Preview West Coast Eagles Season 2020 Mega-Preview

[Feeling Groovy]

What has Williams done to show he is better than Vardy? He is a good prospect and that is all. Vardy in form and fit is more than useful 2nd ruck. If it weren't for.him we don't win the 2018 flag.

It is not so much what Williams has done but rather what Vardy hasn't done and that's play good (or even acceptable) football for over a year. At times last year he was barely WAFL standard. I realise you said a fit and firing Vardy and sure, if he is at his best, then he would be ahead of Williams and I would prefer him as second ruck/forward to Hickey (who I see as a first ruck). But it has been over a year since we have seen any form from Vardy and even then, whilst he was very useful, he was no star.

Given how long it's been since we have seen form from Vardy, the second ruck/forward spot is up for grabs. He hasn't made it his own. My preference would be to get games into a young guy with potential (assuming NN is playing) than into a guy turning 29 this year who has had a well documented injury history. This is especially so given this could be Kennedy's last year. But if Vardy is back to his best (which we will soon see I guess), then he would likely deserve the spot ahead of Williams (unless Williams also lifted a level).

 

[eaglesnutcase]

Tactical nouse and skills aside top level professinal sports in the modern era is very much a power game.

You see it in tennis where things like side spin top spin are relics of the past and its just wack it hard beat the opponent with power.You see it in the Womans football where the biggest barge ass sheilas who tackle the hardest usually win.


You saw it last year in the wet with the Eagles and towards the end of the season and in the second half v Geelong in the final where just constant numbers around the ball hard pysical pressure with limited effective disposals causing a rolling mall type game and a strength contest beat us.

Way back in the finals in 2018 Gawn and Grundy were better aerobic athletes better footballers with better skills than Vardy and Lycett but they were able to match them both physicly in the power game and nullify Gawn and Grundys influence.Thats why we need to be confident that we can better opponents in a slog fest with strength this season so Naitanui and Vardy are my preferred in a power orientated midfield setup .We have strong mids in Yeo and Shuey and now Kelly I want strong rucks to set screens clear lanes and beat a clear path with power at least as a plan B.

Good season preview by the way Dan .

Ive been preaching the same thing for a long time.NN is a power player but injury prone and until now not fit.In the last qtr of the Geelong final he was pushed aside by Danger several times.I was quite surprised; but NN would have been exhausted and Danger gets a lot of bench time to save him for big moments.NN is hard at the ball;Vardy is hard at the body.I dont like players like Mumme who are one dimensional whereas Vardy is a very competent footballer.Williams can play NNs role but not Vardys.Injuries will probably decide this season.

 

[FKASC]

Update expected Friday 21/02.

 

[Dylan82]

Don't worry, I'm not asleep


Update will be done tonight now however - as you may be aware from media coverage, there was a train derailment in Victoria last night involving fatalities on track managed by a government-owned corporation. The same corporation also happens to be responsible for the largest single item of expenditure on the government’s books.

Confidentiality limits disclosing anything further, but safe to say the s**t hit the fan for my planned update last night.

 

[Doashuey]

It is not so much what Williams has done but rather what Vardy hasn't done and that's play good (or even acceptable) football for over a year. At times last year he was barely WAFL standard. I realise you said a fit and firing Vardy and sure, if he is at his best, then he would be ahead of Williams and I would prefer him as second ruck/forward to Hickey (who I see as a first ruck). But it has been over a year since we have seen any form from Vardy and even then, whilst he was very useful, he was no star.

Given how long it's been since we have seen form from Vardy, the second ruck/forward spot is up for grabs. He hasn't made it his own. My preference would be to get games into a young guy with potential (assuming NN is playing) than into a guy turning 29 this year who has had a well documented injury history. This is especially so given this could be Kennedy's last year. But if Vardy is back to his best (which we will soon see I guess), then he would likely deserve the spot ahead of Williams (unless Williams also lifted a level).

Vardy was a liability last year as mentioned. We also didn't do very well finishing 6th and I think that was largely down to carrying 2x 1 dimensional rucks. My initial comment was made that Vardy at his best will give us a much stronger chance at a flag. I'm all for giving Williams a crack if we don't have better options, I'm excited about what the kid will be, but to say Vardy isn't that good and suggest a slightly undersized 19yo ruck with no AFL exposure is a better option is selling Vardy short and ignoring my initial statement that we will be in a better position with Vardy firing. It would be a phenomenal feat for a 19yo ruck in a debutant year to have the impact Vardy did in 2018. Yes the position is currently up for grabs but we will be a better team if it is Vardy who is good enough to reclaim it in 2020.

