Game Day Practice Match Carlton v Hawthorn - February 21st 4.00PM @ Princes Park

[TooBlue14]

He hasnt got the mass to break out of tackles. He needs more power will get there.

Oh he’s definitely not there yet. But you can clearly tell he’s trying to build mass. He will get slower while that’s happening. He needs the running coach like Cripps did while he’s building otherwise he will be incredibly slow. There’s not many mids the size of Cripps and as slow as he is he’s very quick for his size. I’d say he’s the quickest with the weight he carries.

 

[1981]

How did the new 666 rules change the look of the game. Has it opened up the congestion? What about the kick ins from defence?

That's why we didn't take rucks seriously, to not show our cards.

 

[TooBlue14]

Settled midfield with a proper Ruckman will really help. Cripps in with Kennedy Curnow SPS Dow Fisher Walsh will be very good. Once they are all in and on the park together we will see a real difference

I agree. A few players that spent time in the middle won’t firing the season. I’m not sure the Ed Curnow forward is working unless he’s going to be playing a tagging role. I think he’s more valuable in the middle. Hopefully he gets some rotation. He was leading the tackles in the entire afl by round 6 last year. Only suspension held him back. There needs to be a time when we go Kruezer, cripps, Murphy, Ed and Walsh on ball. That’s where I’d start.

 

[HyphensBack]

5. Walsh
4. Cunners
3. McKay
2. Samo
1. LOB

Been a while since our best players didn’t include one of the senior players - this is encouraging (assuming our Seniors players are up an about season proper)

Thks for the reports Bluebaggers!

 

[gandaal]

Sounds like an old Hillbilly song.

 

[Eiffel 65]

How did worpel go?

He had a very good game.

He'll be a very good player for them.

 

[passmark]

Walsh is weird... doesn't look quick, but gets around players like they are all slow. Not of this world, i tell ya.

 

[M_I_G]

I got there at 1/2 time, didn’t see McGovern. Also agree re De Koning good last quarter.

He was signing autos and getting selfies in the carpark at HT. Just a half

 

[F_therest]

We had no rucks and never won a hit out in the first half - and subsequently got slaughtered in the clearances.

Arguably our 2 best mids were also out against full strength Hawks.

Our 3rd best MID played FWD to let the young guys have a go in the middle - it was after all a “practice game”.

We only started to win hit outs late in the game with TDK.

Relax BR - it was not as bad as you seem to think.

Any particular reason we didn't play with a ruck?

I know kreuzer is injured but could have used one of Phillips, lobbe or tdk?

 

[gardiner stand]

