There is really no point judging where we are at against anyone else but Geelong at the moment as they are the clear yard stick. So I thought it would be worthwhile going through player by player and line by line. Who stood up? Who didn't? Where did we win? Where did we lose? Most importantly where is the improvement going to come from?
FB: Toovey, Brown, Harry
Toovey- Typical type game got given a couple of different roles, at most times kept his direct opponent quiet. He is a role player and he did that ok on friday night.
Grade C
Brown - Played on Pods most of the game. Pods looked threatening and got a bit of the ball but not a high percentage of that was in dangerous areas. Brown probably won the one on one match up which is all you can really ask.
Grade - C
Harry - Got an important defensive job on Steve Johnson and I was rapt with that. He has seemed to have faded a bit form wise and it was good to see him get back to hid real strengths. Johnson had to work extremely hard for the ball and was never really able to find or create space and Harry offered a bit the other way.
Grade - B+
Half back: Heater, Reid, Maxwell
Heath- Typical Heath Shaw game, got a lot of the ball provided run, made a few panic type, brain fade decisions and did a lot of awesome defensive work zoning off his man to be third man up. Was one of our best on the day.
Grade- B+
Reid - Played on Mooney and put in a good performance although the match up probably went Mooney's way. Reid's 1%ers and zoning off work was top class and suprisningly got the better of Mooney in a number of one on one's. Unfortunately got lost or gave Mooney the first step on a couple of occasions and paid for it. A good and promising showing but still lots of room for improvement.
Grade - C+
Maxwell - Typically solid in his defence and was more willing and able to get foward of the ball and create then I am used to seeing. A good solid game.
Grade - B-
Defence summary- The defence really held it's own and stood up in the big match. All defenders pretty much would have felt they won or at least broke even in their individual one on one match ups.
Grade- B+
Room for improvement- Presti is still to come in, and whilst Brown has played his role he just isn't Presti. Brown did well on Pods but I can't see Geelong being as willing to kick to a Pods-Presti one on one contests as they where to a Pods - Brown one. Completely shutting out an avenue to goal like this is a win on two folds. It puts extra pressure on the other foward options and allows our defenders who are zoning off to be able to worry about one less option making it easier for them to get to more contests.
Rucks: Jolly / Wood
Jolly - A disappointing game overall, he was beaten by Blake, not comprehensively but still beaten. His top end work still shows why we got him, tap work to advantage is great but he was beaten by Blake in terms of positioning at boundary throw ins and timing at center bounces far too often.
Grade - C-
Wood - I am going to avoid the long list of fitting adjectives to describe how poor he was and get to the point. He was beaten by Hawkins in the ruck and offered absolutely nothing in an other area of the game. 6th year in the system and in his time at Collingwood has not shown any improvement.
Grade - U/G
Ruck summary- Unfortunately we just weren't good enough in this area again. Against Blake and Hawkins we really needed both Wood and Jolly to give our mids much better service. Jolly is certainly offering better then we have had in the past but he is better then he showed on Friday night. As for the Wood / Fraser battle it's a nil all draw at the moment and something else may need to be done.
Grade - D
Room for improvement - Jolly is a better player then he showed on Friday night, he was working himself into some good form and let himself down. I expect him to be / hope that he has worked his way back into some really good form later in the year. As for the second ruck situation who knows, It maybe a case of rather then persisting with two poor second rucks we try and strengthen the side by pinch hitting Dawes through the ruck and including Anthony in the fowardline.
Midfield rotations
Ball - Exactly the sort of game you'd expect from him and showed everything that he is as a player both good and bad. Great clearance work, won a stack of contested ball, good tackle work. Fantastic inside mids game. At the same time when he got it foward of the center he just doesn't have the class that a pure A grade mid does. What he does well he does fantastic but he just lacks a tad of being totally elite. That said he was our best on the night IMO and it's hard to be critical.
Grade- B+
Swan - Had Ling for periods and spent a lot of time behind the ball in the defensive half, read the play well and offered a lot of run. Seemed at times to be hindered by a knee injury but it didn't seem to impact his movement much. A good solid performance. Has better in him but certainly not a bad game.
Grade- B-
Didak - I was actually pretty disappointed with Didak. It's no secret that he is an outside player and is not going to really put his body on the line, but I think if you are going to do that playing through the midfield you really got to hurt your opposition when you get the ball. Missed a couple of attempts that Didak should, and in the context of his game needs to kick, wasn't as damaging or creative with the ball by foot as he can be. Didn't for mine have a great influence on the match.
