The Herald Sun Footy PodcastIt's week one of the finals and Victorian eyes will be on the MCG on Friday night for the all-Vic elimination final between the Dogs and Hawks.
And then there’s the Blues - with up to 9 changes possible from their final round team, Josh Barnes will go through who could - and who should - come in to face the Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night.
And finally we're there final series that feels slightly unfamiliar, only four Victorian teams and just the solo Week one final in Melbourne, so everyone's eyes will be on the g on Friday night for the All VIC elimination final between the Dogs and Hawks. Hello and welcome to the Herald Sun Footy Podcast. I'm Andy BelAZ and Josh Barnes will join me coming up to talk about how the Dogs are planning on stopping Hawthorne's small forward brigade and where the game will be won. And then there's the Blues with up to nine changes possible from their final round team. Josh will go through who could and who should come in to face the Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night. Here's Josh and here on the Herald Sun Footy Podcast. Well, there's one final in Melbourne only this weekend. As we all know, it's the Dogs and Hawks, and Josh Barnes join me to talk just those two teams, can bar.
It's going to be a huge Friday night and we don't have much else on otherwise. We'll be at the pub all weekend, but it's going to be massive Friday.
Absolutely, And you were at the Dogs on Monday and got some of the inside word about how are they're going to stop the Hawks Juggernauts.
What did you learn the glamorous life of the journalists was that we were locked outside of their indoor training facility when it started hailing at the Whitna Beautiful, which I'm sure a lot of Dog fans and opposition fans have experienced over the years. So if you ever want to think about the glamorous journals lining up against the wall trying to shield themselves from the rain, it was pretty funny out there. But once we got inside, obviously all the talk is about Hawthorne. It's probably the two, potentially the two most form sides in the whole eight playing each other. One will one will keep going, one will be eliminated. Obviously, Andy, I think a lot of it will be decided in Hawthorne's front half. The Bulldogs have sort of remodeled and reshaped their back on a lot with Roy Lobb this year. Liam Jones got through luckily, I thought, from avoiding suspension in the last round, he'll be playing and a lot of it is about Hawthorne's small forwards.
When Hawthorne beat the Bulldogs.
Earlier this year, Kroon McDonald kicked three goals jacking in one and Dylan Moore won and that was about all They got ours more forwards, so they didn't get a lot there, but they still beat him, so I think they can get a little bit of improvement there and it's going to be a lot resting I think on Taylor Derra coming into this round because he's on the plays lockdown there for the Dogs or Bailey Dale Lucky Bramble run the other way, so it's going to be pretty tricky job for him to try and marshal the troops.
It's interesting there, isn't it that two of the dogs three small backs are ex Hawks in Jurey and Bramble. Jurey is a great survivor, isn't he, Because he's it's felt like he's been on the way out multiple times over the last ten years or so, and yet here he comes into another final series for the Dogs.
He played in Hawthorn's last final in twenty eighteen, so I think there's five or six Hawks remaining and he's going to be playing as well on the other side. And I asked him about his contact show, so he was delisted last year and rerookied he was always he always thought he was going to be fine there. He wasn't in any danger being cut completely. But he's pretty confident that he's going to get his eighth one year deal in a row at the end of this year is what he reckons. So it's been a long journey for him, but he's still such a vital play started the year in the VFL. He's going to end it well, potentially end in the final series this year.
It's slightly a shame, isn't it that? As you said, the Dogs and the Hawks probably the two of the more exciting teams, well the most exciting teams coming into the final season series taking each other on. But it will be a sight to behold on Friday night. Where did detailed Deerra think that the Dogs can win the game.
Yeah, so I think they're pretty focused on the midfield. With will Day out, I think they can really get a lot in there. Lot will be resting on Adam tra Law. He'll be training on Wednesday to try and prove that calf is all good to play in the elimination final and should he get up, I think they have a bit of an advantage of the Dogs just in their ability to win the contest and spread forward and their forward line. The Hawthorne back line is I guess susceptible. James Sissley is a start down there, but Sam Frost has held things together down there a little bit this year. Obviously, if Norton Uglhagen get going down there, it's going to be pretty hard to stop with Sam Darcy as well. So I think that's where their advantages are and that's why Hawthorne's Fordlorn has to be good. Their main weapon, I think was the way we're going to stop them is not letting the ball inside the forward fifty, which is never a great sign. Was the way from both Bailey Dale and Taylor Deray yesterday. But a lot of it is handover. So we're getting into the nitty gritty here, Andy. But you if you're at the mc jenifron night, you'll see that Deray, Jones and Lob often of the three deepest defenders, and so they'll be handing over and allowing that, and Hawthorne will be trying to mix them up and confuse them going back the other way.
