It was a cold breezy day at Rushton today with a NE'r blowing down the ground. Close to perfect conditions for footy with no dew or rain that the seniors have had to contend with for the past month or so.
I thought Gu was BOG with a very solid game game in the midfield. According to the Budget, Perth's tallest player, Latch, is 196, but it was the 192cm Borrett who did most of the ruck work. I think Perth were willing to concede the hit outs and gave Latch the task of keeping Tabs in check. As such, Peel dominated the hit outs with Zarke being the best big man on the ground.
People go to the footy for any number of reasons but the highlight for me came in the first qtr. There was a quick kick by bootsma out of D50 and Chalky ran back hard with the flight of the ball, turned at just the right moment, leapt and got a fist to the ball with Tropiano camped under it waiting for the ball to fall into his open arms. It was a very courageous act and just one of the many 1 percenters Chalky does each game. Chalky spent the first half tagging Tropiano with mixed results. Tropiano still racked up some good numbers but mostly under intense pressure from Brady.
I thought Weller was the best of the new guys. In the first qtr Peel went coast to coast to score a goal but it all started with a spearing pass from Weller deep from the back pocket boundary line to Gu in the centre of the D50. It was a brave and well executed kick. In the third qtr Weller won a ground ball in the centre of the ground and kicked deep into F50 where Tabs took a contested mark. Earlier in the second qtr he took a terrific pack mark and had also found Tabs on a good lead with another sizzling kick. A very classy 4 qtr effort from Weller.
Moller didn't have too many highlights today although he did take at least 2 telling pack marks but it was a really solid performance by him, with plenty examples of rugged tackling and a real willingness to contest. I reckon I can say with hand on heart that we now have a bonafide developing tall on our list. He looks more comfortable at FF each week.
Deluca and TV are now solid contributors at WAFL level, I didn't notice Smith, which is probably a good thing. Hughes has gone back to HB flank, he didn't show any ability to find the footy when he played on a wing. He looks much better with the footy coming to him. It was a pretty quiet day for him.
Blakely did his normal thing. I love the way he moves through traffic, he's a bit one paced but I don't think it matters. Sometimes he almost taunts an opponent in congestion with the ball, you half expect him to do a Campesi goose step. I love watching him play.
Duffield was solid at HB but looked quite lively when he went into the midfield, his long kicking is a real asset from the middle of the ground. Duffy had a very good first half but completely went out of the game in the second half. Earlier talk about bringing him in next week seems premature to me.