NAB Cup- Your most exciting 3

[Rayzorwire]

Astbury looked slow. I was impressed with derickx though. Thurstfeild was our best defender

Rance was bad. Nahas was awful

In both games Rance and Astbury took the better forwards (Waite, Walker, Dawes, Brown), Thursfield stood O'hailpin and Reed. Rance had 17 possessions, Astbury had 20, Thursfield had 7.

It goes without saying that the coaching staff are looking for key defenders who can play on a good opponent and still assist with rebound by racking up the sort of numbers Astbury and Rance did tonight - Thursfield is still failing at that side of the game (despite getting the third best opponents) and it's going to hurt his chances of getting selected ahead of the competition.

 

[purrrrrrrrrrfect]

Good point, but I still prefer the ball in Thursfields hands rather than Rance or McGuane. I still have hopes that he can develope that side of his game

 

[JR#8]

Conca, Conca and Conca. Looked poised and like a natural out there. Can't wait til he has a few pre seasons under his belt.

 

[jeff99_Au]

Astbury looks good taking all those marks really looks like he is settling in down back
thursty looks like he has put a few kilo's on finally looked to attack in the first game
Derickx looks like a hard nut ruck .

 

[NQTIGER]

Derickx looked good all night
The Irish boy looked so composed
King put in

Astbury for mine was too mark, stop, prop very 60s

 

[TigerTime88]

TAYLOR TAYLOR TAYLOR.

Just a few plays where he did some special stuff. Should play 22 games this year and we will see a few special performances.

MacDonals chase.

Derickx. Looks like he can play mobile ruckman as well as FF. Should get a gig ahead of Vickery who should play coburg for another year.

 

[dothebowdenshuffle]

Astbury
Derickx
Contin

 

[CeltDave]

Derickx - nice tap work, good mobility around the ground, strong mark and I really liked his second efforts at ground level

Astbury - I know he was a little stop start however his positioning, marking and read of the play was great - will benefit from having better movement up the ground when senior players return which should see the stop / start issue reduce

2010 National Draftees - I thought all the new boys showed a bit, particularly their skill level and reading of the game - has the RFC picked a good crop of youngsters [time will tell]. I have put Derickx by himself at the top as I reakon he was worthy the focus - really nice start

 

[_RT_]

Can't believe the criticism of Astbury. Not sure how many were actually there and how many were watching on TV, but seriously the kid had nothing to kick to just about every time he got the ball. Just seemed like our players wouldn't move to create space for others to lead into, we would simply lead to the boundary and then stand there, rather than looping around and letting the next bloke lead into the space. Oh well, it was only early, still plenty of time to get things right.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

...BATCHELOR...composure, composure, composure...combined with a thumping kick....shades of rohan smith...

...DERICKX...strong physical presence...mobile...imposes himself on the game...shades of matty primus...

...O'REILLY...shades off...ugly but getting prettier...

 

[CoggaRules]

In impressive order

O'reilly
Derrcikx
Webberley
Batchelor
Jakobi

Have to give Rance abit of kudos, was all over it but decision making let him down. Get it right kid and you are a star.

Have to give a clip behind the ears to Edwards & Nahas, absolutely butchered the ball many many times and cost us dearly.

Apart from that, the rest treaded water, Vickery is indeed a worry still, as hard as he wanted to and tried, Taylor couldnt get into it Conca wasnt that bad, but didnt impress like his predecessors did in their debuts, like Cotch and Dustin.
As much as I think there is merit in getting Miller as a mature age back up, looked like he should have retired.

But I have to say that this Oreilly kid has added more strings and tricks to his game and reckon we can add him to the "we have a real good one" bucket.

 

[Cathal Brugha]

O'Reilly
Batchelor
Grimes

Expected Conca to play similar to what he did, the three above showed they will contest for games, which is exciting.

Add the 'X' man to that group with a smaller tick to Jacobi. By the way Keddal looked ok too when he was on the ground.

 

[PHX]

Derickx
Taylor
Conca


Astbury was best for us but those 3 showed exactly what I wanted them to.

 

[AlexRance]

Our 2010 draftees.

 

[Bazzar]

i mentioned elsewhere o'rielly and jakobi being my 2 smokies,

First time i have seen him and i was very surprised how easy he done it, and looked to ooze quality. If that small snippet is any indication and he naturally improves we will have a genuine ripper on our hands. Interesting the Hun had him as one of the best in the second game.

