Game Day Player Review

[Who_can_say]

Despite the second half, our first half was impressive and reminiscent of our pressure identity that has been absent from our year at various times. As expected, Hawthorn moved the ball faster, trusted and were more assured with their game plan, and executed better foot skills. I think we saw some great signs of the future of our club tonight and these will be mentioned below.

Sidebottom - Our more assured and dogged performer tonight. His awareness and clearance work was sublime, as was his endurance running. How quick does he get rid of the ball in close? Those quick kicks can be effective.

Pendlebury - As usual, one of our premier players. We saw some of his best tonight, his ability in close to create space and inspire linkage was impressive. His early work was more effective than the rest of his game, which I believe is indicative of the Hawk's pressure after halftime.

Ball - Unfortunate circumstances to end a stellar career on. He provided some grunt and competitiveness around the clearances. He provided plenty of tackles and defensiveness, however that was largely the extent of his game. He did look affected by something, especially his pace (probably his back).

White - The last few weeks should have reinforced to many that White is definitely not a premier forward. He competes well, and provides some good pace around the ball, but that is largely it. Looked unsupported and vulnerable at times, which could be expected given the players we are missing.

Fasolo - Clumsy, complacent, and completely inept at times. He showed some signs early of exhibiting his football smarts, but they soon disappeared and were replaced by poor ball movement and decision making. It may be controversial, but he is on borrowed time for me. Appears more interested in the glory without any of the hard work. I do appreciate that it must be difficult being moved from defence to forward, but he needs more heart.

Goldsack - Played his role and looked solid enough without being spectacular

Gault - I have always been critical of him as a player, and tonight I was pleasantly surprised by several aspects of his game. He competed well, especially in some marking contests, and looked desperate on the ground. He has to work though on his below knee skills as he looked fumbly at times. Would like to see a few more games. Well done to him

Witts - Dem contested marks. How exciting was it to see him impact contests in the air? That alone was exciting! Will only get better. He is a lovely kick for a giant man. His ruckwork is improving.

Dwyer - I am very unconvinced by Dwyer. He seems to provide very minimal to the team outside of linkage, and even then why couldn't another play do that? I hope his injury isn't too bad, but he should not feature in our future.

Thomas - Some good work in the middle, however we also saw some ordinary decision making which is to be expected given his youth. Worth persisting with. He was also the victim of several contentious umpiring decisions which I think impacted on his confidence.

Langdon - His intercepting skills are invaluable, and it is hard to believe that he is a first year player. He looked vulnerable as a key defender on Gunston at times, but that is to be expected. He needs to me mentored and
nurtured as the future Maxwell of the backline.

Blair - Apart from his 7 tackles, his 7 disposals and a goal (even though it was good) was not enough for a senior player in a depleted forward line.

Williams - He looked uncomfortable and out of place at times. He was playing out of position. Not the worst, and will only get better if given time to develop in the middle. He needs to improve on decision making though.

Ramsay - Dogged, determined, and desperate at times. Had all of the relevant skills for a small defender.

Frost - Was beaten tonight, but was not helped out by the opposition's immaculate delivery into the forward line. He looked tired and a lot slower than normal. He needs to be commended on his efforts this season.

Broomhead - beaten by a seasoned defence tonight. His excitement meter generally reads '11' at all times. His skills at ground level are sublime. Imagine him and Elliot in a functioning forward line?

Lumumba - WTF. His disposal, decision making, and speed have all rapidly deteriorated. It is like watching the Lion attack a zebra in slow motion. You can generally see what is going to happen before Harry does.

Keefe - Looked okay, played well and took some good marks. Put his body on the line at several stages and used it well.

Grundy - Looked a bit more polished and defined tonight than other nights. His aggression was checked, and he used his smarts at times to our advantage. Some exciting moments for a young ruckman.

Sinclair - Limited rebound tonight, but I think that was because he had a shutdown role on Breust for the night. I prefer his offensive running than pure shutdown position deep in a back pocket.

