Player Reviews vs the Hawks

[Snoop Dog]

The Game

1st Qtr - Huge intensity and our lads did well. Midfield controlled the CP and the Hawks only went in maybe 6-8 times.

2nd Qtr - Controlled it early and looked dominant but then Rioli and Buddy got on top of OBrien and Reid and whilst they only went in 10 times for the qtr they scored nearly every time. How we got behind by 16 but won all the stats was beyond me.

3rd Qtr - Got 25pts behind but fought back well and had all the momentum heading into the last.

4th Qtr - Started well and got in front but they had just used to much petrol and they couldn't sustain the efforts. The kids struggled but a few of the senior blokes were bent over as well.

Overall - In the end we won the CP and the I50's but we didn't take our chances. along with that our kicks in, their kick ins and the # of kids worked against us. In saying that I liked the game plan and am hoping with Brown, Tarrant, Johnson and Maxwell to come back into the defence and Wellingham and Beams into the middle we won't leak like we did tonight.

Votes

5 Pendlebury
4 Cloke
3 Jolly
2 Blair
1 Swan or Ball

Players

Fasolo - Was an interesting night. Struggled a bit early and missed a shocker late in the first but kicked 2 real good goals in the 2nd to keep us in it and then was pretty solid for the rest of the night. No question he is a player and seemed to be a guy they wanted taking into the 50..

Goldsack - thought he was good and competed well. Smith got one on him in 2nd but it was unlucky. Great effort to come back from the shoulder and continue to play well. Looking for a good year.

OBrien - Not great for mine. Took on Rioli in the first which was just plain dumb for a bloke like him and then he dropped a mark or two in the second and Rioli cut him up getting goal side a couple of times. Why he didn't go to Rioli instead of chasing Bruest in the second was odd. Got a bit better in the second half but he wouldn't be happy. I seem to remember he plays better when #5 is back there as well

Clarke - Started ok but struggled running the game out and made some terrible errors. Will be interested to see how many was kicked on him. Suspect a few. The Lewis one before half time was not good.

Pendlebury - Was BOG for mine. How was the dribble thru the legs! What odds Brownlow for him? 21 CP!

Blair - Took a bit to settle and made one or two bad skill errors thru the middle early but really got going and we won a lot of CP via him. I thought he was one of the better ones. 3 goals were all good.

Ball - thought he was super early but just didn't influence the game in the same way he did in the first half. Was one of the best for me.

Thomas - Quiet early and was a bit of a disappointment when the heat was on. Finished ok but not his best.

Rounds - Its a shame bc I want him to do really well but he just mishandled it a few times at crucial stages and it cost us. The goal Savage got in the first might haunt him. wonder if he chased Suckling hard enough out of defence? Got a bit better but didn't give us a lot. Missed a couple of ones he should have got.

Jolly - he dominated Macauley but so he should have. Kicked a nice goal and was good all night albeit had the odd clumsy moment as usual. In saying how good he was Macauley did ok for them but Jolls clearly beat him for mine. Looked fit and was prepared to run hard fwd.

Reid - Looked ok but wasn't usual self. Kep Buddy quiet for most of it bar a couple of important moments in 2nd but then the big boy got off the leash in the 2nd half. To be fair not sure Ben did a heap wrong but Buddy just always seemed to be in the right spot.

Sidebottoom - thought he was v good but just drifted out of the game at crucial stages and didn't finish his work in front of goal. To be fair he ran pretty hard to get on the end of them but they slotted theirs and we didn't

Keefe - I thought he was pretty good actually. Only real bad moment for him (and it was bad) was he didn't spoil in the goal square but otherwise he wasn't that bad. Hale certainly didn't dominate him and for me that was as good as you could expect.

Sinclair - you know when he hit that pass of the left early I thought here we go he has fixed his weakness.....alas he proved me wrong. So much competitiveness but can't kick.

Dawes - I thought Dawesy was pretty good except for the early misses, an easy mark he dropped and the Macauley goal. Certainly showed a bit around the ground.

Cloke - Eddie get the cheque book out and pay up.

Paine - Quiet but did a couple of nice things and shows enough to suggest he is worth watching.

Toovey - v good defensively from what I could tell but I think Savage was on him when he went wild wasn't he? Not sure so wouldn't want to sledge him at all. Looked ok to me.

