Defence (especially our set up for a kick in)

[CoggaRules]

I dont know if it was more apparent because the eagles are in that club that we know about all to well, but its the first time I have seen this team force so many long kick ins in hope and the dude kicking in having to wait and wait and rush the kick out at the last moment. I think the days of TW's mechanisms whereby the ball would get to the centre and beyond with little or no resistance have been wiped from the slate. The set up was perfect today..just lock it in now.

 

[TigerTime88]

Yeah but I thought it was the same when we kicked out...still need to sort that out.

 

[santa claws]

hmm while everyone is all happy just thought i would temper it down a bit. luke mcguane just not good enough sheesh hes poor. goes okay in the air but every other part of his game is so so.

most will praise king up as well but bloody hell he lacks polish just butchers it to often.

matt white is the same yep we had a good win and all three played their part but geez if we are to ever challenge for top 4 we have to weed out these types.

 

[Madtiger2006]

hmm while everyone is all happy just thought i would temper it down a bit. luke mcguane just not good enough sheesh hes poor. goes okay in the air but every other part of his game is so so.

most will praise king up as well but bloody hell he lacks polish just butchers it to often.

matt white is the same yep we had a good win and all three played their part but geez if we are to ever challenge for top 4 we have to weed out these types.

Mcguane was our best player in the defensive half of the ground. When he kicks long instead of trying to play around with it he cuts out most of his errors. Kennedy kicked 2 goals but through no fault of Mcguane. Still only 23 he'll become bigger and better and a 10 year defender

 

[CoggaRules]

hmm while everyone is all happy just thought i would temper it down a bit. luke mcguane just not good enough sheesh hes poor. goes okay in the air but every other part of his game is so so.

most will praise king up as well but bloody hell he lacks polish just butchers it to often.

matt white is the same yep we had a good win and all three played their part but geez if we are to ever challenge for top 4 we have to weed out these types.

At the end of the day this is what you need to understand about your opinion. I wont have a go at it, bit of a realist as well, but, think of it this way then:
Lets say you are spot on with your appraisals. The 3 you mention are poor and just not good enough yeah? Now think about the team that these 3 poor players are a part of, think about where that team is on the ladder atm, think about where that team was in terms of % in that position on the ladder 3 or so weeks ago, then think about the margin against a similarly placed evolving team, then think about how those 3 poor players are part of the team that produced that margin, then think about the team with 3 not poor players in their place. You would be stupid to think that the brains trust dont understand the situation and are in the process of finding the answers in minimising those weak links.
You improve by lessening your weaknesses as well dude. The smaller the number the higher up the ladder you go. All teams have their guns its the second tier and third tier is where it all happens.

 

[santa claws]

Mcguane was our best player in the defensive half of the ground. When he kicks long instead of trying to play around with it he cuts out most of his errors. Kennedy kicked 2 goals but through no fault of Mcguane. Still only 23 he'll become bigger and better and a 10 year defender

kennedy actually won his position on the day. lucky for mcguane no one else is stepping up to claim his spot. moore may miss this week also so its unlikely mcguane will get dropped but sheesh hes a horrible player.

 

[Madtiger2006]

kennedy actually won his position on the day. lucky for mcguane no one else is stepping up to claim his spot. moore may miss this week also so its unlikely mcguane will get dropped but sheesh hes a horrible player.

lol. Mcguane belted him. 1 of Kennedys goals was a result from a free up the field. You ever notice Mcguane is a lovely kick of the ball?
Your mate Moore was outclassed by LeCras

 

[Spielvogel]

Mcgaune beat Kennedy on the day, also took some nice marks.

 

[Rayzorwire]

Mcguane was our best player in the defensive half of the ground.

You really say some bizarre things at times MT.

McGuane was solid enough defensively in the very few 1-on-1 contests he had with Kennedy, he rebounded a little better than his usual efforts (as he should when we dominate that much), but he did play in the same half of the ground as Deledio and Edwards who were head and shoulders above him, plus Farmer and Newman who were at least as good.

Also thought our forward zoning was improved today Cogga, I took it as being more down to the personnel changes than anything else - Collins and Nason especially applied excellent full game pressure compared to others we've used there.

 

[CoggaRules]

Also thought our forward zoning was improved today Cogga, I took it as being more down to the personnel changes than anything else - Collins and Nason especially applied excellent full game pressure compared to others we've used there.

Both are smart players and have a good sense of anticipation and backing it in, which produces the results. You know that old adage of a player being in the right spot at the right time, both these kids have that ability.
Collins in particular is a very smart and for that matter polished player. I take my hat off to Ben as well, his first couple of touches would have had to be downers to him, seeing as he fluffed them, but the kid just doesnt lay down, he uses his pace and nippiness to create half chances and if they cant be half chances then they might be 1/4 chances. In the end he creates chances for himself.

 

[Azzleberry]

lol. Mcguane belted him. 1 of Kennedys goals was a result from a free up the field. You ever notice Mcguane is a lovely kick of the ball?
Your mate Moore was outclassed by LeCras

Really? I saw Moore get outclassed 1-2 times but that was it.. Thought Moore was pretty good today! Need to remember that LeCras is in the top 2-3 small forwards in the game...

