Review Dees v Tricolours: the Good, Bad & Fugly under the Roof

[space_cowboy]

Good: I just remembered we get an easier draw next year as a reward for being revolting

Bad: Mitch Hannan - the notion of him finding form in the AFL isn’t panning out so well. I’m less than convinced he would be effective in the VFL on current form. Also Preuss needs to understand that providing a marking target only works if you mark it occasionally.

Fugly: ANB. God only knows what this game was. Just terrible.

Off the charts is that yesterday I found myself saying FFS for the exact same reasons I have said FFS at Melbourne games for years. We never seem to make any structural improvements, we don’t leave players outside the stoppage for the handball receive, which makes our obsession with winning the stoppage literally pointless. Also we don’t crumb. We have multiple guys go up, but nobody stays down crumbing. Especially noteworthy for stupidity yesterday given we had two tall forwards out. We weren’t going to take many marks bombing it long, but still did it. We had a kind of disorganised cluster of blokes bring the ball to ground a couple of times, with nobody crumbing. Hilariously stupid. Oh and our forward ball movement was right back to its worst. In a game where our forward lineup literally demanded lowering eyes.

You’ve pretty much summed up all my frustration and saved me a lot of typing. Thanks for that.

I had really hoped that we would see some gradual improvement in the back half of the season. Even just one change would have given me some hope.

Granted, there’s not much we could do to improve our forward line when we have none, but it would have been nice to see us try some tempo footy, or address just one of the issues that you have mentioned above.

I worry about the leadership of the club, in particular the decision to swap around the coaches at the start of the year. That was just crazy, especially after the Doggies had done the same with just as predictable a result.

The fact that Goodwin was directly responsible for ball movement is another indicator of poor management. A senior coach should be managing his assistant coaches, not doing their jobs for them.

The talk of trading in Langdon, which would address none of our needs, really worries me too.

I’m finding it difficult to be positive about the club’s future, because I can only see us compounding our mistakes instead of fixing them.

Feeling a little bit despondent this morning...

 

[Sylvia Saint]

I know this is a touchy subject but we're pretty well placed to finish 17th (without tanking, I repeat, without tanking) given the way Carlton have been playing. That would give us pick 2 and Noah Anderson who is exactly the type of player we need. ONCE AGAIN, I'm not suggesting he's going to answer our prayers or that we should play Brayden Preuss on a back flank but getting Anderson could be a steal if we somehow regain latter half of 2018 momentum next year. I seem to remember West Coast getting Gaff in a really down year then making the finals again the next.

 

[schmuttt]

I know this is a touchy subject but we're pretty well placed to finish 17th (without tanking, I repeat, without tanking) given the way Carlton have been playing. That would give us pick 2 and Noah Anderson who is exactly the type of player we need. ONCE AGAIN, I'm not suggesting he's going to answer our prayers or that we should play Brayden Preuss on a back flank but getting Anderson could be a steal if we somehow regain latter half of 2018 momentum next year. I seem to remember West Coast getting Gaff in a really down year then making the finals again the next.

Yep. Carlton are a win behind us with a better percentage and playing good footy, I reckon they're a lock to win at least two more games which means we'll have to find two wins ourselves when I can only see us maybe beating the saints.

 

[Crusty Demon]

We don’t need another key forward. That isn’t going to solve our issues. We’d be still delivering the ball to them in a sub par way. It won’t fix our issues. Mate we’ve been bemoaned week in week out as having the worst skills in the AFL, I’d believe that. We can’t use the ball and we are slow. We get cut up on the rebound. We need a genuine A grade mid.

Imagine putting McDonald in the Eagles forward line? He’d be kicking 60 every year.

Never said we needed a key forward. Although I'm not sold on Weid or TMac moving into next year. Both have had time to prove themselves this year and looked well below capable. TMac's last game gives us hope, and who knows with Petty.

