Autopsy Freo 61 - 49 Collingwood

ImperialPurple

Matthew Pavlich Medallist
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We all saw yesterday why Blakely should and shouldn’t play haha.
He finds the ball so well and does so much right, really hard at it.
But Christ he burns it by foot.
12 kicks at 33% so 4 effective kicks. I get the rain played a factor in the 3rd, but that number needs to be over 50% minimum for him to stay in, and I really hope he does.

Blakely in the middle gives us so much more flexibility with Fyfe forward, and makes us so much more dangerous when you add in Sturt Hogan & Walters forward too

Edit - Blakely had a team high 7 clangers too. Which I’m guessing were most of those missed kicks
Blakely needs specific instructions. See ball, get ball, hand ball. Do not under any circumstances kick ball.
 

DeanS

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Good
* Shultz, Crowden and Tabs did good in the forward line. One of tabs best games I would think.
* Serong playing beyond his years, worked well with Mundy
* Amazing how well the back like worked given the injuries. Ryan good and Wilson with a couple of great saves at crucial moments we haven't seen that in a while.
* Fredericks run run run

Bad
* Blakeley burning the ball in the corridor
* Fredericks disposal, that run down the wing and nothing kick to Matera was super disappointing
* Umpire choosing not to pay clear 50 m penalties in front of goal that every other team would have instantly been paid, cost Fredericks a certain goal.
* Fyfe losing the one on one out the back, a couple of other brain farts that resulted in turnovers and goals, one by foot and the other a deliberate out of bounds, as a captain and elite player needs to do better
I’m hoping Frederick gets dropped this week so I don’t have to see people constantly adding an “s” to his name on this Board.
 

ImperialPurple

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Fyfe was nowhere near 100%. He didn’t sound too convincing when Pav asked him about how his body pulled up afterwards too. Watching the dreaded video update from Weber with interest this week.
He’ll say - Fyfe pulled up a bit sore, but we expect him to be right to go after the break.

Nek minnit

Fyfe: TBC
 
Blakely did well, I was very happy with his physicality, attack on the ball and man. He wasn't clean with his hands or disposal but that was only particularly obvious because of the contrast from Serong - which isn't fair on Connor.

He played a good game within my expectations of him. He has plenty of areas to work on. I want him to be a one touch player, he still looks rushed - hopefully he settled into AFL pace again and that fumble clears up. That will give him more time to execute his ball movement better and we will be laughing. Mentally the fumble gets the panics up a notch and rushes a kick when there might be more space.

He was very focused on his man's positioning around the stoppages, I liked that. Worked hard off the ball into space to offer options to defenders.

He is an AFL player, probably loses his place in the side to an early selected inside midfielder with cleaner hands - but most guys would.
 

Bicco

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Blakely did well, I was very happy with his physicality, attack on the ball and man. He wasn't clean with his hands or disposal but that was only particularly obvious because of the contrast from Serong - which isn't fair on Connor.

He played a good game within my expectations of him. He has plenty of areas to work on. I want him to be a one touch player, he still looks rushed - hopefully he settled into AFL pace again and that fumble clears up. That will give him more time to execute his ball movement better and we will be laughing. Mentally the fumble gets the panics up a notch and rushes a kick when there might be more space.

He was very focused on his man's positioning around the stoppages, I liked that. Worked hard off the ball into space to offer options to defenders.

He is an AFL player, probably loses his place in the side to an early selected inside midfielder with cleaner hands - but most guys would.
I remember Malthouse saying that it takes 3 games for a player to adjust to AFL from lower leagues. Considering Blakely hasn't even had a game in a lower league, I'd be happy for the Match committee to afford him that much time.
 

wayToGo_

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I am hoping we rest fyfe or others for the game after the five day break. Won’t be great for win/loss but will be better for getting some through the season.
I don't know, he wasn't moving that great yesterday and still managed to dominate at times. Made some uncharacteristic errors but the whole team does seem to stand taller when he's out there with them. We so use a different grading scale when judging his games. Poor game for Fyfe means he wasn't BOG. If he's fit enough to play I can't see him agreeing to sit a game out.

