Player Review vs Hawks

[TradeDraft]

Playing in the backline in 15.

Well That is what they are saying but would he always play in the BackLine?

Playing him down back is a Mistake

 

[Apex36]

Training in the backline before Xmas.

EFA.

He may start in the back line, but I certainly wouldn't be putting money on him staying there the whole year.

There was just something about the way he talked about it in the SEN interview the other night, I think he knows he's destined for the forward line. Or I'm reading in to things too much, but that's the impression I got

 

[DaVe86]

Broomhead is an interesting one. He doesnt get enough of the ball, but he does enough with 14 touches or so that he doesnt have to be a big ball winner.

Ill take his 15 or so quality touches because we have big ball winners already.

However, if he wants to take the next step he needs to be a 25 possession a game player. He just looks so laconic out there that it makes you wonder if he cares enough, but all reports are he has a competitive streak.

Interesting prospect for us. Could be anything. For now he is serving a role anyway.

 

[Scodog10]

Very harsh.

How was that harsh? Concentrating on the ball in flight and not your opponent is a fundamental component of the sport.

If it was a once off sure that could be considered harsh, but that sort of game awareness error is made consistently by Frost.

Yeah he projects as a decent player given time, but for mine Ed was justified in critiquing that particular area of his game and was not harsh with his opinion.

 

[Apex36]

Broomhead is an interesting one. He doesnt get enough of the ball, but he does enough with 14 touches or so that he doesnt have to be a big ball winner.

Ill take his 15 or so quality touches because we have big ball winners already.

However, if he wants to take the next step he needs to be a 25 possession a game player. He just looks so laconic out there that it makes you wonder if he cares enough, but all reports are he has a competitive streak.

Interesting prospect for us. Could be anything. For now he is serving a role anyway.

Has shown that he can rack up 30+ possessions playing in the twos. Once he gets some senior experience under his belt I'm confident he can translate that to 20-25 possessions in the ones. For now though, his 15 quality possessions are good enough. Just about creamed my pants when he intercepted a ball and set up a goal in the first qtr. Screamed quality.

 

[Apex36]

How was that harsh? Concentrating on the ball in flight and not your opponent is a fundamental component of the sport.

If it was a once off sure that could be considered harsh, but that sort of game awareness error is made consistently by Frost.

Yeah he projects as a decent player given time, but for mine Ed was justified in critiquing that particular area of his game and was not harsh with his opinion.

I said it to the guy at the pub next to me last night. Why was he worried about where Gunston was? It was a high ball. Anticipate where it will land and your opponent will be there too. Frost just looked like an amateur in that instance, which I don't like saying because I like Frosty

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

I said it to the guy at the pub next to me last night. Why was he worried about where Gunston was? It was a high ball. Anticipate where it will land and your opponent will be there too. Frost just looked like an amateur in that instance, which I don't like saying because I like Frosty

This is the thing. It's defence 101. If it's a sky ball, you know where it's dropping, which also means you KNOW here your opponent will be. If you're in his way, he has to WORK to get that ball. Force him to take mark of the year because he's a chance to drop it with you spoiling right under the drop.

So the next question is, do you question his courage because he didn't want to put his body on the line to get to where he knew the ball would drop? Or is he just that dumb? It's one or the other and both are a concern quite frankly.

 

[EGsolomon]

In Defense: For his first hitout since shoulder injury, Brown played better as the game wore on, Taken early but then settled in, Langon looks fitter and ready to take on maxy's loose man role, Williams was ok should get better with more NAB games, in the mid field Grundy's ruck work also got better the more the game wore on and he was very active in the forward line with good defensive taking, Greenwood and Varcoe look like good gets. Greenwod looks like a ball getter and VArcoe has a precision kick if he can stay on the field. The forward played well, Fas looks like himself again, Elliot showed again he is an A Grader, White looked active and ready to assume the 2nd forward role and Side bottom look like himself rotating in and out through the midfield. Very Encourging

 

[Pera]

What are you blokes on about? Ask any football coach around, the first thing to do when the ball is in flight is to engage your oppenent as a backman. Frost absolutely did the right thing trying to find Gunston while the ball was in air. The execution was just off.

