One big positive...

[Bartram_Class]

Brent Moloney.

Not only looking a lot fitter, but getting plenty of the ball and he's not lost any of his trademark aggression.

 

[SUPASTARR]

Would be even better if he could hit a target and stop just bombing it.

 

[master bate]

Would be even better if he could hit a target and stop just bombing it.

Yeah it would, but to just see him getting in there and getting it and have his pace and endurance back is great to watch. Also its hard to hit a target when you don't have much upfield to hit. Him and PJ should take a bow, they look the only players who have had a good preseason and are getting better. Jones as well probably.

 

[CaptainDavey]

Buckley was good when he took on some players with his pace and weaved through traffic...

 

[Major Colvin]

If thats a positive, I'm Elvis

 

[ExTasDeeMan]

Hi Elvis, why are you so overrated?

Moloney - is there any player always spins INTO a tackle?

 

[shanrew5]

Moloney and McLean were the biggest positives today, and Johnno, Buckley, Jonesy and Wheatley also tried hard.

saw in the last quarter that Bruce overran the ball and instead of chasing the Hawthorn players he just stood there with his hands on his hips, looking into the sky. This happened all day from the senior players. So frustrating to watch. Bring in Dunn, Frawely, Maric etc. THey at least will give it everthing

 

[CaptainDavey]

How cool was that holding the ball tackle Neita laid today, bloody inspirational. Well it wasn't but it was a nice sight nonetheless to see the big fella run from FF to HB just to crunch some Hawk

 

[melbournemartin]

Moloney was decent. I thought that his slide into the back of the Hawks player in the last quarter wasn't a good site though. I love his aggression but that served no purpose. Good Moloney aggression is like when he flattened a Cats player early in the 05 elimination final.

As for Buckley, his arrogance is astounding. He does look nice weaving through the packs and has good pace but he backs himself to do this 9 out of 10 times even when he knows what comes next...disposal!!!!! He was probably our worst turnover defender today. He made Shannon Motlop look like James Hird. I'm all for being confident but within your own limits please. At least you had a reasonable chance of the kick hitting the target with TJ.

 

[chopper41]

Would be even better if he could hit a target and stop just bombing it.

That quote could be used on pretty much every midfeilder we have.

 

[melbournemartin]

Not Weetra. He still doesn't hit a target but the ball only goes 20 metres.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Not Weetra. He still doesn't hit a target but the ball only goes 20 metres.

Gutsy little lad though.

Seems to have a bit of talent, needs a bit of confidence, not disimilar to Garland.

Perhaps Buckley can give them some of his? Is it just me or does Simon have the biggest footballing ego on a young lad you've ever seen? He'd take on anyone in the league and try to palm them off.

 

[demonfan9]

I've always been a fan of Moloney, even though he'll never become a star. He works very hard, wins the hard ball and always tries to have some physical influence on the game. Although his kicking isn't great and he gets tackled a bit, I'd rather have Moloney in my side before 90% of those other blokes in the red and blue yesterday.

 

[demonfan9]

Perhaps Buckley can give them some of his? Is it just me or does Simon have the biggest footballing ego on a young lad you've ever seen? He'd take on anyone in the league and try to palm them off.

Good on him for taking risks and breaking the lines though. We all saw what happens when you become static. Good teams like Hawthorn can easily zone off against that, causing nightmares for us. Never have I seen a team struggle to get the ball out of the backline than yesterday. At least Buckley has the balls to put the footy under his arm and take off, using his pace and shrugging off tackles. His next step is to focus on his disposal and decision making though. It would also help if his teammates were willing to run with him and provide an option (or God forbid, even shepherd).

 

[RandB]

The jury is still out with Maloney.