Review Mid Season Review

[The King!]

I was bored and its round 11 so would love to here some thoughts from all on the club and individual player performances. We are currently sitting third having won 8 lost 2 and drawn 1.

As a club I would rate the season so far an 8/10 mainly on the back of the build in form. Early on too much was being left to too few and we did get wins but were getting away with average efforts.

We have been hit around the ground with injuries and losing our star recruit for the whole 11 games thus far has hurt. We have however seen the massive continued improvement of our midfield who have not missed many games and continue to gel and grow into one of the elite mids of the comp.

The defence has been hit hardest by injury but stood up, the forward line has been inconsistent but there are some promising recent signs.

Losing to the 2 sides above us is a slight concern, though i think we could of easily beaten the cats, the hawks pulled our pants down and the dockers draw was arguably the most disapointng game, we should of won that. But since that draw we have built nicely against reasonable opposition.

The positives
* well placed for the run home and assault on top 2/4
* debutants have all shown something especially rampe and now mitchell
* midfield has continued to emerge as one of the best in the comp
* won against the pies a hoodoo side, at the mcg a hoodoo ground
* sitting third with plenty of players to return
* membership and crowds seem good

The negatives
* have not beaten the 3 others in the top 4
* alex johnson
* tippett being unavailable
* letting a win slip v the dockers
* slow starts to the season for reid jetta and even mumford took a while
* mattner being forced out by injury

I thought id also rate the seasons thus far of everyone who has played in number order

Shaw 4- didnt do much before getting injured, missed his energy and drive out of the backline

Mcveigh 9- his output this year has been elite, had to move down back more this year and is such a great leader now having an excellent year and arguably with pyke and malceski the most consistent in 2013

Hannebery 8.5. Is a ball magnet and tough as they come, has been awesome, still can butcher it occasionally and still had a quiet game or two but the kid is a star

Okeefe 8 peforms week in week out and is a run with machine, see his work on watson. Almost flies under the radar with emergence of young mids

Mitchell 9- ok i may be over the top but seriously have you seen many better first 1 and a half games in the comp?

Malceski 9 performing at a level i thought may of been beyond him, he is surely in all australian contention and his kicking in work is excellent

Morton 5- if he plays should never be sub, needs to kick a few more goals, but needs consistent game time, i love his x factor hope he stays in

Lamb 4- he showed enough. Just a lot of players ahead of him, looks good for the future, hope he isnt lost due to frustration of lack of game time

Kennedy 8 marking him hard he draws the tags and leads the league in contested possessions and clearances, not quite at his 2012 output but we would not be near as good without him, arguably our most important player

Everitt 6 i am loving what he is doing since getting consistent weeks, has gone from someone you would consider delisting to hard to see him out of the side as others return, he is agile and a good kick.

Bird 6 seemed to be a bit out of favour early, but his last month has shown what a good contributer he is, dont like him as sub but i hate the rule full stop. Can run with blokes and is a good extracter and shot for goal

Jack 9 he is an elite afl player who seems to relish the captaincy. I saw a poll who is better jack or dangerfield and intially thought poor jack, but then you look and he out performs him over this season and over their careers and dangerfield is a gun.

Walsh 3 i think he is an average player who was working ok for a bit v essendon before injury. But not convinced he offers much

White 3 he had a good game on the weekend, he was rubbish v the hawks, i think deep down we know which game is the norm

Armstrong 5 i think he was ok when he played just can make poor decisions and get in trouble too easily, but showed enough to suggest he is going to be a part of our future, surely wont play this year unless we get hit with injuries

Reid 5 he disapointed me until he started working up the ground more, maybe expectations are too high but i expect a greater output. Was starting to look good then got injured.

Mcglynn 8.5 maybe marking too high but is our leading goal kicker and his energy and attack this year has been faultless, he is hurting from missing a flag

Bolton 6 is more of a role player this year and is a leader at the club, when we are in trouble he will go into the middle.

Richards 7 has been excellent again but down a bit on last year, looked sore early in the year i wonder if we had greater depth in key defenders would he have played? He is important to this side, must keep him fit

Parker 7.5 this kid is a beast, hard at it, good mark his size, can push forward, key part of the elite mid group

Mattner 4 played through pain clearly and a shame it forced him out, but was pretty average this year

Lrt 3- didnt do much pre injury but worked hard, he just waits for september to roll around anyway

Jetta 4.5 the player who disapointed me most, looked lazy and well down on last year, last few games seemed to be getting form back and we need him to lift over the second half of the season.

