VFL Game Day Preston vs Essendon (Essendon win 128-55)

[eth-dog]

With North getting a comfortable win over Box Hill we're in the top 4 now. Big fortnight coming up before the bye, we have Footscray (who aren't going great guns) and Coburg.

 

[BrunoV]

I'm now 5/5 from games I've gone to this year so I might have to keep going.

The result ended as expected. The Blues actually played quite well in the first half and controlled field position for a lot of the second quarter. Ultimately we we're significantly undermanned (no Hocking, Hind, Hartley, Myers or Clarke on top of others missing due to our playing three or four in the AFL who we'd not expect to be playing) so it's a mark of the quality of both the AFL and VFL players that we still ran over the top of Carlton, winning by about 12 goals. But for some dodgy ball use, in the third quarter we would probably have really crushed them by over 100 points.

It's quite hard to nominate the best players. There wasn't much in the way of a dominant 4 quarter performances.

There is no doubt that I'm watching Redman more closely than others so what he does will stand out but I'd say that he probably had the ball 25 times, running with it and setting up play with generally excellent kicking (he kicked three or four 40-50m passes running out of defence that set us off). He wasn't as eye catching as he has been in the last two matches he has played but he was still good. It was a bit of a shame that he was only used in the middle in the last quarter where he didn't have the impact at stoppages/clearances he did last week. He certainly finished the game in better shape physically than he did last week.

Francis would be close to being second best on the ground and was arguably best. There was maybe a quarter and a half that he wasn't involved that much but he was still cutting the ball off, using it well when he had it, making spoils and tackling. It wasn't until the last quarter and a half that he started taking contested marks and dominating from half back. Some of his long kicking was great as was his ability to bust through tackles running from half back. That's probably his best performance and he should have had the ball about 20 times with a number of big tackles. It's only a matter of time before he's in the seniors now, he was also buzzing about again today (when he looked a bit flatter last week).

Brown was easily one of the better players on the day. He kicked 4 or 5, took a lot of strong marks and presented really well. He really is dominant as a key forward when he plays in the VFL. I thought that Glass-McCasker was quite good, and just looks a bit of confidence away from being really good (taking intercept marks, etc) but Brown did end up belting him 1v1. I mark it down as a good result against a good opponent from Brown.

I'd say that McNiece was instrumental in breaking the game apart in the second half. He doesn't do a lot of defending in the VFL, where his counter attacking drive has been the most significant feature of his game this year (unlike in the AFL where he is very much a lock down player). McNiece ran the ball through the middle of the ground a lot and used it well as he always does. He's also the marshal of the defence when he plays.

Zerk-Thatcher was what I've quickly come to understand to be his usual self. He took probably three really strong contested marks, flew and at least broke even in about 5-7 more (which he'll probably start marking) and worked his arse off at ground level. Switched with Lavender in the last quarter and found the ball a few times playing as a forward (though didn't make the distance from about 40 from a set shot). He had a good day.

I'll discuss Parish next which is not to say that I had him in the bests. At the start of the game I was thinking that I might have gone a week early, because he started well enough, but as the game progressed it only really emphasised the point noticed last week. It's hard to say whether he would have had the same numbers that he did against the Cats, and it's possible though he also seemed to spend more time off the ground, but there is still no real drive in and around the contest. It's a fight to squeeze out a handball. On the outside his ball use was average, at best, missing short targets under little to no pressure. There were a few good passages of play and one or two will almost certainly end up on the highlights reel, one was a kick to Brown which Brown marks on the lead and converts, but other than maybe four involvements that were good, his game was numbers and no impact. I don't see any way he gets back into the side playing the way he did today.

I was impressed with Mynott again today. He's was very clean with the ball and very strong in the contest. I think he kicked two goals including roving a sublime tap from Draper and dobbing the goal from about 40m out (though there is a small chance it was Heppell - I don't want to be too embarrassed by this if I'm wrong). He doesn't get as much of the ball as Parish, because he doesn't play as much in the middle, but I like what he does with it much more.

Green was quite good particularly early. He'll have kicked at least another two goals. He spent quite a bit of time in at the centre. Laverde would have to put in a real stinker for Greens game to be enough for a recall. He was solid and might have been quite good but I'm not sure what that means for a 100 game AFL player. He wouldn't have been any better than Younan on the day, for example.

Leuenberger was dominant when played in the ruck though Draper was number 1 at least until the last quarter. Leuenberger is so far out of his weight division it's not funny, he's like Brodie Grundy when he plays VFL. He played well kicked two or three but it doesn't seem to count for much.

