Review AAMI Community series Round 1 & final round v Suns @ Metricon 6.10pm, 8/3/21.

[Ralphy2017]

Starc really struggling with Sexton.

True, but hopefully Starc takes a lot out of the experience and next time they meet he request the match up. Few of the players seemed a little off.
Payne was impressive in the first half, kept King scoreless (wasn't involved with the turn over from Birchall kick in), but did give away a few frees in the second, maybe gaining a bit of confidence and testing how far he can go before being penalised, so not such a bad thing.
Fullarton is a lock for the early rounds, at least whilst McStay is out.
I just can't get too excited about Birchall, we have enough experience with Rich, Andrews, Gardner, he just seems to go missing in the tough stuff. Not that stats: are the full story but he gets a lot of cheap possessions. Answerth "is a goer" and whilst not as good a kick, when fit would be a better option IMO.
Obviously the club (hopes) Adams is somewhere in the backline, otherwise they would have probably given him a run in the forward line when he came on in the last Q. However he will have to be playing very well in the VFL to earn a spot in the backs.
Fingers crossed for Cam tomorrow.

 

[briztoon]

His kicking looks very direct and don't think he missed a target despite some higher difficulty kicks.

Obviously worked on it a lot last year.

I like the kid. There was a mock draft on the D&T board at the beginning of last season. I traded one of our first round picks for a future 2021 first round pick and a 2020 second round pick, and drafted Sharp with that second round pick, and he was the player I had in mind when I made the trade.

 

[Dylan12]

Fagan's press conference - click on the picture:

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Well, at least Zac Bailey

33

Zac Bailey

Age

24

Ht

182cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.7

3star

K

6.9

3star

HB

5.9

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

CL

0.9

3star

D

12.9

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

5.6

3star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.4

3star

CL

0.7

3star

D

13.4

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

6.8

5star

M

3.2

4star

T

2.8

5star

CL

0.6

3star

has even more opportunity for a breakout season now. That might be the only thing that can stop me feeling sick about Cam.

 

[Dylan12]

 

[Maroon Monsoon]

I guess its nice to know we can turn up for only a quarter and still win comfortably. You could definitely see the difference in class and experience in the third when lach, richy, zorks and Lyons turned it on a bit and left their counterparts in the dust.

Didnt really like his second efforts but I thought Joe did better as a backup ruck than I expected. Also makes our forward line look a lot more balanced having three talls and three small / mid players floating around, should hopefully give us more flexibility over the season

 

[BangyBangy]

Finished work late so just finished watching the game. Pretty happy to be honest.

Suns are a pretty young team team filled with talent that would've been itching to play better than what they did last week.

Haven't looked too closely, but suspect we played around with setups a bit during the first half. Our tackling certainly wasn't good enough.

At half time the team was read the riot act in footy speak, we switched to our standard starting midfield setup & played as if it was round 1.

I'm sad about Cam, but trying to find positives. 1. it's better than a Voss / Barlow / Brown double leg break and 2. Someone may step up & become a star that we didn't expect.

Can't wait till round 1.

 

[iBeng]

While it's absolutely shithouse that we'll likely lose Rayner for the year let's not forget Rich did his ACL earlier in his career and he came back fine.

 

[Gadzorks]

7-8-50 to 0-2-2 that quarter, what the hell happened?

They spent time in the change room listening to poor bloody Rayner sob. Every one of them came back out grateful they haven't been smacked down by bad luck and played accordingly.

 

[Gadzorks]

I'm still not a Birchall fan though without dizzy I imagine there'll be lots of opportunity to watch him - kick/pass/invent new ways to get the ball directly to the opposition.

 

[Gadzorks]

While it's absolutely shithouse that we'll likely lose Rayner for the year let's not forget Rich did his ACL earlier in his career and he came back fine.

Took Rich a couple of seasons to get back to previous level. Injuries like that are mental as well and you tend to be overly cautious which limits your play.

Horrid as this sounds, doing it now is best case for next year as Cam will have the full twelve months to rebuild. His first game back will be a monster.

 

[FFB1]

Picking Cam will be like Matt Rowell

18

Matt Rowell

Age

22

Ht

180cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.4

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

0.8

1star

T

5.2

5star

CL

3.8

5star

D

17.4

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

0.8

1star

T

5.2

5star

CL

3.8

5star

D

17.4

5star

K

7.6

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

0.8

1star

T

5.2

5star

CL

3.8

5star

after he was ruled out for the year last year; unofficial coaching spot down on the bench, headphones on communicating with upstairs coaching staff and relaying info to Fages down on the ground.

 

[harvester]

While it's absolutely shithouse that we'll likely lose Rayner for the year let's not forget Rich did his ACL earlier in his career and he came back fine.

I was thinking the same thing

 

[Pacman82]

Picking Cam will be like Matt Rowell after he was ruled out for the year last year; unofficial coaching spot down on the bench, headphones on communicating with upstairs coaching staff and relaying info to Fages down on the ground.

