Toast Esava

[cats_09]

He kicked 2 goals from 3 set shots. All his field kicking hit their targets. yeah it was terrible.

Not all his field kicking hit their targets - he went at 80% DE & had 3 changers; one would be the OOF shot at the end, so there's 2 other kicks that didn't hit their mark

He had a good last quarter, but no need to embellish the rest of his match.

All players made errors the other night, Ratugolea included

 

[catempire]

There’s a game I remember that happened about 9 years ago. A 23 year old key forward took seven contested marks and the opposition had no answer. The same key forward couldn’t hit the side of a wheat silo when kicking a footy. It mattered not.



Ratugolea will play this finals series

 

[Turbocat]

There’s a game I remember that happened about 9 years ago. A 23 year old key forward took seven contested marks and the opposition had no answer. The same key forward couldn’t hit the side of a wheat silo when kicking a footy. It mattered not.



Ratugolea will play this finals series

Why I didn't think of that game I have no idea... if he had been able to nail a couple like he would now ..it was him for the 'Norm'

 

[cats_09]

And all the other games where he continually butchers set shots?

Or do you just ignore them, as if it doesn’t continually happen?

That's the question - are we going to see repeats of his 4th quarter against Richmond

Or will it be like his previous outing as the 2nd tall forward when he played against Adelaide and was virtually invisible after quarter time until popping up with an inside 50 mark in the last.

Need to reduce the gap between the good with what we saw in the last quarter on Friday night and what we saw his previous couple of matches, where you could almost forget he was playing or you closed your eye when he had the ball in hand

 

[Seeds]

And all the other games where he continually butchers set shots?

Or do you just ignore them, as if it doesn’t continually happen?

bring it up after those games. I dont say atkins should be dropped for his poor defensive pressure in a game he has just had a heap of tackles.

 

[Seeds]

There’s a game I remember that happened about 9 years ago. A 23 year old key forward took seven contested marks and the opposition had no answer. The same key forward couldn’t hit the side of a wheat silo when kicking a footy. It mattered not.



Ratugolea will play this finals series

His 3 goals came from 2 soccers in the goal square and one set shot from 11 metres out. And yet I still think he has a case for best man on the ground.

 

[ShaunWDT]

Theres still too big of a gap between his best and worst, on a poor day he drops every 2nd mark and hardly has a touch.

 

[STPer18]

Can't see playing Hendo+Taylor being the difference between turning a probable loss into a win, but Sav has the potential to have a quarter like the last one against the Tigers and turn the tide. If we were head and shoulders the best team in it there'd be a lot of sense to play it safer and leave him out, but we aren't, and we are going to need a lot of luck to win it all. The Battered Saveloy could be the difference.

 

[PzBlinky]

He already has.

12 possessions, 5 marks, 3.0 against WCE in last year's semi final.

Ha, good call! I must have subconsciously expunged the memories of last year's finals (not sure why...)

I guess it comes down to consistency. We know he can do it against the Tigers, and he tore the Weags a new one in the SF last year, but the gap between the awesome highs and the expletive-inducing lows is immense... and you never know what you're going to get from him.

Do Scott and co. roll the dice again this year? After the Tiges game, I'd say yes.

(Though I'll probably be cursing him when he has the inevitable down patch / game).

 

[fpm84]

Ha, good call! I must have subconsciously expunged the memories of last year's finals (not sure why...)

I guess it comes down to consistency. We know he can do it against the Tigers, and he tore the Weags a new one in the SF last year, but the gap between the awesome highs and the expletive-inducing lows is immense... and you never know what you're going to get from him.

Do Scott and co. roll the dice again this year? After the Tiges game, I'd say yes.

(Though I'll probably be cursing him when he has the inevitable down patch / game).

I think the upside outweights the potential downside.

Another important factor is that Sav can pinch hit in the ruck quite effectively, which means we have the flexibility of keeping Blicavs down back.

As good as Blicavs has been in recent weeks playing anywhere and everywhere, he's still our best stopper down back.

There's every chance we come up against Kennedy/Darling or Lynch/Riewoldt in the finals, even Brisbane can stretch backlines with Hipwood/McStay/McInerney on top of their dangerous smalls.

I'm not sure whether we can trust Harry and Hendo to get the job done for four quarters on quality opponents if we have Blicavs running around on the wing or in the ruck.

 

[Seeds]

Not all his field kicking hit their targets - he went at 80% DE & had 3 changers; one would be the OOF shot at the end, so there's 2 other kicks that didn't hit their mark

He had a good last quarter, but no need to embellish the rest of his match.

