Autopsy 2025 Rd 23 Blues power on to their best performance of the year

[Blue1980]

Forward structure was deeper for most of the game which gave more options when moving the ball towards goal and it also seemed that we had a lot mor overlap run from the likes of Walsh, Cow , Ollie etc.
Could be mistaken because I was only watching from the tv.

Walsh helped, but first hands on the footy all the time meant we looked good and on the move. We need to work on when we aren't having it all our own way at stoppages of minimising what opposition can do and alternative ways to score.

Walsh back definitely helped, we were ok for periods last 2 weeks, and him being back combined with worse opposition led to what we saw today.

 

[Bale Dup]

Every player gets a vote from me today. Very pleasing. Top stuff by all
Thanks

 

[xDQ82x]

TDK was really good I wish he would stay

I wish he would stay for a reasonable price.

 

[GalaxyBlue]

Port a bit of a rabble, but I like to think watching the AFLW side win on Thursday inspired the boys a bit. (I know, probably not but nice to imagine!!)

Both our senior sides with wins this week makes me happy.

 

[TheThunderboltKid]

Yeah but his decisionmaking by foot is pretty bad still. Okeefe will go past him within 5 years either way. Pitto can play with HOK in the meantime. The terrible 20m miss from HOK was bad but from the kickin he was our last man behind the ball by gut running the length of the field.

Don't think HOK will ever be a number one ruck, more a forward/ruck. We need to bring someone in if TDK goes, can't rely on Pitto.

 

[WyntersGame_]

I think people tend to forget how good Harry is because he sacrifices so much of his game to support Curnow

There is a reason he won a Coleman as our Full Forward leading our forward line

Well played by him today. Love seeing the smile back on his face

 

[btdg]

That win has helped our finals quite a bit imo.

After that big win we only need to win 14 (maybe 15) of our next 24 to lock in a finals berth from here, and if we can play like that every week I think we can get there. We are pretty even on percentage with the other teams aiming for the bottom half of the 8 after today's game too, which is nice.

 

[Opium]

I think people tend to forget how good Harry is because he sacrifices so much of his game to support Curnow

There is a reason he won a Coleman as our Full Forward leading our forward line

Well played by him today. Love seeing the smile back on his face

Great point. H won a coleman without Charlie. Kicked 7 but brings others in the game. 15 score involvements.

 

[TheThunderboltKid]

I think people tend to forget how good Harry is because he sacrifices so much of his game to support Curnow

There is a reason he won a Coleman as our Full Forward leading our forward line

Well played by him today. Love seeing the smile back on his face

People struggle to appreciate the role he's played since Charlie came back. Not to mention the sacrifice to win a Coleman one year and play second fiddle the next.

 

[you yang blues]

Positives:

Harry needs to go back to full forward, permanently. He was huge. If you want a reference game to part with Curnow, this is it.

Evans went from real bad to real good, real quick. On form our best small forward. Hope it lasts. He is playing hungry.

Cooper will be huge in 2026. O’Keefe will definitely make it. Cowan will make an All Australian team one day.

Walsh still has it, moved as well as he has in 2 years.

The not-so positives:

Saad looks close to the end. Assume 2026 is his last, and think he plays a fair bit of VFL.

Weitering looks lost. Badly out of form.

Cripps days in the middle are numbered. Can’t play multiple slow mids in there, and Hewett has gone past him. Should play a lot more forward in 2026.

Durdin, Motlop, Fogarty and Flynn Young are not the answer. Need to move on at least two.

Agree Saad close to the end. Lovely man and lots of respect for his contribution to the club. I'm sure he has been a great mentor for the younger players. However his run from the backline is gone. He cannot hold his tackles. Unfortunately his influence on the game not great. I hope he stays at the club in some capacity. The younger brigade are on the rise. So much hope for the future at last!

 

[Gethelred]

I've got a few things to say.

Any given AFL team is prone to relinquish a game away if there's nothing on the line. That they were poor at various times is a testament to this. They are and have been for a while looking for a KPF, and without one their game simply doesn't work; they need that long down the line target to set up around, and without one they simply suck. Can't guarantee repeat forward entries, can't guarantee turnovers, can't guarantee pressure. Georgiades isn't that player; he's a lead up marker, an out the back tall, an intelligent, clever, hardworking forward who struggles unless he's loose. Port are only ever dominant when the game is on their terms; when it's not, they have a very soft underbelly.

So, with that in mind, that we belted them from pillar to post across the first two terms is neither here nor there. Where our problems reside is in our defensive game; we know this, and have known it for a while. It's also interesting the different permutations we're working through in defense, trying to seek the ideal; no longer running with three intercept defenders, Young and Weitering, Haynes and Acres dropping back hard as wings providing additional intercepting while Saad, Hollands and Cowan push hard up at the ball offensively, Carroll almost playing a Plowman/Kemp bandaid of a third tall/small. It does mean we're short tacklers in defensive half, but that's been the case most of the season.

