GBUM - Round 10 -v- Tigers

[BeinPurplenGreen]

Note – due to the delayed telecast into the ACT/NSW, I did not see about 18 minutes of the game (mostly the second quarter) which was cut from the broadcast by our fabulous free to air station. As a result, the following may leave out some key moments, feel free to add them in if you like.

Good (in no particular order)
1. Tarrant – excellent start down back, and really, really stood up to the pressure when Harvs moved him up forward. Decent kicking for goal, really nice long leads up the ground, and some very telling kicks deep into the 50m. I am amazed at how much better he is playing – which I thought was shown by how much our defenders missed his leadership when he went forward…
2. Solo-man – fantastic 200th game, and sad we couldn’t win it for him. Best game I’ve seen him play for Freo. One small question would be whether he played much down back in the 18 minutes I missed – personally, I thought with Roger out we could have used him down back, but Harvs seemed to have him up forward mostly.
3. Sandi – dominated the ruck, worked forward well and really lifted in the last quarter. Needs to work on the tap downs in the defensive 50 though – still too many direct to opposition mids who rove the pack and kick a goal.
4. Pav - excellent midfield game, really gave us drive and punch. Didn’t have quite the same impact when sent forward - but we don’t have much choice with Elvis off injured.
5. Suban – outstanding game – especially his direction of the other players and geeing up when things were going wrong in the third quarter. Really stood up, and shows outstanding leadership qualities. Gee I hope we can lock this kid in long term…
6. Duffield – another excellent ball gathering game, though a couple of the kicks into our 50 were poor, and he needs to work on his tackling a bit.
7. Ibbo – still not a huge fan of his kicking, but he was really dogged and at them all night, and his speed is such an asset. Seems to be going into the midfield role each week, and I thought was one of the ones that really stepped up in the fourth quarter.
8 Hill (up until his injury) – a huge, driven defensive effort – really put it on the line as shown by the incident that led to his injury.
9. Hase – really impressed with how he gutsed it out in the last when he was injured or suffering cramp. Hope he isn’t out for next week – I don’t think the midfield can stand up without him…
10. DeBoer – missed a key shot for goal, but really impressed me with his disposal and tagging – a great defensive effort considering how young he is. If he keeps going like this he could be one of the real bright spots…
11. MJ – did well to come back from the injury, was great up forward in the second half, but poor in the ruck. Even if MJ is fit next week, I think we need Zacharioushumungouslytall Clarke in the team.
12. Game day coaching – for the most part, much better from Harvs, especially when the chips were down and we were restricted by injury in the last quarter. The decision to use Elvis in the ruck was puzzling though, and he didn’t get Sandi back in there quick enough when it didn’t work. How he reacts to the injury changes at the selection table will be really career defining I think…
13. Des Headland – great first quarter. We really needed him. Hope he can make it back for a few more games.
14. Thornton up front – loved his attack through the lines, long kicks and ability to block the ball in the forward line. Really becoming a fan of him in the forward line, given our current options. But see the part under ugly…
15. Broughton – Great defensive game, seemed to get hurt but played on well I thought and had good disposal accuracy IMHO. If he can stay on the park, he’ll possibly be part of a very nuggetty defence over the next two or three years, along with Suban, DeBoer and maybe Pearce. Exciting…

Bad (note: this does not mean 'awful'/'drop 'em'/ bag em - just means that they have room for substantial improvement)
1. Dodd – some great defensive play, but generated too many turnovers. Hurt by the lack of a shepherd from Head on two occasions, but should still have been able to fight through the tackle. No-one to replace him at the moment, but two or three more games like that and he might be done.
2. Grover – was matched up badly, especially after Tarrant went forward, but still needed to do a better job of sticking with his man. Also the first week this year I’ve seen him drop his bundle a bit – distracted by the umpiring a bit too much for my liking. Needs to play as we have no replacement, but must improve next week, even if only in his leadership of the kids down back. Find your happy place Groves, and stay calm man…
3. Peake – in the second half, really ran through the lines well. Needs to do this more often, but was good when we needed someone to step up in the last.
4. Foster – I know it was his first game in a long while, and he did get better as the game went on, but I’d still like to have seen a bit more accountability from him. The next few weeks are a fantastic chance for him to cement a spot, given our injuries.

Uuuuuuuuuugly (note: this does mean 'awful'/'drop 'em'/ bag em)
1. Ben “fu*kwit drug addicted (past or present tense??) egotistical testicularlly challenged moronic drongo)” Cousins. Ben, your Mum must be so proud. And your kids will see that photo of your finger too…
2. Thornton down back – Scotty was outstanding up on the forward line – but when he was put down back in the third quarter (on a half back flank??) we were cut to shreds. Harvs was restricted by injuries, but that is still no excuse for sending Scotty back. Maybe we should get an electric collar made up for him that zaps him any time he runs backwards of the centre??
3. Scham’s last quarter. Yep, he was great for a lot of the game, but if he is really going to be a leader he has to either take himself off if he is genuinely hurt, or make a better effort at not turning the ball over if he is fit enough to play. Harsh perhaps, but it is the difference between being a core leader and just a decent mid range player. Having a great season, but fell back a step in this game.
4. Elvis in the ruck. Just no.

