likely to be managed for the Melbourne game, simply because of the miles on the clock factor. And a little more left field, Timmy English. Gawn is hard at the best of times without giving him an extra day off a short turnaround. Maybe Lobby plays a week in the ruck against the Dees and Jones and Khamis cope with Melbourne's talls for the week with assistance from Coffield and Freijah.

First things first though. Sydney ... best combination on the ground for as long as possible ... and then an intriguing week of selection speculation.
 
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Prediction Changes Swans V Dogs 3.20pm Sunday 28/7/24

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