It was good to see the players smiling again, enjoying their footy, playing without the world on their shoulders. It's a bit weird to me how the vast preponderance of viewers are of the opinion that backing Voss 'puts the heat back on the players' yet this is the freest we've seen them play, arguably, this year.

I'd also like to get something clear: this is absolutely not how Voss had run a forward 50 in the ones. Those who have said it resembles what Luke Power

Luke Power

Age

45

Ht

180cm

Wt

79kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.0

5star

K

13.4

5star

HB

9.6

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

3.9

5star

CL

1.9

4star

No current season stats available

D

16.6

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

1.4

2star

T

2.0

4star

has been doing in ressies are spot on, and no it isn't that Port's pressure was off. The difference between the two is in Cooper Lord's centring the ball; Acres, Hewitt, Flynn Young and Hollands keeping the ball alive by hand before centring it to HOK; it's in the way we are running through half forward and taking distance by foot rather than kicking once forward of centre.

I also feel like we're building. There's nothing to build to this year tangibly, but the kids are coming on and playing AFL capable footy as well as the coaches actually trialing levels of integration between defensive 50 and midfield. For a group that are purportedly sitting on their hands, there's creativity still evident.

Port weren't very good. I enjoy beating them like few others. Seeing a confident Harry McKay

10

Harry Mckay

Age

27

Ht

200cm

Wt

106kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.9

3star

K

7.5

3star

HB

2.4

2star

M

5.5

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.4

5star

D

6.6

1star

K

4.6

2star

HB

2.0

1star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.4

2star

G

1.4

5star

D

8.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

2.0

2star

M

4.4

4star

T

0.8

3star

G

2.0

5star

and a balanced untackleable Sam Walsh

18

Sam Walsh

Age

25

Ht

184cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.1

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

5.1

5star

T

3.2

5star

CL

3.4

5star

No current season stats available

D

26.2

5star

K

15.4

5star

HB

10.8

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

3.2

5star

CL

4.8

5star

made me happy. For a playing group supposedly divided over list management/contract bullshit, they seem to be pretty tight knit.

I dunno, but it's good to see a win again.

 

[Jimmyonesix]

Watching the buy in today (yes port put up little resistance ). Says we should of backed the youth last season who got us in finals -- and after the miserable showing in finals should of backed youth to start the year -- once we lost to Adelaide was sign we needed to change tact-- luckily injuries forced our hand again

 

[Benaly28]

Watching the buy in today (yes port put up little resistance ). Says we should of backed the youth last season who got us in finals -- and after the miserable showing in finals should of backed youth to start the year -- once we lost to Adelaide was sign we needed to change tact-- luckily injuries forced our hand again

Our team will look vastly different next year.

 

[myblueroan]

Our team will look vastly different next year.

What changes do you anticipate Benaly?

 

[GoBlues!]

It was good to see the players smiling again, enjoying their footy, playing without the world on their shoulders. It's a bit weird to me how the vast preponderance of viewers are of the opinion that backing Voss 'puts the heat back on the players' yet this is the freest we've seen them play, arguably, this year.

I was especially pleased to see Harry smile today, after the rough patch at the start of the year.

I said it last week and it was reinforced today, talk of Voss losing the players is a crock of shit.

 

[CarmenSandiego]

Really like this group of youngsters.

I said it in gameday thread but if they all have big pre-seasons and replace the battlers/perenially injured players we’ve carried for years, we can turn it around very quickly.

Lord, O’Keefe, Carroll, Moir, Cowan are all absolutely best 23 material for 2026 if fit & confident.

TBC on Wilson, F. Young and a couple of others.

 

[CarmenSandiego]

What changes do you anticipate Benaly?

I like Lord in the midfield over Cerra tbh. Considering the big names are deemed untouchable by GW, he’s one I’d look at trading.

 

[GoBlues!]

What changes do you anticipate Benaly?

The great Benaly sees good things coming our way…

 

[SkyhorseTamer]

Positives:

Harry needs to go back to full forward, permanently. He was huge. If you want a reference game to part with Curnow, this is it.

Evans went from real bad to real good, real quick. On form our best small forward. Hope it lasts. He is playing hungry.

Cooper will be huge in 2026. O’Keefe will definitely make it. Cowan will make an All Australian team one day.

Walsh still has it, moved as well as he has in 2 years.

The not-so positives:

Saad looks close to the end. Assume 2026 is his last, and think he plays a fair bit of VFL.

Weitering looks lost. Badly out of form.

Cripps days in the middle are numbered. Can’t play multiple slow mids in there, and Hewett has gone past him. Should play a lot more forward in 2026.

