Review Dees v the Purple Shockers: the Good, Bad & Fugly

[Topkent]

schmuttt I'll take my apology on Lever and Fritta underperforming. Oliver and Trac will make it on rep but IMO none of our players are playing AA footy or anywhere near career best. Even Pickett isn't consistent.

You don't win flags with no AA players. Nothings going in the right direction. Even our best most consistent player Oliver is not at his absolute best.

Rivers maybe career best form? Chandler definitely. That's it.

 

[dazzledavey36]

What triggers me is that Goodwin has said recently that we are still figuring out what our best forward mix looks like.
Mate we're halfway through the season, put the pint down already and get to work you flog.

Watching Collingwood this year reminds me of our flag year. The gameplan is clear, the players have bought in, know their role and are executing it with aplomb. It's not just the players either, the whole club is thriving- see the Winmar/Darcy Moore stuff, getting the players mums into the rooms before mothers day, all that s**t. It's sickening.

Everyone was firing two years ago and now we're fumbling in the dark trying to figure out how to football, social media team are posting 5 second highlight videos to YouTube, even the goddamn podcast sucks arse.

I'm jealous of the Dogs imploding after their flag year in a single off-season, we're slowly crawling to mid-table mediocrity.
We can't even fold properly.

Agree with all of this.

We've had 6 months of the off season (pre season) in getting the forward line mix right and yet we are still no where near knowing what exactly that looks like.

By now we should be at least settling our team just like Brisbane, Port and Collingwood have.

What I can say with certain is Tom McDonald alongside 4 smalls (who are all out of form) is recipe for disaster.

 

[Benwah83]

We could have some combination of Lyon, Schwarz, Neitz, Dunstall, Lockett, Carey, Coventry, Albert, Michael Jordan, Ronaldo, Messi, Mother Teresa, Jesus, Buddha, etc playing in our forward line and it won't make a damn difference against half-decent sides if we insist on bombing it to 15m out again and again and again and again and again and again....

It works against crap teams. It doesn't work against good teams with organised defences. It's too predictable and too easy to defend and rebound against. Stop doing it.

 

[Daemon]

We could have some combination of Lyon, Schwarz, Neitz, Dunstall, Lockett, Carey, Coventry, Albert, Michael Jordan, Ronaldo, Messi, Mother Teresa, Jesus, Buddha, etc playing in our forward line and it won't make a damn difference against half-decent sides if we insist on bombing it to 15m out again and again and again and again and again and again....

It works against crap teams. It doesn't work against good teams with organised defences. It's too predictable and too easy to defend and rebound against. Stop doing it.

No don't stop, double down and do it more!!

 

[Mr Cheese]

Hope you don't mind the intrusion guys. That was a brutal game (both sides were off the end of the pressure chart), so it's no wonder skills were down. You've played superbly for the last two weeks and been unlucky not to get results, you'll annihilate Carlton playing with that intensity too.

Still a fearsome side with some guns to return, and JVR shaping up to be that KPF weapon you've been looking for. Not many teams could've gone with us today, we're definitley not a bottom 6 side, just took some time to build chemistry. Hopefully we'll both keep it up and can see each other at the pointy end of the season. Good luck next week.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The Dr]

Hope you don't mind the intrusion guys. That was a brutal game (both sides were off the end of the pressure chart), so it's no wonder skills were down. You've played superbly for the last two weeks and been unlucky not to get results, you'll annihilate Carlton playing with that intensity too.

Still a fearsome side with some guns to return, and JVR shaping up to be that KPF weapon you've been looking for. Not many teams could've gone with us today, we're definitley not a bottom 6 side, just took some time to build chemistry. Hopefully we'll both keep it up and can see each other at the pointy end of the season. Good luck next week.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

That's a very kind post. Not sure if you're wildly positive about us, or our supporters are wildly pessimistic. Maybe the truth is somewhere in between.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[ptrg]

We could have some combination of Lyon, Schwarz, Neitz, Dunstall, Lockett, Carey, Coventry, Albert, Michael Jordan, Ronaldo, Messi, Mother Teresa, Jesus, Buddha, etc playing in our forward line and it won't make a damn difference against half-decent sides if we insist on bombing it to 15m out again and again and again and again and again and again....

It works against crap teams. It doesn't work against good teams with organised defences. It's too predictable and too easy to defend and rebound against. Stop doing it.

It's not just the bombing.
It's our on average slow transition from half back/wing to the i50 entry.
I don't mean slow as in marking, stopping and looking for targets , but slow as in unneccesary handballs and non damaging options.
Watch Collingwood today, they always try and find the fastest route to give their (imo mediocre) tall forwards a genuine 1v1 before the cavalry arrive. And yet they win games and take genuine i50 marks in good positions!

We on the other hand seem to always finally deliver the ball with at least 12 guys crammed inside 50, meaning there is zero leading lanes (except the extreme angle 45-50m shots like Fritschs in the first).