 

[Madtiger2006]

Really? I saw Moore get outclassed 1-2 times but that was it.. Thought Moore was pretty good today! Need to remember that LeCras is in the top 2-3 small forwards in the game...

I'm just glad Astbury is playing down back. At least we have some height with him at 195cm and Mcguane at 192cm. At least Moore is not being used as a tall now. When did Moore go off? 3rd quarter wasn't it?

 

[win1soon]

Your mate Moore was outclassed by LeCras [/quote]


Moore is the best defender we have.

 

[theyellowsash]

You really say some bizarre things at times MT.

McGuane was solid enough defensively in the very few 1-on-1 contests he had with Kennedy, he rebounded a little better than his usual efforts (as he should when we dominate that much), but he did play in the same half of the ground as Deledio and Edwards who were head and shoulders above him, plus Farmer and Newman who were at least as good.

Also thought our forward zoning was improved today Cogga, I took it as being more down to the personnel changes than anything else - Collins and Nason especially applied excellent full game pressure compared to others we've used there.

so what? mcguane is a stopper. its his job stop the forward. and to get the ball to these guys who run it out, thats their different roles. not every player can be matthew scarlett. even brian lake is not all that good at getting rid of the ball, but he is a great stopper and he gets the ball to the dogs runners to get it out of the 50.

 

[Madtiger2006]

so what? mcguane is a stopper. its his job stop the forward. and to get the ball to these guys who run it out, thats their different roles. not every player can be matthew scarlett. even brian lake is not all that good at getting rid of the ball, but he is a great stopper and he gets the ball to the dogs runners to get it out of the 50.

I don't remember Lake or Scarlett being guns when they were 23 either. Mcguane is unfairly criticised. So what if he made a couple of mistakes in about 4 games this year. I'd like to see Moore playing in his position. We'd be stuffed

 

[Madtiger2006]

Moore is the best defender we have.

Mcguane, Deledio, Newman, Connors and Thursfield are ahead of him

 

[docko911]

Our kick in set-up needs work our players need to work harder. It was a bit better against WC but then they don't have defensive structure of a top team. As for our defence they aren't as bad as we think they just often have to deal with fast breaks from turnovers in the forward 50. As the rest of our team gets better especially our forward line our defence will all of a sudden seem better because they will actually have the opportunity to correctly man up their opposition.

 

[mcuzzy]

in our kick-ins after a behind nobody was running or even moving at all (something you learn in teen years)

only man moving or yelling for the ball was Cousins

 

[theyellowsash]

i know how we can get it out....put it 50 out on the boundary, and have jack there

 

[Rayzorwire]

Both are smart players and have a good sense of anticipation and backing it in, which produces the results. You know that old adage of a player being in the right spot at the right time, both these kids have that ability.
Collins in particular is a very smart and for that matter polished player. I take my hat off to Ben as well, his first couple of touches would have had to be downers to him, seeing as he fluffed them, but the kid just doesnt lay down, he uses his pace and nippiness to create half chances and if they cant be half chances then they might be 1/4 chances. In the end he creates chances for himself.

It was very pleasing to me that we can be using genuine future onballers on flanks and in pockets successfully, rather than having to rely on forward or back 'specialists' - many of them failed midfielders whose flaws are just as apparent and damning in their 'specialist' role.

so what? mcguane is a stopper. its his job stop the forward.

And when he hasn't had to stop that forward on more than a couple of occasions he doesn't deserve votes ahead of blokes who did that to their opponent AND were integral parts of our much improved rebound.

...even brian lake is not all that good at getting rid of the ball, but he is a great stopper and he gets the ball to the dogs runners to get it out of the 50.

Lake's a long way ahead of McGuane for disposal (especially kicking) and he's a poor example because he seldom gets pure stopping roles - they invariably go to Morris and Lake is freed up more to go for his marks and get loose to help their rebound.

The only vague similarity between McGuane and Lake is that they're both failed junior key forwards who got moved to the backline.

The Dogs' backline is significantly better than ours partly because Morris, Lake and Williams are all much better rebounders than any tall we've currently played there. With a bit of luck someone out of Gourdis, Post, Astbury etc. can do something about that. We can only afford to carry one at most of McGuane/Thursfield/Moore into the future, quite probably none.

McGuane has improved a bit in his body on body defending this year, I thought his game on Franklin was perhaps his best for that side of his game, but he still has massive question marks over his fitness, physique, consistency and ball skills - he's had plenty of time to improve all four and really hasn't got far enough in six seasons to consider him some sort of certainty to be there much further down the track. And unlike others, he hasn't been hampered anywhere near as much by injury.

McGuane and Thursfield have been lazy on the training track for years, it's really hurt their chances of being part of our side long term.

 

[blaisee]

hmm while everyone is all happy just thought i would temper it down a bit. luke mcguane just not good enough sheesh hes poor. goes okay in the air but every other part of his game is so so.

most will praise king up as well but bloody hell he lacks polish just butchers it to often.

matt white is the same yep we had a good win and all three played their part but geez if we are to ever challenge for top 4 we have to weed out these types.

santa I rate your footy knowledge you are brutally honest and that is unpopular, but 80% of the time you are spot on.

Shane Edwards, I eckon he has turned the corner and will at least as you say be a good core player, I know you have been critical in he past, have you reconsidered your opinion of him?