BMac was an improvement
Autopsy goal loss vs *Essendon
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William Caresser
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The kids on ball were unbelievable around stoppages - so talented, agile, with repeat efforts and really clean possession chains through traffic. Just not the usual hack kicks forward from stoppage we've been used to for so long.
We just had a couple of 5-7 minute patches in the 3rd and 4th quarters when we were out on our feet. Looking across the ground, we just couldn't find the legs to spread and move it from D-50 or run to defend. Understandable with the injuries and younger players.
Goldy didn't look to be moving like his normal self from the very start. We have no fit ruckmen left and he has played sore a lot through his career. Worked his way into it after Draper killed us early.
Watching Ziebell at the ground, his legs looked so heavy in the last quarter and at other times. Looked full on lactic at times, including just before his "out of bounds, on the full" (Nintendo). Looks very slow trying to keep up with long searching leads. Still courageous in the air though and gets across to spoil marking contests.
We just had a couple of 5-7 minute patches in the 3rd and 4th quarters when we were out on our feet. Looking across the ground, we just couldn't find the legs to spread and move it from D-50 or run to defend. Understandable with the injuries and younger players.
Goldy didn't look to be moving like his normal self from the very start. We have no fit ruckmen left and he has played sore a lot through his career. Worked his way into it after Draper killed us early.
Watching Ziebell at the ground, his legs looked so heavy in the last quarter and at other times. Looked full on lactic at times, including just before his "out of bounds, on the full" (Nintendo). Looks very slow trying to keep up with long searching leads. Still courageous in the air though and gets across to spoil marking contests.
As soon as the siren went I was out the Gate
It reminded me of a close loss against the Blues on a Friday night around 2013 or so when Boomer was about to run onto the ball and it bounced sideways
Hate losing close ones to both sets of Clowns
Had 3 Essendon* mates text me afterwards saying we should have won that. Probably should have indeed however once this superb set of mids we’ve accumulated put together 20-30 games then everyone better watch out. The youngsters are carrying this team now.
Yes yes yes to that first paragraph
Have not seen that handball in traffic in the middle for years
LMac is a one trick pony. We play him as a lock down defender. Outside of that he contributes very little.
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It's disappointing to lose any day. But at least today they gave us something to get excited about, versus what they dished up during April and May.
In some respects there was a sign of improvement from the umps today, except where Larkey is concerned. Is he a mouthy kind of bloke (not that anything he says should impact the decision of any umpire as to whether or not to pay a free kick if he is infringed)?
For the life of me I can't see it as mere coincidence that in the last 3 seasons he (Larkey) has had multiple marks not paid when the ball was clearly marked by him, he gets tackled (not just nudged) by opponents in marking contests, he's often pushed and grabbed but only occasionally gets paid anything - and when he does get a free it's usually a very soft one so the commentators call out that fact.
Matthew Richardson will note that umpires pay the free 100% of times when one of the big name forwards cops a minor indiscretion in the contest. 100% my fat ar$e!!!
Good... cos he is a defender... nullified Stringer and Pappley this month
Wow.
There's much wrong with this. First and foremost is that Brad himself gutted the list in 2016 as an "aggressive reset" that had the subtle recruiting strategy of chucking wads of money at whoever might be half interested. When that failed Plan-B was just going to the draft with whatever picks we 'earned' (aka - do nothing). And when that didn't get instant results it was back to Plan-A but lowering the eyes to clog the list with Polec, Hall, Tyson and Pittard. And when that failed Brad went to the board with Plan-C - we need to rebuild. How Brad doesn't see his own culpability in our mess is staggering. And what's the point of the comparison anyway - that the young, baby Bombers held firm for a brave and unlikely victory against the old, grizzled warriors of the NMFC behemoth? Spare me.
Also - he's wrong. The average NMFC player today was born on March 6, 1998. The average * player today was born nearly two month earlier on January 10, 1998. The median NMFC player (Larkey) was born on June 6, 1998. The median * player (Redman) is 9-months older being born on August 26, 1997. Games wise - on average he's right. NMFC 96 v * 87. And on median NMFC 83 v * 72. But dig a little deeper. The 5 least experienced players on the ground played for NMFC (Sheezel, Ford, Spicer, Bergman & Wardlaw). Take out the three most experienced players from each team (Goldstein, Ziebell, Shiels vs Heppell, Shiel, Merrett) and the average is the same. North had 12 players in the 50-200 games sweet spot. * had 14.
But no matter how you spin it - North were easily the younger side out there today. Brad, not for the first time in a presser, is full of s**t.
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A lot to like. Been the tale of the last three weeks really…
Then we had a couple additional things happen which made us look even better, one of which being…
For mine there are still a couple issues which we need to address…
Very positive signs.
