tinman
29 Feb 2004, 16:29
Apologies for the delay in posting this. It is not really a match report as I didn't take notes, more my view of the game. I had been so looking forward to seeing the guys over here in Perth again, as I always do.
There was a bit of a breeze blowing at Subi and it was a tad warm, but the breeze wasn't an excuse for poor disposal by the Crows who failed to find targets in general field play as well as up forward.
Carey lined up at CHF and he played there for all first half before going off. Ryan Murphy started on him and Michael Johnson also had a spell on him. Not household names, but Freo had no less than 11 new players in for their first "senior game". I feel sorry for anyone who called the game on radio because Freo fielded a team of guys I have never seen before. Carey did OK but wasn't any standout.
Overall given the number of young players Freo used I think that they are entitled to be very excited about the future as they have vast amounts of talent coming through. Their final score was not quite double our's, which is a reasonable reflection as they were twice as good.
On our players, Hart played the first half and looked like he needed the run, Smart the second half and he moved well and provided much needed run from the back half. On this, we are now relying on the "older brigade" to provide run fom the backline, as guys like Rutten don't provide any run at all. How he made the best players has got me beat as he looked lost out there.
What cost us is our inability to hit targets all over the ground and we played a high possession short game that went all around the flanks. For a brief period in the third quarter we actually straightened up (thanks to Smart and Reilly), running through the middle but that was the exception rather than the rule. If they are using these games to trial a new game plan it looks pretty sad at the moment and it needs a lot of work.
Perrie struggled at FF and when he moved out in the second half he looked much better. We seem to be going very wide at the moment, but when Perrie plays at FF that is where he leads........you can't expect players to kick the ball into the hole in front of FF when he never leads straight???
We couldn't take a contested mark in the forward line to save ourselves, and I know some posters won't agree, but we were crying out for a player (like Burns) with pace on the forward line as when the ball came to ground we didn't provide any great contest and Freo ran the ball out with ease. Roger Hayden stood Johncock, who looked threatening but could never really get loose, Hayden was superb.
Carey rarely takes an uncontested mark these days, so given that he is always going to be in a contest anyway, why not play him at FF or out of a pocket where his strength and cleverness may be useful closer to goal?
Both Hayden and Hadrill came off the rookie list and Freo has really manged to pick up some good rookie and lower picks to complement their early picks (Hasleby, Headland and Pavlich etc. none of whom played as they rested something like 9 first choice players), guys like Hayden, Haddrill, Sandilands and Medhurst.
Hudson tried hard in his time on ground but with limited effectiveness. We went in with three ruckmen, Biglands started well and finished the game in defence. He looked very good and worked hard around the ground but all three ruckmen struggled against Sandilands in the ruck contests (he is 7 ft) and he just dominated the hitouts. Biglands at least was able to make something of his better mobility to get to contests around the ground, whereas Clarke didn't (if he is not getting hitouts he is decoration - get him off). Hudson tried but I would have liked to see him provide an option going forward or dropping a kick behind play. From memory he took one nmark going back. He was tried in the last quarter at FF and he didn't have an impact.
As I have lived in the west for around 5 years this was the first time I have seen Smith. I don't know how he would get an SANFL game unless the standard has dropped enormously since I left. He dropped marks and handballs, and looked way way out of his depth against a team of rookies. Surely there must be better options than him around? I saw about 11 yesterday.......I'm praying that they don't promote this guy if Stevens M doesn't come back........
On a brighter note Hentschell played well at the back in the first half before going forward. He looks a bit tenative sometimes in a contest but has skills and he is mobile. He will be a very useful player with a bit of confidence and toughness. Stevens was in and out of the game but was alright, Reilly was very good except that he was opposed to Cunningham who slipped off him and kicked 3 from a wing, Stenglein ran hard and Welsh got through another game without injury and moved freely.
Bode got a fair bit of the footy, but his disposal is a real concern, Begley looks fit but for god's sake everyone in the world must be able to see he has no left side and so when pushed onto his left he struggles and his disposals are, as a consequence, inneffective. When on his right and running he looks a million $, so I just don't know about him. If he could fix this fault he would be a walk up start.
Skippy tried hard and he has got a footy brain as he knows where to put himself. He positioned himself at the front of the pack and got his hands to the ball a few times, but needs to find either a yard of pace or a tad more strength as he is frequently caught and struggles to break a tackle.
Basset did a few good things, but also did a couple of classic clangers. I think his confidence is down after being dropped late last year.
Gallagher was great until getting injured although he struggled with Medhurst who is a clever player. That's no shame as Tyson Edwards also struggled with him. Gallagher showed heaps of courage and good skills, and at least he can consistently hit a target with both feet. He is very unfortunate to be injured as he, Reilly and Hentschel are 3 who have put their hands up for Rnd.1 selection. Biglands also put his hand up to lead the ruck.
Overall, some positives, but the skills (particularly disposal)sucked, the persistence with a very indirect game plan continued, and we were outclassed by a bunch of kids. My mate from Freo had a broad smile and he commented that we were in for a long season. I don't necessarily agree with that, but it did show how much we rely on 1. A Mcleod to get us moving, and we need to organise the forward setup and fine tune the gameplan post haste.
I read most of the posts on this site and have to disagree with most with the view that we can afford to start the season slow and come home hard. If we lose games early we may lose confidence and never recover. I think we really need a good start.
