Review Negatives against Port (Maybe positives too)

[DickDunn]

35 inside 50s today.

All those bagging our forwards it was slim pickings today down our forward end .

Midfielder just stood on their heels . No meaningful drive or rebound from our defenders so when we did get our inside 50s port were well set up behind the ball

The forwards, minus JK, were pathetic when it did go forward though. Total lack of pressure which gifted Port multiple easy rebound goals. If we can’t trap it in our forward 50 we’re ****ed. Cripps must be under serious pressure given that sort of thing is supposed to be his bread and butter. Darling sucked today too

 

[Balls In]

Playing like a bunch of ******* losers. They clearly dont want to be there and now the season is cooked. There's about 5 blokes really putting in and a couple who flash in and out and thats about it.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

+ Jones worked into it nicely and should retain. Ah Chee showed signs too which I guess is good. Ryan works hard, best forward of 2020 thus far.

+ That fight back to start the third was great and shows that our brand of football still works, we just seemingly can’t play it anymore?

Similarly, great passage in the second where we kicked back, switch, switch, switch, slowly chipped our way forward and found a goal from it. It works whenever we execute, but * we suck at getting our hands on the footy to get the game style started.

+ JK isn’t dead yet campaigners.

+ Nic Nat is unfairly good, six of the top seven clearance numbers were Eagles (including Nic with a BOG six himself). Wasting the rare year that he’s healthy, good stuff.

+ Shep nice again, Cole should keep his spot.

+/- Brander worked into it a more yet again. Improving week on week. Jesus, his fresh airy tackle will haunt me forever though. He’s figuring out his own game a bit, but still has a pea heart. Glances over his shoulder if he’s not in acres of space. Not sure he’ll make it as a mid.

- Really piss poor to give teams a head start. Shortened quarters make the sustained comeback really tough once you spot anybody a 24+ point lead. Fight back was nice but a goal or two and it’s dead because we come out shooting blanks to start a must win game.

- Redden offers nothing in his current role, sorry Simmo but I’ve given you a long leash with this and it just doesn’t work. For a bloke who led us to a flag off role driven selection, gifting Redden games as an irrelevant outside runner is unbelievable. Three strikes, it’s out. It’s barely Redden’s fault. If a player has a proven track record in a role, play him in that role, don’t shoe horn him into the side in a completely different spot.

- Darling terrible in game 200, what a let down.

- Complete absence of locking it inside 50. Some due to ground level pressure, some due to structure downfield, but the ease with which teams walk out of our forward 50 is something I’ve not seen against an Eagles side for years, genuinely maybe a decade.

Play Cameron when healthy. Play Bailey Williams. Give Exxon a run. Oscar Allen and Waterman need to feature prominently, though how they fit in without dropping JK or JD I’m unsure.

Might still scrape the eight due to a great run of home games, but unless something completely flips between now and the second half of the season we’re just riding out the clock on this year already. What a spectacular waste.

 

[Avalor]

Looking through the stats, it's obvious we are just not fit enough - slacked off in the covid19 hiatus. No run, way down in uncontested possessions and marks, and no run from defense, poor kicking (as a result of fatigue issues) etc. We actually won in the ruck, in the CBD and at stoppages, so our contested work was much improved. Match fitness is way short.

 

[larrikin]

We are slow, poor contested ball winners, who when we do win the ball fumble, or make poor decisions, then execute those decisions woefully.

Lucky we can work this all out on the training track...

 

[WCErevival]

We are slow, poor contested ball winners, who when we do win the ball fumble, or make poor decisions, then execute those decisions woefully.

Lucky we can work this all out on the training track...

Had to look that up. You're right we actually smashed them in the clearances.

 

[xInfected_Virus]

I called we're were going to get smashed by around seven goals.

Hopefully JK is truly back in form but it's probably an outlier.

Nic Nat been decent again.

Defense down but this can be carried over to the mids.

Most players are NOT hungry.

 

[ziad]

+
Jones looks promising - a Cats reject, says something about our list
Ryan some grunt and effort
Jk - can contribute if we get supply
Shuiey is injured byr showed soem class and pace
Kelly is out classiest mid and will grow into our team
Shep as usual
Gaff plods hard all day
Nic is useful but has lost his in and under mobility and aggression

_ (less the headspace contribution)
Hurn is thinking but his body has lost the ability to react
Schofield - spat the dummy and signed his retirement papers - an old man with other things on his mind who was soundly beaten
Sheed is our next generation mid but is only a slow outsider
The lack of positive leadership in the HUB situalion - one forced on us by inaine politics with absoluetely no public health benefits. (So the AHPPC tell us and I prefer their advice to that of BF and dullard politicians)
We are not an agressive team - we won a premiership asa good team with role players all contributing 100%. We have 10-15 passengers at the moment
Barrass and Darling are and have always been mentally soft when all is not well.

