Game Day North Melbourne vs Adelaide - NAB Cup 1 (STREAMS CAN COME TRUE!)

[numchuks]

<SNIP>

Careful mate, with such in depth write ups and analysis, it won't be long before the club gestapo come down on you for exposing our team setups and structures.

 

[osaka mick]

If Basti played the way everyone said then yeah he needs to step it up... I think the depth in the team is playing on his mind cause a few yrs back he was a walkup start

Basti has been so overrated on this board for a long time. Now everyone is starting to realize his actual worth. Fringe player IMO. But I think he has always been a fringe player, unlike most posters here. I hope Im proven wrong, but he will be surpassed this year, by Dumont, Jacobs (who will start on Betts in round 1 if Thompson doesnt), and possibly even BMac.

 

[nicko74]

Ripping read that game-day thread.

Every year, anything other than a winning performance never fails to draw the ire of starved supporters. It's understood, but practice matches, should be viewed as exactly that. Some of our poorer pre-season performances in years gone, such as the Hawks last year, seemed to be of more concern when we fielded stronger squads, whereas yesterday, it seemed to me like a lot of experimentation with best 22 players out injured/rested and other best 22 players trialed in new positions and nursed through the game.

We're still five full weeks out from Round 1, with time to fine tune on a delayed pre-season campaign.

I've only flicked through some of the reviews on the last 10 pages, so my apologies if I repeat the thoughts of others.

It was a good hit-out and great to see the boys take the field again. We were very rusty early on. They jumped us in the first, but we persevered. The third quarter wasn't as bad as some here have made it out to be imo. They hit the scoreboard early, but we worked into and against the wind well, and outside of a 3 goal burst at the end of the quarter (including the Van Berlo supergoal), we weren't too bad. We dominated possession and territory in the last quarter and we found a groove when our intensity lifted.


Centre Square attendances.

We certainly experimented through the middle of the ground.

No Goldy allowed us to get a decent look at Currie and Daw's ruck-work early in the year in the centre square and at stoppages around the ground.

Daw attended (15)
Currie attended (11)

Crusher showed a bit at stages, but Daw was a clear standout. His around the ground ruck-work was some of the best I've seen from him, and his marking looked to be on song. I'd be looking closely at seeing if he can back that up over the next few weeks because he can struggle to back up a solid performance. He read the flight of the ball extremely well and most importantly, he impacted with defensive positioning. Refer to the beginning of the second quarter shortly after the Wells smother on the boundary. Stood under a high ball, which suggested to me an improvement in his positioning and reading of the ball, when he is much more comfortable with a 'run and jump'. Good performance returning from a serious injury.

Outside of Cunnington and Dal Santo, we experimented a lot with our centre square set-ups with up to 10 players trialed, not mentioning those who ran through the middle or off the wing/hf in 'general' rotations (eg. Turner, Atley, McDonald)

Dal Santo attended (17)
Cunnington attended (16)
Ziebell attended (14)
Bastinac attended (8)
Dumont attended (7)
Wells attended (5)
Gibson attended (4)
Harvey attended (3)
Thomas attended (3)
Higgins attended (1)

Cunnington was solid all day long. Looks good at this stage of the pre-season. Dal Santo was probably our slickest midfielder (which is no surprise), but provided the most from stoppages and pushed the ball forward to good effect. Wells first half was indicative of his strong pre-season.

Outside of those three, Ziebell looked unhindered by his shoulder and looked to be quite strong, picking up a lot of Swallow's 'inside first' work.
Dumont showed some glimpses with 5 of his centre square attendances coming in the first half, before he was trialed in more of an outside role.

In fairness the Crows experimented in the middle with Betts, Jaensch and Laird etc, but I did have a good laugh at a centre square setup of Daw/Dumont/Thomas/Boomer. Thomas and Boomer will see that many centre square attendances for the whole of 2015 with our full complement of midfielders available.

