Review AFL NAB Challenge 1 autopsy - Gold Coast defeats Geelong by 8 points

[manboob]

Intersting point that one about watching Tommy's runs.

 

[dazbroncos]

Kenny Hinkley had said the same thing to Port

then went away for the NAB games and handing coaching over to his 2IC…

Can you imagine if CS did that - the noise here would be deafening..

GO Catters

 

[catswhiskers]

I have it on good authority from a mate who is a trainer for hawthorn. That they (hawthorn) held things back with regards to clearance strategies in that match (round 22) because they didn't want us to see it prior to finals.

Whats good for the goose is surely good for the gander.

Since I like to think I support one of the most professional clubs in the land, I would like to think we don't reveal our hand in the games that don't matter either.

Thanks 4QC

I think that''s why a lot of supporters only concentrate on those players on the fringe e.g kids Smedts Walker, Cowan (when he returns) etc

My thinking is if Geelong have some thing new for 2015 we won't see it it until season proper. It would be naive.

As for the kids its just looking for that little something that suggests there might be something there: e.g. Gore backing into a GCS player (who had the sit) to unsettle him and cause the spoil - was first class.

 

[Hello Kitty]

Was at the game yesterday and some peoples opinions on here have blown me away... The game must have looked a whole lot different on TV than the one I watched live.
I spoke to a few of our more senior players at the game and yes Simpson may have been a bit rusty but they think that Smith (GC Ruckman) is going to be the next Dean Cox and he plays a very similar game. They also said that the ball was like soap, so that might explain the unclean hands particularly in the contest.

My Thoughts:

Gregson, was frantic and fast, yes he fumbled a bit but he kept the ball in front and was continually apply pressure around forward line contests. He looks like a gem.

Clark, his hands looked a little hard but he presented well and was never really beaten in the contest. He brought the ball to ground when he had to and despite being a little hard in the hands, he was agile and very clean below his knees. He will only get better.

Kolo, the kid can play and he was very solid down back and was rarely beaten, looked cool under pressure. High hopes for him... I may have heard that he needs to get a little bit better with his voice, way to quiet and isn't great at directing other defenders. I hope this comes with confidence.

Lang, supreme in traffic! I was a little disappointed with his disposal at times but I think he was just knocking the rust off and this will come.

Cockatoo, apparently extremely nervous before the game but he worked into the game and if that run with the bad bounce had come off I think we'd still be talking about it today. Players have huge raps on him.

Smedts, I think he is coping some unfair criticism on here, the players were rotated heavily so maybe you guys thought he faded in and out of the game because he wasn't always around the ball. He was solid down back and was spoiling well. He also didn't get out marked to many times.

Murdoch, now he was bad..... Didn't look interested, looked scared at times and just wouldn't commit to the contest. For a guy who is supposed to be quick he doesn't use it.

Simpson, Poor bloke has just come off back surgery... Cut him a little slack. He tried hard but by about half way through the second he was running on the spot. His ruck work may not have been his best but when the ball hit the ground he went after it and split packs. He will also get better but he is never going to be Sandilands or Cox. Also don't hold your breath for McIntosh, even if he makes it back he will have to be managed heavily and won't play a heap of games.

Gore, Was okay tackled hard and when it was his turn to go, he went. Apparently a real footy head and live and breathes it. Big wraps.

Mackie, Struggled and looked a little slow just like the end of last year. To be honest I don't think the older guys really enjoy playing preseason.

Duncan, must have looked better on TV. His skills weren't sharp and at times just didn't get himself into great positions where he could influence the contest. I was a touch disappointed in him.

Blicavs, Still has a bit to learn as a defender but showed promising signs. He spoiled a few times into danger areas 40 out directly in front instead of looking for the boundaries. I think he is going to be solid and I would persist.

Luxford, he still has a long way to go.

Lucey, As above.

Bartel, Kelly, Stokes, Taylor, Enright and Lonergan won't drop off to much this year, they all look a lot fitter.

Motlop, Caddy and Guthrie will take the game to a higher level this year. Guth in particular may have disappointed a few but he was great early and played every where and rotated heavily.

Leaving the game I felt excited and not at all disappointed. We will improve this year.

GQ thank you for an enlightening, intelligent + sensible approach summarising the game. You are spot on with all your comments, your post was a great read + thank you for your level-headed appraisal.

