Speaker 1: And finally we're there final series that feels slightly unfamiliar,
Speaker 1: only four Victorian teams and just the solo Week one
Speaker 1: final in Melbourne, so everyone's eyes will be on the
Speaker 1: g on Friday night for the All VIC elimination final
Speaker 1: between the Dogs and Hawks. Hello and welcome to the
Speaker 1: Herald Sun Footy Podcast. I'm Andy BelAZ and Josh Barnes
Speaker 1: will join me coming up to talk about how the
Speaker 1: Dogs are planning on stopping Hawthorne's small forward brigade and
Speaker 1: where the game will be won. And then there's the
Speaker 1: Blues with up to nine changes possible from their final
Speaker 1: round team. Josh will go through who could and who
Speaker 1: should come in to face the Lions at the Gabba
Speaker 1: on Saturday night. Here's Josh and here on the Herald
Speaker 1: Sun Footy Podcast. Well, there's one final in Melbourne only
Speaker 1: this weekend. As we all know, it's the Dogs and Hawks,
Speaker 1: and Josh Barnes join me to talk just those two teams,
Speaker 1: can bar.
Speaker 2: It's going to be a huge Friday night and we
Speaker 2: don't have much else on otherwise. We'll be at the
Speaker 2: pub all weekend, but it's going to be massive Friday.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And you were at the Dogs on Monday and
Speaker 1: got some of the inside word about how are they're
Speaker 1: going to stop the Hawks Juggernauts.
Speaker 2: What did you learn the glamorous life of the journalists
Speaker 2: was that we were locked outside of their indoor training
Speaker 2: facility when it started hailing at the Whitna Beautiful, which
Speaker 2: I'm sure a lot of Dog fans and opposition fans
Speaker 2: have experienced over the years. So if you ever want
Speaker 2: to think about the glamorous journals lining up against the
Speaker 2: wall trying to shield themselves from the rain, it was
Speaker 2: pretty funny out there. But once we got inside, obviously
Speaker 2: all the talk is about Hawthorne. It's probably the two,
Speaker 2: potentially the two most form sides in the whole eight
Speaker 2: playing each other. One will one will keep going, one
Speaker 2: will be eliminated. Obviously, Andy, I think a lot of
Speaker 2: it will be decided in Hawthorne's front half. The Bulldogs
Speaker 2: have sort of remodeled and reshaped their back on a
Speaker 2: lot with Roy Lobb this year. Liam Jones got through luckily,
Speaker 2: I thought, from avoiding suspension in the last round, he'll
Speaker 2: be playing and a lot of it is about Hawthorne's
Speaker 2: small forwards.
Speaker 3: When Hawthorne beat the Bulldogs.
Speaker 2: Earlier this year, Kroon McDonald kicked three goals jacking in
Speaker 2: one and Dylan Moore won and that was about all
Speaker 2: They got ours more forwards, so they didn't get a
Speaker 2: lot there, but they still beat him, so I think
Speaker 2: they can get a little bit of improvement there and
Speaker 2: it's going to be a lot resting I think on
Speaker 2: Taylor Derra coming into this round because he's on the
Speaker 2: plays lockdown there for the Dogs or Bailey Dale Lucky
Speaker 2: Bramble run the other way, so it's going to be
Speaker 2: pretty tricky job for him to try and marshal the troops.
Speaker 1: It's interesting there, isn't it that two of the dogs
Speaker 1: three small backs are ex Hawks in Jurey and Bramble.
Speaker 1: Jure is a great survivor, isn't he Because he's it's
Speaker 1: felt like he's been on the way out multiple times
Speaker 1: over the last ten years or so, and yet here
Speaker 1: he comes into another final series for the Dogs.
Speaker 2: He played in Hawthorn's last final in twenty eighteen, so
Speaker 2: I think there's five or six Hawks remaining and he's
Speaker 2: going to be playing as well on the other side.
Speaker 2: And I asked him about his contact says, so he
Speaker 2: was delisted last year and rerookied he was always he
Speaker 2: always thought he was going to be fine there. He
Speaker 2: wasn't in any danger being cut completely. But he's pretty
Speaker 2: confident that he's going to get his eighth one year
Speaker 2: deal in a row at the end of this year
Speaker 2: is what he reckons. So it's been a long journey
Speaker 2: for him, but he's still such a vital play started
Speaker 2: the year in the VFL. He's going to end it well,
Speaker 2: potentially end in the final series this year.
Speaker 1: It's slightly a shame, isn't it that? As you said,
Speaker 1: the Dogs and the Hawks probably the two of the
Speaker 1: more exciting teams, well the most exciting teams coming into
Speaker 1: the final season series taking each other on. But it
Speaker 1: will be a sight to behold on Friday night. Where
Speaker 1: did detailed Deerra think that the Dogs can win the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think they're pretty focused on the midfield.
