A good win but...

[Storyboy]

I will admit that the call by Walls was begining to grate a little when he doned on and on about how wonderful everything blue is - including seing Judd in blue, but it was equally as wonderful to hear the ash in his mouth when he talked about how 'right' he was about Stevens' fitness. It is always satisfying to watch the bluebastards go down and this time, it was sweet to hear how much it hurt.

On a more positive note, Lovett!!!!!!!!!! There were a number of positives tonight, but what a star! I have loved this guy since his first game. There were shades of Long's epic 1993 goal tonight. I was watching with someone who is not really a fan and they thought he was electric. It is performances like that that will keep the game growing.

 

[The Donners]

I will admit that the call by Walls was begining to grate a little when he doned on and on about how wonderful everything blue is - including seing Judd in blue, but it was equally as wonderful to hear the ash in his mouth when he talked about how 'right' he was about Stevens' fitness. It is always satisfying to watch the bluebastards go down and this time, it was sweet to hear how much it hurt.

On a more positive note, Lovett!!!!!!!!!! There were a number of positives tonight, but what a star! I have loved this guy since his first game. There were shades of Long's epic 1993 goal tonight. I was watching with someone who is not really a fan and they thought he was electric. It is performances like that that will keep the game growing.

Lovett is flashy but history says he lacks consistency. If he can play like he did tonight for a further 19 games... he could play 21 games this season! (I'm insinuating we'd make the finals with said electrifying form)

 

[Bombertastic]

What game were you watching? We've got the worst ruck division in the competition IMO. Kruezer was a first gamer and Cloke is a hack and I thought they dominated hence the amount of centre clearances to Carlton. If the midfielders of Essendon can't get first crack at the pill at the stoppages it's tough to get a clearance.

We played the football we NEED to play for about a quarter. 10 minutes in the first quarter and the first 10 minutes in the last, that won't cut it against quality opposition.

Great win or lucky escape?!?

Congratulations Essendon, you just beat a team that hasn't finished higher than 11th in over 6 seasons and who hasn't won in the past 14 games. Hate to sound negative after a victory but IMO there aren't many positives...

Most promising aspect of tonight's game was Essendon's goalscorers... all 14 of them!

Great post. Sums it up pretty well. Hille and Laycock are too inconsistent. Not only from game to game but quarter to quarter. Just like Lovett. Great game tonight but what about next week. This is to often the problem with some of our players.

Having said that there were some positives not least the way we play attacking football. Hitting the corridor and running through the middle. No top 8 finish for us and we still need to look at our squad for next year. Need some big bodies around the middle that keep their feet over the ball. Need Lloyd to stop going to ground all the time and need to win more hard balls.

 

[GoDons]

Lovett is flashy but history says he lacks consistency. If he can play like he did tonight for a further 19 games... he could play 21 games this season! (I'm insinuating we'd make the finals with said electrifying form)

Well his last 5 games at AFL level have been sensational, so consistency may be on the way.

As I've said earlier, he and Watson are the keys to our midfield. If they're both up we're a tough side to beat.

As for the game tonight, it wasn't our greatest of wins. The defensive set up was particularly poor in my opinion. We left Fevola far too much space to lead into and their midfielders, if given a split second, could just drill it onto his chest. Mal could hardly be blamed for a number of the marks Fevola took. Filling the hole must become a priority.

However, we got the 4 points and that's always a positive.

 

[Kong]

did anyone notice the commentary on ch10? Robert Walls is a deadset maggot

thankyou! for as long as i can remember robert walls commentating, he has absolutely shitted me. that guy has to be the most over-rated, over-paid, and least insightful commentator in history. i respect what he did in his playing/coaching days, sure, but why is he getting paid to tell me what my 10-year-old brother could point out?:

"Matthew Lloyd has lost a yard or two on his kicks in the last few years." Really Wallsy, you don't say. ANYBODY who has watched him has seen he isn't the player he was, especially in his kicking, and even more so especially since his near career-ending injury in 2006.

"Leuenberger looks to ME, to have the goods to be a ten-year player. Sometimes you can just tell by watching a player, and for me, well, I think Brisbane can count themslves blessed". Again, Wallsy, I think everybody in the football world knows what a gem that kid is. You're not offering anything new.

And before anybody jumps down my throat and says "its his job to point out things on the screen", i know that, but unlike other commentators who comment on the game, or offer INSIGHT into set plays, injuries etc (buckley, darcy), he points out the absolute obvious.. AND, says it with that air of arrogance in his voice that comes across as if he thinks he is actually the first to think/say all of this stuff, and then waits to bask in the glory of it. Where as other commentators, if they were to say they rate a young player, they will say it with an open tone, almost as if asking the other commentators to join in.

Robert Wall is a dead-set ____, and the sooner he stops commenating, the better.

 

[Grey Smith Bar]

Coming in to half time I noticed that the Blues looked tired I though t we would be able to run out the match. The 3rd quarter looked to completely contradict that thought but I think fitness got us through in the end.