As stated above, Draper seemed to be the number 1 ruck for the first quarter and a bit or he was at least starting on-ball. His ruck work was really good against Phillips who is no slouch. He kicked a goal from a ruck contest and only just missed another. He was solid enough around the ground and took maybe three marks leading at the ball as a forward which I liked. What I didn't like is that his kicking action has gone to shit (and it wasn't a great action to begin with). He's basically just throwing the ball on the boot at the moment and the results reflect that haphazard approach. I also want to see him attack the ball in the air with the same aggression that he does on the ground. He should have taken three or four contested marks today when he had good field position and was matched against smaller opponents. He's already a VFL standard ruck, it's now about developing the rest of his game because he should end up being an excellent player.

There is not much to say about Long's game. I'd be surprised if he had the ball 20 times. He used it well but it was all short and he didn't run with it. He soccered a goal from mid air about 15m out which was pretty cool. Unless I've missed something, and it's possible because Princess Park seems a lot wider than Windy hill so seeing what happens on the other wing from ground level is not easy, I'm going to say that it wasn't the game he wanted to play as an emergency (and seemingly close to selection).

Today Lavender almost looked a footballer in the second quarter and some of the third. He started to find the ball on the lead a bit, and to fly at it in packs. He cost himself two shots on goal by not holding marks he should have taken. The way he gets around the ground is reason enough to want to persist with the project. He lined up in defence in the last but had almost nothing to do. It's three weeks in a row of improvement for him, which is a start.

Houlahan was quiet again. He has a real presence when drawing the ball on the lead and I think that it might be leading some to overrate his performances. There is no doubt that he has class but he's not doing much and he didn't do much today despite there being more opportunities for him in the forward line. He's going to need to start getting on his bike and working harder as a half forward.

Merrett was a player I didn't notice a lot of but I've been guilty of underestimating him when he's had the ball 30 times in the past. I think the issue is that for an outside player, unless he's running out the back to kick a goal we really don't get a lot of value for his possessions so he's not as noticeable as he should be.

I think it's time that I acknowledged Sheehan, he's a very solid if unspectacular VFL player. Younan was up to his usual tricks. Boyse worked his way into the game after a slow start and took some cracking marks (kicked 1/2.2). Jake McQueen has been really noticeable for strength and intensity that belies his slight frame. He is very rarely involved in a contest that he doesn't win (especially above head) and it was noticeable again today. He reminds me a lot of Will Hams (also to the extent that while he can play I don't, at least not at this point in time, see the makings of an AFL player). Heppell was good too.

Special mention to Jack Silvagni who I thought was probably the best player on the ground, playing as an inside mid. He was very good on the inside feeding the ball out and he was kicking bullets on the outside. He kicked at least one goal. His move into the middle is the right one. He looks to be a very similar player to Langford and would seem to be at the level that Langford was at last year. Don't be surprised to see him become a quality inside mid.

 

[eDPS]

Darcy Parish (29), Heppell (25), Francis, McNiece and Sheahan (22), Mason Redman and Trent Mynott (21) and Jackson Merrett (20) were the biggest ball-winners for the Bombers.

 

[fairbump_playon]

Thank you Bruno V - your reports are appreciated immensely

 

[Atavistic]

Game is up on YouTube. Redman seems to have improved quite a bit this year.

 

[grimlock]

 

[Lore]

Francis BOG

 

[Zach Package]

I suspect they’re trying to diversify Parish’s bonds a little by playing him more forward than is probably necessary.

He was still probably the 2nd or 3rd best player on the ground and his hands in close were still bloody good but the two things I’m guessing we’re looking for out of him is more scoreboard impact and more hurt factor by foot. No real issues with his game at all, the game was quite congested so there were a fair few hack kicks but in space he executed well.

The moment of the game was definitely Francis attacking the ball off the back of the square like a freight train, giving and getting with Parish and then running about 5 metres with a blues player literally on his back before he just burnt him off completely and hit a leading forward with a perfect pass. Crowd reaction said it all

 

[BrunoV]

I suspect they’re trying to diversify Parish’s bonds a little by playing him more forward than is probably necessary.

He was still probably the 2nd or 3rd best player on the ground and his hands in close were still bloody good but the two things I’m guessing we’re looking for out of him is more scoreboard impact and more hurt factor by foot. No real issues with his game at all, the game was quite congested so there were a fair few hack kicks but in space he executed well.

The moment of the game was definitely Francis attacking the ball off the back of the square like a freight train, giving and getting with Parish and then running about 5 metres with a blues player literally on his back before he just burnt him off completely and hit a leading forward with a perfect pass. Crowd reaction said it all

That's a pretty generous interpretation of Parish's game. There was nothing watching the replay that has me rethinking my initial assessment. His kicking was terrible.

I can't reconcile his performance with Mynott. There was nothing Parish did that Mynott didn't do that says to me that one should be in the top 3 and one outside the top 5. That's reputation talking.

Contrast Parish's use of the ball with Redman, it's not even in the same league and Parish can't claim that it was pressure.

If he wasn't Parish, no one is saying that he'd be close to a call up. He's playing at Kavanagh's level at the moment.