Even a high ball on the head of a genuine 1v1 I'd take, as there were plenty of times yesterday Rooyen and even Tmac and Grundy had genuinely beaten their direct opponent at the drop, only for a late forming pack to arrive and spoil the clean mark.
And that way, even if it doesn't result in a mark, there's ample room for our midget half forward line to swoop in and crumb a goal. (I genuinely wonder if we are a tall short up forward, with our half forward line yesterday alternating between Chandler, Spargo, Pickett and ANB - it's probably where a Schache should be playing)

But there's none of that happening, and instead we have guys like Gawn slowly pumping it in to top of 20 with 15 guys under it.

 

[stEdy]

Not many teams could've gone with us today, we're definitley not a bottom 6 side

You guys weren't even that good - we just shat the bed

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

My Freo supporting mate said during the game to me yesterday "this is a dogfight , great pressure game"... I said "no, its more like dogshit, horrendous skills game" ... dont get sucked into beating Melbourne as some sort of form reference you nuffies. We are average.

 

[Tulip]

Hope you don't mind the intrusion guys. That was a brutal game (both sides were off the end of the pressure chart), so it's no wonder skills were down. You've played superbly for the last two weeks and been unlucky not to get results, you'll annihilate Carlton playing with that intensity too.

Still a fearsome side with some guns to return, and JVR shaping up to be that KPF weapon you've been looking for. Not many teams could've gone with us today, we're definitley not a bottom 6 side, just took some time to build chemistry. Hopefully we'll both keep it up and can see each other at the pointy end of the season. Good luck next week.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

The pressure was high, and Freo were fairly efficient in their forward 50 at the end, but this looked like an 8-12 slop fest to me from my seat. Two talented teams who can't execute what they're trying to achieve, probably because both game plans are unachievable. You carved us up with quick entries and then spent about an hour chipping it around the backline. At one stage it was 12 backwards kicks for the game to 0.

 

[Johnny Karate]

My Freo supporting mate said during the game to me yesterday that "this is a dogfight , great pressure game"... I said "no, its more like dogshit, horrendous skills game" ... dont get sucked into beating Melbourne as some sort of form reference you nuffies. We are average.

It’s just like when it was becoming apparent that Richmond were done in 2021.
“I’ve still got the Tigers in my top 4 seeds, Gerard.”
“Me too Kingy, you’d hate to play this proud, precocious group in a final.”

We’ve been an average side for more than 12 months and everyone else (and possibly the playing group themselves) are still carrying on like it’s October 2021.

 

[jhong]

Some bad .
Gawn .... Reckon he rushed back from injury and doesn't look right . Also Max we have blokes whose job it is to get in and under to get the ball .Get out of the way.
Harmes ... I think he thinks he is better than what he is .
Sparrow ... Had a chance to impress but to me was underwhelming .
T-Mac ..... Like having a tractor in a speed race .
Salem ... Meh
Lever ....enough said .
Jordan .... Why is he being picked ?
I could go on .

 

[RandB]

Let's face it, our list is friggen average and a few players have inflated heads from 2021. Players are just going through the motions atm.

If we lose at least 1 of our best 5 players on game day we lose our shit every time.

Goodwin is a tactical leper and gets harder to listen to every week.

 

[schmuttt]

schmuttt I'll take my apology on Lever and Fritta underperforming. Oliver and Trac will make it on rep but IMO none of our players are playing AA footy or anywhere near career best. Even Pickett isn't consistent.

You don't win flags with no AA players. Nothings going in the right direction. Even our best most consistent player Oliver is not at his absolute best.

Rivers maybe career best form? Chandler definitely. That's it.

Yeah happy to cop this although I don’t think we are helping these guys out at all. Lever needs another KPD with him and Fritta/koz need a team that actually plays to their strengths. Lever looked excellent early this year when he had actual support. They’re all in average or poor form though.

 

[stEdy]

This whole Lever needs Petty next to him I can't cop.

He was playing on ****en Ryan Burton

3

Ryan Burton

Age

27

Ht

191cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.5

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.1

4star

MG

277.3

4star

D

16.8

4star

K

12.3

5star

HB

4.5

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.0

2star

MG

277.3

4star

D

13.4

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.4

4star

M

4.8

5star

T

2.2

4star

last week and Banfield/Treacy/whoever else this week. Nobodies.

He got his hands on about 8 marks that he completely fumbled. If he needs Petty beside him to hold simple marks he's in position for then we are rooted. He played his best footy without May earlier in the season.

He's just got rock bottom confidence at the moment. It's on him.

 

[Johnny Karate]

This whole Lever needs Petty next to him I can't cop.

He was playing on *en Ryan Burton last week and Banfield/Treacy/whoever else this week. Nobodies.

He got his hands on about 8 marks that he completely fumbled. If he needs Petty beside him to hold simple marks he's in position for then we are rooted. He played his best footy without May earlier in the season.

He's just got rock bottom confidence at the moment. It's on him.

He’s playing largely on shit trucks who’s job it is to **** up his run and jump at the intercept mark. We knew from about 8 rounds in, in 2018 that he was a poor one on one defender. He thrives on when we can cover and let him be assertive and take intercept marks. Petty when in form helped with this, Brayshaw for a lot of last year helped with this.

