Player by Player review

[Sylvia Saint]

1. Simon Buckley - very impressive. Super pace, good disposal, attacks the pill. We have a good player on our hands here.

2. Jones - got a lot of the pill but disposal was lacking and seemed to be constantly under pressure.

4. Holland - looked all at sea. We're in trouble if he features heavily throughout the regular season.

6. Bate - flashed in and out of the game. Impressive in patches.

11. P.Johnson - he is useless.

12. Sylvia - absolutely dominant in the third quarter. Think he spent a bit of time on the pine but I was very impressed with his attack on the footy. Could be in for a good year.

13. Yze - was OK. Got a lot of the ball and used it better than most. Will be in the side Round 1.

18. Green - just a game. Will improve but today's performance was nothing to write home about.

19. Maric - no impact what-so-ever, however I'm prepared to cut the schoolkid some slack.

20. Garland - could be a star. 3 goals, looks agile, a nice height and very good skills. Did his Round 1 chances no harm.

21. Bell - poor game.

23. McDonald - worked hard as always but nothing to write home about.

24. Robertson - needs to pull his head in. Absolute disgrace today and if he doesn't find form in the remaining games, shouldn't play in Round 1.

25. Cheney - well out of his depth but prepared to cut him some slack.

26. Meeson - impressive. Got 15 possessions (when's the last time our backup ruck did that) and moves well. A lock for Round 1.

28. Weetra - not a lot to discuss.

29. Newton - didn't do a lot but a 2 goal return is nothing to sneeze at. Would like to see an improvement in the coming games.

30. McNamara - surprisingly impressive for a 17 year old taken late in the draft. Could feature later in the year.

33. Martin - looks ok and moves well but made a number of rookie errors and needs to develop at Sandy.

34. White - just a meh game from Jeff really.

35. Zomer - surprisingly looked pretty decent up forward. Good pair of hands.

37. Warnock - out of his depth.

38. Wonnawhatever - could be a good player in time.

40. Jamar - better than usual but still nothing to write home about.

43. Bode - out of his depth.

44. Valenti - future star, promote him ASAP!

 

[Bartram_Class]

I thought Warnock was alright to be honest, one of our better players down back.

 

[master bate]

The way I see it

Good (Round 1 level) - Buckley, Jones, Valenti, Meesen, Sylvia
Better than usual (pushing for a game) - Jamar, Yze
Impressive youngsters (some a long way off but solid efforts)- Zomer, Garland, Wonnaeamirri, McNamara, Martin
Average (hope to improve before round 1 or we're in trouble) - White (Not a lose man in defence), Weetra (bit soft), Newton, Green, Bate
Bad (were just bad!!!) - Bell (needed a hand in defence, will improve) PJ (not sure he has a future)
Rarely sighted - Robbo, Cheney, Maric
Shocking (should never play AFL)- Holland, Bode, Warnock

 

[master bate]

I thought Warnock was alright to be honest, one of our better players down back.

Actually come to think about it he did have some solid patches but in the first quarter/half he was dead set awful, just was nowhere near his man and when he was he wasn't ineffective, but maybe he has made some improvements. Unfortunately he is blessed with useless height (ie can't play on talls but lacks speed and mobility to play on smalls) and I can't see him getting a game.

 

[demonfan9]

As I said in the other thread, I couldn't tell who half the players were from the bottom level of the Reg Hickey stand, but I did notice and was impressed by Valenti and Buckley in particular.

Valenti is another centre square player, who puts his body in and has a strong work rate. Buckley showed great initiative to run with the ball of half back and take opponents on, particularly when the rest of the team just gave shitty handballs or kicked to no one up field.

 

[DaVe86]

Thought Buckley's 2nd quarter was the highlight of the day for you Melbourne fans. Great pace, really backs himself and a supergoal against the wind is something to treasure.

I missed the 2nd half, but i noticed he barely touched it....was he rested???

Do you guys reckon he is top 22 round 1?? I truly think he is. I think the Demons would be foolish to not use him now whilst he is in good nick.


If you rely on players that got you no where last year i feel you will not progress. I'd really like to see you use some exciting youngstars like Buckley, however i am aware room must be found for Bruce and Mclean.



Also, on a final point, i think you guys missed Wheelan today who couldve played on a small forward like Stokes, Byrnes or Johnson. He had a pretty injury ruined year last year...I'd say he is top 22.

Why was he not playing today...rested, poor pre-season or still carrying injury???

 

[demonfan9]

I think Whelan is still carrying an injury, which is why he was rested today.

 

[melbourne150]

I was at the game and Maric actually looked pretty good and forsed a few turnovers by chasing and putting pressure on Geelong and it suprised me how fast he was he also layed and awesome tackle after chasing someone and then slamming them into the ground at full pace....