Judd looked very slow just before half time, but had an amazing 3rd quarter.

 

[efcboy]

i think your all overlooking that essendons midfield kicked a lot of goals. mcveigh 4 goals etc...

sure fev kicked 8 but did they have any other avenue to goal?

the side that played as a team won the contest. two individuals (judd,fev) don't win matches.

 

[DaveyBlues]

I know exactly where you're comming from on the Walls thing. Every piece of crap Richmond orriented media person persistently give Carlton a baking. Worst part about it is just about anything that can be said about Carlton can be said about Richmond, even to the point of saying "A Richmond Player has pissed in public too" And from a commentary standpoint, Steven Quatermain drives me nuts with his Hawthorn bias. Unproffesional commentating has to end.

 

[Artie Bucco]

Congrats on the win, was a great game to watch.

 

[danzan22]

How bad was it when Walls was asked what he thought of Lloydy's goal in getting Essendon getting back into it? Wall's very sarcastically through gritted teeth replies, "Yeah, lovely kick". You could just tell it really hurt him to say that.

Haha that was great, i noticed he went a bit quiet after that.

how about when he said a FRIEND told him that Lloyd kicking is not as great as it use to be, my god wallsy we all know you are the one who thinks it.

 

[windyhill]

About time we beat that dog shit when it mattered, not in the second time we meet them when it does not matter/when they are lying down for a kip.

 

[hugorune]

I genuinely thought Essendon would be able to run Carlton off the park, but that didn't happen. Much of the game last night was played on Carlton's terms. They were able to keep possession, and find targets with pretty good efficiency, and Fevola showed a return to form.

 

[krustyman]

the blues midfield dominated, and center clearances would be a concern for the bombers. stanton seem to be quiet as a few others

 

[TheDon35]

A good win but...

Mcfee is a liability across half forward
Stanton is far from the elite midfielder that Knights has proclaimed him to be.
Our midfield was smashed at stopages for the second week in a row
Our defence was a shambles
Mal Michael may be close to playing his last game
We only just beat a side who has lost 14 straight.

 

[Blind Turn]

Why be so negative after a good win?

That was the best game Carlton has played in a long time, and we still beat them with Hille missing most the second quarter off injured, losing Jetta who was leading our tackle count and still managed to kick 23 goals without Lucas or a real CHF. We still won 6 more hit outs than Carltons 3 ruckmen combined. Mcveigh was brilliant again tonight being B.O.G., Lloyd bounced back after being well held in the first half to finish with 4. Monfries and Lovett both had a good games coming back into the side after missing the first 2 weeks. Mcphee really took on his new role with his best performance this year, setting up goals and bringing the ball to the ground.

But yeah as you so not many positives...

Agreed. And to blame our ruckmen for the lack of A-class midfielders at their feet to win clearances is being a bit ignorant. Hille (and Lovett) was the catralyst for our strong finish. Laycock also has many more strings to his bow than a cameron cloke or hampson. Was a very encouraging performance in respect to a developing team with a new game plan.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

I can't believe some are so negative about Hille He did some good stuff around the grounds, using his big body well.

Both he and Laycock actually won a lot of taps in the centre that were sharked by Carlton players - they weren't tapping it to the right spot, but nor were the midfielders in the spot they were tapping to, so it works both ways.

McPhee, hardly a liability He took some good marks, moved around a LOT, and basically did his job.

People seem to forget, this was only the third game under a brand new coach with a brand new game plan. I bet Melbourne would love it if their team were adjusting half so well

 

[The Dustbin]

A good win but...

Mcfee is a liability across half forward
Stanton is far from the elite midfielder that Knights has proclaimed him to be.
Our midfield was smashed at stopages for the second week in a row
Our defence was a shambles
Mal Michael may be close to playing his last game
We only just beat a side who has lost 14 straight.

Has played 2 consistent games and again was good last night. Far from a liability.

 

[ant555]

I can't believe some are so negative about Hille He did some good stuff around the grounds, using his big body well.

Both he and Laycock actually won a lot of taps in the centre that were sharked by Carlton players - they weren't tapping it to the right spot, but nor were the midfielders in the spot they were tapping to, so it works both ways.

McPhee, hardly a liability He took some good marks, moved around a LOT, and basically did his job.

People seem to forget, this was only the third game under a brand new coach with a brand new game plan. I bet Melbourne would love it if their team were adjusting half so well

Liability may be a bit strong for McPhee but he does hold the footy too long after he takes a mark. On numerous times i counted him holding it for 8 seconds plus. The rule of thumb is if you hold it for longer than three seconds your forward line is flooded.

 

[ant555]

Back to the original topic. We won the hitouts 37 to 31 but got belted in the clearances. The problem we have is we are not clean with our hands in the middle. There are a lot of fumbles or poor handballs in the middle that result in the oposition gaining possession. If Watson has a decent tag put on him (Hadley was on him all of last night) we simply have not got another genuine clearance winner. McVeigh wins some clearances but he does fumble a good number of balls at ground level at the center bounces. Stanton and Houli are the ball recivers when they are in the middle and last night Pev was simply trying to negate Judd (which he couldn't anyway).
At the end of the day currently our midfield is a C+ at best.

