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

[tragiccat]

Sky is falling.....run for the hills.

Centre clearances and first ball use at stoppages were the main issues that prevented us from being sufficiently competitive last September. We may as well 'head for the hills' if there are no signs of any improvement in these areas.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Whats with the attitude lately? You seem uncharacteristically snappier than in the past.

Might be the humidity?? I've heard it's bad at this time of the year

sorry catempire - I couldn't resist

On a brighter note- all posters are invited to celebrate Rainfall's 18th birthday with us today, in the Nuthouse. If you haven't been there before, follow this link to your invitation:
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threa...-the-nut-house.1076457/page-693#post-37264089

(sorry- didn't want to post an invitation here for fear of getting a smack)

 

[Teriyakicat]

Really liked seeiing the new kids on the block Gregson reminded me of linc trys hards and should get better.
Lang used the ball well and should get heaps of games.
Our ruckmen were poo again and really a issue might have most of the year,But hopfully not.
Hope Mitch and Tommy duo works out they could be good together.

You were right about Gregson- he was overdoing it, wasn't he? You can see he's as keen as mustard and, with an attitude like that, the more games he gets, the better he'll get- as you've said. It's such a shame that Linc hasn't had the opportunity to get a lot of games under his belt, though he has obviously been in the system a lot longer than Gregson, and should settle down faster once he gets back.

 

[rocker_oz33]

You were right about Gregson- he was overdoing it, wasn't he? You can see he's as keen as mustard and, with an attitude like that, the more games he gets, the better he'll get- as you've said. It's such a shame that Linc hasn't had the opportunity to get a lot of games under his belt, though he has obviously been in the system a lot longer than Gregson, and should settle down faster once he gets back.

I wanted Caleb Daniel with that pick but not unhappy with Gregson.
Also liked Gore he loves a tackle hard ranga type dont mind him.

 

[Teriyakicat]

I wanted Caleb Daniel with that pick but not unhappy with Gregson.
Also liked Gore he loves a tackle hard ranga type dont mind him.

Yeah, the young blokes all played with a lot of enthusiasm. I noticed that the backline was playing 3 old (Boris, Domsy and Mackie), 3 new (think it was Gore, Luxford and Kolo at one stage), plus Harry sweeping and, in these games, that's such a great experience for the young blokes to be standing side by side with the veterans and picking up tips on the spot, rather than 20 minutes later when they meet up with their defensive coach.

Oh- and every team needs a good ranga!

 

[Whos_Your_Caddy]

Is every other board this negative?

We played a practice match, the first one for the year. How dare we play a rookie that we went out and added to our list in this meaningless game so he can see what he will need to become if he ever wants to make it. How dare we play a ruck man that is under done after a interrupted pre season to give him some match time and improve said fitness. I am the first to admit that for the first time in a while I have no idea what our fortunes will be this season but at least wait until we are about 5 rounds into the main game before making sweeping remarks about our game plan and how we will finish outside the 8.

 

[meto]

I wanted Caleb Daniel with that pick but not unhappy with Gregson.
Also liked Gore he loves a tackle hard ranga type dont mind him.

Not seeing the game I thought Gore would be the best among the recruits but according to some seems to have shown promise, was listed last in a best players list on AFL.com so he's come up ok for his first game. Great result from them all.
I'm hoping to see big gains from JJansen next week hope he's ready to play.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Feeling in a positive frame of mind today , so will only dwell on the glass half full aspects of this game

> Lang - How balanced and agile is this kid? Really impressive game from Darcy , knows where to be and very highly skilled.
> Nakia - Only 10 or so touches but boy oh boy will this kid excite when he gets up and running
> One thing you can't teach is poise - both Lang and Nakia have it - they assess , don't panic, change direction to create space and make good decisions
> Gregson - fantastic effort from the kid , was in everything early albeit a bit fumbly - could surprise
> Simpson - solid effort after a long lay off - will be better for the run
> Clark - comical early being rusty as a 2 year old bucket , but showed some good signs late , very handy below his knees which will be an asset
> Kolo - can see why we delisted Hamling , this kid looks like he will be a keeper
> Bews - taller version of the old man , should establish himself in the side this season
> Gore - amonst it early , looked good and could please when he builds a tank

