Autopsy Round 24, 2025: Positives and Negatives vs Sydney

[Dark Sharks]

Look, I'm not saying Dark Sharks had been waiting the 3 weeks since Chesser came back for any reason to take a dump on him, but Dark Sharks has been waiting the 3 weeks since Chesser came back for any reason to take a dump on him. If only our players were as consistent as DS.

Fact is when rating our players right now you can have 3 criteria:

A) Who was good when we were in the match
B) Who was not a total liability when we were out of the match
C) Who was good the whole game

Chesser was in category A last night. No one (maybe Graham) was in category C last night unfortunately, that tends to make the ones that sit in A and not B (like Hall) stand out.

This board has always been a majority misery loves company convention where posters can come and join hands and complain about our club workings and get a chub. Chesser may not be what we dreamed of but his past month has been a huge improvement on what we've seen before and deserves to be listed in the positives from last night.

You act like i don't want him to come good ya silly prick.

If Chesser suddenly develops into an AFL quality player that's a huge positive.

100% percent this patch of form he's been in since returning is probably the best of his career. I'm not arguing that either.


That said, i'm not talking up his game last night because i simply didn't rate it. His numbers back up the eye test.

As i said, it's a low bar when you can have 7 effective disposals from your 15, fail to lay a single tackle, be one of the lowest ranked players for your team and then have people like yourself act like his contribution was a positive.

That's the beauty of an opinion based forum

 

[Astro7]

Chesser was good last night, showed enough in patches to stick with him, once again another full preseason, he should be a winner!
Waiting for my chub now....maybe in the mail?

 

[Astro7]

I feel like we're so desperate for anything from our list we fall in love with our players displaying patches, and he's definitely a patchy player. I thought we got the best out of him in a block of games mid-year where he played higher up the ground, and then kinda abandoned that later in the season.

'Aint that the truth. All guilty of it. Gross and Hall were clear examples of that. Gross looks to have plenty of upside, and Grego too at this early stage.
Always repeating myself, but this preseason will will be a great improver many and leveller for some.

 

[lmach]

Wasn’t sure where to put this but it shocked me

 

[Mulldogg]

I feel like we're so desperate for anything from our list we fall in love with our players displaying patches, and he's definitely a patchy player. I thought we got the best out of him in a block of games mid-year where he played higher up the ground, and then kinda abandoned that later in the season.

He was great pinch hitting in at centre bounces through that middle part of the season. Won more than his share of centre clearances considering he isn’t really a full time mid. Also pretty clean coming out with it and can kick well off both feet. Then Mini has seemingly abandoned the idea.

Ryan still had a couple of CBAs last night but I don’t think Brockman did.

Bizarre.

 

[wce4premiership]

Brockman should have had CBAs in the last to help stop the flow of Swans walking the ball out.

Has the acceleration and tackling ability to try kill the ball at least.

Kelly looked knackered by that point, Hall looked slow behind Warner and Hewett wasn't doing much defensively.

 

[Bushhopper]

Where do we think Brockman is at? Can he ever elevate into a productive player? He will be 23 at the start of next season.

Can't see it tbh,... The guy just doesn't want the ball enough

 

[RustyShacklefordFalcon]

Positives +

• Jobe Shanahan
• Grego looks solid
• Newton looks solid

Negatives -

- I was at Froth Town all day yesterday, posted some weird shit here on auto-pilot when I got home

 

[Bender_]

You act like i don't want him to come good ya silly prick.

If Chesser suddenly develops into an AFL quality player that's a huge positive.

100% percent this patch of form he's been in since returning is probably the best of his career. I'm not arguing that either.


That said, i'm not talking up his game last night because i simply didn't rate it. His numbers back up the eye test.

As i said, it's a low bar when you can have 7 effective disposals from your 15, fail to lay a single tackle, be one of the lowest ranked players for your team and then have people like yourself act like his contribution was a positive.

That's the beauty of an opinion based forum

Dear Jerkface,

Davis was consistently average over the course of the game and laid a bunch of tackles.

Chesser was one of our better players when we were on and disappeared with another 18 blokes for the rest of the game after that and wasn't a liability.

Depends on what your opinion rates higher I guess.

Sincerely

Big Dawg

 

[lmach]

Alright I’ve slept off the disappointment of 2025 already.