Trying to simply be in the landing zone of the pill and applying ZERO body contact on a forward, well, you're gonna lose more than you win.

 

[Scodog10]

What are you blokes on about? Ask any football coach around, the first thing to do when the ball is in flight is to engage your oppenent as a backman. Frost absolutely did the right thing trying to find Gunston while the ball was in air. The execution was just off.

Trying to simply be in the landing zone of the pill and applying ZERO body contact on a forward, well, you're gonna lose more than you win.

Yeah I can't agree with that at all because it goes against the most basic fundamental we're taught as kids in that the ball is always you're objective. Whether coaches are now coaching things the way you mentioned is completely irrelevant.

Let's say for a second though we do buy into that it may go some way to explain why the fundamentals of so many kids entering the system these days are poor. Because the only way to effectively gain touch in a contest like that is to take your eye off the ball and as soon as you do that your a lame duck because your opponent will have already reacted to where the drop zone will be. That's if you aren't awarded a free kick against you anyway.

FWIW as near as I can tell none of us is saying he stand in the drop zone and try to make body contact. You run, jump and attempt to spoil toward the boundary. It's close to the simplest skill a backmen can execute. At that level it's all about playing the percentages and attacking the ball in flight leaves the greatest margin for error.

 

[Eddierules]

Broomhead is an interesting one. He doesnt get enough of the ball, but he does enough with 14 touches or so that he doesnt have to be a big ball winner.

Ill take his 15 or so quality touches because we have big ball winners already.

However, if he wants to take the next step he needs to be a 25 possession a game player. He just looks so laconic out there that it makes you wonder if he cares enough, but all reports are he has a competitive streak.

Interesting prospect for us. Could be anything. For now he is serving a role anyway.

Man one thing that sticks out for me with Broomhead is he,s got guts and by the bucketload .


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BoxMatrix]

Broomhead is an interesting one. He doesnt get enough of the ball, but he does enough with 14 touches or so that he doesnt have to be a big ball winner.

Ill take his 15 or so quality touches because we have big ball winners already.

However, if he wants to take the next step he needs to be a 25 possession a game player. He just looks so laconic out there that it makes you wonder if he cares enough, but all reports are he has a competitive streak.

Interesting prospect for us. Could be anything. For now he is serving a role anyway.

Maybe the next Cyril Rioli?

I'm not a big fan of Cyril, but he is a handy player.

 

[Douglass]

It was amazing to see how multi-dimensional our fowardline was last night. And all without the big man Cloke. Or maybe because Cloke wasn't there! Last year it was Cloke or Elliot that were air-threats as the ball was coming into the forwardline and perhaps Goldsack as a tackling threat on the way out. This made it way too easy for defenders to cover our attack. Last night 115 points were scored with multiple goal scorers led by Fasolo with 4. That has probably sealed his first round appearance as a stay at home forward. Gault and White both showed big man marking skills, so 3 man-teaming of Cloke might not be the no-brainer for opposition backmen in 2015.

I think Karnesis is one of the blokes Buckley is referring to when he says young guys can be asking new questions of the match committee. A tall strong frame with footy knowhow and knack for putting a footy through the big sticks. I'll go further and back him to go in round 1 against the Brisbane lions. Why not? Ex-lion with a true Magpie heart emerges as a forward nightmare matchup? Can you suggest a better debut?

Lots of options there folks! How it plays out into the season is going to very interesting indeed.

 

[loki04]

EFA.

He may start in the back line, but I certainly wouldn't be putting money on him staying there the whole year.

There was just something about the way he talked about it in the SEN interview the other night, I think he knows he's destined for the forward line. Or I'm reading in to things too much, but that's the impression I got

Yeah I don't see him staying a defender either but Bucks and Hine have both stated he will start his career as a defender.

 

[Gone Critical]

What are you blokes on about? Ask any football coach around, the first thing to do when the ball is in flight is to engage your oppenent as a backman. Frost absolutely did the right thing trying to find Gunston while the ball was in air. The execution was just off.

Trying to simply be in the landing zone of the pill and applying ZERO body contact on a forward, well, you're gonna lose more than you win.

