Autopsy Autopsy vs St Kilda - the Cam Zurhaar Almost Special

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Mattaes Phillipou looks a real player for pick 10. A few recruiting teams might look a bit silly at the end of his career ...
Hopefully not us with Wardlaw. I realise that based on ability and talent, most teams had GW at 1, but his body has some concerns. We really need to have nailed last year's draft as the '20 and '21 picks are no certainties.
 

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I eat broccoli but not a fan, been told it’s good for you especially the stem .I eat it first when it’s on the plate and get it over and done with. Otherwise I don’t get my desert lol
Broccoli just needs a good cheese and mushroom sauce on it and then it’s delicious!
 
Tonight was the perfect night to send Curtis into the centre bounces.

Have a different mix. Cunners was getting ****ed up. Put Zurhaar deep one out. Cam was one snag away from lighting s**t up - Curtis was probably one clearance from getting some easy ball and breaking the shackles of a Lyon style defender
Paul Curtis still is a complete liability on defence. People talk about Taylor and Spicer being allergic to tackling, this guy is currently our worst. He is in terrible defensive form and needs to go back and show the club he gives enough of a sh*t to chase and lay a tackle.
 
Your not making it sound more appealing to me Disco lol
Ok Fine Whatever GIF by MOODMAN

I tried.
 

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Bergman was great.

Compact with ball in had, made near decisions and then when it was his turn to go and defend in the air looked solid.

I’ll go back and watch the tape but I can’t remember anything too glaring for a defender in his 5th game - 16 touches 4 intercepts.

Lots to work with
Bergman is the best thing about the '21 draft. Light years ahead of anyone else we drafted atm...
 
Kicking 3 or 4 occasionally (notice I said occasionally which means not all the time - I thought I’d better point that out because some people apparently have the reading comprehension skills of a spanner) a lot of which come from trying to get cheap/soft ones out the back or through free kicks, is not the work of a key full forward that we should seek out with every forward entry. Especially one who has to do it on his own - which Larkey does at the moment.

He’s a good, straight kick but overall he’s no Lockett as a forward. There’s more to being a key forward than just kicking straight. He goes okay sometimes but not consistently and in any case he doesn’t have the commanding presence of a dominant FF. He either needs help down there or better yet needs someone who would take the #1 defender.

I would’ve thought that was obvious. But hey don’t let me spoil the incredible success story you think our forward line is.

At the end of the day, Nick is part of the answer. Yes, he can be frustrating - I have spoken his name in vain more than a few times mid-game. However, like Zurrhaar, our biggest problem with him is that he struggles to deliver what we know he can. That, to me, means he is definitely part of our solution. The time when Nick (and Cam) will really come to the fore is when a few other guys step up.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
Nice straw man, I never said or implied that our forward line is even close to being successful or complete because it clearly isn't. Just pointing out the absurdity of claiming Larkey "only" looks good because he is actually kicking goals instead of some other more sexy looking intangible.

And no he does do it consistently. Since we are resorting to snarky condescending personal attacks on the others reading comprehension I will break it down for you and provide some helpful dictionary definitions:

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Goal Scoring breakdown for Nick Larkey 2021/22/23:

Year202120222023
Games Played2220 (one game injury subbed)8*
3+ Goal Games753*
Total % of games played with 3+ goals scored31%25%37%*

The last 3 years as our main guy he has played 50 games and kicked 3 or more goals at an average of 30% of the games he has played each season, at a rate of no less than 25% and no more than 37%* of his games in any givenl season. He has also in these 3 seasons never gone more than 2 games in a row without kicking a goal.

That is the definition of consistent, as in you know exactly what you are going to get from him because every season in almost 1/3 games he will CONSISTENTLY have 3+ goal games, while he does OCCASIONALLY have one or two 0 goal games he will CONSISTENTLY bounce back and this is something that does not vary. Maybe that will change in the future but as of right now it is based on statistical fact and not anecdotal bias.

This is not to say I think Larkey is a prodigious key forward or even necessarily our future because I agree with you that he clearly needs someone else to take the pressure off him and is better suited to being the second banana, but too many on this board like to conveniently ignore the positives a player like Larkey provides while hyper-focusing on the negatives because of the 'look', similar to B. Brown.