Pick 1 & 2, Baker captain, HR and TMac centre square combo, ShanaHANDS and Snake… 2026 LESSSGOOOO

 

[Shueygod]

Look, I'm not saying Dark Sharks had been waiting the 3 weeks since Chesser came back for any reason to take a dump on him, but Dark Sharks has been waiting the 3 weeks since Chesser came back for any reason to take a dump on him. If only our players were as consistent as DS.

Fact is when rating our players right now you can have 3 criteria:

A) Who was good when we were in the match
B) Who was not a total liability when we were out of the match
C) Who was good the whole game

Chesser was in category A last night. No one (maybe Graham) was in category C last night unfortunately, that tends to make the ones that sit in A and not B (like Hall) stand out.

This board has always been a majority misery loves company convention where posters can come and join hands and complain about our club workings and get a chub. Chesser may not be what we dreamed of but his past month has been a huge improvement on what we've seen before and deserves to be listed in the positives from last night.

Went missing in the positives and negatives thread last week (for probably the first time this year), in Chessers best game. Managed to list him as a negative vs Adelaide.

Bloke is an A1 hater.

 

[Shueygod]

You act like i don't want him to come good ya silly prick.

If Chesser suddenly develops into an AFL quality player that's a huge positive.

100% percent this patch of form he's been in since returning is probably the best of his career. I'm not arguing that either.


That said, i'm not talking up his game last night because i simply didn't rate it. His numbers back up the eye test.

As i said, it's a low bar when you can have 7 effective disposals from your 15, fail to lay a single tackle, be one of the lowest ranked players for your team and then have people like yourself act like his contribution was a positive.

That's the beauty of an opinion based forum

Don’t reckon you’ve said one positive thing about him, at this point I’m convinced you don’t want him to come good as you’ve put so much into him being bad, you’d look like a clown if he did.

 

[Dark Sharks]

Dear Jerkface,

Davis was consistently average over the course of the game and laid a bunch of tackles.

Chesser was one of our better players when we were on and disappeared with another 18 blokes for the rest of the game after that and wasn't a liability.

Depends on what your opinion rates higher I guess.

Sincerely

Big Dawg

I'll pay it, give me some dubs

Small chode weasel

 

[Bender_]

I'll pay it, give me some dubs

Small chode weasel

 

[ziad]

A positive,
When we were on top the pressure was great, the confidence was up and the skills were good - we have something to develop.
looking athe the game when it was going south who still had fight and desperation to work hard - Definirtely the two tiger boys, Chesser, newton perhaps, Bazzo perhaps. I can't bring myself to watch the game again. Mini is right - we have to get competative (will to win, killer instinct whatever) move on some and develop others, we cant just rely on the draft.
Intersting that some don't like Harley's fight.

 

[Pwani Magharibi]

Not sure where else to post this (too soon for a 2025 season review thread?):

MERRY HELL 39 (West Coast Eagles 2025): A review


Director: Andrew McQualter

Stars: Reuben Ginbey, Liam Baker

3

Liam Baker

Age

28

Ht

173cm

Wt

72kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

3.2

3star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.7

3star

D

14.6

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

7.9

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

3star

CL

0.5

3star

D

14.4

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

8.2

5star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.8

4star

CL

1.2

4star

, Harley Reid

The 39th instalment in this once popular franchise falls sadly flat.

Merry Hell, the blockbuster series that produced such cliffhangers as Merry Hell 20 (2006: Revenge on the Swans) and Merry Hell 32 (Needs to be Inch Perfect, He Is), has been in the doldrums of late, leading many fans to wonder what’s the point any more. It was hoped that Merry Hell 39, under a new director, Andrew “Mini” McQualter, would see a resurgence of interest and more entertaining performances, but alas this movie confirms the old saying that a director is only as good as his cast.

From somewhat promising early scenes in the tropical setting of Brisbane to its anticlimactic denouement on the banks of the Swan River, this is a harrowing movie, growing sadder and bleaker as it goes, with no real redemptive arc.

