Autopsy Autopsy vs Geelong - Round 5, 2021

[Tas]

Of the team in general, I think Lazzaro and Mahony need some time in the VFL, let them get a bit of the ball, get some confidence up and then bring them into the AFL side for 4-6 week patch. Some kids are just not ready to go play all year.

I think we will also have to look at putting Phillips into the VFL for patches as well when we get some more mids back, he hasn't played a lot of footy with covid so I think he needs a run to get his hands on the ball a lot more. It would be fine to play him and Powell if we had a more mature midfield group there but atm it is a bit too young/inexperienced. Need the right balance.

I am not sure what it is about Hayden, he just doesn't seem very effective. I like that he has a crack, but yeah, I would put him into the VFL as well.

McKay dominated Hawkins, loved it Beat him from behind, beat him from in front. It was only the tsunami of inside 50s that avoided a complete pants pulling down.

Cunnington was a beast. Simpkin had his best game for the year. Turner did a great job on Selwood.

Really happy with Bonar, Atu looked good, loved his tackle on Selwood around the waist, so many try to tackle him too high and give away cheap free kicks when he ducks into it.

We will lose Hall for 2 weeks and Lazzaro came off with hamstring issues, but I think he should play in the VFL when he is right to go.

I like that Campbell is competing, even though he didn't take a lot of marks we were able to at least force a stoppage when we had to go up the line, the main issue is we got 0 goals from Campbell and Goldy combined, it diminishes the benefit of having two ruckmen when they can't push forward and snag a goal or two. Both Goldy and Campbell drop a lot of marks that that they should hold on to given their size and strength advantage compared to the players around them.

I don't really want to penalise Campbell because he is having a go, but one of the main strengths of Xerri is that he is more capable in the air of our KPF/Ruckmen. At some point I want to see Xerri play and I don't want it to be a reactionary thing just if Campbell had a poor game in the future.


Looking to next week:

It seems like Dumont will have to spend a few weeks in the VFL according to the coach

Out: Hall (concussion), Lazzaro (hamstring), Hayden and Mahony
In: LDU, Zurhaar, Garner and move Taylor to the 22.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

This all makes sense, Adolf.

But let’s take a deeper dive, is the net result of Mahony attracting the ball furthering the cause of the NMFC. Would we actually be better off without Mahony receiving the ball or better yet, is the act of Mahony receiving the ball in space an allowance made by the opposition coach?

The second shot at goal from 35m out which missed the point post by 15m suggests we may be better off with spicy’s Zero Touches and inferred pressure due to having, you know, the two things you ******* need as a small forward, SPEED & TRICKS.

Mahony was good last year and has been pus so far this year. It’s ok to say this, it’s not putting sh*t on young players to suggest a run in the twos for confidence might do them the world of good, same goes for RobZombie, we can’t attract high quality footballers, the only way we can get them is through the Draft. Yay, let’s bag the draft.

Literally our only hope of ever seeing another premiership is to get lucky with the draft and you are bagging it. For all those spreadsheet and game theory analysis (which I like), you’re missing the section which reads, we no longer have the greatest development program in the league (U19s circa 1984-1993), we are a dynamically run boutique operation. Our best bet is to sell the farm and hope that the muppets don’t make any more errors at selection (Mahony over Rivers and Phillips over Cox) as we flat out can’t afford any more ******* disasters.

Calling out selection “errors” so early - and proudly refusing to watch VFL while talking about it’s players - invalidates whatever other points you are trying to make.

 

[Moti]

Where/how did he get rated that?

It is based on scores from kick outs by either side.

 

[giantroo]

So after a night's rest to think about it, my thoughts are:

Good signs overall. They foundthe capacity to respond when the heat came on (eg Stephenson's goal in the third) and then kept punching in the last quarter to keep things reasonable.There were many good individual performances but hanging together as a group was the biggest plus.

On the individual performances, obviously Cunners was titanic. With Ziebell, I don't get the criticisms - thought he was good, and the overall stats bear it out. McKay is doing the job each week on the best forward, and even with injuries, we are finding players - Bonar is now a lock best 22 and Atu showed composure, dash and hardness. Powell's hands - my god, a thing of beauty, and he's got toe as well (loved the chase with Isaac Smith at one stage to kill the ball). Turner as a tagger has been a great move - finds a role for a seasoned player without exposing his limitations by foot. Good coaching.

Still scope for improvement even with injuries. Mahony is going to have tidy up his foot skills if he's going to be an AFL player - I'm not putting a line through him as a 19 year old, but a player of his type who is not an elite user will not prosper at the level. Campbell is giving solid service in the ruck, but he is not going to take the contested marks at this level like he does in the VFL - at the lower level, his contest marking comes from being the immoveable 'man mountain' - he doesn't jump. At the AFL level, Campbell finds better athletes who are both big AND can jump, so he is continually getting spoiled.

All that said, I don't expect many changes for next week. Noble is building a system, which means so long as he gets effort, he will go with continuity. He said in his presser that Zurhaar and LDU will come in next week, so obviously one of them comes in for Hall, and I think Mahony could do with a spell in the 2s to work on his kicking. People will be calling for more changes, but Xerri and Garner will have to keep knocking for another week.