Grade- C-
Thomas - Started the game really well and offered a lot of run, put his body on the line and was one of our players who looked capable of creating. Faded a bit. It was a solid / promising game without really getting right into that game.
Grade - C
Wellingham - Had the tag on Ablett to start off with and was pushing foward hard to try and make him accountable the other way. Started strongly and in the same form he was pre-break. Worked hard in contests but again faded out of the game. Spent less time in the midfield then he had in previous weeks.
Grade - C
Pendlebury - Spent much less time on ground and in the midfield then in previous weeks. What he did he did well but very little match impact. Was still one of the few players you thought was likely to hit a target up foward. Something is up for him to be playing such little time and in such a different role, whatever it is I hope it is fixed soon because he is to important to us for him to be down in this kind of game.
Grade- C-
Ben Johnson- Provided a lot of run and linking play and got a lot of the ball. He is fitter then he has been in a long term and covering a lot of ground to present an option. That said his decision making under pressure is still just to kick long and hope, it hadn't been noteable prior and wasn't horrible on Friday, but it is still a worry.
Grade-B
Mid summary - Our midfield come up against the best in the business and while we weren't disgraced by any means we just come up that little bit short. There where glimpes and promising signs but overall we just weren't good enough. We won more contested ball and didn't perform too badly in the clearances which is a massive plus for us against a side like Geelong. Unfortunately we just didn't have the creative winners to hurt the other way. Ball did fantastic at winning the ball in tight but none of the outside runners really had a huge impact. The numbers possesion wise of our guys that generally hurt on the outside where well down.
Grade- C+
Room for improvement - Besides Ball and Ben Johnson most in the list would feel the could have done more. Swan spent a lot of time and got a lot of his possesions behind the ball. The lack of linking drive that he usually gives us wasn't filled by Didak and Thomas the way it should have been. Pendlebury wasn't around the stoppages long enough for him to have his usually impact. There is really a huge room for improvement from that group. 4 quaters from Wellingham and Thomas and more time in the center for Swan and Pendles who are our 2 best and most important players in that group will make a huge difference.
HF: Beams Dawes Sidebottom
Beams - Did everything you can ask 4 goals 2. Looked dangerous, attacked the footy well, read the play and the situation well, looked dangerous when ever he was near it.
Grade - A
Dawes - It's been discussed but offered nothing. Didn't present, run under the flight of the ball to often didn't create a contest. On one of the rare occasions he actually did touch the ball he made a horrible decision with it. It was a real stinker. The worst part is that often when the ball went over the back of the contest the Geelong defence was able to run it out with ease and put our defence under real pressure. Needs to bounce back.
Grade - E
Sidebottom - Largely unnoticed, reads the play around stoppages really well but isn't physically able to compete in those situations yet. Works hard will be good but no real impact on the contest.
Grade - D
FF: Macaffer, Cloke, O'Bree, Davis
Macaffer - Let himself down with his goal kicking. He was solid otherwise but you can't miss those sort of shots. Something has happened to his goal kicking because once upon a time he was an extremely reliable set shot for goal.
Grade - D
Cloke - Looked really dangerous early and presented well, clearly to strong for Taylor. Unfortunately got to much of his ball on the wing and didn't have much to kick to. As the game went on was more often then not outnumbered and found it increasingly hard to have any kind of impact.
Grade - C
O'Bree - He is not a half foward flanker and was poor, hardly sighted, paniced with it, is just not a dangerous enough player to be used in a half foward role.
Grade - D
Davis - Really struggled to offer anything but I don't think any small foward would have in the role he was on Friday night. Poor performance and poor form equalled by the poor role he is been given. He is well down but I think this week it was as much the guys around hims fault as it was his own.
Grade - D
Foward sumarry - We broke down foward of the center. It's easy to say that happened because we played wide, but I think part of the reason we played wide was because they shut down our space foward along the half foward line. In previous weeks both Dawes and Cloke where owning the half foward line and our mids where able to deliver with confidence. They shut Dawes down and we struggled in that area and the ball movement suffered. Beams was the star and he did so in a typical oppertunistic small foward manner. Which is reflective of the fact that we lacked targets.
Grade - D
Room for improvement - Anthony / Medhurst, a third target was really needed. Someone to at least offer a contest and give us something to kick to with confidence. Davis in Medhursts role was never going to work. There is still a lot for the fowardline to prove. Dawes has a lot of improving to do before he is able to stand up in that kind of game. Davis needs to lift his game or he will make way when Dick is fit.