Speaker 2: With will Day out, I think they can really get
Speaker 2: a lot in there. Lot will be resting on Adam
Speaker 2: tra Law. He'll be training on Wednesday to try and
Speaker 2: prove that calf is all good to play in the
Speaker 2: elimination final and should he get up, I think they
Speaker 2: have a bit of an advantage there the Dogs just
Speaker 2: in their ability to win the contest and spread forward
Speaker 2: and their forward line. The Hawthorne back line is I
Speaker 2: guess susceptible. James Sissley is a start down there, but
Speaker 2: Sam Frost has held things together down there a little
Speaker 2: bit this year. Obviously, if Norton Uglhagen get going down there,
Speaker 2: it's going to be pretty hard to stop with Sam
Speaker 2: Darcy as well. So I think that's where their advantages
Speaker 2: are and that's why Hawthorne's Fordlorn has to be good.
Speaker 2: Their main weapon, I think was the way we're going
Speaker 2: to stop them is not letting the ball inside the
Speaker 2: forward fifty, which is never a great sign. Was the
Speaker 2: way from both Bailey Dale and Taylor Deray yesterday. But
Speaker 2: a lot of it is handover. So we're getting into
Speaker 2: the nitty gritty here, Andy, But you if you're at
Speaker 2: the mc jennifer night, you'll see that Deray, Jones and
Speaker 2: Lob often of the three deepest defenders, and so they'll
Speaker 2: be handing over and allowing that, and Hawthorne will be
Speaker 2: trying to mix them up and confuse them going back
Speaker 2: the other way. So it's going to be a lot
Speaker 2: of action inside that back fifty for the Dogs.
Speaker 1: And on the other hand, we have Geelong playing in
Speaker 1: You know, there's only two other Victorian teams in the eight.
Speaker 1: Four of the teams from interstate. No interstate supporters don't
Speaker 1: like us calling them the interstate teams and non Victorian teams.
Speaker 1: So the Cats are playing Port Adelaide over there in Adelaide,
Speaker 1: and then we'll talk after the break about how Carlton
Speaker 1: might look very different from their final round team as well.
Speaker 1: But as someone with an intimate knowledge and love for
Speaker 1: the Cats, how do the Cats look coming up against Port?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the fascinating question for me is Sam to coning
Speaker 2: and his role earning into the weekend. So he played
Speaker 2: in the VFL last week after he's been dealing with
Speaker 2: a knee injury, had a very minor operation a few weeks.
Speaker 2: He only played in the ruck in the VFL. Now
Speaker 2: recently has been okay in the AFL level recently, I
Speaker 2: think he's been reasonable the last month or so, so
Speaker 2: he hasn't been sort of battling there. But the Cats
Speaker 2: are going to be debating whether to play Sam mcconneing
Speaker 2: at full back or in the ruck. Port Adelaide I
Speaker 2: think of debating their own forward line. Charlie Dixon looks
Speaker 2: like he will play. You assume Vizentinis dropped out of
Speaker 2: that team that leads Radigalia at full forward versus Todd Marshall. Really,
Speaker 2: I think deciding whether they play they if they do
Speaker 2: play Radigli and Dixon together, that's two very tall forwards.
Speaker 2: Geelong doesn't really have a toll back outside of Daconing,
Speaker 2: Jake Henry and Jake College As you're both undersized down there.
Speaker 2: So it's going to be fascinating debate for Chris Scott.
Speaker 2: In the past he has surprises in first finals of
Speaker 2: the years. Ree Stanley was dropped in twenty nineteen last
Speaker 2: minute because of the weather and then it didn't rain,
Speaker 2: so that was a mistake. Gelong lost that game to Collingwood.
Speaker 2: I wonder whether Reed Stanley's going to be in the
Speaker 2: gun again. It's going to be a really interesting watch
Speaker 2: this week which way they go down there.
Speaker 1: And Chris Gott always seems to have Mark Blitzavs who
Speaker 1: he can just slot into any role, including into the
Speaker 1: ruck as well if needed at times.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's the interesting thing also with Blizavs is
Speaker 2: against West Coast. He was playing keyback for periods of time,
Speaker 2: which we haven't seen him do for six or seven
Speaker 2: years really, So he was manning Oscar Allen at stages
Speaker 2: against West Coast in the last round. Whether that was
Speaker 2: just a way to get him out of middle and
Speaker 2: save his body, whether that was a genuine testing him
Speaker 2: out to see if he's still capable of playing fullback,
Speaker 2: and they could rotate Blixavs in deconing out of defense.
