Analysis Mid season assessment - on track or not?

His kicking is just very ordinary, he'd want to improve it a fair bit in the coming years.
His kicking for goal has been a tad iffy but his field kicking has been fine, and hands are exceptional. I'm tipping a massive future, and don't think I'm alone on this one. Really exciting kid.
 
I’m just happy we have some solid youth coming through, cause the cupboard looked a bit bare the last 2 years. Now it looks like we have some real stars in the making coming through. Our draft haul was A+.
100% agree. I thought post Joel/Tommy were cooked but last two draft hauls have really been exceptional for what Wells had to work with. The man is a star! Future looks quite rosey all of a sudden.
 
Nov 7, 2010
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We have done really well so far with the injuries we have had and in no small way on the back of the efforts of some very inexperience players,kudos to Hawkins,along with the skipper and Dangerfield the latter 2 carrying niggling injuries IMHO,they posses the will to win gene and set the example.
For me the loss of Ratogolia was the end of a GF birth he's the missing link type player.
The elephant in the room now is can the kids run out the season,does Scott manage them with the injured players set to return but still keep putting regular AFL games into them.
Management of player work load and game time across around 26 players now becomes the key.
Pass mark from here for me is top 6 and two finals.
 

MoggsCreek

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Looking at the draw ahead and the teams above us, it’s quite likely we finish 5-8 this year, but I’m also confident we can hit some form post-bye and knock over some top teams.

The midfield is starting to gel, Stanley is starting to realise how he can use his strengths against opposition rucks, and even if we only get half of the injured Taylor/Hendo/Cockatoo/Menzel/Scooter/Guthrie group back, they make us a better team.
 
Dec 10, 2003
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On track ?... we have debuted several players , have had injuries to key players but its allowed us to refresh and really develop a new younger backline , have been beaten by a couple of sash teams at the G , but against Rich we at least looked in the game for most of it. Have continued to have trouble with ruck but for a while there we thought we had found a young CHF ..

We still seem to be a team that has its share of positives and negatives .. depending on where you stand you may well say we are on track.. or not on track .. for a successful 2018.

One on going concern may be that our best mids are very mature. Parfitt looks promising but the on going issues with Cockatoo has the potential to be the difference between a successful year or not. He should have been a regular and one of our best players now. He is starting to frame as another "Menzel" situation where we end up saying "If only". If Nakia can return ..and stay fit while performing to what we expect.. this season may well be on track. One feels we are close .. perhaps gaining ground but still a tad off Rich etc.. perhaps he might be the difference. Perhaps he is just another Rainbow player ..who we can chase and chase the pot of gold but it will never be found.

Id currently say we are following a path similar to the last few years.. where the thru season results are encouraging to the point where we get to finals with hope. Perhaps our current ladder position is more true reflection than being second thru some close lucky wins. To have a game plan is fine.. but is it amazing or to be expected that most of the best players in sides like Rich are early picks.. Martin P3 , Prestia P9 , Cotchin P2 , Vlastin P9 , Riewoldt P13 , Rance P18 etc. A good side always finds bargains and they do a role, sometimes like an Enright or a Stewart become better than that.. but I wonder , or suspect when the heat is at it highest ..the last few years we seem to run out of talent , a couple of guys who may try hard but continually get found wanting under extreme pressure ..to be fair probably should not even be in the side if we had a couple more early picks in the club and side.
Are we more talented than last year?
 
Sep 18, 2014
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8-5, sitting 7th, could and should actually be 10-3 sitting 1st or 2nd (should’ve beaten Hawthorn and Sydney).

We’re in a decent position, I think top 4 if we bring our best, but I actually wouldn’t be annoyed if we finished 5-8th, the bye before the finals and go for a month of solid footy.

We’ve seen a lot of growth in some of our young players, and hopefully get our more senior guys back for the important 2nd half of the season.
 

Fyre

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May 24, 2017
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8-5 on the surface?. I'll take that. Probably 1 game behind where I thought we would be at this stage but given the amount of injuries to key personnel, its actually pretty good. Blooded so many young players again this year and got more games into them than we should have and they have performed extremely well.

I didn't think Fog would play as many games as he has let alone perform as well as he has for a 1st year player. Jack who???.....another one that has come from the clouds and performed beyond expectation. Tom Stewart has gone up another notch, which I didn't think would happen. Been of the view that mature age players don't improve a massive amount from when you get them.....proven and happy to be wrong here. Love him. Cunico has given some nice outside run and has a beautiful, penetrating kick. Blicavs has a home and has given the backline another 4 years rather than the 1 I thought with Taylor nearing the end. Lots of positives.

It seems the ruck battle might be over with Stanley as the victor. Didn't see that coming but if they are serious, they need to back him in now but FFS, play another player who can backup ruck. Hawkins shouldn't be rucking unless the ball is in the forward line!.

