AFL Toast Marsh Series 1: 8 point win over West Coast!

[Howard Moon]

Lol @ people complaining about umpires pre season

Guess the fans are working on their game plans too

 

[biglaycock]

Sorry if already mentioned but any update on Townsend? That boy cracks in hard and I’d love to see him have a spot come Rd1

 

[vass44]

Townsend was OK but certainly not in our best players. I liked the games of Laverde who was a real target up forward in the 1st half before fading in the second, and Langford who had 9 score involvements and 3 goal assists.
It looks like we have plucked a good one with the young kid Jones, Mosquito was lively as was Tippa and Snelling and Caracella already looks to have made some good tweaks with our forward line.
What Phillips lacks in class we makes up for with effort (take note Bellchambers!), our mids in Parish, Merrett and Shiel we’re good while Smith will be better for the run.
Defence not bad either - Hurley and Francis solid, while Ridley put his hand up for a round 1 start.
Good performance all round hopefully can dish up more of the same against the Cats in Colac on the 9th of March


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[VelvetSledge]

Snelling might prove to be a seriously shrewd pickup. Pressure pressure pressure, all game. Stoked.

 

[DapperJong]

I don’t think Guelfi should be best 22

 

[JayJ20]

I don’t think Guelfi should be best 22

This. He’s a limited player. Should only be depth

 

[Howard Moon]

I struggle to find his outstanding attribute other than being solid at everything. Perfect depth

 

[Old Campaigner]

It’s hard to gauge a win in preseason but I’m pretty happy with that. A win in the wet in WA with half the normal side missing is always a good thing.

It was also really good to see more pressure through the midfield and forward half, something we weren’t great at last year.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Good to see we just didn’t rely on frenetic s**t off half back. Ham has a nice long kick on him. Liked Ridley’s game. Snelling proving quite handy and can kick a goal.

 

[The Dustbin]

Laverde is the most frustrating player since Cupido.

 

[11kgm]

Jesus Christ the media are pumping up West Coast, FFS we had more players out, more players coming back from injury and more youngsters but let's wank over Kelly and Co

 

[ILikeCheese]

Jesus Christ the media are pumping up West Coast, FFS we had more players out, more players coming back from injury and more youngsters but let's wank over Kelly and Co

I thought it was just me. If we had of lost it would be all doom and gloom

 

[FlyingV]

Didn’t watch the game. Would be interested in the the following:
How did zerks composure look down back?
Has McGrath and Ham put on any size?
How did Langford play (on paper looked good, but I appreciate that in real life he often looks as though he’ll punt the ball into his own throat)

cheers!

 

[Bombers36]

Laverde is the most frustrating player since Cupido.

i thought he was really good in the 1st half...Cupido....wow - that's a blast from the past!

 

[Runk]

Look forward to watching the replay.

 

[IggypopsTshirt]

I only got to listen in fits and starts, but I'm not sure we did put in 4 quarters. We kicked 4 (?) and 5 goals in the first and third quarters respectively, into the wind, and only 2 with the breeze in the fourth. We started the fourth three goals up. Sounds like we took the foot off the pedal?

I haven’t looked at stats. At ground level I thought we looked to be having a legitimate crack for most of the game. Obviously in an 8 point win momentum has shiftEd throughout the game but we persisted and prevailed.

 

[Mr Bultitude]

Jesus Christ the media are pumping up West Coast, FFS we had more players out, more players coming back from injury and more youngsters but let's wank over Kelly and Co

It was a bit much. But I'm used to it now, also makes victory a little tastier if the media have it in for you.

 

[doug85]

Didn’t watch the game. Would be interested in the the following:
How did zerks composure look down back?
Has McGrath and Ham put on any size?
How did Langford play (on paper looked good, but I appreciate that in real life he often looks as though he’ll punt the ball into his own throat)

cheers!

Ham has definitely put on size. I actually thought Langford played well but I only watched about 2/3s of the game.

 

[owen87]

Just watched the game, is it just me or are a lot of the players looking noticeably leaner through the legs compared to last year? Check out Guelfi and Langford for example. Looks like they've done a lot more running through the pre-season and even though we've got a lot with injury issues, those who are healthy are very fit.

