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DG wrote: Horsley hurt his knee a few weeks ago I think BC. SS I only saw most of the 2nd half but yes we had alot of regulars out. Dela was good up front did as he pleased, Clancy also lively forward & bursts in the ruck. It was a really dominant performance hard tackling pressure all over the ground it was like they were playing for 4 pts. They all want to play in a couple of weeks mate. Madut was good in the tap outs, one time he smashed it to chf natanui style, another time he contested the centre bounce then ran fwd rec'd the ball on his own & delivered a nice pass to Clancy for a goal. Apart from that he did fa around the ground possession wise.

Thanks DG. I heard he hurt his knee but wasn't sure if it was true and if so, how bad it is. Does anyone know?

Other than Madut have we got anyone else that could run through the ruck? Know Wheeler could but rather he be used in a KP. Might not have been our best player but Stockleys injury is really going to hurt, just so vital to our structure. Personally I don't think Madut is ready to carry the load all season.

DG wrote: ...Lockyer solid, Hancock good, not sure who Fimmano is & Smith is still playing. Kitchin, Menegola, McPhee didn't play.

Son of Ned Fimmano one of our ex-skippers , Brayden will be a tyro who finds his own footy will run & run & run all day long
Played a few reserves matches last year and did really well in those too

Not sure BC. Only Bestry I think Barney & he is in the same boat as Madut. Agreed we need Wheeler in places other than the ruck. If he's the bloke with dark olive skin he got a lot of the ball Southerner...

Another ruckman who played nearly all year in the twos was Sean Bradley.
I remember seeing him play one league game at Fremantle oval and he looked ok.
In the reserves F & B he polled 28 votes from 21 games, Madut 10 from 14, Bestry 15 from 13.

The second ruckman is the problem as well. Need a guy the can at least break even in the forwardline. If he has no presence then we are a man short all game.

Stockley/McDougall worked so well together whether they were in the ruck or forward.

Ruck will be our Achilles heal this year, but balance that with the new additions to the mids should mean we can expect a good return at stoppages, just need to change their approach given we wont have the hitouts to advantage we had last year.

EF folk keep saying they have limited talls and rucks but went within a bee's dick of making the GF last year due to a super hard working midfield.

Senior Seagull wrote: Ruck will be our Achilles heal this year, but balance that with the new additions to the mids should mean we can expect a good return at stoppages, just need to change their approach given we wont have the hitouts to advantage we had last year.

EF folk keep saying they have limited talls and rucks but went within a bee's dick of making the GF last year due to a super hard working midfield.

Agree Seagull we are going to have to rely on kids now along with help from Wheeler and Delahunty. It's unusual for the tall youngsters to come straight in and be able to compete against the likes of Johnson at EP and Seaby at C but opportunity is a great thing and hopefully at least one of the "kids" will emerge and take on the role.
Im not sure we have any other option.
I worry that in the finals (assuming we are there!) that this is an area that we could be exposed though. When the pressure goes on the big bodies can be important. Stockley and McDougall were very good for us in the finals last season.

do we have a game this week?

No game this week BC for the seniors. But the colts do have the super round on Sunday at Steel Blue Oval against an Indigenous side at 12:40pm. If anyone is interested in having a look at our up and comers.