Unofficial Preview Changes and pre match discussion vs Greater Western Sydney

[Ashley B]

Sure we have to be concerned about opposition strengths. But the time has arrived for the opposition to start having concerns about us. It’s been a while since that happened .

 

[shimaburnsgrieg]

That’s fair enough and yet we brought LMac and Corr straight in to the seniors off limited or no pre-season minutes. We pick and choose who is made to earn their spot, and that’s fine, let’s just not pretend that it’s otherwise.

Don't forget the bloke who arrived at the club fat/underdone with a crook shoulder in Spargo got a game after no pre season, 2 VFL games - one of which he didn't finish due to a head knock - because his surname is Spargo.

This sort of selection crap needs to stop if we think we are going to make serious progress.

 

[Blightys Barrel]

The more I think about it, the more the GWS smalls worry me.

Green, Daniels, Gothard, Bedford.

Zurhaar trying to defend any of those is frightening. Daniel even more so.

I think it’s more the team defensive structure and getting back in transition than singling out one or two players. If there is uninterrupted supply into their forward line with Cadman/Hogan etc, then most sides will struggle.

I would like to think the Giants are a little worried about our midfielders and if they get on top and get supply into our forward line that has a few weapons.

 

[Reginald0]

Just blather really
Spargo snr played 80 ? games 40 years ago

 

[Makeshift Park]

Looking at our teams' respective head-to-head stats from this season there are a few things that jump out.

Our edge is clearly in stoppages. We're scoring 44pts from stoppage vs GWS' 31pts, aided by our +5.2 clearance differential. They generate more i50s (58 vs 51) but our forward line is more efficient, scoring 47% of the time for us vs 42% of the time for them.

Unsurprisingly, the Giants edge is their transition work. 28% of the time they successfully chain the ball from defence to the forward line vs just 21% for us. Whitfield + Ash pretty handy in that regard.

So the simplest game template seems to be this:

• Clarkson backs X and the mids to win clearances, force GWS to defend deep, and we generate enough quality entries to score.
• Kingsley backs his defenders to absorb those entries, let Aleer and Himmelberg intercept every shallow high entry that comes their way, and then Whitfield and Ash cut us open.

All this makes the decision to keep Zurhaar over Blamires quite interesting. Cam's not the runner Tom is, but he does bring physicality (when he has to) and has a better size from crashing into someone like Stringer. He also showed pretty creative kicking out of defence last week. Obvious risk is that if we don't get the stoppage game we want, and the contest becomes more of an endurance battle on the outside, we'll miss the new kid pretty quickly.

It does feel quite a calculated risk that we'd run Spargo and Dovaston, who bring class and composure ball-in-hand, over the Kont and Banch, who I'd trust more to put the clamps down on their rebounders. Feels like quite a gamble tbh. One where the coaching staff seem to be saying clean attacking ball use matters more than than defensive pressure in our forward half. We'll see how that pans out.

Where their list profile bothers me is in their ground-level mix. Bedford, Gothard and Daniels will all ensure that even if Chom plucks every ball that comes his way, when the ball does hit the deck in their forward half, we'll be quite vulnerable.

Should be a fascinating watch, in any case.

Go Roos.

 

[FlyHigh18]

the type of game where every dumb turn over going into 50 is going to be a 5second goal back the other way

 

[OG Real]

Driving to my hometown Canberra today from my current home in Sydney to watch the boys with my whole family, a win would be legendary! Feel like this our most experienced and balanced 23 in years, and maybe our best 23 out of the squad? In any case, Cooper and Curtis to tear it up with 10 between them, Go Roos!

 

[SLF]

It’s really Zurhaar over Blamires, though, isn’t it?

Its really FoS over Blamires but yes, Cam's move back has a knock on impact.

 

[Gasometer]

I’m still getting over the claim on Page 8 that Australians didn’t fully grip the horror of war without video

Having travelled through the North Island of NZ, Tasmania, SA and Vic these past three years I am yet to see a town where a WW1 memorial was not erected for those fallen.

Not one.

They are more than just memorials but quasi cemeteries because their bodies were not returned home.

Australians and New Zealanders in the 1920’s fully knew the horror of war with the empty seats at the dinner tables.

Lest we forget

 

[The Nostradamus]

It’s really Zurhaar over Blamires, though, isn’t it?

Not hard to drop spargo
Have jy play spargos role

FOS play mid

Blamires stay in his position on the wing

 

[SLF]

Charlie Spargo looks like he has been brought in off the street.

Charlie Spargo also hit up a leading forward last week with the kind of inside 50 pass only two or three of our other players are capable of.

I'm not saying he's at peak fitness and condition, but I do know they're trying to get him back there as quick as possible and that the best way to get AFL match fit is playing AFL matches.

This is what his club was saying about him in a flag year:

The 21-year-old has developed into a small forward that can make an impact on the scoreboard either from his own goal-kicking ability or through score involvements (110 total). And although his stats sheet might not seem all that impressive from the outside, he is highly valued within the club as a significant role-player who has been a major part of the Demons' success.

He had 18 disposals, five score involvements and two goals in their prelim win over Geelong that year.

He can play. Of that there is zero doubt.

 

[FootySmartSimpson]

The more I think about it, the more the GWS smalls worry me.