 

[Turbocat]

Fair enough.
Fwiw, I thought Clark stayed out because he didn't fatigue. Huge plus. And he needs touch.
And I think Hawkins up the wing was about teaching Clark.
Ie : sit back, watch where hawk runs to all day please. He knows how our backs operate.
So I'll agree with you on that re: rnd3

Funny , I never thought of any of that. I was just thinking the were easing him in , playing the least demanding role..Get thru the game. Then when , the heat change he interchange , they decide to keep him out. I ideally one could see their rolls reversed but it does show how both can play that roll. May well get down to matchups.

 

[4quarter_cat]

Probably right about the matchups Turbo.

I mean if we were playing ourselves you'd expect Lonergan on Hawk and Taylor on Clark if you had Clark stay at home it would minimise the influence of Taylor.

 

[abet]

then went away for the NAB games and handing coaching over to his 2IC…

Can you imagine if CS did that - the noise here would be deafening..

GO Catters

Your right there mate, i'm relatively knew to this forum caper but bloody hell we have a lot of whinging supporters.

 

[4quarter_cat]

knew?

Not picking just on you abet, but the speeling an grammer has orful gotten round ere lately.

 

[Willo_]

Your right there mate, i'm relatively knew to this forum caper but bloody hell we have a lot of whinging supporters.

Yes and no... we have some overly dramatic supporters... but we also have plenty that can never see a negative in anything and have complete blind faith.

I don't think it's unreasonable for people to look for improvements in the areas we struggled in last year, but I also don't think we can base a season prediction off our first practice match... if the matches all follow the same pattern then personally I'll have concerns going into round 1

 

[sauron256]

OK so to bundle some of the negatives up. Areas of concern for me following game 1:

1. Clearances still an issue. Can we rectify this before round 1? It will be interesting to see what happens in games 2 and 3. Given our midfield was pretty young, plus our number 1 ruck was coming back from injury, I guess it's understandable in a way.
2. Big kick out of opponent's 50. I was watching our round 1 2014 game against Adelaide a while ago and checking out our strategy for kicking out of defense where it gets bombed down the middle to a couple of talls. Crumbers wait at their feet, grab the ball and sprint forward, and we back players like Murdoch and Motlop to beat their opponents inside forward 50 and kick a goal. When it works we can take the ball from one end to the other within 20-30 seconds. If we don't crumb the ball after that first kick, and turn it over, we're in deep trouble. It's a high risk, high reward play that tends to work well late in games (like against the Hawks in 2013), but it makes me panic every time.
3. Kicking sideway and backwards in our defensive half. It felt like sometimes our defenders would look up and have no one to kick to, forcing them to kick across the ground to try and open up space. It's hard to see why on TV but suspect the GC players were running hard to cut off that next player in the chain? Either way it had the result that especially in Q2 we could hardly move the ball forward. Notice as the game opened up it became easier, but it's still a concern. Noticed we didn't regularly use that kick from a defensive wing into the middle to use our run and carry down the middle like we did a fair bit early last year. Perhaps we're trying something new as teams seem to be countering that strategy. Still, it seems the players still haven't quite gel'd on the plan to move the ball forward - once again understandable when you're making changes to a game plan and the team that was out there is still very young and inexperienced.
4. Fumbles and miskicks. See young and inexperienced, as well as not optimal conditions. It's unusual to see players like Bartel miss targets by foot, which I reckon confirms what we've heard about the ball being greasy and conditions not being great for footy. I suspect NAB 2 will see our young players a little more comfortable too.

Of course there was a lot of good stuff too. Clark was exciting. Lang is pushing to play round 1. Simpson shows some good second and third efforts and will only get better leading up to round 1. The youngsters showed glimpses of what's possible. Harry Taylor was sensational again. Kelly looked great. Blicavs was solid in defense. And Guthrie looks set to take his game to a new level this year.

So still a few things to sort out, but a very promising start to 2015!

 

[Claude Balls]

knew?

Not picking just on you abet, but the speeling an grammer has orful gotten round ere lately.

orful? Mate I thinks it's awfull. And it's been awfull round here since all time.

