Game Day 2018 Grand Final - Eagles v Pies

[Square Peg]

Well pav and sandi only played 12 and 10 games respectively in 2013 and we made the grand final that year.

So our depth was strong to cover them for half a season

Depth is so important in finals time how your bottom 6 perform is just as important as your top 6 players.

I have lost faith in this truism over the years. Their bottom six were putrid - Venables, LeCras, Ryan, Masten all had shockers. They won because their elite were truly elite.

 

[FreoGirl]

Why care so much about Freo the day after you win the flag though? I'd still be in a drunken stupor, scoring points on a forum would be the last thing on my mind lmao

I was going to mention he may have an erectile dysfunction issue, but I don't want to get banned

 

[FreoGirl]

Why do they continually have good luck whereas we have bad luck?

I know - like we would never had an opposition runner do that for us!

 

[its free real estate]

Depth is so important in finals time how your bottom 6 perform is just as important as your top 6 players.

I'm going off drunk memory, but I thought West Coast's bottom six stunk more than Collingwood's. Collingwood's stars didn't really stand up - Sidebottom tagged out of it, Pendlebury had a bit of an ordinary game (has all finals IMO), Treloar relatively impact free, Grundy quelled, Stephenson started well but faded.

Whereas Shuey, Kennedy, Darling, McGovern all performed about where you'd expect them too, or above it. And they had a number of players who'd be considered among that group missing - Naitanui, Gaff, Sheppard.

Edit: What Square Peg said:

I have lost faith in this truism over the years. Their bottom six were putrid - Venables, LeCras, Ryan, Masten all had shockers. They won because their elite were truly elite.

The bottom six argument was made when Ross lost in 2010 with a side that had top talent the quality of Riewoldt, Hayes, Goddard, et al. But everyone pointed out that Collingwood didn't have anyone in their side as s**t as Peake or Eddy.

 

[longsuffreosupp]

Another thing that was noticeable is the there’s only one game style in the grand final and the team that wins is the one that wins the contested possession, disposes the ball better and hunt their opponent when they don’t have the ball. 1% era can shift the momentum your way and turn the game. Sounds simple because it is. Sometimes I think coaches over complicate things.

Win the ball. Use it efficiently. Chase your man when you don’t have the ball.

Also, contested marks are king.

 

[raffrox]

They did have quite a bit of luck though, but you always need some to win the flag and it doesn't make them undeserving premiers.

Mind blown?

Exactly. You might want to explain that to others then.

 

[Purpellian Anchor]

Sheesh Leigh Mathews sucked in the sour milk with the bit about the umpires choked in not penalising Rioli for blocking when Sheed took the mark late to kick a goal. Considering the umps did'nt pay it all day and that there were several other decisions eagles missed out on "marks not paid supposedly not holding long enough". Suck it in Leigh you" Colli wobblit"

I always look at the bright side when trhe Eagles win a premiership....they are and always will be the freo B team as they started out primarily with Freo players

 

[stax on the mull]

Sheesh Leigh Mathews sucked in the sour milk with the bit about the umpires choked in not penalising Rioli for blocking when Sheed took the mark late to kick a goal. Considering the umps did'nt pay it all day and that there were several other decisions eagles missed out on "marks not paid supposedly not holding long enough". Suck it in Leigh you" Colli wobblit"

I always look at the bright side when trhe Eagles win a premiership....they are and always will be the freo B team as they started out primarily with Freo players

Free kick, and the commentator looking at it questioned it, and after seeing the replay during the game, all of them agreed at the time that it should have been paid. They missed one earlier in the quarter against Rioli in the goalsquare, but on the that occasion Collingwood were able to get it out of danger.

Perhaps they were consistent on that ruling. The one they did pay was the one was up on the wing in the 2nd quarter against Cox. It was more like a shoulder bump to Mcgovern which made him cannon into Barrass so it looked a bit cruder than it was, and it was probably before the ball was in the zone. He was pissed about it because but he'd blocked from running at a contest in the forward 50m about a minute before.

Only minor umpiring inconsistency for me were the free kicks give to West Coast at clearances. Two in a row in the first quarter in the lead up to the Rioli's accidental goal.

In the last quarter Colllingwood win the first two clearances and goal. 3rd centre ball up is a ruck free kick to WC.

Grundy 4 FA, Lycett 0 FA, Vardy 0 FA. One of Grundy's against was for being caught in possession after taking a mark and continuing momentum forward. In the ruck contests he gave 3 away and got zero. Wasn't how I saw it.