There are so many things wrong with this film that it’s hard to know where to start, but for me the plot was just awful. Coming on the heels of several disappointing instalments, killing off key characters like Elliott Yeo, Jeremy McGovern

20

Jeremy Mcgovern

Age

33

Ht

197cm

Wt

97kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.7

4star

K

10.1

4star

HB

4.6

3star

M

6.8

5star

T

1.5

3star

MG

238.7

4star

D

12.4

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

6.4

5star

T

2.0

3star

MG

183.4

3star

D

11.0

3star

K

8.8

4star

HB

2.2

2star

M

7.2

5star

T

1.4

4star

and Jake Waterman

2

Jake Waterman

Age

27

Ht

192cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.2

3star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.8

2star

K

7.8

3star

HB

2.0

1star

M

5.8

5star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.5

5star

D

12.2

3star

K

7.6

3star

HB

4.6

4star

M

4.6

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.8

4star

seems pointlessly cruel and robs the movie of what potential excitement it might have held. The main star, Harley Reid, starts off slowly before battling opponents and the evil villains with the whistle in what sometimes seems a one-man effort to raise the film above the mundane, but even he is written out of the script prematurely, leaving us to wonder if he will sign on again for further instalments.

The movie can’t even be clear what genre it is meant to be. Is it tragedy, comedy, farce or just disaster? Perhaps it is a combination of all of these. But whatever it is trying to be, seeing the performers constantly being beaten up and humiliated grows wearisome.

What would have been a pleasurable moment of triumph when the Saints come to Perth is robbed of any joy by a devastatingly tragic backstory.

Director McQualter tries to introduce some fast-paced action scenes, getting more to the point than the meandering scenes we grew familiar with under previous director Adam Simpson. Unfortunately the actors are just not up to the task and frequently fluff their lines. What is meant to be entertaining action often ends up as unintended comedy. Once again, Harley Reid has the best scenes. Liam Ryan

31

Liam Ryan

Age

29

Ht

181cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

2.7

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.3

5star

D

9.9

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.6

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.6

5star

appears in some nice stunt sequences, although even these aren’t as good as in some previous instalments. Bailey Williams and Matt Flynn provide moments of slapstick, while the enigmatic mime Matt Owies wanders into numerous scenes throughout the movie with no apparent purpose.

It's dark humour for sure, but when Oscar Allen

4

Oscar Allen

Age

26

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.8

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.1

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.6

3star

K

5.8

3star

HB

2.8

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.2

4star

is paraded in front of journalists, with surly veteran John Worsfold glowering the background, to apologise for trying to leave the series early, it’s hard not to laugh. For mine this was one of the funniest moments in a Merry Hell movie since Jamie McNamara

Jamie Mcnamara

Age

37

Ht

183cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.8

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

7.1

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.8

4star

No current season stats available

D

14.2

4star

K

8.4

4star

HB

5.8

4star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.8

5star

ran the wrong way in Merry Hell 23 or Garry Lyon tried not to break down on-screen at half time of the Preliminary Final in Merry Hell 32.

There are some good performances, notably from Reuben Ginbey and Liam Baker

3

Liam Baker

Age

28

Ht

173cm

Wt

72kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

3.2

3star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.7

3star

D

14.6

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

7.9

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

3star

CL

0.5

3star

D

14.4

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

8.2

5star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.8

4star

CL

1.2

4star

, but it was some of the new actors that for me provided moments of enjoyment amongst the otherwise dull drudgery. Jobe Shanahan looks a likely future star, Tom McCarthy looked like a veteran performer in his first role and cameos from the likes of Tom Gross, Malakai Champion and Hamish Davis provide some hope for future instalments – if the franchise doesn’t fold altogether after this poor effort.

It wasn’t just me who found this a disappointment. The audience in the cinema dwindled during the film, with far fewer watching on at the end than at the start. You can only watch the same storyline so many times before you find better things to do with your weekend.

I don’t want to give away the ending of the movie but suffice to say it is brutal and if you do stay until the finish, it will leave you wondering if it was all worth it.

Let’s just hope Merry Hell 40 is a big improvement on this sad affair.

Verdict: 1/10 A thorough disappointment. Avoid.

 

[footy_basis]

You act like i don't want him to come good ya silly prick.

If Chesser suddenly develops into an AFL quality player that's a huge positive.

100% percent this patch of form he's been in since returning is probably the best of his career. I'm not arguing that either.


That said, i'm not talking up his game last night because i simply didn't rate it. His numbers back up the eye test.

As i said, it's a low bar when you can have 7 effective disposals from your 15, fail to lay a single tackle, be one of the lowest ranked players for your team and then have people like yourself act like his contribution was a positive.

