2nds WAFL Watch 2014 - Peel Thunder

[Pusswah]

He finally got a stat. One hit out.

HE'S ELECTRIFYING.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

The weird thing was I was writing the report at the exact time you asked. A.Pearce was worth the fifty minute drive to go watch Peel play today. His agility and reading of the ball in the air are 'special'.

You sound like Bruce

 

[masai]

Very close but the word from the Peel rumour mill is that Peel is having a meeting with WAFC and Fremantle board on the alignment precisely on player selection and time on the ground of Fremantle players playing for the league team .
There are some very unhappy campers at Peel at the moment .
The main points to be raised I have been told from more than 1 source is that Fremantle have Peel that no Fremantle players are to play in the reserves and that Fremantle are restricting some players times on the ground during games .
The meeting has been scheduled for early next week .

I understand that there are similar rumbles between East Perth and the Eagles. A meeting ( showdown ? ) is being arranged.

Dawson is playing some of the Eagle under performers ( developing players ? ), in the Reserves.

This is a no no, yeah what would Brian Dawson know about footy !!!!.

 

[Harry Reems]

Anyone know why the game started 2.35pm yesterday?
They played the last quarter in the dark as the lights didn't come on until after the game had finished.

Anyway, here's my take on things.

The 1st quarter was horrible to watch skills wise and the only reason Claremont lost the game was because they couldn't kick straight.

Poor Kepler, he had stretch and dive for all of his marks yesterday and I saw him go down grabbing his right hamstring as he hit the deck in the 3rd. The midfielders just kept kicking it too far ahead of him which really made him have to run hard for his marks.

He seemed to walk off okay though, but his game was over at 3/4 time.

Craig Moller has become the new Nick Naitanui. He goes where the ball isn't and drops simple marks all the time. He second efforts were non-existent and both he and Hannath are too slow to react at times.

Sheriff is really excited about Alex Pearce, however I am not that convinced as yet. Maybe I am missing something there?

Vandeluer was horrible yesterday and he didn't appear to be even trying for most of the game. And when he did get the ball he turned it straight over. He reminds me of Jacob Brennan.

Crozier and Sheridan were both just average for mine. Such a shame as these guys are supposed to be pressing for selection.

Jacob Ballard was good and Griff battled hard all day, Matt De Boer was great as an inside mid and was probably best for Peel. Dann and Ballard were good as well, and Wood was having a shocker but suddenly kicked 4 goals to get Peel up to a 19 point lead in the 3rd quarter.

Eddy Dann is gong to be star. Hopefully we can recruit him.

Gumby was a late out for some reason, so Tabs played in patches and probably played half a game in total.

Wood and Duffy were great in the 2nd half and got the side over the line and Menegola was very disappointing.

Peel were lucky to win this game and Ross won't be impressed.

I must lastly mention the Claremont Cheer Squad, which consists of two guys with stuffed tigers on their heads and tails dangling out of their pants.

When Claremont kicked a goal they re-enacted the church scene from the Blues Brothers movie. It was very funny, yet slightly embarrassing to watch at the same time.

 

[Bicco]

HE'S ELECTRIFYING.

Worth about 800k a year I reckon.

 

[Righteo]

Is this Freudian?

The selection of Pearce as emergency did seem like a token gesture. He had an ok game against the royals in his first game back from injury but nothing to warrant selection. He was better yesterday and will continue to improve. The thing he needs to work on most is his body but that is just a matter of time. Having said that his body size is similar to bootsma's who has played at the highest level, so perhaps that wouldn't stop you from giving Pearce an afl game. I think, with time, Pearce's body will fill out more than bootsma's.

I think the move of keplar to FF yesterday was one of necessity with both Gumby and Apeness missing. It's a shame he got injured as he was looking good up there albeit against a smaller opponent. He pulled a hammy on the far wing diving for a mark and slammed his fist into the ground as soon as he'd done it ala Nathan Buckley a few years back.

I also think the fact that we came perilously close to running out of tall big bodied defenders recently has prompted us to try Tabs at FB. I'm pretty sure this move was a freo directive and was done for 2 reasons. One, to continue to explore his capabilities as a defender and two, to restrict his running as he is obviously the emergency for today.

As Esti says, Tabs is a long shot no matter where we intend to play him. He's not great below the knees and has a big turning circle but his apparent "reluctance" to hit a marking contest hard will be a deal breaker at both ends of the ground if he can't improve this part of his game.

Cheers mate great response, Kepler is a real shame I'd started coming around to the idea of him as our second tall marking target too.

MJ replacement? Isn't Peace like 199 or something? That's pretty tall for a plus one running back.

