1:10pm at home against the new girls on the block, the Eagles.

What appears to be an easy game against the lowly eagles could translate to a danger game if we take it lightly.

With % likely to decide finishing order in the finals, this week is one we must give our all. It has the potential to elevate us to a spot where we get a bye in week 1 of the finals.

Got a pretty settled lineup of late.
Question marks over Harrington.
IMO Edwards needs to deliver more and is potentially in danger of losing her spot.

OK, so i've done this before. Lets try it again to see how our best team 'evolves' over the year.

Please....
ASSUME ALL PLAYERS ARE FIT AND AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION

Everyone must choose 22 players.
Poll will end 5 days from now.....start of round 1.

Go at it.

Welcome one and all to Jim Park Analysis 2020.
Yes, it is that time of year again, where the season beckons and hope fills our hearts (well, it did until a couple of weeks ago, but that is another tale).
Last year we had a win by Patrick Cripps. This year, who will it be?
Cripps remains the favourite. He is that good.
Sam Walsh appears to be the danger, as his brilliant 1st year form shows no sign of slowing.
Docherty is back. But is he back to his best?
Eddie Betts is back. GOOOAAALL!

Voting will continue as it has been for the last few years.
There are 15 votes available, to split as you choose, more or less.
No player is allowed to have more than 10 votes per game.
At least 3 players deserve a mention each week, even in the worst of losses.
Each game requires a rating, from F to A+. The rating determines the weighting of the game. This is usually important, as more players deserve a mention in a good game compared to that in a poor showing.

Charlotte received a well-deserved Rising Star nomination for her performance against the Saints. 

I thought her game last week was better but that’s not to take anything away from her performance or her nomination.

We really are building a strong list that is going to have us in contention for a flag for some time ... perpetually if our list managers can maintain their mojo. 

With a less than inspiring Practice Match series and a load of players not fully fit, the opening round is beginning to look ... less than optimal.
[1] Ruck: Big problem so far with Kreuzer no where near 100 %. Our back-ups are d Koning, who is developing, but who isn't ready yet, and Pittonet, who offers something different, but who does not have many runs on the board against mature ruckmen.
[2] On-Ballers: Not looking all that good, although Cripps and Walsh appear to be going well.
[3] Tall forwards: At the moment, only Levi has shown anything. McGovern did nothing today. Charlie Curnow won't be playing for half a year and probably won't be near his best until next year. H hasn't played at all, and is extremely unlikely to line up for the first game.
[4] Defenders: We haven't seen the full defence yet. At least Jones appeared to have played reasonably today. Williamson and Docherty were good against Collingwood, but haven't done much since.
[5] Recruits: At the moment, this area is not looking promising. Martin has done OK, and we know what Eddie Betts can do, but Newnes has not excited and the rest are kids. The other younger players appear to have stagnated, other than Walsh.
[6] Our skills do not appear to have improved. We still ruin too many chances.
[7] Our pressure has been very low in the last 2 games. Nor has there been any clear tactical or strategic change visible at this time.

I hate being so negative less than 2 weeks before the season starts, and I know practice match form is not a great indication of how we may play, but at the moment, I couldn't see us as anything but rank under-dogs. If we manage to win, it will be a huge turnaround.

This is another very important game for us, at a very different venue. Not easy at all.

Mrs E and myself went to do our regular shopping and found ourselves in a frenzied shopper assault on consumables with people turning feral over a pack of toilets rolls. A new trolley load of Toilet paper appeared in the supermarket aisle and the Coles staff member was virtually pushed out of the way as he tried to put all the packs on the shelves. He gave up and left them on the trolley for the feral masses to fight over. I thought CV was a respiratory disease not a bowel complaint......????
No toilet paper in the mens either, all been taken....
Think I'll be doing online shopping...

At least this is in Melbourne, so I might see it.

Next Saturday night at the Carlton the girls get the opportunity to play the 'Aints. 1910 starting time and we are on free to air TV!

The game this week is over in Adelaide on Sunday at 1300. It does not appear that we are on free to air TV.
I must admit that it has been very nice having us on TV this last few weeks. It was a real surprise that Channel 7 could feature us.

As for the game, I am hoping we can overcome the Cows: they are not playing their best footy yet. But our disposal and ball handling have to improve.