Game Day Preseason Scrimmage -West Coast v Fremantle, Sat 24/2 : Let the melts begin

[Dale Doback]

You too young to remember LeCras?

No I'm 45. And I love Lecca. Hit JK on the tit for about 60 goals. That ping he had from the boundry on the run where we had a player 10m clear at the top of the square was pure gluttony. Or the ping Jake had from 53m out that landed top of the square.

 

[Goroyals22]

Waterman's the hungriest Eagle I've ever seen.

It’s because he knows it looks good to get his name in the paper for kicking a goal: nothing more…
How Petch and him remain on our list is baffling to say the least… we know what they are, below ordinary afl players ..


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[squashface]

Definitely thought Livingstone had a crack

 

[Shuestar13]

Losing Flynn on the eve of the match was not ideal. A summer of plans and work around stoppage set ups etc. out the window… Prepared to offer some concession for that.

Hopefully Bailey can step up in his absence and the coaching staff now have a few weeks to recalibrate before the real season starts…

 

[garlic munchers]

Watching that was about as much fun as getting kicked in the balls.


Beaten everywhere, couldn't stop bleeding from the stoppage, incapable of defending any kind of opposition spread and then ran out of legs before three quarter time.

As for offensive gameplan, unless Allen takes a contested mark the ball doesn't progress beyond halfway.


It's one thing to be a young team that is trying to build, but it remains no excuse for the number of missed tackles, questionable field positioning, incredibly poor level of disposal by hand, and AusKick-style stoppage setups (where everyone rushes in only to leave the opposition with multiple players free in space once it comes out).


Up forward, all Fremantle were doing is run a two man block and run against Barrass, but nothing was done to counter that.

Was a move made to drop a player back into lead-up space in the corridor to help Barrass should he get blocked out? Nope.

Better yet, why not drop the ruck back post-stoppage onto one of those two forwards and allow Barras to function as effectively a spare marking tall in such circumstances?



Same alarm bells as last year, and the year before, and the year before that.

Hearing those simo bells loud and clear.

Does fancy dress, beach dog racing days and off field group comforting really well.

Game day stuff post 2020, not so much.

 

[nameless]

Pyke is no fool, he knows the writing is on the wall and will be seeking a new coach pretty quickly.
It's not a secret at the club that there is a lack of desire to play under Simmo.
Great coach at his best and could certainly go elsewhere with success, but time is up here.

And no this isn't based on today at all.

 

[Ghossein]

Definitely thought Livingstone had a crack

Is Barnett our last choice ruckman now?

He played with the reserves

 

[Lia]

Didn’t watch any of it but fold the club anyway. Good to see the media be so restrained in regards to Harley Reid too

 

[Astro7]

Losing Flynn on the eve of the match was not ideal. A summer of plans and work around stoppage set ups etc. out the window… Prepared to offer some concession for that.

Hopefully Bailey can step up in his absence and the coaching staff now have a few weeks to recalibrate before the real season starts…

A fair point! But feel we don't have enough experienced midfielders, a couple short.
TK still shouldering the load.
The club posted a positive spin on the match.
Am holding out for next weeks scratchie and round 1 for the real dose of reality?

 

[Deplorable trumpster]

I didn't expect us to win today. And i am not expecting huge numbers of wins this season. I know we are trying to rebuild. But gee it is getting hard as a supporter to watch our games. We are so awful and it is so depressing. The light at the end of the tunnel is a very long way away.

As for Simpson going, and it is a question of when now and not if, i am happy for Pyke to make the call. He has no vested interest. He is not trying to or needing to defend prior bad decisions that he was involved in. He is a very bright bloke with a fresh pair of eyes and no vested interest and he can make the call as to when would be the best time for the club to part ways with Simpson, whether that is sometime this year or at the end of his contract next year.

 

[UseR2006]

Also it's noted in the club article...

"While Fremantle played with greater dash, particularly in the second half, they also switched in eight fresh players at after half-time while the Eagles used the same list throughout."

So they 100% had fresher legs after half time.

 

[Mudguts12]

+
Good cameo by Livingstone considering he's just come out of colts, has good presence and made an impact.

Rawlinson adjusted to the pace really well, looks clean and stayed involved. Good pace, and tackles well for a smaller bloke.