Our next batch of games are all winnable. We are playing teams around us on the ladder. And the midfields we will play against might not be the strongest so parking Fyfe in the forward line with mid cameos when we need a lift should work pretty well. Similarly with Walters.
 

Cesoir

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Feb 11, 2019
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Really happy with that win yesterday, particularly after having watched the Geelong debacle - talk about boiled lollies to chocolates! It's nice to see glimpses of what we might become under Justin. I think the guys who played yesterday, coupled with those about to return from injury and those we haven't seen yet will make for some interesting selection conundrums for the remained of the year. Obviously we don't have any cavalry returning in the form of tall backs, but with Cox, Ryan, Hughes, Duman and Tobe Watson starting to string together some games as a "back 5" we haven't really been ripped apart by any attacks yet.

Positives:
  • Defence really stood up and while there were a couple of lapses they seem to be starting to gel as a defensive unit rather than as individuals. Special shout out to Luke Ryan who has really held that backline together all season, he is a gun.
  • Tabener was immense. At times he makes Keplar seem coordinated, but his contested marking has gone to a new level and nice to see him kicking straight
  • Caleb Serong. I called it when I first saw him at training that I thought he looked a better player early days than Lachie Neale did and I have not changed my mind. For me the big difference is the drive he gives us, he just gets it and goes. Sometimes Lachie will have 30 possessions for very few metres gained courtesy of just running around the back racking them up. Caleb makes things happen!
  • Mitch Crowden showed just why we have persisted with him. Sometimes when guys are out of the team for a while we forget what it was about them that we loved (except Joao of course) but his balance and composure was something special today. There was one long kick to Schultz(?) inside 50 then there was that magic little kick over the top to Fyfe. I love all our players, but I am happy to see Mitch in ahead of Banfield for this role.
  • Cerra started the game really well for his 50th. Faded a bit, but show glimpses of what he is quickly developing into. An inside / outside mid with elite kicking skills. Not something we need really :)
  • Darcy definitley improved on last week's performance. He was up against the best in the business and competed hard all day. Don't know how many frees he gave away this week but I can't remember any. I love it when Sean does all the bullocking work then Lobb comes in "fresh" in the last quarter and jumps over the top of the opposition rucks. Rory can't sustain this for a whole game, but so long as Sean is competing we will be fine.
Less Positives:
  • Conner's kicking is diabolical. How does a guy get to his stage in an Afl career and miss his boot so often? Loved his competitiveness around the ball and hopefully this game was an aberration, if he hit his boot occasionally he will be an asset in the clearances.
  • I thought Brandon Matera had a really poor game. He had no excuse really as we had a reasonable structure up forward, but he just doesn't seem to play like a natural small forward. I'm not sure why he leads at the ball carrier so often - he draws the ball but is not quick enough to get separation or tall enough to mark it.
  • Very disappointed that some of our guys are still frightened to take the game on at times. When Andy Brayshaw was running into an open goal you just knew he would fluff it - should have run right to the goal line and kicked it or drawn a defender and passed it off. He misses those shot far too often and there is often room for him to use his legs to get into a better position. Same thing for Michael Frederick(s) - you are the fastest guy out there, when you get into the clear RUN - don't try a dinky pass to a small forward leading to the pocket! Hopefully the review highlights those things and we get better at it.
Overall thought it was probably our best all-round performance for the year, and if we get some more soldiers back after the bye we might give a few teams some trouble from here on. With a full preseason to get players back and build on the synergy next year is looking really good.

Hmmm... where have I heard that before :)
 
Nov 7, 2018
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So much to unwrap after great wins like yesterday, and I don't need to repeat all the views above.

My only comment would be it was great to see Wilson having a red hot crack and inject himself into the play. I'm not sure if one of the coaches gave him a kick in the arse, as he needed one, but kudos to him, more of that please.
 

FreoStillNil

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I thought Brandon Matera had a really poor game. He had no excuse really as we had a reasonable structure up forward, but he just doesn't seem to play like a natural small forward. I'm not sure why he leads at the ball carrier so often - he draws the ball but is not quick enough to get separation or tall enough to mark it.

I like Matera and he has shown in previous year he has the skills. He is a small forward but doesn't play like one. He always seems to be one out with his opponent. He should be front and centre when the ball goes to Tabs, Lobb, Fyfe or whoever is the main target in the forward line.