 

[BrotherDodge]

+ Kennedy was decent. Hopefully he keeps it up and doesn't just pop up for a good game every month or so.
+ JJ deserves a few more games. Good things seemed to happen when he was around.

- Yeo, Cripps and Darling in the worst form of their careers. Yeo needs to at least lay his 8-10 tackles if he's offering little offensively. Darling is just beclowning himself at the moment. He's a confidence player who has none whatsoever. FFS, can someone tell him he's pretty and smart and good at chest marks?

- Simpson "I've got the tactical breakthrough of 2020- the World's Tallest Wingman!"
Everyone "Cool. So he's a one-touch player with exquisite foot skills who makes good decisions?"
Simpson *chuckles* "God, no. But..."
Everyone "Ah OK, he's an imposing physical presence then."
Simpson "Well... Guys, look how goddamn tall he is!"

Man, I hope we're not ruining Brander. He should be learning to lead from Kennedy, or to intercept from McGovern, not doing whatever the hell this coaching staff fever dream is.

 

[DirtySandman]

No thinking.

Even less doing.

 

[Seadog]

Read an article in the Age saying the two teams who are the most "system" based in Tigers and us are struggling because systems have to be fine tuned by training repetition and we haven't been able to do it. Doesn't account for intent but could be something in it as the younger teams relying on effort, enthusiasm and pure skill seem to be going alright.

 

[larrikin]

Read an article in the Age saying the two teams who are the most "system" based in Tigers and us are struggling because systems have to be fine tuned by training repetition and we haven't been able to do it. Doesn't account for intent but could be something in it as the younger teams relying on effort, enthusiasm and pure skill seem to be going alright.

Yeah that was my point earlier. The boys had a crack, but we are playing like they are preseason games.

 

[DirtySandman]

Read an article in the Age saying the two teams who are the most "system" based in Tigers and us are struggling because systems have to be fine tuned by training repetition and we haven't been able to do it

Doesnt account for our stinkiness towards the end of last season though.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Nic is useful but has lost his in and under mobility and aggression

Couldn’t disagree with that part more. Career best six clearances per game this season, and has seemingly decided “none of the mids are doing it so I’ll just do it myself” when his taps hit the floor. I think his ground level work has been at an all time high this year (making the resulting lack of effort from fellow midfielders all the more frustrating).

 

[ziad]

Read an article in the Age saying the two teams who are the most "system" based in Tigers and us are struggling because systems have to be fine tuned by training repetition and we haven't been able to do it. Doesn't account for intent but could be something in it as the younger teams relying on effort, enthusiasm and pure skill seem to be going alright.

Like, we have never before been exposed by a team that applies pressure and runs in waves from half back have we?

 

[ziad]

Couldn’t disagree with that part more. Career best six clearances per game this season, and has seemingly decided “none of the mids are doing it so I’ll just do it myself” when his taps hit the floor. I think his ground level work has been at an all time high this year (making the resulting lack of effort from fellow midfielders all the more frustrating).

His tackling and physical pressure was better than generational as was his handball use under pressure. This isnt as good now. He may gain with more games given he is coming of his second knee.

 

[Yamumluvsbigcox]

The forwards, minus JK, were pathetic when it did go forward though. Total lack of pressure which gifted Port multiple easy rebound goals. If we can’t trap it in our forward 50 we’re f’ed. Cripps must be under serious pressure given that sort of thing is supposed to be his bread and butter. Darling sucked today too

But it was ports mid who push up into a forward press and locked it in . Our mids don't forward press at all.

On cripps he did have the job at stopping hartlett today . Hartlett had 22 possessions today

 

[HoneyBadger35]

His tackling and physical pressure was better than generational as was his handball use under pressure. This isnt as good now. He may gain with more games given he is coming of his second knee.

Agreed his tackling has gone down a gear, along with everyone sadly. Wonder if the suspensions ****ed with his head or if it’s just another thing that’s stopped working this year.

 

[PaulSubetro]

Lucky we dropped Allen for Hickey so we'd be more competitive in the ruck.

Hickey: 6 hitouts, 4 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle, 0 clearances from 41% time on ground

Allen last week: 7 hitouts, 8 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles and a clearance from 45% time on ground.

Our match committee is a f***** joke

It's not the match committee. Allen didn't want the ball last week. Not unusual for a young player coming through but the problem is it's symptomatic of the whole team. That's not a match committee problem.