It'll be cool when we trade Larkey to Richmond or Collingwood for peanuts in two years time and he goes on to win a flag immediately while we are all here jerking ourselves silly after we trade in a geriatric Levi Casboult because he dominates in the air, has a 'commanding presence' and OCCASIONALLY kicks a bag (go have a look how regularly he does it)
Nice
👍🏼
You went to a lot of effort there.

We can agree we will consistently know he will be inconsistent. He’ll kick 3 and then disappear but then bounce back and kick 3. Maybe sometimes even 6. That’s great. But it’s not ideal for our only forward. And while it’s consistent overall, we can’t be having this disappearing act week after week. Even if we know it’s going to happen, it’s an inconsistency. The two are possible at the same time, you see.

But it’s not all his fault.

While I don’t think he’s a tough player who will split apart packs and take multiple contested marks (which are valuable assets to a forward, especially the only key one a team might have) I do think he’s better than that return and I do think there are more strings to his bow. His work rate (without pulling up stats) I believe would be relatively high and his kicking is incredible.

And no, I wouldn’t trade him because he would go to a better team with better support and potentially become a superstar. If Mason Wood can do what he’s done, Larkey would be in the Coleman conversation.

Back to my original post though, it was more aimed at the club either moving players on who could’ve helped (or taken over from) Nick, or recruited accordingly to help that end. It was not necessarily just a criticism of him. He could definitely improve in areas but I think he’s doing well for the #70-something pick in a side with rubbish to non-existent delivery.

It just seemed weird that the second-fiddle to BBB who, whilst serviceable, wasn’t the next Ablett or Carey suddenly found himself doing it alone. Weird, almost negligent. Even Daw would’ve helped.

It could just be better, y’know. For him and for the team.

Ps- you went to way too much effort for Bigfooty and indeed a yobbo such as me.
 
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Felt it was a credible effort on the whole, left the ground feeling much better than last Saturday night. Felt like our pressure and work rate were much better, even if the overall tackle stats don't show it. And the press and defensive structure held up much better because of it. We were able to force the Saints into turnovers, that we unfortunately couldn't capitalise on with scoreboard pressure. Also dramatically cut back the easy goals we've given up every match since round 2.

The lack of polish and over reliance on Larkey and Zurhaar up forward hurt. But the Saints have conceded over 100 points less than any other side, so no shame in struggling to score against them. The Ross Lyon strangulation is back with vengeance and could take a middling list to the top 4, can't see them winning it though.

Jack has been brilliant this year, and why I won't write Cunners off just yet. Goldy beat Marshall and you almost take it for granted young Harry will get 30 and show his class.
McKay looked much better and Bergman should never be out of the side again.
Drury showed something and is worth an extended run. Overall looked better and more mobile playing a younger side
 
NMFC Lowest Half Time Scores (2010- )
0.7-7 v St.Kilda - Round 8, 2023 (4.10-34)
1.3-9 v Fremantle - Round 13, 2013 (4.5-29)
1.5-11 v Geelong - Round 21, 2019 (1.8-14)
1.6-12 v Gold Coast - Round 1, 2018 (5.9-39)
2.2-14 v St.Kilda - Round 1, 2020 (8.8-56) *
2.2-14 v Port Adelaide - Round 16, 2020 (6.6-42)
2.2-14 v Fremantle - Round 17, 2020 (5.5-35)
2.3-15 v St.Kilda - Round 2, 2010 (6.3-39)
2.3-15 v Western Bulldogs - Round 5, 2020 (5.8-38)
2.3-15 v Richmond - Round 7, 2020 (2.11-23)
1.9-15 v Collingwood - Round 20, 2017 (7.15-57)
2.3-15 v Adelaide - Round 23, 2021 (8.6-54)
2.3-15 v Fremantle - Round 8, 2022 (3.6-24)
2.3-15 v St.Kilda - Round 11, 2022 (7.8-50)
2.3-15 v Melbourne - Round 7, 2023 (7.7-49)

*=We won
 

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