If it's an acl then young Cam will be concentrating 100% on rehabbing for the rest of the season..

I'd say he's feeling a bit ginger this morning

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

Sexton seems to be one of those players who always plays out of their skin and looks unusually elite against us. Nathan Eagleton from the doggies and Aaron Hall from the Suns are a couple of others who would do the same.

Malcom Blight said once that to be a good player you need a peg to hang your coat on i.e. a special skill like pace, play awareness, marking. I don't think that Sexton has any great skill except kicking goals, largely against us. He ain't big, fast, good mark or anything but he has been a good goalkicker in a crap team. He did do a good double back late in the games which leads to.....

I did notice one thing in the third quarter where Fullerton's opponent knocked the ball through for a point. I think it was Berry having the shot. Fullerton's opponent was several metres goal side so why didn't Fullerton lead up to the ball carrier. Simple lead and delivery and that's why I pine for the days of Peter McKenna, Doug Searle and Peter Hudson.

Loved Hipwood coming in from behind and smashing the ball out of bounce. He is playing with that 'edge' that he discovered late last year. No longer will they be able to say he is a tall flanker.

As disappointing are the injuries to McStay and Cam, last year they were only fringe players during the season. Cam was clearly on the up though, so we don't know what we will miss.

Why did Adams play in the seniors when he didn't play? He would have been better off playing a full game in the Twos?

 

[X AE A12]

Some of my thoughts on the game. Second qtr the disparity in skills was huge, they hit every target and we hit none. Most of the day we overcooked our disposals and didn't put the footy to our advantage, and kicked to outnumber against us far too often.

Lyons defensive work in the second half was important to stem a bit of their flow from HB, and Neale too pushing into HB had a super impact and I seriously wonder if we can have both Birchall and Lester in the best 22. I think keep Lester and bring in some more youth and energy maybe Madden.

Id be bringing in TBerry for Coleman on form, and I'm finding a spot for Sharp in the 22 he was super impressive. Agree Fullarton needs to be given regular senior opportunity, but I don't think that he is necessarily lesser than McStay.

Shattered for Rayner, really unlucky and all the best to him getting back stronger when he can. Surely DevRob comes in to spend that time in the MF

Bring on the games for premiership points

 

[undefined]

he was great in the QF but didn’t play on dusty- dizzy had him when he went forward.

definitely played on Dusty at some stages - was right in front of where I was sitting!

 

[Dylan12]

If it's an acl then young Cam will be concentrating 100% on rehabbing for the rest of the season..

I'd say he's feeling a bit ginger this morning

I certainly haven't woken up feeling any better that's for sure; feel flat as a tack and its all due to Cam's injury so I could only imagine how he'd be feeling.

Just such a sucker punch to the gut on the eve of the season.

 

[M0557]

Doesn't appear good but fingers crossed for Rayner today. Player you turn up to games to see, poised for a big year. Huge shame.

 

[JasRulz63]

While it's absolutely shithouse that we'll likely lose Rayner for the year let's not forget Rich did his ACL earlier in his career and he came back fine.

There always seems to be comparisons between Rayner and Petracca, who also did an ACL early in his career (his first pre-season).

 

[Quigley]

My thoughts on some of the players from last night:

Sharp – as advertised he covered the ground well but some of his positioning was off and having some time to learn through the reserves will only be to his advantage. The two big positives for me though were firstly his skills where he came straight in and had no trouble hitting his targets including a couple of nice long kicks. Secondly and most surprisingly for me was his strength and balance. Often kids coming from an athletic background get outbodied quite easily. In a couple of body on body contests last night, Sharp went stride for stride with the more mature opponent, absorbed the contact, held his feet and balance and came away with the ball. That kind of strength and balance in the contested situation is not something I expected and was a big positive for me. I don’t think we rush him but its hard not to be impressed with his first outing.

Coleman – was invisible in the first half playing deep forward. The longer the game went though the more he worked back to the ball, the more disposals he got and the better he looked. After the first half I was ruling him out of the round 1 team but after the game I hope the coaches worked out a plan to involve him as a valuable contributor to the team. If they want a forward pocket we are better off going with Blake. Kaidean is a HFF / wing and looks much better when he is given space to work in.

Payne – handled King easily I thought especially in the first half. In the second he gave away a few cheap frees but that would be part of the learning experience. He was very confident both offensively and defensively and looks ready made and having the big boy back there allows Harris to play the more floating role which suits him best.

Fullarton – showed some really nice ground ball skills and composure under pressure. He worked around the forward line nicely and combined well with Hipwood and Daniher so not issues there. In the ruck he did not get much in the way of clean taps but overall I thought he looked more consistently competitive than Daniher. It was not all positive though he did disappear for periods and he dropped one soda though that would have given him a shot in front from 30m out or so.