I am with you Pera. It wasn't a great effort but no biggie. A swirling ball back over your head is not an easy one to defend. You have to keep some contact with your opponent. Can't just forget them. Backmen. By nature are reactive. Frosts biggest strength for mine is his ability to negate a ball in the air. One incident doesn't change that

 

[Buckley is my hero]

I am with you Pera. It wasn't a great effort but no biggie. A swirling ball back over your head is not an easy one to defend. You have to keep some contact with your opponent. Can't just forget them. Backmen. By nature are reactive. Frosts biggest strength for mine is his ability to negate a ball in the air. One incident doesn't change that

Have to also look up the field where the ball was coming down lightening fast and no opportunity for the defenders to cover space. Backman's worst nightmare and against an experienced forward like Gunston, Frost was always going to be up against it. Most defenders would have beaten in those circumstances. Buddy Franklin thrives in those situations.

 

[Buckley is my hero]

very happy with the boys last night. I liked that we played as a team and didn’t rely on one or two players to try and work miracles. We’ve made some smart trades in the off season that look to complement our, dare I say it, gameplan that is starting to materialise. Looked fitter, smarter and unified. Very good early signs. Lets see how we go this year

Haven't we screwed Brisbane?
Karnezis for Paine.
De Goey, Greenwood and Crisp for Beams.
Brisbane are the new Freemantle.

 

[PieMan!]

It was amazing to see how multi-dimensional our fowardline was last night. And all without the big man Cloke. Or maybe because Cloke wasn't there! Last year it was Cloke or Elliot that were air-threats as the ball was coming into the forwardline and perhaps Goldsack as a tackling threat on the way out. This made it way too easy for defenders to cover our attack. Last night 115 points were scored with multiple goal scorers led by Fasolo with 4. That has probably sealed his first round appearance as a stay at home forward. Gault and White both showed big man marking skills, so 3 man-teaming of Cloke might not be the no-brainer for opposition backmen in 2015.

I think Karnesis is one of the blokes Buckley is referring to when he says young guys can be asking new questions of the match committee. A tall strong frame with footy knowhow and knack for putting a footy through the big sticks. I'll go further and back him to go in round 1 against the Brisbane lions. Why not? Ex-lion with a true Magpie heart emerges as a forward nightmare matchup? Can you suggest a better debut?

Lots of options there folks! How it plays out into the season is going to very interesting indeed.

Hopefully Fasolo and Karnesis can kick Blair out of the team i hope

 

[DrDavoren]

Haven't we screwed Brisbane?
Karnezis for Paine.
De Goey, Greenwood and Crisp for Beams.
Brisbane are the new Freemantle.

When you add the Paine for Karnesis we are already miles in front

 

[Manic Magpie]

I think Karnesis is one of the blokes Buckley is referring to when he says young guys can be asking new questions of the match committee. A tall strong frame with footy knowhow and knack for putting a footy through the big sticks. I'll go further and back him to go in round 1 against the Brisbane lions. Why not? Ex-lion with a true Magpie heart emerges as a forward nightmare matchup? Can you suggest a better debut?

A better debut would be to have Crisp debuting with him. And I'd like to see something happen to Beams but can't say what cos all sorts of people jump down your throat when you wish anything negative on anyone. So my secret thoughts and wishes will remain bottled up within.

 

[Douglass]

A better debut would be to have Crisp debuting with him. And I'd like to see something happen to Beams but can't say what cos all sorts of people jump down your throat when you wish anything negative on anyone. So my secret thoughts and wishes will remain bottled up within.

I'm with you - Crisp and Karnezis! And look out! What about Greenwood and Varcoe too! What do you have Brisbane? Oh, Beams and Paine! And so it came to pass, that Beams the annointed one, in breaking his pre-destined bond with the mighty ones, inadvertently set the seeds of Karnezis the mercurial, Crisp the swift and powerful, Greenwood the tenacious and Varcoe the reborn, to reek havoc among the northern unbelievers who dare question the might and the right of the Collingwood FC!

 

[Gone Critical]

I'm with you - Crisp and Karnezis! And look out! What about Greenwood and Varcoe too! What do you have Brisbane? Oh, Beams and Paine! And so it came to pass, that Beams the annointed one, in breaking his pre-destined bond with the mighty ones, inadvertently set the seeds of Karnezis the mercurial, Crisp the swift and powerful, Greenwood the tenacious and Varcoe the reborn, to reek havoc among the northern unbelievers who dare question the might and the right of the Collingwood FC!