Seedsman - Like Fasolo, he doesn't seem to try as hard as he should. He needs to move the ball with less complacency. Didn't break lines as well as he should. Needs a big preseason and to show a lot more improvement with his decision making and endeavour.

Armstrong - needs 2 games to warm up.

 

[Eric_Melvin]

Couldn't agree more with this. Witts was outstanding at times. Ball to be commended for his efforts. Fasolo is in the gun. Very lazy. Langdon is a real find. Super excited about broom head. Kid has class.should be a very interesting trade period.

 

[Axl the great]

Great write up!!! agree with everything, would have to say though i thought Pendles was off tonight but the rest are spot on.
Always thought Blair had to go but stuck up for Harry, not after tonight, they can both piss off as far as i am concerned.

Goldsack can join them as well, If Buckley thinks full ground pressure will improve the team more than slick ball movement and assured skills he is a joke.
What we are seeing since he took over and again tonight, is a tired, energy sapped team with no structure and no idea.

 

[Snoop Dog]

Sorry haven't done one for a while but the Sunday night games kill me with these things. I will do a more formal one for the year on the whole list but tonight review doesn't read great bc whilst we had a young side in its pretty ordinary that only 3 players had more than 20 touches.


Fasolo - I thought he had a go tonight and particularly early set the standard for what we need from him going fwd. He did some frustrating things but the effort was there and he had his opportunities. He needs an injury free preseason and needs to have a big one next year.

Dwyer - Had no influence on the game whatsoever for mine. Maybe a bit harsh as was the 4th highest possession winner with 18! I think he will really struggle to play many games next year. I wonder if there is an opportunity for him back or as a tagger but he just doesn't give enough over the game.

Grundy - terrific game from the big boy. he really jumped in at the ruck and was aggressive. Yeah he does some silly things but he is a competitor and he will curb that.

Goldsack - Don't start me.....how they could possibly let him leave is beyond me. He clearly wants to stay and given the lack of senior blokes who can play back then you'd think he is a must. Really we can't have a heap of confidence that Toovey, Reid or Brown will play 26 games next year given they each find a way to get injured regularly. Be shattered if he goes and reckon it will hurt us for a long time.

Lumumba - Can we trade him for Harry Obrien? Didn't have a good one tonight (14 touches....) and think he may have had 1 touch in the first qtr. Thats just not good enough for me. He had some ok moments but again this bloke is senior premiership player and I just think he doesn't reflect that with the influence in a game.

Pendlebury - He had a ripper this bloke. Tried his guts out.

Blair - 7 touches? Premiership player, backs to the wall.....he was 21 over par tonight. Has a fair go does Blairy but it beggers belief some of the decisions he makes. It was nothing short of selfish and dumb to try and take that hanger on Birchall in the 3rd qtr. He is a senior player... a premiership player and yet does stuff like that when he should simply punch it back into our fwd 50 and put the pressure on again. Why he gets another contract and we can't find $50k or whatever it is for a bloke like Goldsack who always does the team thing is a mystery to me. Blair isn't in my best 22. Kennedy, Broomhead etc have all gone past him.

Ball - He is a warrior isn't he. Just a bloody ripping bloke and team leader. It is a shame he is moving on as would have hoped his leadership would be there. We need it. By the way the 2nd most CP of the night....says a lot for the other 43 blokes on the list that are apparently ahead of him. to be fair he did say at games end the game had said to him it was time.

Witts - He was terrific. Jumped into them, took contested marks and showed a real glimpse of the future.

White - Has a lot of critics but he was recruited as a FF and the last 2 weeks are pretty much his first and only opportunity to do so this year. He has all the tools but he finds a way to muck things up but I'd leave him there and stick Cloke out to CHF next year. Then let Reid float. 7 marks and 3 contested was good. Missed 2 he should have gotten and would have had 4. Shame.