Observations

Higgins - Looked very sharp. I pray we don't get sucked into moving him into a role any further back than 'forward of centre'. I never liked the look of him as a half-back for the Dogs, and he provides exactly what we wanted from a Sam Wright, before we settled Sammy down back. With Sam, Luke, McMillan and Atley off of the half-back line, Higgins should see a majority of his game time forward of centre with stints in the middle. He'll be best 22 come round one and will force Adams to really work for a role in which he performed well yesterday.

Waite - I was a big advocate for getting him to the club and I made reference to his contested marking ability here on BF when we signed him. He excites me because, providing he stays injury free, he will straighten us up immensely. Takes pressure off of Drew, and with a really good hit-up forward, eg. Black/Wood, our forward line becomes pretty potent with every inside 50. I thought Jarrad went well yesterday, looked sprightly and worked well on the hit-up whilst pitching in defensively.

Warren - Has copped a bit of stick. I don't think he should be on the list, and I was baffled we didn't take a Capiron or project player in the rookie draft, but in saying that, I don't think he was 'that' bad. He was actually pretty good defensively in the first half. Betts had three by half time, but one of his three came from when he was running through the middle, and Warren was manned on Cameron, and the other two, he didn't do much wrong, other than Betts getting to his feet quicker to run into an open goal, and another (for memory), where Tarrant should have killed the ball, but allowed Betts a half chance. The other couple in the second half, Max was forced to push up and cover Ramsay who Tippett lost in transition, which allowed Betts goalside and the last goal I can think of, Betts clearly pushed him in the back. Max, lacks a lot offensively and he did turn the ball over kicking into the wind, but so too did Boomer which cost us a goal in same quarter. He's a rookie listed player who can perform a role, but he's not an AFL standard footballer. Wish him all the best for North Ballarat this year and I'd be surprised if he adds to his one game tally.

Jacobs - We seem set to persist with him down back. Noticed through the pre-season simulation, that he is persisted with in a role across half-back. He was good yesterday, but his decision making, deep in defence in particular is a big concern for mine. He looks fitter, was cleaner than usual and made some pretty good decisions further afield, providing multiple handball receive options. Needs to go on with it.

Dumont - Big wrap for this kid, and he'll be better for the run. Slow out of the blocks but showed glimpses.

Daw - One of the biggest positives from the game as stated above. The innate things like pushing back off the mark and delivering a short 15 metre pass effectively, which comes naturally to others, are areas he is clearly improving in.

Back line - Will be our biggest headache going into Round 1. Tarrant was underwhelming and he got lost throughout, but will be better for the run after missing a lot of football. Tippett was also a bit underwhelming but probably looked more comfortable deep in defence or guarding players who have decent leading patterns. Always had time for Loose, but I wrote him off after the Hawks game last season when I kept a close eye on him. Has stripped much fitter this pre-season, but I would have him a fair way down the pecking order behind others who can perform similar roles.

A lot of experimentation, and I'm looking forward to seeing the inclusions of Wood and Black among others next week before a full dress rehearsal against the Tigers on the 21st.

Footy is back and it has been a long time coming!

An absolute *in belter of a write up there! That is awesome!

 

[Twinkletoes]

HH #3 goes BANG!

A superb balanced summation as always mate.

 

[The Other Dean]

Nice write up, HH.

And good work on again reiterating that anyone losing their s**t and/or reading too much into our first hit-out in the NAB Cup should maybe chill out a little. Although I'd suggest that those wishing to focus on the negatives at this early stage are probably predisposed to doing so regardless of the circumstances. Even so, some of those game-day posts were pretty ****ing embarrassing.

 

[ArjenTheGreat]

See my nail hitting back.

I want Lindsay to be smart about his ill discipline too.
I love his uber aggression, even if it's slightly misplaced.

His fanatical smothering and defensive pressure is crucial to our game style, and has no doubt won us games. But his stupidity has not only cost him his possible reputation of being a recognised gun AFL player (which he is) but nearly games of footy too. Ie: the reversal in the semi.

Some context, Arch was the most undisciplined player to ever play for us. The amount of 50s he gave away was disgraceful, but it was Arch and obviously the good outweighs the bad.

I would almost have Lindsay in the same category.