That's the beauty of an opinion based forum

He just hasn't done enough and needs to be cut. Hes had plenty of time. Mind you, there are others below even Chesser that need to be culled first.

 

[Happy Mastenator]

You act like i don't want him to come good ya silly prick.

If Chesser suddenly develops into an AFL quality player that's a huge positive.

100% percent this patch of form he's been in since returning is probably the best of his career. I'm not arguing that either.


That said, i'm not talking up his game last night because i simply didn't rate it. His numbers back up the eye test.

As i said, it's a low bar when you can have 7 effective disposals from your 15, fail to lay a single tackle, be one of the lowest ranked players for your team and then have people like yourself act like his contribution was a positive.

That's the beauty of an opinion based forum

You keep saying that, but then i check the AFL ratings and he was our 10th highest rated player. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a mathematician but I didn't realise 10th out of 23 was "one of the lowest ranked"

 

[MerryHell]

Grundy with 50 hit outs!
We have the worst pair of ruckman in the competition and this needs to be addressed ASAP.

How many times this year has the oppo ruckman been best on ground or close to it!?

It's not just hitouts, Flynn has no clue where to be around the ground, ineffectual positioning.

 

[bzparkes]

How many times this year has the oppo ruckman been best on ground or close to it!?

It's not just hitouts, Flynn has no clue where to be around the ground, ineffectual positioning.

Pretty sure he led us for intercepts on the weekend. His positioning is fine and he can clunk them, he's just ineffective at stoppage, which compounds our midfield issues.

 

[MerryHell]

Pretty sure he led us for intercepts on the weekend. His positioning is fine and he can clunk them, he's just ineffective at stoppage, which compounds our midfield issues.

Fair enough he can take a mark.

"Just?" is underplaying the importance of the bolded part.

Who cares if he can clunk a mark, when his primary job is to compete at the ruck, not even win the ruck, just halve the contest so the oppo ruck isn't dominating.

I am optimistic Mini understands the problem, given the revolving door policy on our ruck selections this year.

Half time on Saturday when I checked, Grundy had 33 hitouts, to Flynn's 4, staggering!

 

[bzparkes]

Fair enough he can take a mark.

"Just?" is underplaying the importance of the bolded part.

Who cares if he can clunk a mark, when his primary job is to compete at the ruck, not even win the ruck, just halve the contest so the oppo ruck isn't dominating.

I am optimistic Mini understands the problem, given the revolving door policy on our ruck selections this year.

Half time on Saturday when I checked, Grundy had 33 hitouts, to Flynn's 4, staggering!

No, I'm not saying 'just', I'm saying he's good at other things but sucks at stoppage.

Also, the week before he beat English for hitouts, with less game time.

We lost by 92.

I get we need a better ruckman but winning hitouts doesn't = winning stoppages.





Also, which team was in front at half time? Kinda proves the point that even though Grundy had 33 hitouts to 4, it's once again THE most overrated stat in the entire game.

 

[Mulldogg]

Negative - did some sections of the crowd really boo Oscar when he spoke post game? Seemed to be that suggestion on Duffield’s show on SEN this morning.

I took off before the post match presentations as I had my two young sons with me and it was a late enough finish as it was.

Poor if so. Decision is best for both parties. Don’t think he deserved to be booed and hoping it was only a minority.

 

[MerryHell]

No, I'm not saying 'just', I'm saying he's good at other things but sucks at stoppage.

Also, the week before he beat English for hitouts, with less game time.

We lost by 92.

I get we need a better ruckman but winning hitouts doesn't = winning stoppages.

View attachment 2406825



Also, which team was in front at half time? Kinda proves the point that even though Grundy had 33 hitouts to 4, it's once again THE most overrated stat in the entire game.

I get what you are saying about HO stats.

I am saying, who cares about his marking, when we agree he sucks at the stoppage, as that is the primary role of a ruck.

 

[ziad]

Negative - did some sections of the crowd really boo Oscar when he spoke post game? Seemed to be that suggestion on Duffield’s show on SEN this morning.

I took off before the post match presentations as I had my two young sons with me and it was a late enough finish as it was.

Poor if so. Decision is best for both parties. Don’t think he deserved to be booed and hoping it was only a minority.

to be expected I would think