Sidebottom - BOG for us and he is fast becoming a real leader. I think he has been superb this year.

Keefe - He was good and given how knackered he must be given how much ball he has had coming at him this year I would think they'd be happy with him. I think he is a player you could trade and get something for but I think the club are very committed to him.

Thomas - He frustrates me. I'm not sure if he really cares at times. He can have a v good game against pretty poor opposition like GWS but when the heat is on against a good side he goes missing. Played pretty much in the middle, had only 15 touches and was very ineffective.

Williams - Looks like they may be setting him to tag next year. Was ok at that tonight.

Sinclair - Interesting they pushed him up into middle but I don't think he is one you would be looking at there given his disposal can be a bit off. I didn't think he had much influence tonight.

Armstrong - He has done enough to stay on the list and to be fair thats a good outcome. Didn't do anything tonight but butcher the ball when he did occasionally get it but he will be better for it next year.

Broomhead - Does he ever smile? Reckon if you asked him his favourite song it would be something form Leonard Cohen. Loads of talent but he had a bad night. He got caught out a few times trying to close space but getting caught in no mans land. He will learn from playing against the best.

Ramsay - I quite like this kid. I saw in the u18s and he is a very different player to then. He was more a mid runner with great skill. He has scope this kid but he is small and he is battling for position

Martin - Well this bloke is off and why wouldn't he be. He would have a dozen clubs in his ear telling he is the best player in the VFL and he'd be a walk up start in their side. Cant blame how does the coach honestly look him in the eye and say you get rewarded on performance when blokes like Seedsman are in front of him. Last time I checked winning your own footy, getting a lot of it and hurting offensively is a pretty attractive CV.

Seedsman - Fresh legs, pace, beaut skills.....all the reasons he got picked ahead of Martin and PK I would suspect. 1 touch in the third qtr when he was subbed on. Got even worse when Hartung was subbed on in the last and within 2 mins had kicked a goal on him after Seedsman was literally brushed off a tackle. He needs a big pre-season this kid.

Langdon - He has been the find of the year for mine. He played well tonight and has all year.

Gault - Showed a bit didn't he. Looks a touch slow but there is something there. 2 goals and a couple of marks. Would have been nervous so good start.

Frost - He is knackered.

 

[Vicky Park]

Sorry haven't done one for a while but the Sunday night games kill me with these things. I will do a more formal one for the year on the whole list but tonight review doesn't read great bc whilst we had a young side in its pretty ordinary that only 3 players had more than 20 touches.


Fasolo - I thought he had a go tonight and particularly early set the standard for what we need from him going fwd. He did some frustrating things but the effort was there and he had his opportunities. He needs an injury free preseason and needs to have a big one next year.

Dwyer - Had no influence on the game whatsoever for mine. Maybe a bit harsh as was the 4th highest possession winner with 18! I think he will really struggle to play many games next year. I wonder if there is an opportunity for him back or as a tagger but he just doesn't give enough over the game.

Grundy - terrific game from the big boy. he really jumped in at the ruck and was aggressive. Yeah he does some silly things but he is a competitor and he will curb that.

Goldsack - Don't start me.....how they could possibly let him leave is beyond me. He clearly wants to stay and given the lack of senior blokes who can play back then you'd think he is a must. Really we can't have a heap of confidence that Toovey, Reid or Brown will play 26 games next year given they each find a way to get injured regularly. Be shattered if he goes and reckon it will hurt us for a long time.

Lumumba - Can we trade him for Harry Obrien? Didn't have a good one tonight (14 touches....) and think he may have had 1 touch in the first qtr. Thats just not good enough for me. He had some ok moments but again this bloke is senior premiership player and I just think he doesn't reflect that with the influence in a game.

Pendlebury - He had a ripper this bloke. Tried his guts out.

