Training 2017 Praccy Matches

Remove this Banner Ad

Log in to remove this ad.

Says more about the opposition than it does about Jerrett I think..
 
Jacko dined out against Richmond last year as well from memory.
 
Over 139 to 66
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

I love this, selection pressure.
If players have an off game or two, see you later, we have good players in the VFL knocking on the door.
 
D_P_S said:
From what I heard he didn't get a massive amount but it seemed nearly every time he did it ended up in a goal for us, played midfield in the last 10 minutes
Click to expand...
(y)
 
I went along today for a look at a few players and was excited with what I saw.

Before I give a run down on some of the players I tracked, credit needs to be given to the Physical Performance department headed by Justin Crow. Our guys were not only bigger but also faster and looked to run the game out much better. Some that have improved over the preseason are Morgan, Francis, Conor and JMerrett.

First thing I noticed about the game is how far we are coming along as a professional football club. This year marks the fifth year I believe since we separated from Bendigo and its clear that this is starting to pay dividends. The VFL side is basically a mirror image of the senior team with players playing in the position they will likely be filling in the seniors and with a gameplay that is a carbon copy of the fast ball movement gameplay we are seeing this year in the seniors.

Todays match was effectively over by quarter time with the difference in class obvious. Not sure who they had missing but I noticed we were short of both Captain, Vice Captain and half a dozen of our AFL boys that will see a lot of VFL this year. Despite this we still managed to execute the gameplay and came away with a big victory.

A note on a few of the players I followed;

-James Stewart

BOG-First time I have seen him live and its hard not to get excited with what he has to offer. The impression I got from reading the GWS forums that he looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane. I didn't see that at all.
I think he finished up with at least five but maybe even more and they were goals that all came in different forms.

He took a couple leading up to the ball from full forward that showed some real dash and a great understanding of when to use your hands and body to push off your opponent and get some separation.

He also kicked a great goal from around 45 that was real opportunist goal that basically fell into his lap. What impressed me though was the ability to pivot around on one foot and kick across his body off one step and sail through half post high.

The other thing that pleased me about his game was his ability to push up to the wing and work back towards goal in a similar way to what Joe does. On one occasion we won the ball in defence and James was sitting on the fat side with just the one tiger keeping him company and an empty forward line. Rather than sprint back and drag the defender with him he sat there for a few moments until the play had caught up and then sprinted leaving his opponent behind and taking an uncontested mark.

He's got real speed for someone his size, great kick and mark and also does the team things. I expect he will be in and out of the side in the next year or two and will kick some goals but his size will hold him back at times against the bigger defenders. Once he puts on a little more size I think we will have a good player on our hands and potentially a very good forward. All for pick 77:D

-Aaron Francis

The Messiah-Really looks to have trimmed down on last year and looks to be moving really well.
Todays game didn't seem to suit Francis. He played most of the day forward with some time playing midfield but when he did go near it something special usually happens.

He kicked two from what I could tell, but set up a few more with really intelligent play. He's a funny sort of player to work out because he looks far more comfortable playing that third man up in defence that distributes the ball, but when forward does those magical things that only the true superstars can do.

For me he looks like he's going to tear the game apart soon and when he gets his fitness up to AFL standard I think he could be the next Buddy/Ablett Str type of mercurial forward that is capable on his day of kicking big bags of goals. I know thats a huge call but for me he just has an aura that so few players have and could be anything.

And a couple of notes on a couple of senior players;

TBell-

Good game. Played probably 80-90% ruck against what looked like very inexperienced opponents. He probably had half a dozen clearances or more and took some very nice marks including a great pack mark on the wing. Unless either Leuy get injured or Woosha decides to go with two rucks then I think he may be in the VFL for at least one or two more weeks. Tracking well though so is ready if needed.

-Michael Hartley

Played well but didn't really have to do a lot. Played a similar game as seniors so lots of spoils and very close checking on his opponent but not offering a lot on the offensive side. Hartley has a great leg so I would like to see him take a few more risks coming out of defence and really cut open a zone defence. If Brown plays well in the seniors I'm not sure how Hartley can come back in.

Special mentions to Morgan who had lots of it and was very creative, Conor who always seems to be in the right place and I liked the look of Mutch playing on the wing.
 
Thanks for taking the time to get that all down Killer_Mike.
 
So we went 3-1 with the loss being less than a goal. Great warm up for the season considering we were trialling many players for the VFL list.

Interesting to see our best 23 next week. With Adelaide's forward line structured like it is I wouldn't be surprised to see all four of Hartley, Ambrose, Hurley and Brown play; and as such Francis to play defence this one week.
 
Killer_Mike said:
Special mentions to Morgan who had lots of it and was very creative
Click to expand...
giphy.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

eth-dog
VFL Game Day VFL Practice Match thread
2 3 4
Replies
80
Views
5K
eth-dog
eth-dog

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top