O.k so last night was disappointing, not what we had hoped for. I'm sure many of us felt rather flat after that fourth quarter but a new day dawns and onwards and upwards towards 2020.
Before we get there though lets have a good look at what went right and wrong over the course of the year with an eye towards the future.
Positives
We are still the reigning premiers for a few more weeks and even after that we are still closer to our last premiership than 17 other clubs.
No major injuries towards the later part of the season ruling anyone out for a large period of 2020. I'm sure there will be some surgeries and clean ups but overall the majority of the list should be ready to have a big pre season.
Games
Beat Collingwood by 18 points at the G in round 3. Gutsy game, a see-sawing affair in terms of momentum and to watch the boys bring it home in the fourth quarter was incredibly satisfying. Showed immense heart that night.
Beat Adelaide by 12 points in Adelaide in round 10. Down 33 points in the third quarter against an Adelaide side who weren't going too bad at the time was huge. Showed a lot of heart and it gave most of us belief the hunger was there and it just needed to become more of a four quarter effort than the sporadic nature it had been to date.
Beat Hawthorn by 6 points at the G in round 15. In what was absolutely terrible conditions to play a football game the boys hold firm and manage to steal a win in the dying minutes. I still think if Hawthorn had kicked straight we probably lose but on a day like that the leather stings like hell and kicking goals isn't so easy. Showed immense character and heart to hold on when challenged.
Beat Fremantle by 91 points at Optus in round 16. Just glorious. The one game all year i could sit back and relax from the start. We were on and never took our foot off the pedal. Ross Lyons face after the game was a thing of beauty and is a memory i will take with me to my grave.
Beat Essendon by 55 points in the Qualifying final. After what was a very flat fortnight after the loss to Hawthorn the boys responded and put in a four quarter effort. Couldn't have asked for more from them.
Young players
Liam Ryan. He has impressed me greatly with his gut running and is fast becoming one of my favourite players. Can't wait to see him kick on in 2020.
Oscar Allen. This kid is pure class, i was annoyed when we missed out on Kelly but not that we drafted Allen. He has far exceeded my expectations and i can't wait to see him add a little muscle mass in 2020. Call me crazy but i would still like to see if he can rotate through the midfield. Very clean with ball in hands.
Jarrod Cameron. I was not expecting this kid to make the impact he did in so few games. Just electric this kid. Knows how to kick a goal but it's his tackling and one percenters that have me most excited. Needs a big pre season but a spot is his for the taking.
Jack Petruccelle. So Jack has a lot to work on in terms of his game but lets keep in mind he's only been playing this game for a short period as Basketball was his sport growing up. Has shown he has plenty of skill but just needs composure and polish. I truly believe that can be worked on. Tackling and field kicking will be two things for him to work on over the summer but considering how far back he's come from i'm optimistic.
Jackson Nelson. Didn't know if he still had a place with us as i saw him behind Duggan, Cole and Rotham but can pleasantly say i appear to be wrong. A good run at it and Jackson produced some quality football. Competition down back will be fierce over the summer.
HM: Jake Waterman Josh Rotham Francis Watson
Senior Players
Jack Darling. Continued on with his 2018 form, started slow but once he got going he was beautiful to watch. Anyone who suggested trading this bloke in the past is a moron. Will end up 2nd all time goal kicker and potentially 300 gamer the way he is tracking.
Luke Shuey. Gave it everything he had all year, so unappreciated outside of the football club but we know what he does and he's seems to be getting better with age.
Brad Shepperd. Another one overlooked by the media too often. No frills player but pure class and we'd be screwed without him down back. Don't worry Brad, we will have another crack in 2020 for you mate.
Elliott Yeo. His best is amazing, the marking, tackling, goal kicking from outside 50. Not many people win AA in two different positions but this cat was good enough to do it.
HM. Shannon Hurn Lewis Jetta
Negatives
Well sadly the premiership defense fell short. Too many games with huge losses really hurt us at the pointy end.