My totally subjective thoughts, influenced by many things -

1. Jack silvagni - played defense and mid first half, forward and mid second half. Maybe that somehwat excuses his lackluster performance, but still failed to make an impact down back or in the middle. Forward he looked the most comfortable, however that is where he is perhaps least needed. Did compete better there, before kicking and admirable goal from the middle with an impressive display of effort.
2. Paddy dow - looked more promising earlier on, didn't seem to have as much impact later. Overall probably a disappointing game from paddy, probably needs to get stronger, especially considering he was playing true inside mid for the day.
3. Marc murphy - similar to most the mids, it was harder to judge marc as I was further away from the action. He seemed to somehwat trouble the opposition, receiving a tag(?) I believe. Worked hard to get both outside and inside and chase the ball. A meh game.
4. Lochie O'Brien - impressive game from the youngster, especially the first half. Seemed one of a few designated deliverers into our forward half/50. Nice boot on him, got some real distance and hit players up on occasion. Also very vocal, was good to see. Quietly impressed.
5. Sam petrevski-seton - he looks special this kid. Seems to have built some serious strength and power Into him, looking like the player we hoped he could become. The even footedness and poise was on display ofc, but this was coupled with strength and burst at the stoppage, and real penetration and distance on his kicking. Another you would want delivering into the 50.
6. Kade simpson - similar to Murphy, a relatively quiet game by kades standards. Gave away an unfortunate free kick early and didn't seem to really get going that often. Did appear to be on limited minutes/ a reduced role, to give other half backers an opportunity.
7. Matthew Kennedy - showcased an impressive overhead marking ability, Matt unfortunately wasn't able to bring the same grunt and clever shepherds one would expect him to provide in the home and away. However he did seem to be playing in somehwat unusual positions, playing more outside and even as deepest forward.
10. Harry McKay - nice kick, decent running patterns also. Mids seemed to like delivering it to him, although slightly better hands would be nice. Didn't play too deep either, which was pleasing to see. Should never ruck however, not unless significant work is put in.
11. Mitch McGovern - brings another dynamic to the forward line, and seems confident to take his shots, something which is pleasing to see considering how gun shy some of our players are. Still a little underdone imo, seemed to drift about 30-50 metres out without a massive amount of intensity.
12. Tom de koning - only played the half, Tommy performed 'ok' in the ruck, nothing super special, still needs to build his craft and strength. Didn't do a whole lot up forward either, although he did flyfor the ball on occasion. Ideally wouldn't be playing too many games, at least early in the season.
14. Liam Jones - the quintessential Jones game, featuring many goal saving marks and efforts, coupled with poor kicks that quickly undid his good work. Simpson around him seemed to help, I feel he does need an experienced head to direct and/or cover his man on occasion. The deepest defender, he seemed to have been given separate instructions to the other defenders perhaps, as he was not involved in their huddles after each goal.
18. Sam Walsh - wow! He is absolutely ready to play round one. Probably the most prolific ball winner on the ground, showcased slick moves in tight and quality disposal, he already seems on top of his own game. Still needs work in understanding stoppage game/positioning, but a really good debut, our best mid and well received by the crowd.
19. Angus Schumacher - played the second half. I'll be honest, I didn't notice him at all. I'm going to assume he'll spend most of the season in the VFL, but who knows.
20. Lachie plowman - was happy with plowmans performance, a good no nonsense game where he played on both small and tall. Gives the same week in week out.
21. Jarrod garlett - ouch. Probably worst on ground. On a positive note, he seemed to have the fitness and desire he perhaps lacked after injuring his shoulder in the jlt last year. However, he simply lacked the composure to play in the back half. This lack of composure hindered any skill component of his game, with multiple turnovers leading to goals. Interesting to see if we persist with him, needs to calm down.
23. Jacob weitering - flew for marks and seemed to have a licence to move across the ground, I was impressed with the commitment by Jacob. However he didn't particularly get involved in our attacking play, which disappointed me considering his quality of disposal. Perhaps a role given to others, similar to Simpson ? Defensively was a bit dissapiinting also.
24. Nic Newman - was severely incensed by one umpire in particular. I liked his left boot, seemed to have ok disposal about him. Can't say I noticed a whole lot in regards to his defensive game however.
28. David cuningham - if David can produce this in proper games, he will play every week. For a confidence player such as cuningham, this could be a very important game. Snagged a few goals in quick succession playing deep forward, and most pleasingly appeared to know how to get to good crumbing positions, something which our other small forward triallees struggled with. When he moved further back into the middle/half forward he impressed me also with his run and carry, as well as his vision. He did drop in and out of the game as expected from a limited possession player like cuningham, but stayed in the game much longer than usual.
29. Cameron Polson - seemed to have bulked up, a proper afl players body now. Unfortunately didn't seem to impact much.
30. Charlie curnow - the crowd loves him! A very dynamic player, Charlie flying around just makes things happen, quite a few smart taps and one percenters. Hoping he can build and produce even more.
35. Ed curnow - played up forward and slotted our first, but seems wasted up there. Struggled to make an impact. With his endurance but comparative lack of burst, really should play mid exclusively.
39. Dale Thomas - his first half really impressed me, if Thomas keeps this up he will once again have a spot in our best 22. Continuing his good form from last year, just doing all the right things, shocking haircut aside.
40. Michael gibbons - another failure of a small forward trialee. Not suited to the position. Found himself too wide on occasion also, essentially playing himself out of the game, also causing his disposals to be under pressure and poor. In the middle however he improved immensely, just interesting if there is a spot for all these one paced mids that struggle to make an impact up forward.
41. Levi casboult - battled manfully in ruck all day, but in reality was really outclassed. Hands weren't as sticky as usual, but can't question his commitment. Does seemed resigned to a VFL spot however.
43. Will setterfield - only played the half, clearly underdone. Just seemed a bit behind the play when he was around it. Hopefully will build match fitness and improve from here.
45. Hugh Goddard - didn't come on till late in the third I believe, still needs to work on communication with the other backs, flying into packs etc. Didn't have much Gametime, didn't do a whole lot is my summary.

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Great report and from my observations can’t disagree with much.
Hawthorn seemed much better organised though

 

[HARKER]

Dow is being touted as the next Cripps internally. He’s mirroring him in every way. If he turns out anything like his 3rd and 4th year and beyond we will pack a huge punch inside. Imagine two Crippers?

I'm a fully-fledged advocate of Dow.

He was rusty, no question, but he did take a lot of the bigger hits today, as a starting mid.
Fumbled a few that he may not have otherwise and didn't see much of his dash.....Cuningham picked up that slack.

Walsh had his day today and Dow will have plenty to follow. He's a gem.

 

[Blue and Blue]

time to ban this nitwit..its annoying like a pesky fly

 

[gardiner stand]

5. Walsh
4. Cunners
3. McKay
2. Samo
1. LOB

Agree with all of that but I’d add Jones

 

[Bokan]

Great report and from my observations can’t disagree with much.
Hawthorn seemed much better organised though

Agreed, would have written more about our overall game style and set up etc, but was only just getting some thoughts down while I was on the bus home !

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[Mezzoculo]

Should I delete the thread Mezz

Hmmmm. I can't see this thread from the Blues board! (and just realised why).

 

[Blue__Balls]

Righto, had to leave at 3QT because Miss was getting tired - getting there at 2pm may have been ambitious.

