2nds 2021 VFL and East Coast Second-Tier Competition

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mattsmob said:
Like what I’ve seen from Kiddy off half back, seems to be looking to find the ball and link up
Click to expand...

Always reckoned that was his spot
 

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Kiddy had a great game playing HB
Cockatoo did some nice things
Ballenden offered something in the last
T Berry tried although disposal sometimes :( B Smith and him should do some work on their kicking
Archie played against non rucks not sure he won was almost 50-50
a team against a merged side from 2 AFL teams was always going to be hard game.

I do wonder if we should try some players back more like Kiddy.
As the ball lives in the back half more
 
davemc_lions said:
Kiddy had a great game playing HB
Cockatoo did some nice things
Ballenden offered something in the last
T Berry tried although disposal sometimes :( B Smith and him should do some work on their kicking
Archie played against non rucks not sure he won was almost 50-50
a team against a merged side from 2 AFL teams was always going to be hard game.

I do wonder if we should try some players back more like Kiddy.
As the ball lives in the back half more
Click to expand...
Is that an official VFL game when they had players from 2 different teams who are both in the competition independently?
 
Just a few thoughts on players that have stood out to me for better or worse.

K. Coleman: One of the best games I've seen him play, was across half back and tackled, pressured and competed well in the air defensively. Offensively was great with his run, carry and ball use. Looked like he'd offer more than both Birchall and Madden based off today.

Cockatoo: Looks a class above and IMO clearly our best player not in the AFL team at the moment. His ball use, clean hands and attack on the footy or the man with the ball is great and if he stays healthy I find it hard to believe he's not in our best 22 come finals.

T. Berry: Had his usual speed and attack around the ball, used his speed nicely on a few occasions in transition and breaking away from a contest however his ball use let him down a bit today. Did have a few nice passes by foot throughout the day just not consistently.

Ballenden: I'm never sure what to make of Ballenden, shows flashes of intercept marking and makes some nice passes but unfortunately I think that's all it'll ever be. No doubt he is a good kick for a guy his size but don't think it's good enough to be a distributor at AFL level. Played the second half in the forward line and took a couple marks but didn't finish his work.

Lane: Think he is a good project player but will take some time. Looked to be trialed in the backlines in the second half and showed it probably isn't his spot however there wasn't a lot of pressure on the ball which didn't help him.

H. Smith: Played more ruck today than what he usually does and looked solid in the contest and on the ground. Didn't clunk as many contested marks but kicked a nice goal in the last that was similar to one of Daniher's yesterday, just in slow motion.

B. Coleman: As others have mentioned he struggles to stay involved in the game most likely because of his fitness. Shows some good signs though, similar to his brother has clean hands on the ground, an effective tackle and some flashes of good composure and ball use. Have seen him take some big marks and looks to be a good crumber when he stay on the ground. Small flashes but I like him going forward.

E. Smith: Have talked about Ely previously and unfortunately this game hasn't changed my opinion. Not a clean enough ball user or decision maker to be an outside mid and didn't have clean enough hands today to be an inside mid. A couple occasions today where he had time and space and couldn't hit a target.

Arnold: Not sure whether he was previously in our academy or come from elsewhere but I quite like his work at fullback, seems like a solid kid and could become a decent interceptor. Could be a late bloomer and find himself on a list over the next couple years.

Mathieson, CEY, A. Smith: Going to lump these guys together as I think we know what they are which is good depth IMO. For each thing they do well there is something that lets them down, most often ball use and decision making.

Anyone I didn't mention either didn't stand out to me or I've forgotten about, happy to cover anyone else if people want. Overall wasn't as bad as it could've been considering the opposition had a lot of AFL quality players, young talented kids that have been taken high in the draft and former AFL players. The team fought well in the end but just didn't have the class or depth.
 

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Joyce did not have a bad game.. Gets the ball although not super damaging a lot of the time
Kicked a nice goal. With Lyons and Neale.. Then CEY and Matho.. Another one I not sure get a extension.
 
Johnny Bananas said:
What did you think of Tom Joyce?
Click to expand...
Thought he had his pretty standard game, can obviously find a lot of ball on the inside and around the contest but he seemed to find a bit of space around the ground to receive some uncontested marks. When he’s kicking to an easy option he was pretty safe by foot but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with him trying to bite anything too dangerous off, a bit similar to a Matho. While his hands are clean and generally hits the target with a handball they’re nowhere near the level of a Neale yet who I’ve seen him compared to.
 
The Lions came out of the gates extremely slow in this game and had a very poor first quarter. After that they did not do too bad although they were helped by some inaccurate goal kicking by GWS (although to be fair we were no great shake either). What was most interesting about this game was that the coaches really did throw the players around into different positions throughout the match.

Lane got time down back, Uosis up forward, Coleman Sr down back, Ballenden up forward, H Smith in the ruck, Prior down back.

On a few of the guys getting some attention:

K Coleman - has had his game talked up entirely too much imo. He did take a couple of nice marks and hit his targets but he was in no way dominant. His kicks were the little floating dabs over the top which do not work nearly as well at AFL level. His defensive effort was also a bit inconsistent and there were times when he was cruising along behind the play when he should have been busting a gut to get involved. That is not to say that it was not an encouraging effort but I do think people are overrating it.

Cockatoo - has been better over the last couple of weeks. He did provide a couple of nice physical efforts which disrupted the GWS team but he was still invisible for long periods. To me he still looks like he lacks fitness. Some chance that he might get a game at AFL level this week but I would expect it to be with the intention that he be an impact player and play only about 50% of game time.

Ballenden - struggled with the breeze in the first half I think and missed a lot of targets coming out of defense. With our forward line being ineffective he was moved forward and did provide a contest taking a few nice marks. He was easily the best of our tall options.

B Coleman - was inconsistent but showed more this week than previously. Did a few nice things up forward and up into the midfield in transition.

Prior - was missed a lot by the commentator but had a solid game. Kicking was good but probably did not do enough to demand a call up. I hope we persist with him down back in the reserves.

Reville - had one brilliant game but quiet in a lot of others. In this one he did not get a heap of it but there was a lot of quality about his work. He is one who could come on in a full time professional environment. I would not be adverse to giving him a rookie spot at year end.

Joyce - was his usual self. Accumulated the ball and was solid enough with it without having huge hurt factor.

Mathieson - our best.
 
jackess said:
www.afl.com.au

We're back! VFL and VFLW ready to roll but stands will be empty

Victoria's lifting of some restrictions sees games recommence, but crowds won't be allowed
www.afl.com.au www.afl.com.au

Playing Sydney (for the second week in a row)

Assuming we'll take a pretty large squad with us down to Tassie
Click to expand...
You would think so as no way anyone will be able to fly straight to WA from Qld

Another thumping at VFL coming up. But rather that than be short of AFL players in WA
If they think Cockatoo need more actual game time he should stay in Qld
If they think he is now fit enough or best 22 he goes to Tas
 
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