 

[David3030]

Went to the game(s) last night. Having not seen it back on TV, IMO our best three were Derickx, Contin and Batchelor.

Further, IMO we should upgrade Contin before Miller prior to R1.

 

[victo76]

#1 the recording off the set-top box this morning. Was expecting Derickx to be over-hyped, but was very impressed. Nothing better than a ruckman that keeps fighting for the ball when it hits the ground. It's infectious. Plus, he can take a grab and has a tidy kick.

#2 Batchelor showed a bit also, but I think there was a moment in the first half of the Carlton game where he showed no right foot. Otherwise, his composure was evident.

#3 Astbury went some way to confirming what most of us knew already - a class act to build the club around.

Was also impressed with Rance. Made some errors, but did some good things. In a stronger line-up, I think his errors will decrease and be less evident. I think he'll continue to divide supporters this year.

Other than that, it was all glimpses for the remainder. Conca used it well; Contin looked OK; Taylor didn't do much, but I'm confident he has it; Helbig has good aggression.

 

[purrrrrrrrrrfect]

...BATCHELOR...composure, composure, composure...combined with a thumping kick....shades of rohan smith...

...DERICKX...strong physical presence...mobile...imposes himself on the game...shades of matty primus...

...O'REILLY...shades off...ugly but getting prettier...

Good comparison
Thinking back he does remind me a little of him

 

[Mr Magic]

1. Orielly - appears to have caught up to the pace of the game. Must be given ever chance.

2. Rance- poise and agility /strength so much better. Kid could be a star and reach his potential. Leave him in the backline for a year to develop further for mine. If he doesn't make it crucify the coaches!!!

3. Conca , not a surprise but did a few things under pressure which suggest GF player who can produce on the big stage. 22 games , barring fitness to get him up to brownlow medal level within 4 years.

4. Batchelor - movement a bit better than some suggested. Kicking good enough and we know he can mark. Leave him in the backline from round 1 and move Lids up field.

I don't care if we do not win a game in 2011, these guys need to be developed and others. Priority number one win a premiership going forward.


5. Webberly, seems to have lost dourness(main weakness), a bit quicker , must be played given head on his shoulders.

6. D rix - I rated him before so his efforts were not surprising. Needs to be developed in the ruck area- good start though.


7. MacDonald- likely type, moved well. This guy has scope for improvement.

8. Didn't see much of Jakobi or Grimes so can't really comment,

9. Two guys had absolute shockers. This is not positive but, if they continue in that vain 2 positions will be available for quality players in the 2011 draft which will improve our list greatly before 2012!!!

 

[captain blood 17]

1. Conca - did some nice things, disposal was ok.
2. Derickx - those three big grabs were awesome, and his tackling for a big bloke was fantastic. Was clearly out rucked though.
3. D Mac - good energy around the forward line. Hard at it.
4. Morton - skill
5. Connors - had a go.
6. Rance - Put in. Was fairly under the pump last night.

Sorry to finish on a negative, but White and Edwards were awful in both disposal and decision making. I reckon Conca will take Whites spot, and Edwards is borderline as well.

 

[Mr Magic]

Nahas put his name up for a quick exit as well. Too one dimensional for mine.

Nason did do much and I would be surprised if he and Farmer where still here in another 3 years.

Everything is pretty much on que

 

[captain blood 17]

Nahas put his name up for a quick exit as well. Too one dimensional for mine.

Nason did do much and I would be surprised if he and Farmer where still here in another 3 years.

Everything is pretty much on que

In Nason's defense, he hurt his back early when he got smashed by Scotland (how that wasn't a free was beyond me).

 

[Mr Magic]

In Nason's defense, he hurt his back early when he got smashed by Scotland (how that wasn't a free was beyond me).

I agree, punch in the ribcage for mine or a bit lower

 

[smasha]

x rated
Conca
King

 

[drybones]

Astbury looked very good - from a non tiger follower

This was from an Essendon supporter, and now from another Bomber, Astbury reminded me a bit of Hurley last night. Young guy patrolling the half-back line and looked like he had a lot of time on his hands, cool in a crisis.

Astbury reminds me of Hurley.. Hurley reminds me of Reiwoldt (Nick) maybe it's just a blond key position thing!!
Another point, where was Houli last night? If not injured I would've thought Hardwick would've liked a look at him out there asap.