HFNL 2015 Season

sam42

Team Captain
Feb 17, 2007
335
23
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
I was really disappointed in Port Fairy against the Tiges. If thats how they will perform in the wet they are in real trouble. Portland are definitely building. Not in Warrnambools class yet but well positioned to play finals.
 

Tackle101

Draftee
Jun 29, 2014
13
8
AFL Club
Adelaide
I would suggest the problems run deeper than just the goal kicking at Portland. 6 wins from 11 games is less than flattering.

Jake Myles inability to run with an opponent as well the ridiculous move of himself one out at full forward has to be seen an an issue by even the most biased of supporters.

England's kicking will be and is a real issue under pressure which will show out in a big game.

My last point is there bottom six players aren't nearly good enough to compete within the top 3 and I think these are the players that will give you the edge in a big contest.
 

sam42

Team Captain
Feb 17, 2007
335
23
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
I would suggest the problems run deeper than just the goal kicking at Portland. 6 wins from 11 games is less than flattering.

Jake Myles inability to run with an opponent as well the ridiculous move of himself one out at full forward has to be seen an an issue by even the most biased of supporters.

England's kicking will be and is a real issue under pressure which will show out in a big game.

My last point is there bottom six players aren't nearly good enough to compete within the top 3 and I think these are the players that will give you the edge in a big contest.

Myles pace is an issue for him. Very good one on one with use of the body. England has never been a great kick. His ability to find the ball is one of his strengths. Only Tigers second year in HFNL. Give them time.
 

Go Tiges

Senior List
Mar 17, 2014
154
47
AFL Club
Essendon
I would suggest the problems run deeper than just the goal kicking at Portland. 6 wins from 11 games is less than flattering.

Jake Myles inability to run with an opponent as well the ridiculous move of himself one out at full forward has to be seen an an issue by even the most biased of supporters.

England's kicking will be and is a real issue under pressure which will show out in a big game.

My last point is there bottom six players aren't nearly good enough to compete within the top 3 and I think these are the players that will give you the edge in a big contest.
Interesting points Tackle101. Looking at your first post, how's your top 5 going to look at the end of the season? Who's going to play in the GF? I don't think there's a person out there who doesn't think Portland needs a key forward.
 

Tackle101

Draftee
Jun 29, 2014
13
8
AFL Club
Adelaide
Top 5 will be Wbool, nth, koroit, Portland and let's hope port fairy so we get some spice in the finals but the last spot could be Terang, Cobden or Port. Nth and Wbool to play off in the grand final. Unless Koroit can find another avenue to goal which could see them become very dangerous.

To get into some old topics for finishing second you should be able to have a home final. Reid oval should be the home of the grand final but at the moment the surface gets ridiculously hard and does that not give the team that trains on it a distinct physiological advantage? Koroit players cramped last year and Warrnambool players didn't? I don't think this is because of conditioning.

Hampdenmad I'd love a little insight on the blues. How do you beat them? Is it important to not let Mcarthy play by himself behind the footy? Do you tag Bell? Walters? McCorkell? Who's the weak link? Loose men to stop Rowan?
 

Nev4

Draftee
Apr 8, 2014
4
0
AFL Club
Collingwood
What's everyone's thoughts on South Warrnambool and North Warrnambool, Squads, direction, etc.?
 

HampdenMAD

All Australian
Feb 10, 2012
657
123
Warrnambool
AFL Club
Geelong
A bit of a hiatus by me boys. My apologies! Had two weeks in sunny qld over the break and boy do I wish I was still there! Cold, wet and windy Warrnambool is at it again today! Another week of low scores and muddy footy!