 

[TheJimmyCartel]

Look once we have McIntosh, Stanley, Vardy, and Mitch Clark hopefully at full fitness we'll have mobile ruckman that will have an impact around the ground especially as a target out of defence. Simpson and Lucey were never going to provide that on the weekend hence why we struggled coming out of the backline also their ruck work was pretty poor due to Simpsons lack of match fitness and Lucey being about 3 months in to AFL so that affected our clearances no doubt. I think if our myriad of flexible athletic big guys can stay fit it will go a long way to solving the main problems we had against the Suns on the weekend.

I really think this is where Stanley will have the biggest impact for us. He is a very good mark and should only improve, was 16th in the league for contested marks and I think 2nd in the league for contested marks inside 50. He should provide us a very good option getting out from half back, unlike what we saw on Sat with Simpson and Lucey providing next to nothing.

If Clark starts playing up the ground a bit more with a bit more game time, he and Stanley should provide us with two very good marking options coming out of the back half.

 

[Whit3y]

I have it on good authority from a mate who is a trainer for hawthorn. That they (hawthorn) held things back with regards to clearance strategies in that match (round 22) because they didn't want us to see it prior to finals.

Whats good for the goose is surely good for the gander.

Since I like to think I support one of the most professional clubs in the land, I would like to think we don't reveal our hand in the games that don't matter either.

sounds like what they held back was far and away better then what we did. the scoreboard in the final would confirm this

or maybe they were just a better team

or maybe saying we are "holding back" is just a huge cop out, that round 22 game proved we were up s**t creek

 

[4quarter_cat]

orful? Mate I thinks it's awfull. And it's been awfull round here since all time.

Just grinds my goat sometimes. Or was that gets my gears?

 

[abet]

Yes and no... we have some overly dramatic supporters... but we also have plenty that can never see a negative in anything and have complete blind faith.

I don't think it's unreasonable for people to look for improvements in the areas we struggled in last year, but I also don't think we can base a season prediction off our first practice match... if the matches all follow the same pattern then personally I'll have concerns going into round 1

100% agree with you but the whingers i'm talking about are actually basing everything off that one game.

 

[abet]

knew?

Not picking just on you abet, but the speeling an grammer has orful gotten round ere lately.

My bad and i'll cop that one.

 

[4quarter_cat]

sounds like what they held back was far and away better then what we did. the scoreboard in the final would confirm this

or maybe they were just a better team

or maybe saying we are "holding back" is just a huge cop out, that round 22 game proved we were up s**t creek

Honestly don't know what our plans were Whit3y. Clearly as a team we were outcoached/outclassed by a better team in september 2014.

I get drip fed details by my mate long after the fact cause he knows I'm a mad cats man.

 

[Partridge]

sounds like what they held back was far and away better then what we did. the scoreboard in the final would confirm this

or maybe they were just a better team

or maybe saying we are "holding back" is just a huge cop out, that round 22 game proved we were up s**t creek

I'd say, all three are correct.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Honestly don't know what our plans were Whit3y. Clearly as a team we were outcoached/outclassed by a better team in september 2014.

I get drip fed details by my mate long after the fact cause he knows I'm a mad cats man.

Don't you hate that??!!
Everyone's stopped talking about it and he slips you a bloody gem that you'd have killed to know 2 months ago. So you tell everyone and they're all 'meh. It's in the past now. Move on!'
Good mate my ar$e!!

 

[Glen Quagmire]

Nice write up GQ. Can you tell me why we used the yellow ball thru the day?

On Simpson , I think we have been very patient with him. He is now 26 , Smith is 25. He is 208 , Smith is 205. He is coming of a back ( yet another one ) , Smith coming off a knee , (well not too long ago). They are comparable. If not now then when is my feeling.

Sure the heat would have been appalling , but Daw simply must do more or he may as well not play. Im sure we are starting to get frustrated at the injuries , its probably unfair but the allowance and tolerance has been used up. Simply heat , fitness , previous injuries , opponents... there are very few credits in the bank. Every week there is a hard opponent. , Jacobs next up. Needs a very big year , and we do not need another #1guy who plays and stays non-injured but can not play to an good enough level , and when the heat comes is not up to it.

Big few weeks coming up I feel.As I said , I give him a "Get out of Jail Free" but he and Murdoch would be the ones that come away a little under pressure.


On Kolo , interesting on the voice thing. Bit hard asking a kid to direct?

