Review Nab Cup Rd 1 review thread

[lemon chicken]

The gamestyle.

Gone is the handball and chip kick sideways outside of 50 until we turn it over and in is long kicking. Fwd line was very congested at times and a lot of the scoring came from sheer weight of numbers around the ball and pressure. Hard to gain much of opinion from it yet but the inside 50 stats were way in our favour and the conversion rate from I50 was close to 50% for the Bris game. Might be a case of playing most of the tall fwds at once and give them the best chance one on one.

New players

Heppell. For a guy whos supposed to be a good kick i was disappointed, he kind of twists the ball a bit when he drops it. But still he looked like a kid playing a few grades up. Found the ball well but.

Browne. I couldnt really fault him, think hes a gem.

Hibberd. Kicking action is superb and his athleticism surprised me, has a decent leap. Would be ahead of Slattery based on that game.

Jenkins. Looks below VFL level to me. Which is probably what should be expected.

Old Players

Hurley. Better than Sidebottom.

Neagle. Same old.

Hooker. Really disappointed me, but he lacked a bit of support in his game.

Zaharakis and Melksham. Will be midfiled stars. I have no concern over our midfield with these 2 in it.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

I'd add Ryder, Stanton, Dyson, Colyer and Monfries to that list as being impressive.

 

[Howard Moon]

i reckon there is still a bit of the run and gun in our gamestyle but there is a long kick as soon as we are in trouble rather than 3 stupid handballs too many.

So we still play on at all costs but we kick long at the end of it and defensivly as soon as we lose the ball everyone pushes up into a crushing zone, particulally the forwards which kind of leaves a pagans paddock for us to run back onto behind the zone once the long kick comes in

well thats how i read it anyway.


i loved dempseys game, looked a class above at times but we have seen it all before, hope its for real this year. Melksham was awesome, Hurley must have been told to use his presence because everytime the ball was near him he looked like wayne carey! was monstering each contest.

zaka has stepped up but im still waiting for the midfield time that he deserves, watson was watson, stanton was stanton, did what they do best.

heppell has that touch of pendlebury about him, has the quick side step and the abilty to make time even though he is not quick at all. hibberd looks ready, lock him in and browne was impressive.

for the bads.... prismall was listless, myers continues to frustrate and i was dissapointed with bellchambers. its clear we need ryder and hille up and running.

 

[smcateer]

Melkscam is exciting.

Loved how they kept the intensity up for the whole two games.

Also liked how despite the structures/set ups being awry in the 1st half of the Saints game, they seemed to correct it in the second half - good coaching & responsive players.

 

[The House]

I'd add Ryder, Stanton, Dyson, Colyer and Monfries to that list as being impressive.

Dyson? ......really?

Stanton i was overall happy with, but again a few times fluffed relatively straight forward disposals.

Really impressed with Zaharakis. Moved like a player confident in his game. Melksham still has a bit to do but also looks impressive at times.

Agree with goon on Ryder....looked to have a dip and backed his own ability in a number of contests which is great to see.....if he works hard and attacks the contest with confidence this year, i'm sure he'll have a good one.

Dempsey i don't have in the top 30 players on our list based on some tremenously ordinary performances last year, however was pleasantly surprised and impressed on a number of occasions....will need to do more to convince me but a great start nonetheless.

Hurley and Crameri were good up forward, and without getting a heap of it i thought Howlett and Lonergan provided good presense and agression when they were near the footy.


Early days and a lot of water to go under the bridge, but as a team we looked a lot more organised and better drilled than we have in a little while.

I'm just happy to be able to watch my bombers again! (even if it isn't the real stuff yet)

 

[smcateer]

i reckon there is still a bit of the run and gun in our gamestyle but there is a long kick as soon as we are in trouble rather than 3 stupid handballs too many.

So we still play on at all costs but we kick long at the end of it and defensivly as soon as we lose the ball everyone pushes up into a crushing zone, particulally the forwards which kind of leaves a pagans paddock for us to run back onto behind the zone once the long kick comes in

well thats how i read it anyway.


i loved dempseys game, looked a class above at times but we have seen it all before, hope its for real this year. Melksham was awesome, Hurley must have been told to use his presence because everytime the ball was near him he looked like wayne carey! was monstering each contest.

zaka has stepped up but im still waiting for the midfield time that he deserves, watson was watson, stanton was stanton, did what they do best.

heppell has that touch of pendlebury about him, has the quick side step and the abilty to make time even though he is not quick at all. hibberd looks ready, lock him in and browne was impressive.

for the bads.... prismall was listless, myers continues to frustrate and i was dissapointed with bellchambers. its clear we need ryder and hille up and running.