Chesser took awhile to get a touch. But once he did he showed some toe for the first time and got a couple of good clearances. Just needs to find it around the ground.

Jamieson was great down back, probably our best KPD today, has leapfrogged Edwards and Bazzo imo.

Some good ball movement in small patches from backline to high HF. Just breaks down delivering to the forward line as per usual.

-
LEdwards had some shocking moments, too slow for a midfielder at AFL level. Between him and Gaff we're hemorrhaging time and space for the opposition to move the ball with. Clay Hall should be a good upgrade in due course to at least one of them.

Still unable to get numbers to the contest, constant turnovers under pressure. Not enough players with grunt, Yeo aside.

Weak F50 entries. I don't think I saw any direct passage of play to a leading forward.

 

[JackOutback]

You too young to remember LeCras?

Or Cripps. Still playing, I believe.

 

[CoastersFlag No.5]

Also it's noted in the club article...

"While Fremantle played with greater dash, particularly in the second half, they also switched in eight fresh players at after half-time while the Eagles used the same list throughout."

So they 100% had fresher legs after half time.

Yeah I saw that. Probably good to fatigue the guys to make them more durable should pay us back at some point.

 

[Dark Sharks]

Question:

Everyone bandying "It's not even a real game, it doesn't count, it's only match sim" around.

If we roll out next week in the official AAMI pre season game vs Adelaide and get annihilated on the eve of the AFL season, would you then allow people to be less than impressed with our efforts this off season?



Personally i expected as much, but it's still tough to watch.

 

[DickDunn]

The biggest alarm bell for me was how easy it was for Freo to waltz it out of the middle and kill us on the spread. We probably need Yeo to sacrifice the attacking side of his game and dedicate himself to playing more of a Redden-style defensive/accountable role at stoppages.

Ginbey has the right attitude and will come good in time but is too often trailing his opponents and not getting to the right spots (and besides needs time to become a balanced midfielder rather than someone who is tackle-first)

 

[sharps24]

Well the club is definitely selling the good vibes.

"While Fremantle played with greater dash, particularly in the second half, they also switched in eight fresh players at after half-time while the Eagles used the same list throughout."

I think this is a fair point to make. Two clubs more or less doing their own thing out there tonight, not an afl equivalent game. We should expect Fremantle to win the match anyway based on where both clubs sit in with their list development. Losing our number 1 ruck to a team running a tandem of Darcy and Jackson put us behind the 8 ball but up until their fresh legs vs our cramping legs scoring shots were fairly even. Arguably with some better conversion we might of hit the lead at some point after the second.

It wasn't pretty to watch but was a good hit out for the likes of Jamieson, Hough, Reid, Long, Maric, and Chesser who all need the exposure to quality opposition. For the likes of Waterman, Hunt, Kelly, Yeo, Williams, to get through unscathed and contribute that's a plus. Gaff wasn't irredeemably terrible. Cripps same I guess. Would have liked to have seen stronger games from Oscar and Duggan given their leadership roles but they got through too. Cole was a bit of a worry but not sure his ceiling is too much higher than what we saw from him tonight, bit of a forgotten quantity who I personally would place Rotham ahead of but ok fine he's through too. Livingston I wouldn't think of being even close to a debut this season so he surprised me, though I expect the plan going in was for Barnett to first string the beagles team so wouldn't read too much into that but he showed something. Loch Rawlinson was great to watch, been looking forward to seeing him and he showed us he was a smart pickup. On the negative side I think Petch and Luke Edwards [both of whom I like] are the two I think it would have been nice to seen better games from, they need to be better next week.

Realistically it wasn't pretty to watch but I was pleased with aspects of what I saw tonight, disgusting conditions too as well btw for an opening hit out which could be a good excuse for the terrible conversion. Would have preferred Ginbey to get a full game, for Harry Edwards or Bazzo to have been available to babysit old man Govs spot, and for Flynn to be out there. I'm looking forward to seeing whether the Adelaide game offers more to be positive about.

 

[Ghossein]

Posters: as long as we have a good hit out and don't have any injuries it will be a win

Team: has a good hit out and doesn't have any injuries

Posters: FOLD THE CLUB, GINBEY BAD

 

[Wettoaster]

We got smashed by Freo in a 2018 preseason game.