B.jack didnt play enough to rate nice to see him i guess would be happy to see him play again v port

Goodes 7 still a superstar, his best is brilliant and he stands up when we need him. Think he will benefit more than anyone from tippetts inclusions, game v pies was a highlight...then a lowlight

Pyke 10 - i will give him a 10 what else could he have done, leads the league in contested marks, should be winning the best and fairest and should be all australian right now, just my view, but he is an elite ruckman

Grundy 8.5 leading the backline this year, improved his disposal has been good all year and doesnt get the praise he deserves.

Smith 8- just performs week in week out, it must be offputting if he comes to mind you, know you wont get a kick

Mumford 6.5 he is building like our season, his last month he seems to be taking more centre bounces, is moving better now, him and pyke are an imposing duo.

Rampe 7. Round one i thought yeah he is ok back to the ressies but each week he gets better and better and has helped cover injuries well, does he keep his spot as others return?


Anyway just my basic thoughts, what do you all think

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Excellent stuff. Not much to disagree with there. I'd only say Brandon Jack's beautifully-weighted kick in front of Jude Bolton for the first goal of the 4th quarter was deserving of a special mention. And I think you should maybe mark Pykey down just a little from his perfect score for a less-than-stellar game last night. But I still love 'im.

 

[BarneyBent]

Excellent stuff. Not much to disagree with there. I'd only say Brandon Jack's beautifully-weighted kick in front of Jude Bolton for the first goal of the 4th quarter was deserving of a special mention. And I think you should maybe mark Pykey down just a little from his perfect score for a less-than-stellar game last night. But I still love 'im.

I love that we consider 18 touches from Pykey a poor game these days!

 

[TheWhiteRhino]

Great review - have to give Hanners at least a 9 though. He's been our best player so far this season.

The biggest positive for me is that our best has never been better. Just knowing we are capable of that level will always keep us in the hunt.

 

[MF]

Good effort. I agree with most of your ratings except Armstrong who I'd have as a 4 and McGlynn is too high. 7.5 at most.

I'd probably rate Haneberry a 9.5 too.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

I love that we consider 18 touches from Pykey a poor game these days!

Yeah, look I just don't think he was quite as on top of it as he is most weeks. Just think he had a slightly off night. He's allowed to.

 

[The King!]

Great review - have to give Hanners at least a 9 though. He's been our best player so far this season.

The biggest positive for me is that our best has never been better. Just knowing we are capable of that level will always keep us in the hunt.

Took mark off hanners as he still does the odd silly turnover

 

[The King!]

Good effort. I agree with most of your ratings except Armstrong who I'd have as a 4 and McGlynn is too high. 7.5 at most.

I'd probably rate Haneberry a 9.5 too.

Yeah i could agree with that, mcglynns energy just impresses me this year even when others looked half asleep early

 

[CaptainChardonnay]

We've done OK to half way. Should of beaten Freo and if we were going well, one of Hawthorn & Geelong.

Back half of the season will be much harder. Fortunately we have a return game against our bitches Collingwood so bank those points and a bye against GWS. I almost regret us having a bye this week. Seems we're building momentum only to have it interrupted.

Going to be an interesting run home.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

The 2nd half of the season shouldn't be harder. We should start favorites in every game except Geelong and Hawthorn and we've shown we're capable of beating both of them.

 

[SM]

Second half is actually a lot easier. West Coast, St Kilda, Carlton, GWS, Melbourne, Port, Richmond are all games we should win. Pies, Cats and Hawks are the only iffy ones.

 

[CaptainChardonnay]

Second half is actually a lot easier. West Coast, St Kilda, Carlton, GWS, Melbourne, Port, Richmond are all games we should win. Pies, Cats and Hawks are the only iffy ones.

I agree. We SHOULD win. But Richmond, Carlton and West Coast loom as danger games. We drop a couple of them and then a couple of Pies, cats & Hawks and suddenly we're back in the pack.

 

[SM]

I agree. We SHOULD win. But Richmond, Carlton and West Coast loom as danger games. We drop a couple of them and then a couple of Pies, cats & Hawks and suddenly we're back in the pack.

Could argue the same about first half games. I'm just saying on paper the second half of the season is easier based on teams' ladder positions.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

I agree. We SHOULD win. But Richmond, Carlton and West Coast loom as danger games. We drop a couple of them and then a couple of Pies, cats & Hawks and suddenly we're back in the pack.

Honestly from what i am seeing from this team the only game i would be iffy about is Cats at SS, Hawks will be facing a very different side come round 23.