Well said, I agree with pretty much all of this. Less party tricks and more creativity from Demps was a good sign.

Gumby could struggle to cement a spot this season. Lots of forwards coming up.

 

[Hipster Doofus]

You looked 800% better than you did with Knights, and you still are fantastic to watch

 

[Hipster Doofus]

You looked 800% better structured than you did with knights, and still fantastic to watch

 

[brad]

You looked 800% better than you did with Knights, and you still are fantastic to watch

Thanks for that! Here's hoping for 80K+ at the Dream Time at the G match this year.

Oh and a Bomber win!

 

[lemon chicken]

Also impressive was the number of times we went coast to coast from the kick in's. Seem to recall Geelong being very good at this.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

I was surprised too, because I've never been a huge fan, but he looked good off the half back line.

I have a gut feeling that we should get used to seeing him.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Very pleased with what I saw. Compared to what I saw last year there were immense improvements across the board.

So much more tackling than last year, and all sorts of defensive pressure over the ground. Last year we were so lose so often, this was great to see.

Heppell - Impressive. Most impressive. Seemed to lose his head a bit under pressure but to be expected for his first game. Apart from that he looks ready.

Crameri, where the hell did that come from. Could be useful as a third target up forward as he seems pretty capable of taking a mark, possibly a Blake Carracella type role?

Hurley - Brilliant in flashes but seemed to go missing a bit. If he can start to hit that kind of potential more often this year he could be scary good. But last year he faded in and out of games, sincerely hope that doesn't continue this year.

Further to my point regarding defensive pressure. I loved seeing how often how often we put pressure on the opposition ball carrier. Last couple of years I've screamed myself hoarse for someone to go after the guy with the ball, this time we were at them regularly. Great to see.

Ball use. Good god what a change. Last year when we got the ball we just looked for a way out. This time we had the calm heads to look for people who were in good positions to use it. Not just kick it and hope. And not once did we handball to a stationery player. The bane of my life for the last few years.


Further to our ball use, our players seemed much more confident and willing to back themselves. Meant we were a lot more direct which meant we didn't muck around with it for 5 minutes on half back. Also liked seeing that we were willing to take shots inside 50, unlike the last few years when we'd chip it around endlessly.

Neagle seemed to spend little time up forward. Saw him on the wing a couple of times, and even at full back in the second half. Didn't look all that great either. Has slimmed down a fair bit though.

We're still using the corridor more than the wing. But since we're more direct with the ball now it works a lot better. We're not handballing it around the centre circle until we get tackled. We're now using the full width of the square and moving it smarter.

The back line looks very settled and solid already. In particular Cale Hooker. Looks composed and has improved on 2010 over the pre-season with more to come. I also liked McVeigh on half back, looked good running off it. Experience could be handy there.

Centre clearances were lacking a bit. Even when we won the tap we seemed to take a while to clear it. Happy to put this down to the young ruckmen we had tonight. Plus if this means we focused on the backline most over pre-season, I won't complain.

Speaking of ruckmen, Paddy Ryder played an interesting role. He seemed to contest very little centre bounces. He appeared to play a roaming wing/forward flank style role while taking most of the ruck contests around the ground. Possibly a sign that Hird's decided to have Ryder play this role permanently with Hille the centre bounce man who then goes and rests as a deep forward.

 

[absy]

The gamestyle.

Gone is the handball and chip kick sideways outside of 50 until we turn it over and in is long kicking. Fwd line was very congested at times and a lot of the scoring came from sheer weight of numbers around the ball and pressure. Hard to gain much of opinion from it yet but the inside 50 stats were way in our favour and the conversion rate from I50 was close to 50% for the Bris game. Might be a case of playing most of the tall fwds at once and give them the best chance one on one.

New players

Heppell. For a guy whos supposed to be a good kick i was disappointed, he kind of twists the ball a bit when he drops it. But still he looked like a kid playing a few grades up. Found the ball well but.

Browne. I couldnt really fault him, think hes a gem.

Hibberd. Kicking action is superb and his athleticism surprised me, has a decent leap. Would be ahead of Slattery based on that game.

Jenkins. Looks below VFL level to me. Which is probably what should be expected.

Old Players

Hurley. Better than Sidebottom.

Neagle. Same old.

