What a great night at the footy, my observations summarised from the game
Guys looked super fit when they came out
We were first to the contest almost as a mantra almost all the time and accelerated at the footy versus previous years where we seemed to hesitate and take a back seat to the oppo
Our backs are aggressively going at the ball rather than locking down the oppo and trying to tie it up
We are finally crumbing around the contest and reading the packs where in the past we always seem to be left flat footed when the ball hits the deck
Most of the time we had quick hands in tight and cleared the handballs rather than a chain that ended up putting a player with the ball into an oppo tackle and turning it over
The boys have a lot more instinct and talk about where the "free players" are hence we got on the outside much better than in the past
Kicking was much better
Greenwood is soooo good and tough, he really imposes himself in tight and throws a lot of hard tackles and bumps, new type of players for us
Rowell just cannot stay away from finding the footy
Graham was pretty good down back a big step up from the Leslie's, etc from the past, Josh Drummond is a VERY good backline coach
Darcy Mac was just electric and has a level of confidence now in his on ground presence
Peter Wright hasn't taken the next step and still has the same shortcomings
Brodie was really good, just needs a bit more urgency when he marks the ball, tends to wait too long when the others have a real urgency to play on, his kicking was a lot better
Touk was great
Ellis is a good addition not incredible but solid, his kick to D Mac at the top of the 50 from the flank was very good though
Budarick was a real surprise
Andersons centering kick from the boundary to King was unreal
I thought Collins was tremendous, his reading and intercepting was sensational, he looks up another level from last year and super fit
Lemmens best match ever seems to have got some poise at last rather than just throwing himself around the ground looked a lot more composed and did some very good things with the footy
Jeremy Sharp will should be a superstar what a unit he is, we were smart to trade up to get him
The game style seems significantly different to last years clog up the stoppages and try to lock up the ball, the guys just got tired and we would lose it out of the stoppages and then the oppo would kill us outside
This game style looks very natural for our guys, we made Geelong look very slow
I know we will get in games with tougher more intense teams and it will break down BUT I think we have a much better base now to build on and a level of confidence we haven't had before
The boys focus and intensity was more evident when they were going off the bench and returning
I cant see with the expanded list and so much improvement made in the off season to the game style, skills and teamwork how we won't have a far better season
Guys looked super fit when they came out
We were first to the contest almost as a mantra almost all the time and accelerated at the footy versus previous years where we seemed to hesitate and take a back seat to the oppo
Our backs are aggressively going at the ball rather than locking down the oppo and trying to tie it up
We are finally crumbing around the contest and reading the packs where in the past we always seem to be left flat footed when the ball hits the deck
Most of the time we had quick hands in tight and cleared the handballs rather than a chain that ended up putting a player with the ball into an oppo tackle and turning it over
The boys have a lot more instinct and talk about where the "free players" are hence we got on the outside much better than in the past
Kicking was much better
Greenwood is soooo good and tough, he really imposes himself in tight and throws a lot of hard tackles and bumps, new type of players for us
Rowell just cannot stay away from finding the footy
Graham was pretty good down back a big step up from the Leslie's, etc from the past, Josh Drummond is a VERY good backline coach
Darcy Mac was just electric and has a level of confidence now in his on ground presence
Peter Wright hasn't taken the next step and still has the same shortcomings
Brodie was really good, just needs a bit more urgency when he marks the ball, tends to wait too long when the others have a real urgency to play on, his kicking was a lot better
Touk was great
Ellis is a good addition not incredible but solid, his kick to D Mac at the top of the 50 from the flank was very good though
Budarick was a real surprise
Andersons centering kick from the boundary to King was unreal
I thought Collins was tremendous, his reading and intercepting was sensational, he looks up another level from last year and super fit
Lemmens best match ever seems to have got some poise at last rather than just throwing himself around the ground looked a lot more composed and did some very good things with the footy
Jeremy Sharp will should be a superstar what a unit he is, we were smart to trade up to get him
The game style seems significantly different to last years clog up the stoppages and try to lock up the ball, the guys just got tired and we would lose it out of the stoppages and then the oppo would kill us outside
This game style looks very natural for our guys, we made Geelong look very slow
I know we will get in games with tougher more intense teams and it will break down BUT I think we have a much better base now to build on and a level of confidence we haven't had before
The boys focus and intensity was more evident when they were going off the bench and returning
I cant see with the expanded list and so much improvement made in the off season to the game style, skills and teamwork how we won't have a far better season