The back half of the year is pretty soft for the Cats IMO....sprinkled with some challenges. Clearly Sydney in Sydney and the Tigers at the 'G are the 2 that spring to mind. Hawthorn could be a problem as well but outside of that, the other games look very gettable. 4 more games at the Cattery, Adelaide in Adelaide but look shot and have massive injury worries of their own and the Dogs who just lost any spirit they might have left. Should be aiming for 7-2 for the back half and if serious, knock off Sydney or Richmond to make it 8-1 and lock in a top 4 spot. Not without a chance if we get some players back and can maintain a healthy list.
 
Losing Mackie and Lonners last year and Hendo and Taylor at the start of this year, I thought we were stuffed, but our defense has been amazing. I don’t think we can fit both Hendo and Taylor back into our back line. Our forward line has looked good with Sav and Hawkins. Our midfield group has started to play well together and playing Duncan off the back of the square has been revolutionary. I wish we had some small forwards that could stay on the park but in general been a good year so far. Won’t win the flag but we’ve now got a back line that’ll be an assert for 5+ years.
Henderson has to come in and play forward IMO. I rate him as a forward more than most from his Carlton days and I think that he could add something to support Hawk and Menzel. With Blitz, Taylor and Kola down back he's not needed there at the moment and he actually leads at the footy and provides a contest quite well if given the chance... and he's a solid shot on goal aswell. Do it Scotty! #fliphendoforward

Cockatoo holds the key to our small forward woes. We need him fit at the end because he can bring a certain skill set to the table that not many others can. I feel like he would round out our forward line nicely.

Last year after round 2 I said that we were no chance of winning the flag but I'm more optimistic this year. I think if we can keep our list relatively healthy at the business end then we'll be up to our eye balls in it. There are some senior players that have another gear to get to which fills me with hope. Scooter will balance the midfield up nicely when he comes back and I think that our midfield will be too good for us to not contend when the whips are cracking to be honest.
 

bellpark

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Aug 18, 2009
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I think Hendo forward is a lock. Can't come at us thinking Cockatoo or McCarthy are in the picture due to frailty from sustained pressure games. So, I think we still need one of Narkle or Myers to grow and get up a level so we can run 4 small forwards/occassional mids.
 

Spazz Cat

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Not as intelligent as the other posts here but Pretty F**ken Good!
Been very competitive in every game except one, while playing a whole new backline and giving youngsters games.
Very positive first half.
 
Not as intelligent as the other posts here but Pretty F**ken Good!
Been very competitive in every game except one, while playing a whole new backline and giving youngsters games.
Very positive first half.
At least you've learned how to spell pretty... Haha!
 

DanA

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May 15, 2006
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I think we're in the premiership hunt depending on how things come together on the injury front. Certainly a lot better functionally as a team than previous seasons, despite not having that great a ladder position. We just need to get them all on the park which admittedly is difficult when carrying so many injury prone players on the list.

- Scott Selwood will add some defensive accountability at stoppages and fix some of the problems we're having there.
- Henderson/Taylor will give us a 3rd tall defender which hasn't really been a problem (since Blicavs moved there). But the extra target at kick ins and setting up the defensive zone will help. The lack of height has shown in these situaitons IMO.
- Menzel adds a bit of class and a second goal threat in the forward line. A lot of play has been breaking down in the forward line and a quality forward will make a big difference.
- Cockatoo adds a bit more speed, power and forward pressure. Some of our small forwards are too slow, get shrugged off or don't work hard enough defensively and Cockatoo, if healthy improves us here.

It also helps having guys like Cam Guthrie as the 18-22 man rather than Gregson, J.Jones, Parsons, Black, Thurlow etc.
 
Dec 10, 2003
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I think we're in the premiership hunt depending on how things come together on the injury front. Certainly a lot better functionally as a team than previous seasons, despite not having that great a ladder position. We just need to get them all on the park which admittedly is difficult when carrying so many injury prone players on the list.

- Scott Selwood will add some defensive accountability at stoppages and fix some of the problems we're having there.
- Henderson/Taylor will give us a 3rd tall defender which hasn't really been a problem (since Blicavs moved there). But the extra target at kick ins and setting up the defensive zone will help. The lack of height has shown in these situaitons IMO.
- Menzel adds a bit of class and a second goal threat in the forward line. A lot of play has been breaking down in the forward line and a quality forward will make a big difference.
- Cockatoo adds a bit more speed, power and forward pressure. Some of our small forwards are too slow, get shrugged off or don't work hard enough defensively and Cockatoo, if healthy improves us here.

It also helps having guys like Cam Guthrie as the 18-22 man rather than Gregson, J.Jones, Parsons, Black, Thurlow etc.

I still do not like how many are not and have not been playing as a part of the side on a regular basis. Too many late inclusions seem to faulter. When teams that have been welded together over many games can stand up , teams last minute glued together seem to get pulled apart.
 

