Review Scratch match analysis of North V Saints

[aussierulesrules]

Carlisle, Hanneberry, Paton, Geary, Z Jones didn't play. They had a pretty solid squad for the game.

Nor Gresham.

And of course the mayor of Portland himself, Rowan Marshall.

 

[7577969923]

Didn't watch it all as was trying to get work done as well. They looked like a very inexperienced team with not much cohesion which is to be expected when we are super young and have turned over so many players. We were also up against a team at a very different stage of development. The Saints will be thinking top 4 this year.
From what I saw there were lots of positive signs but the Saints' weight of possession and options up forward killed us. Throw Cunnington, Jed, LDU, and Polec into our team and we are a hell of a lot more competitive.
There will be more days like these but there will be much better ones as well as players start to click and form cohesion. I still have plenty of patience and belief that we are heading in the right direction with a group of players that can take us there.

It is interesting to look at Simpkin. He seems to have completed his mental development as a footballer. Thinking he is playing to keep his spot is a distant memory and believing he belongs at the level is not really his mindset. He now believes there is no one on the field that is better than him.

 

[Val Keating]

Just curious VK, what difference would another KPF made today?

Personally I think until we get our midfield/ball movement/game plan right, it’s kind of irrelevant tbh.

Throw Brown in there today, he’d have made minimal difference. Throw a Hawkins or Dixon in there, they would definitely have added some physicality, but how much are they going to influence today’s outcome?

The other reality is that unless we trade first round picks, we aren’t going to get an elite KPF of Dixon/Hawkins/Cameron etc. IMO an elite, physical KPF is what we need down the track to compliment Larkey (not a Ben Brown).

If we want a stop gap to compete whilst Comben/Xerri develops, whose available as a free agent that is going to genuinely make a difference in 2021? Personally I think J.Walker can play this role for the next 1-2 years whilst we get our ducks in line.

Not finger pointing at you VK, but the whining on here about our forward line and implying that an additional KPF would have made a big difference is exhausting.

I didn’t see the game so can’t really comment on today....but I have had concerns about our lack of tall forwards this year.

Today’s not really relevant because we didn’t have a midfield, but with a decent midfield a couple of tall forwards that work well together can create holes in the forwardline by leading in different directions as the ball comes in high and fast, completely nullifying the would be intercept marker, who with only one tall key forward can zone off and take that mark/spoil.

Think we saw how effective this can be when Waite and Petrie were in the side.

 

[King Corey]

Thomas: ... As a seasoned football analyst, I'd have him slightly higher than fifth or sixth in line for a spot as a mid/fwd

Very good.

 

[Kanga Glory]

Practice matches are just that. We weren’t good but new players, new game plan, new positions all take a lot of games to understand.
Don’t set the bar too high, we will have moments both good and bad.
I’m content to watch the games too see improvements and build and enjoy the ride to the top.
What we put out yesterday was trying to practice what they have been learning whereas the saints are continuing from last year.

 

[Mixed Results]

I caught up on the replay (the real MVP of yesterday was giantroo) and my two cents are as follows:

In the AFL if you're going to concede the clearances, you have to make up for it with defensive pressure. Without Cunnington, Goldstein, LDU, Jed and to a lesser extent Polec and Dumont, we were always going to be smashed in the middle by one of the more underrated midfield groups in the AFL. You can win a game without dominating the centre (see Richmond's last four years), but the key to doing so in the modern game is always defensive pressure. To put it very simply if you don't have the ball you need to work hard to win it back. That didn't happen.

I'm not too worried that we didn't bring the pressure, as we played with some funky lineups, lots of kids and the 90% effort that you'd expect in a scratch match in front of a handful of people. Instead it's better to focus on individual efforts.

A lot has already been said about the individual players, so I won't go into too much detail, but there were more than a few players who could lift their heads high after that one. It's funny, because I thought with the ball in our hands we actually looked almost decent at times. It was just very rare that we were able to have clean passages of play. One early feather in Noble's cap should be that in a 100 point loss we saw better end to end passages of play than all of last year combined. Our ball movement was probably the worst in the league last year and it's encouraging to already be seeing improvements.

Our depth is paper thin, but with a blessed run of injuries we're going to be able to put out a pretty exciting 22. Although I think yesterday was a grim reminder that despite being on the right track, with a few key injuries we're going to be a very hot chance for the wooden spoon.

 

[Val Keating]

I just heard on the radio that the Saints got 8 goals from 50 meter penalties, is that right?

 

[Snake_Baker]

I just heard on the radio that the Saints got 8 goals from 50 meter penalties, is that right?

It wouldn't be far off.

 

[Psicosis]

I didn’t see the game so can’t really comment on today....but I have had concerns about our lack of tall forwards this year.

Today’s not really relevant because we didn’t have a midfield, but with a decent midfield a couple of tall forwards that work well together can create holes in the forwardline by leading in different directions as the ball comes in high and fast, completely nullifying the would be intercept marker, who with only one tall key forward can zone off and take that mark/spoil.

Think we saw how effective this can be when Waite and Petrie were in the side.

If it's leading patterns to create holes that is your concern, I think Larkey, Zurhaar, Stephenson & Taylor will cause opposition defenders their fair share of headaches (when & if the ball use is right). Zurhaar was attracting a lot of attention himself yesterday. Throw a J.Walker in there who is team first and going to sacrifice his game for the benefit of the youngsters, I think it's fine for now.