Hooker. Really disappointed me, but he lacked a bit of support in his game.

Zaharakis and Melksham. Will be midfiled stars. I have no concern over our midfield with these 2 in it.

Yeah right, after his 2 'gimme' goals and doing nothing in the second game in the NAB CUP. Meanwhile Sidebottom is almost the norm smith medalist on grand final day?
get real, you played well but give us a break.

 

[Smyth94]

-Very impressed with our defensive rookies Hibberd and Browne, they were both ferocious and used the ball quite well.


Forwards:
-Hurley looks like he's one more pre-season away from tearing the comp apart, just such a natural.

-Monfries' efforts were fantastic, his job isn't to be the #1 goal kicker - he is a lock in our 22 IMO.

-Davey just so important with his pressure and clean hands

-Gumbleton looked a bit off with the pace of the game, IMO will pick up once he gets some miles in the legs.

-Carlisle has plenty of talent but his body isn't ready for consistent AFL footy, would be a fantastic third tall but I think with Paddy playing a more permanent forward role this year he's going to have to duke it out in the VFL which isn't a bad thing mind you.

-Willo - great goal, great work ethic, IMO will be our #1 in goal assists this year

Midfielders:
-Stanton - awesome tank, very good performance - IMO he will be burnt by last year and is inline for a very good season

-Priz, didn't notice him TBH

-Zaharakis - genuine class, has put on noticeable size, lock in our 22 and will be a key contributor in 2011

-Melky - another who has put on noticeable size and just has that class about him, seems to have an uncanny ability to find space

-Winders - didn't really get into it

-Hocking - did some nice things but was pretty quiet

-Jetta - Like Hocking did some nice things but was quiet

-Crameri-Top notch game, very good size about him, will be inline for promotion if he continues like this

Colyer - endeavour is great, needs to learn how to execute at full pace.

Defenders:
-Fletch - just a marvel really.

-Dempsey - did some very good things, but his game is affected by simple errors, he could be extremely good if the basics are upto scratch.

-Myers - disappointed, again did some good things but made some schoolboy mistakes in games where he should've been stamping his name.

-Hooker - sloppy night for Hooksy.

-Heppell - finds the footy with ease, used it well but for a few clangers, once he adjusts to the pace of the game he will be fantastic

-Slatts - status quo from hank - solid performance.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Defensive game was solid and was a sight for sore eyes.

Dempsey was electric, faster, stronger than anyone his size and his kicking was sublime.

Stanton's kicking was brilliant also.

Jetta popped in and out but did some great things. Looks about the right size to start having a real impact.

Carlisle looks a keeper.

Browne and Hibberd looked composed but so did rhys magin a few years ago in the nab.

Crameri got a few goals against smaller opposition or balls over the top. Stats look good but is not what we need at AFL level.

Myers - look good moving around and was strong. Dropped simple marks and fumbled. You can't do that at AFL level in the backline. Just don't get him.

Zaka and Melksham were quite good.

Big guys were ok without starring.

Worrying sign was the lack of clean hands by a few below the knees.

All in all a great start by the side.

 

[eth-dog]

Both are very good. AA CHF and RR in 3 years

 

[stugots]

add to those names mentioned above - Jetta - did some nice things & i almost didnt recognize him at times, looking a fair unit now

only nab cup & that was brisy seconds running around, but impressed with efforts in both games esp against the saints

 

[hirdyisback]

zaka looked like mark mecuri last night

 

[Yoda_]

OK, i'll have a go here then:


1 Jay Neagle - Same old from Big Jay, struggled with keeping contact with his opponent, if he is to work it is as a forward, one would hope this trial of him in defence is to help improve his own forward skills.

2 Ricky Dyson - Actually quite happy with Ricky's night. Unassuming, but did his bit, used that long raking left foot on a couple of occasions and looked very comfortable with ball in hand.

3 Scott Gumbleton - Still a long way off taking the competition by storm (if he ever does). Seemed right out of it, but last year's efforts give me some hope that we have a handy player on our hands.

4 Jobe Watson (C) - Same old from Jobe, does the job week in week out. Watched him a couple of times more closely and he was pointing and setting team mates in position for clearances.

5 Brent Stanton - Loved his night, this is the Brent Stanton we have been missing for nearly 12 months. Running, kicking long, kicking goals, that 9 - pointer was sensational. A big year coming for Brent?