But we need goalkickers and crumbers. Blokes who can pressure, quick and can find the sticks. Surely we're not happy with who we have and think they'll get the job done? Garlett is done. AVB is always injured. Spargo doesn't look up to it. TMac and Weid were really poor this year. Hunt has looked ok but isn't really a forward. Lockhart has looked ok however doesn't hit the scoreboard enough. Dunkley early days but not convinced. Just read Carlton are right into Sam Gray. Good little player. He'd be better than most of our forward line tbh. Are we happy with what we've got? I hope not..

 

[demondavey]

Never said we needed a key forward. Although I'm not sold on Weid or TMac moving into next year. Both have had time to prove themselves this year and looked well below capable. TMac's last game gives us hope, and who knows with Petty.

But we need goalkickers and crumbers. Blokes who can pressure, quick and can find the sticks. Surely we're not happy with who we have and think they'll get the job done? Garlett is done. AVB is always injured. Spargo doesn't look up to it. TMac and Weid were really poor this year. Hunt has looked ok but isn't really a forward. Lockhart has looked ok however doesn't hit the scoreboard enough. Dunkley early days but not convinced. Just read Carlton are right into Sam Gray. Good little player. He'd be better than most of our forward line tbh. Are we happy with what we've got? I hope not..

TMac is a more than capable forward. It wasn’t just the six he kicked, it was a few weeks of building up to that. He is fine. I’d be leaving Hunt there, he is playing his best footy at HF. Why change him? I agree with your statement we need more pressure and better crumbing forwards, I also think Lockhart will be a handy enough player.

Garlett done, Spargo I am not sold, and AVB might call it I reckon.

 

[Proper Gander]

I know this is a touchy subject but we're pretty well placed to finish 17th (without tanking, I repeat, without tanking) given the way Carlton have been playing. That would give us pick 2 and Noah Anderson who is exactly the type of player we need. ONCE AGAIN, I'm not suggesting he's going to answer our prayers or that we should play Brayden Preuss on a back flank but getting Anderson could be a steal if we somehow regain latter half of 2018 momentum next year. I seem to remember West Coast getting Gaff in a really down year then making the finals again the next.

Noah Anderson is an interesting prospect. He does sound like something we could use.

 

[Crusty Demon]

TMac is a more than capable forward. It wasn’t just the six he kicked, it was a few weeks of building up to that. He is fine. I’d be leaving Hunt there, he is playing his best footy at HF. Why change him? I agree with your statement we need more pressure and better crumbing forwards, I also think Lockhart will be a handy enough player.

Garlett done, Spargo I am not sold, and AVB might call it I reckon.

Hunt - Been impressive enough. Still doesn't know where to run half the time, and his pressure could be better considering his pace, but has been good.

Petracca - Has built ok from a dodgy start. I still think he should be used in the middle more, so more of a 60-40 split if he builds his tank. Has looked dangerous, but wastes far too many opportunities. But the guy is a bull in a contested situation. I hope he runs all offseason and plays mainly mid next year.

Weideman - Thought he'd build on his impressive finals, but has hardly fired a shot. Teases with a decent game every now and again, but should be kicking 30+ by now. Not sure what to do with him moving forward. Have to keep persisting and hope it clicks. Could also be a victim of poor delivery/structure.

TMac - Found form in his last two or so games, but geez what a disappointment this year. His one great game came against Carlton. Lots of question marks unfortunately. Of course we persist, but hope to god he's not a one season wonder.

Hannan - Huge disappointment. Shouldn't even be carrying the drinks for the VFL players at the moment. Hopefully a down year with injury setbacks, but again question marks persist.

Spargo - Another one who has had a down year after a promising debut season. Could be the popular second year blues, or it could be that he's not quick enough or big enough to play with the big boys. I actually think he's one of our better decision makers, but I'm not sure he has enough tricks to make it.

Garlett - Actually looked dangerous at times, but his career is surely in the balance. Not sure he'll be on the list next year.

Lockhart - Has looked ok. Goes missing a bit. Is he a bit vanilla though? Is he just a slight upgrade on Spargo? at least he's played some decent games. Worth persisting with.