 

[CAS79]

Could argue the same about first half games. I'm just saying on paper the second half of the season is easier based on teams' ladder positions.

You are correct but teams like Richmond, who have given us some trouble over the last few years are really fighting to make themselves relevant for the first time in a long time is not going to be easy and why our record is good a trip to Perth is never an easy away trip.

Carlton want to make the 8 and if Collingwood fire up they may be eyeing off a strong finish to the season.

There still some hard work ahead.

 

[S120]

At least Richmond isn't at the MCG.

 

[The King!]

As long as we dont drop the demons game

 

[Punts]

The Carlton game will be a hard contest

 

[Membling]

McVeigh to HBF has been a sensational move by coaching staff. Playing super footy

 

[CAS79]

My Ratings in number order or players who have played 5 games or more. A bit of a weighting for ratings against the other top 4 sides (Geel, Haw, Freo, Ess)

McVeigh 9 – playing two roles, midfield and dropped into running defender, a role a few years go would have had people concerned but is currently playing it with aplomb.

Hanners 9 – perhaps apart from the Hawks game where his kicking woes were exposed a bit he’s been playing perfection. Balanced win his own ball and his work rate to be in receiving positions and break tags is extraordinary.

O”Keefe 8: playing big jobs in the middle and the old fella is not missing a beat.

Malceski 8: When he’s on song our transition game plan is on fire. Teams know they have o shut him down and in the past have succeeded at times with an especially physical tag. With the exception of the Hawks game he has worn the hits and dropped his tag wonderfully.

Morton 5: Great 2nd half against the crows and defensive pressure has been ok but he needs to get into more scoring positions consistently.

Kennedy 7.5: Still racking up big numbers and working hard, just a little impact drop on last season.

Everett 5.5 Taook a few games to burn into the season but his last couple have been good. The 4 qtr intensity he showed against the Crows needs to become consistent and shown against big teams when the heat Is on. But a positive trend is been established.

Bird 5: Due to injury his season started slowly but a big game against the bombers sees an up.

Jack 9.5: Boys not doing anything wrong, features in every game and has pulled in some of Jetta’s slack by regularly finding the goals, sets them up, makes his opponent accountable and will be found at all ends of the ground all match.

Armstrong 4: Only failure at this point. Work rate was solid first few games and linekd up ok but disposal was average and was reluctant to take the game on. Got a real case of the Rabbit in the headlight against the Hawks, Brandon Jacks rookie promotion
Reid 5: Battled early but was returning to form with a change up to his role pushing up the ground was working before he got injured.

McGlynn 6: been a bit patchy in games coming in and out. Like his tackles but would like him to be a bit more of a dangerous presence.

Bolton 6.5: Role playing forward pocket. Attacking his task vigorously if not with the same impact as the past. Still hunt the ball but sticks to his area and task.

Richards 8 It feels as if he’s off his AA form but a look at his roles still shows he is not really getting beaten and takes some dangerous roles

Parker 7.5: Sensational inside role week in week out. We begging to expect it of him know and he’s not disappointing.

Mattner 5: Retired of course. was still brave and read the play and covered the ball coming in nicely well but there were signs. The closing speed wasn’t there and the kicking was really off. Was having good patches in matches but was also having some bad spells. But still the ball did not slip through his hands when he went at it and still had the warrior instinct.

Jetta 6: Started slowly but is finding his run. Teams have got smarter in the way they corral him away from space but he seems to be working through it.

Goodes 7: Not his consistent Brownlow form but games like Collingwood and Essendon show how he is still hard to match up and versatile on the run or in deep,

Pyke 9: Not much to be said, not only is he winning hit outs but he’ putting our mids right in the game with his taps. And his marking is sensational.

Grundy 8: Despite his bagging he just keeps putting in week out week out, covering the opposition attacks and blunting his man by often been first to the ball.

Smith 7: As always playing his role on the small forwards and with the exception of the Geelong game they rarely pass.

Mumford 7: Working his way into the season nicely and that awesome work rate is back. Possibly go beaten in the contests a few times early but he’s full steam ahead.

Rampe 5.5: been on a steep learning curve but has attacked his roles nicely. Some of the top teams forwards broke his tackles However he really needs another pre season in the weights room for the role he is currently playing and I don’t think the coaches thought he would be this frequently playing. Earlier some o his kicking had the hot potato feel about it but he’s settling in now and the kicking against the Crows was top notch target finding work and his combative nature is not in question, always prepare to wear a hit to get the ball.