 

[Doashuey]

Don't worry, I'm not asleep


Update will be done tonight now however - as you may be aware from media coverage, there was a train derailment in Victoria last night involving fatalities on track managed by a government-owned corporation. The same corporation also happens to be responsible for the largest single item of expenditure on the government’s books.

Confidentiality limits disclosing anything further, but safe to say the s**t hit the fan for my planned update last night.

I never realised Kittens Entertainment had expanded into rail freight.

 

[Dylan82]

Part 3 finally uploaded.

 

[Doashuey]

 

[hudson2006]

Well tonight we had a predictable advantage at stoppages and thus dominated the clearances, but we still cannot turn it into clean outside possession.

Early days but I hope the coaches get onto it soon.

 

[Dylan82]

View attachment 829219

I had it all in Firefox and it crashed


Seriously though, got called out unexpectedly by work to redneck nowhere in country Qld.

It's pretty much done, will be uploaded tomorrow night.

 

[Rowdy P]

Well tonight we had a predictable advantage at stoppages and thus dominated the clearances, but we still cannot turn it into clean outside possession.

Early days but I hope the coaches get onto it soon.

We have a very unsophisticated method around stoppages, which shows up particularly when Nic isn’t in the ruck. It was very obvious last season, but is papered over because of the quality we have coming off the half forward line which manages to halve the scrappy kick from the contest.

Kingy brought it up last year - the scoring opportunities go up exponentially when you get a couple of clean handballs to the outside before the kick. We were one of the worst in the league at ‘clearance quality’, meaning we tend to hack kick forward from the stoppage.

I saw it countless times last night, and grabbed a shot of what I am talking about when I watched the replay. If you look at the picture below, you can see that Shuey swings straight into the rushed snap, when he had two handball options to clear players.

I’m not sure what the solution is, because they seem to have been doing it for a long time, but I must say, I get repeatedly frustrated when I see it.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[hudson2006]

We have a very unsophisticated method around stoppages, which shows up particularly when Nic isn’t in the ruck. It was very obvious last season, but is papered over because of the quality we have coming off the half forward line which manages to halve the scrappy kick from the contest.

Kingy brought it up last year - the scoring opportunities go up exponentially when you get a couple of clean handballs to the outside before the kick. We were one of the worst in the league at ‘clearance quality’, meaning we tend to hack kick forward from the stoppage.

I saw it countless times last night, and grabbed a shot of what I am talking about when I watched the replay. If you look at the picture below, you can see that Shuey swings straight into the rushed snap, when he had two handball options to clear players.

I’m not sure what the solution is, because they seem to have been doing it for a long time, but I must say, I get repeatedly frustrated when I see it.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

I was impressed with how organised Essendon was in terms of ther setups and overlap running. Looked a notch above ours at this point.

Hopefully just a preseason issue.

 

[Dylan82]

Tactics section is now up - had a few issues consolidating the attachments which caused some delay in getting it out.

 

[Rowan18]

Tactics section is now up - had a few issues consolidating the attachments which caused some delay in getting it out.

I love your suggestions but the reality is that we will almost certainly shoehorn an extra tall in there because we have so much talent in that area. We have already seen it with Brander being trialled on the wing and Waterman in good form (how could he miss rnd 1?). I'm sure Simmo has said in the past that they just need to find a way to make it work and will back in their system etc.

Do you see anyway of such a setup working, or do you think it will lead to a repeat of 2019? It's frustrating to think that we have such a good squad, but a concern over development of talls could be our undoing. Simmo has shown stubbornness in the past that hasn't helped the team when it comes to sticking to an ineffective gameplan (ie 2016, 2017, 2019).

 

[Chris_6678]

We have a very unsophisticated method around stoppages, which shows up particularly when Nic isn’t in the ruck. It was very obvious last season, but is papered over because of the quality we have coming off the half forward line which manages to halve the scrappy kick from the contest.

Kingy brought it up last year - the scoring opportunities go up exponentially when you get a couple of clean handballs to the outside before the kick. We were one of the worst in the league at ‘clearance quality’, meaning we tend to hack kick forward from the stoppage.

I saw it countless times last night, and grabbed a shot of what I am talking about when I watched the replay. If you look at the picture below, you can see that Shuey swings straight into the rushed snap, when he had two handball options to clear players.

I’m not sure what the solution is, because they seem to have been doing it for a long time, but I must say, I get repeatedly frustrated when I see it.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

Why is A chee blocking for Shuey on the wrong side haha

 

[Astro7]

Simmo has shown stubbornness in the past that hasn't helped the team when it comes to sticking to an ineffective gameplan (ie 2016, 2017, 2019).