Durdin, Motlop, Fogarty and Flynn Young are not the answer. Need to move on at least two.

Hewett is still miles away from Cripps. It's not even close. Hewett at the beginning of the third gave it back to port 3 times in a minute then ran the wrong way in a zone directly after. He collapses in and good teams destroy him for it. Lord has already gone past Hewett is the more appropriate comment, seeing as he was clamping butters and getting more of it... Hewett is a ball watcher... chases the ball then disposes without any thought. He's also slower than Cripps.... Flynn was good again, too

 

[tarczonandjane]

I'd also like to get something clear: this is absolutely not how Voss had run a forward 50 in the ones. Those who have said it resembles what Luke Power has been doing in ressies are spot on, and no it isn't that Port's pressure was off. The difference between the two is in Cooper Lord's centring the ball; Acres, Hewitt, Flynn Young and Hollands keeping the ball alive by hand before centring it to HOK; it's in the way we are running through half forward and taking distance by foot rather than kicking once forward of centre.

Are you able to explain how the forward 50 looks different now compared to previous please, Gethelred?

 

[CarmenSandiego]

Hewett is still miles away from Cripps. It's not even close. Hewett at the beginning of the third gave it back to port 3 times in a minute then ran the wrong way in a zone directly after. He collapses in and good teams destroy him for it. Lord has already gone past Hewett is the more appropriate comment, seeing as he was clamping butters and getting more of it... Hewett is a ball watcher... chases the ball then disposes without any thought. He's also slower than Cripps.... Flynn was good again, too

Yep.

Often goes backward when he should go forwards as well.

 

[Gethelred]

Are you able to explain how the forward 50 looks different now compared to previous please, Gethelred?

The ball is retained in hand for longer.

Seeing as this is very eye based, I should caveat this with an IMO.

When we go inside 50 on repeat entry, we try to run the ball in finding an option by hand rather than trying to spot up Harry/Charlie in the pocket, OOB, reset for stoppage. Stoppages seem to start further away from forward 50, creating space in front of them that we are now running through rather than running 10m and bombing and trying to force the smalls to get back in time. A stoppage forward of centre tries to run the ball inside 50 rather than kicking from within the stoppage, and will get as deep as they can before kicking; if it moves around the boundary, they try and keep it alive before changing the angle and centring.

The D50 rebound is decidedly better - helps that Port didn't have much to pressure the exit today - and thus we're getting access to the corridor and a vacant wing again. This we've seen before - 2023 - but it's through a different method.

Voss might compress his HFF up to the stoppage, but part of how we've wasted them under him is that we press them up then kick over their heads on clearance. Today, we handpassed to them and sprinted into the vacant space, taking the distance by foot.

 

[bigblueboy]

I was especially pleased to see Harry smile today, after the rough patch at the start of the year.

I said it last week and it was reinforced today, talk of Voss losing the players is a crock of shit.

Players are extremely frustrated at losing and not playing finals.
Some have extrapolated that to:
a) contracted players want to leave
b) Voss has lost the players
Neither is true … however it’s a fine line when you are losing and feelings can change week to week.

 

[Gethelred]

I also have but one more thing to say.

In the final term, there was a free kick paid against Corey Durdin to Aliir Aliir

21

Aliir Aliir

Age

31

Ht

194cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.2

4star

K

9.3

4star

HB

5.9

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.9

4star

MG

240.9

4star

D

11.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

5.0

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

3star

D

13.0

4star

K

6.4

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

158.4

3star

. He was paid a free kick for making body contact in a marking contest; not high contact, not chopping the arms, not tripping or holding or throwing him out of the way. Durdin might be the sub, might've had a shit of a night in which he kept bombing it forward - he clearly wasn't with the rest of the programme - but he's entitled to fair umpiring.

If Durdin's name was Jamie Elliott, that would not have been a free kick.

He was penalised for better than halving a marking contest against a taller player. No more, no less.

 

[FitzroyBlueBagger]

Great day & game, youngsters all displaying good signs throughout the match, many of the senior players had a good impact which helped set up and sustain our dominance throughout the entire game…

Harry ‘let’s trade him in for picks lol’ was what amazing and what every other club would dream of having, Cripps Williams Hewey Walshy Weiters TDK Haynes all playing major roles in the win…

Saad needs a spell he looks sore and limited, constructive criticism would be our defenders Weitering Young Saad again not defending their opponent properly being too caught up with zoning instead of beating their direct opponent…

As far as our ball movement there was some great signs of quicker & better choices hitting up teammates into space switching up & using angles to advantage, creating more opportunities and Flo…

Pressure & tackling was good, which created plenty of opportunities in turnovers that created rebounds as well as overlapping creating opportunities foward of the ball…

Go Baggers, now smash the injectors…