So it's going to be a lot of action inside that back fifty for the Dogs.
And on the other hand, we have Geelong playing in You know, there's only two other Victorian teams in the eight. Four of the teams from interstate. No interstate supporters don't like us calling them the interstate teams and non Victorian teams. So the Cats are playing Port Adelaide over there in Adelaide, and then we'll talk after the break about how Carlton might look very different from their final round team as well. But as someone with an intimate knowledge and love for the Cats, how do the Cats look coming up against Port?
Yeah, the fascinating question for me is Sam to coning and his role earning into the weekend. So he played in the VFL last week after he's been dealing with a knee injury, had a very minor operation a few weeks. He only played in the ruck in the VFL. Now recently has been okay in the AFL level recently, I think he's been reasonable the last month or so, so he hasn't been sort of battling there. But the Cats are going to be debating whether to play Sam mcconneing at full back or in the ruck. Port Adelaide I think of debating their own forward line. Charlie Dixon looks like he will play. You assume Vizentini is dropped out of that team that leads Radigalia at full forward versus Todd Marshall. Really I think deciding whether they play they if they do play Radigli and Dixon together, that's two very tall forwards. Geelong doesn't really have a toll back outside of Daconing, Jake Henry and Jake College As you're both undersized down there. So it's going to be fascinating debate for Chris Scott. In the past, he has surprises in first finals the years. Ree Stanley was dropped in twenty nineteen last minute because of the weather and then it didn't rain, so that was a mistake. Gelong lost that game to Collingwood. I wonder whether Reed Stanley's going to be in the gun again. It's going to be a really interesting watch this week which way they go down there.
And Chris Gott always seems to have Mark Blitzavs who he can just slot into any role, including into the ruck as well if needed at times.
Yeah, and that's the interesting thing also with Blizavs is against West Coast. He was playing keyback for periods of time, which we haven't seen him do for six or seven years really, So he was manning Oscar Allen at stages against West Coast in the last round. Whether that was just a way to get him out of middle and save his body, whether that was a genuine testing him out to see if he's still capable of playing fullback, and they could rotate blixavs and deconing out of defense. It's going to be fascinating. It's an interesting question for Geelong to answer. I guess on Thursday night.
Absolutely.
So. Yeah, by the weekend we'll have seen both of these results and we'll have a bit more of an understanding of where we sit for week two. Let's take a break and let's come back and talk about those Blues. Listening to the Harold Sun Footy podcast here on the Herald Sun Footy podcast, Well, we've discussed the Dogs and the Hawks, we've discussed the Cats and Port. Josh Barnes is with me, and let's talk the Blues because they're seemingly the most intriguing prospect for the finals. The week one of the finals, that is, because they've been banged up, they've had a week off and there's a possibility that multiple players who we didn't think could come up might end up being in that their finals team to take on Brisbane up there at the GABA.
It's fascinating.
It's been a wild month, I suppose for Carlton with all the injuries. They've just continually picked up, limping through the last two rounds, getting into the eight and now we don't know how many are going to be back. They'll be training all week trying to prove I guess who is capable and ready. There's eight players waiting hoping to play, so Charlie Kono, Hary McKay, Zach Williams, Mitch McGown, Sam Doherty, Adam Chera and Jack Martin and Tom deaconing as well. That's nine I think in the end, Yeah, well I've lost cout this too many. It's a lot of players. Matt Owis will be out with suspension otherwise they're going to have to cut a lot of those young players that they brought in for the last couple of rounds come to fill aside really and feel the team sheet.
How many changes is too many? Eddie?
Have we learned any lessons about this over the years or is it really just a case by case base.
Well, anecdotal, it's always been about five changes has been too many. I think it's always you know, the old footy fans will say, oh, team that makes five changes isn't.
Going to win that week.
But when they're injury based, and I mean it's easy to forget now that they're in the finals and we've had a week off that they didn't look all that impressive against some Kilda in the final round, losing to the Saints, only just scraping in because Freo lost at home to Port in that last game of the round.
I don't know.
I think, you know, five or six changes is not inconceivable for the Blues, particularly when you're talking about Colonel McKay, cherr possibly and even Dougherty.
