Analysis Peel Thunder 2015 (TV schedule in OP)

[Nickos66]

Sylvia has been injured since their first practice match. He was widthdrawn.

He played in their 2nd match after he was injured in the 1st. He was named on the extended bench today but just didn't make the final cut today for whatever reason. Miscommunication between reserves & league perhaps?

 

[Taylor]

I read a note that said he hadn't recovered from the previous injury, that it had got the better of him during the intervening period.

 

[purplefrog]

Just a few points from the game .
Firstly the personal then the team set up and finally on the coaching .
I was disappointed with Ballards game . I was expecting to see some improvement but it looked more like a step in the wrong direction slightly sideways .
Apeness will have to improve not only his marking but his leading patterns as well . His rucking was just passable against WP 's second ruckman
Duffy was trying but needs to work on the defensive part of his game . He got caught out of position when WP were bringing the ball out of defence
Peel had no forward structure and other posters have criticized his attacking the goals (hunger ) but he had no one else for support .
Danyle Pearce was just plain not match fit , his kicking and hand passing terrible and it didn't improve all day . His only saving grace was that he was getting into contests and getting the ball only to turn it over at every opportunity .
Barlow in my opinion is way off match ready and if selected in the first's will struggle .If Suban is fit Mick will have to wait .
Tanner Smith was just plain terrible .He got caught out of position all day , his disposal extremely poor , his efforts to defend shocking and he didn't man up
all day .
Sylvia was cut from the team before they ran out onto the arena .

I have never seen a more dysfunctional football team at any level or grade .
West Perth is rebuilding their team and South Fremantle took them apart in the first round . They have a lot of kids trying to make their way in WAFL football .
Today I watched 22 individuals playing for themselves ,not for their team , the jumper or the Club .
West Perth on the other hand were playing as a TEAM . Their is no I in team for a very good reason and I saw that demonstrated today by WP .

Today felt sorry for Cam Shepherd and the job he has undertaken . I went out onto the ground at the end of the first and third quarters .
He was instructing the players on how he wanted them to play and he was telling them what tactics he wanted them use .
At quarter time it was all about lowering eyes when kicking , man up when Peel didn't have the ball , pressure the opponent when they had the ball .
At 3\4 time RTB had had enough of Fremantle players not performing and not playing to the game plan they have been learning all preseason .
Cam finally got to say a few words to the huddle of players just before the game re started .
If Ross wasn't happy with how the players were playing or how the coach was coaching then he should have spoken to the COACH IN THE COACHING BOX .
If he was unhappy with a player then that message should have gone to the assistant coach in charge of the player before the quarter time break .Not direct to the player on the ground in front of everyone . He has undermined ALL of the coaching staff .

Now I have called for Cam Shepherd head before . He is not a good coach and he couldn't inspire a storm trouper to charge at an open door of a PUB .
We had no forward line and players who haven't trained together for more than a week TOGETHER .

This has to change and quickly .I was at Freo on Friday and normally the Players who will be playing in the WAFL this was no where to be seen .
The Peel league team and some reserves must train with the main squad at Fremantle at least one a week if not more .
The alignment with Peel will be a disaster if nothing changes and quickly .

Well despite some other people wearing the rose coloured glasses about today's game I would mostly agree with the above post.
Mind you I was not aware of the RTB 3/4 time event.
I came away from todays game largely uninspired by what I saw. Other than some flashes of brilliance from Blakely and Weller, many other Freo players where mostly very unconvincing.
Mick could not find any space and his normal good close work was not at his usual high standard.
Tanner needs to learn how to kick.
Duffman can not afford to get caught with the ball by WAFL players.
D Pearce looked spent every time he came to the interchange.
Ape has to hold his marks and develop better techniques in his attack on the ball or he will injure himself.
Duffy needs to calm down before he kicks, does something brilliant then stuffs it up with poor disposal.
Brady Grey looks a real goer but not sure what position he may fill as he seems quite undersized and on a few occasions was easily outmarked.
Maybe my expectations were a bit high or possibly our boys were just treating it as a training drill to get the miles in the legs or more likely this alignment with a single WAFL club is just a real bad idea.
On a weekend with no AFL footy I was looking forward to this if only to see the Freo players, but came away thinking going to Freo training is more entertaining.