Wonaeamirri also put alot of pressure on Geelong and was pretty impressive....has a nice kick and doesn't seem afraid to back himself

Buckley was very good(i think he ran the ball about 50m three times) but unlucky for him that the forwards were doing nothing wich made him look bad when he turned it over because he had nothing to kick to......Buckley is exactly the sort of play we need and will probebly play most games this year

Jones was awesome and IMO he was our best player.....you said his disposial was lacking but it was more that he didn't have anything to kick to....

you said Zomer has good hands?? i thought he was terrible and dropped atleast 4 fairly easy marks...

Valenti was incrdible nothing more to say....

McNamara was suprisingly good(seemed like the only defender that wasn't turning it over) his skills were good and has a nice kick.

Bell had a bit of a shocker but still went very hard at the ball and managed to crunch a few people.

Meesen was very very good in the first term...He started on the wing and then moved into the midfield he was pretty solid for the rest of the game and kicked a goal when he went forward.....i didn't see him play in the ruck at all(if he did please correct me) i did see him come over the top(2nd man up) a few times when he was playing on the wing but that was about it..

Sylvia was good it took him a while to get into it but once he did he was very good and as you said Sylvia saint he killed it in that third quarter and put alot of pressure on Geelong....i thought the whole team put alot of pressure on Geelong in that quarter...and i think we came back quite a bit (before they kicked away in the last quarter)

I don't think we should be upset about this game as we obviously had a very young team in and only 1 of our starting six defenders....

If any one has any questions feel free to ask

(Also what the hell was Bailey doing playing 4 ruckman 5 if you include Martin and he played Jamar in there the most out of any one and White loose in defence I was very impressed with him up and till today..lets hope it was just a rookie mistake)

 

[DaVe86]

I was at the game and Maric actually looked pretty good and forsed a few turnovers by chasing and putting pressure on Geelong and it suprised me how fast he was he also layed and awesome tackle after chasing someone and then slamming them into the ground at full pace....

Wonaeamirri also put alot of pressure on Geelong and was pretty impressive....has a nice kick and doesn't seem afraid to back himself

Buckley was very good(i think he ran the ball about 50m three times) but unlucky for him that the forwards were doing nothing wich made him look bad when he turned it over because he had nothing to kick to......Buckley is exactly the sort of play we need and will probebly play most games this year

Jones was awesome and IMO he was our best player.....you said his disposial was lacking but it was more that he didn't have anything to kick to....

you said Zomer has good hands?? i thought he was terrible and dropped atleast 4 fairly easy marks...

Valenti was incrdible nothing more to say....

McNamara was suprisingly good(seemed like the only defender that wasn't turning it over) his skills were good and has a nice kick.

Bell had a bit of a shocker but still went very hard at the ball and managed to crunch a few people.

Meesen was very very good in the first term...He started on the wing and then moved into the midfield he was pretty solid for the rest of the game and kicked a goal when he went forward.....i didn't see him play in the ruck at all(if he did please correct me) i did see him come over the top(2nd man up) a few times when he was playing on the wing but that was about it..

Sylvia was good it took him a while to get into it but once he did he was very good and as you said Sylvia saint he killed it in that third quarter and put alot of pressure on Geelong....i thought the whole team put alot of pressure on Geelong in that quarter...and i think we came back quite a bit (before they kicked away in the last quarter)

I don't think we should be upset about this game as we obviously had a very young team in and only 1 of our starting six defenders....

If any one has any questions feel free to ask

(Also what the hell was Bailey doing playing 4 ruckman 5 if you include Martin and he played Jamar in there the most out of any one and White loose in defence I was very impressed with him up and till today..lets hope it was just a rookie mistake)

Meesen played a couple of minutes in the ruck at times but wasnt given a go until the game was well and truly out of reach.

Just on Buckley, how much of the 2nd half did he play??? Seemed to stop a bit in the last and throughout the 3rd. Ultra impressive player

 

[melbourne150]

Meesen played a couple of minutes in the ruck at times but wasnt given a go until the game was well and truly out of reach.

Just on Buckley, how much of the 2nd half did he play??? Seemed to stop a bit in the last and throughout the 3rd. Ultra impressive player

I don't think i saw him at all really in the third he was either on the bench for most of the quarter or was just very quite(unlikely considering how good he was playing)

but i saw him in the last quarter.......i think he had another big run with the ball?.....He is gunna be an awesome player to watch in years to come if he keeps running the ball and playing how he did today


(Also thanks for the info on Meesen)

 

[Drummond]

I thought Meesen had a pretty good game. His first quarter was very good, and he used his body well on quite a few occasions. I liked his play where he intercepted the ball, then slid to his kneed and dished the handball off to Bate. Even Dunstall was impressed with that piece of play. It was very interesting to see him playing as a rover, starting in the midfield and at times even on the wing. I haven’t seen him used that way in my 3 years of watching him in action. He does have a very large tank so I could see him being used in that capacity because he’s fit and has good skills.