Now a couple of questions asked of me to clear up:
How to stop Warrnambool? Well Tackle101 the answer is put on fierce pressure. Over most games I see Warrnambool win it's because they have the instilled ability to snap that pressure and pile on quick goals. You must be able to play 4 qtrs of pressure football against them. Obviously the key forwards need plenty of attention and yes correct McCarthy is very important to their structures as he sits a kick behind play and takes intercept marks and spoils all day. Teams have been trying to stop him for years and in my opinion he is the best ruckman in the league with smarts. Overall I think the best ruckman is Jeremy Hausler but Pies McCarthy is a close second. Tag the most creative midfielder, Josh Walters, don't let him get his 20 spot on kicks a game because they hurt sides a lot.
Don't let them have the match ups they want but don't sacrifice your own structure. They aren't unbeatable Warrnambool as we have seen and the losses will no doubt come so get that 4qtr effort in, find ways to score quickly and get in front early!

NEV4 - I think South Warrnambool have found a real peoples coach in Matty Monk, the structures are good, the development is strong, there's some good people around him and plenty of support from South. It's going to take a couple of years but they will make it back.
North Warrnambool have been doing it right for years, strong junior structure, good coaches and strong support from their community. A premiership still eludes them but it's building and they will get one within 5 years. Credit out there to them, they were the easy beats for 10 years or more and now you hear of how much dislike there is from opposition towards the North side....it actually reminds me a little of Warrnambool, no one but your own like you when your winning.

Good luck to all sides today and all supporters!! Rug up!
 

sam42

Team Captain
Feb 17, 2007
335
23
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
What a Hampden Football season. 1 game between bottom and the top 5. Portland Tigers must beat Sth Wbool next weekend and open up a bit of a gap. Going to be a tight race for a top 5 position.
 

Go Tiges

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Mar 17, 2014
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What a Hampden Football season. 1 game between bottom and the top 5. Portland Tigers must beat Sth Wbool next weekend and open up a bit of a gap. Going to be a tight race for a top 5 position.
Agree Sam42... What an interesting season so far. More results on Saturday making it even closer. Who would've thought the bottom side last week would be a chance of making the finals now. Well done Holty and the Hamilton Kangaroos. Just need Warrnambool and Koroit to lose a couple coming home and it's ON.
 

sam42

Team Captain
Feb 17, 2007
335
23
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
Hamilton Kangaroos may well be sitting inside the 5 after next weeks matches..If they beat TM, Portland beat Camperdown, Wbool beat Cobden...all possible results...then Hamilton will be in the top 5. Amazing HFNL season.
 

HampdenMAD

All Australian
Feb 10, 2012
657
123
Warrnambool
AFL Club
Geelong
Huge games this week and next week in defining the finals positioning.
North v Koroit
Hamilton v Terang
Camperdown v Portland
Next week
Hamilton (if they win v Ter) v South
Koroit v Warrnambool
Portland v North
Terang (if they win v Ham) v Cobden

Nows the time that proves the mental strength and absolute capabilities of the sides that are finals contenders. Looking forward to the results of the next two weekends and to see who sits where following that. It's game on for the final 3 spots of the top 5!
 

HampdenMAD

All Australian
Feb 10, 2012
657
123
Warrnambool
AFL Club
Geelong
Today's crunch game of the round is North Warrnambool v Koroit. The stakes are high for the Eagles in this one, a win here for mine means they finish top 3 for the first time since they entered the league. A loss will obviously have them worried about the sides behind them and you shouldn't leave things like this up to fate. Koroit have secured second spot and it means this could be a preview of the first final for 2014. But today it's the Ken Wines Cup for these sides and some great line ups to make this game a ripper. Ben Goodall has put the boots back on to bolster their midfield, last seasons Maskell Medallist had retired but has been training with the Saints for a while now and is itching to get back out there. Huge back end of season pick up! Goal kicking mids are what Koroit lack and Goodall is one of the best at it. The Eagles on the other hand are just about full strength and playing some impressive footy leading into this one. McMeel, Bidmade and Parkinson all return to a side that belted Cobden last week. Gavin and Murfett returned last week and a young man by the name of Mitch Bowman is again knocking on the door to return to the senior side after a long lay off with injury. Signs are strong for the Eagles in the right time of the year. Can they knock over Koroit though? The problem will North has been the lack of big forwards to take that clunking mark in tough conditions, but the plus has been the huge spread of goal kickers....they need to win the outside ball today to beat Koroit and use the ball going forward wisely. The talls and smarts of the Koroit backline are far too good for the bomb into the 50 type game so eyes need to be lowered and different avenues used. Koroit have a good mix of goal kickers also, Buck popped up and kicked 3 first qtr goals last week showing he still has the ability to sneak under the radar and hurt sides. Hausler, Dobson, White, Templeton and Gow all have the great ability to kick goals and need to be matched up well. The mids are evenly matched and should be a treat to watch. Hopefully the rain stays away and makes this a good spectacle!
My tip is North by 2 points.