 

[Nickos66]

I read a note that said he hadn't recovered from the previous injury, that it had got the better of him during the intervening period.

There were reports he's had niggles all preseason, and then the 1st game. But there were also reports confirming he lined up in the 2nd Peel game after coming off injured in the 1st.

 

[Taylor]

There were reports he's had niggles all preseason, and then the 1st game. But there were also reports confirming he lined up in the 2nd Peel game after coming off injured in the 1st.

I think the requirement to get through a month of games at a high level in order to return to the league side will push him out into the park underdone.

 

[rodney hoo]

Just a few points from the game .
Firstly the personal then the team set up and finally on the coaching .
I was disappointed with Ballards game . I was expecting to see some improvement but it looked more like a step in the wrong direction slightly sideways .
Apeness will have to improve not only his marking but his leading patterns as well . His rucking was just passable against WP 's second ruckman
Duffy was trying but needs to work on the defensive part of his game . He got caught out of position when WP were bringing the ball out of defence
Peel had no forward structure and other posters have criticized his attacking the goals (hunger ) but he had no one else for support .
Danyle Pearce was just plain not match fit , his kicking and hand passing terrible and it didn't improve all day . His only saving grace was that he was getting into contests and getting the ball only to turn it over at every opportunity .
Barlow in my opinion is way off match ready and if selected in the first's will struggle .If Suban is fit Mick will have to wait .
Tanner Smith was just plain terrible .He got caught out of position all day , his disposal extremely poor , his efforts to defend shocking and he didn't man up
all day .
Sylvia was cut from the team before they ran out onto the arena .

I have never seen a more dysfunctional football team at any level or grade .
West Perth is rebuilding their team and South Fremantle took them apart in the first round . They have a lot of kids trying to make their way in WAFL football .
Today I watched 22 individuals playing for themselves ,not for their team , the jumper or the Club .
West Perth on the other hand were playing as a TEAM . Their is no I in team for a very good reason and I saw that demonstrated today by WP .

Today felt sorry for Cam Shepherd and the job he has undertaken . I went out onto the ground at the end of the first and third quarters .
He was instructing the players on how he wanted them to play and he was telling them what tactics he wanted them use .
At quarter time it was all about lowering eyes when kicking , man up when Peel didn't have the ball , pressure the opponent when they had the ball .
At 3\4 time RTB had had enough of Fremantle players not performing and not playing to the game plan they have been learning all preseason .
Cam finally got to say a few words to the huddle of players just before the game re started .
If Ross wasn't happy with how the players were playing or how the coach was coaching then he should have spoken to the COACH IN THE COACHING BOX .
If he was unhappy with a player then that message should have gone to the assistant coach in charge of the player before the quarter time break .Not direct to the player on the ground in front of everyone . He has undermined ALL of the coaching staff .

Now I have called for Cam Shepherd head before . He is not a good coach and he couldn't inspire a storm trouper to charge at an open door of a PUB .
We had no forward line and players who haven't trained together for more than a week TOGETHER .

This has to change and quickly .I was at Freo on Friday and normally the Players who will be playing in the WAFL this was no where to be seen .
The Peel league team and some reserves must train with the main squad at Fremantle at least one a week if not more .
The alignment with Peel will be a disaster if nothing changes and quickly .

Agree 100% it has not done what every one thought the playing of all players together would do, ie team work, the RL game plan very hard for normal Peel guys to keep up with, & when there will be more in the team who knows what the score could look like. Could be a long year for Peel, hope I'm wrong.

 

[Bicco]

On Apeness and his marking, does he make the contest, get his hands on the ball and drop it, or is he out of position at the drop of the ball and not touch it?

 

[Scham]

On Apeness and his marking, does he make the contest, get his hands on the ball and drop it, or is he out of position at the drop of the ball and not touch it?

He misjudged a couple but generally he was getting to the contest. He had Rodda on him who is a big unit also and provided a good contest with his spoiling. I didn't see Apeness drop any marks, more couldn't hold on to the contested mark which is understandable with the pressure he was under.