Like esti said always going to be a long shot but he's very athletic from what I've seen and there's something in the way he moves that sets him apart from other defenders that size. That said Johnson is genuine KPD size himself and overall is a very unique player the likes of which we may not see for some time so we'll never likely have an exact replacement for him, would be stoked if Pearce turned out to have even half of Johnno's footy brain and ability to read the flight.

 

[fondy]

I was at the game and here are some observations for what its worth.
Terrible first quarter, really good second and third quarters, and decent fourth quarter from Peel.
De boer and Ballard were both really good, but both had pretty average kicking games. Their stats flattered their impact on the game in my opinion, but both were fantastic at winning the contested football. Ballards kicking definitely needs some work, but he has improved his running and contested football winning ability incredibly since the start of the year.
A.Pearce was fantastic today. He spent the game playing on a Claremont small forward and showed brilliant agility and closing speed. His work in the first quarter where the Peel defence was underseige was fantastic. He also posseess the MJ sidestep with his ability to side-step through tackles, while also running and carrying the footy were both massive stengths in his game. His kicking still needs some work, but Im confident we have a potential star in A.Pearce.
Like others have said Wood was really skilled and composed today and Bradley competed fantastically before getting injured.
Sheridan and Crozier were also pretty good today. Eventhough neither won as much of the footy as Ballard or De Boer, both Sheridan and Crozier were more effective with their possessions.
Griffin won a ton of hit outs today, but also dropped quite a few marks and still looks significantly off his best form.
Menegola and T.Smith were both servicable without dominating today. Smith made a few costly errors and Menegola went missing for extended periods, but neither were terrible at any moment in the game. Vandeleur, Moller and Hannath on the other hand had deadset shockers. Hannath appears to be servicable when you look at the stat sheet, but when you watch him live he doesnt jum high enough and gets exposed for pace by the opposition ruckman as he is painfully slow. Vandeleur just looked like he couldnt be bothered today. He turned the ball over and looked disinterested in closing down his man.
Moller simply looked like WAFL level is a step above what he cappable of playing.
Tabs spent 60%+ of the game off the ground. He was pretty good when on the ground, playing predominately in defence. Im thinking there is some doubt on Dawson for tomorrow's game.

Anyway, that is my view on todays game.

Griffin, Ballard, de Boer and Menegola all in club best. Menegola switched to run with on Ledger after quarter time because he had racked up 9 disposals, a goal and 4 inside 50s.

A good win for peel today. I listened in on the 3/4 time address. Most of the coaching seems to be handled by the line coaches but I must say Shepherd was quite calm and measured in his talk. He spoke about lowering eyes when delivering inside 50 and not to bomb it long all the time. There was a good vibe in the group at 3/4 time, it would sure help the development of the players if they were in a winning position more frequently. sherrif has done a great job with the match report. I concur with the bit about Pearce. He's very clever in traffic, in congestion he keeps the ball moving with his hands. He raises it high to keep it off the opposition and waits for the best option for the handball. I'm not sold on woody yet. He sure is skinny but he does seem more likely to develop a physique than someone like Wilkins for example. Tanner smith worries me at times, he's a competitor but his abilities are in the schoenmaker range rather than the mcpharlin range. Tabs played a bit a FB but was badly beaten in 1 marking contest with handley in the goal square resulting in a goal to the tiges. He just didn't put any bodywork on him, he played mostly forward in the last qtr. Crozier is amazing at times. It's just a matter of time before he becomes a regular for freo. In the first qtr he had a running shot on goal from about 60m out into a slight breeze which bounced in the goal square 2m from the line. Unfortunately it bounced straight up and was easily gathered by the defender, it could just have easily bounced through for a goal. Duffy was good today, he ran hard, end to end at times but he didn't always get rewarded. It's the first time I've seen him play where he really looks fit. Hopefully he'll get a chance to develop his game in the remainder of the season. Deboer was very good as an inside mid. I don't know what it is about menegola but no matter how much of the ball he gets I just don't seem to notice him. He played as an inside mid and did quite well. From my previous reports you can probably tell I'm a big fan of Ballard. I really liked his game today, he's by no means an elite mid but he works hard and gets to every contest. He easily blew off orzel's tag with strength and hard running. There is a bit of a knock on his kicking, he used his right foot on a couple of occasions where he should have used his left and kicked over the head of a leading player once but it's still pretty good. You're not likely to get a fyfe with a 3rd round pick in the rookie draft but you could be lucky enough to find another Barlow. Sheridan struggled with the Fong tag but the tactics employed by Fong would not have gone unnoticed in the afl, they were disgraceful. It just proves how good crowley is at the role that he does it so effectively without doing anything illegal. To sheridans credit he only lost his temper once that I saw but it resulted in a free to peel.