Walsh is a jet. Has no qualms attacking the ball or the man, assesses his options quickly and executes well under pressure. Besides the footage tweeted by the club, there were two other passages that really impressed me. Casboult launched a kick to space on the wing from our defensive 50, for Walsh to run on to. Two Hawthorn players were close enough to get therr as well. Walsh slipped a shepherd, bodylined the ball, soccered it forward another 30m, continued running, and eventually saw it over the line. Couldn't have played it any better in my book. The other moment was another two on one. Walsh left his man to shepherd a Hawks player with the ball, Hawks player handballed over the top to Walsh's original opponent. Instead of giving up on it, Walsh ran into the player he was shepherding, and for lack of a better word, bounced off him and was straight after his original opponent. Very quick, and forced a high forward 50 entry instead of allowing the Hawks to stroll into the arc.

Cunners forward = goals. I'm gonna keep saying it. Bloke looks at home in the forward line. Simple mantra, pressure the man, win the ground ball, kick goals. Looked the most dangerous at the feet of our talls.

Jones had one obvious error early. Took an intercept mark and continued to play on. Roughead was able to get close enough to affect the eventual kick, and the ball dribbled out of bounds instead of going up our end. After that, Jones pulled up after each mark, and looked better for it. And there were some marks! Took 3 big hangers. If that's all he does this year, he'll be solid. Mark ball, hold ball, find an option. No need to Rambo it up the corridor.

Garlett - four direct turnovers by foot, two that reached a player but not in any way mark-able, and one dropped mark in the backline resulting in a turnover. Safe to say it wasn't his day. Hopefully it was just a really bad day at the office and he doesn't have a repeat, because in the season proper, his performance today loses the match no matter how well the rest of the team play. I did like the shorter backline though, and if Garlett was hitting his targets we'd have been much better.

SPS looked sharp, and found space well.
Kennedy and Curnow were solid if unspectacular.
Didn't get to see much of Setters.
Gibbons and Polson tried, but didn't impact much.
Murphy looked better on the outside. Fluffed one tackle attempt on the wing though. Had the Hawks player lined up and opted to hang an arm outninstead of burying him. Can only assume that shoulder is still playing on his mind.
Levi ain't a ruck. Harry had a couple of nice taps, but his inexperience shows.
Not much of Simmo, Newman or Plowman from my vantage point, not much work for our rebounding defenders when the Hawks refuse to kick behinds though.
Daisy had a couple of nice plays, including a sublime one-handed pickup on the run. Moving well, just not sure what role he plays this year.

Backline was under siege, and Hawthorn made the most of their opportunities.

The three tall forwards all looked dangerous at times, but the service wasn't great. Need to hit them lace out when they lead, not force them to stop and wait.

Biggest difference between the sides was how easily Hawthorn moved the ball up the wings. Rarely had to kick to a contest, they were regularly able to create a loose player and hit them on the chest.

6/6/6 didn't make as big a difference as I'd expected. Only saw the one clean goal from a centre stoppage, and I think it was Glass coming off the defensive 50 that ended up delivering forward. Repeat stoppage and the rule goes out the window too, so if a side can lock the ball in the middle, players are free to go wherever they want for the second bounce.

Extended goal square had the opposite effect to what most assumed as well. Rather than kicking longer, both sides used the fact that the defense were spread further to find an easy short option inside the defensive 50 more often than not.

Just a practice match and plenty of cobwebs being blown out, but I'll take a stab at the starting 22.

FB: Simpson, Jones, Plowman
HB: Newman, Weitering, Garlett*
C: Walsh, Kennedy, SPS
R: Kreuzer, Cripps, Fisher
HF: Murphy, Curnow, Curnow
FF: Cuningham, McKay, McGovern
I/C: Dow, O'Brien, Setterfield, Daisy
EMG: Polson/Gibbons/Silvagni

*Leaving Garlett here because I like the structure. Would prefer Willo if he can get back though.

 

[gardiner stand]

Walsh is a pure footballer....has massive upside too

 

[Macca43]

5. Walsh
4. Cunners
3. McKay
2. Samo
1. LOB

The first 3 players named played just 15 (?) games between them last year, full years at that level leads to a big improvement in our results.

 

[drunkill]

Highlights

 

[ferrisb]

Shout out to the people at the game giving up dates.
Very much appreciated

I doubt any of the people at a practice game, writing notes on the internet gave up dates to be there...

 

[gandaal]

Not even Stig O'Hara's middle of the night posting is on this level

Yeah nah

 

[gandaal]

You’re not funny or clever. If you were a footballer, you’d be Ryan Crowley.


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Laurance Angwin but without the potential

 

[Macca43]

Walsh Setters Cuningham McKay Charlie O'Brien Jack Jones SPS all positive signs.

No injuries.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on Setters game Soapy?

 

[ferrisb]

Who is Cunningham and who is he playing for?

He plays for Carltonn

 

[tencentpiece]

Murphy is completely fine, absolutely nothing story by channel 7 & 9.