Actually noted this down during the game. Did very well there.

 

[Merlin007]

Actually noted this down during the game. Did very well there.

Yep, a few of us have commented on it, so thanks (as ever) for the video snippet. Powell doesn't just go shoulder to shoulder, but catches Smith from behind - ultra impressive when you think of the hands on the boy. What might we have when he gets another 5 kgs across the shoulders - <insert salivating emoji>

 

[Friday Night Lights]

Actually noted this down during the game. Did very well there.

It was way more impressive when I realised it wasn’t Harry Taylor.

 

[giantroo]

Silver service from Goldy.

 

[Usayed Givashe]

“Ineptitude” is cruel but, possibly, a fair assessment. However, “fraudulence” needs more explanation.


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Young x 2, Mahony x 4, Turner x 1.... We are on the attack, we are playing well, the players have busted their asses and the players who usually would kick the goal or hit a target freeze under pressure and display a level of execution not commensurate with their ability or what they would do under no pressure at training.

AKA book definition of footballing fraudulence.

 

[Elite Master]

Don’t see the point of putting any more games into Walker, Young, Turner, Mahony (this year), Campbell and Hall.

Walker and Campbell are stop gaps while our young talls develop, I'd add Hayden and Atley to the list of Young, Turner, Mahony, and Hall who should not be apart of the list going forward.

 

[the flying ham]

Calling out selection “errors” so early - and proudly refusing to watch VFL while talking about it’s players - invalidates whatever other points you are trying to make.

Exactly! Lets the pick the player who cant get a kick at vfl that ive never seen before. This whole notion we need to see guys at the top level is ridiculous, perhaps the coaching staff see enough in the 2s to think they need more time. Remember Hibberd? Why didnt he play more seniors everyone asked? Answer - because he isnt up to it. We are in this position because of our injury list at this point in time, most teams would struggle with this many kids exposed at once. Yes we are rebuilding but with better availability the players people are melting over would be playing 2s.

 

[the flying ham]

Walker and Campbell are stop gaps while our young talls develop, I'd add Hayden and Atley to the list of Young, Turner, Mahony, and Hall who should not be apart of the list going forward.

Turner contracted. Young playing good footy for a 10 gamer. Mahoney 19 and confidence is shot. Hall perhaps but has looked good behind the footy.

 

[Only Forwards]

What a disgraceful position to be in. You're saying that we can't drop a player because he is playing sh*t football? No wonder we are last. I would drop Mahoney for Garner. At least Garner is playing reasonable footy in the 2's and provide more physicality. He can kick a ball more than 30 metres which would help.

I am saying we can't drop 7.

 

[7577969923]

Turner contracted. Young playing good footy for a 10 gamer. Mahoney 19 and confidence is shot. Hall perhaps but has looked good behind the footy.

Hall was best on ground by a fair way last week and was probably second best this week before he got KOed and yet guys here still potting him and wanting to get rid of him.

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

we may be better off with spicy’s Zero Touches and inferred pressure due to having, you know, the two things you ******* need as a small forward, SPEED & TRICKS.

Spicer applied zero pressure yesterday, inferred or actual, and that was against VFL level players.
I'm not potting the kid but he needs time. His bag of tricks is non-existent at the moment because he needs to develop confidence and ability to compete at the level.

 

[HongKongRoo]

And if you think JZ had a good game you’re Super Coach nufftie.

Ziebs going to pull a Joel Bowden where he ranks statistically in the top 10 players of the year.

 

[Supreme_Chancellor]

Got

Just happy you escaped in one piece and with a full set of wheels still on your car.

Crowd was too busy dealing with the realisation that their club's Premiership Window looks shut to deal with us.

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

Our best bet is to sell the farm and hope that the muppets don’t make any more errors at selection (Mahony over Rivers and Phillips over Cox)

Given that you don't watch any football except AFL Men's matches involving North, and we haven't played Essendon yet, on what basis do you think Phillips over Cox was a mistake?

 

[kingcarey1]

Zero chance young is dropped. Made a couple errors but been good past 2 weeks. Absolute persist

Agreed. Just needs to make some better kicking decisions, but he was very good yesterday.

 

[DrZaius]

Never have and never will.

I refuse to watch any football that doesn’t include the North Melbourne Men’s AFL team. The sport, by and large is dead to me.

The second shot at goal from 35m out which missed the point post by 15m suggests we may be better off with spicy’s Zero Touches and inferred pressure due to having, you know, the two things you ******* need as a small forward, SPEED & TRICKS.

Our best bet is to sell the farm and hope that the muppets don’t make any more errors at selection (Mahony over Rivers and Phillips over Cox) as we flat out can’t afford any more ******* disasters.

I must say it's impressive how readily you admit you have absolutely no clue.

 

[7577969923]

Of the team in general, I think Lazzaro and Mahony need some time in the VFL, let them get a bit of the ball, get some confidence up and then bring them into the AFL side for 4-6 week patch. Some kids are just not ready to go play all year.