 

[ant555]

A good win but...

Mcfee is a liability across half forward
Stanton is far from the elite midfielder that Knights has proclaimed him to be.
Our midfield was smashed at stopages for the second week in a row
Our defence was a shambles
Mal Michael may be close to playing his last game
We only just beat a side who has lost 14 straight.

Don i think our problems in defence relate to getting smashed in the middle and not enough players being smart enough to block the holes. We take a poung from fast leading forwards becasue there is always too much space for them to lead into and we have a few blokes who do not put their bodies on the line at various stages and get in front of the leading forwards.

 

[SirJimi05]

Liability may be a bit strong for McPhee but he does hold the footy too long after he takes a mark. On numerous times i counted him holding it for 8 seconds plus. The rule of thumb is if you hold it for longer than three seconds your forward line is flooded.

I thought McPhee was really good last night. He leads/works harder than any of the other forwards and is a good spot up player in Lucas' absence. I agree their were a few times he held onto the pill for too long but i think he should be excused for this. A few other players did the same thing when we had free players on.

 

[lamaros]

Yes in the midfield I think the players have these problems:

Stanton: Doesn't get in there enough, his handballs are ok but not so great on the short stuff. Fumbles when low on confidence.
Davey: Great, but a bit undersized so he cant stand up in the tackles as well as others. Tries to run clear instead of standup and handball it out because of this.
Watson: Still goes missing when heavily tagged.
McVeigh: Fumbles, tries to run clear a little too often.
Lonergan: Holds it too long from time to time, thinks he can break tackles he sometimes can't. Will hopefully get better at it though.
Lovett: Outside player.
Dyson: Still more of an outside player, needs to get in more. His handball skills are ok. I think he's one guy who can help us in this area.
Houli: Outside player, handball is one of his areas he really needs to work on; he turns it over from them a bit.

 

[Wildrig]

Hang on a second. If, at the start of the season someone was to tell you...

1. You will line up against Carlton without Lucas
2. Carlton will be unveiling the newest number 1 pic
3. Carlton will be fuming with Steven's treatment in the media
4. Judd will get 30 possessions
5. Fevola will kick 8 goals
6. Lloyd will be held to 4 goals
7. Carlton will kick 21 goals
8. Carlton will be desperate to avoid equalling their losing streak

You would think it was a pretty bleak picture . But then after the game you could also say

1. Essendon had 14 individual goalkickers
2. Lloyd kicked 4 from limited opportunities
3. Ryder shut down Fevola in 4th qtr
4. We beat a team who fires up big time against us
5. Their star-studded (soon to be) midfield overpowered us in the 3rd but we ran them out
6. Hille is looking much better around the ground
7. Lovett is back and doin what we all know he can
8. We got the 4 pts

Now, obviously things have to improve but the way that Carlton midfield played in the 3rd quarter was pretty damn good. They also made it count on the scoreboard so for our side, smashed last week by a midfield domination and sensing the same thing, to turn it around and pile on unanswered goals is avery very good sign. It doesnt matter we were playing Carlton, they could field the Bacchus Marsh u12s side with a Carlton shirt on and they would be a chance.

Fact is, the ALWAYS trouble us, they are getting better game by game, they played surely their best game for years yet we somehow manufactured a win.

Take the points, chill out and get ready for the Bulldogs...

Good work boys

 

[The Donners]

thankyou! for as long as i can remember robert walls commentating, he has absolutely shitted me. that guy has to be the most over-rated, over-paid, and least insightful commentator in history. i respect what he did in his playing/coaching days, sure, but why is he getting paid to tell me what my 10-year-old brother could point out?:

"Matthew Lloyd has lost a yard or two on his kicks in the last few years." Really Wallsy, you don't say. ANYBODY who has watched him has seen he isn't the player he was, especially in his kicking, and even more so especially since his near career-ending injury in 2006.

"Leuenberger looks to ME, to have the goods to be a ten-year player. Sometimes you can just tell by watching a player, and for me, well, I think Brisbane can count themslves blessed". Again, Wallsy, I think everybody in the football world knows what a gem that kid is. You're not offering anything new.

And before anybody jumps down my throat and says "its his job to point out things on the screen", i know that, but unlike other commentators who comment on the game, or offer INSIGHT into set plays, injuries etc (buckley, darcy), he points out the absolute obvious.. AND, says it with that air of arrogance in his voice that comes across as if he thinks he is actually the first to think/say all of this stuff, and then waits to bask in the glory of it. Where as other commentators, if they were to say they rate a young player, they will say it with an open tone, almost as if asking the other commentators to join in.

Robert Wall is a dead-set ____, and the sooner he stops commenating, the better.

Hell yeah!

 

[Windas_Magic]

On afl game day (channel 7), it said at the bottom that hille has a shoulder injury?