Notable that Jimmy , Kel , Guthrie , Duncan, Boris , Harry and Hawk all look leaner - hopefully the new fitness regime will see us lasting longer in games and running them out for victories !
Solid effort in very humid conditions - no injuries a real bonus

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Here we go again. I guess there will always be 1 or 2 players that are going to cop it. How many AFL players are you aware of who have survived 3 back surgeries, and yet still front up to play a NAB game in 30 C?
He is ahead of where it was thought he would be. Played barely 60% game time, was beaten by a mighty talent who was at full tilt already. Too early to write him off. IF he gets through preseason, and can endure a whole H & A season, you don't reckon you'll see a better Simpson?
Way too much expectation for a NAB 1 game.

Look, Simpson's injuries aren't his fault, and I think he has talent, and by all reports he's been first class with his rehab each time and seems like a great guy. But let's look at it in the cold hard light of day: how many players, not just at our club, but across the league, stay on an afl list if after 7 years they haven't established themselves in the best 22? not many. If Simpson can't be in our best 22 this year (and be fit enough to stay there) will he get a 9th year on the list? can't see it happening. So realistically that means he has 3-4 months to get himself to genuine afl standard fitness, and given how far his fitness is behind now, I can't see it happening in time. He's pushing well uphill from here.

More importantly for a guy who has played 24 games in 7 years we can't afford to rely on him as our ruck solution (and ruck clearly is a problem for us). If we are to contend this year we need to be up and going which means we need to move past Simpson and come with an alternative solution rather than waiting for him to come good, because if we do and he doesn't, we will suffer in finals as we have the last 2 years. This is why I hope as soon as Stanley is ready to go (NAB 3 by all reports) that they put him in the ruck straight away, because we need to find out whether he really can cut it in the ruck or not, as part of that alternative solution we need to come up with.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Will we see Cowan this NAB cup is he injury free?

 

[Partridge]

Anyways, don't remember ever seeing Clark at a center bounce not Blicavs either until the last qtr when the other two were stuffed, so I'm not sure you'd even consider they them 'pinch hitters' nor were they in the side for that role. What's the issue with seeing what the Irishman has in an environment that the result isn't overly important and no other viable options available?

None as far as I can tell. People can't claim these games don't matter and then get upset when a rookie plays.

I would say, for our ruck unit as a group, we need one of Simpson or McIntosh fully fit by Round 1. That objective may require all the other 'ruckmen' we have sharing some time in there. That could mean Clark, Stanley, Blicavs, Lucey and Walker. If that means one of the main two is in actual good nick for Hawthorn, that's fine. Either way, we need two more games to determine how successful it has been.

 

[Partridge]

I can't have heat and humidity as an excuse. Both sides played in the same conditions. Gold Coast is not a tropical region of Australia so any advantage they had in the conditions was marginal.

Neither can I. These guys are professionals. Very, very well paid professionals. It's called earning your money. One day a year they play a match in less-than-perfect conditions. Tough.

 

[Partridge]

Murdoch. Seems unfair to ping one guy in a nothing game but he wasn't great and with him closing in on 50 senior matches under his belt I expect a bit more from him. He'll no doubt open up the on-going debate about runners in the AFL. My view, being quick is great and all...as long as you can put it to use by breaking lines, running down opponents or getting on the end of the chain and burning off defenders to kick a goal. Murdoch doesn't seem to do much of any of these things often enough. Sam Blease take note as I suspect you'll get a chance next game.

There's one other thing he needs to do as well.

Get the ball.

 

[Partridge]

i think caddy plays for september

Unlikely. In any case there's at least 5 other months of the year he needs to turn up for.

No one is so good they get to choose when they turn up. He certainly isn't.