I mean, what a story that would be. Yeah.
Well the famous example is the Bulldogs twenty sixteen when they rung the changes there. They had the week off, it was the first time we'd had the pre finals by and they made a huge amount of changes. But they were similar to cut and they were frontline players that they needed to get back in and it worked for them. They got them all back and they made a Premiership run. It's very hard to say. I think a lot of these players picked themselves. Yeah, if Charlie Kerner and Hoan McKay can walk, they're going to be playing. They have to be in the team, they have to be playing. Mitch mcgovernn has to play. I think for structural reasons, I think Zach Williams should be good to go. I think it's too risky to play Adam Cheerah and Jack Martin just because we know they've broken down several times before and if they do that in the first half on Saturday, you're in real trouble there, and then you've got the fairy tales. Really, Sam Dougherty did his knee earlier this year, we all thought that's it for him, and now he's in the frame and the talk out of Carlton Inta that he's a genuine chance to play. It's strange to play something in the final well off a knee, without playing in the VFL or anything, But I.
Mean, can you do it? It's amazing. That would be the difficulty for me. You know.
History suggests that players who come back in after long periods and are spirited straight into teams or you know, played when they've come back from an injury, you know, after a week or less, often it doesn't quite work, and that would be the heartbreaking thing that maybe they bring him back in it's a fairy tale and then you know, soft tissue injury gets him or something like that early in the game. I think they need to show caution because they obviously, you know, they made the finals without him, so you know, yeah, I don't know personally, I think as nice as it would be for Carlton fans, it might be a risk too great to take.
Yeah, and often they struggle the second week up as well, but for Carlton, there may not be a second week.
So if you're going to take the risk, now's the time.
It's a fascinating and they do have players, as we said, that can sort of go out there. They're not players that can't be removed from the team, with a bunch of young players that did a good job in the last two weeks to get them to finals, but they're sort of expendable a little bit unfortunately for them. The other one, obviously is Tom Deconey with his foot that he missed the last I think six weeks or so of the regular season. He apparently trained okay on Tuesday. It's another big risk with him and the question the age or question with Carlton where they played two rucks. I don't think he can play him as a solo ruck straight out of nowhere. So then sometimes when he's played as a second ruck, it really dilutes both of their sort of outputs him in Mark Pittnet so whether that's even worth the change itself, It's going to be another question when they go to Brisbane. Do you think they are a chance? In Brisbane they're going to make at least at least four changes, potentially up to six or seven.
I think everyone's a chance this final season. I thought than any one of that, you know, the chasing pack who didn't quite make the eight you put you slot them into picks positions six, seven, eight, I think they would have been just as much of a risk to any of the top four teams as well. I think this is one of those open seasons and I still believe that that any of the top eight could win the flag.
Yeah, yeah, I think that final looms is the most I guess one side and when you look at it, but we can't get these players back.
Who knows. I don't think you can do any tipping.
We did our crystal balling in tomorrow's Herald Sun, and I'm confident that ninety percent of my crystal balling will be wrong, So I'm sure I'm sure whatever eye tip will be incorrected.
To spend that kind of season, we won't hold you to it. But I mean and also, yes, Brisbane came back. But in that first quarter in last year's preliminary final, we're Carlton, We're not expected to go anywhere. It looked like how far Carlton didn't that they were miles in front of quarter time and Brisbane peeked them back. But you know, if they can do that again, they're very good with the fast starts of Blues. So yeah, you get those forwards back in it can loom large for a Brisbane team who have fought their own way back. Three months ago they weren't even looking like making finals. So yeah, I think anything can happen come finals, and that's what's so exciting about it.
And it was the opposite in opening around the Brisbane We're up by eight goals, yeah, in the second quarter, and then Carlton Peka back and beat them, which it feels like a long time ago now. It was a fascinating game that one so hopefully up for as good a contest on Saturday night.
Absolutely, Josh Barnes, enjoy your Finals footy.
We'll talk to you again soon. Thanks Andy, that'll do us.
On today's Herald's On Footy podcast, I'm Andy Belaiz and my thanks to Josh Barnes for joining me today. Make sure you keep an eye out for our finals crystal Ball on Wednesday morning. Meet mcguan will play coach in previewing each of the finals. We'll have live coverage of all four games and of course Robbos can't mistackle on Sunday night.
I'll catch you next week.
