Good workWhat a disappointing loss, we could have won that easily if we kicked straight.
It's hit me hard, however the show must go on.
My best 5:
- 5 points: Pendlebury
- 4 points: Williams
- 3 points: Sidebottom
- 2 points: Crisp
- 1 point: Witts
My worst 5:
- minus 5 points: Toovey
- minus 4 points: Elliott
- minus 3 points: Oxley
- minus 2 points: Frost
- minus 1 point: Moore
Individual player reviews:
#13 Taylor Adams:
24 possessions - 10 kicks - 14 handballs - 3 marks - 7 tackles - Score 1.0 - 75% Disposal Efficiency.
Great game tonight from the "bull" - I loved reading the article about him in the Herald Sun today and he's gonna be a superstar isn't he? I can't quite put my finger on what he really needs to take his game to the next level, possibly just a few more possessions here and there would help him stand out to the media. He really stood up when the game heated up and gave us that Luke Ball-like in and under work in the midfield. 11 of his 24 possessions were contested which is almost half. That's huge! AND he also had 9 clearances, second to only Pendlebury. No wonder why he's called the Bull. - Rating B+
#11 Jarryd Blair:
8 possessions - 2 kicks - 6 handballs - 0 marks - 1 tackle - Score 1.0 - 100% Disposal Efficiency.
Came on as the sub and gave us some much needed run & carry and looked fired up. I'd like to see him be the sub more often if this will be the case. He only achieved 10 possessions last week from a full match and managed 8 as the sub playing one quarter tonight. He really tried to lift our midfield in the last quarter and I think it was a really superb effort for the wee man. Super sub? Yes I think so. - Rating B
#29 Tim Broomhead:
17 possessions - 5 kicks - 12 handballs - 1 mark - 4 tackles - Score 1.1 - 76% Disposal Efficiency
I'll quote what I said last week - "Had a massive first half and then seemed to drop off in output a bit" - It seemed to be the case tonight as well. He had 8 disposals in the first quarter I believe? He came out firing and kicked a classy goal and then seemed to taper off. Definitely doesn't have the tank right now but I think next year he'll be a 20+ possession a game player. He's so classy in front of goal, going to be really dangerous when he learns to find the pill a bit more. - Rating C+
#16 Nathan Brown:
14 possessions - 6 kicks - 8 handballs - 3 marks - 4 tackles - Opponent's Score 0.2 - 78% Disposal Efficiency
One of his best games for the year in my opinion, Had the resting ruck in Hale most of the night and used his speed advantage well by competing hard at the contest and offering rebound out of our defensive 50. Was definitely our best Tall Defender tonight, he was at every contest doing his best work to get the ball away from the Hawthorn forwards. Inspiring game from Browny! - Rating B
#32 Travis Cloke:
20 possessions - 16 kicks - 4 handballs - 11 marks - 0 tackles - Score 1.4 - 55% Disposal Efficiency
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH Travis Cloke. Where do I start? He's an absolute monster, a Physical anomaly, and yet he can't kick a goal to save his life!! Was the general up forward tonight with some amazing grabs and seemed to push every defender that came near him aside, yet he couldn't convert. A few straight kicks from him would have made him 3.2 and would have easily won us the match. Sure he pulled a goal out of his ass which gave us momentum, but he just as easily took it back with the easy ones he missed. He's definitely our most influential player and yet our most frustrating too, I can't disregard how hard he battled tonight and for that he get's a: - Rating B+
#25 Jack Crisp:
28 possessions - 19 kicks - 9 handballs - 5 marks - 7 tackles - Score 1.1 - 67% Disposal Efficiency
Ran off Mitchell and didn't do much to nullify the Champion that Sam Mitchell is however played a blinder of his own and came out even I think. He seems good for about a goal a game this season which is good to have in a midfielder and is making me think why Brisbane got rid of him so easily. I thought he was quiet early and then seemed to get better as the game went on. - Rating B+
#35 Jordan De Goey
18 possessions - 5 kicks - 13 handballs - 3 mark - 5 tackles - Score 1.1 - 72% Disposal Efficiency
The best game I have seen this kid play. He seems to be getting better every week when my expectation was for him to fade. He kicked the first goal for us and did some amazing things all night. He's definitely going to be a 200+ game player for us. - Rating B
#5 Jamie Elliott
10 possessions - 5 kicks - 5 handballs - 2 marks - 3 tackles - Score 0.0 - 80% Disposal Efficiency
Not good enough tonight from what should be our premier small forward and like I said last week he seems to be able to beat up the bad sides but seems very uneasy when under pressure, I failed to see him do much except for almost take mark of the year. Was he being tagged? I don't think so. Definitely copped a bit from Bucks at the interchange bench during the 4th quarter. I think Bucks was just quietly saying without getting too mad "Just try to get in the game, we need you!" however he failed to deliver. He needs to at least kick one goal when playing as a forward, and not even that impressive attempt at a mark is going to help the rating i'm about to give him... Possibly a spell in the VFL might be needed? He could be in a bit of strife for that Mitchell hit. 1 week maybe? We have Karnezis and Kennedy which could be no worse than what he gave us tonight. - Rating D
#1 Alex Fasolo
18 possessions - 10 kicks - 8 handballs - 5 marks - 2 tackles - Score 1.3 - 77% Disposal Efficiency
