Autopsy Port v Collingwood Review

[Dalfino]

I think you are underrating the effect of Mason Cox.

Sure he wasn't much chop around the ground but hr made it very difficult for Paddy to get a clean tap to advantage

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I haven't really seen too much of him so maybe I'm not giving him the credit where it's due, but Ryder was the ruck who allowed us to win the game against St. Kilda off the palm of his hand. I guess I expect a little better of him against an inexperienced fringe player like Cox, but he definitely wasn't the key issue there.

 

[chiwigi]

Sam Gray is far too smart a footballer for his size and skill set. He'd just about be the best player in the comp if he had Arch's size and skills. So annoying.

I disagree, he gets the ball and all play stops. He doesn't think quickly enough when he has it.
He is a good solid player no more.

 

[Macca19]

Unpopular opinion time: I like Dougal down back. Pace, aggression, great spoiling ability, very good foot skills coming out of the backline.

We've been screaming out for a defender of genuine size. Well, here he is.

 

[Coobk001]

Can Port use the Cameron sniper hit on Houston to argue down a suspension to a fine, at least the ball was near the player Wines made contact with.

I don't believe that you can use precedence, however after seeing the Cameron hit which is nearly identical, I'm far more confident Ollie will just get a fine.

 

[Doctor Feel]

I seriously think the ferocity and hunger Howard showed on the way to kicking that goal was the biggest "I want to smotherfarken play forward. I AM A FORWARD. GOD WILLS IT!"

He was never passing it off, he was never not going to kick it. It was surely a message.

 

[Coobk001]

Unpopular opinion time: I like Dougal down back. Pace, aggression, great spoiling ability, very good foot skills coming out of the backline.

We've been screaming out for a defender of genuine size. Well, here he is.

I'm with you.

Long term he still may be a forward, but short term he adds something to our defensive mix and he is getting AFL level experience which is huge for his development.

 

[Byrons Firen]

Definitely agree with you on the crowd. Was great to actually have a half-decent and involved crowd (albeit there were a few Collingwood supporters in the stadium) which culminated with the fantastic reaction to Dougal's goal at the end.

But this is the problem I have: our win yesterday paves a very thin layer of wallpaper on the massive cracks within our team right now. It gives the players, coaches and many supporters false hope that we will be able to make any sort of impact in finals. You could say that the players and coaches won't take the win for granted and will review it as a loss due to the way we played, but that's literally been the case every single week since the second half of the Hawthorn game at Adelaide Oval, and the current group has shown ABSOLUTELY ZERO SIGNS of any meaningful change or review since then. I feel like a loss would have at least been somewhat of a catalyst, putting more pressure on KT and Kochie to make the hard calls with our current coaching group, but a win just gives everyone that false sense of security that we are a good team that will compete in finals. In brutal honesty, if our win yesterday tells me anything, it's that if we do indeed make finals and have to match up on the big stage against a team like Geelong or Adelaide, I think that we will see a repeat of 119. And that scares me shitless.

I wasn't having a go at you just picked up a sentence to make a point. Our results v the better teams tell us where we really are.
As for getting pants'ed in a final well it might happen of course but i'd say 2 things about that.

1 right now i'd take a finals berth
2 doubt we'd get embarrassed. Based solely on nothing but blind faith.

We are what we are and I feel a lot better than last week.

 

[Coobk001]

Sam Gray is far too smart a footballer for his size and skill set. He'd just about be the best player in the comp if he had Arch's size and skills. So annoying.

I don't know, that smothered goal reeked of stupidity. He had 1 man beat, and was near certain to get past the 2nd man but still decided to try and kick it even though he was also near certain to be smothered. A smart footballer can feel that smother coming and would've faked the kick for an easy 2nd dummy and a completely open goal.

If he is a smart footballer he certainly does some dumb stuff.

 

[Pappagallo]

I seriously think the ferocity and hunger Howard showed on the way to kicking that goal was the biggest "I want to smotherfarken play forward. I AM A FORWARD. GOD WILLS IT!"

He was never passing it off, he was never not going to kick it. It was surely a message.

It was the perfect tonic after witnessing two blokes hand it off to the guy who apparently holds the current league record for the most consecutive behinds (3rd all time).

 

[Us against the rest]

I don't believe that you can use precedence, however after seeing the Cameron hit which is nearly identical, I'm far more confident Ollie will just get a fine.