Willie Rioli. Oh Willie. Not going to jump to conclusions, i'll wait until all the facts come out but it's truly heart breaking, was fast becoming one of my favourites to watch. Hopefully it's not career ending, time will tell but proud of the club sticking by him and offering support. We have come a long way from turning our backs on players and i'm so proud of us for that. Throw his pre season injury in as well as the shape he was in i thought he was going to rip the competition a new one.
Syndemosis.... like wtf is that? maybe i'm ignorant or hadn't been paying attention all these years but losing Duggo and Nic Nat really blew.
Optus Stadium. When we have to move training sessions away from the ground you now there are problems with it. New grounds take time to settle but cmon Optus hurry the * up.
Coaching staff. O.k so i don't know for sure but can i say that Van Berlo and Rosa weren't exactly what i had in mind when we lost Mitchell. After all the great things we heard about Sammy come out of the club, we didn't hear a thing about these two. Let's bring some class back in please, especially for the mdifield and even to help Simmo do we look at someone like Pyke again?
Games
44 point loss to Lions in Round One at the Gabba.
O.k so we were underdone and so many players hadn't had a pre season but we only really played well for 10 minutes of the first quarter. Dewy conditions didn't help either and it seems the Lions were better than anyone thought.
42 point loss to Port Adelaide at Optus
Many point to the rain as a major factor in why we lost this but for me it was pressure. Port came over with an intense in your face game style and we weren't ready. Jumped early and then buried in the second quarter. Could have been much worse if they hadn't taken their foot off the pedal later in the game. If it wasn't for a bag of goals by a certain youngster this would have been a complete disaster.
58 point loss to Geelong at Alphabet Stadium
Oh boy did this one hurt. I seriously hate this bloody ground, not much more to say than that really. Have never played well down there (unless you count a 54 point comeback late in the third one fine day) we weren't turned on early and just got steamrolled. We made Rohan look like Ablett for crying out loud.
45 point loss to Sydney iat the SCG.
Another ground i bloody hate. This was a hard game to watch. Sydney had injuries galore, Buddy comes back to save the day as he always does against us but overall outplayed by a team that showed far more intent than we did. Not much to take from this game and the hoodoo continues.
1 point loss to Collingwood at Optus in round 17.
What happened? We controlled the game for the first half, didn't capitalize early in the third and then momentum swung. We gave them a sniff and belief and they steamrolled us in the last. Did we run out of puff? I doubt it, it was this game where i personally questioned whether we had an adequate back up when momentum started to swing and teams got on top. Looking above at some of the losses we had previously i probably should have questioned it much earlier.
6 point loss to Richmond at the G in round 22.
Just wow. I couldn't believe our first quarter, The whole MCG was shell shocked and i'm dreaming of back to back but we gave them a sniff towards the end of the quarter and then the second quarter they rose to the challenge and we didn't meet them. Once the heavens opened up it was a slogfest and we gave it all we had, so i'm proud of the boys for that but we should never have let them back in the game in the second and third quarters.
38 point loss to Hawthorn in round 23.
I have no excuses for this game but it reminded me a little of the Port game. Hawks came with intense pressure, up in our face at every opportunity and we didn't respond. As it wore on we panicked and the floodgates opened. Out coached massively on the day. Simmo needs to look at what we do when we are exposed with intensity. Cost us top 4 and quite possibly a pre lim.
20 point loss to Geelong in Qualifying final at the MCG. Got jumped early but fought our way back into the game. All this talk of this being Willies fault is horseshit. Ratogolea and Hawkins were outmarking our defenders, Kennendy and Darling down the other end couldn't clunk their marks early and even though i'm so proud of the boys for fighting back and showing some heart too many simple errors cost us and then the midfield was outplayed in the last.
So excluding the semi final overall we had two close losses where we were in very good positions to win and 5 absolute thrashings. The two close losses i can handle to some extent but what game plan do we have to mitigate the bleeding when teams get on top? Some tinkering to our game plan or at least a plan b needs to be looked at in 2020.
If you divide all 7 games by the margin its 33 points per game which isn't great but not too bad. Take out the two close losses and it's 45 points a game and that is disturbing. Cost us serious percentage and top four.