The problem with poor performance invariably lies in one of these;

1. The list isn't good enough
2. The coach has lost the players
3. Some of the senior players have an attitude problem and it's trickling/gushing down
4. The game plan

The list is good. As good as any in the AFL. I also doubt Simmo has lost the players. It's likely a combo of 3 and 4, but here's the kicker; This side has had a contested ball issue since the flag. They even had it before the flag. The achilles heal of Simpson's coaching is he plays a game plan that revolves around zoning off, coralling and positioning to wait for the ball. When it works, it's the best system in the AFL but if the players can't execute it, it falls off a cliff. He nailed it in 2015 with the Weagles Web but lost the GF. Then the players couldn't execute and got exposed in contested ball. 2018, he nails it again and wins the flag. Last year, again, couldn't execute properly.

It is no surprise this is what it's come to.

Too many seasons of playing semi-contested ball have conditioned the players to be soft. The game plan is still good for AFL standard, just no longer for this group. Whatever it is, a lot of elite players are failing to execute this season. I don't see any other option than to throw it out the window and start hunting the ball. We can blame the players all we like but it's obvious to me the message is old and a new gameplan is needed to reinvigorate the playing group.

 

[ROYAL EAGLE]

Our backline is killing us.
The ball is spending so much time down there because of our movement out of backline is so stagnant
It is so poor at the moment, only winner is Brad Sheppard but he is playing lock down role.
Shannon Hurn's kicking is killing us, he is so conservative, and teams are happy to let him have
the footy, because he gets the footy a kicks long down the line every time.
Liam Duggan is not AFL quality at the moment just turns it over, and is slow.
Tom Cole not much better.
We need Rotham and Watson to replace them in the team.
Tom Barrass is in such poor form, they could satrt giving young Harry Edwards game time and he
wouldnt be worst than Tom Barrass.
Lewis Jetta is being used right.

The backline as no run and carry when Sheppard is doing lockdown role.

I think we should move Elliot Yeo to the backline again to give us some drive.

 

[Pottering]

Too many negatives to mention, but I'll concentrate on one that irked me all game.

The number of times Port half backs streamed by for the handpass while their Eagles opponents were trailing 5 or 10 metres behind was ridiculous. The main culprits were Cripps and Ah Chee. Last quarter Brander went forward and obviously thought that was the instruction. Even I was starting to believe that was the game plan it happened so often. If it was noticed in the coaches box it certainly was not acted on.

 

[Godfather32]

It's not the match committee. Allen didn't want the ball last week. Not unusual for a young player coming through but the problem is it's symptomatic of the whole team. That's not a match committee problem.

The problem with poor performance invariably lies in one of these;

1. The list isn't good enough
2. The coach has lost the players
3. Some of the senior players have an attitude problem and it's trickling/gushing down
4. The game plan

The list is good. As good as any in the AFL. I also doubt Simmo has lost the players. It's likely a combo of 3 and 4, but here's the kicker; This side has had a contested ball issue since the flag. They even had it before the flag. The achilles heal of Simpson's coaching is he plays a game plan that revolves around zoning off, coralling and positioning to wait for the ball. When it works, it's the best system in the AFL but if the players can't execute it, it falls off a cliff. He nailed it in 2015 with the Weagles Web but lost the GF. Then the players couldn't execute and got exposed in contested ball. 2018, he nails it again and wins the flag. Last year, again, couldn't execute properly.

It is no surprise this is what it's come to.

Too many seasons of playing semi-contested ball have conditioned the players to be soft. The game plan is still good for AFL standard, just no longer for this group. Whatever it is, a lot of elite players are failing to execute this season. I don't see any other option than to throw it out the window and start hunting the ball. We can blame the players all we like but it's obvious to me the message is old and a new gameplan is needed to reinvigorate the playing group.

Sorry but wtf are you even talking about?

 

[Barrybran]

+
Jones showed some glimpses an is worth persisting with
JK can still kick a bag provided he gets it lace out or is one-out against an opponent - curious to see how he goes against a better 1-on-1 defender next week though though
One more week until we go home
Richmond are playing about as well as us!

-
If we can't contain Dixon how are we going to go against Riewoldt/Lynch?
So much space between opposition ballhandlers and our players. Apply some pressure!

 

[Time To Hunt]

If this group has lost the “hunger” they will find it very hard to rediscover. We may as well start reworking the team now and introducing the players and game style to win us our next premiership. The only thing I see with that is a weak list in terms of what else we have waiting in the wings.

 

[WCErevival]

If we can't contain Dixon how are we going to go against Riewoldt/Lynch?

Dixon destroys us every time we play Port. None of our guys can compete with his size. The ball is getting in there too quickly at the moment.