Freo are also expected to play finals this year and WCE are the favourite for the spoon.

What exactly are people expecting?

Not necessarily a win, some semblance of a new game plan would be good. Yes it's just a praccy, but the easy transition from the backline, lack of midfield competitiveness and fitness levels don't look great. Rawlinson and Jamo two positives from what I saw. Fyfe tore us a new one the first half.

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[bzparkes]

Not necessarily a win, some semblance of a new game plan would be good. Yes it's just a praccy, but the easy transition from the backline, lack of midfield competitiveness and fitness levels don't look great. Rawlinson and Jamo two positives from what I saw. Fyfe tore us a new one the first half.

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Every 1st preseason game ends up being like this. We'd say the same thing even when contending.

The second game is usually a far better indicator of where the team's at.

 

[Wettoaster]

Not really. We had lots of hard shots due to poor skills and field position. If we had missed a lot of shots from 30m out directly in front from well crafted pieces of play I'd feel alot better.

Agreed, the eye test says we have been totally outplayed.

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[Keys]

Good to read that our most measured and observant poster in at the ground to give us his take on the game.
Keys I will look forward to the critique of the game, with highlights and concerns.

Just on disinfecting Lathlain, I don’t like the chances of a positive outcome, I mean The Perth Football Club have been trying to do so, since the mid seventies, with diddly squat success.

Tbh, I can’t be arsed


Minds are made up and the pitchforks are out

I mean it was definitely a disappointing result and there’s areas of concern most notably our inability to field anything approximating a best 22

We were missing Ryan, Sheed, Hewett, Brockman, McGovern, Flynn and Darling as likely starters plus Jones who was on managed time to n the B game. Lost Ginbey before half time

Also not best 22 but unavailable were A Reid, Trew, Hall, Bazzo, Rotham, H Edwards and Culley

All up 14 players watched from the stands tonight. By comparison Fremantle had 5 with Cox and Chapman the only ones who’d be considered best 22

Despite that at half time the score was 6.6 (42) to 3.9 (27) which might have been closer had we converted a couple more scoring opportunities

There were positives to take away

After half time, Fremantle rolled out something in the order of 8 fresh players throughout the 2nd half whilst we maintained the same side (24 plus Chesser as basically a sub who replaced Ginbey in Q2)

No surprise then that they looked fitter and ran out the game better but a fact that seems to be ignored in the post mortem

Several players had games they’d not be happy with but I’m going to focus on the ones who were thought did well

• Waterman provided a good target both up the ground and inside F50 but didn’t finish his work as well as he’d like
• Gaff is a popular whipping boy but he had some good moments in particular a couple of strong tackles. Ran into space and tried to keep the ball moving which hasn’t always been his strength
• Hunt tried to take the game on and his run is important. One of our best
• Yeo got through a full game in the middle and had an influence despite looking a tad rusty
• Reid got his first taste of AFL and found himself struggling to adapt to the pace of the game. Still showed what he’s capable of at moments. Felt that Freo made a point of pressuring him at every opportunity which curtailed his game
• Kelly was our best mid, especially to half time
• Allen presented well and took some strong marks
• Long is a gun. His gather at full speed in Q2 was pure sex. Future AA forward pocket
• Chesser found a bit of the ball in the second half but needs to tidy up his kicking
• Hough made some very good defensive plays and will have learned a lot playing as a 3rd tall
• Williams has retained his competitive streak. Hopefully Flynn isn’t out for too long as I think they’ll work well in tandem
• Rawlinson was a pleasant surprise with his forward half pressure especially his ability to stick tackles. Definitely something there to build on
• Barrass did a pretty admirable job in defence
• Livingstone is very raw but showed a base to build upon in coming years
• Jamieson wasn’t terrible in defence and I hope we persist with him back there (preferably in the WAFL for now though)
• Maric is a very smart player who just needs time to develop

Turns out to could be arsed although I’m still somewhat bewildered by some posters who’ve been saying all off season we’re s**t are somehow surprised that we are

 

[WCE_phil]