Mundy turned back the clock, always have optimism when he gets the ball.

Also, Bewly, doesn't seem to waste the ball as much as people think.

Overall a good team effort. Honestly I thought we would get flogged.
 
Apr 26, 2011
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So much to unwrap after great wins like yesterday, and I don't need to repeat all the views above.

My only comment would be it was great to see Wilson having a red hot crack and inject himself into the play. I'm not sure if one of the coaches gave him a kick in the arse, as he needed one, but kudos to him, more of that please.
He had to come off 0 pre season & working in patched up back half. He has been building.
 

Monument Hills

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Great win.

Could talk about achievements/issues with various players but it would detract from the most important one of late whose herculean efforts have prevented goal after goal when so many of our best around him have been Webered.

Luke Ryan. You are a legend.
 

theGav56

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Two of the small positives for me: watching Wilson have a much better game, bringing his dash and long kicking, and Bewley, had a decent game. They have been unfairly targeted in here for different reasons, and while they wouldn’t feature in the best players, they earned their spots.

Could include Hughes, Duman and Conca too. Conca especially dished out some beautiful cuddles today, and Hughes was terrific in that first quarter.
 

FreoStillNil

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Two of the small positives for me: watching Wilson have a much better game, bringing his dash and long kicking, and Bewley, had a decent game. They have been unfairly targeted in here for different reasons, and while they wouldn’t feature in the best players, they earned their spots.

Could include Hughes, Duman and Conca too. Conca especially dished out some beautiful cuddles today, and Hughes was terrific in that first quarter.

I think the backline was not brilliant, but they really toughed it out. Kudos to them all. Hughes has copped so much on this board but he was very good.
 

poshman

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I don't know, he wasn't moving that great yesterday and still managed to dominate at times. Made some uncharacteristic errors but the whole team does seem to stand taller when he's out there with them. We so use a different grading scale when judging his games. Poor game for Fyfe means he wasn't BOG. If he's fit enough to play I can't see him agreeing to sit a game out.

Our next batch of games are all winnable. We are playing teams around us on the ladder. And the midfields we will play against might not be the strongest so parking Fyfe in the forward line with mid cameos when we need a lift should work pretty well. Similarly with Walters.
I completely agree with how he is graded. He was the most influential player yesterday by a fair margin. Strong and dominant at time in the middle and the end of the game he wins two clearances to push us up the ground. Then pushes forward - kicks a goal and takes their best defender meaning tabs plays on the second defender. That’s bloody influential.

My comments come from a load management POV. I don’t want to see him injured on a five day turnaround.
 

Superkoops

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Really happy with that win yesterday, particularly after having watched the Geelong debacle - talk about boiled lollies to chocolates! It's nice to see glimpses of what we might become under Justin. I think the guys who played yesterday, coupled with those about to return from injury and those we haven't seen yet will make for some interesting selection conundrums for the remained of the year. Obviously we don't have any cavalry returning in the form of tall backs, but with Cox, Ryan, Hughes, Duman and Tobe Watson starting to string together some games as a "back 5" we haven't really been ripped apart by any attacks yet.

