shall we rest our midfield

[JABBER]

Top soccer teams around the world rest there players against weaker teams G Ablett has had a break and should We do the same With Dal and Joey its a long hard season and i would love to see them firing at end of the year

[dalboy]

NO!

[markp]

Top soccer teams around the world rest there players against weaker teams G Ablett has had a break and should We do the same With Dal and Joey its a long hard season and i would love to see them firing at end of the year

Soccer teams generally play more games more often don't they?

I say they can rest during the mid-season break.

[saint vince]

I am sure I am part of a Candid Camera type show and people are laughing at my reactions to these topics.

Surely this was posted in jest

[Thinline]

And soccer players are soft as butter...

Prima donnas, the lot of 'em.

Great in a highlights package, sure, but geez, what a truly sh-t boring game...

[perfectionist]

We did rest them! Last Monday night!

[bigcarl]

no. don't flirt with form.

[Thinline]

We did rest them! Last Monday night!

True. Second half was soft as.

[Superboot]

Top soccer clubs can easily have 60 scheduled matches per year and the top players can add on any number of internationals. Travel for European clubs can be anywhere from Reykjavik to Moscow. Yep, they're soft all right.

We worry about whether our bottom 6 are good enough. They have reserves teams full of players who are regulars for their respective national teams. Talk about depth! Completely different situation.

It would be nice to be able to think about giving Joey, Dal, or Lenny a rest some weeks but it's a luxury we can't afford. It's fortunate we have the interchange system.

[Ghost Like]

No

Red rag to a bull for opposition teams

Flirts with form

Compromises structure and game plan

They can rest if injured as Ablett is.

[Thinline]

Top soccer clubs can easily have 60 scheduled matches per year and the top players can add on any number of internationals. Travel for European clubs can be anywhere from Reykjavik to Moscow. Yep, they're soft all right.

We worry about whether our bottom 6 are good enough. They have reserves teams full of players who are regulars for their respective national teams. Talk about depth! Completely different situation.

It would be nice to be able to think about giving Joey, Dal, or Lenny a rest some weeks but it's a luxury we can't afford. It's fortunate we have the interchange system.

Top soccer clubs won't play their top players 60 times a year. When they do play, its 70 mins of limited contact running. They are molly coddled. As Chopper might say: harden the **** up. And for 30 mill a season, I'd certainly cop a few first class plane trips to Reykjavik from Moscow while I rest my aching legs.

Comparing soccer to AFL is like comparing Perkins Paste to Liquid Nails.

[Superboot]

Funny how many people get touchy about this stuff

Anyway, the main point is that resting players is likely to interfere with form, momentum, etc and we don't have the strength in depth to manage it.

[meher baba]

I would think that it would be an enormous mistake in AFL to omit a player who is fully fit to play.

Apart from anything else, the number of games played over a career is an important benchmark for AFL players, and it would unfortunate if a a player were to miss out on finishing with 200, or 300 games because, earlier in their career, they were rested for some matches that they were fit to play.

Given that we are 7-0, I am sure the club will err on the side of omitting players who are not 100%. And, if we are well clear of Bombers at 3/4 time (which doesn't seem particularly likely to me, given how the Bombers are going ATM), we probably won't see much of our star players in the last quarter. That'll do me.

[BAM! (shhhh)]

Is there any possible upside to resting our mids?

Since I don't know of one my answer is no, but if there were (i.e. if Luke Ball's groin were proppy) and we had the right kind of matchup, I wouldn't be against it.

Given that the AFL season is only 22 games and any slip up can have hug implications - top 2 is much better going into finals than top 4, which is in turn much better than top 8, you'd want to be very sure you weren't robbing peter to pay paul.

I'd much rpefer to take the approach we have so far with Gardiner, enter the game ready to ruck him as much as necessary, and if we're well up anyone in need of management can be.

[saintsRrising]

I don't think any saint mid would be happy to be rested...he may not get it back.