I agree about Simpson, we have been patient over the long term. I think we just need to realise he isn't a superstar and he's not going to be... He's not in the same class as Smith but hopefully by the end of the season with some fitness, he may be serviceable. He just can't compete with athletic ruckmen but may find it easier against other dinosaurs. We don't have a high quality ruck on our list at the moment and talking to some people on Saturday, they don't hold out much hope for McIntosh... Take that as you will. I don't think we will find our superstar ruckman by the end of the year.

With Kolo I guess you have to feel part of the team to feel comfortable to direct the champions we have. Hopefully it will come with games.

 

[sauron256]

Don't you hate that??!!
Everyone's stopped talking about it and he slips you a bloody gem that you'd have killed to know 2 months ago. So you tell everyone and they're all 'meh. It's in the past now. Move on!'
Good mate my ar$e!!

I don't think it was much of a surprise that both teams held something back for the final. Chris Scott even said after the round 22 game that the final was going to be played very differently, and it was.

That said, I don't think the Hawks hiding their clearance strategies would have advantaged us too much given our woes - unless they finals strategy had been to not contest the clearances at all, which may have given us a chance!

 

[Partridge]

I agree about Simpson, we have been patient over the long term. I think we just need to realise he isn't a superstar and he's not going to be... He's not in the same class as Smith but hopefully by the end of the season with some fitness, he may be serviceable. He just can't compete with athletic ruckmen but may find it easier against other dinosaurs. We don't have a high quality ruck on our list at the moment and talking to some people on Saturday, they don't hold out much hope for McIntosh... Take that as you will. I don't think we will find our superstar ruckman by the end of the year.

To me that's a simple equation. Without a top quality ruckman fit and in form, we are not going to beat good sides. Which means this year is about development, not being a serious threat.

The bottom line is, with six different players on our list, the club has been extraordinarily, almost recklessly patient, and simply can't afford to be for one second longer. As far as Simpson, McIntosh, Cowan, Menzel, Vardy and McCarthy are concerned, not only can they not afford any more injuries, they need to deliver. Otherwise it's time to cut them. Seeing as McCarthy, Menzel and Vardy are all still out for who knows how long, and how much they've missed, thinking they'll even come back is starting to look fanciful.

All I'll say is if fans are getting a little jittery based on Sunday's less than perfect showing (and it was only the pre-season, and it was only one game), wait until next year. Because a lot of veterans and deadwood (see the 6 names above) will be gone. And we'll expect the next clutch of 18-year-olds to be instantly as good. They won't be. Going to be interesting times ahead.

 

[Partridge]

I don't think it was much of a surprise that both teams held something back for the final. Chris Scott even said after the round 22 game that the final was going to be played very differently, and it was.

That said, I don't think the Hawks hiding their clearance strategies would have advantaged us too much given our woes - unless they finals strategy had been to not contest the clearances at all, which may have given us a chance!

Except for one thing:

In Round 22 when the pressure went up they thrashed us convincingly.
In the Qualifying Final when the pressure went up they thrashed us convincingly.

It was impressive to see we learned from the first match.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Yes and no... we have some overly dramatic supporters... but we also have plenty that can never see a negative in anything and have complete blind faith.

I don't think it's unreasonable for people to look for improvements in the areas we struggled in last year, but I also don't think we can base a season prediction off our first practice match... if the matches all follow the same pattern then personally I'll have concerns going into round 1

I'm just glad that the graze on Harry's knee seems to be ok!

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Except for one thing:

In Round 22 when the pressure went up they thrashed us convincingly.
In the Qualifying Final when the pressure went up they thrashed us convincingly.

It was impressive to see we learned from the first match.

Were you at either game? Maybe it looked different on TV than live, but round 22 we were dominant playing a hard running, handball happy style of play.

We managed to shut Hill and Smith out of the game, mackie was keeping Bruest quiet.

The noticeable thing for me watching live in that game (front row, top level, wing) was that it wasn't so much the pressure that dropped off, or in their case went up but instead we just stopped. Fitness was our issue that night, no two ways about it.

We were all over them, they spent that first half chasing our arses, then came the second half and we were all out of petrol tickets.

Would be staggered if Clarkson didn't tinker with his style of play over the off season based on this game, had we had more fitness, no way we would have lost. Got to play 4 quarters against Hawthorn, especially.