- Hugely positive signs from the young guys, particularly our young mids who have bursted onto the scene in Wardlaw, Phillips & Sheezel
- The improvement from the guys that were previously quite inconsistent, your CCJ’s, Scott’s, Fords
- Rattens ability to tinker things mid flight, like Shiels to Merrett, Tarryn sweeping behind the ball for periods and moving Sheezel up the ground
Then we had a couple additional things happen which made us look even better, one of which being…
- McKay and Logue looked elite together, was always going to take time but today it started to click
- Tarryn is still an absolute freak and brought the genuine X factor star power we’ve lacked
For mine there are still a couple issues which we need to address…
- Our senior players letting us down with basic skill and tackle execution, enough is enough
- Ball use out of the back half, we need to find more Bergmans
- Pressure in the forward half, small pressure forward is about as big a need as we have, would make us a lot better if sides weren’t able to just walk out of our d50
Very positive signs.
I understand that Spicer is an easy target, I myself have thought he isn’t ready for AFL level.
However, he had some very good moments in the second half.
Ratten will be absolutely wrapped with these numbers.
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So happy with our improvement this year. Love going to the footy and watching us compete and be in games to the end, even if we haven't come away with a win ... yet. Not too far off I think.
Well done Rats keeping this group going and improving with Clarko away.
Really liking how we are rotating Stevo, Ford, Thomas and Zurhaar through the centre and then forward. Looks like Curtis played some minutes in the middle today in the VFL, so he will be adding to that rotation as well. Keeps us less predictable.
Tucker great today, especially in the 2nd, but looked proppy in the last ... hoping just a bit of cramp.
JZ ... has had one of his best years this season. He had a day he'd rather forget today.
LMac, best game for the season and MacKay lifted in the last especially and took some great intercepts.
But today for me was the Wardlaw show. Such a competitor and rarely uses the ball without thinking. He got caught a couple of times, but that will happen from time to time. He has such a massive impact on the game. Just love the bloke.
Time to end the Spicer experiment now. We've seen enough. I think today was probably his best game, he put on some good pressure. But we need more than that and is not great with ball in hand. Let's try someone else now.
Well done Rats keeping this group going and improving with Clarko away.
Really liking how we are rotating Stevo, Ford, Thomas and Zurhaar through the centre and then forward. Looks like Curtis played some minutes in the middle today in the VFL, so he will be adding to that rotation as well. Keeps us less predictable.
Tucker great today, especially in the 2nd, but looked proppy in the last ... hoping just a bit of cramp.
JZ ... has had one of his best years this season. He had a day he'd rather forget today.
LMac, best game for the season and MacKay lifted in the last especially and took some great intercepts.
But today for me was the Wardlaw show. Such a competitor and rarely uses the ball without thinking. He got caught a couple of times, but that will happen from time to time. He has such a massive impact on the game. Just love the bloke.
Time to end the Spicer experiment now. We've seen enough. I think today was probably his best game, he put on some good pressure. But we need more than that and is not great with ball in hand. Let's try someone else now.
Coleman Jones continues to build. The silver lining of the Chom. Injury is that he has been given an extended run and clearly has something.
His ability to mark the bail out kick down the line is something we have been desperate for.
Make no mistake that he has contributed to our improvement the last three weeks. Big for us structurally.
His ability to mark the bail out kick down the line is something we have been desperate for.
Make no mistake that he has contributed to our improvement the last three weeks. Big for us structurally.
This is what I’ve been saying since he pretty much won us the Richmond game last year.
I get it. It can be frustrating. Like stepho seeing spicer run to the contest is so anticlimactic - but they keep playing him for a reason. And tonight I’m pretty certain his role is to follow the ball and apply pressure to the carrier if it slips out or we’re on the rebound.
No one on our list covers ground like him. No one. He does it effortlessly too.
All he has to work on in the interim is incorporate some of the TT tackling intensity when he gets near the ball carrier
I get it. It can be frustrating. Like stepho seeing spicer run to the contest is so anticlimactic - but they keep playing him for a reason. And tonight I’m pretty certain his role is to follow the ball and apply pressure to the carrier if it slips out or we’re on the rebound.
No one on our list covers ground like him. No one. He does it effortlessly too.
All he has to work on in the interim is incorporate some of the TT tackling intensity when he gets near the ball carrier
KingRichardReynolds
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Yeah maybe look at the facts before you post
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None of that contradicts him you drongo
Disco Dew
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Blightys Barrel
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At that size you need dynamic speed and crazy smarts around the goals. He has neither and a turn style could tackle more effectively.
Yes but they’ve get to endure the years of gaslighting; which will be fun, because you know what happens out that way eventually to Coaches