Early days, but Larkey is as impressive of a prospect as Petrie was. He clearly has put on a lot of size and outmuscled Chip Frawley at times yesterday which is no small task for a 22 year old.

We got Waite via FA & the guy was an absolute freak. I'd be very open to getting in that mold to the club in the future, however I don't think it's as urgent as many here are making out that we should rush and bring someone less competent on big money/trade value (eg. like the dogs did with Bruce).

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

I just heard on the radio that the Saints got 8 goals from 50 meter penalties, is that right?

The Corr one was fine by me. The opposition bloke deliberately dropped his knees to draw a high free. He deserved to be put on his backside. Ump fell for it like he did all day.

 

[Val Keating]

It wouldn't be far off.

The bloke said there were 12 50 meter penalties and 8 of them put a Saints player in the goal square. That’s got to be a record.

 

[Val Keating]

Were we just bombing it in yesterday?

 

[Snake_Baker]

Were we just bombing it in yesterday?

They are working through the backline to forward line transition.

As for the clearances, I thought we were actually alright considering the side we had out there. Goldstein's absence had a major impact. He's our most influential player.

 

[Val Keating]

They are working through the backline to forward line transition.

As for the clearances, I thought we were actually alright considering the side we had out there. Goldstein's absence had a major impact. He's our most influential player.

Him and Cunners

 

[AnEmptyChair]

Were we just bombing it in yesterday?

I take it you mean into the forward line? There was definitely a focus on short kicking and, when the opportunity presented itself, use by hands from the backline through the corridor. Often when we'd get to around center or just forward of center, we kicked long into the forward line. One thing I noticed yesterday, and I've seen it in the training clips too, is that when we go inside 50 there seems to be a directive to kick it hard and flat rather than really bomb it. This makes sense considering our the composition of our forward line, with players who are more mid-sized and without a real contested marking presence. When we did get in a jam around halfback though, we did look to go down the line to Larkey, as you would expect.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Him and Cunners

It has to be served up first in order for Cunners to be maximized, but he's no doubt the 2nd most pivotal player in there.

Paddy Ryder looked like Simon Madden yesterday, yet it was only 18 months ago that we all saw Goldstein give that same player one of the greatest ruck hidings of the modern era.

 

[Usayed Givashe]

Nor Gresham.

And of course the mayor of Portland himself, Rowan Marshall.

I reckon you're all set for Prelim heartbreak.

 

[Snake_Baker]

I reckon you're all set for Prelim heartbreak.

StKilda are a finals quality team. No doubt.

If all goes well they could even go deep.

 

[Event Horizon]

Can't agree with this EH.

Mason Wood looked like a star today because he had a quality midfield feeding him the ball.

We could plonk J.Cameron in our forward line today and the difference would be marginal.

Look deeper than this - yes we would have lost the game with W Carey in our forward line as well. But I am not talking about that. I am talking about the fact we had one viable target in our forward 50, and even he had to waste energy in the ruck for periods of the game. You can't tell me we can win too many games with this structure.

 

[Val Keating]

StKilda are a finals quality team. No doubt.

If all goes well they could even go deep.

They’ve definitely recruited for a premiership. They’re all in.

 

[Event Horizon]

StKilda are a finals quality team. No doubt.

If all goes well they could even go deep.

Yes they could. But only 2 years ago they seemed set for another rebuild, yet a coaching change with a good trade period shot them into finals in just one season, and now after further tweaks to the list they look like a potential top 4 side. Good example of a smart list management strategy.

 

[Event Horizon]

No point having gun forwards if we can't get the ball into our fwd 50. If anything, today highlighted the importance of having a talented midfield that can run both ways (which is what we DID draft for).

You have to have targets to kick to who can at least half the contest. We didn't have that. I'd say our inside 50 numbers would be reasonable, but the forward line set up was just not workable.

 

[Passmore]

Look deeper than this - yes we would have lost the game with W Carey in our forward line as well. But I am not talking about that. I am talking about the fact we had one viable target in our forward 50, and even he had to waste energy in the ruck for periods of the game. You can't tell me we can win too many games with this structure.

The structure may evolve over the next 2-3 seasons. We did have periods with Larkey and Skinner up forward. We may just not have the available cattle to go with 2 KF right now. If X and/or Comben were fit we may have looked different.

Walker could be a warm body as an immediate place holder if we go that way.

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[Event Horizon]

They’ve definitely recruited for a premiership. They’re all in.

That's what everyone plays for at the end of the day. We don't play for rebuilds for the sake of rebuilds. Good on them for being able to attract the players they wanted and finding cap room to pull it off. Especially so, given they aren't a big club that typically attracts players through its reputation alone.

 

[Event Horizon]

The structure may evolve over the next 2-3 seasons. We did have periods with Larkey and Skinner up forward. We may just not have the available cattle to go with 2 KF right now. If X and/or Comben were fit we may have looked different.

Walker could be a warm body as an immediate place holder if we go that way.

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The issue is that talls take time, and the fact we haven't recruited any means it will take longer still.
Skinner didn't really show anything IMO. X is also yet to show anything as a forward at any level. Walker we all know is not the answer.