 

[Scham]

Just a few points from the game .
Firstly the personal then the team set up and finally on the coaching .
I was disappointed with Ballards game . I was expecting to see some improvement but it looked more like a step in the wrong direction slightly sideways .
Apeness will have to improve not only his marking but his leading patterns as well . His rucking was just passable against WP 's second ruckman
Duffy was trying but needs to work on the defensive part of his game . He got caught out of position when WP were bringing the ball out of defence
Peel had no forward structure and other posters have criticized his attacking the goals (hunger ) but he had no one else for support .
Danyle Pearce was just plain not match fit , his kicking and hand passing terrible and it didn't improve all day . His only saving grace was that he was getting into contests and getting the ball only to turn it over at every opportunity .
Barlow in my opinion is way off match ready and if selected in the first's will struggle .If Suban is fit Mick will have to wait .
Tanner Smith was just plain terrible .He got caught out of position all day , his disposal extremely poor , his efforts to defend shocking and he didn't man up
all day .
Sylvia was cut from the team before they ran out onto the arena .

I have never seen a more dysfunctional football team at any level or grade .
West Perth is rebuilding their team and South Fremantle took them apart in the first round . They have a lot of kids trying to make their way in WAFL football .
Today I watched 22 individuals playing for themselves ,not for their team , the jumper or the Club .
West Perth on the other hand were playing as a TEAM . Their is no I in team for a very good reason and I saw that demonstrated today by WP .

Today felt sorry for Cam Shepherd and the job he has undertaken . I went out onto the ground at the end of the first and third quarters .
He was instructing the players on how he wanted them to play and he was telling them what tactics he wanted them use .
At quarter time it was all about lowering eyes when kicking , man up when Peel didn't have the ball , pressure the opponent when they had the ball .
At 3\4 time RTB had had enough of Fremantle players not performing and not playing to the game plan they have been learning all preseason .
Cam finally got to say a few words to the huddle of players just before the game re started .
If Ross wasn't happy with how the players were playing or how the coach was coaching then he should have spoken to the COACH IN THE COACHING BOX .
If he was unhappy with a player then that message should have gone to the assistant coach in charge of the player before the quarter time break .Not direct to the player on the ground in front of everyone . He has undermined ALL of the coaching staff .

Now I have called for Cam Shepherd head before . He is not a good coach and he couldn't inspire a storm trouper to charge at an open door of a PUB .
We had no forward line and players who haven't trained together for more than a week TOGETHER .

This has to change and quickly .I was at Freo on Friday and normally the Players who will be playing in the WAFL this was no where to be seen .
The Peel league team and some reserves must train with the main squad at Fremantle at least one a week if not more .
The alignment with Peel will be a disaster if nothing changes and quickly .

Agree with your thoughts on the players but will add that Duffy's disposal was also terrible, Langdon showed a lot of promise, so too Deluca. Hughes had a disappointing day and got beaten by Johnson. As has already been widely mentioned, we've got some talent in Weller and Blakely but I think you can add Langdon to that list.

It was very noticeable that WP were much, much more organised and played to a very good game plan. It must be remembered though that they play that ground extremely well and I suspect that they got themselves up for this game. I'd be betting they'll get beat next week as they'll have a let down effect after that effort. They were very good and surprisingly more skilled!

Thought the umpires totally favoured WP after half time and in particular the HTB rule was interpreted totally different late in the game to how it was early in the game. I suspect that the umps were guided by the vocal, one eyed WP supporters in which there were many.

I came away very happy that we've got Weller, Blakely, Pearce and Langdon, got something to work with in Apeness, Grey, Deluca and Hughes. I've never really rated Smith or Ballard so their performances didn't disappoint as I was expecting it. Same with Pearce to an extent. Duffields s**t game did surprise me though and whilst I dont rate Duffy I was expecting to see him play better after his reasonable league games last year but I dont hold much hope for him to be honest.

 

[PurpleReign]

On Apeness and his marking, does he make the contest, get his hands on the ball and drop it, or is he out of position at the drop of the ball and not touch it?