I thought Jamieson was promising playing as a defender.
Thought Rawlinson showed a bit particularly for a rookie. Kicking depth is a worry.
Reid very quickly found out what it's like to play against men but that run and kick out down the centre was stunning, pity the rest of the team weren't on the same page.
Thought Long was good early.
Pre injury Ginbey showed while he's an absolute specimen he struggles to read the ball drop around the stoppage and was continually trailing the opposition in. Was also sloppy with disposal.
Waterman tried too hard, he is normally a big kick so I do wonder if he's lost a touch of length through his injury recovery or just a slightly heavy ball but got to the right places.
Couple of touches of class from Maric but overall looked well behind Waterman for a tall forward spot.
Great aggression from Livingstone forward. Primarily being a FF who can ruck rather than being a CHF who can ruck in the case of Jack Williams makes him much more likely to make it particularly with both lacking athleticism.
Barrass did what he could but looks a touch off his normal self
Hough pre injury was pretty good but he has to fix his tendency to get way under the ball when kicking or it becomes a real issue
Gaff was horrible.
Yeo with some really good signs and got through the game with a couple of explosive plays
Kelly got touched up a bit but it's only preseason
Witherden standard. Does some good things but always gives up at least 1 direct goal against due to ******* stupidity
Duggan tried to show leadership but would have liked to see more midfield
Allen was manhandled and should have got a couple of extra frees but was good early
Thought Bailey Williams was about as good as could be expected and his marking has definitely come a long way
Cripps tried hard but a bit of a case of the fumbles
Hunt was generally very good and is just hugely underrated. Is at his peak ability right now and in a top side would be cream on a wing or HB
Chesser is going to need to show more inside or he won't make it. Looks every a guy with elite athleticism who has missed the most important years of development around the ground.
Petch had one of his regular almost games
Cole tried hard but it's hard to be more positive than that
Luke Edwards tried hard in the first half but to me he's just a slower Sam Butler. He needs to make it inside even if second string imo or he won't make it.

I know he's a traded player but Flynn has been outstanding preseason and will be a huge loss.
Reid looked just like a full calf cramp all the way up to the knee
Hough definitely looked injured

Overall they tried to play reasonably fast when they could but got monstered out of the centre. For a senior player Gaff looked worse than last year. His kicking depth is so bad everything looks telegraphed. He did lay a couple of good tackles which was a nice surprise.

The dockers played significantly more players through the second half and no surprise we got monstered with that and through the middle.

Most disappointing considering their draft selections were Ginbey and Chesser. I didn't like either pick at the time and still don't.
Overall played with a lot of physicality before the players got gassed. Some good glimpses but the ball being walked through the midfield really didn't look good. Will improve but overall were very sloppy and we just don't have the developed midfield talent to keep up with other sides.

Genuinely 1-2 key injuries away from being as bad or worse than last year imo.

 

[squashface]

"While Fremantle played with greater dash, particularly in the second half, they also switched in eight fresh players at after half-time while the Eagles used the same list throughout and 75% of them got injured or were not interested resulting in the bloated scoreline”

 

[amazingjoshy]

Watching that was about as much fun as getting kicked in the balls.


Beaten everywhere, couldn't stop bleeding from the stoppage, incapable of defending any kind of opposition spread and then ran out of legs before three quarter time.

As for offensive gameplan, unless Allen takes a contested mark the ball doesn't progress beyond halfway.


It's one thing to be a young team that is trying to build, but it remains no excuse for the number of missed tackles, questionable field positioning, incredibly poor level of disposal by hand, and AusKick-style stoppage setups (where everyone rushes in only to leave the opposition with multiple players free in space once it comes out).


Up forward, all Fremantle were doing is run a two man block and run against Barrass, but nothing was done to counter that.

Was a move made to drop a player back into lead-up space in the corridor to help Barrass should he get blocked out? Nope.

Better yet, why not drop the ruck back post-stoppage onto one of those two forwards and allow Barras to function as effectively a spare marking tall in such circumstances?



Same alarm bells as last year, and the year before, and the year before that.

Love to say its only preseason, some young guys showed signs

But not one thing has notably changed structurally at all.

Oppo walks it out of stoppage
Oppo waltzes through the middle in transition with zero pressure
No method at all going forward

Rinse and repeat

Maybe we're just getting miles in the legs and things will change come the season proper, but on the last couple of seasons evidence not holding my breath