Speaker 2: It's going to be fascinating. It's an interesting question for
Speaker 2: Geelong to answer. I guess on Thursday night.
Speaker 1: Absolutely so. Yeah, by the weekend we'll have seen both
Speaker 1: of these results and we'll have a bit more of
Speaker 1: an understanding of where we sit for week two. Let's
Speaker 1: take a break and let's come back and talk about
Speaker 1: those Blues. Listening to the Harold Sun Footy podcast here
Speaker 1: on the Herald Sun Footy podcast, Well, we've discussed the
Speaker 1: Dogs and the Hawks, we've discussed the Cats and Port.
Speaker 1: Josh Barnes is with me, and let's talk the Blues
Speaker 1: because they're seemingly the most intriguing prospect for the finals.
Speaker 1: The week one of the finals, that is, because they've
Speaker 1: been banged up, they've had a week off and there's
Speaker 1: a possibility that multiple players who we didn't think could
Speaker 1: come up might end up being in that their finals
Speaker 1: team to take on Brisbane up there at the GABA.
Speaker 3: It's fascinating.
Speaker 2: It's been a wild month, I suppose for Carlton with
Speaker 2: all the injuries. They've just continually picked up, limping through
Speaker 2: the last two rounds, getting into the eight and now
Speaker 2: we don't know how many are going to be back.
Speaker 2: They'll be training all week trying to prove I guess
Speaker 2: who is capable and ready. There's eight players waiting hoping
Speaker 2: to play, so Charlie Koner, Hary McKay, Zach Williams, Mitch McGown,
Speaker 2: Sam Doherty, Adam Chera and Jack Martin and Tom deaconing
Speaker 2: as well. That's nine I think in the end, Yeah,
Speaker 2: well I've lost cout this too many. It's a lot
Speaker 2: of players. Matt Owis will be out with suspension otherwise
Speaker 2: they're going to have to cut a lot of those
Speaker 2: young players that they brought in for the last couple
Speaker 2: of rounds come to fill aside really and feel the
Speaker 2: team sheet.
Speaker 3: How many changes is too many?
Speaker 2: Edy have we learned any lessons about this over the
Speaker 2: years or is it really just a case by case base.
Speaker 1: Well, anecdotal, it's always been about five changes has been
Speaker 1: too many. I think it's always you know, the old
Speaker 1: footy fans will say, oh, team that makes five changes isn't.
Speaker 3: Going to win that week.
Speaker 1: But when they're injury based, and I mean it's easy
Speaker 1: to forget now that they're in the finals and we've
Speaker 1: had a week off that they didn't look all that
Speaker 1: impressive against some Kilda in the final round, losing to
Speaker 1: the Saints, only just scraping in because Frio lost at
Speaker 1: home to Port in that last game of the round.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, five or six changes is not
Speaker 1: inconceivable for the Blues, particularly when you're talking about Colonel McKay,
Speaker 1: cherr possibly and even Dougherty.
Speaker 3: I mean, what a story that would be. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Well the famous example is the Bulldogs twenty sixteen when
Speaker 2: they rung the changes there. They had the week off,
Speaker 2: it was the first time we'd had the pre finals
Speaker 2: by and they made a huge amount of changes. But
Speaker 2: they were similar to cut and they were frontline players
Speaker 2: that they needed to get back in and it worked
Speaker 2: for them. They got them all back and they made
Speaker 2: a Premiership run. It's very hard to say. I think
Speaker 2: a lot of these players picked themselves. Yeah, if Charlie
Speaker 2: Kerner and Hoan McKay can walk, they're going to be playing.
Speaker 2: They have to be in the team, they have to
Speaker 2: be playing. Mitch mcgovernn has to play. I think for
Speaker 2: structural reasons, I think Zach Williams should be good to go.
Speaker 2: I think it's too risky to play Adam Cheerah and
Speaker 2: Jack Martin just because we know they've broken down several
Speaker 2: times before and if they do that in the first
Speaker 2: half on Saturday, you're in real trouble there, and then
Speaker 2: you've got the fairy tales. Really, Sam Dougherty did his
Speaker 2: knee earlier this year, we all thought that's it for him,
Speaker 2: and now he's in the frame and the talk out
Speaker 2: of Carlton Inta that he's a genuine chance to play.
Speaker 2: It's strange to play something in the final well off
Speaker 2: a knee, without playing in the VFL or anything, But
Speaker 2: I mean, can you do it?
Speaker 3: It's amazing. That would be the difficulty for me. You know.