He was very quiet until the last half which is when he came alive. I don't know what happened to his accuracy tonight, however the whole team seemed to be a bit off with their kicking at goal. I would usually refer to Fasolo as being our most accurate kick in the side, and at some points he's struck me as Didak-Like but tonight was an exception and a few of them went wayward. Oh and did I mention he had 11 contested possessions? I thought Fasolo was supposed to be a weak player who doesn't like the contest! It was a good game for Fasolo and by game I mean second half. - Rating B
#45 Jack Frost
6 possessions - 2 kicks - 4 handballs - 1 marks - 4 tackles - Opponent's Score 1.0 - 100% Disposal Efficiency
Didn't really let Schoenmakers do much, but in the end... It's Schoenmakers! Has he ever been a good forward, let alone a good anything? Frost made a few critical skill errors tonight and I almost threw something at the TV when I saw him a few metres in front of his man at the time (Can't remember who it was). He can definitely do better than what he provided tonight as I thought he was in the wrong place at the wrong time a few times. - Rating C
#8 Tom Langdon
20 possessions - 10 kicks - 10 handballs - 5 marks - 3 tackles - Opponent's Score 2.4 - 75% Disposal Efficiency
The Langdon of last year? Probably not yet. His best game for us this year? Yep. Definitely! I think he was on Gunston for most of the night, and even though Gunston's accuracy flattered Langdon a bit, let's admit it, Gunston is a gun. (haha get it? Gunston... Gun? Alright I'll stop...) - Tom Langdon did a lot of things right tonight, including that courageous effort in the first minutes of the game which SHOULD have been paid a mark... he never lost his cool during a 1 on 1, and took some impressive intercept marks. I think he was our second best defensive rebounder behind Williams. A cool, calm, and collected effort from such a young player. - Rating B
#37 Brayden Maynard
11 possessions - 7 kicks - 4 handballs - 2 marks - 6 tackles - Score 0.0 - 72% Disposal Efficiency
Serviceable in his first game which ended up being such a high pressure game. Found himself right in the thick of a defence that was under attack for a lot of the game, and more than likely came out of it a much more experienced player. I didn't see much of Brayden, but that only means that he didn't do too much wrong. He gets a shot next week I reckon. - Rating C+
#30 Darcy Moore
4 possessions - 2 kicks - 2 handballs - 1 mark - 0 tackles - Score 0.1 - 50% Disposal Efficiency
I'm probably being a bit harsh on him by giving him the -1 but it just wasn't the right game to debut him in! Too intense for him to find his feet and you could see he wanted to get into it but his eyes just weren't focused enough. Loved when he went back with pure courage and fought for the ball during that play in the last, however it was a poor decision from the selection committee to pick him in this game. If you want to debut him, you do it in a few weeks time against the Bulldogs, not against the Hawks in which you know will be one of the most intense games of the season. - Rating C
#43 Adam Oxley
15 possessions - 6 kicks - 9 handballs - 2 marks - 3 tackles - Score 0.1 - 80% Disposal Efficiency
Hasn't been the best the last few weeks due to the contested nature of these games we've been having, he hasn't been able to play the spare man well and I think it may be time for a rest for Scharenberg to debut? The contested game does not suit him and I love seeing him as the spare man but only when he's able to cut it off effectively. The Ox is slow and tonight's game may have been too fast for him - Rating D+
#10 Scott Pendlebury
37 possessions - 18 kicks - 19 handballs - 6 marks - 10 tackles - Score 0.0 - 73% Disposal Efficiency
BOY OH BOY WOWWWEEEEEEE, I'm so happy Pendles is my SuperCoach vice captain, I'm taking the captain off Fyfe this week and using Pendles, I don't even care if Fyfe ends up having a blinder, Pendlebury's superb effort tonight stunned me as I thought he was injured last week. Either he's half machine and Buckley rebuilt him or he has just been saving all his energy for this game. Either way he did an amazing job tonight and almost single handedly got us over the line. What a Champion! He had a massive 20 contested possessions and game high 10 clearances, he never, NEVER, NEVER! looked stressed at all when up close and his influence was massive around the ball. - Rating A+
#22 Steele Sidebottom
30 possessions - 14 kicks - 16 handballs - 6 marks - 4 tackles - Score 0.1 - 76% Disposal Efficiency
What has happened to Sidey lately? He doesn't seem the same since coming back from injury... Yeah that's what I said last week. But tonight he really let the shackles off and seemed to be everywhere again like his usual self. He swept up in defence, played in&under midfield, and provided a good link-up option in the forward line. Sidey's back! - Rating A
#36 Dane Swan
19 possessions - 11 kicks - 8 handballs - 5 marks - 2 tackles - Score 2.1 - 63% Disposal Efficiency
Played predominantly forward tonight, and I think that's because he's lost a lot of his explosive speed, but his skill is still there and he was more than serviceable for us tonight. Loved his 2 goals which really helped our momentum, and still looks to be a great on field leader. How long can he keep this up for? I truly hope it's for a couple more years. - Rating B
#34 Alan Toovey
6 possessions - 3 kicks - 3 handballs - 1 mark - 4 tackles - Opponent's Score 5.0 - 33% Disposal Efficiency
NOT.GOOD.ENOUGH Tonight.