I underrated Heppell, on replay he was really good. I also overrated Zerk big time. He didn't do much more than the few eye catching things I based my assessment on.

I really liked the second and third quarters from Lavender, in context. He got to a lot of good spots. It was afterall his third game. He should be able to play some genuinely good footy by the end of the year.

 

[Doss]

I like the look of Younan from what I have seen of him.

 

[eth-dog]

I like the look of Younan from what I have seen of him.

Has been a good small forward in the VFL for 5-6 years now.

 

[Runk]

Younan's a Popuolo lookalike

 

[Zach Package]

That's a pretty generous interpretation of Parish's game. There was nothing watching the replay that has me rethinking my initial assessment. His kicking was terrible.

I can't reconcile his performance with Mynott. There was nothing Parish did that Mynott didn't do that says to me that one should be in the top 3 and one outside the top 5. That's reputation talking.

Contrast Parish's use of the ball with Redman, it's not even in the same league and Parish can't claim that it was pressure.

See that’s interesting because I didn’t think Mynott had a good one at all, he seemed to do a lot of buzzing around for probably not enough reward while Parish did a lot more actual ball getting at the source. It felt like Mynott spent more time on the ball too.

Of the relevant listed players I would only have Francis and SOSOS above him, I thought he was better than Redman and McNiece

 

[BrunoV]

See that’s interesting because I didn’t think Mynott had a good one at all, he seemed to do a lot of buzzing around for probably not enough reward while Parish did a lot more actual ball getting at the source. It felt like Mynott spent more time on the ball too.

Of the relevant listed players I would only have Francis and SOSOS above him, I thought he was better than Redman and McNiece

Can't agree when value for possession is so low.

Nothing about that game says that he should be playing AFL any time soon. I think that the impact of McNiece and Redman were all greater but they were also performances that translate to AFL. At VFL level so far Parish looks a VFL standard footballer - it's not like he wont do a single thing or even a handful of things which are good. The VFL players do that each week.

 

[Liberator]

Charging for entry - I thought VFL games were free (a la Windy Hill, Vic Park)? I got there late so got in for free, but still I’m curious...

 

[Doss]

Charging for entry - I thought VFL games were free (a la Windy Hill, Vic Park)? I got there late so got in for free, but still I’m curious...

Not all are free. Victoria Park and Windy Hill are effectively public reserves now and Essendon and Collingwood choose not to charge admission; in the case of Victoria Park, would be near impossible because of how open the ground now is to surrounding streets anyway.

 

[eth-dog]

Charging for entry - I thought VFL games were free (a la Windy Hill, Vic Park)? I got there late so got in for free, but still I’m curious...

WH and VP are the only two that don't IIRC (Yoda_?). The others are usually $10 or $5 (opposition member or concession) and free for home members.

 

[GUMBLETRON]

Not all are free. Victoria Park and Windy Hill are effectively public reserves now and Essendon and Collingwood choose not to charge admission; in the case of Victoria Park, would be near impossible because of how open the ground now is to surrounding streets anyway.

I believe Collingwood are expressly forbidden - because Yarra Council paid for the refurb.

 

[Doss]

I believe Collingwood are expressly forbidden - because Yarra Council paid for the refurb.

Had not heard that.

I'd have thought with the openness of the oval it would be almost impossible without erecting temporary fencing anyway.

 

[GUMBLETRON]

They do it for bigger events, but wouldn't be worth it for the VFL in any case.

 

[eth-dog]

It'll be interesting to see how they do it this year as Collingwood look good for a top 2 spot and traditionally they give the top 2 home ground. You couldn't give that advantage to 3rd or 4th which means they could decide to give 5th spot the home ground advantage and have their game at NPO.

 

[Zach Package]

Can't agree when value for possession is so low.

Nothing about that game says that he should be playing AFL any time soon. I think that the impact of McNiece and Redman were all greater but they were also performances that translate to AFL. At VFL level so far Parish looks a VFL standard footballer - it's not like he wont do a single thing or even a handful of things which are good. The VFL players do that each week.

I'm not sure the part about it not translating is true at all given on ANZAC day he literally played that exact game in terms of volume and impact on the game, and I think I gave him votes that day. I think he's a victim of his own baseline, he's still not big enough to body blokes at VFL level, let alone AFL level, we're literally just waiting for him to grow.

Either way he's got a broken thumb now so I guess you've quietly got what you wanted.

 

[DERO]

Can't agree when value for possession is so low.

Nothing about that game says that he should be playing AFL any time soon. I think that the impact of McNiece and Redman were all greater but they were also performances that translate to AFL. At VFL level so far Parish looks a VFL standard footballer - it's not like he wont do a single thing or even a handful of things which are good. The VFL players do that each week.

Pretty harsh there Bruno. Whilst I didn't see all of the game, I thought Parish was pretty impressive in what I did see.