Good to see him kick a goal as a result of floating forward. Someone said he had 15 possessions which is I think a number he could average throughout his career. He has excellent hands in close and this was evident quite a few times today. I’d still like to see him more aggressive at times because while he is a good tackler, he can often hit contests not as hard as I would like. All in all a pretty good showing, but there’s a lot more to come!

As for Wonaemirri, he too can improve greatly on that performance. But don’t you guys love seeing him go on one of his big chases? He’s an excitement machine! While he doesn’t have a great initial speed burst, when he’s in stride he is awfully quick! Your first goal was directly a result of his great tackling and a few other times he came very close to holding the ball. I liked his work on the wing in the last quarter, when he took 2 or so bounces and kicked to the square. He likes to back himself and he’s kicked many goals on the run. I noticed at times he looked very tired and that’s one area of his game he must improve on. His fitness isn’t too flash but when he gets his engine up he’ll then be able to apply even more 2nd and 3rd efforts. He has great potential.

 

[Lynch takes a mark]

why didn't Morton play ?

 

[Sylvia Saint]

why didn't Morton play ?

I've heard that he was injured.

 

[cougar000]

Thought Buckley's 2nd quarter was the highlight of the day for you Melbourne fans. Great pace, really backs himself and a supergoal against the wind is something to treasure.

I missed the 2nd half, but i noticed he barely touched it....was he rested???

Do you guys reckon he is top 22 round 1?? I truly think he is. I think the Demons would be foolish to not use him now whilst he is in good nick.


If you rely on players that got you no where last year i feel you will not progress. I'd really like to see you use some exciting youngstars like Buckley, however i am aware room must be found for Bruce and Mclean.



Also, on a final point, i think you guys missed Wheelan today who couldve played on a small forward like Stokes, Byrnes or Johnson. He had a pretty injury ruined year last year...I'd say he is top 22.

Why was he not playing today...rested, poor pre-season or still carrying injury???

I think we are going to here this name Buckley for quiet a few more years yet ony in the red and blue, the great name lives on. I'm impressed with him he has stepped up hope he gets better every game

 

[demonfan9]

Buckley looks like he can replace Brown off the half back line. Even though they don't share many characteristics, they both love to run (Buckley breaks tackles, whereas Brown was more of a chip-and-run type).

 

[melbourne150]

Also, on a final point, i think you guys missed Wheelan today who couldve played on a small forward like Stokes, Byrnes or Johnson. He had a pretty injury ruined year last year...I'd say he is top 22.

We missed our whole backline!!! Bell was the only person playing yesterday who is in our starting back six.....

 

[CowboyFromHell]

Re: Buckley - it's easy to stand out when the side we put on the park is shit.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Re: Buckley - it's easy to stand out when the side we put on the park is shit.

Is that his fault?

The fact he looked good against the Premiers speaks volumes for the form he is in IMO.

 

[CaptainDavey]

Is that his fault?

The fact he looked good against the Premiers speaks volumes for the form he is in IMO.

Agree completely BC. I said it earlier but I think the only person in the team who didn't enjoy his performance was Chris Johnson. A game like that I reckon has all but sealed a position left vacant by the classy Johnstone. Not only that, but Buckley has a gritty element that Johnstone struggled to have

 

[hullsy]

You talk Meesen up for getting 15 cheap possessions, 4 of which were clangers. PJ played the first half in the backline and kept Hawkins to 3 touches, none of which were at goal. Its not all about getting cheap kicks. Im not saying PJ had a good game but you can only play as good as the postion your in, Meesen played forward and wing most of the game.

 

[bloodpumpsRnB]

Holland had a bad game, but his favoured position is deep in the forward line IMO, remember last year when he kicked 4 goals against the Bulldogs.

 

[CowboyFromHell]

Agree completely BC. I said it earlier but I think the only person in the team who didn't enjoy his performance was Chris Johnson. A game like that I reckon has all but sealed a position left vacant by the classy Johnstone. Not only that, but Buckley has a gritty element that Johnstone struggled to have

If Buckley is the TJ replacement then we are going nowhere fast.

 

[CaptainDavey]

If Buckley is the TJ replacement then we are going nowhere fast.

Sorry, I didn't mean in terms of exact playing style, I meant TJ spot in the 18 or 22

 

[CowboyFromHell]

Sorry, I didn't mean in terms of exact playing style, I meant TJ spot in the 18 or 22

I don't think he's in our best 22. He had one good quarter yesterday, and he didn't do much in the other 3. Not even close to convinced yet.

 

[demonfan9]

You talk Meesen up for getting 15 cheap possessions, 4 of which were clangers. PJ played the first half in the backline and kept Hawkins to 3 touches, none of which were at goal. Its not all about getting cheap kicks. Im not saying PJ had a good game but you can only play as good as the postion your in, Meesen played forward and wing most of the game.

Haven't seen a replay to be able to comment on their games to be honest.