Green, Daniels, Gothard, Bedford.

Zurhaar trying to defend any of those is frightening. Daniel even more so.

They should worry you. They will be worrying North. We are not a strong ground ball gets team, though Daniel this year has been good at helping in the backline. We never field a team capable of consistent defensive running, and we are playing a team that runs in waves for fun. We are lucky to have FOS returning to help out a little in this regard. They have a very strong forward line and a backline full of hardened veterans.

If not for the Dogs, GWS would be the most underperforming team of the last decade: their team is filled to the brim with dynamic talent that is hard to match up on.

 

[dus]

It helps if you think of it like this:

CCJ - Dropped
Blamires - Managed

 

[Passmore]

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Charlie Spargo also hit up a leading forward last week with the kind of inside 50 pass only two or three of our other players are capable of.

I'm not saying he's at peak fitness and condition, but I do know they're trying to get him back there as quick as possible and that the best way to get AFL match fit is playing AFL matches.

This is what his club was saying about him in a flag year:



He had 18 disposals, five score involvements and two goals in their prelim win over Geelong that year.

He can play. Of that there is zero doubt.

That’s five years ago. He’s done **** all preseason.

They should worry you. They will be worrying North. We are not a strong ground ball gets team, though Daniel this year has been good at helping in the backline. We never field a team capable of consistent defensive running, and we are playing a team that runs in waves for fun. We are lucky to have FOS returning to help out a little in this regard. They have a very strong forward line and a backline full of hardened veterans.

If not for the Dogs, GWS would be the most underperforming team of the last decade: their team is filled to the brim with dynamic talent that is hard to match up on.

Which makes it all the more baffling we drop/rest/manage one of the very few we have that can do it strongly for four quarters.

 

[Passmore]

Strange team the Giant. Their reputation certainly exceeds their output.

 

[amaz199]

Strange team the Giant. Their reputation certainly exceeds their output.

They are a lot better than what they are producing currently.

Kingsley is trying to embed a culture of high performance ruthlessness you'll find at other clubs but its hard to do that with a franchise team that's less than 20 years old. Same with Dimma at GC.

Players reflect the culture and the culture reflects the players. Still heaps of work to do.

 

[Passmore]

They are a lot better than what they are producing currently.

Kingsley is trying to embed a culture of high performance ruthlessness you'll find at other clubs but its hard to do that with a franchise team that's less than 20 years old. Same with Dimma at GC.

Players reflect the culture and the culture reflects the players. Still heaps of work to do.

Possibly.

Reputation generally follows achievement. Giant have the reputation but no achievement

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Possibly.

Reputation generally follows achievement. Giant have the reputation but no achievement

They’re expected to be good based on their perceived talent level.

Hasn’t happened.

 

[Passmore]

They’re expected to be good based on their perceived talent level.

Hasn’t happened.

They're missing their best 2 players for all and a large chunk of the season, so they get a little leeway this year.

 

[amaz199]

Possibly.

Reputation generally follows achievement. Giant have the reputation but no achievement

Sure. GWS generally have the talent to get it done but a champion team will always beat a team full of champions.

Placing the microscope on us, you can definitely say our performances have been largely mediocre since our last premiership but the underlying culture of the club does play a big part in getting to the big dance and winning. We got to a prelim in 2007 with almost the exact same list that finished 14th the previous season. Give GWS that list and they won't get anywhere near a prelim spot.

Maybe we lost our way along the journey after that (probably when Brad Scott started coaching) and Clarko is instilling it back into us but that will remain a question with no answer until 7pm on Sunday.

We've gone from the depths of hell back into finally resembling a football side (which we've had to do more often than we'd like since we're more than 150 years old). GWS only had to wait 4 years thanks to the AFL's concessions. When you're propped up so heavily like that, it's damn near impossible to know what its like on the other end of the spectrum.

Bad facilities, run down gyms, patchy at best organisational structure... GWS don't know that. Nor do GC. That's why its so hard to make them successful. How can you be successful if you don't know what its like to be disadvantaged?

 

[Caracas]

Not hard to drop spargo
Have jy play spargos role

FOS play mid

Blamires stay in his position on the wing

I agree, in principle, N. However, it’s clear that they want to give Spargo an opportunity to show what he’s capable of. We know what Blamires can do. He’ll be back.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

I agree, in principle, N. However, it’s clear that they want to give Spargo an opportunity to show what he’s capable of. We know what Blamires can do. He’ll be back.

What Blamires can do is significantly more important than what Spargo currently brings.

 

[R00StaR]

I’m still getting over the claim on Page 8 that Australians didn’t fully grip the horror of war without video

Having travelled through the North Island of NZ, Tasmania, SA and Vic these past three years I am yet to see a town where a WW1 memorial was not erected for those fallen.

Not one.

They are more than just memorials but quasi cemeteries because their bodies were not returned home.

Australians and New Zealanders in the 1920’s fully knew the horror of war with the empty seats at the dinner tables.

Lest we forget

I find that hard to believe. Screenshots or it didnt happen.

 

[kool kangas]

So the outcome of our game will be, if we win we end up 4th. If we lose we end up either 5th or 6th. Everytime when our fate is in our own hands we stuff it up. Could this be the game it changes? I hope so.