Young Players
Daniel Venables. Awful concussion robbed him of his 2019 season. Was hoping to see what he could do throughout the year and if he could hold down a spot. Sadly it wasn't to be but i'm glad he has recovered and the club looked after his well being and i can't wait to see what he can do in 2020.
Tom Cole. Lost confidence early and was never really able to get it back. It happens with young players, we know what he is capable of and hopefully he can have a big pre season and push hard to reclaim his spot.
Jarrod Brander. O.k so this is a little harsh as KPP can take much longer to mature but i was hoping to see a little more from Jarrod this year , even if it was in the two's. He still a rather light frame so look forward to seeing what he can do over the pre season. Definitely not for trade.
Senior players.
Andrew Gaff. I can't fault his gut running and intent but his kicking and disposals seemed a step down from last year. Usually far more polished and seemed to rush it a fair bit when he first came back. Improved as the year went on but expect more from Gaffy and hope he has a huge pre season.
Jeremy McGovern. Not a bad year but it was definitely down from his best. Didn't deserve AA ahead of Sheppard but they pick for position so what are you going to do? The new 6-6-6 rules exposed him somewhat and opposition clubs put a lot of work into him. I would love to hear the end of year review for him and wonder what we can do to help him play his natural game, it might be a case of asking him to do more of what he's not great at whilst covering him to allow him to do what he is great at. I dunno.
Tom Barrass. Thought he was tracking along quite nicely and he still is to be fair but got the yips late in the year when he came back and never truly recovered. Needs a huge pre season but i'm backing him in to come good.
J.K. We've asked so much of him for so long so i'm not too hard on J.K. Can't even train on Mondays anymore. The body is sore and tbh we should have managed him during the year, if he plays on we need to give him some rests next year against some lesser teams.
Dom Sheed. Started the season very well and i thought he was tracking along nicely but sadly ran out of steam and good form toward the later part of the year. Nothing to be worried about, sure Dom will kick on.
DHM Jack Redden Chris Masten Mark Hutchings.
In Closing, goodbye 2019 season, hello 2019 draft and trading period. Lets hope we can have a ripper and add T.K and a few other gems to the list.
Before we get there though lets have a good look at what went right and wrong over the course of the year with an eye towards the future.
Positives
We are still the reigning premiers for a few more weeks and even after that we are still closer to our last premiership than 17 other clubs.
No major injuries towards the later part of the season ruling anyone out for a large period of 2020. I'm sure there will be some surgeries and clean ups but overall the majority of the list should be ready to have a big pre season.
Games
Beat Collingwood by 18 points at the G in round 3. Gutsy game, a see-sawing affair in terms of momentum and to watch the boys bring it home in the fourth quarter was incredibly satisfying. Showed immense heart that night.
Beat Adelaide by 12 points in Adelaide in round 10. Down 33 points in the third quarter against an Adelaide side who weren't going too bad at the time was huge. Showed a lot of heart and it gave most of us belief the hunger was there and it just needed to become more of a four quarter effort than the sporadic nature it had been to date.
Beat Hawthorn by 6 points at the G in round 15. In what was absolutely terrible conditions to play a football game the boys hold firm and manage to steal a win in the dying minutes. I still think if Hawthorn had kicked straight we probably lose but on a day like that the leather stings like hell and kicking goals isn't so easy. Showed immense character and heart to hold on when challenged.
Beat Fremantle by 91 points at Optus in round 16. Just glorious. The one game all year i could sit back and relax from the start. We were on and never took our foot off the pedal. Ross Lyons face after the game was a thing of beauty and is a memory i will take with me to my grave.
Beat Essendon by 55 points in the Qualifying final. After what was a very flat fortnight after the loss to Hawthorn the boys responded and put in a four quarter effort. Couldn't have asked for more from them.
Young players
Liam Ryan. He has impressed me greatly with his gut running and is fast becoming one of my favourite players. Can't wait to see him kick on in 2020.
Oscar Allen. This kid is pure class, i was annoyed when we missed out on Kelly but not that we drafted Allen. He has far exceeded my expectations and i can't wait to see him add a little muscle mass in 2020. Call me crazy but i would still like to see if he can rotate through the midfield. Very clean with ball in hands.