The FF/2nd ruck role is a difficult one to master. Many good forwards struggle to make an impact on the scoreboard when they spend 1/3 of their time in the ruck. Mitch Clark didn't do it well at Brisbane, for example. Apeness spent a lot of time out of position in the first 3 qtrs, but to be fair he doesn't get the kind of service that an FF might get in the AFL. In the first 10 minutes of the last qtr he had 4 genuine opportunities to take a contested mark inside the F50.
The first, he worked his opponent under the ball but the wind carried it a little further than expected and he had to dive backwards to get his hands on it. He dropped what turned out to be a difficult mark. In the second, his opponent was caught flat footed waiting for the ball to fall and Apeness attacked the ball with a short run-up. But Apeness hardly got off the ground and his hands didn't clear the hands of his opponent. That was quite disappointing because, at 200cm and with a run at the ball, he really should have been able to get clean hands to the ball.
The other 2 contests were pack mark situations where he wasn't able to get to the prime position to take the mark. We all know talls take time to develop, but his lack of a leap is a bit concerning. I like Apeness I think he has a future with us, but at the moment he seems to be a tall who can't play tall. In the WAFL games where he did well last year, he generally took his marks when he was on the move. I haven't seen him take many marks in a pack situation where everyone contesting the mark only gets to have 2 or 3 steps before jumping.

 

[Mr Peabody]

I like Apeness I think he has a future with us, but at the moment he seems to be a tall who can't play tall. In the WAFL games where he did well last year, he generally took his marks when he was on the move. I haven't seen him take many marks in a pack situation where everyone contesting the mark only gets to have 2 or 3 steps before jumping.

Yes. From getting a good run at the scratchies, I see a guy with a rugby background relatively new to the AFL. So not a natural of the game and needs lots of development in areas such as decision making and marking skills - too stiff with the hands there. Kids like Blakely and Weller hit the ground running better as while they need development time to come up to speed with the physicality, pace and tactics, they're footy naturals. Apeness needs to fill out, get his head around the pace and tactical side of things but looks to be starting behind the eight ball with his basic footy skills too.

Clarke in many ways to me is the same as a basketballer who came late to footy. Forget to spoil in one passage of play against WC last week. Ran straight past the player with the ball. Has the athleticism but then footy smarts are playing catch up. Clive was an ex soccer player wasn't he. As too Ibbo - iirc, was recruited as a 'project player' and it took him a long time to blossom.

 

[DudleyDocker]

Brady Grey looks a real goer but not sure what position he may fill as he seems quite undersized and on a few occasions was easily outmarked.
Maybe my expectations were a bit high or possibly our boys were just treating it as a training drill to get the miles in the legs or more likely this alignment with a single WAFL club is just a real bad idea.
On a weekend with no AFL footy I was looking forward to this if only to see the Freo players, but came away thinking going to Freo training is more entertaining.

Not sure the idea in itself is bad, but certainly having a host club based so far away from the bulk of the players is. How can they possibly practice a game plan when most of the players train at Fremantle and the remainder at Mandurah? It would be great to have some continuity in the coaching message and training methods coming from the firsts right through to the colts. Peel reserves were absolutely woeful.

It seems the host club arrangement is working better at East Perth, even though they were stronger to start with. Does anyone know if the "non-AFL" Eagles train with East Perth at all?

 

[Mr Fonebone]

Just a few points from the game .
Firstly the personal then the team set up and finally on the coaching .
I was disappointed with Ballards game . I was expecting to see some improvement but it looked more like a step in the wrong direction slightly sideways .
Apeness will have to improve not only his marking but his leading patterns as well . His rucking was just passable against WP 's second ruckman
Duffy was trying but needs to work on the defensive part of his game . He got caught out of position when WP were bringing the ball out of defence
Peel had no forward structure and other posters have criticized his attacking the goals (hunger ) but he had no one else for support .
Danyle Pearce was just plain not match fit , his kicking and hand passing terrible and it didn't improve all day . His only saving grace was that he was getting into contests and getting the ball only to turn it over at every opportunity .
Barlow in my opinion is way off match ready and if selected in the first's will struggle .If Suban is fit Mick will have to wait .
Tanner Smith was just plain terrible .He got caught out of position all day , his disposal extremely poor , his efforts to defend shocking and he didn't man up
all day .
Sylvia was cut from the team before they ran out onto the arena .