TSmith - Has looked ok but is always injured. I'd be surprised if he's on our list next season(no idea where contracts are at).

Preuss - I'll put him in the forwards. For his size he struggles to clunk a mark. Besides a few goals kicked out of his backside, he hasn't really shown much. Decent back up to Gawn, but not convinced yet we can play both in the same side.

Dunkley - Another vanilla player. Early days of course, but doesn't seem to have any tricks that will seperate him from the rest of our average small to mid forwards.

JSmith - Looked really impressive preseason. Could be that wildcard we need. That 3rd tall. Can he and Fritsch play together? Are they too similar? Still haven't seen enough of him up forward to really know. Will he even remain on the list after his mismanagement this season?

Melksham - Class but injuries killed any momentum. Personally though, I feel he should be playing on a wing with Salem who are our best kickers. With our problems linking to our forwardline, these two should be ball in hand moving forward.

Petty - Could he put Weid under pressure for his spot? One game forward only, but he clunked them and kicked them well and is only 19. Big lad. We'll know more after another 6 games I guess.

C. Wagner - A bust.

Bedford/Chandler - Too young. Have shown glimpses in the VFL but still looks far off the pace.

Too many question marks for mine. On paper a forwardline of Petracca, TMac, Weideman, Fritsch, Hannan, Hunt looks ok, but injuries form and structure has made it look like a dogs breakfast most weeks. WCE have such a great forwardline. Two talls surrounded by quick short people who can pressure and kick goals. I just think our forward half is too one paced. Maybe Baker can go in there with Hunt? I'd love to snag an Elliott/Greene type and a quick pressure type of player to replace Garlett. Do we sit on our hands and hope a different structure/forward coach will work? Or do we look to shake things up? I'm not sure...

 

[demondavey]

Yep. Carlton are a win behind us with a better percentage and playing good footy, I reckon they're a lock to win at least two more games which means we'll have to find two wins ourselves when I can only see us maybe beating the saints.

Think we will beat them this time, they’ve been horrible but they always turn up for us.

 

[djpaulydemon]

Forget personnel, the forward line is terribly coached, as is the midfield. Its a chicken and egg scenario with where the forawed connection problem starts.

Its funny how our backman present as better forwards. Might be because they haven't had the time to be confused by the forward structures, whatevever they seem to be, and just lead at the mids when it seems right.

 

[Billy Bob65]

Commiserations on the loss.

Here are the midfield frequency stats from the match. If you haven't seen a previous post, this is an overall summary of how often your players were lining up as one of the 5 mids.

Overall Summary - 23 Bounces

Harmes 21 (12w, 9i)
Viney 19 (1w)
Lewis 18
Oliver 12
Brayshaw 12 (3w)
Dunkley 10 wing
Fritsch 9 wing
Hunt 5 wing
Lockhart 5 wing
Petracca 4 (3i, 1w)

Rucks:
Gawn 17
Preuss 6

Centre Clearances (as per Champion Data/AFL.com.au
Lewis 4
Harmes 3
Brayshaw 1
Viney 1
Gawn 1

1st Half - 14

Harmes 13 (9w, 4i)
Lewis 12
Viney 11 (1w)
Dunkley 8 wing
Fritsch 8 wing
Oliver 7
Brayshaw 6
Petracca 3
Hunt 2 wing

Gawn 12
Preuss 2

Final Term - 6

Harmes 5
Viney 5
Lewis 5
Lockhart 5 wing
Brayshaw 4 (3w, 1i)
Oliver 2
Dunkley 2 wing
Hunt 1 wing
Petracca 1 wing

Gawn 4
Preuss 2

Notes:
- First inside starts for Jordan Lewis in an analysed game since Rd 22, 2017
- Most wing starts for Harmes in an analysed game since Rd 12, 2018
- In a case of what could've been, James Harmes started on Lachie Hunter's wing (who has always been a non-factor when tagged by anyone), but not only did Harmes not tag him, he almost immediately went to the other wing occupied by the significantly less experienced Richards/Roarke Smith and only had 1-2 bounces manning him for the remainder of the match. This left Hunter free to exploit the inexperienced showcase of Dunkley, Fritsch, Hunt & Lockhart for the entirety of the match.