Starcevich – I know he is a favourite of many but people need to be realistic. This is the stage he is at. He is not an elite shut down defender at the moment and there are going to be games where an opponent gets hold of him. Fagan kept with Starc even when that happened I guess as a learning experience and maybe because of a lack of options with our current team. Gardner probably goes onto him when he is back and has done the job before. I was a bit surprised that Fagan did not bring on Madden last night and move him onto Sexton just to see how he went. Seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity. Starc played well for an inexperienced player last year but he is not the finished product and people need to not expect too much.

Robinson – showed his worth I thought. He puts the pressure on opposition and they make mistakes because of that. He will be in the round 1 team.

Berry – in the first half he was pretty much the only midfielder who was putting in any effort. He covered a heap of ground and worked hard both ways all game. He had periods where he was very scrappy with the ball which needs to be worked on but overall was solid enough with ball in hand.

Neale and Lyons – were both onball for most of the first half and did nothing. I am not sure what was going on but it is a myth that Lyons was not in the guts most of the first half. Both seemed not to be working to the level required. After the half both suddenly were back to normal and we were a different team.

McInerney – speaking of differences between the first and second half it was just as noticeable for Oscar. He was smashed in the first half. His positioning was terrible and he gave us nothing. In the second half though adjustments were made and I thought he won the ruck contests. From memory Hudson is the ruck coach, and credit to him for making adjustments. That kind of game can be a real positive learning experience and hopefully Oscar is a better player for it.

Bailey – went in spurts this game. When he was onball he got his hands on it plenty although like last week he had trouble gathering it and was generally pretty sloppy. He did show some good burst though from the midfield which we need and a couple of goals resulted from that. Solid game all up.

Birchall – he got plenty of the ball after half time and generally got things moving from the back nicely. He is starting to develop a really nice relationship with Rich where both seem to look for each other to get things moving up the field. Defensively though he was a bit of a liability and I am not sure we continue to carry that over the course of the year.

Ah Chee – had a mixed night. Did some nice things and did some very ordinary things. Still not providing any run really from the back which is disappointing. He was the one I thought they might have swapped onto Sexton when he was getting away from Starc. Not sure why the change was not made.

Adams – played the last quarter and did not really show anything to threaten Payne for his spot.

 

[dlanod]

Robinson – showed his worth I thought. He puts the pressure on opposition and they make mistakes because of that. He will be in the round 1 team.

I'm going to put a moratorium on mentioning Robbo in this thread because every time his name gets brought up I get pissed off about that free kick against him all over again. He didn't even drive him into the ground, as he lost his grip and it was just the initial momentum that carried them both over.

McInerney – speaking of differences between the first and second half it was just as noticeable for Oscar. He was smashed in the first half. His positioning was terrible and he gave us nothing. In the second half though adjustments were made and I thought he won the ruck contests. From memory Hudson is the ruck coach, and credit to him for making adjustments. That kind of game can be a real positive learning experience and hopefully Oscar is a better player for it.

Playing our scratch matches against Gold Coast is a definite advantage for Oscar's development - Witts is one of the better true ruckmen in the comp, and getting to practice against that for eight quarters with no real pressure is not to be sneezed at. It's definitely better than going against our other ruckmen or drawing a team like GWS or Sydney where you're going up against a rookie or a journeyman.

 

[T Rick]

I'm going to put a moratorium on mentioning Robbo in this thread because every time his name gets brought up I get pissed off about that free kick against him all over again. He didn't even drive him into the ground, as he lost his grip and it was just the initial momentum that carried them both over.



Playing our scratch matches against Gold Coast is a definite advantage for Oscar's development - Witts is one of the better true ruckmen in the comp, and getting to practice against that for eight quarters with no real pressure is not to be sneezed at. It's definitely better than going against our other ruckmen or drawing a team like GWS or Sydney where you're going up against a rookie or a journeyman.

That free kick against MRobbo was as silly as I can readily recall - a great tackle, penalised by a really poor umpiring decision.

 

[martinson]

That free kick against MRobbo was as silly as I can readily recall - a great tackle, penalised by a really poor umpiring decision.

Robbo gets a raw deal from the umps full stop . Overall he rarely gives away silly frees, his tackling is mostly spot on when he gets his hands on someone but the umps seem to take it out on him for what they perceive to be over aggression. The double whammy is that he rarely gets rewarded when he cops it the other way.

 

[Cockliff38]

I thought young Harry was the obvious bright spot on a dark night. Looks more advanced than we could have hoped or thought, and seems a really promising prospect as a winger.

The concern with pure athletes translating to footy is their disposal and their body build. Harry got a fair bit of ball and looked good using it, and while still lean he didn't look like a stick out of place and will only fill out with more preseasons.

Fullarton: we still only have a limited body of work at AFL level, but last night particularly he seemed to have more of an influence linking up at ground level than in the air. He looks fantastic when the ball hits the deck for a big guy, and often gets involved in a chain of possessions. I just wonder if he can develop into a true tall forward... early days.