All the best from the West,
the Tinman
There was a bit of a breeze blowing at Subi and it was a tad warm, but the breeze wasn't an excuse for poor disposal by the Crows who failed to find targets in general field play as well as up forward.
Carey lined up at CHF and he played there for all first half before going off. Ryan Murphy started on him and Michael Johnson also had a spell on him. Not household names, but Freo had no less than 11 new players in for their first "senior game". I feel sorry for anyone who called the game on radio because Freo fielded a team of guys I have never seen before. Carey did OK but wasn't any standout.
Overall given the number of young players Freo used I think that they are entitled to be very excited about the future as they have vast amounts of talent coming through. Their final score was not quite double our's, which is a reasonable reflection as they were twice as good.
On our players, Hart played the first half and looked like he needed the run, Smart the second half and he moved well and provided much needed run from the back half. On this, we are now relying on the "older brigade" to provide run fom the backline, as guys like Rutten don't provide any run at all. How he made the best players has got me beat as he looked lost out there.
What cost us is our inability to hit targets all over the ground and we played a high possession short game that went all around the flanks. For a brief period in the third quarter we actually straightened up (thanks to Smart and Reilly), running through the middle but that was the exception rather than the rule. If they are using these games to trial a new game plan it looks pretty sad at the moment and it needs a lot of work.
Perrie struggled at FF and when he moved out in the second half he looked much better. We seem to be going very wide at the moment, but when Perrie plays at FF that is where he leads........you can't expect players to kick the ball into the hole in front of FF when he never leads straight???
We couldn't take a contested mark in the forward line to save ourselves, and I know some posters won't agree, but we were crying out for a player (like Burns) with pace on the forward line as when the ball came to ground we didn't provide any great contest and Freo ran the ball out with ease. Roger Hayden stood Johncock, who looked threatening but could never really get loose, Hayden was superb.
Carey rarely takes an uncontested mark these days, so given that he is always going to be in a contest anyway, why not play him at FF or out of a pocket where his strength and cleverness may be useful closer to goal?
Both Hayden and Hadrill came off the rookie list and Freo has really manged to pick up some good rookie and lower picks to complement their early picks (Hasleby, Headland and Pavlich etc. none of whom played as they rested something like 9 first choice players), guys like Hayden, Haddrill, Sandilands and Medhurst.
Hudson tried hard in his time on ground but with limited effectiveness. We went in with three ruckmen, Biglands started well and finished the game in defence. He looked very good and worked hard around the ground but all three ruckmen struggled against Sandilands in the ruck contests (he is 7 ft) and he just dominated the hitouts. Biglands at least was able to make something of his better mobility to get to contests around the ground, whereas Clarke didn't (if he is not getting hitouts he is decoration - get him off). Hudson tried but I would have liked to see him provide an option going forward or dropping a kick behind play. From memory he took one nmark going back. He was tried in the last quarter at FF and he didn't have an impact.
As I have lived in the west for around 5 years this was the first time I have seen Smith. I don't know how he would get an SANFL game unless the standard has dropped enormously since I left. He dropped marks and handballs, and looked way way out of his depth against a team of rookies. Surely there must be better options than him around? I saw about 11 yesterday.......I'm praying that they don't promote this guy if Stevens M doesn't come back........
On a brighter note Hentschell played well at the back in the first half before going forward. He looks a bit tenative sometimes in a contest but has skills and he is mobile. He will be a very useful player with a bit of confidence and toughness. Stevens was in and out of the game but was alright, Reilly was very good except that he was opposed to Cunningham who slipped off him and kicked 3 from a wing, Stenglein ran hard and Welsh got through another game without injury and moved freely.
Bode got a fair bit of the footy, but his disposal is a real concern, Begley looks fit but for god's sake everyone in the world must be able to see he has no left side and so when pushed onto his left he struggles and his disposals are, as a consequence, inneffective. When on his right and running he looks a million $, so I just don't know about him. If he could fix this fault he would be a walk up start.
Skippy tried hard and he has got a footy brain as he knows where to put himself. He positioned himself at the front of the pack and got his hands to the ball a few times, but needs to find either a yard of pace or a tad more strength as he is frequently caught and struggles to break a tackle.
Basset did a few good things, but also did a couple of classic clangers. I think his confidence is down after being dropped late last year.
Gallagher was great until getting injured although he struggled with Medhurst who is a clever player. That's no shame as Tyson Edwards also struggled with him. Gallagher showed heaps of courage and good skills, and at least he can consistently hit a target with both feet. He is very unfortunate to be injured as he, Reilly and Hentschel are 3 who have put their hands up for Rnd.1 selection. Biglands also put his hand up to lead the ruck.
Overall, some positives, but the skills (particularly disposal)sucked, the persistence with a very indirect game plan continued, and we were outclassed by a bunch of kids. My mate from Freo had a broad smile and he commented that we were in for a long season. I don't necessarily agree with that, but it did show how much we rely on 1. A Mcleod to get us moving, and we need to organise the forward setup and fine tune the gameplan post haste.
I read most of the posts on this site and have to disagree with most with the view that we can afford to start the season slow and come home hard. If we lose games early we may lose confidence and never recover. I think we really need a good start.
All the best from the West,
the Tinman