Let's hope so.

 

[Doctor Feel]

It was the perfect tonic after witnessing two blokes hand it off to the guy who apparently holds the current league record for the most consecutive behinds (3rd all time).

Seriously. If I was an oppo coach, i'd tell my defenders to worry about 0-40m from goal and forget defending the 50. Cutting down the area required to defend. None of Neade, R. Gray or S. Gray can kick from 40+.

Farken.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Unpopular opinion time: I like Dougal down back. Pace, aggression, great spoiling ability, very good foot skills coming out of the backline.

We've been screaming out for a defender of genuine size. Well, here he is.

I'll agree with you Macca. He was strong down back and we looked more stable with him back there, especially linking up with Houston. That goal at the end was a nice moment in time but don't get it too confused with sustainable substance.

He's pretty much established himself back in the side after one game. I'm sure there will be games where he struggles against established forwards but he has the aggression, size and athleticism to go with them. I feel more confident in him than Austin right now.

If Trengove comes back in next week it gives us some new options to mix and match forward and back. Next year Marshall comes into the mix as well as #PlayFrampton and suddenly we have genuine tall options across the ground.

 

[chiwigi]

Unpopular opinion time: I like Dougal down back. Pace, aggression, great spoiling ability, very good foot skills coming out of the backline.

We've been screaming out for a defender of genuine size. Well, here he is.

We have had one playing forward in Trengove.

 

[Grandaddy J]

Unpopular opinion time: I like Dougal down back. Pace, aggression, great spoiling ability, very good foot skills coming out of the backline.

We've been screaming out for a defender of genuine size. Well, here he is.

I agree, but I think the general annoyance isn't aimed at Dougal specifically, rather why can't we just leave f****** Trengove as our KPD and swing Dougal up forward because our current forward set-up is an absolute shambles

 

[Pappagallo]

Seriously. If I was an oppo coach, i'd tell my defenders to worry about 0-40m from goal and forget defending the 50. Cutting down the area required to defend. None of Neade, R. Gray or S. Gray can kick from 40+.

Farken.

And yet ryder2gray.gif

It should be a team rule. If you mark it I50 it's your responsibility, it's your job to kick the goal.

 

[Forzaport]

I disagree, he gets the ball and all play stops. He doesn't think quickly enough when he has it.
He is a good solid player no more.

I don't know, that smothered goal reeked of stupidity. He had 1 man beat, and was near certain to get past the 2nd man but still decided to try and kick it even though he was also near certain to be smothered. A smart footballer can feel that smother coming and would've faked the kick for an easy 2nd dummy and a completely open goal.

If he is a smart footballer he certainly does some dumb stuff.

Smart in the sense of positioning and always being in the right places at the right time. Poor disposal under pressure and an inability to sell candy and kick a goal is more on the talent side of the equation imo.

 

[Steve Dore]

... He was never passing it off, he was never not going to kick it. It was surely a message.

Robbie waving his arms about for the pass so he can miss another set shot and Doooougs is just "I got this".

 

[Grave Danger]

I haven't really seen too much of him so maybe I'm not giving him the credit where it's due, but Ryder was the ruck who allowed us to win the game against St. Kilda off the palm of his hand. I guess I expect a little better of him against an inexperienced fringe player like Cox, but he definitely wasn't the key issue there.

His tap to Robbie for the goal just before half-time wasn't quite as precise as the St Kilda one, but it was still a great set piece.

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

Nothing like limping toward the finals is there

 

[MutleyDog]

I can't imagine anyone has a problem with Doogs playing back. He has looked great down there at the Maggies. The problem is the lack of a tall up forward. Jacko dominated for one quarter against the worst team in the SANFL on Saturday and will probably come straight back in
At the highest level he is just way to clumsy and lacks the required skill.
There really isn't a role for Jacko going forward (time not position). He is just going to hold up Frampton and Marshall as he has done all year.

 

[FishingRick04]

Ah chee should never be allowed in the centre square. Didn't win one centre clearance with him in there.

Dougal howard makes me moist.

He was a decoy, it was never tapped remotely close to him either.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Definitely agree with you on the crowd. Was great to actually have a half-decent and involved crowd (albeit there were a few Collingwood supporters in the stadium) which culminated with the fantastic reaction to Dougal's goal at the end.