Blair - 7 touches? Premiership player, backs to the wall.....he was 21 over par tonight. Has a fair go does Blairy but it beggers belief some of the decisions he makes. It was nothing short of selfish and dumb to try and take that hanger on Birchall in the 3rd qtr. He is a senior player... a premiership player and yet does stuff like that when he should simply punch it back into our fwd 50 and put the pressure on again. Why he gets another contract and we can't find $50k or whatever it is for a bloke like Goldsack who always does the team thing is a mystery to me. Blair isn't in my best 22. Kennedy, Broomhead etc have all gone past him.

Ball - He is a warrior isn't he. Just a bloody ripping bloke and team leader. It is a shame he is moving on as would have hoped his leadership would be there. We need it. By the way the 2nd most CP of the night....says a lot for the other 43 blokes on the list that are apparently ahead of him. to be fair he did say at games end the game had said to him it was time.

Witts - He was terrific. Jumped into them, took contested marks and showed a real glimpse of the future.

White - Has a lot of critics but he was recruited as a FF and the last 2 weeks are pretty much his first and only opportunity to do so this year. He has all the tools but he finds a way to muck things up but I'd leave him there and stick Cloke out to CHF next year. Then let Reid float. 7 marks and 3 contested was good. Missed 2 he should have gotten and would have had 4. Shame.

Sidebottom - BOG for us and he is fast becoming a real leader. I think he has been superb this year.

Keefe - He was good and given how knackered he must be given how much ball he has had coming at him this year I would think they'd be happy with him. I think he is a player you could trade and get something for but I think the club are very committed to him.

Thomas - He frustrates me. I'm not sure if he really cares at times. He can have a v good game against pretty poor opposition like GWS but when the heat is on against a good side he goes missing. Played pretty much in the middle, had only 15 touches and was very ineffective.

Williams - Looks like they may be setting him to tag next year. Was ok at that tonight.

Sinclair - Interesting they pushed him up into middle but I don't think he is one you would be looking at there given his disposal can be a bit off. I didn't think he had much influence tonight.

Armstrong - He has done enough to stay on the list and to be fair thats a good outcome. Didn't do anything tonight but butcher the ball when he did occasionally get it but he will be better for it next year.

Broomhead - Does he ever smile? Reckon if you asked him his favourite song it would be something form Leonard Cohen. Loads of talent but he had a bad night. He got caught out a few times trying to close space but getting caught in no mans land. He will learn from playing against the best.

Ramsay - I quite like this kid. I saw in the u18s and he is a very different player to then. He was more a mid runner with great skill. He has scope this kid but he is small and he is battling for position

Martin - Well this bloke is off and why wouldn't he be. He would have a dozen clubs in his ear telling he is the best player in the VFL and he'd be a walk up start in their side. Cant blame how does the coach honestly look him in the eye and say you get rewarded on performance when blokes like Seedsman are in front of him. Last time I checked winning your own footy, getting a lot of it and hurting offensively is a pretty attractive CV.

Seedsman - Fresh legs, pace, beaut skills.....all the reasons he got picked ahead of Martin and PK I would suspect. 1 touch in the third qtr when he was subbed on. Got even worse when Hartung was subbed on in the last and within 2 mins had kicked a goal on him after Seedsman was literally brushed off a tackle. He needs a big pre-season this kid.

Langdon - He has been the find of the year for mine. He played well tonight and has all year.

Gault - Showed a bit didn't he. Looks a touch slow but there is something there. 2 goals and a couple of marks. Would have been nervous so good start.

Frost - He is knackered.

Snoop, I have to merge this with an earlier game day player review thread. Beat you to it by about 15 minutes.

 

[Snoop Dog]

no probs

 

[rustyg70]

Lumumba has to be put out as trade bait.
He has become more of a liability as the season went on.
I'd be more than happy with a late 3rd round or 4th round pick.
Just get him out of the club.
I'm sick of his selfish, show pony tricks that constantly stuff up or place our other players in danger.
Look no further than his last disposal when he got caught holding the ball in the Hawks goal square.
He had TWO free Collingwood players behind him, but he once again, tried to run through a tackle or two and got caught.