Jarrod Cameron. I was not expecting this kid to make the impact he did in so few games. Just electric this kid. Knows how to kick a goal but it's his tackling and one percenters that have me most excited. Needs a big pre season but a spot is his for the taking.
Jack Petruccelle. So Jack has a lot to work on in terms of his game but lets keep in mind he's only been playing this game for a short period as Basketball was his sport growing up. Has shown he has plenty of skill but just needs composure and polish. I truly believe that can be worked on. Tackling and field kicking will be two things for him to work on over the summer but considering how far back he's come from i'm optimistic.
Jackson Nelson. Didn't know if he still had a place with us as i saw him behind Duggan, Cole and Rotham but can pleasantly say i appear to be wrong. A good run at it and Jackson produced some quality football. Competition down back will be fierce over the summer.
HM: Jake Waterman Josh Rotham Francis Watson
Senior Players
Jack Darling. Continued on with his 2018 form, started slow but once he got going he was beautiful to watch. Anyone who suggested trading this bloke in the past is a moron. Will end up 2nd all time goal kicker and potentially 300 gamer the way he is tracking.
Luke Shuey. Gave it everything he had all year, so unappreciated outside of the football club but we know what he does and he's seems to be getting better with age.
Brad Shepperd. Another one overlooked by the media too often. No frills player but pure class and we'd be screwed without him down back. Don't worry Brad, we will have another crack in 2020 for you mate.
Elliott Yeo. His best is amazing, the marking, tackling, goal kicking from outside 50. Not many people win AA in two different positions but this cat was good enough to do it.
HM. Shannon Hurn Lewis Jetta
Negatives
Well sadly the premiership defense fell short. Too many games with huge losses really hurt us at the pointy end.
Willie Rioli. Oh Willie. Not going to jump to conclusions, i'll wait until all the facts come out but it's truly heart breaking, was fast becoming one of my favourites to watch. Hopefully it's not career ending, time will tell but proud of the club sticking by him and offering support. We have come a long way from turning our backs on players and i'm so proud of us for that. Throw his pre season injury in as well as the shape he was in i thought he was going to rip the competition a new one.
Syndemosis.... like wtf is that? maybe i'm ignorant or hadn't been paying attention all these years but losing Duggo and Nic Nat really blew.
Optus Stadium. When we have to move training sessions away from the ground you now there are problems with it. New grounds take time to settle but cmon Optus hurry the * up.
Coaching staff. O.k so i don't know for sure but can i say that Van Berlo and Rosa weren't exactly what i had in mind when we lost Mitchell. After all the great things we heard about Sammy come out of the club, we didn't hear a thing about these two. Let's bring some class back in please, especially for the mdifield and even to help Simmo do we look at someone like Pyke again?
Games
44 point loss to Lions in Round One at the Gabba.
O.k so we were underdone and so many players hadn't had a pre season but we only really played well for 10 minutes of the first quarter. Dewy conditions didn't help either and it seems the Lions were better than anyone thought.
42 point loss to Port Adelaide at Optus
Many point to the rain as a major factor in why we lost this but for me it was pressure. Port came over with an intense in your face game style and we weren't ready. Jumped early and then buried in the second quarter. Could have been much worse if they hadn't taken their foot off the pedal later in the game. If it wasn't for a bag of goals by a certain youngster this would have been a complete disaster.
58 point loss to Geelong at Alphabet Stadium
Oh boy did this one hurt. I seriously hate this bloody ground, not much more to say than that really. Have never played well down there (unless you count a 54 point comeback late in the third one fine day) we weren't turned on early and just got steamrolled. We made Rohan look like Ablett for crying out loud.
45 point loss to Sydney iat the SCG.
Another ground i bloody hate. This was a hard game to watch. Sydney had injuries galore, Buddy comes back to save the day as he always does against us but overall outplayed by a team that showed far more intent than we did. Not much to take from this game and the hoodoo continues.
1 point loss to Collingwood at Optus in round 17.