Anyone know why the game started 2.35pm yesterday?
They played the last quarter in the dark as the lights didn't come on until after the game had finished.

Anyway, here's my take on things.

The 1st quarter was horrible to watch skills wise and the only reason Claremont lost the game was because they couldn't kick straight.

Poor Kepler, he had stretch and dive for all of his marks yesterday and I saw him go down grabbing his right hamstring as he hit the deck the deck in the 3rd. The midfielders just kept kicking it too far ahead of him which really made him have to run hard for his marks.

He seemed to walk off okay though, but his game was over at 3/4 time.

Craig Moller has become the new Nick Naitanui. He goes where the ball isn't and drops simple marks all the time. He second efforts were non-existent and both he and Hannath are too slow to react at times.

Sheriff is really excited about Alex Pearce, however I am not that convinced as yet. Maybe I am missing something there?

Vandeluer was horrible yesterday and he didn't appear to be even trying for most of the game. And when he did get the ball he turned it straight over. He reminds me of Jacob Brennan.

Crozier and Sheridan were both just average for mine. Such a shame as these guys are supposed to be pressing for selection.

Jacob Ballard was good and Griff battled hard all day, Matt De Boer was great as an inside mid and was probably best for Peel. Dann and Ballard were good as well, and Wood was having a shocker but suddenly kicked 4 goals to get Peel up to a 19 point lead in the 3rd quarter.

Eddy Dann is gong to be star. Hopefully we can recruit him.

Gumby was a late out for some reason, so Tabs played in patches and probably played half a game in total.

Wood and Duffy were great in the 2nd half and got the side over the line and Menegola was very disappointing.

Peel were lucky to win this game and Ross won't be impressed.

I must lastly mention the Claremont Cheer Squad, which consists of two guys with stuffed tigers on their heads and tails dangling out of their pants.

When Claremont kicked a goal they re-enacted the church scene from the Blues Brothers movie. It was very funny, yet slightly embarrassing to watch at the same time.

Ballard, Griff, MDB and Menegola named in Peel's club best, along with Dann and Jones. Menegola played as run with on Ledger for last three quarters after he had nine disposals, 4 inside 50s and a goal in first quarter. Sheridan scragged and held illegally throughout by Fong - umps let it go.

 

[Paracleet]

Anyone know why the game started 2.35pm yesterday?
They played the last quarter in the dark as the lights didn't come on until after the game had finished.

Eddy Dann is gong to be star. Hopefully we can recruit him.

He's already 25, leaving it late to even get picked up, let alone star. Don't get me wrong hes a polished WAFL performer, a good player. But hes possibly a bit short and slight to be an AFL footballer. If you're short and or old you need some extra special skills over and above the taller 18 year olds you are competing with to get picked.
Our guys under 180 or picked up after having been left undrafted at least one draft:
Mzungu: Massive tank and ball magnet (averaged 28 possies a game in his draft year in a poor Perth side. For context Dann is on 18.5. Pretty creditable considering he's not playing on the ball though.)
Spurr: Frantic attack on the ball, could play any non key position on the ground, won heaps of footy and kicked goals.
Neale: Clearance specialist.
Barlow: Freakish ball magnet. Kicked goals for fun.
Walters: Top draw footskills.
etc etc.

Also of all our rookie picks the only one picked up after their 25th birthday is Spurr, and he was a star of the competition (SNAFL). The majority were taken before they were 23. The Gu was 24).

 

[couldhavebeen]

Dan Edwards??? Or Ed Dann perhaps? From the moment I saw him play against swannies early in the season I wondered where this guy had been hiding. If ever we were in the market for a small running half back this would be the guy.

I got his name back the front but Eddy Dann's would be a great addition to our list , Thanks Harry and Purple reign's

 

[strobe00]

Also of all our rookie picks the only one picked up after their 25th birthday is Spurr, and he was a star of the competition (SNAFL). The majority were taken before they were 23. The Gu was 24).

gu wasn't a rookie pick if that's what you implied above. He was traded into our main list.

Didn't think sonny had to wait a draft? Was he a year older than nic nat and yarran? Cause he played with them and was drafted the same year.

 

[tofushark]

sonson is younger

 

[PurpleReign]

gu wasn't a rookie pick if that's what you implied above. He was traded into our main list.

Didn't think sonny had to wait a draft? Was he a year older than nic nat and yarran? Cause he played with them and was drafted the same year.