Given the amount of fairy's we have in the team, a few dog campaigners, like Lindsay, Like Jack, and now Turner are required.

I, like you, want our players to be "remembered" for the right reasons but if not, and some people just can't see the goodness through the antics, then I say go for it Lindsay, set the ******* tone. (Which he kinda does)

 

[Tas]

Tas, he was forced to play an outside role last year but he's an inside mid essentially. Doesn't have the pace in open field. He has to be played in his natural position. How would Cunners go as a winger?

He hasn't exhibited any signs of being an inside midfielder in 2012 or 2013 so not sure he was hard done by in 2014, statistically he is more like a Wells... without the sublime ball skills. Being on a wing and playing more outside should have helped him, because the number of tackles, contested possessions and clearances he was getting as 'an inside' midfielder didn't justify him occupying that position.

For what it is worth, I always thought he was dangerous at stoppages in the forward 50, he kicks a reasonable number of goals and assists in a fair few without spending that much time in a forward role. I believe he is more of a utility type player, he doesn't express any great outside traits other than endurance running. He doesn't have speed, he is a reliable kick but not a fantastic kick, so unless he is an obvious position player he is going to find his best position as an interchange or substitute player.

I think we have all been waiting for Bastinac to extract the digit, we know he has a lot of untapped talent but he seems to be coasting from the outside looking in, perhaps it is just his body language but he never shows the hunger for the contest that say Silver does, doesn't show the desire to get in and under like Swallow, Cunnington or Ziebell. Sticks his hands out to tackle rather than charge with the shoulder.

When we got him I thought he was comparable to Fyfe in terms of raw talent, Fyfe has taken the bull by the horns, Ryan hasn't. So he is where he is at no fault of anyone, only he has the power to alter his destiny. He has to want it bad enough.

 

[Harvey Manfrenjensenden]

One thing from this game that may have gone unnoticed is Brads post match interview. He was very deliberate in not talking up individuals like Waite or Higgens. He masterfully played down Daw's performance by highlighting his skills but pointing out the work he has to do, and stating the clubs faith in him.
In the pre season he has not shied away from expectations and provided a realistic perspective of where our list is at with regards to round one. If anything he may have deliberately talked down the readiness of some of the players. All positive in my opinion.
I have always thought that he speaks well ,but can reveal to much at times or be a bit emotional in press conferences, particularly post game. For example I don't think he should have spoken publicly about LT and his diving during the finals last year. Each year he seems to have grown and developed himself as a coach, from a fans perspective. Not sure how that relates to on field performance. Then to hear Maj come out and support Brads assessment of his game was great. I guess my point is I like what I am hearing from the club, in particular the guys that make the majak each week.

I know I am very one eyed but it's going to be a good year.

 

[Pykie]

He hasn't exhibited any signs of being an inside midfielder in 2012 or 2013 so not sure he was hard done by in 2014, statistically he is more like a Wells... without the sublime ball skills. Being on a wing and playing more outside should have helped him, because the number of tackles, contested possessions and clearances he was getting as 'an inside' midfielder didn't justify him occupying that position.

For what it is worth, I always thought he was dangerous at stoppages in the forward 50, he kicks a reasonable number of goals and assists in a fair few without spending that much time in a forward role. I believe he is more of a utility type player, he doesn't express any great outside traits other than endurance running. He doesn't have speed, he is a reliable kick but not a fantastic kick, so unless he is an obvious position player he is going to find his best position as an interchange or substitute player.

I think we have all been waiting for Bastinac to extract the digit, we know he has a lot of untapped talent but he seems to be coasting from the outside looking in, perhaps it is just his body language but he never shows the hunger for the contest that say Silver does, doesn't show the desire to get in and under like Swallow, Cunnington or Ziebell. Sticks his hands out to tackle rather than charge with the shoulder.

When we got him I thought he was comparable to Fyfe in terms of raw talent, Fyfe has taken the bull by the horns, Ryan hasn't. So he is where he is at no fault of anyone, only he has the power to alter his destiny. He has to want it bad enough.

Fyfe is a monster athlete and has obviously worked incredibly hard on his body.