I have never seen a more dysfunctional football team at any level or grade .
West Perth is rebuilding their team and South Fremantle took them apart in the first round . They have a lot of kids trying to make their way in WAFL football .
Today I watched 22 individuals playing for themselves ,not for their team , the jumper or the Club .
West Perth on the other hand were playing as a TEAM . Their is no I in team for a very good reason and I saw that demonstrated today by WP .

Today felt sorry for Cam Shepherd and the job he has undertaken . I went out onto the ground at the end of the first and third quarters .
He was instructing the players on how he wanted them to play and he was telling them what tactics he wanted them use .
At quarter time it was all about lowering eyes when kicking , man up when Peel didn't have the ball , pressure the opponent when they had the ball .
At 3\4 time RTB had had enough of Fremantle players not performing and not playing to the game plan they have been learning all preseason .
Cam finally got to say a few words to the huddle of players just before the game re started .
If Ross wasn't happy with how the players were playing or how the coach was coaching then he should have spoken to the COACH IN THE COACHING BOX .
If he was unhappy with a player then that message should have gone to the assistant coach in charge of the player before the quarter time break .Not direct to the player on the ground in front of everyone . He has undermined ALL of the coaching staff .

Now I have called for Cam Shepherd head before . He is not a good coach and he couldn't inspire a storm trouper to charge at an open door of a PUB .
We had no forward line and players who haven't trained together for more than a week TOGETHER .

This has to change and quickly .I was at Freo on Friday and normally the Players who will be playing in the WAFL this was no where to be seen .
The Peel league team and some reserves must train with the main squad at Fremantle at least one a week if not more .
The alignment with Peel will be a disaster if nothing changes and quickly .

This is a bit harsh from my perspective.

Yes Peel didnt look like a well organised team. That is because it was the first time half the players had played together. WP have trained together all pre season etc. Peel only lost by a couple of kicks and had more scoring shots which, to my mind, was not a bad effort first up.

Also people expect too much from kids. The only ones to disappoint a bit were Apeness and Smith. The rest of the younglings contibuted. There is a reason most 18 yos have to spend a couple of years developing in the WAFL.

Also a number of players were coming back from injury - Ballard, Barlow, Duff, D Pearce

I agree with the knocks on Shepheard though. IMO a Freo assistant like Marc Webb should be the coach.

 

[Scham]

As an aside, Nathan Fahey showed a bit. 19yo from Halls Head, 188 89.
Also Michael Lourey from the Cardies did well and beat Smith easily. 26yo, 194 94.

 

[salim malik]

This is a bit harsh from my perspective.

Yes Peel didnt look like a well organised team. That is because it was the first time half the players had played together. WP have trained together all pre season etc. Peel only lost by a couple of kicks and had more scoring shots which, to my mind, was not a bad effort first up.

Also people expect too much from kids. The only ones to disappoint a bit were Apeness and Smith. The rest of the younglings contibuted. There is a reason most 18 yos have to spend a couple of years developing in the WAFL.

Also a number of players were coming back from injury - Ballard, Barlow, Duff, D Pearce

I agree with the knocks on Shepheard though. IMO a Freo assistant like Marc Webb should be the coach.

Agree with this .Barlow,Duff,Ballard,A Pearce haven't been on the track for weeks.not surprising the skills were down.
Barlow got plenty of it but there was know one reading his ball movement out of the congestion.He also had Van Berlo.s hard tag to deal with coming of an injuryBarlow was scragged and held all day with very few free kicks going his way.Langdon and Weller have probably never played against men before and Weller in particular was impressive.Griff toiled hard winning most of the taps and started to impose in the last quarter.
Weller showed again why he will play first 22 this season.D Pearce needed the run and will play next week.Hughes servicable.
Apeness and Smith were disappointing and though Brady Grey is all courage and heart its debatable that he has the tools to make it.
We were all disappointed at the loss but at the moment its every man for himself out there and it would be very difficult to impose with out team mates helping.
Shepherd was rubbished by those around me but it must be very difficult to coach a team that only gets to say hi on game day.Like Coulda said they need to train once a week with the whole squad.

