Bombertalk

Do you agree with Knighta? Surely he must be tempted to put one of them back, simply to get some form....

http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=6522


Following an uninspiring performance against North Melbourne last week, Matthew Knights today revealed he will make multiple changes to the line-up set to take on an in-form Collingwood in the traditional ANZAC Day blockbuster on Saturday.

Essendon will be forced to make at least one change to their side following a hamstring injury to Hayden Skipworth and Knights said a number of players have thrown themselves into the selection mix following solid form at VFL level.

“We’ve got five or six players who could quite easily come into the line up and be up for selection,” Knights said.

“Thankfully Heath Hocking, who didn’t play last week, is potentially available, Lonergan and Jetta got some match fitness in the VFL as did as did Myers and Houli.

“I wouldn’t think we’d have a lot of changes. I guess what I’m saying is all those guys are in the mix, I think potentially we may have two or three changes depending on the availability of players. We’ve got our main session today so we will have to see who comes through that."
Essendon veteran Scott Lucas is a likely starter on Saturday despite recent criticism of the superstar foward’s form and movement around the ground.
“Scott actually had 17 disposals last week,” Knights said.

“He’s come back from a very serious injury and I’ve found that over the past two weeks he’s moved a lot better and covered more ground. I think his movement patterns are on the up and it’s just a matter of time before he has a breakout game.

“Scott has just had a couple of weeks were he hasn’t taken his opportunities but I’m sure that will come because he is technically so sound.

“He had 17-disposals and plenty of opportunities last week so that’s the good part for me as potentially he’s on the up for getting the ball into his hands. If he continues to get the ball in his hands, he will convert which is great for us.”
To watch the full Knights interview on Bomber.tv click here
The head coach also dismissed suggestions Adam McPhee has lost confidence in his ability following recent performances which have been scattered with basic skill errors.
“Adam is a hugely intense player, who plays with a hunger that is really great for our team as he is one of our leaders,” Knights said.

“At times, Adam might make the odd error but he gets over it pretty quickly and he is not one to dwell on things.

“I’m sure he is discovering why these things are happening match day, whether he drops the occasional mark or makes an error, no different to a number of our players who made errors on the weekend.

“There were a number of players who didn’t get things right on the day, and we didn’t get things quite right as a team and as the coach I just need to support him and work through that on the track.

“We don’t have a lot of players between the ages of sort of that 23 to 28 age bracket, so it is vital for our young team that guys like Adam McPhee, Andrew Welsh and Mark McVeigh are in the side and playing at a good level.”

Scott Lucas is going to get the beating of a lifetime this week if they play Harry O on him. May as get him to play as a decoy and try and drag that cheating, scragging prick into the stands.

Knighta's support for Scotty is commendable although a bit risky. Being a great supporter of Lucas I really want him to put in a Lloyd type performance and start to settle down our suspect forward line. Had Scotty bagged a couple on top of his 17 possessions, we would have thought that he had had a good game.

To see him hook at least 4 shots over the past weeks to the left is so out of character and surely can be rectified. To get both Lloyd and Lucas firing would give us some real structure down forward which ias lacking at present.

Overall, McPhee's good outweighs his bad although he drives you nuts with his bad. Cannot imagine him being dropped out of such an inexperienced team.

Got no problems with it. Scotty's showing some signs and has the points on the board and deserves some leniency. McPhee needs to rebound and he'd know that, but has been pretty good so far this year.

rockhole wrote:Knighta's support for Scotty is commendable although a bit risky. Being a great supporter of Lucas I really want him to put in a Lloyd type performance and start to settle down our suspect forward line. Had Scotty bagged a couple on top of his 17 possessions, we would have thought that he had had a good game.

To see him hook at least 4 shots over the past weeks to the left is so out of character and surely can be rectified. To get both Lloyd and Lucas firing would give us some real structure down forward which ias lacking at present.

Overall, McPhee's good outweighs his bad although he drives you nuts with his bad. Cannot imagine him being dropped out of such an inexperienced team.

Well said rocky...a few straight kicks would have put a whole different perspective on his game.

And as for McPhee...he was probably our best forward in the first two games so it's bizarre to think that he would get dropped after one bad game.

Of course they've got to play. f***, do people want us to be massacred on Saturday? The thing with McPhee and Lucas is that they won't be overawed by the occasion. Experience is vital in this game. Lucas might be in poor form and McPhee coming off an absolute shocker, but they both could suddenly play big parts on Saturday. It will take a good player to play on these two guys. Both men would realise that a poor performance again this week could mean a spell at Bendigo. Let 'em rip!

It's like cricket - McPhee and Lucas can make 7 ducks in a row but if there is no one sitting in the stands that can make runs then they can't be dropped!!!

bomberflyer wrote:It's like cricket - McPhee and Lucas can make 7 ducks in a row but if there is no one sitting in the stands that can make runs then they can't be dropped!!!

Hmm I remember Mark Waugh's performance (both pre and post) when Dean Jones got dropped from the firsts... even a 300+ score by Deano in the seconds didn't change this arrangement. Methinks that something has got into Scotty's head ... maybe he is annoyed that he was only given a one year contract, maybe starting him on the bench is not the best way of switching him on ... but he is not playing to his ability - and worse he is not showing signs that this will change soon. Fingers crossed that he will switch on this week and even push for the Anzac medal.

McPhee on the other hand ... I dont see any evidence this year of certain hair products that may cause loss of marking traction ... Consequently two hints ... 1. Rosin (so the finger tippers stick) and 2. Mylanta (so the chest marks dont hurt!). If selected, I want to see him provide leadership to the younger playing list (ie take a leaf out of skippy's book!)

Cheers - STI