No doubt, Lever is in shit form and it is ultimately frustrating that he doesn’t have the balance that someone like May has. But, this is being exacerbated by not playing an extra tall and whatever the hell Angus Brayshaw and Christian Salem are doing in the team.

 

[Topkent]

Yeah doesn't need to be petty, just a bloke who defends first.

 

[SugarHealey]

Hard to pinpoint exactly what’s going on to be honest. There’s obvious ones like forward entries, injuries, clearances, gameplan, stubborn coaching but can’t figure out the skill errors, mental weakness and lack of #demon#demonspirit

Our defence was our base, our foundation, now with the game opening up even further, last year and this, the ball is coming back at our defenders faster and freer in direction.
So Lever's Ace card, zoning off, guarding space, is biting him badly. His opponents are getting more than enough space to work in on their own, because of the free footy coming into D50, from many angles.

Lever has to give his opponent less space than he has been or he has to go to playing tight man on man. But Lever has a poor standing jump IMO, so he has to wrestle or come over the top, but he can't without a run-up.
He, IMO, is key to our failures.

Opposition forwards are putting more pressure on our backs, when we have the ball; and oppositions mids and backs are pressing up, stopping us on our wings.
They're talls are stopping us from taking marks between the Arcs, mainly Gawn has been hurt in this area. So our ball use in transition is blunted.

But to me it begins and ends within our D50 problems.

We have to adjust to a more open faster game style coming at us. And lever has to adjust his game style, or go away.
I think we need a more physical player to take Levers role.
One who can play man on man. to stop, and to rebound.

Also on Lever, far too many ball end up at his feet; he does not clear the ball to the boundary, but causes loose ball at his ankles, and he is getting scored against. This puts pressure on the rest of our defence, causing us to scramble under pressure far too often.

This pressure is felt team wide. It transfers all the way as we move the ball up-field.

Lever is so dogmatic, that he has to be told by Maysie, and by the coaches. To Change.

If we didn't have Rivers and Bowey in good form, we would be out of the top 8.

 

[stEdy]

Hibberd has been arguably our most in form defender since he's come back into the team.

The structure and lack of pressure around the ground isn't giving Lever the best chance to perform but he's making critical errors in the air and on the ground.

It's frustrating as he's a gun but his confidence is so low at the moment. At his best I think he's more than capable of playing on and beating the forwards he's playing on.

 

[SugarHealey]

What gets me is Tracc and co have such a hard on for NBA players, maybe try and emulate their delivery to other players in scoring positions. Don’t see Le Bron just ducking launch the ball in the air on top of his teammates to get spoiled

The loopy lollipop handballs over the top, just transfers the opposition pressure to the next teammate. Because of the time it takes to reach teammate.
And if a turnover occurs, its our backs that are under the pump. These loopy handballs are usually happening across the centre-line and half-back line.

We are getting scored against, and so the pressure is on us, instead of the opposition.

 

[SugarHealey]

Hibberd has been arguably our most in form defender since he's come back into the team.

The structure and lack of pressure around the ground isn't giving Lever the best chance to perform but he's making critical errors in the air and on the ground.

It's frustrating as he's a gun but his confidence is so low at the moment. At his best I think he's more than capable of playing on and beating the forwards he's playing on.

I agree, but he has been playing almost every other game.
His desperation is phenomenal, an inspiration.
.......................

Levers method does not work with fast entry against us. And from different angles coming into D50.
When oppositions angle kick, from wing and halfback to the corridor, this makes Levers style useless.

This in turn hurts Maysie as well, and any other youngster coming into back 50.
I think we need turner in, to play the man on man role.

Lever is so limited, man on man.

 

[danster168]

Hope you don't mind the intrusion guys. That was a brutal game (both sides were off the end of the pressure chart), so it's no wonder skills were down. You've played superbly for the last two weeks and been unlucky not to get results, you'll annihilate Carlton playing with that intensity too.

Still a fearsome side with some guns to return, and JVR shaping up to be that KPF weapon you've been looking for. Not many teams could've gone with us today, we're definitley not a bottom 6 side, just took some time to build chemistry. Hopefully we'll both keep it up and can see each other at the pointy end of the season. Good luck next week.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

mate, we've played poorly most of the year. Freo are an average footy team that have hit some sort of form the last few weeks. That said Geelong lost to GWS and Melbourne are average so the form is overstated I think.

 

[SugarHealey]

That's the trouble with this club now, too selfish, never gonna win anther flag unless everyone chips in.

I agree with this.
It appears to me, we are not playing for one another, as we have done in past seasons.

This shows in other ways as well like going in to help your mates; really tackling (looking at you Oliver and Fritta), not inferred tackles, they do not count.
Oliver tends to just chase to near an opponent, or puts one hand out. Does not bring opponents to ground, when its his area to do so.

Maxy is not going at the ball and the contest as hard as he once did, in 2021/22...

I think our use of Petty forward, and back, shows us our current deficiencies.

Fritta seems to have tickets on himself, as well.

 

[Headless]

Fritta seems to have tickets on himself, as well.

Based on what?

 

[Johnny Karate]

Based on what?