Thought there was mostly positives to take out of it, a winning scoreline is helpful with that of course, but generally it looks like we had some consistency of effort and pressure which meant we created turnovers outside our D50, we also won some clearances which was nice. West Coast lacked plenty of senior bodies and it looked like their elite mids in Shuey & Kelly were nowhere near what they're capable of so I wouldn't take the scoreline as an indication of anything.

It was mostly left to the younger players to show their wares as I don't think Smith, Merrett, Fantasia, Shiel or Hurley got too far out of second gear:

• A.Francis - Timing looked a little off, but looks like his fitness is significantly better, high hopes for him this year.
• M.Hurley - Looks fit and healthy, likely would have gone to Kennedy if it was a real game. Didn't appear to hold play up as much while still taking the 'safe' long option as usual.
• M.Gleeson - Didn't do anything noteworthy or terrible.
• J.Ridley - Surprised he got 21 actually, no obvious mistakes but no outstanding moments either.
• C.McBride - Looks very good, physically ready to go, took a good mark running back with the flight and no real mistakes. Just a bit slow at moving the ball on given lack of experience.
• B.Zerk-Thatcher - Soundly beaten by Kennedy but will be better for the experience, you'd think he'd be helped out more by Hurley in a real season match.
• D.Zaharakis - Neither here nor there, looked to be playing a little more on-ball but might have just been due to guys like Heppell & Clarke not playing.
• A.McGrath - Was very good on-ball in the 1st quarter, dropped off a little but was a solid contributor all game.
• M.Guelfi - Did what Guelfi does; nothing obviously good or terrible. Was mostly playing as a small defender by the looks of it, and looks extremely fit.
• I.Mosquito - Only a few flashes but looks very capable at the level, a nice run down the wing evading tacklers and the around the body goal were both clean.
• D.Smith - Looks like 2018 Smith again, didn't seem to get out of 2nd gear but was an annoying pest harassing and tackling, hit targets. Looks like he'll be back to his best.
• J.Laverde - Thought he was solid, presented well and is a difficult match-up. He's too strong for most mid-size defenders but more agile than most KPD's.
• A.McDonald-Tipungwuti - Looks ready for R1 already; clean disposals, goals, tackles. Doesn't appear at all hindered.
• S.McKernan - Presented nicely but dropped a few marks he'd normally clunk, not sure if timing is off a little or just due to the wet conditions.
• O.Fantasia - Didn't do a whole lot, but looked to be moving well enough even though he never got out of first gear.
• A.Phillips - Thought he added a real presence at ground level as the game wore on, not as heavy and strong as Bellchambers but significantly more mobile.
• D.Shiel - Nothing special, along with most of the guys that are clear Best 22, they weren't playing to their limits but his timing / ball handling will be better for it.
• Z.Merrett - Looked clean, kicked a few nice long passes and worked out of congestion well. Can't see him dropping off at all.
• H.Jones - Very light but looks like he'll be a good player in another pre-season or two, a good tank, worked hard at ground level and kicked straight when he had a set shot.
• J.Townsend - Just smashes in to people relentlessly, I'd hate to be an opposition player with the ball anywhere near him. Did a couple of nice things with ball in hand but generally a workmanlike game. Not a superstar but he's likely for R1 on the basis of his physicality if his knee is fine (looked in serious pain but ran off in the end).
• K.Langford - Looks very fit, he and Guelfi stood out physically to me the most. Thought he did some really good things winning contested balls and releasing players by hand, which is what it sounds like he did at the Casey game the other week. Also looked very strong over the ball standing up in some tackles. Maybe he's starting to become what we hoped he might?
• B.Ham - As others have said, he'll be playing on the wing for the next decade. AFL standard wingman that only has upside to come as he gains size. More metres gained per disposal than Jetta (though not as damaging, Jetta's kicking is exceptional) and just appeared everywhere as an option in the first half. Not sure how he had 80% TOG as I didn't see much of him in the second half.
• D.Parish - Just needs to tidy up some of his disposal and he's there, missed a few targets he should hit but otherwise looks like he's a genuine AFL standard midfielder now.
• W.Snelling - Great game, possibly the best of the players out there last night given he was doing everything you want a small forward to do. Often got involved as a link in general play, tackled, scored. Can't see why he won't play R1 at this point.
• N.Lockyer - Did some nice things, definitely has talent. Played off HB and looks strong in the air and creative by foot. Think he's the front-runner for the last list spot based off last night.
• B.Teakle - Hard to read really, playing against Natanui was never going to be easy for him but looked like he kept running and working to compete. Definitely has potential, but Lockyer looks more ready-to-go.