Crisp stepped up his claims but I think at the moment he won't be best 22 round 1 unless he continues to improve next 2 games. To fit him in we have to drop out someone else and at the moment there is an even and fairly long line of players looking for a midfield position

 

[NT.Thunder]

Crisp stepped up his claims but I think at the moment he won't be best 22 round 1 unless he continues to improve next 2 games. To fit him in we have to drop out someone else and at the moment there is an even and fairly long line of players looking for a midfield position

Crisp needs to play 4 qtrs for my mind to be best 22 round 1.

Was impressive early but faded. When you look at who will be available, it won't be easy for Crisp, Freeman, PK or others to walk into the side.

Our core 22 is pretty strong.

 

[rose jam]

Karnezis could play the Gunston role. I mean Gunston gets a hell of a lot of opportunities loose because of the way the Hawks use the ball, think Karnezis could be relatively as effective, but he won't get the same service

 

[Mungo Mulligan Stew]

Bugger it, let's get carried away. I know it was a NAB challenge game against a neutered and understrength opposition, and I know it means precisely nothing in the scheme of things. But you know what? We were neutered and understrength without our four best players in Pendles, Swan, Cloke and Reid. And I still enjoyed beating the Hawks and the smug grins of Langford, Mitchell and Gunston.

So bugger it, let's get carried away! Go pies! That was great fun!

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

We structured up well, locking them down for large portions of the game, and a lot of the time their goals came not as a result of being outstructured, outworked or outcoached, but rather as a result of the undeniable individual class that so many of the reigning premiers possess. Mitchell especially. Unfortunately for us he doesn't look like slowing down any time soon. What a gun. Hate his guts, but what a gun. It was the skill of players like him that set them away more often than not, which you're never going to be able to shut down completely. But outside of those flashes of brilliance, we were better across the field and our stronger depth really put the squeeze on them for long periods. It was great to see.

We looked fast. Additions like Varcoe and Crisp really covered the ground well. Both found themselves in space quite often which was a testament to their workrate and speed. Players like Sinclair, Ramsay, Williams, White and De Goey all showed some serious toe and we just looked much quicker than a Hawks team with some serious speedsters kicking about as well. In addition we looked fit, and it was good to see us run out the game so strongly, albeit against a Hawks side that looked underdone.

But importantly - and I feared this wouldn't be the case if we focused on recruiting for speed as much as we clearly have been these last few years - we still looked strong. We were really tough and hard at the footy and the man and the number of contests we won was in stark contrast to the last season or two, where we've been struggling to win one-on-ones all over the park (save for a few players). This game, we saw Greenwood, Adams, De Goey, Crisp, White, Williams and Langdon (and I'm sure quite a few others I'm forgetting about) really throw their weight around and impose themselves on the contest.

And this leads into the tackling, which was excellent. We tackled really strongly all game. Special mention should go to first-gamer De Goey here who was super impressive in this regard. He made mistakes but if desperation and effort can get you a place in this team (and I think we've seen it can, Jarryd Blair) then he's going to give round 1 a genuine push. Others usual suspects like Sinclair, Williams, Adams, Goldsack et al were in the thick of the tackling and pressure acts action too, which was heartening to see - but perhaps even more heartening was the contested effort of players like Kennedy and Karnezis who really hit the man hard with 5 tackles a piece.

Finally, it was great to see such an even spread of contribution. Ten goalkickers, possessions spread really evenly across the board, and you'd have to say we didn't have any real superstars tonight - just a great team effort where almost every player played their role. This is what we were so good at in 2010/11, and it's what dropped away over the last two seasons - we've been relying on star power from Pendles, Cloke, Swan and Beams to get us over the line. We need that even spread back, and tonight we saw it.

Anyway, onto the players:

THE VOTES

To pick a top five is really hard considering the even spread. Still, here goes:

5: Tom Langdon
4: Alex Fasolo
3: Marley Williams
2: Patty Karnezis
1: Jesse White, Brodie Grundy, Ben Kennedy, Travis Varcoe, Ben Sinclair, Taylor Adams, Levi Greenwood, Jack Crisp, Corey Gault, throw a blanket over them.