Geary, Mini etc..wouldnot be keen to give Armo a shot at their spot...

[Armoooo]

What if after round 18 we hav been gauarnteed a top 2 spot?

Surely then it would be worth considering giving two of Max, King, Gardiner, Hayes, Ball, Roo, Kosi and Dal a rest fort he last 4 games....

[marksnsparks]

Absolutely, we should rest the midfield on September 27th

[clarky449]

No!

[Banger2Plugger]

This thread smells of a trip to a movie The Day After Tommorrow

[Ghost Like]

What if after round 18 we hav been gauarnteed a top 2 spot?

Surely then it would be worth considering giving two of Max, King, Gardiner, Hayes, Ball, Roo, Kosi and Dal a rest fort he last 4 games....

Am I right in reading this Armoooo, you'd advocate that 2 of these players not having played any football for a couple of weeks going into the finals?

If so, I disagree as this is the time we should be ramping up our preparation and 'best 22' game style in readiness to play finals.

No rest at all, except for the injured or reduced game time to prevent soreness IMO

[plugger66]

Maybe we should just forfeit a game against an interstate side when we play at the dome. We give the players a rest and dont lose money in the process.

[Saintschampions08]

What if after round 18 we hav been gauarnteed a top 2 spot?

Surely then it would be worth considering giving two of Max, King, Gardiner, Hayes, Ball, Roo, Kosi and Dal a rest fort he last 4 games....

Am I right in reading this Armoooo, you'd advocate that 2 of these players not having played any football for a couple of weeks going into the finals?

If so, I disagree as this is the time we should be ramping up our preparation and 'best 22' game style in readiness to play finals.

No rest at all, except for the injured or reduced game time to prevent soreness IMO

The best rest is good form.

How many of our mids do you think are getting tired from handing out 10 goal beltings every week?

It was written in an article on the age somewhere, but players get more tired in tight or losing games, where they spend more of the time chasing..

When you're in excellent form and high on confidence, you can virtually ignore tiredness - it's as much mental as it is physical.

[spert]

Like Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones said "the only way you leave this band, is dead!" Our team are playing like maniacs and while they are in that frame of mind -change nothing!

[evertonfc]

In ten years, anybody who doesn't rest key players during the season will be looked upon in the same light as those who believed until the 1970s that water shouldn't be drunk during a game because it will swish around in your belly.

It happens all around the world in nearly every team sport, but we go ga-ga about it whenever it's raised.

If a player needs a break, rest him and get him 100% for when it really matters. If he doesn't, then fair enough.

"Flirting with your form" is a catchy phrase invented by the media, and it's seeped into the language of punters trying to explain why it doesn't work.

If, for example, we were 18-2 going into round 21, with a top-two spot sewn up, I've got no problem with resting a few key players.

It's not flirting with your form. It's risk management and promoting a healthy list, something that we - of all clubs - should realise is essential going into September.

[plugger66]

In ten years, anybody who doesn't rest key players during the season will be looked upon in the same light as those who believed until the 1970s that water shouldn't be drunk during a game because it will swish around in your belly.

It happens all around the world in nearly every team sport, but we go ga-ga about it whenever it's raised.

If a player needs a break, rest him and get him 100% for when it really matters. If he doesn't, then fair enough.

"Flirting with your form" is a catchy phrase invented by the media, and it's seeped into the language of punters trying to explain why it doesn't work.

If, for example, we were 18-2 going into round 21, with a top-two spot sewn up, I've got no problem with resting a few key players.

It's not flirting with your form. It's risk management and promoting a healthy list, something that we - of all clubs - should realise is essential going into September.

But like you said you would only rest them if they need a rest. That would mean to me they are injured so they get a break. I would never just rest a player unless he is a much older player and can be replaced reasonably easily and I would never rest players against a side you may play in a final. If we are top 2 coming into round 21 why would we need to rest them. They will get a break 2 weeks later if we are good enough. That will be 2 weeks off in 12 weeks. Thats enough I would think.