FB: Toovey, Brown, Harry
Toovey- Typical type game got given a couple of different roles, at most times kept his direct opponent quiet. He is a role player and he did that ok on friday night.
Grade C
Brown - Played on Pods most of the game. Pods looked threatening and got a bit of the ball but not a high percentage of that was in dangerous areas. Brown probably won the one on one match up which is all you can really ask.
Grade - C
Harry - Got an important defensive job on Steve Johnson and I was rapt with that. He has seemed to have faded a bit form wise and it was good to see him get back to hid real strengths. Johnson had to work extremely hard for the ball and was never really able to find or create space and Harry offered a bit the other way.
Grade - B+
Half back: Heater, Reid, Maxwell
Heath- Typical Heath Shaw game, got a lot of the ball provided run, made a few panic type, brain fade decisions and did a lot of awesome defensive work zoning off his man to be third man up. Was one of our best on the day.
Grade- B+
Reid - Played on Mooney and put in a good performance although the match up probably went Mooney's way. Reid's 1%ers and zoning off work was top class and suprisningly got the better of Mooney in a number of one on one's. Unfortunately got lost or gave Mooney the first step on a couple of occasions and paid for it. A good and promising showing but still lots of room for improvement.
Grade - C+
Maxwell - Typically solid in his defence and was more willing and able to get foward of the ball and create then I am used to seeing. A good solid game.
Grade - B-
Defence summary- The defence really held it's own and stood up in the big match. All defenders pretty much would have felt they won or at least broke even in their individual one on one match ups.
Grade- B+
Room for improvement- Presti is still to come in, and whilst Brown has played his role he just isn't Presti. Brown did well on Pods but I can't see Geelong being as willing to kick to a Pods-Presti one on one contests as they where to a Pods - Brown one. Completely shutting out an avenue to goal like this is a win on two folds. It puts extra pressure on the other foward options and allows our defenders who are zoning off to be able to worry about one less option making it easier for them to get to more contests.
Rucks: Jolly / Wood
Jolly - A disappointing game overall, he was beaten by Blake, not comprehensively but still beaten. His top end work still shows why we got him, tap work to advantage is great but he was beaten by Blake in terms of positioning at boundary throw ins and timing at center bounces far too often.
Grade - C-
Wood - I am going to avoid the long list of fitting adjectives to describe how poor he was and get to the point. He was beaten by Hawkins in the ruck and offered absolutely nothing in an other area of the game. 6th year in the system and in his time at Collingwood has not shown any improvement.
Grade - U/G
Ruck summary- Unfortunately we just weren't good enough in this area again. Against Blake and Hawkins we really needed both Wood and Jolly to give our mids much better service. Jolly is certainly offering better then we have had in the past but he is better then he showed on Friday night. As for the Wood / Fraser battle it's a nil all draw at the moment and something else may need to be done.
Grade - D
Room for improvement - Jolly is a better player then he showed on Friday night, he was working himself into some good form and let himself down. I expect him to be / hope that he has worked his way back into some really good form later in the year. As for the second ruck situation who knows, It maybe a case of rather then persisting with two poor second rucks we try and strengthen the side by pinch hitting Dawes through the ruck and including Anthony in the fowardline.
Midfield rotations
Ball - Exactly the sort of game you'd expect from him and showed everything that he is as a player both good and bad. Great clearance work, won a stack of contested ball, good tackle work. Fantastic inside mids game. At the same time when he got it foward of the center he just doesn't have the class that a pure A grade mid does. What he does well he does fantastic but he just lacks a tad of being totally elite. That said he was our best on the night IMO and it's hard to be critical.
Grade- B+
Swan - Had Ling for periods and spent a lot of time behind the ball in the defensive half, read the play well and offered a lot of run. Seemed at times to be hindered by a knee injury but it didn't seem to impact his movement much. A good solid performance. Has better in him but certainly not a bad game.
Grade- B-
Didak - I was actually pretty disappointed with Didak. It's no secret that he is an outside player and is not going to really put his body on the line, but I think if you are going to do that playing through the midfield you really got to hurt your opposition when you get the ball. Missed a couple of attempts that Didak should, and in the context of his game needs to kick, wasn't as damaging or creative with the ball by foot as he can be. Didn't for mine have a great influence on the match.