THE PLAYERS

Tom Langdon - Smooth as silk. Intercepted, mopped up time and time again, shut down his man, won the contested ball and used it beautifully on all bar one occasion. He racked up the rebounds as is his speciality and he looks to have taken another step forward this year after a superb first season. I didn't realise he was that fast, or strong for that matter. If he was a year older than the rest of the draftees then does this mean we get to avoid the second year blues with this kid? Touch wood. Super talented and just screams 200 game player. Could be a future captain. Can you tell I'm in love all over again?

Alex Fasolo - He's been the source of great debate on our board for a while now. Is he a flash-in-the-pan first year star who only looked good cos he was in a gun team? Or is a future star who has been cruelled by injury these past few years? Tonight he certainly looked more the latter than the former. He was great at the contest, took a couple of great contested grabs, and used his elite kicking skills beautifully by slotting four goals straight. Barring the one mistake early where he selfishly blazed at goal from 55, he chose the right option all night, and his two late goals were just reward for a strong performance over the course of the game.

Marley Williams - Marley understandably dropped off the pace last year after a magnificent 2013, but tonight he looked back to his best. He made the odd skill error which is something we're always going to get from him, but he destroyed whichever opponent he was on at the time (he had heaps as the rotations were going crazy) and he rebounded strongly. And obviously, since we're talking about Marley here, he won an unfair amount of contested footy. That just goes without saying. If there's a loose ball and a fifty-fifty contest, Marley is going to win it every time. Did he lose one tonight? I can't remember it.

Patty K - That was a sight for sore eyes. This kid has got some serious skill. Kicked a beauty from the boundary with a checkside, plucked a couple of cheeky contested grabs, and didn't show any of the laziness I've heard can infiltrate his game - after all, he finished with a team-high 5 tackles. And his ball use. Oh God, his ball use. There was a passage in the third where he picked up on the wing and hit the left nipple of our leading flanker fifty metres away. I think he can really find a niche as a wingman/high half forward who can mark, run, and really hit the scoreboard. Three goals was a great reward for effort.

Jesse White - Trying not to get carried away since White's got form here. He's looked great early in the year for a while now only to drop off the longer the season goes. But tonight's performance was a bit different from the Geelong game in last year's NAB where he kicked all his goals as a crumber. Tonight he kicked big man goals. Lead, mark, kick straight. Break the contest open and hit the ball and man hard. Even took a great overhead mark under pressure which isn't a trademark of his which was good to see. And he did all this against the "best" defender on the ground in Spud Frawley - who lived up to his nickname tonight, by the way. He was terrible. I'm still outraged that Melbourne got PICK FREAKIN THREE for that useless waste of space. On the bright side, in retrospect, it allowed us to use our bumped-down-the-order pick #5 on...

Jordan De Goey - You can see why Hine and co rated him, and why Bucks from all reports is nursing a semi for this boy. He made errors - a couple actually - but he gave us a glimpse that he's going to be capable of some very special things, too. To start off with, he gifted Sidey an early goal with his relentless attack on man and ball, culminating in a crunching tackle inside 50 and an easy dribble goal to the captain. Then there was a special centre clearance where he was one-on-one with Sam Mitchell, won the ball cleanly in a body-on-body contest, then put on the afterburners and powered away. Then there was the fearless use of his non-preferred - I actually thought he was a left footer for a large proportion of that game. And then a really classy finish to score a long goal and put the icing on the cake for the team in a strong last quarter. I'm excited. He looks ready to play now. Bring on Round 1, I reckon he'll be there. Also, just realised, 91% efficiency. Makes smart choices and executes well.

Brodie Grundy - Looked fitter, stronger, and perhaps most importantly, smarter than he has at any time thus far in his career - there were no stupid free kicks or reckless tackles all night, in fact he even won a couple of frees from the ruck contest himself. This is absolutely unheard of for a Collingwood ruckman. Competed strongly in the ruck and worked hard up and down the ground, harder than I've seen him do before. And finished off a great piece of play with a rover's goal that was dedication to that improved workrate.