 

[rodney hoo]

The FF/2nd ruck role is a difficult one to master. Many good forwards struggle to make an impact on the scoreboard when they spend 1/3 of their time in the ruck. Mitch Clark didn't do it well at Brisbane, for example. Apeness spent a lot of time out of position in the first 3 qtrs, but to be fair he doesn't get the kind of service that an FF might get in the AFL. In the first 10 minutes of the last qtr he had 4 genuine opportunities to take a contested mark inside the F50.
The first, he worked his opponent under the ball but the wind carried it a little further than expected and he had to dive backwards to get his hands on it. He dropped what turned out to be a difficult mark. In the second, his opponent was caught flat footed waiting for the ball to fall and Apeness attacked the ball with a short run-up. But Apeness hardly got off the ground and his hands didn't clear the hands of his opponent. That was quite disappointing because, at 200cm and with a run at the ball, he really should have been able to get clean hands to the ball.
The other 2 contests were pack mark situations where he wasn't able to get to the prime position to take the mark. We all know talls take time to develop, but his lack of a leap is a bit concerning. I like Apeness I think he has a future with us, but at the moment he seems to be a tall who can't play tall. In the WAFL games where he did well last year, he generally took his marks when he was on the move. I haven't seen him take many marks in a pack situation where everyone contesting the mark only gets to have 2 or 3 steps before jumping.

Do you see Appness as a forward or more suited as a ruck?

 

[Lost_Deputy]

The RTB smackdown sounds pretty dramatic. If he is getting that fired up about the performance than I would be expecting fairly significant changes to the partnership soon

 

[Agenfrida]

Yes. From getting a good run at the scratchies, I see a guy with a rugby background relatively new to the AFL. So not a natural of the game and needs lots of development in areas such as decision making and marking skills - too stiff with the hands there. Kids like Blakely and Weller hit the ground running better as while they need development time to come up to speed with the physicality, pace and tactics, they're footy naturals. Apeness needs to fill out, get his head around the pace and tactical side of things but looks to be starting behind the eight ball with his basic footy skills too.

Clarke in many ways to me is the same as a basketballer who came late to footy. Forget to spoil in one passage of play against WC last week. Ran straight past the player with the ball. Has the athleticism but then footy smarts are playing catch up. Clive was an ex soccer player wasn't he. As too Ibbo - iirc, was recruited as a 'project player' and it took him a long time to blossom.

Pretty sure Ibbo grew up playing for Bullcreek JFC. Don't believe he was a project player. Agree with your point though.

 

[Docker82]

As an aside, Nathan Fahey showed a bit. 19yo from Halls Head, 188 89.
Also Michael Lourey from the Cardies did well and beat Smith easily. 26yo, 194 94.

Is that the vfl guy who was high up in the vfl goal kicking?

 

[Docker82]

Pretty sure Ibbo grew up playing for Bullcreek JFC. Don't believe he was a project player. Agree with your point though.

Pretty sure he is former soccer/water polo player that only switched to football in his late teens.

 

[tofushark]

apeness played some good games last year, including taking many contested marks (pack marks I can't recall), anyway he is going to be a very long term prospect so it is better to not even really consider him at the moment.

 

[Mr Peabody]

Pretty sure Ibbo grew up playing for Bullcreek JFC. Don't believe he was a project player. Agree with your point though.

Both right.

"Ibbotson didn’t play football until he was 13. A keen water polo and soccer player, he played his first Australian football match when asked by friends to make up the numbers for Bullcreek Leeming, in suburban Perth."

http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/afl/ibbotson-the-rising-star/story-e6frg21l-1111116455389

 

[Sweetback]

The RTB smackdown sounds pretty dramatic. If he is getting that fired up about the performance than I would be expecting fairly significant changes to the partnership soon

I wonder how damaging this is for Shepherd, if his authority is being undermined.

Ross likes to model us on the Hawks somewhat. Their VFL affiliate Box Hill challenge for the flag every year. I definitely agree with the calls for more cohesion between the seniors and the seconds.

 

[Scham]

Do you see Appness as a forward or more suited as a ruck?

He was drafted with the view of him becoming a forward/ruckman IMO, much in the vein of a Roughead or Hale. He doesn't seem to have the level of mobility to be a permanent forward.

 

[Scham]

Is that the vfl guy who was high up in the vfl goal kicking?

I believe so yes. Good get to replace Kepler.