A lot of supporters just assume that everyone of our guys gives 110% in the gym and on the track, eat perfectly and stay strict to an elite athletes life. It simply isn't the case, I look at a guy like Bastinac vs a kid like Fyfe, one has put on a good 15kg of muscle through the core, the other came to the club as one of the best runners and has slowly regressed, according to reports he picked it back up this year but players with minimal changes in body shape over 5 years in an AFL system simply aren't applying themselves hard enough imo.

 

[Black2Blue]

Looking at the Waite highlights and seeing him link up with Higgins and then get one on the chest from NDS. Hmmmmmmmm.
Someone please remind me, have we really actually picked up Dal Santo, Higgins, and Waite without having to fork out too much and giving up probably the equivalent of picks in the 70s or 80s and arguably Luke Delaney? Or am I still dreaming?

 

[Augustine]

Looking at the Waite highlights and seeing him link up with Higgins and then get one on the chest from NDS. Hmmmmmmmm.
Someone please remind me, have we really actually picked up Dal Santo, Higgins, and Waite without having to fork out too much and giving up and probably the equivalent of picks in the 70s or 80s and arguably Luke Delaney? Or am I still dreaming?

I thought the same thing during that passage of play. Imagine going back in time and showing that play 3 years ago...

 

[Heaps of fun]

Looking at the Waite highlights and seeing him link up with Higgins and then get one on the chest from NDS. Hmmmmmmmm.
Someone please remind me, have we really actually picked up Dal Santo, Higgins, and Waite without having to fork out too much and giving up and probably the equivalent of picks in the 70s or 80s and arguably Luke Delaney? Or am I still dreaming?

I thought the same thing during that passage of play. Imagine going back in time and showing that play 3 years ago...

Fair upgrade on Milky Warren, Ben Speight and Will Sierakowski.

 

[Black2Blue]

I thought the same thing during that passage of play. Imagine going back in time and showing that play 3 years ago...

The brave new world of free agency has quietly sent the golden goose to Arden St and I reckon we are all still in a bit of shock as to what's going on.

 

[kangaspurs]

Looking at the Waite highlights and seeing him link up with Higgins and then get one on the chest from NDS. Hmmmmmmmm.
Someone please remind me, have we really actually picked up Dal Santo, Higgins, and Waite without having to fork out too much and giving up probably the equivalent of picks in the 70s or 80s and arguably Luke Delaney? Or am I still dreaming?

Fair upgrade on Milky Warren, Ben Speight and Will Sierakowski.

Nah but we're topping up and trading away our future and only have an eye on 2015 without looking at the future and we're going to be a bottom side in 2 years time when our 47 players over 30 retire and we're giving games to old players near the end instead of playing kids and getting them right for the future.
Am I doing it right?

 

[Black2Blue]

Nah but we're topping up and trading away our future and only have an eye on 2015 without looking at the future and we're going to be a bottom side in 2 years time when our 47 players over 30 retire and we're giving games to old players near the end instead of playing kids and getting them right for the future.
Am I doing it right?

Perfect. Just woke me up with a gentle slap on the face with a wet fish.

 

[ozzyoslo]

Basti has been so overrated on this board for a long time. Now everyone is starting to realize his actual worth. Fringe player IMO. But I think he has always been a fringe player, unlike most posters here. I hope Im proven wrong, but he will be surpassed this year, by Dumont, Jacobs (who will start on Betts in round 1 if Thompson doesnt), and possibly even BMac.

Basti started off as this skinny rake who showed no fear, endurance to boot and was collecting his 22 possessions a game, we were all salivating what could be of the kid 5 years down the track. He has had 3 yrs going up and down on the spot, similar to Hansen, Wright , McKenzie(although he hasn't had the luxury of chances). I think Basti is a member of the B Jacobs club where there is a lack of self belief. He has to learn his body is much much stronger than it was when he was a rake I think.