Speaker 1: History suggests that players who come back in after long
Speaker 1: periods and are spirited straight into teams or you know,
Speaker 1: played when they've come back from an injury, you know,
Speaker 1: after a week or less, often it doesn't quite work,
Speaker 1: and that would be the heartbreaking thing that maybe they
Speaker 1: bring him back in it's a fairy tale and then
Speaker 1: you know, soft tissue injury gets him or something like
Speaker 1: that early in the game. I think they need to
Speaker 1: show caution because they obviously, you know, they made the
Speaker 1: finals without him, so you know, yeah, I don't know personally,
Speaker 1: I think as nice as it would be for Carlton fans,
Speaker 1: it might be a risk too great to take.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and often they struggle the second week up as well,
Speaker 2: but for Carlton, there may not be a second week.
Speaker 3: So if you're going to take the risk, now's the time.
Speaker 2: It's a fascinating and they do have players, as we said,
Speaker 2: that can sort of go out. They're they're not players
Speaker 2: that can't be removed from the team, with a bunch
Speaker 2: of young players that did a good job in the
Speaker 2: last two weeks to get them to finals, but they're
Speaker 2: sort of expendable a little bit unfortunately for them. The
Speaker 2: other one, obviously is Tom Deconey with his foot that
Speaker 2: he missed the last I think six weeks or so
Speaker 2: of the regular season. He apparently trained okay on Tuesday.
Speaker 2: It's another big risk with him and the question the
Speaker 2: age or question with Carlton where they played two rucks.
Speaker 2: I don't think he can play him as a solo
Speaker 2: ruck straight out of nowhere. So then sometimes when he's
Speaker 2: played as a second ruck, it really dilutes both of
Speaker 2: their sort of outputs him in Mark Pittnet so whether
Speaker 2: that's even worth the change itself, It's going to be
Speaker 2: another question when they go to Brisbane.
Speaker 3: Do you think they are a chance?
Speaker 2: In Brisbane they're going to make at least at least
Speaker 2: four changes, potentially up to six or seven.
Speaker 1: I think everyone's a chance this final season. I thought
Speaker 1: than any one of that, you know, the chasing pack
Speaker 1: who didn't quite make the eight you put you slot
Speaker 1: them into picks positions six, seven, eight, I think they
Speaker 1: would have been just as much of a risk to
Speaker 1: any of the top four teams as well. I think
Speaker 1: this is one of those open seasons and I still
Speaker 1: believe that that any of the top eight could win
Speaker 1: the flag.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I think that final looms is the most
Speaker 2: I guess one side and when you look at it,
Speaker 2: but we can't get these players back.
Speaker 3: Who knows. I don't think you can do any tipping.
Speaker 2: We did our crystal balling in tomorrow's Herald Sun, and
Speaker 2: I'm confident that ninety percent of my crystal balling will
Speaker 2: be wrong, So I'm sure I'm sure whatever eye tip
Speaker 2: will be incorrected.
Speaker 1: To spend that kind of season, we won't hold you
Speaker 1: to it. But I mean and also, yes, Brisbane came back.
Speaker 1: But in that first quarter in last year's preliminary final,
Speaker 1: we're Carlton, We're not expected to go anywhere. It looked
Speaker 1: like how far Carlton didn't that they were miles in
Speaker 1: front of quarter time and Brisbane peeked them back. But
Speaker 1: you know, if they can do that again, they're very
Speaker 1: good with the fast starts of Blues. So yeah, you
Speaker 1: get those forwards back in it can loom large for
Speaker 1: a Brisbane team who have fought their own way back.
Speaker 1: Three months ago they weren't even looking like making finals.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think anything can happen come finals, and
Speaker 1: that's what's so exciting about it.
Speaker 2: And it was the opposite in opening around the Brisbane
Speaker 2: We're up by eight goals, yeah, in the second quarter,
Speaker 2: and then Carlton Peka back and beat them, which it
Speaker 2: feels like a long time ago now. It was a
Speaker 2: fascinating game that one so hopefully up for as good
Speaker 2: a contest on Saturday night.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, Josh Barnes, enjoy your Finals footy.
Speaker 3: We'll talk to you again soon. Thanks Andy, that'll do us.
Speaker 1: On today's Herald's On Footy podcast, I'm Andy Belaiz and
Speaker 1: my thanks to Josh Barnes for joining me today. Make
Speaker 1: sure you keep an eye out for our finals crystal
Speaker 1: Ball on Wednesday morning. Mieck mcguan will play coach in
Speaker 1: previewing each of the finals. We'll have live coverage of
Speaker 1: all four games and of course Robbos can't mistackle on
Speaker 1: Sunday night.
Speaker 3: I'll catch you next week.