I think we will also have to look at putting Phillips into the VFL for patches as well when we get some more mids back, he hasn't played a lot of footy with covid so I think he needs a run to get his hands on the ball a lot more. It would be fine to play him and Powell if we had a more mature midfield group there but atm it is a bit too young/inexperienced. Need the right balance.

I am not sure what it is about Hayden, he just doesn't seem very effective. I like that he has a crack, but yeah, I would put him into the VFL as well.

McKay dominated Hawkins, loved it Beat him from behind, beat him from in front. It was only the tsunami of inside 50s that avoided a complete pants pulling down.

Cunnington was a beast. Simpkin had his best game for the year. Turner did a great job on Selwood.

Really happy with Bonar, Atu looked good, loved his tackle on Selwood around the waist, so many try to tackle him too high and give away cheap free kicks when he ducks into it.

We will lose Hall for 2 weeks and Lazzaro came off with hamstring issues, but I think he should play in the VFL when he is right to go.

I like that Campbell is competing, even though he didn't take a lot of marks we were able to at least force a stoppage when we had to go up the line, the main issue is we got 0 goals from Campbell and Goldy combined, it diminishes the benefit of having two ruckmen when they can't push forward and snag a goal or two. Both Goldy and Campbell drop a lot of marks that that they should hold on to given their size and strength advantage compared to the players around them.

I don't really want to penalise Campbell because he is having a go, but one of the main strengths of Xerri is that he is more capable in the air of our KPF/Ruckmen. At some point I want to see Xerri play and I don't want it to be a reactionary thing just if Campbell had a poor game in the future.


Looking to next week:

It seems like Dumont will have to spend a few weeks in the VFL according to the coach

Out: Hall (concussion), Lazzaro (hamstring), Hayden and Mahony
In: LDU, Zurhaar, Garner and move Taylor to the 22.

I wouldn't be unhappy with those changes. Also agree that it would be good to give Phillips 2 to 4 weeks in the VFL to build his tank and confidence. If he can come back into the side after one or two games of 25 plus touches then I think we will see him really kick up a gear.

 

[Grogg]

Just watched the replay again and I'd have Selwood, Dangerfield, Hawkins & Miers as just about the top four most punchable heads in the entire comp.

The first 3 are definitely my top 3. I might be a little hard on Miers, but any bloke trying to deliberately impersonate Jeannie Pratt deserves a special mention.

 

[B4Bear]

Young x 2, Mahony x 4, Turner x 1.... We are on the attack, we are playing well, the players have busted their asses and the players who usually would kick the goal or hit a target freeze under pressure and display a level of execution not commensurate with their ability or what they would do under no pressure at training.

AKA book definition of footballing fraudulence.

You sound like Snake Baker and his regurgitating a dictionary to make a point.

Hmm......

 

[Only Forwards]

Can you imagine how awesome it would be if we were so bad that we needed about 6 priority picks and all our good players decided to leave? We'd have so many draft picks.

We cannot plumb depths like Carlton or Melbourne have for so long. It's been too long already FFS. We have this draft down the bottom. We will have next draft as a likely bottom 6 but we need to be pretty close to finals bound after that.

People think there are a lot of relocation f*** off to Tassie stories now?

We've not even started to cop it yet.

We need, not want or hope, we need to have clear improvement. We cannot just open up to a bunch of kids to be eaten alive all the time. We will not survive it.

 

[rooboy335]

May have been mentioned already, but just want to reiterate how great Bonar has been so far this season. Has been an absolute defensive beast, and has to be one of if not the most improved players at the club this year considering where he's started from when he first got here.

There was a moment yesterday where the ball was kicked to a contest towards Geelongs front half, got out the back where Dangerfield was running onto it and you could almost hear the collective cats nuffies about to explode thinking he was about to burst away and kick a goal from 50. When I saw our boy Bonar was the player beside him I automatically thought "they don't know what's about to happen" and sure enough Bonar not only matched one of if not the fastest straight line players in the game for speed (granted it was only over a short distance), but matched Danger for strength as well and managed to shut down the threat in its tracks.

He's basically our new spud Firrito with better athleticism and probably a better kick as well. Very impressive and fingers crossed he gets a long uninterrupted go at it this season and beyond!

 

[Usayed Givashe]

Given that you don't watch any football except AFL Men's matches involving North, and we haven't played Essendon yet, on what basis do you think Phillips over Cox was a mistake?

I’m interested in the draft as that directly impacts the NMFC Men’s team but list profile and age demographics is what I’m keen on (something we have ****ed up for a decade), reading reports on the kids plus I have mates who send (whether I ask or not) detailed reports from VFL.

The same mate says Spicer is not ready FWIW. And he also said Cox is the best player in this draft, he is yet to be proven incorrect at this stage.

Mistake was harsh, it’s not a mistake per we Phillips over Cox (rivers over Mahony is though) it was simply an unnecessary reach.

You sound like Snake Baker and his regurgitating a dictionary to make a point.

Hmm......

I was asked to define football fraudulence. I have... you think I deal in depleted uranium?