I remember watching gu in the wafl and being pi$$ed off that GC were going to waltz in and pick up a quality, mature and ready made player virtually for free in the draft. I was delighted and amazed that he got traded to us. That draft blunder by GC rarely gets raised by commentators, unlike our McLeod draft blunder. I reckon Dann is having a similarly impressive year to Gu's last year in the wafl.

 

[strobe00]

I remember watching gu in the wafl and being pi$$ed off that GC were going to waltz in and pick up a quality, mature and ready made player virtually for free in the draft. I was delighted and amazed that he got traded to us. That draft blunder by GC rarely gets raised by commentators, unlike our McLeod draft blunder. I reckon Dann is having a similarly impressive year to Gu's last year in the wafl.

They got picks for just about all their pre draft concession picks. Only kept a couple of the players I think.

Their model was all about picks. Don't think it was much of a blunder though I'm sure he could have been handy for them. As for McLeod... That can't be mentioned in the same sentence as Mz. Different order of magnitude that one.

 

[strobe00]

sonson is younger

Than who? Ah. Both.

 

[tofushark]

Than who? Ah. Both.

bit younger than yarran and nearly a full year than nn

 

[PurpleReign]

They got picks for just about all their pre draft concession picks. Only kept a couple of the players I think.

Their model was all about picks. Don't think it was much of a blunder though I'm sure he could have been handy for them. As for McLeod... That can't be mentioned in the same sentence as Mz. Different order of magnitude that one.

I see your point and I wasn't suggesting gu is in the same league as McLeod but players of gu's quality don't exactly grow on trees either. I just wonder if we had traded gu away for a lesser player would it then be a topic of discussion. However the real point of my post was to highlight how well Dann is currently playing.

 

[Taylor]

We swapped a pick like #49 to pick #56 for Mzungu. It was a steal.


Edit. It was;
Pick 39 for Pick 44 and Mzungu.

A five pick downgrade....

 

[Harry Reems]

I didn't realise that "Dann the Mann" was 25.

He moves like a gazelle through the middle of the ground and has great evasive skills.

He looks great on a wing or playing as a rebound defender in a Daniel Pearce type role.

Other than Dann, Brown and Jones, Peel don't have any other players outside of the Freo listed players.

Hawksley and Kirstin played ressies on Saturday, but I rate both those players.

People keep asking as to why Peel aren't a better side when they have up to 15 Freo players in the side each week.

Unlike East Perth, Peel just don't have access to any decent players anymore.

 

[sherrif]

Griffin, Ballard, de Boer and Menegola all in club best. Menegola switched to run with on Ledger after quarter time because he had racked up 9 disposals, a goal and 4 inside 50s.



Ballard, Griff, MDB and Menegola named in Peel's club best, along with Dann and Jones. Menegola played as run with on Ledger for last three quarters after he had nine disposals, 4 inside 50s and a goal in first quarter. Sheridan scragged and held illegally throughout by Fong - umps let it go.

Like I said Griffin rucked well, but dropped a ton of marks. He had two marks for the day, but should have had over twelve if he had taken his chances. His form is significantly off his touch in early 2013. Menegola should be doing more than tagging a bloke who spent a few recent weeks in the reserves due to form, in a team not winning many games at league level. For mine, his performance was still disappointing, but not awful. I think Dann would be a terrific late selection in the draft or rookie draft for us. I thought they tagged Sherro and his performance was actually pretty good.

 

[Wizard]

Tanner Smith guys, can anyone provide some insight as to where he is at.
Obviously missed some time with injury, is he likely to be knocking on the door next year.

 

[couldhavebeen]

Tanner played quite well but not outstanding . He is coming back from a long term injury so he would be building his fitness .

 

[muzzington]

I think I need to have a word with Tom.

If he's not trying he could at least employ the Constanza technique of looking stressed and frustrated to hide it.

 

[PurpleReign]

Anticipating a routine annihilation of the saints I thought I might check out the 2's and catch the main game on the replay. So please, no one tell me score I can't wait to watch it.

Peel were very competitive for the first 3 qtrs. The backline looked very organised this week. Pearce smith vandeleur and winton are starting to work well together. Unfortunately it was an all too familiar story in the final qtr. Peel were completely outrun all across the ground and struggled to get the ball outside of the D50. Not sure whether this is a fitness issue or whether it's lack of concentration.

Apeness - Not big numbers for Ape this week but he played a slightly different role to his previous wafl games. He had stints in the ruck throughout the game and competed quite well. His leap is average but he tested poorly for vertical leap in the draft camp from memory. Having said that he does get off the ground. He only took one strong contested mark but he missed the shot on goal from 30m on a 45 angle. He also spent time deep inside the D50. In the 3rd qtr he spoiled a mark and then gave a really good chase for about 50m. It was a really committed effort and was good to see from the big fella.

