Review At the bye: season to date review

[Happy_Neale]

I'll give this a crack:

Working

Our backline.
It has become about as stingy as possible considering the amount of ball coming in. There seems to be a real coherence there, something that was missing last year. And mostly without our best backman.

Our rotation policy.
Haven't seen much about this, but the way the coaching staff have been willing to rotate players through the reserves is a very smart strategy. Not everybody will agree, but it should see us have a stronger second half to the year, rather than running out of steam like in previous years. This is especially true for players like Drummond.

Intelligent recruiting/increasing depth.
Excellent recruiting to grab Polec, Lester, Green and Zorko over the past couple of drafts. Also, the addition of Lisle should see a greater competition for KP spots, which in turn should keep players like Cornelius and Karnezis on their toes.

Not working

Our forward line.
Though it's a work in progress, I have been frustrated by the lack of cohesion in the forward line this year. It's starting to come together with our usual 3 tall targets starting to really know their roles, but I'm constantly getting frustrated by the lack of front and centre crumbing and our big forwards getting in each others way at times. Zorko and Green will go a long way to fixing this.

Midfield spread.
Still a problem from years gone by. We seem to be inept at getting distance on our opponents around the stoppages. I noticed an improvement Vs. West Coast but this is very much another source of frustration for me. Collingwood are far and away the best at this.

Surprises

Golby.
Has gone from fringe player to starting small backman after 20 odd games. Genuine bargain after being taken as an injury ravaged rookie.

Maguire.
Perrenial whipping boy with seemingly no room for improvement, who should have struggled to get a game in most peoples eyes (myself included). Instead, is holding down CHB better than anyone could have imagined, and may be in line for an AA squad nomination.

Drummond.
Even though we all knew his potential, I didn't think he would get back to his best. However his kicking is as good as ever, he is managing to get loose more often than not (perhaps thanks to the emergence of Hanley and Golby), and fits well with the rest of the back 6.

Others: Rich, Patfull, Zorko, Hudson, Lester.

Disappointments

Karnezis.
A bit rough on a second year player, but saw him as a mainstay of the starting 22 this year. His form in the ressies has been good, but just can't seem to string a number of games together. Still think he will be an integral part of our future forward line.

Polkinghorne.
Has been written about plenty on here over the past few weeks. Although I absolutely loved his torp, he quite simply needs to do more.

Lisle.
I don't see a lot of reserves so I might be way off, but doesn't seem to be pushing hard for a spot like a lot of people expected early on. However he is still young and adjusting to a new environment so will give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

Others: Retzlaff (mainly as I haven't seen him yet), Hawksley, Banfield.

 

[alscotoz]

Working-Maguire. Taken the mantle of defence leader. Getting young guys blooded in the big league.

Not working - distribution still leaves a lot to be desired.

Successes - Maguire, Zorko and Golby

Disappointments - The Irishmen. Not seeing Beams on the park more. Insipid 1st quarters.

Surprise packets - Maguire, didn't think he'd even be sighted this season.

 

[knaf]

Are posters being a bit hard on Hanley listing him as a disappointment? I havent gone back over his figures for each game this year to check, but my impression has been that he is going OK for a player who hasnt played 50 games yet.

By the by rapt that we have won 4 and are half way to my benchmark for a pass this year ie 8 wins.

 

[Haso]

Drummond.
Even though we all knew his potential, I didn't think he would get back to his best. However his kicking is as good as ever, he is managing to get loose more often than not (perhaps thanks to the emergence of Hanley and Golby), and fits well with the rest of the back 6.

Agreed. If he has another game like he did against WC, I will write my previously doubtful words down so that I can eat them.

 

[Happy_Neale]

Are posters being a bit hard on Hanley listing him as a disappointment? I havent gone back over his figures for each game this year to check, but my impression has been that he is going OK for a player who hasnt played 50 games yet.

By the by rapt that we have won 4 and are half way to my benchmark for a pass this year ie 8 wins.

Yes IMO. Would be high on opposition coaches 'stop at all costs' list.

 

[John]

Are posters being a bit hard on Hanley listing him as a disappointment?

Yes.

 

[Ironmonger]

Are posters being a bit hard on Hanley listing him as a disappointment? I havent gone back over his figures for each game this year to check, but my impression has been that he is going OK for a player who hasnt played 50 games yet.