I thought he was at least serviceable last week, but he was pathetic tonight. Only ran at 33% disposal efficiency and really let Rioli off the hook. Battled hard during the 1 on 1's like he always does, but it's no consolidation when your opponent kicks 5 goals on you. Needs to either pledge to bounce back or be dropped. It's just not acceptable, if Rioli was locked down better we would have won. With most of the bigfooty community lauding his last two performances, surely it's time for a spell? Sinclair could be no worse. - Rating D-
#26 Marley Williams
27 possessions - 16 kicks - 11 handballs - 5 marks - 2 tackles - Opponent's Score 3.0 - Score 1.0 - 77% Disposal Efficiency
Can you say "All Australian?" Marley? I sure can. What a wonderful game he played tonight which backs up his great performance last week. He just provides SO MUCH REBOUND to our backline we would have been lost without him tonight. Most of his 27 possessions were in Defence and a lot of them were contested. I loved his goal too which came out of nowhere. - Rating A
#15 Jarrod Witts
14 possessions - 6 kicks - 8 handballs - 2 marks - 6 tackles - Score 0.0 - 36 Hitouts - 25 Opponent hitouts - 57% Disposal Efficiency
He didn't have Sandilands to deal with, so he absolutely monstered Hale and Ceglar tonight, I thought it was the best game I've seen him play in black and white, because he did great at ground level like he usually does, but also did well in the air by winning the hitouts and taking a few crucial marks. I'd still like to see him make more of an impact up forward but I liked what I saw tonight, he was the dominant ruckman and hopefully with Grundy back in the team we can win the hitouts count as a team more often. - Rating B
#9 Jesse White
14 possessions - 11 kicks - 3 handballs - 6 marks - 1 tackle - Score 2.2 - 10 Hitouts - 50% Disposal Efficiency
As much as people won't agree with me when I say this, I don't think he was that bad tonight. He played his role well, battled manfully up forward and in the ruck, providing a contest in both positions, and kicked one more goal than Cloke. Yes, the one he missed in the 4th, just like last week, proves he is mentally weak. You could even see him mutter words to himself after that miss. But do we have a better option? No. Is Jesse serviceable at what he does? Yes. I still don't think we'll win a flag while he's in the side, but that's something for us to worry about next year. He was good for us tonight structurally without being a standout - Rating C+
#18 Travis Varcoe
21 possessions - 12 kicks - 9 handballs - 8 marks - 1 tackle - Opponent's Score 0.0 - Score 0.1 - 66% Disposal Efficiency
His report will get thrown out, I'll be VERY surprised if it isn't. He didn't stand out as much as last week, but was still pretty great. I had him down as our 6th best player tonight and if he keeps this up you'd think He's definitely in the top 5 for the Copeland wouldn't you? Provided some great rebound from defence and some awesome intercept marks which just killed the momentum for the Hawks. Is having a career best season and I don't mind that at all!! - Rating B
AS A TEAM:
Once again an honorable loss, I let out a little bit of a weep at the end, 19 behinds from us was just deplorable and disgusting, however it reminds me of 2009/2010 so much!
We're not far off the pace pies fans, the fact that we brought it right up to reigning premiers this week and the team that was on the top of the ladder last week shows that we have the desire to win the flag but just not the skills or execution yet. It will come in due time and it's definitely not far.
Our midfield, as well as Witts, was SMASHED early however we managed to come back from that to eventually win the midfield battle. Yep, we won the contested possessions and clearances overall against one of the best midfields in the comp! COP THAT!
Witts was great in the ruck and we only lost the hitouts as a team by 2 hitouts, not bad with a part time ruck such as Jesse White in there for about 20% of the game.
Our forward line structure was great tonight, and if it wasn't for terrible accuracy from a few of our 'star' forwards *cough* Cloke, White, Fasolo *cough* we would have s**t on the Hawks tonight. So frustrating yet so intriguing to see where we build from here.
Our defence I will put down as "OK". The Hawks definitely played "chinese checkers" as the media likes to call it, with us again tonight, but we had more intensity so we limited their effectiveness in doing so. The fact that their small forwards in Breust, Rioli and Gunston got off the hook was a real worry for me. Perhaps it's time to debut Scharenberg?
It's a frustrating time to be a pies fan, but also an exciting one.
Agree with most of your points and thorougly enjoyed the read so wont nitpick at the points i disagree with.By most accounts,schazza isnt anywhere NEAR ready for Afl.Last two weeks weve been beaten by walters and now rioli.Sinclair is the man for that job and he made a successful return to vfl last week.P.s One fault i'll point out,how could you leave us hangin after pure lyrical comedic genious with your "gunston is a gun" line?ENCORE!!!!!
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There are a few others on board, but a surprising number of doubters and harsh judges.
