Unofficial Preview Changes v North Melbourne

[Isaac Norm Smith]

I don't think we've known since 2011 have we, it's almost like they play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' to decide.

Yep. We've had several average rucks since Ottens, none of which have every really nailed down the position. What we wouldn't give for a Grundy, Gawn, Golstein etc. Rowan Marshall was picked up in the rookie draft as mature age, so you can certainly find them on the cheap. Just need a bit of luck I guess.

 

[Cronin]

Yep. We've had several average rucks since Ottens, none of which have every really nailed down the position. What we wouldn't give for a Grundy, Gawn, Golstein etc. Rowan Marshall was picked up in the rookie draft as mature age, so you can certainly find them on the cheap. Just need a bit of luck I guess.

Maybe the development with our rucks just hasn't been there either.

Dawson Simpson looked good until he got injured in I think 2013 but apart from that....

 

[Isaac Norm Smith]

I reckon he will get there ... but he needs to work on tackling and disposal (short kicks/handballing behind players come to mind). Both those things are not insurmountable.

Agreed. There is no doubting he can become a very good player. He just needs to take the next step and find a bit more consistency. The difference between his best and worst is quite significant imo.

 

[Max Milburn]

I reckon he will get there ... but he needs to work on tackling and disposal (short kicks/handballing behind players come to mind). Both those things are not insurmountable.

Where is this Parfitt myth coming from?
He is our best tackler.

From the club website:
While Parfitt’s football IQ is amongst the best in the team, his defensive application hasn’t gone unnoticed. His average of 5.8 tackles per game ranks him first at the club and he is second behind Tom Atkins for tackles inside forward 50.
The 21-year-old has also averaged 18 disposals per game, with more than half of those being contested.

 

[Pollywaffle]

To my eyes Henry is not slow. I rarely see him get caught with the ball.
We will have to agree to disagree.

Also a pretty good user.

 

[4quarter_cat]

Kolo, Henry and Stewart are slow? OMG, when I first read that I thought it was a joke.
Kolo and Henry are quick, Stewart is super quick, I would say that he is one of the fastest at the club.
When you say something so ridiculous it removes any semblance of credibility you may have got for
other comments.

I remember seeing an article on the AFL website a month or so ago, he was the 2nd fastest at the club from memory, and I think about 3rd fastest in the competition for top speed, again from memory.

Found the article:

Shock Tracker results: Your speed machines, endurance beasts

How does your team and players fare in the Telstra Tracker stats?

www.afl.com.au

 

[Cattery]

Because he does a defensive job every week, which is what his role in the team is and has been for years and he does it as well as any of our defenders.

It's not his fault that the rest of the team are coached so defensively that guys like Tuohy and O'Connor, who should be providing run off HB and pushing up to the wing, are just cogs in our stagnant backline.

Don't hate on Bews because of the way we play, he's just playing his part.

When he came in we were 11/2 with the number one defence, no small forwards were running amok against us, so I just question the need for him at that point.
We're 3/3 since his return (obviously not all down to him) so I'd ask how has he improved us, if at all.

Personally I reckon O'Connor has gone past him now, so to fit Bews in the MC have been rotating a defender out each week, which can't be helping the stability down there.

Don't know why you think I'm "hating" on him because I'm not, just don't believe he's best twenty two right now.

 

[Cronin]

When he came in we were 11/2 with the number one defence, no small forwards were running amok against us, so I just question the need for him at that point.
We're 3/3 since his return (obviously not all down to him) so I'd ask how has he improved us, if at all.

Personally I reckon O'Connor has gone past him now, so to fit Bews in the MC have been rotating a defender out each week, which can't be helping the stability down there.

Don't know why you think I'm "hating" on him because I'm not, just don't believe he's best twenty two right now.

Didn't mean you specifically hating on him, just in general.

Some people think that he doesn't offer enough therefore shouldn't be in the 22 and I think he does.

Everyone has their views and rightly so but at the end of the day it really only matters what the MC think and in the end if he doesn't hold his spot then so be it.

 

[cynical]

Speed off the mark doesn't really matter though if you can read the play quicker than your opponent and beat him to the ball that way.

it does if you want to apply pressure to the ball carrier

and if the opposition can actually kick to advantage as opposed to long bombs

 

[Drunkcat]

Parfitt reminds me a little of Josh Caddy. He teases you with the natural talent he clearly has, but he has really achieved very little so far. Injuries have not helped of course. He is clearly seen as best 22 and they want him in the team for finals. But he needs to do more imo.

I want to see him play really well in the last three games and hit the finals with some momentum and form. When he is at his best we're a better team for it. He is nearly at the 50-game mark and just needs to find consistency.

Parfitt has looked very good until he get's injured then when he comes back never looks the same...that has been him in his first 3yrs

 

[Cattery]

Didn't mean you specifically hating on him, just in general.

Some people think that he doesn't offer enough therefore shouldn't be in the 22 and I think he does.

Everyone has their views and rightly so but at the end of the day it really only matters what the MC think and in the end if he doesn't hold his spot then so be it.

Yep, fair enough; will be interesting to see what happens when O'Connor returns, one defender will have to go and it's probably out of Bews or Henry (despite Touhy not being at his best I don't think he's going out) and for mine Henry offers a bit more versatility.

 

[Isaac Norm Smith]

Parfitt has looked very good until he get's injured then when he comes back never looks the same...that has been him in his first 3yrs

Very true. He needs to get a bit of continuity so he can become the good player we know he can be. I hope he can build some confidence over the next 3-weeks in the lead-up to the finals.