Ballard - Another solid game, nothing spectacular but racked up numbers and was strong around the clearances. His decision making was good and he does seem to be hanging on to the ball a bit longer to wait for better options to develop.

Crozier - The human highlights reel. He took a terrific diving mark in the 3rd qtr and a cracker in the last qtr similar to Lindsay Thomas' from last night's game. He went on a scintillating run in the 3rd from a clearance and kicked a long, beautifully weighted kick to a vacant forward line for Thornton to run onto but the ball went straight thru his arms and resulted in a coast to Coast goal to EF.

Duffy - a similar game to last week. He was very busy and stayed in the game for long periods. He ran hard and was lively and clever across the HF line. In the 3rd Hannath put on some good body work in a marking contest allowing the ball to spill free which Duffy ran onto and goaled from about 40 out. He burst out of a pack in the 1st and took a couple of bounces but was chased down by Jordan dorotich inside the F50. He's not as quick as he thinks he is and seemed to lack a bit of awareness in that instance.

Gumby - Kicked a goal from a set shot on 50 in the 1st and a snap shot moments later fell just short of the goals but other than that looked out of sorts.

Hannath - did the bulk of the ruck work but I think bristow had the better of him. Bristow was certainly better than him around the ground. Hannath competes well when he goes forward but he was average today.

Moller - Improved effort from last week. He spent time forward, back and had some short stints in the ruck. He kicked a good goal from a set shot and a short time later took a saving mark on the defensive goal line. A pretty good game.

A Pearce - Very good game. He covered a lot of ground and was often the first defender to stream back inside the D50 to counter the fast break. In the first 3 qtrs the defenders pressed high up the ground and Pearce spent a fair bit of time around the F50 line. He out thought and out bodied Peake in marking contest on several occasions. He is remarkably evasive in contested situations.

C Pearce - went off injured during the 2nd qtr and did not return.

Sheridan - Leather poisoning. He was everywhere, ran hard, used the ball quite well although he had a lot of hurried kicks from congestion. Does the occasional dumb thing in terms of his disposal.

Smith - Competed well and used his body well in several contests, also does the odd dumb thing though.

Vandeleur - Probably the best game I've seen him play. He was prominent in the 1st qtr and made some important spoils.

Shepherd - The line coaches deliver the intelligent comments at 3/4 time but shepherd just delivers vitriol. He howled down Thornton for dropping croz's kick and accused him of costing the team 3 goals. He criticised Wilkins, said Hannath gives away too many frees and so on it continued. I saw 2 peel players give each other a "look" during the tirade. Were they thinking "yeah Thornton is costing us the game" or were they thinking "Cam is such an arse" (this part is purely speculation on my behalf)

PS. How's the formatting BeinPurplenGreen?

 

[BeinPurplenGreen]

Anticipating a routine annihilation of the saints I thought I might check out the 2's and catch the main game on the replay. So please, no one tell me score I can't wait to watch it.
......
Vandeleur - Probably the best game I've seen him play. He was prominent in the 1st qtr and made some important spoils.

Shepherd - The line coaches deliver the intelligent comments at 3/4 time but shepherd just delivers vitriol. He howled down Thornton for dropping croz's kick and accused him of costing the team 3 goals. He criticised Wilkins, said Hannath gives away too many frees and so on it continued. I saw 2 peel players give each other a "look" during the tirade. Were they thinking "yeah Thornton is costing us the game" or were they thinking "Cam is such an arse" (this part is purely speculation on my behalf)

PS. How's the formatting BeinPurplenGreen?

Hey PurpleReign - great job, the formatting is excellent. I can even read it all with my glasses on without getting a headache.

Much better than the accuracy of your anticipations anyway.

Also your formatting is much, much, much better, indeed whole entire grades of football competition better, nay even light years of space travel better, than Shep-boys attempts at "coaching". What would the old Shepster have delivered today in the rooms at half time at Eti-turd??:

"If you turds can't get the next clearance then I'll just quit, I swear I will!!

And Barlow you are just a hack, you were better when you had half a f#in leg and a proper haircut.

Fyfe you should have been suspended longer, and you didn't even have the guts to hit him properly.

Mundy, Memories was right all along, and Pav, f@ck me, Pavlich, just because you have a big nose doesn't mean you are any good, at least 240 of your games were gifted to you, don't worry you won't play 25 games under my coaching!!!!!"​

The mind boggles at how good Peel might be if they had Roger as coach...

 

[WAnchor]

Thanks PurpleReign. Just wondering, what did you think of Dann's game? I note that he had 30 disposals and two goals. WHat position did he seem to be playing in? Cheers