Landgraft

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I still do not like how many are not and have not been playing as a part of the side on a regular basis. Too many late inclusions seem to faulter. When teams that have been welded together over many games can stand up , teams last minute glued together seem to get pulled apart.
I think this is true to some extent, but a team doesn't necessarily need too long to 'weld together'. If we could get around a month of a fairly settled lineup before finals it would probably be enough to mitigate most of the challenges posed through cohesion.

To me the bigger problem is that we're still unstable in our structure and gameplan, but by design. Tailoring gamestyle to an opponent is good but I think the coach does it to excess.
 
Dec 10, 2003
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I think this is true to some extent, but a team doesn't necessarily need too long to 'weld together'. If we could get around a month of a fairly settled lineup before finals it would probably be enough to mitigate most of the challenges posed through cohesion.

To me the bigger problem is that we're still unstable in our structure and gameplan, but by design. Tailoring gamestyle to an opponent is good but I think the coach does it to excess.

Honestly , I think a case can be made that too much PnP recruitment can be damaging to a sides "weld" ... perhaps the way to think of it is a team built basically from the draft..rust together ... so I think the opposite. Not only is a few weeks not enough sometimes , too much change to your side year to year means it unsettles your side.
 

Landgraft

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Honestly , I think a case can be made that too much PnP recruitment can be damaging to a sides "weld" ... perhaps the way to think of it is a team built basically from the draft..rust together ... so I think the opposite. Not only is a few weeks not enough sometimes , too much change to your side year to year means it unsettles your side.
What difference is there really in draftees to other recruits? Everyone needs to come in and play together and learn the systems... I don't think kids have any natural advantage there. Richmond seemed to go okay with integrating a big haul of first year signings and draftees into last years team, while the exceedingly cohesive Crows fizzled.

I understand the thinking, but I'm not convinced there's that much underlying reality. Nearly all good teams will look at shrewd list management to optimise the assets they have on hand... it's not very romantic, but neither are sports in 2018.
 
Dec 10, 2003
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What difference is there really in draftees to other recruits? Everyone needs to come in and play together and learn the systems... I don't think kids have any natural advantage there. Richmond seemed to go okay with integrating a big haul of first year signings and draftees into last years team, while the exceedingly cohesive Crows fizzled.

I understand the thinking, but I'm not convinced there's that much underlying reality. Nearly all good teams will look at shrewd list management to optimise the assets they have on hand... it's not very romantic, but neither are sports in 2018.

Its not so much just one year... or there background or age .. but big change on big change on big change that I question can contribute to less cohesion.
Quality players will come in and look good , as Danger did so its by no means always an easily discernible thing.
 
Sep 15, 2007
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Not sold on Fogarty? He's a first year player mate, they can't all come in and become stars from the beginning. He has shown enough imo to suggest he'll be a good player for us in 2-3 years. No guarantees he'll make it, it's to early to tell, but I'm not sure what your expectations of him were given he's an 18-year-old first year player.
so you agree there are no guarantees and its too early to tell but then question the not sold comment? this is inconsistent.

I would be happy with fogerty if he was pick 70 plus. But he seems to offer nothing but tackles. And yes he will get better with age. But his physical attributes will put a significant constraint on how much he can improve. not to mention he is the worst kick this club has recruited since david spriggs. He is short, stocky and slow. Really dont get why he is rated at all.
 
Mar 7, 2009
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I think, as usual in recent seasons, we're pretty underrated.

Out of the current top 10 teams the Cats have beaten five, and if you look at our losses, only the one against Hawthorn was a decisive flogging. We lost to the WCE because injuries on the day took its toll, we lost to Sydney after a brain fade in the last quarter (should've won it), we lost to Richmond in the last quarter but was competitive for most of the match and the wet conditions favored their small players.

All this with players the likes of Ablett (missed 4), Taylor, Hendo, Cockatoo, Scooter, Cam Guthrie, and Menzel missing from the squad.

We've seen the rise of a new backline with Blicavs, Stewart, Bews, Kolo, & Tuohy forming a great core. Promising young backmen in Henry & Zuthrie have been better than expected, although Zuthrie had a shocker against Richmond (Yeah, I beat you to it).

Stanley has been improving in the ruck, and our midfield has real depth with Menegola, Kelly, Murdoch, and Parfitt providing real support for our big 4.

The forward line is still an issue. Again we can find no consistent line up week to week due to injuries. TBone has been good overall, but the forward line seems better when he plays a CHF role and Paddy sits in the goal square. We still struggle to have the kind of small forwards that other teams have in spades. Menzel had a really good start to the season, and if we can get him back in that form it'll really improve our scoring ability. Still too much bombing on TBone's head for my liking sometimes, and the injury to the Big Sav has had a huge impact on the side.

If we can get some of these injured blokes back on the park and in good form, then I think the Cats are capable of beating anyone this season. It's pretty open at the moment, and the winner of the premiership this year may just come down to who can keep their injury list the shortest, and who can cope best with the pressure of finals footy.
 
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