 

[kangaspurs]

Basti started off as this skinny rake who showed no fear, endurance to boot and was collecting his 22 possessions a game, we were all salivating what could be of the kid 5 years down the track. He has had 3 yrs going up and down on the spot, similar to Hansen, Wright , McKenzie(although he hasn't had the luxury of chances). I think Basti is a member of the B Jacobs club where there is a lack of self belief. He has to learn his body is much much stronger than it was when he was a rake I think.

Not sure about adding Hansen and Wright to that list. Hansen has been one of our most important players since he's moved to defence and we often struggle restricting marks inside 50 and scores when he doesn't play. Wright was one of the best in the second half of last year and particularly after his finals performances he's just about a lock in our back half now.

 

[ozzyoslo]

Not sure about adding Hansen and Wright to that list. Hansen has been one of our most important players since he's moved to defence and we often struggle restricting marks inside 50 and scores when he doesn't play. Wright was one of the best in the second half of last year and particularly after his finals performances he's just about a lock in our back half now.

There's been a long line of Hansen bashing here, I even gave up in the end along with Wright.

 

[kangaspurs]

There's been a long line of Hansen bashing here, I even gave up in the end along with Wright.

There has in the past (I used to be a lurker, reading the forums without a profile) - mainly from a certain poster that is apparently a port fan now - but I think since he's moved to the backline a majority of fans and posters recognise that he's now one of our more important players.

 

[ozzyoslo]

Now the heat is put onto others now, Tarrant, Bastinac, Adams.

 

[kangaspurs]

Now the heat is put onto others now, Tarrant, Bastinac, Adams.

Would add Jacobs, McMahon and Harper to that list. At the end of this season a minimum of 3 players need to be delisted/retired and at this stage, unlike last year, there is no obvious candidates. In a way it's a good thing because it means we have serious depth, but after our premiership win this year there's going to be heartbreak for fans and players alike.
Obviously this is thinking way, way ahead but I can see it becoming a real problem at the end of the season with tough decisions needing to be made.

 

[Shagga is all Class]

Looking at the Waite highlights and seeing him link up with Higgins and then get one on the chest from NDS. Hmmmmmmmm.
Someone please remind me, have we really actually picked up Dal Santo, Higgins, and Waite without having to fork out too much and giving up probably the equivalent of picks in the 70s or 80s and arguably Luke Delaney? Or am I still dreaming?

The alternative is pot luck. Sure you get the odd Gibson or LT.

Be interesting to see how guys like Bastinac, Adams, Jacobs go with the pressure for spots and if they end up in the 2s at any stage.

 

[Black2Blue]

The alternative is pot luck. Sure you get the odd Gibson or LT.

Be interesting to see how guys like Bastinac, Adams, Jacobs go with the pressure for spots and if they end up in the 2s at any stage.

I suspect there might be a few senior players doing some stints in the 2s this year. As it stands Basti, Adams and Jacobs would be simply trying to claim 22nd spot in the side for round 1 but so will Wood, Harper, Dumont, and co, so even the competition in the 2s should be hot. I suppose this is the price to pay, if you could call it that, when bringing in some topliners, that the emerging guns have to wait in the wings a bit longer and the B graders who have been stalwarts during the rebuilding (i.e.. Adams) get left behind a bit. I reckon this has become a recurring theme in here, with most wanting to fit about 28 into the starting 22.
(I got away with that once when I was captain in juniors when no one wanted to come off and a reserve mob ready to come on and I just said bugger it, work it out yourselves and took myself off...think we had about 21 on the field in the last quarter)

 

[naturally north]

Nice write up, HH.

And good work on again reiterating that anyone losing their s**t and/or reading too much into our first hit-out in the NAB Cup should maybe chill out a little. Although I'd suggest that those wishing to focus on the negatives at this early stage are probably predisposed to doing so regardless of the circumstances. Even so, some of those game-day posts were pretty ****ing embarrassing.

So we're down by ten points against the Dees at quarter time, what ya think we'll be reading?

 

[osaka mick]

The NMFC link with the replay of the game is not working for me. Has anyone else had this problem. It may be because Im in Japan, and not in Australia, but that isnt usually a problem. Im able to watch other things, but not the game replay. Ive tried 3 different browsers, each with the same result!!