 

[1892]

Surprised Blair only had 7 tackles all game, early on the score board showed the 5 leading tackle getters, Blair had 5, the next 2 and the other 3 players just 1. One of our most manic players early on when we played our best footy. For mine Blair needs to train as a mid over the preseason. While he has grunt I like small forwards with a bit of class and arse, so to me if he's going to stay on the list longer term he needs to fight for the role Ball was so good at.

 

[Tippy78]

Surprised Blair only had 7 tackles all game, early on the score board showed the 5 leading tackle getters, Blair had 5, the next 2 and the other 3 players just 1. One of our most manic players early on when we played our best footy. For mine Blair needs to train as a mid over the preseason. While he has grunt I like small forwards with a bit of class and arse, so to me if he's going to stay on the list longer term he needs to fight for the role Ball was so good at.

Spot on. He was the best player on the ground early but then just disappeared.

One of the best games Sidebottom has played for us IMO. He even looked solid in the marking contests which is normally his biggest weakness.

 

[domus]

I think Fasolo is highly overrated and I am losing patience with him. He is slow and a one trick pony. He cannot apply defensive forward pressure unless his opponent is standing next to him because he doesn't have the pace to run anyone down. Time and again I watched him arrive too late to apply pressure and he would lay the tackle after the ball had already been kicked or handpassed. He is supposed to be an elite kick and time after time he misses targets or a simple set shot. He dropped his head in the dying minutes and muffed a simple mark which led to a Hawthorn goal moments later. I am struggling to see where he lines up in our best 22.

 

[shizzle]

Was really impressed with the big blimp last night, was clunking them left right and centre, also I loved Sidey's effort, he just ran himself into the ground to provide an option.

 

[Kirby]

Alright I'm going to pot a couple of blokes which I don't usually do.

First is Fasolo. This guy really gets my goat and I find it really hard to like him. If there was a stat for having tickets on yourself he would romp that in league wide. I know he's had fitness issues but he really struggles to get to contests and gives up easily. He has ability but is a real show pony. I'd give him one more season and hopefully he can have a good pre-season but he's on thin ice. If he was my team mate I would love to get in the boxing ring with him at training and belt the crap out of him.

Second is Thomas. He had a great game last week but his game last night was a stinker. He was given lots of midfield minutes and pretty much stunk it up. He squibbed it badly one occasion too. He needs to put on some size as he has the body of a 12 year old. He also needs to put in a decent performance against a quality team and not just the Dudley teams like StKilda and Gws.

 

[Vicky Park]

It was a difficult night for Jesse White - thats an understatement - but I was pleased with his efforts. Yes he dropped marks and missed goals, but he never stopped trying and presenting. I dont know how much of his running was seen on the TV broadcast, but being at the game you could see how hard he was going.

Hoping he will be better for us next year, and I detect a marginal (I mean marginal) improvement in him in the last part of the season, after he was dropped to the VFL.

 

[gutsroy]

Think others have written up fuller and more eloquent reviews than I could.
Sidebottom was very good - considered him to be not much more than a good player in a good side, but he's been just about our best this year.
Witts continued to show signs, can be very happy with his progression in general this year.
Not going to pot players, down in general were Blair, Lumumba, Frost, and Pendlebury for mine, maybe he was carrying a niggle, not sure.

 

[TradeDraft]

Grundy - Looked a bit more polished and defined tonight than other nights. His aggression was checked, and he used his smarts at times to our advantage. Some exciting moments for a young ruckman.

Yep - Did not gave away any free’s.

Had some nice kicks and Directed a few good taps.

Was Best Ruckman in the 1st Half before he was Pulled

Grundy - terrific game from the big boy. he really jumped in at the ruck and was aggressive. Yeah he does some silly things but he is a competitor and he will curb that.

Yeah, He did have a Real Crack at it.

Was good to see the Aggressiveness used well.