All-in-all I think the guys out there all looked fit, there was solid effort and application for the entire game, our ball movement entering F50 wasn't just long and high bombs, we generated turnovers up the ground instead of just in the D50, Parish & McGrath looked good playing through the middle, and Francis looks capable of playing a sweeping intercept role which is personally very exciting.

Only real concern was that there was still a few times where Kelly & Shuey waltzed straight out of the centre with minimal pressure, not sure if this is a testament to the level these guys are at or our mids not being disciplined enough to defend those types.

 

[owen87]

How did zerks composure look down back?

He was left pretty much alone on Kennedy all night so I wouldn't take it too harshly, but he was well beaten. In a proper season game he likely wouldn't be left on Kennedy all game, and would (hopefully) get more support from other defenders. Hard to read much in to it otherwise, Kennedy is elite and looks in great condition.

Has McGrath and Ham put on any size?

Both look fitter, Ham has put on a little but it'll take time. McGrath doesn't look noticably larger but certainly won some contested ball so may be a case of stronger and leaner.

How did Langford play (on paper looked good, but I appreciate that in real life he often looks as though he’ll punt the ball into his own throat)

Actually pretty good I thought, looks incredibly fit, some great handball releases out of congestion and stood up in a few tackles.

 

[OsteitisPubis22]

As probably one of our biggest pessimists, the performance gave me a sense of hope.

We were far, far better around the contest. The tackling was a statement of intent, ball movement was very good.
A noticeable difference was the effort for the midfielders to work both ways.
Two often we leave our defenders in one on ones, due to lack of pressure and work rate up the ground. However McGrath, Parish and Shiel were happy to work back. Which is something that has been non existent for some time.

Zerk Thatcher was fantastic in my opinion. Defends first! Will get better as the year goes on. Needs a bit more help. All in all a lot of positives to take away.


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[Red Black and Blue]

Lots of potential there.

Smith and Fantasia not 100% up to pace.

Ridley has to play, he’s so clean you almost forget he’s out there because his possessions are so seamless in a transition.

Smack unfortunately absent, really need him to step up.

Lockyer is the one for the last slot. Looked a little nervous but settled late which is promising because he had his best moments when West Coast were getting a roll on.

 

[mike14]

Didn’t watch the game. Would be interested in the the following:
How did zerks composure look down back?
Has McGrath and Ham put on any size?
How did Langford play (on paper looked good, but I appreciate that in real life he often looks as though he’ll punt the ball into his own throat)

cheers!

Based on the 3 qtrs I watched:
Zerks looked ok but was well beaten by Kennedy who just had too much strength, skill and smarts for him. Zerks was in the right spots to make it a contest (most of the time) but just got beaten. We were pretty lean down back compared to ideal best-22 so he also didn't get the support you'd expect him to usually get. Based on a very limited viewing he's not ready to play on the true forward monsters yet.

Ham looks bigger than I remember, and both he and McGrath looked to play 'bigger' in that seemed stronger over the ball. Ham had a very good game IMO

Langford was argubably the best player in 1st quarter then tailed off a bit as the game went on. His skills were good and clean, and he was noticable at multiple contests which meant that he was moving to the right areas. There were a few moments that stood out as poor (1 handed effort at a ground ball, easily broken tackle), but if you got a season of games like the one he played last night you'd be very happy with his progress.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

To use Zerk best in that scenario where they have a dominant key forward we should play him as the plus one with Hurley on the man. Zerks attributes suit the third in spoiler not the man wrestling in the one on one. You want to give him a chance to jump and intercept mark.

 

[11kgm]

I thought it was just me. If we had of lost it would be all doom and gloom

Star Recruit Shines as Dons Edge clash