6 Angus Monfries - Very dissapointed in his game, might just be me but seemed like the same old 'Gus'. Went to ground feyning for Free Kicks, which left him totally out of the contest when the ball hit the deck, that goal he did kick though was all class. Interesting to see how he progresses this year.

7 Leroy Jetta - Showed some more glimpses again, not sure where his best football is, probably as a high half forward running through the midfield. Loved his pressure around the ball carrier in these parts.

8 Jason Winderlich - Lost, M.I.A, a long sorry night for 'Winders', would of loved to have seen him moved to a different position to try something to get him into the game, but largely overall, a dissapointing night.

9 Brent Prismal - Another in the same old category, not sure where Prismall sits in our midfield to be honest. Really starting to see why he was played so predominantly up forward for the Cats.

10 Mark McVeigh - Solid as always, both with, and without the ball in hand. Should be a starting defender for round 1, one would assume.

11 David Zaharakis - WOW. Him and Melksham really showed something tonight, big things tipped from my boy Loved how he kept his feet through anything, attacking the ball, standing up in tackles, tackling opponents. Tipping big things for 'Zaka'.

14 Sam Lonergan - People really underestimate Lonergan at times, his relentless attack on the ball went throughout the night, he was a constant around the clearances. As silly as it sounds, he is our poor man's Luke Ball. Would love to see some quick hands out to team mates, or the footy thrown onto his boot.

15 Courtenay Dempsey - Interesting night from Dempsey. Showed some very flash in the pan stuff, but as mentioned in the game day thread, really stuffed it up on a couple of occasions. Not sure where his best footy is at, certainly not in defence.

17 Jake Melksham - WOW, along with Zaharakis, the other huge positive out of the night, did show a couple of Stanton like moments with the ball in hand (kicked it out on the full on the left, missed a target 30 meters away on his right), but for the most parts he showed why he was taken at # 10 in his draft. Big things to come so watch this space.

18 Michael Hurley - Another big positive of the night, really opened up a lot of eyes (definitely mine) as to why he should play forward. Did not clunk any big marks, but he certainly created a presence and crashed open packs. The opportunist goals were something extraordinary for a man his size.

20 Henry Slattery - Solid night again from 'Hank'. As silly as it sounds, with the ball in hand, my fist was not in my mouth with anxiety as to when he stuffs it up, but used it well and had a solid if unassuming night.

21 Dyson Heppell - Another big plus for us, the first couple of contests and possesions were very, very ordinary but he certainly got better as his night wore on. Showed some real steal and composure when he had the ball in his hands and showed why we rated him so highly.

22 Jake Carlisle - Like Carlilse deep, still very raw, but should get bigger and better over time. Was very good below his knees for someone his size and showed a real nose for goal with that snap on the point post.

23 David Myers - Hugely disappointing for mine, did some nice things, but tried to do to much most of the time. Not sure where Myers fits in, once everybody is fit and firing. KPD (Tayte Pears/Cale Hooker), 3rd Defender (Dustin Fletcher), 4th Defender (Hibberd/Heppell), Small Deffender (Slattery/Mcveigh). Could we use his big body and pace as a deffensive weapon and play him as a tagger? moves the aging Welsh out of the centre square and gives Myers room to use that big left foot of his, after all, he is a midfielder isnt he?

24. Alex Browne - Good debut from Browne, showed some composure with the ball in his hands, looked very out of his depth but did a couple of nice things.

26 Cale Hooker - You could tell it was Hookers first run in the Saints game, did some very good things and actually summed up things quite well. Would like to see him stick to the percentages for the most part this year and allow others to set up around him (Hibberd/Heppell/McVeigh).

27 Luke Davis - Another of our National Draftees, really like the way he went about it last night, showed his neat foot skills with that run out of defence, followed it up and was rewarded then kicked long. Nice stuff.

29 Alwyn Davey - Good solid outing from Alwyn, did some nice things, was missing in large chunks however, his left foot needs to be used more often coming into F50, a real weapon.

30 Patrick Ryder - Really liked his game last night. Rucked well, moved around the ground well (including that high flying mark), and followed up his efforts from the ruck contests. Will get better this year IMO.

31 Dustin Fletcher - What more can you say about Fletcher still turning out rather than sit out like those St.Kilda losers (Hayes, Riewoldt, Ray). Showed yet again why we all love him.

32 Travis Colyer - After a very good debut year from young Travis, would like to see him continue to improve. Another midfielder who struggled with the scrappy affair with contest after contest.