Ben Kennedy - I really like this kid. His kicking can be a bit iffy at times but he seemed to keep that under control tonight and used it really well. There were no really hard kicks he had to pull off, but that was due to his smart decision making. More importantly, he has an appetite for the contest and a sticky pair of hands - on multiple occasions he hit the awkward groundball at top speed tonight and somehow clunked it instantly where other players were fumbling all over the place. He was another to tackle strongly with five over the evening.

Travis Varcoe - his touch wasn't quite there tonight but he covered the ground as nicely as I've ever seen him do. He found acres of space everywhere and worked tirelessly up and down the wing. And his kicking is seriously sexy. That bullet from the top of the fifty to hit Sidebum on the chest in the forward pocket was emblematic of a guy who knows he has a sweet right peg and isn't afraid to use it. That's something we've been severely lacking. The guy he'll be replacing on the wing - Harry O - used to bomb it for distance more than accuracy, often to our detriment. If Varcs can keep going like he did tonight, choosing hard options and executing at 85% efficiency, we'll go a long way towards improving our transition which was struggling big time last season.

Ben Sinclair - he's much better as a backman than a forward. He looked composed, sharp and... dare I say it... damaging by foot? No. No, I won't say that. Doesn't sound quite right just yet. But I was thoroughly impressed with his lightning speed, willingness to take the game on with quick chains of handballs and line breaking runs, and yes, even his delivery by foot tonight. If he makes it as a small defender it frees up someone like Marley who I think could be a really dangerous weapon as an in-and-under mid. EDIT: I wasn't imagining it. HE WENT AT 92% EFFICIENCY TONIGHT! Well done Ben!

Taylor Adams - he's going to cause us all heartache at times with his decision making, which is still a little behind the rest of his game. And he is prone to the occasional shank. That being said, he's a contested beast and will be a Luke Ball replacement in a season or two. He racked it up on the inside of packs, had six clearances which was a game-high, and when he found space - which he did on more occasions than he managed last year - he executed a couple of really nice passes by foot. There was the one glaring mistake where he chose to kick into the centre of the ground where Varcoe was outnumbered three to one, but outside that and a notable mongrel clanger, he was really solid. Looks better than last year.

Levi Greenwood - started slowly but worked his way into it and covered the kilometres better than just about anyone else I reckon. Showed intelligence around the pack, knowing when to finesse and handball to a clear teammate and when to relieve the pressure with a thumping kick forward to nothing in particular. That's a skill we need to have - too often around the packs we try one handball too many and cough it up in dangerous areas. He won lots of hard ball and most importantly knew when it was time to just bang it forward rather than fluff about with it.

Jack Crisp - did one or two things that made me think we might have a player on our hands here. He started a lot stronger than he finished, showing in the first half great pace, great evasiveness, and most impressively, great strength. There was an instance where he was sold into trouble by a hospital handpass but was able to stand firm and put the Hawthorn tackler on his arse before breaking clear and retaining possession for us. There was another moment where he sold some Pendles-esque candy to clear the congestion, which had me double taking for a second. And he tackles like a beast - Goldsack-esque in that regard. Let's see if I can fit any more -esque's into his review... hmm. His first name is Anthony-esque, but let's not hold that against him. He's a great size, has great physical attributes, and his kicking wasn't nearly as poor as we'd been led to believe. Could he be a cheeky chance for round one?

Corey Gault - I'll admit to not being Corey's biggest fan. He got plaudits for his game against the Hawks in Rd 23 last year but I think he really lucked out in that game with two flukey goals and didn't really provide much in the way of a genuine tall target. Tonight was a different story. His big pack mark and goal was the evening's highlight, and moreso than that, his ruck presence was also pretty impressive, given the Hawks played their best two rucks all night in Ceglar and McEvoy. Has a great leap and is beginning to show some sticky hands, plus some smart decision making and neat disposal when thrown onto the ball. He might not be done with yet. Jesse White would want to stay on his game.

Steele Sidebottom - typical game from the captain where he racked it up and led the midfield. Should probably have thrown him in the votes somewhere. Nothing special, just a solid contributor who also happened to top our possession list. Kicked a nice goal then robbed Crispy of a set shot dead in front by taking the advantage and butchering it. I think this will be a big year for Steele. He looked good all game without ever really breaking out of second gear.