 

[Drunkcat]

a forward is the hardest place to play why do you think all Irishmen play backline henry does not have a forwards brain...his only weapon forward is his marking

 

[winty]

it does if you want to apply pressure to the ball carrier

and if the opposition can actually kick to advantage as opposed to long bombs

The bolded is where pressure up the ground is also important, which has been sadly lacking since the bye.

 

[Cronin]

Yep, fair enough; will be interesting to see what happens when O'Connor returns, one defender will have to go and it's probably out of Bews or Henry (despite Touhy not being at his best I don't think he's going out) and for mine Henry offers a bit more versatility.

Yep that's cool, a rational response as opposed to some of the tripe I've read about him since he came back in

 

[4quarter_cat]

I remember seeing an article on the AFL website a month or so ago, he was the fastest at the club from memory, and I think about 3rd fastest in the competition for top speed. I will try to dig up the article...

Here it is.

Shock Tracker results: Your speed machines, endurance beasts

How does your team and players fare in the Telstra Tracker stats?

www.afl.com.au

 

[Bring back Moloney]

Afl had top speed rankings in a story a few weeks ago and stewart had fastest top speed that was within a tiny fraction of rohan. He has serious jets.

Was just about to say the same thing. Can only chuckle when attempted serious analysis of the team provides such absurd results.

 

[4quarter_cat]

The bolded is where pressure up the ground is also important, which has been sadly lacking since the bye.

I think you've really hit the nail on the head here Winty. I don't remember us carving teams up because of a contested mark on the wing that we turned into a rebound goal (Though this did happen) We carved teams up because even when the laser point passes failed we put so much pressure on the contest and ran forward in waves. The ball would move forward, someone (Atkins, Meirs, Rat, Dahl, Rohan, etc...) would make sure that in the very least it would come to ground even if the defender was much taller, then we'd get forward to help our team mate and burn away from the defense into (relatively) easier shots on goal which we would then convert.

Just my take on it.

 

[4quarter_cat]

Was just about to say the same thing. Can only chuckle when attempted serious analysis of the team provides such absurd results.

Especially when you look at the article above and see that there is a bee's dick between the top speeds recorded of Rohan, Stewart, and Clark and compare them with other teams, you start to realise we are absolutely blessed for speed. Danger can't be far off that list either. That is a 5th of our team that are amongst the absolute elite players in the competition for top speed and the ability to burn a player. That must weigh on the oppositions mind.

 

[Strange Cat]

Especially when you look at the article above and see that there is a bee's dick between the top speeds recorded of Rohan, Stewart, and Clark and compare them with other teams, you start to realise we are absolutely blessed for speed. Danger can't be far off that list either. That is a 5th of our team that are amongst the absolute elite players in the competition for top speed and the ability to burn a player. That must weigh on the oppositions mind.

They must be holding back since post Bye then

 

[Live in hope]

Massive game for us - against a very good, inform Goldstein and one of the best contested ball sides, in the wet. Forget the home ground ‘fortress’ - this is going to be a hard game to win.

Aside from getting the points I would really like to see much, much more contest, tackle counts, risk taking and quicker transition from defence. Even if we win, if they continue the slow, risk free game style, then a straight sets end to year beckons.

 

[Vdubs]

Stanley was battling. Wear and tear mainly. His legs being battered by bigger ruckmen etc slowed him down and those impact type injuries to shins ... last a while ... and hurt like hell when you get hit there continually.

He will be better for the rest ... and perfectly timed to come in against Martin next week at the Gabba.

rest as in playing at VFL level?

 

[Vdubs]

Menegola will do that.

We need more run and quicker ball movement.

Menegola is not as good as SS body on body. But I have trust and faith in the MC decision making. They know where our players are at.

 

[Wojcinski]

My only wish is you would fk off our page and stop pretending you don’t absolutely loath us you 2 faced rat. People haven’t forgotten how much you slagged us off last game.

I have many shortcoming's, but being two faced or snitching aren't among them, and for the record, Geelong wouldn't make the top 10 clubs that I supposedly "loathe".

I did rip in after the last match and I stand by that. I also stand by the 94 prelim, are you going to hold a grudge about that, or do you wanna have a sensible discussion about saturday nights match?

Nah he's right, just a few of your friendly comments on North's version of this thread;

This is an overrated football side that will attempt to choke the s**t out of our forwards with their bowling alley ground dimensions, and then stage the s**t out of the contests to bring crowd noise in to the match and suck in the complete & utter morons who officiate the match.

Look out for Dangerfield, Selwood and Ablett waving their arms in the air every time they engage body contact.

HOWEVER, a lack of space means that our crash & bash merchants can SERIOUSLY go to work on them. Get Jed back in.

I want their blood on my knife!

I told you they were impostors.

They know their ladder position is not representative of reality.

They are a club that has been treading water for 5 years.

Their fall will be deep and hard.

It's going to be an absolute slogfest.

I'm tipping Geelong rope the umpires in for at least 4 goals with staging and diving.

You're just a whinging flog. I've also been shown a number of times where you go onto our oppositions boards begging them to win against us. It's just weird behavior man and we don't want people like you stinking up our threads.

 

[foodles05]

You can play 3 big defenders if you dont have so many medium defenders.

We have often played 3 tall defenders.

Scarlett, Harley, egan

Scarlett, Taylor, lonergan

Lonergan; Taylor, rivers.

The reason we dont currently play 3 is we also have 3 medium slow defenders in kolo, Henry and Stewart. I'm not averse to dropping both Henry and kolo to fit in Henderson. Hendo is currently a better player then both when fit.

hahaha your baseless statements are hilarious. I used to think you were just ridiculously negative but now I am sure you are just trolling. It is impossible to believe that Stewart and Henry are slow when all evidence (including testing data) points to the contrary!!