 

[Partridge]

I'm a bit disappointed in some of the comments on Smedts. I think he did ok actually. Wasn't flashy like some other players but he was solid for a NAB cup game in the backline. The talk was their. His body positioning in contests looked better and the repeat efforts. Smedts did the little things right rather than trying to be flashy imo. Give the guy a break!

Lang was the player that impressed me the most
Murdoch disappointed me the most

Agree on Smedts. I'm not totally enamoured of the decree that he now must play defence, but he seemed pretty focused on his job and didn't deviate from it. His second efforts were much better, and for someone who has in the past tried to do too much, he didn't come close to that yesterday. An encouraging sign that hopefully he's maturing as a player.

Agree totally on the last two sentences too.

 

[Go Hoops]

Don't spend too much time on NAB Cup form, means two thirds of f... all.

 

[you pick one]

Geez, CE settle down. I don't disagree with much you say and was far from saying it was the deciding factor in the game merely that the GC would be slightly more accustomed to the hot, greasy conditions, especially after the very wet, cyclonic conditions we've had lately. Regardless of the BoM humidity stats, as someone who spends a LOT of time between the GC and Melbourne, I can guarantee you it's entirely different type of heat and am pretty sure the players would agree.

You can be sure I agree with you I've spent over 30 years in both Geelong and South East Qld and there is no comparison,the Gold Coast will have held a slight advantage in those conditions more so the first couple of quarters.

 

[you pick one]

Don't spend too much time on NAB Cup form, means two thirds of f... all.

Is that you Scotty?yeah we know we will be playing our best footy you know when.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

I can't have heat and humidity as an excuse. Both sides played in the same conditions. Gold Coast is not a tropical region of Australia so any advantage they had in the conditions was marginal.

As someone who has spent time living in Brisbane (not far away) there is a stark difference in humidity. Very stark difference. So GC would be more accustomed to the conditions.

 

[catempire]

As someone who has spent time living in Brisbane (not far away) there is a stark difference in humidity. Very stark difference. So GC would be more accustomed to the conditions.

I'm interested - did you read right through the thread before posting that or just got to that post and responded to it?

 

[JUBJUB]

I'm interested - did you read right through the thread before posting that or just got to that post and responded to it?

Careful ce,getting a bit Partridge there

MEOW !!!

 

[Footy Smarts]

For those criticising our clearance work I think we need to be realistic about it. Firstly we can't make our youngish midfielders into big-bodied beasts overnight. It took guys like Ling, Kelly and Bartel time to become contested ball stars and there's no reason to think our current youngsters will develop any faster. On top of that, yesterday we were missing possibly our 4 best clearance players (Selwood, Johnson, Christensen and Horlin-Smith) from last year's already weak clearance group. With the cattle we had on the park there's absolutely no surprise that we again struggled around the clearances.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

I'm interested - did you read right through the thread before posting that or just got to that post and responded to it?

Firstly. Seem a bit testy today.

Secondly it doesn't matter how I read a thread, doesn't matter if someone else has responded to this already, I'm allowed to disagree with you and allowed to respond accordingly.

Thirdly it takes many months, many months to acclimatise to the conditions, irrespective of fitness levels. I knew a guy who I played cricket with. Born and raised on the Vic surfcoast. Gets a job as an engineer in Brisbane. Took him two years to become accustomed to the humidity, and he is a fit man.

Fourthly, very poor scheduling by the afl (hands probably somewhat tied with the World Cup), middle of the afternoon in a sub tropical climate right in the middle of the wet season. Same goes for WCE vs Carlton in Mandurah.

Lastly I read threads from first unread message and to completely dismiss it as a possible factor is naive.

 

[Lana]

it is just me or is this thread heating up

 

[kicksome]

Unlikely. In any case there's at least 5 other months of the year he needs to turn up for.

No one is so good they get to choose when they turn up. He certainly isn't.

No I meant that he lives for september, I think thats when we will see him at his best. He's a big stage player