Good luck all sides today! HampdenMAD
 

Go Tiges

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Mar 17, 2014
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A few surprises again today in the HFNL. Looks like Koroit with Goodall back have stepped it up a little. Portland again proved they are to inconsistent to be a real threat to the top 3 and Hamilton I thought would of beat Terang at home as well. Going to an intriguing finals series, really anybody on their day can win.
 

sam42

Team Captain
Feb 17, 2007
335
23
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
A few surprises again today in the HFNL. Looks like Koroit with Goodall back have stepped it up a little. Portland again proved they are to inconsistent to be a real threat to the top 3 and Hamilton I thought would of beat Terang at home as well. Going to an intriguing finals series, really anybody on their day can win.
Thought Tigers would have stepped up to win on weekend. At this stage only two real chances for the flag..Wbool and Koroit IMO.
 

Go Tiges

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Mar 17, 2014
154
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Thought Tigers would have stepped up to win on weekend. At this stage only two real chances for the flag..Wbool and Koroit IMO.
Yes sam42 I thought the same. They could've sewn up their first crack at a finals series in the HFNL if they'd won on Saturday.
Then again they have lost to South, Hamilton, Port Fairy and now Camperdown this season.
 

sam42

Team Captain
Feb 17, 2007
335
23
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
Yes sam42 I thought the same. They could've sewn up their first crack at a finals series in the HFNL if they'd won on Saturday.
Then again they have lost to South, Hamilton, Port Fairy and now Camperdown this season.
How do you think the boys will go Saturday Go Tiges? Big game.
 

Go Tiges

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Mar 17, 2014
154
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Essendon
How do you think the boys will go Saturday Go Tiges? Big game.
I think they have a very real chance of winning Saturday if they bring the intensity the Portland sides of old always had. Portland should've beaten North here last season. North has lost Parkinson which is a big loss. It's going to be very wet at Hanlon park which I reckon will help Portland. Portland by 10 points Sam42.
 

sam42

Team Captain
Feb 17, 2007
335
23
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
Disappointing loss for Portland Tigers. Poor disposal at times hurt the Tigers. Portland had to work hard to get their goals whereas Nth Wbool brought the ball in much cleaner. Murphy was hard to stop up fwd for Nth. Portland have to improve their kicking effeciency to move up the ladder. Will need to target 1 or 2 key fwds for next season. Extremely tough for young Jay Moody up fwd at the moment. Hopefully can hang onto a spot in the 5. Going to be close call.
 

Go Tiges

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Mar 17, 2014
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Interesting comments from Holty and Jake Myles today in the Standard about the HFNL grounds...
 
Apr 1, 2010
77
88
Perth
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Liverpool Astros Spurs
And what were those comments ?

Along the lines of Melville Oval has the best surface in the league at the moment, that the grounds were much better in the Western Border Football League... and also that they hoped to see some upgrades of the other surfaces in the near future. Also that some finals should be played there... had some support from others as well.

It seemed to me that they were hoping for a final Hamilton, but also it was a bit of an attempt to draw attention to the poor surfaces around the league, and I agree with them. I have played on many of the grounds and watched at probably all the others in both leagues and WB is better in my opinion, and by some margin, especially in Mt Gambier. But it would be great to see the surfaces fixed up properly, creates a much better game to play and watch (in my opinion)
 
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