All players made errors the other night, Ratugolea included

He had two possessions where he was being tackled as he disposed of the ball. Im not counting those as they were just get rid of the ball situations without looking.

 

[The rabbi]

If he gets his kicking right he will be much more valuable.

The same could be said for the far more experienced Dangerfield, who grew up with the game.

 

[David the Cat]

He kicked 2 goals from 3 set shots ffs.


have we all been influenced by russian sublimal messaging on our social media? What the hell is going on with all these posts?

Yea...those Russians are everywhere. ...Did you know that dazbroncos was seen eating borscht at a Russian restaurant in LA recently...

Just glad we have you here Seeds to keep us all on the straight and narrow...I'm sure that soon, everyone will agree with everything you say about Sav..

 

[BigCat1]

It will say a lot about mindset of Scott and coaches whether they play Esava. He is a player they have no control over what he is going to do. He is a wildcard.

Scott is a control freak, he views games as chessboard that can be controlled

But finals are not like that. They are often chaos.

I said it last year and it didn’t happen (Hawk suspension hurt) but Esava is the guy who could Mason Cox the Tigers in a final. It has been done before by an inferior player, they have a weakness, you just have to bold enough to take the risk.

Except he can’t kick. You can’t be a wildcard when you cannot get the ball through the sticks. Esava is so nervous now he barely hits his foot. Mason Cox is actually pretty reliable.

Strange but I feel we can win it without Esava in the setup but not with him this year

 

[David the Cat]

Except he can’t kick. You can’t be a wildcard when you cannot get the ball through the sticks. Esava is so nervous now he barely hits his foot. Mason Cox is actually pretty reliable.

Strange but I feel we can win it without Esava in the setup but not with him this year

Interesting post....from 35 metres out, Cox is deadly. I wish I could say the same about Sav...

5 points down in a final, and Sav marks 35 out directly in front...one minute to play...How do you feel?

 

[cats_09]

Interesting post....from 35 metres out, Cox is deadly. I wish I could say the same about Sav...

5 points down in a final, and Sav marks 35 out directly in front...one minute to play...How do you feel?

Hope that he's been spending extra time after training practicing his goal kicking...

 

[Landgraft]

Interesting post....from 35 metres out, Cox is deadly. I wish I could say the same about Sav...

5 points down in a final, and Sav marks 35 out directly in front...one minute to play...How do you feel?

Ecstatic that he's given himself that opportunity, and that our club has gotten itself into such a position.

Nervous about the kick, but eager to ride that one to whichever end may come.

 

[4quarter_cat]

Interesting post....from 35 metres out, Cox is deadly. I wish I could say the same about Sav...

5 points down in a final, and Sav marks 35 out directly in front...one minute to play...How do you feel?

I've accepted the loss, but prepared to let it play out and be proven wrong.

 

[Max Milburn]

Interesting post....from 35 metres out, Cox is deadly. I wish I could say the same about Sav...

5 points down in a final, and Sav marks 35 out directly in front...one minute to play...How do you feel?

...quick handball to Gaz running past.

YYYAAAAAAAAAABLETTTT!

 

[cats_09]

...quick handball to Gaz running past.

YYYAAAAAAAAAABLETTTT!

I was going to suggest that Ablett should have a quiet word in his ear suggesting he goes down with cramp and then Ablett takes the kick instead

Probably could make that same suggestion for a few players though where we cross our fingers, close our eyes and wait to see what happens

 

[The rabbi]

Interesting post....from 35 metres out, Cox is deadly. I wish I could say the same about Sav...

5 points down in a final, and Sav marks 35 out directly in front...one minute to play...How do you feel?

I would feel much the same about Sav having a shot as described above, as I would with Dangerfield under the same conditions.

 

[David the Cat]

I would feel much the same about Sav having a shot as described above, as I would with Dangerfield under the same conditions.

No argument there...Danger is more of a chance 60 metres out....

 

[FredLeDeux]

I would feel much the same about Sav having a shot as described above, as I would with Dangerfield under the same conditions.

I'd have J Bartel on the bench, just in case

 

[David the Cat]

I'd have J Bartel on the bench, just in case

Good choice...but its Chappy for me...

 

[ATSAM]

Except he can’t kick. You can’t be a wildcard when you cannot get the ball through the sticks. Esava is so nervous now he barely hits his foot. Mason Cox is actually pretty reliable.

Strange but I feel we can win it without Esava in the setup but not with him this year

Dangerfield can't kick either. Yet he is important to the structure of the team, just as Esava is. Someone has to go with him. And like Dangerfield he migh just snag a goal or even kick to a team mate, you just never know.