Missing
1. Head – nowhere to be seen until the last quarter. Did a couple of nice things with his long kicks in the last twenty minutes, but generally didn’t seem to be out there.
2. Shots for goal – with the exception of Tarrant, who seemed really switched on and focused when he went up forward. Fourth straight week of appalling accuracy from set shots. Surely there must be some way of practicing or training to improve this??
3. A decent broadcast deal – is it too much to ask to see a whole game of footy – I mean, what do they use the extra 18 minutes of airtime for?? Danoz selling ab machines and steak knives?? Repeats of COPS?? Community announcements for sheep trimming festivals?? They didn’t even have any decent ads for “phone services”…

 

[yakamoto]

I was going to say that there was nothing good about last night's game but on reflection there were some goods. First and foremost was the heroic effort of the players left standing to almost snatch an improbable victory. Secondly the initial setup of the team with Pav and MJ on the wing together, Sandi taking centre bounces and then bolting forward at every opportunity had Richmond nonplussed. However early injuries put an end to any advantage our pregame planning gave us.
MJ was injured about half way through the 1st Q and didn't do any ruckwork at all thereafter. McPharlin being the next tallest was then delegated to give Sandi a bit of relief.

 

[hedgehog]

3. Peake – in the second half, really ran through the lines well. Needs to do this more often, but was good when we needed someone to step up in the last.

Peake had an interesting game, he was half ugly and half good.

In the first half his disposal/desicion making was shocking, i.e takes a mark in the centre square, everyone except Dodd and his opponent (who he was standing next to) in front of him, and instead of kicking long to the Sandilands pack, kicks backwards to Dodd, opponent intercepts, goal.

Then in the second half it was a completely different player. Ran the lines as you said and capped it off with a great goal on a tough angle from a set shot.

 

[BeinPurplenGreen]

I was going to say that there was nothing good about last night's game but on reflection there were some goods. First and foremost was the heroic effort of the players left standing to almost snatch an improbable victory. Secondly the initial setup of the team with Pav and MJ on the wing together, Sandi taking centre bounces and then bolting forward at every opportunity had Richmond nonplussed. However early injuries put an end to any advantage our pregame planning gave us.
MJ was injured about half way through the 1st Q and didn't do any ruckwork at all thereafter. McPharlin being the next tallest was then delegated to give Sandi a bit of relief.

Glad to see you could find a few good bits - I found it hard to be positive too. I should've clarified - my comments about MJ's ruckwork were about when he was doing it before he was hurt. Also, while I understand the need to give Sandi a spell every now and then, that isn't what Harvs did - he used Elvis in the ruck full time (except for centre square bounces) for nearly a full quarter, and planted Sandi down in the forward line. We just can't have that.

Peake had an interesting game, he was half ugly and half good.

In the first half his disposal/desicion making was shocking, i.e takes a mark in the centre square, everyone except Dodd and his opponent (who he was standing next to) in front of him, and instead of kicking long to the Sandilands pack, kicks backwards to Dodd, opponent intercepts, goal.

Then in the second half it was a completely different player. Ran the lines as you said and capped it off with a great goal on a tough angle from a set shot.

So I need a new term - goougly?? or uggo??

He is one of the most frustratingly uneven players on our list, along with Dodd and Mundy IMHO... All can be amazing, but all also have massive under achievement to their names too.

 

[silverscope]

So I need a new term - goougly?? or uggo??

He is one of the most frustratingly uneven players on our list, along with Dodd and Mundy IMHO... All can be amazing, but all also have massive under achievement to their names too.

But his form this year has been a bit more consistent, rather than having him play REALLY BAD and Average (over 2007/08, and yes i know his injuries didn't help either) He is playing (IMO) Average and Good games. Always there abouts this year. Hasn't really had a shocker but has had alot of average games and one or two above average.

But my point is he has been a bit more consistent this year.

Talking about Peake btw.

 

[PapaJ]

12. Game day coaching – for the most part, much better from Harvs, especially when the chips were down and we were restricted by injury in the last quarter. The decision to use Elvis in the ruck was puzzling though, and he didn’t get Sandi back in there quick enough when it didn’t work. How he reacts to the injury changes at the selection table will be really career defining I think…

The only reason he tried this was because Johno went down and he wanted to stick to his game plan of making Sandi a target up fwd. It was worth a shot and didn't hurt us as a team that much initially, but agree that should have given up on it earlier.

As for the decision making at the selection table ... is he going to have a choice? Worst case scenario and he's only going to have only going to have a couple of dozen to pick from.

Nice summary BTW.

 

[Selggad]

Good

A couple of screamers from Dessie and Mundy. Always nice to see.
Mundy's efforts generally were much better
Dessie's first quarter. Having a focal point up forward makes a difference.
The come back was excellent.

Bad
Injuries

Ugly
Stupid chip around go nowhere football starting in the second quarter and going until almost the end of the third. WTF were they thinking!! We have proven consistently we are not good at that style. We lose momentum and stop running and get slaughtered.