 

[Simmofreo]

Why do they continually have good luck whereas we have bad luck?

I hate them but you only have 18 in a team. And you know what, they kept winning without Gaff, Natanui, Kennedy and Darling. That's like us expecting to win without Fyfe, Sandi, Neale and s**t I can't even compare.

No luck involved this year I'm afraid mate. I hate west coast so much my wife won't come near me when they play. But they 100% deserved this flag and even I have to admit it.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[kiroshi]

I hate them but you only have 18 in a team. And you know what, they kept winning without Gaff, Natanui, Kennedy and Darling. That's like us expecting to win without Fyfe, Sandi, Neale and s**t I can't even compare.

No luck involved this year I'm afraid mate. I hate west coast so much my wife won't come near me when they play. But they 100% deserved this flag and even I have to admit it.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

No way. They were super lucky this year. It was last man standing.

 

[Nightrain]

I hate them but you only have 18 in a team. And you know what, they kept winning without Gaff, Natanui, Kennedy and Darling. That's like us expecting to win without Fyfe, Sandi, Neale and s**t I can't even compare.

No luck involved this year I'm afraid mate. I hate west coast so much my wife won't come near me when they play. But they 100% deserved this flag and even I have to admit it.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

They won the GF without Natanui, Gaff and Sheppard, and quiet games from Yeo, Darling, Rioli, Ryan etc. There were no real stand-outs. Shuey getting the Norm Smith baffled me. The only players I would say had decent games for them in the big one was McGovern Hurn and Kennedy.

Game plan says a lot. It is more important than having a team of stars. It means that when a player goes down the replacement plays his role and more importantly knows what it is. Skill also plays a big part.

Will say that I always felt Collingwood had no right being there though. Always saw them as a rung or two below WC and Richmond.

Shades of '99 when somehow, Carlton miraculously knocked out the overwhelming favourite in Essendon in the prelim and in doing so handed the flag to the Roos. When I saw the Tigers down by 10 goals at half time to the Pies, darkness loomed and I knew WC had it in the bag and I suspect WC knew it too. Had the Tiges managed to overcome the Pies then I think it would have been a different story.

Funny how things play out. Had Travis Varcoe kicked that goal against the Hawks back in the '13 Haw-Cats prelim to send it to extra-time could we have faced the Cats instead and maybe gone into the GF with a bit more confidence instead of crapping our pants?

 

[PapaJ]

I have lost faith in this truism over the years. Their bottom six were putrid - Venables, LeCras, Ryan, Masten all had shockers. They won because their elite were truly elite.

Over the course of a season, you need depth and the bottom talent players to 'play their roles' with some consistency. But when it comes to the big games, I am totally convinced that its about the top end. If enough of the top players don't step up and have good games, then that team wont get it done. That's because the standard required is generally so high, pressure higher and everything else and it is the big game players that have what it takes and what is required to stay with it.

All that said, for WC, it's about their organisation and discipline in how they hold their shape. It's been their strength since 2016 and its what gets you through tough situations when things aren't going your way, keeps you in games that others end up out of touch with and allows lesser players to have their one or two moments and that can be enough.

 

[halalsnackpack]

I have lost faith in this truism over the years. Their bottom six were putrid - Venables, LeCras, Ryan, Masten all had shockers. They won because their elite were truly elite.

Yeah but Grundy, Pendlebury and Sidebottom were all trash for the Pies. Collingwood tried their guts out but their stars didn't fire with the exception of probably Adams and de Goey. The stars do win you individual games but the depth wins you premierships.

 

[Scham]

I hate them but you only have 18 in a team. And you know what, they kept winning without Gaff, Natanui, Kennedy and Darling. That's like us expecting to win without Fyfe, Sandi, Neale and s**t I can't even compare.

No luck involved this year I'm afraid mate. I hate west coast so much my wife won't come near me when they play. But they 100% deserved this flag and even I have to admit it.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

I’m not saying they didn’t deserve it but a lot went their way, but as others have pointed out, you could say that about most premier teams. I still don’t think Richmond would’ve lost to them but we’ll never know.

 

[Scham]

Free kick, and the commentator looking at it questioned it, and after seeing the replay during the game, all of the agreed at the time that it should have been paid. They missed one earlier in the quarter against Rioli in the goalsquare, but on the that occasion Collingwood were able to get it out of danger.