I'm not so much disappointed by his output as the role he is playing. Was expecting him to play more as an outrider on the wing, driving us forward.

 

[Baby_Jenks]

Working

The coaching box. Not entirely sure who should be taking the credit for it so just the whole box, take a bow. How many times over the last two years did we see 3 or 4 quarter efforts only to be pipped at the post by better coached (both on match day and the training track) sides. Hopefully signs that the coaches have collectively turned the corner. Combine that with our improving list depth and the signs look good for the back half of the season and many more seasons after that.
Another sign that the coaching panel are working better together and communicating better with the playing group is the Freo game. I'm not saying that it was a good strategy nor a winning one but the whole team played to the coaches demands.

Not working

Spread. I think the lack of this is comprised of four elements.
Disposal from the back half. Drummond is certainly elite and others are good to great but it can definitely improve.
Midfield/forward confidence. Confidence in themselves and in their teammates in the back half to win and dispose of the ball correctly. If you don't believe that they can then you only lead half hearted. Our defence has been our shining light this year so it's time for our mids and leading forwards to show some faith.
Engine. As we keep hanging our hats on, we have a young and inexperienced midfield. 4-5 preseason are required to build up the required engine for todays game. Strength and conditioning coaches have done a fantastic job but their job is far from finished.
Mentality. We can all acknowledge that last year we were a bottom side. As did our coaches, as did our players so the mentality became : contest = good, out of bounds = great, mark the ball = luxury, opposition marks the ball = meh it happens. This needs to change. Marking the ball is the only acceptable result and out of bounds or a ball up are barely OK. Letting your opponent pick off the ball that was passed to you should be a benchable offence.

Surprises

A lot of people have cited Golby as their biggest surprise but I would have to disagree. All I'm going to say regarding Golby is to say 'I told you so' and smile smugly.
Zorko has been one that has surprised me. Big wraps on him from a long way out and I got a little giddy with the descriptions floating about but there was always that little worm of doubt wondering how he'd adapt to the AFL. That worm is now preserved in bottle of tequila never to be heard from again
Raines has turned into a rather sloppy tagger into one of the premier taggers in the comp. It's not an attractive role to be playing and doesn't get anywhere near the credit he deserves in the media. This year he's shut down Pendles, Kerr and Selwood. Sure Swan and Murphy got off the leash so he's not perfect but impressed the hell out of me so far this year.
Maguire is another player that deserves a special mention on the surprise list. We can all remember his form during his St Kilda years but I had very real doubts he would reach those heights again. He's not there yet but he's getting close. Closer than I thought he was capable of ever again. Offensive he's also leapt out of his skin. Last year he was close to if not THE worst kick in our club. He's a fair way off the top 5 but middle of the pack is a HUGE improvement.

Alas in my opinion he's not the most improved nor the most surprising this year. That honour goes to Mr Joel Patfull. He's attacking!! During the Melbourne game I saw him kick to a teammate, run, receive the handball and kick it outside of 50 to another teammate in space! I nearly fell out of my chair. His contested possession is the highest it's even been and the uncontested possessions he receives are no longer backward clock chewing momentum killing junk. This all coming from a player that was always defensively sound but trending down and out of the team. Bravo sir! I was wrong about Patfull.

Disappointments

Karnezis - I had him in the 22 for most of the year. Not saying that the reasons he's out of the team are incorrect, they are extremely valid, but I was expecting him to round out his game with the big boys. I still have a very strong belief that he'll make it at the highest level with some fantastic seasons.

Cornelius - You would think that if Karnezis isn't in the team that Cornelius would be. Unfortunately he's no certainty week to week despite constant improvement on his shortcomings i.e. lack of defensive pressure, lack of engine, teamwork.

Harwood - I think he should be in the team. The fact that he isn't is a disappointment to me but at the same time I find it hard to suggest who should make way for him. Could be worse positions to be in.

Banfield - The talk of the preseason was that he'd be playing further up the ground on the wing. Only played there in patches and when he was the same problems arose. Over ran and fumbled the ball and when he finally did get a hold of it, his disposal let him down.

 

[RU_]

Sorry to intrude I just wanted to know how Callum Bartlett is tracking? He was a highly rated youngster and has gone off the map. Will he play at some stage this year?

Should do, yes.