33 Mark Williams - Still not sold on Williams, that goal saved his grace from what was a very ordinary night.

34 Kyle Hardingham - More flash in the pan highlights, more failures than success', what do we do with Hardingham? Not sure where we play him TBH.

39 Heath Hocking - Liked his agressive approach to the ball last night, whilst being opposed to Goddard for most of the second game (Saints) would have showed how hard you need to work on your game to become an elite player.

40 Ben Howlett - Someone on Blitz, or on here that when someone asks you "who do you have to help out Jobe Wats?", answer "Ben Howlett!!". Really, really liked his games last night, stood up, and stood out in what was an otherwise scrappy game against the saints, whilst the Brisbane game he was always involved in and around the contests.

42 Nathan Lovett-Murray - Good solid start back from Lovett - Murray, that kick to set up a Crameri goal was very good, kicked to space and gave his team mate a good run at the ball.

43 Michael Hibberd - Another of our real positives to come out of the game last night. Showed everyone why I rate him so highly, should start round 1.

44 Tom Bellchambers - Coming along nicely, the young Tasmanian gave a decent contest at the centre bounces whilst he could of been involved a bit more around the ground. Still, first game back for the big ruckmen.

45 Stewart Crameri # - WOW, I have been critical of Crameri (in defence), but last night he showed a completely different string to his bow I have not seen. Composed, courageous, big bodied, his attack on the ball was really good and a couple of his marks were really good. Not sure where he fits into our best 22, but certainly showed something last night with 5 majors for the night.

46 Josh Jenkins # - Hm.. Very raw but very athletic. Gave a good contest, but still seemed a long way off it. Worked hard around the ground and tried hard but this year will be a development year for the former basketballer.

Just my take on our listed players from last night (list according to www.EessendonFC.com.au)

I actually turned to the mrs at one stage and said to her "this game plan was what Matthew Knights was trying to instill, but this game plan works both ways", her response; "I know, I havent heard you yell, 'kick it, kick it' at all". lol.

The run and carry was there for all to see, and we have certainly not lost any of our attacking force, but the deffensive side to our game was very interesting. Moving towards the ball carrier, rather than just coral them, liked how we picked the right option when moving forward, not just trying to own the corridor at every opportunity.

This new era will certainly help runners like Brent Stanton, Travis Colyer and even guys like Dempsey and Jetta if they move up the ground from their respective thirds.

Overall a very good night, and a real chance to move into the semi final stages with an interesting draw against the rapidly rising Melbourne Demons on Thursday night.

 

[Phone]

kicking into the forward line was pretty poor.

 

[Oh Tayteridge]

Myers - look good moving around and was strong. Dropped simple marks and fumbled. You can't do that at AFL level in the backline. Just don't get him.

Out of all the criticism of Myers, Kelvin has to be the most spot on here. Go back, watch the games again, and see that Myers was actually very good at times- he kicked well, used his size, and was very impressive at times.

As soon as people see three or four fumbles for a whole match then preconceived perceptions are immediately ignited, and it's back to "Myers was woeful". He really wasn't.

I thought he showed class and strength which was undermined by three or four simple and obvious mistakes.

It's the first game back, skill errors are rife. He'll get better, and if he gets some confidence into his game and continues to illustrate the positives of last night he will be a lock for our 22.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

I forgot that Sidebottom was the only reason Collingwood won the flag and Hurley was the only reason we didn't.

How silly of me to forget that premierships won is the only way to compare players.

Shame about Bucks then, isn't it... nowhere near Ash Hansen.

 

[Phone]

BEN HOWLETT f

 

[Vass38]

Cudos to Heppell & Crameri who did well, but I also really liked what I saw from Browne, & he had a reasonable return with 8 disposals & 3 marks against some sesoned Saints players. No ones really mentioned him here much which suprises me a little - we might have picked up a pretty good player here I reckon...

 

[Valve Bounce]

I'd add Ryder, Stanton, Dyson, Colyer and Monfries to that list as being impressive.

Mate, I agree.
While I was very happy with Essendon's win, just the same I feel we cannot take too much from the game against The Lions. It was like an AFL side playing against an organised rabble. They lacked leadership, inspiration and someone to tell them to just get cracking. When you see Spike McVeigh outrun a young Lion as if he was a Cheetah, you know something is terribly wrong.

St Kilda was different. We were getting beaten until Jimmy's half time spray. Then Essendon showed a helluva lot of heart, especially in the last two minutes when I though my heart was going to give out.