Josh Thomas - another who could have been in the votes but his ball use let him down. Still, he did some really nice things, taking a great gutsy mark backing into fast-moving traffic and imposing himself nicely on a few clearances. Showed some serious toe at points, too. Still, going at 42% efficiency isn't going to do him any favours. Needs to tidy that aspect of his game up considerably if he's to get games ahead of the glut of first round draft picks that are coming up around him.

Jackson Ramsay - started really slowly with a few errors and then got better and better as the game wore on, culminating in one of the highlights of the night when he received a handpass at half back, burst away from his opponent (the very quick indigenous kid Miller-Lewis), then steadied and delivered the pass of the evening into forward fifty for a mark and goal to... I've forgotten. Karnezis? White? Fasolo? Someone like that. Anyway, showed some real turns of speed, won a few nice hard balls and used the footy pretty well I've got to say. Wasn't big on him last year but he showed a bit tonight. Well done to him.

Tim Broomhead - I didn't notice him heaps tonight but the stats say he got a bit of it. He set us away with a really nice contested grab and smart, quick handball to give us one of our first goals of the evening, and he had that general silky aura that he possesses when near the ball - he just seems to make the right choice and execute nicely each time. A real player. A real classy player. We need players like that.

Nathan Freeman - much like the intraclub, he started slowly before getting better as the game went on. This is probably due to his elite endurance. But to be honest, he didn't show a heap tonight, I don't think he'll be thrilled with his game. He monged a couple of passes that should have been pretty easy and didn't really impose himself on the game, and I'm not sure he'll be the walk-up start to round one that many were suggesting. Still, I like the kid a lot and considering the amount of footy he missed I think there's every chance his development will go through the roof this year.

Nathan Brown - I didn't think he'd be playing this game but it was good to see him out there again. He's just a truck of a human being. He got caught out once or twice by McEvoy I think but generally had the better of whoever he was on with real body strength and positional awareness. He was waxing nicely with Williams, Langdon and Sinclair as the go-to team who were linking up beautifully with strings of slick handballs to clear our defensive lines. I prefer him to both Keeffe and Frosty and I think there's only room for two of those three in the best 22 most weeks.

Jamie Elliott - quiet game from the new #5 but that's actually a promising sign considering we still managed to put a score on the board without him or Cloke contributing. Last year, if it wasn't those two, we were toast. This year, it looks like we've got a handful of players who can fill their stead and kick a bag if we need them to. We all know what Jamie's capable of and I'm backing him to have a huge year. His set shot in the last showed that his accuracy hasn't deserted him over summer.

Alan Toovey - strong defensively and struggled on the rebound. So a typical Tooves game really. But in a backline where Langdon, Sinclair, Ramsay and Williams were all hitting targets on the way out, the couple of times where he missed his mark really stood out. I think he'll start the year as the go-to back pocket because his defensive side is so strong, but it will be interesting to see whether we'll start to prefer the more offensively dangerous options as the season progresses.

Adam Oxley - came on in the second half and struggled to pick up the pace of the game. Made one or two errors which cost the team but stabilised and provided neat skills of a back flank for the last quarter-and-a-bit. Hard to make an impact off the bench like that, so I won't judge him too harshly; but that season-ending injury at the start of last year was really cruel for his development.

Jack Frost - kept Gunston fairly quiet all night which is no mean feat. I reckon he'll be a really good match up for Gunston in the season proper, since he has the aerial strength but also the speed and agility to go with him. Put on a couple of nice bumps and made a clanger, so it was typical Frosty fare! I like him. Physical beast. Ahead of Keeffe at this stage for mine.

Sam Dwyer - subbed on late and got a little bit of it and used it well as we know he can. Hope he can get over his constant niggling injuries of last season because I reckon his debut year was fantastic and I think he's still got something really unique and special to bring to the team if he can get it right this season. Makes great decisions and is one of the best weighted passers we've got. Needs to work on his defensive side a bit though.

Tyson Goldsack - subbed off I think and didn't do a heap when he was on, save for an early tackle on the Spud which gave us a free and goal inside 50. Brought the tackling pressure but he's going to need to do more offensively and start winning more football if he's going to play up front this year you'd say.

Go pies! God it's good to have footy back again!

Great review - reposted to The Collingwood Blog