What happened? We controlled the game for the first half, didn't capitalize early in the third and then momentum swung. We gave them a sniff and belief and they steamrolled us in the last. Did we run out of puff? I doubt it, it was this game where i personally questioned whether we had an adequate back up when momentum started to swing and teams got on top. Looking above at some of the losses we had previously i probably should have questioned it much earlier.
6 point loss to Richmond at the G in round 22.
Just wow. I couldn't believe our first quarter, The whole MCG was shell shocked and i'm dreaming of back to back but we gave them a sniff towards the end of the quarter and then the second quarter they rose to the challenge and we didn't meet them. Once the heavens opened up it was a slogfest and we gave it all we had, so i'm proud of the boys for that but we should never have let them back in the game in the second and third quarters.
38 point loss to Hawthorn in round 23.
I have no excuses for this game but it reminded me a little of the Port game. Hawks came with intense pressure, up in our face at every opportunity and we didn't respond. As it wore on we panicked and the floodgates opened. Out coached massively on the day. Simmo needs to look at what we do when we are exposed with intensity. Cost us top 4 and quite possibly a pre lim.
20 point loss to Geelong in Qualifying final at the MCG. Got jumped early but fought our way back into the game. All this talk of this being Willies fault is horseshit. Ratogolea and Hawkins were outmarking our defenders, Kennendy and Darling down the other end couldn't clunk their marks early and even though i'm so proud of the boys for fighting back and showing some heart too many simple errors cost us and then the midfield was outplayed in the last.
So excluding the semi final overall we had two close losses where we were in very good positions to win and 5 absolute thrashings. The two close losses i can handle to some extent but what game plan do we have to mitigate the bleeding when teams get on top? Some tinkering to our game plan or at least a plan b needs to be looked at in 2020.
If you divide all 7 games by the margin its 33 points per game which isn't great but not too bad. Take out the two close losses and it's 45 points a game and that is disturbing. Cost us serious percentage and top four.
Young Players
Daniel Venables. Awful concussion robbed him of his 2019 season. Was hoping to see what he could do throughout the year and if he could hold down a spot. Sadly it wasn't to be but i'm glad he has recovered and the club looked after his well being and i can't wait to see what he can do in 2020.
Tom Cole. Lost confidence early and was never really able to get it back. It happens with young players, we know what he is capable of and hopefully he can have a big pre season and push hard to reclaim his spot.
Jarrod Brander. O.k so this is a little harsh as KPP can take much longer to mature but i was hoping to see a little more from Jarrod this year , even if it was in the two's. He still a rather light frame so look forward to seeing what he can do over the pre season. Definitely not for trade.
Senior players.
Andrew Gaff. I can't fault his gut running and intent but his kicking and disposals seemed a step down from last year. Usually far more polished and seemed to rush it a fair bit when he first came back. Improved as the year went on but expect more from Gaffy and hope he has a huge pre season.
Jeremy McGovern. Not a bad year but it was definitely down from his best. Didn't deserve AA ahead of Sheppard but they pick for position so what are you going to do? The new 6-6-6 rules exposed him somewhat and opposition clubs put a lot of work into him. I would love to hear the end of year review for him and wonder what we can do to help him play his natural game, it might be a case of asking him to do more of what he's not great at whilst covering him to allow him to do what he is great at. I dunno.
Tom Barrass. Thought he was tracking along quite nicely and he still is to be fair but got the yips late in the year when he came back and never truly recovered. Needs a huge pre season but i'm backing him in to come good.
J.K. We've asked so much of him for so long so i'm not too hard on J.K. Can't even train on Mondays anymore. The body is sore and tbh we should have managed him during the year, if he plays on we need to give him some rests next year against some lesser teams.
Dom Sheed. Started the season very well and i thought he was tracking along nicely but sadly ran out of steam and good form toward the later part of the year. Nothing to be worried about, sure Dom will kick on.
DHM Jack Redden Chris Masten Mark Hutchings.
In Closing, goodbye 2019 season, hello 2019 draft and trading period. Lets hope we can have a ripper and add T.K and a few other gems to the list.
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