Positives:
  • Defence really stood up and while there were a couple of lapses they seem to be starting to gel as a defensive unit rather than as individuals. Special shout out to Luke Ryan who has really held that backline together all season, he is a gun.
  • Tabener was immense. At times he makes Keplar seem coordinated, but his contested marking has gone to a new level and nice to see him kicking straight
  • Caleb Serong. I called it when I first saw him at training that I thought he looked a better player early days than Lachie Neale did and I have not changed my mind. For me the big difference is the drive he gives us, he just gets it and goes. Sometimes Lachie will have 30 possessions for very few metres gained courtesy of just running around the back racking them up. Caleb makes things happen!
  • Mitch Crowden showed just why we have persisted with him. Sometimes when guys are out of the team for a while we forget what it was about them that we loved (except Joao of course) but his balance and composure was something special today. There was one long kick to Schultz(?) inside 50 then there was that magic little kick over the top to Fyfe. I love all our players, but I am happy to see Mitch in ahead of Banfield for this role.
  • Cerra started the game really well for his 50th. Faded a bit, but show glimpses of what he is quickly developing into. An inside / outside mid with elite kicking skills. Not something we need really :)
  • Darcy definitley improved on last week's performance. He was up against the best in the business and competed hard all day. Don't know how many frees he gave away this week but I can't remember any. I love it when Sean does all the bullocking work then Lobb comes in "fresh" in the last quarter and jumps over the top of the opposition rucks. Rory can't sustain this for a whole game, but so long as Sean is competing we will be fine.
Less Positives:
  • Conner's kicking is diabolical. How does a guy get to his stage in an Afl career and miss his boot so often? Loved his competitiveness around the ball and hopefully this game was an aberration, if he hit his boot occasionally he will be an asset in the clearances.
  • I thought Brandon Matera had a really poor game. He had no excuse really as we had a reasonable structure up forward, but he just doesn't seem to play like a natural small forward. I'm not sure why he leads at the ball carrier so often - he draws the ball but is not quick enough to get separation or tall enough to mark it.
  • Very disappointed that some of our guys are still frightened to take the game on at times. When Andy Brayshaw was running into an open goal you just knew he would fluff it - should have run right to the goal line and kicked it or drawn a defender and passed it off. He misses those shot far too often and there is often room for him to use his legs to get into a better position. Same thing for Michael Frederick(s) - you are the fastest guy out there, when you get into the clear RUN - don't try a dinky pass to a small forward leading to the pocket! Hopefully the review highlights those things and we get better at it.
Overall thought it was probably our best all-round performance for the year, and if we get some more soldiers back after the bye we might give a few teams some trouble from here on. With a full preseason to get players back and build on the synergy next year is looking really good.

Hmmm... where have I heard that before :)
Good comments. Agree that Neale ran around with very little metres gained for Freo but he has lifted that with Brisbane. It is one area he has improved since his trade particularly this year. But Serong’s drive from the middle is very nice. You can see Serong looking ahead straight away. Contrast that with the Diacos moment in the first where Daicos pulled up was too afraid to trigger one of the kicks forward and ended up hand balling backwards. Would have had his old man pulling his mullet out.

Brayshaw has improved so much this year and his next step for improvement is to take the game on i50. Agree completely with your comments. Rather he get caught holding the ball or better still run a little closer to goal and then really drive through the ball. Not been many chances for him this season but go back to round 1 and he tries to just caress the ball or stab pass it through. Did it again 1st quarter. He needs to practice that at training repeatedly under pressure. Get a few tips from Walters as well.
 

Cesoir

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Feb 11, 2019
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Good comments. Agree that Neale ran around with very little metres gained for Freo but he has lifted that with Brisbane. It is one area he has improved since his trade particularly this year. But Serong’s drive from the middle is very nice. You can see Serong looking ahead straight away. Contrast that with the Diacos moment in the first where Daicos pulled up was too afraid to trigger one of the kicks forward and ended up hand balling backwards. Would have had his old man pulling his mullet out.

Brayshaw has improved so much this year and his next step for improvement is to take the game on i50. Agree completely with your comments. Rather he get caught holding the ball or better still run a little closer to goal and then really drive through the ball. Not been many chances for him this season but go back to round 1 and he tries to just caress the ball or stab pass it through. Did it again 1st quarter. He needs to practice that at training repeatedly under pressure. Get a few tips from Walters as well.
You're absolutely right - Lachie went from 126th in 2018 to 68th in 2019 and is sitting at 10th this year for total metres gained. Caleb is still a long way down the list, but "dem feels" is that he looks to break towards attacking goal whenever he gets the chance.

Not sure what it is with guys who are running into a clear goal then take the shot from a distance or an angle - fatigue? Confidence? Whatever it is, young Andy just needs to get a bit more arrogance and take the goal front on!
 

Hammersoup

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I thought Blakely was good. 23 possessions in 61% of a shortened game is impressive. Missed kicks from an inside mid don't bother me hugely.

In part agree, but there are missed and kicks, and all out shanks. He pretty well grubbered 4-5, in hindsight he could have handballed it further. I remember his kicking being average but he now sits in the 'deplorable kicking' rating.
 
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