Lets hope he/the team doesn't stick to the same old stuff of last year, all that down the boundary biz and slow down the game, chip and mark-it's been found out and moved along by other teams.
We have the midfield we've always wanted since 2006 days, and some depth now, hope we haven't got another Worsfold as coach?
This midfield deserves a new creative game plan.
Lets attack - Tora, Tora, Tora!!

 

[Kwality]

Lets hope he/the team doesn't stick to the same old stuff of last year, all that down the boundary biz and slow down the game, chip and mark-it's been found out and moved along by other teams.
We have the midfield we've always wanted since 2006 days, and some depth now, hope we haven't got another Worsfold as coach?
This midfield deserves a new creative game plan.
Lets attack - Tora, Tora, Tora!!

Getting it forward was not the problem v Freo. Delivery was a problem, the forward line lacked structure.
The way we lost is a wake up call to Simmo & he had acknowledged it.


Digressing it was interesting to see Barass up forward, didnt work but someone seems keen to give it a go.

 

[WCE Wizard]

The performances were both lack lustre, however we need to lift our intensity around the ball, way too much talent in that midfield not to be attacking

 

[FKASC]

We have a very unsophisticated method around stoppages, which shows up particularly when Nic isn’t in the ruck. It was very obvious last season, but is papered over because of the quality we have coming off the half forward line which manages to halve the scrappy kick from the contest.

Kingy brought it up last year - the scoring opportunities go up exponentially when you get a couple of clean handballs to the outside before the kick. We were one of the worst in the league at ‘clearance quality’, meaning we tend to hack kick forward from the stoppage.

I saw it countless times last night, and grabbed a shot of what I am talking about when I watched the replay. If you look at the picture below, you can see that Shuey swings straight into the rushed snap, when he had two handball options to clear players.

I’m not sure what the solution is, because they seem to have been doing it for a long time, but I must say, I get repeatedly frustrated when I see it.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

All of our mids do it and have done it for the last decade or so. It’s a symptom of having Kennedy and Darling in the forwardline I guess.

It’s really frustrating and wastes our hitout advantage. It also inflates our clearance and CP numbers even though it often leads to intercept marks as the defence knows they just need to stand in front.

 

[jesterwester]

Fair bit of work to do, and the question on midfield dynamic will take some time to work itself through.

Still quite bullish on this year, despite a couple of losses to start. If you are getting a reality check in preseason about the workload required at this level without getting smashed it isn’t the worst thing in the world.

We had our good moments in both matches. We had 15 minute lapses in both games which inevitably cost us. Things are never as good as they are or as bad as they seem.

 

[Shaks]

What has Williams done to show he is better than Vardy? He is a good prospect and that is all. Vardy in form and fit is more than useful 2nd ruck. If it weren't for.him we don't win the 2018 flag.

The problem is Vardy is not in form not 2018 form anyway. I'd rather go Nic Nat 60% rucking, Williams 35% which should increase gradually and Oscar Allen to chop out for the remaining 15%.

 

[ZergMinion]

The problem is Vardy is not in form not 2018 form anyway. I'd rather go Nic Nat 60% rucking, Williams 35% which should increase gradually and Oscar Allen to chop out for the remaining 15%.

Well at least our rucks are going at 110% this year

 

[Doashuey]

The problem is Vardy is not in form not 2018 form anyway. I'd rather go Nic Nat 60% rucking, Williams 35% which should increase gradually and Oscar Allen to chop out for the remaining 15%.

Need to read my initial post for context. To.summarise I said Vardy2018 would put us in a better frame for the cup in 2020. His best is very very handy.sSince then, the past couple of weeks have shiwn we are more lily to see Vardy2019 in which case I agree, give Williams a go at it.

 

[eaglesnutcase]

Getting it forward was not the problem v Freo. Delivery was a problem, the forward line lacked structure.
The way we lost is a wake up call to Simmo & he had acknowledged it.


Digressing it was interesting to see Barass up forward, didnt work but someone seems keen to give it a go.

I think it was a chance for him to fly for his marks without having to worry about position or defence.To be fair he did start to get hands to ball.Not always clean but more confident.

 

[eaglesnutcase]

Need to read my initial post for context. To.summarise I said Vardy2018 would put us in a better frame for the cup in 2020. His best is very very handy.sSince then, the past couple of weeks have shiwn we are more lily to see Vardy2019 in which case I agree, give Williams a go at it.

Doashuey,i think its a horses for courses thing with Vardy.Isolated in a forward pocket with a mobile defender and poor delivery he looks slow.But throw him into congestion with bodies flying and TK,Shuey and Yo all circling he gives a lot of cover and physicality.You want him doing the smashing not Yo or Shuey.If JK hits the wall i would love to see Williams start at FF.Hes made for that position,more so than ruck.