Grade- C-
Thomas - Started the game really well and offered a lot of run, put his body on the line and was one of our players who looked capable of creating. Faded a bit. It was a solid / promising game without really getting right into that game.
Grade - C
Wellingham - Had the tag on Ablett to start off with and was pushing foward hard to try and make him accountable the other way. Started strongly and in the same form he was pre-break. Worked hard in contests but again faded out of the game. Spent less time in the midfield then he had in previous weeks.
Grade - C
Pendlebury - Spent much less time on ground and in the midfield then in previous weeks. What he did he did well but very little match impact. Was still one of the few players you thought was likely to hit a target up foward. Something is up for him to be playing such little time and in such a different role, whatever it is I hope it is fixed soon because he is to important to us for him to be down in this kind of game.
Grade- C-
Ben Johnson- Provided a lot of run and linking play and got a lot of the ball. He is fitter then he has been in a long term and covering a lot of ground to present an option. That said his decision making under pressure is still just to kick long and hope, it hadn't been noteable prior and wasn't horrible on Friday, but it is still a worry.
Grade-B
Mid summary - Our midfield come up against the best in the business and while we weren't disgraced by any means we just come up that little bit short. There where glimpes and promising signs but overall we just weren't good enough. We won more contested ball and didn't perform too badly in the clearances which is a massive plus for us against a side like Geelong. Unfortunately we just didn't have the creative winners to hurt the other way. Ball did fantastic at winning the ball in tight but none of the outside runners really had a huge impact. The numbers possesion wise of our guys that generally hurt on the outside where well down.
Grade- C+
Room for improvement - Besides Ball and Ben Johnson most in the list would feel the could have done more. Swan spent a lot of time and got a lot of his possesions behind the ball. The lack of linking drive that he usually gives us wasn't filled by Didak and Thomas the way it should have been. Pendlebury wasn't around the stoppages long enough for him to have his usually impact. There is really a huge room for improvement from that group. 4 quaters from Wellingham and Thomas and more time in the center for Swan and Pendles who are our 2 best and most important players in that group will make a huge difference.
HF: Beams Dawes Sidebottom
Beams - Did everything you can ask 4 goals 2. Looked dangerous, attacked the footy well, read the play and the situation well, looked dangerous when ever he was near it.
Grade - A
Dawes - It's been discussed but offered nothing. Didn't present, run under the flight of the ball to often didn't create a contest. On one of the rare occasions he actually did touch the ball he made a horrible decision with it. It was a real stinker. The worst part is that often when the ball went over the back of the contest the Geelong defence was able to run it out with ease and put our defence under real pressure. Needs to bounce back.
Grade - E
Sidebottom - Largely unnoticed, reads the play around stoppages really well but isn't physically able to compete in those situations yet. Works hard will be good but no real impact on the contest.
Grade - D
FF: Macaffer, Cloke, O'Bree, Davis
Macaffer - Let himself down with his goal kicking. He was solid otherwise but you can't miss those sort of shots. Something has happened to his goal kicking because once upon a time he was an extremely reliable set shot for goal.
Grade - D
Cloke - Looked really dangerous early and presented well, clearly to strong for Taylor. Unfortunately got to much of his ball on the wing and didn't have much to kick to. As the game went on was more often then not outnumbered and found it increasingly hard to have any kind of impact.
Grade - C
O'Bree - He is not a half foward flanker and was poor, hardly sighted, paniced with it, is just not a dangerous enough player to be used in a half foward role.
Grade - D
Davis - Really struggled to offer anything but I don't think any small foward would have in the role he was on Friday night. Poor performance and poor form equalled by the poor role he is been given. He is well down but I think this week it was as much the guys around hims fault as it was his own.
Grade - D
Foward sumarry - We broke down foward of the center. It's easy to say that happened because we played wide, but I think part of the reason we played wide was because they shut down our space foward along the half foward line. In previous weeks both Dawes and Cloke where owning the half foward line and our mids where able to deliver with confidence. They shut Dawes down and we struggled in that area and the ball movement suffered. Beams was the star and he did so in a typical oppertunistic small foward manner. Which is reflective of the fact that we lacked targets.
Grade - D
Room for improvement - Anthony / Medhurst, a third target was really needed. Someone to at least offer a contest and give us something to kick to with confidence. Davis in Medhursts role was never going to work. There is still a lot for the fowardline to prove. Dawes has a lot of improving to do before he is able to stand up in that kind of game. Davis needs to lift his game or he will make way when Dick is fit.