 

[rhaz]

Yep. Carlton are a win behind us with a better percentage and playing good footy, I reckon they're a lock to win at least two more games which means we'll have to find two wins ourselves when I can only see us maybe beating the saints.

We could easily beat Sydney at the SCG. Carlton have a tough run home apart from the Saints and Gold Coast. We could finish above St Kilda, Sydney, Carlton and Gold Coast if we snag a surprising win or two. Even round 23 could make things interesting, as we play the Kangaroos.

Gold Coast might get a priority pick too.

 

[Simon_Says]

Every time ANB touches the ball he reminds me of how bad a team we are, even if he does something good.

Cam NIB's actually kick the ball with a drop punt from 45 out?
Non of these over the shoulder right foot snaps, taht only make the goal square, end up getting marked by the opposition thats back in the hole?
I like him, but lord i dont belive he could kcik over as jam jar

 

[Tulip]

Commiserations on the loss.

Here are the midfield frequency stats from the match. If you haven't seen a previous post, this is an overall summary of how often your players were lining up as one of the 5 mids.

Overall Summary - 23 Bounces

Harmes 21 (12w, 9i)
Viney 19 (1w)
Lewis 18
Oliver 12
Brayshaw 12 (3w)
Dunkley 10 wing
Fritsch 9 wing
Hunt 5 wing
Lockhart 5 wing
Petracca 4 (3i, 1w)

Rucks:
Gawn 17
Preuss 6

Centre Clearances (as per Champion Data/AFL.com.au
Lewis 4
Harmes 3
Brayshaw 1
Viney 1
Gawn 1

1st Half - 14

Harmes 13 (9w, 4i)
Lewis 12
Viney 11 (1w)
Dunkley 8 wing
Fritsch 8 wing
Oliver 7
Brayshaw 6
Petracca 3
Hunt 2 wing

Gawn 12
Preuss 2

Final Term - 6

Harmes 5
Viney 5
Lewis 5
Lockhart 5 wing
Brayshaw 4 (3w, 1i)
Oliver 2
Dunkley 2 wing
Hunt 1 wing
Petracca 1 wing

Gawn 4
Preuss 2

Notes:
- First inside starts for Jordan Lewis in an analysed game since Rd 22, 2017
- Most wing starts for Harmes in an analysed game since Rd 12, 2018
- In a case of what could've been, James Harmes started on Lachie Hunter's wing (who has always been a non-factor when tagged by anyone), but not only did Harmes not tag him, he almost immediately went to the other wing occupied by the significantly less experienced Richards/Roarke Smith and only had 1-2 bounces manning him for the remainder of the match. This left Hunter free to exploit the inexperienced showcase of Dunkley, Fritsch, Hunt & Lockhart for the entirety of the match.

We are coached so poorly

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

We are coached so poorly

I’m just waiting for the pain to end at this stage. Fold the club so I can just tap out of the sport entirely.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

Edit: who's the dickhead bumping old review threads? XD

This is how bad big footy has become with its whoring itself out to companies shitty banner ads, you click on something at the top of the list, but by the time the banner loads you're in a completely different thread the one you wanted to view at the bottom of the page. At least on a mobile or tablet.

Rant over.

 

[schmuttt]

Edit: who's the dickhead bumping old review threads? XD

This is how bad big footy has become with its whoring itself out to companies s**tty banner ads, you click on something at the top of the list, but by the time the banner loads you're in a completely different thread the one you wanted to view at the bottom of the page. At least on a mobile or tablet.

Rant over.

Can't stand that, click on an ad when you try to click on a thread.

 

[Dancing Potato]

Can't stand that, click on an ad when you try to click on a thread.

EVERY ******* TIME.

I know the ad takes that extra second to load and the threads will move but I still click all the same and * it up.