Perhaps they were consistent on that ruling. The one they did pay was the one was up on the wing in the 2nd quarter against Cox. It was more like a shoulder bump to Mcgovern which made him cannon into Barrass so it looked a bit cruder than it was, and it was probably before the ball was in the zone. He was pissed about it because but he'd blocked from running at a contest in the forward 50m about a minute before.

Only minor umpiring inconsistency for me were the free kicks give to West Coast at clearances. Two in a row in the first quarter in the lead up to the Rioli's accidental goal.

In the last quarter Colllingwood win the first two clearances and goal. 3rd centre ball up is a ruck free kick to WC.

Grundy 4 FA, Lycett 0 FA, Vardy 0 FA. One of Grundy's against was for being caught in possession after taking a mark and continuing momentum forward. In the ruck contests he gave 3 away and got zero. Wasn't how I saw it.

Spot on. The two late in the first were clearly an attempt to swing the momentum. The hold to Shuey didn’t seem to be there in the replays. The Pies were all over them and then 2 frees directly result in 2 goals and all of a sudden WC although 3 goals down, go into quarter time with the momentum. That sort of s**t never happens to us.

 

[beetz]

The Pies blew it.

Thanks for nothing, Collingwood.

 

[stax on the mull]

Young fellow in the midfield Brayden Sier must have run out of petrol in the 2nd half.

In the 2nd quarter he was on 16 possessions and ended up with 21 for the match and was Collingwood's 2nd for contested possession and clearances in the game.

Looking at the game time he only played 55% of the game - so either he copped and injury or had reached his limit of contribution.

20yo with 11 AFL games prior - from the stats from his other games he's doesn't get to the 75-80% of game time that you might expect from an inside mid.

 

[Talking Dockers]

well it was the lesser lights in Vardy who wouldn't have played if NickNat was fit and Sheed if Gaf was not rubbed out. Both these fellas played well above themselves- ie Opportunity is marvellous thing.

 

[mike91]

Some seriously sad and pathetic eagles supporters going back and liking my posts from the first quarter.

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

Some seriously sad and pathetic eagles supporters going back and liking my posts from the first quarter.

Yeah they’re doing that to mine on the mb too

Good to know which set of supporters is actually obsessed with the other club, right?

 

[Megalon]

So now we just get 4 rubbed in our face instead of three .

Just remind them that they've also lost three, we've only lost won.

Heh.

 

[Megalon]

I guess I should say a congrats to all the Freagles lurking in here. But only the nice ones that contribute on here without making me angry.

I've begrudgingly congratulated some eagle supporter workmates - it may have been a lucky/arsey win but at least they weren't on the gear this time.

 

[Godfather32]

The games NN did play this year he was a shadow of his former self so clearly that didn't really impact them negatively at all. Comparing him to Sandilands that year is silly, as is your deliberate oversight of the quality of backups. Lycett and Vardy s**t all over Clarke and whoever else we had back then. The days of WC being so reliant on NN are well over.

Sheppard is comparable to Ibbo who didn't play in 2013. Gaff I'll give you, they did well to compensate for his loss, however saying it was a matter of "luck" considering the circumstances of his absence is rather grotesque. I know you're in full self-pity mode but there's no need to be so disingenuous about it.

Mostly I'm talking about luck on the day though so this is all moot. Again, they deserved it. I was just trying to show raffrox that believing they had luck while also believing they earned their flag are trains of thought that can co-exist.

Sorry, normally leave you guys to yourselves on your own board but this is blatantly false. He certainly played less game time this year than in the past but the impact Nic Nat has on our midfield when he is on the field is immense. Some of it is his ruck work but most of it is down to the pressure he puts on the opposition and his contested work around the pack after the ruck contest.

 

[Purple Jesus]

Spot on. The two late in the first were clearly an attempt to swing the momentum. The hold to Shuey didn’t seem to be there in the replays. The Pies were all over them and then 2 frees directly result in 2 goals and all of a sudden WC although 3 goals down, go into quarter time with the momentum. That sort of s**t never happens to us.

The opposite happens to us often.

 

[Purple Jesus]

Sorry, normally leave you guys to yourselves on your own board but this is blatantly false. He certainly played less game time this year than in the past but the impact Nic Nat has on our midfield when he is on the field is immense. Some of it is his ruck work but most of it is down to the pressure he puts on the opposition and his contested work around the pack after the ruck contest.

Why are you even trolling through our board after you win a flag? That’s just sad man. You weren’t quoted. * off. Flog.