But this is the problem I have: our win yesterday paves a very thin layer of wallpaper on the massive cracks within our team right now. It gives the players, coaches and many supporters false hope that we will be able to make any sort of impact in finals. You could say that the players and coaches won't take the win for granted and will review it as a loss due to the way we played, but that's literally been the case every single week since the second half of the Hawthorn game at Adelaide Oval, and the current group has shown ABSOLUTELY ZERO SIGNS of any meaningful change or review since then. I feel like a loss would have at least been somewhat of a catalyst, putting more pressure on KT and Kochie to make the hard calls with our current coaching group, but a win just gives everyone that false sense of security that we are a good team that will compete in finals. In brutal honesty, if our win yesterday tells me anything, it's that if we do indeed make finals and have to match up on the big stage against a team like Geelong or Adelaide, I think that we will see a repeat of 119. And that scares me shitless.

Adelaide, Sydney and GWS are all a class above us. Adelaide and Sydney in particular have settled sides that are strong in key positions and an established way of playing. We could beat any of them but maybe 2 out of 10 times if we are being honest.

Geelong and Richmond are eminently beatable, Geelong live on aura and Richmond need things to go right for them. At worst we would be 4/10 chance in any game with them. Geelong at Kardinia Park gives them more of an edge but Richmond at the MCG not really.

The other teams in the 8 we can beat and they can beat us. A home final would give us an advantage.

The reality is 'massive cracks' is BigFooty hyperbole. We have deficiencies but outside of the top 3 I mentioned so does every other team in the top 8-10. We are not as settled as the gun teams and next year we will continue to change up our side to get the mix right. I'm especially thinking that Marshall, Frampton, Atley and even Johnson could make an impact, We will likely bring in at least one free agent.

We're not on the pace of the best this year but we're not as far off it as some think. We're not going to make massive change now this close to finals and with a contracted coaching group. If that's what you're looking for you will be sadly disappointed.

The Collingwood game was a dour struggle but to manufacture 14 goals with what looks like a dysfunctional forward set up was a fair effort. It's tough coming off the smashing we had at the hands of the crows, I've seen teams completely demoralised by that sort of loss. But we fronted up and went hard at the game from the opening bounce. We're still putting pieces together even this late in the season which means we won't be a real threat come finals but we should win one and with a bit of luck we can get to a prelim.

If we fail dismally in the next couple of weeks and/or finals then the club's response will tell us a lot.

 

[Pappagallo]

Nothing like limping toward the finals is there

For only the 3rd time in the last 10 years.

I'll take it.

 

[bomberclifford]

Adelaide, Sydney and GWS are all a class above us. Adelaide and Sydney in particular have settled sides that are strong in key positions and an established way of playing. We could beat any of them but maybe 2 out of 10 times if we are being honest.

Geelong and Richmond are eminently beatable, Geelong live on aura and Richmond need things to go right for them. At worst we would be 4/10 chance in any game with them. Geelong at Kardinia Park gives them more of an edge but Richmond at the MCG not really.

The other teams in the 8 we can beat and they can beat us. A home final would give us an advantage.

The reality is 'massive cracks' is BigFooty hyperbole. We have deficiencies but outside of the top 3 I mentioned so does every other team in the top 8-10. We are not as settled as the gun teams and next year we will continue to change up our side to get the mix right. I'm especially thinking that Marshall, Frampton, Atley and even Johnson could make an impact, We will likely bring in at least one free agent.

We're not on the pace of the best this year but we're not as far off it as some think. We're not going to make massive change now this close to finals and with a contracted coaching group. If that's what you're looking for you will be sadly disappointed.

The Collingwood game was a dour struggle but to manufacture 14 goals with what looks like a dysfunctional forward set up was a fair effort. It's tough coming off the smashing we had at the hands of the crows, I've seen teams completely demoralised by that sort of loss. But we fronted up and went hard at the game from the opening bounce. We're still putting pieces together even this late in the season which means we won't be a real threat come finals but we should win one and with a bit of luck we can get to a prelim.

If we fail dismally in the next couple of weeks and/or finals then the club's response will tell us a lot.

Good to have some perspective.

 

[Jonts]

He was a decoy, it was never tapped remotely close to him either.

He was given a defensive role for sure