Swan - Drifted in and out and whilst had 31 didn't think he was really dominant

Shaw - Except for the couple of kick in which he slaughtered i thought he was v good and tried hard all night. Got a shocking free paid against him. He was good albeit again i think the kick ins are a major issue for Ben Hart to work on.

Yagmoor - learnt a few things to work on in the VFL.

Seedsman - I actually thought this kid showed a bit when he came on and should be given another game if the others don't come up.

I hope for

Hoping for Johnson, Beams and Tazz to get thru tomorrow and young Jamie Elliott to get on the end of a few bc there is a spot for him in this side. Nice if Maxy could play as well.

In - Tarrant, Johnson, Beams, Maxwell

Out - Yagmoor, Keefe, Rounds, Sinclair

 

[SwanBet]

brilliant write up, don't think we should be all doom and gloom. Stuck with them all the way nearly with such an inexperienced side.

Seedsman, Yagmoor, Rounds, Sinclair looked all at sea, but good to get games into them early. I thought keefe actually did alright, gives me good faith in or key position depth that we can rely on someone when we have 2 quality talls out.

Fasolo impressed me, as did blair. Goldsack was really good, hope he gets a whole season in.
Jacko Paine, is going to be a player, looks a good kick, has some hands, and is huge for an 18 year old!!

for mine maxwell wont be right, i'd bring in Beams, Tarrant and Didak.
out would go, Keefe, Seedsman and Sinclair/Yagmoor.

Still with, Wellingham, Johnson, Maxwell to come back in, looking very strong in a couple of weeks.

 

[Jelly Bean]

Really felt the absence of Krakouer, Didak, and even Beams. Blokes like Rounds, Sidebottom, and Sinclair just couldn't finish around goals from pretty easy shots, and it killed us.

 

[Quicky]

I think you understated Blairs influence. When we were pushing shit up hill he went to the middle and orchestrated a change in momentum. He won clearances, kicked goals and was really pivotal in some important contests around the ground. He was my 2nd bog for us.

I wouldn't say Rounds was all lost at sea SwanBet. He did some good things tonight, he did a few bad things but he was far from our worst. Maybe i'm being too optimistic but he strikes me as a player that needs to be given time to find his feet and could reward us when he does. It's a shame he didn't nail those two goals.

 

[rustyg70]

Really felt the absence of Krakouer, Didak, and even Beams. Blokes like Rounds, Sidebottom, and Sinclair just couldn't finish around goals from pretty easy shots, and it killed us.

I tend to agree with you here JB.
We definately lacked a quality small crumbing forward to stay at the feet of our Talls.
Krak is a big out,but we cant do much about that now,so hopefully Elliot does get a shot soon.
In saying that,with Beams and Didak coming back soon hopefully we will be able to capitalise on the amount of ball the big guys bring to ground.
I was fairly impressed with Paines pressure,but he is definately not the crumbing forward that we needed tonight

 

[Knightmare]

Team notes:
Not enough players around the footy - lack of fitness? Need more players getting to more contests.

Didn't like the defensive running of the midfielders at all. Need to get back and clog up the spaces against Hawthorns forwards because Buddy and Cyril will kill you every time.

When Hawthorn started to get some runs on I'm really surprised we didn't at any stage look to close down the ball and make it more congested. Perhaps an extra man behind if the footy even. Just something to put a stop to the streaky play because the ebs and flows of the game were significant and match defining.

Backline very unsettled without Maxwell and Tarrant and just leaked to many goals.


Votes:
5. Pendlebury
4. Cloke
3. Ball
2. Blair
1. Keeffe/Goldsack

Pendlebury was the one who impressed me. Loved his game tonight! Everytime he got his hands on the ball he did something meaningful with it. Handballing was a feature and consistantly hit the targets under pressure and set up meaningful offence. Kicking perfect for much of the night. The big improvement I see in his game is the improvement of his 1v1 marking, looks like a real feature of his game and I get the impression that he has been working with Bucks on it.

Reid - Shocking. Really looked out of sorts and low on confidence. Dropped some easy marks. Kicking was poor and missed multiple targets which is very out of character! At one stage in a 1v1 contest actually ran away from the ball? Hopefully he rebounds next week and rediscovers his form from the 2011 H+A season.

Cloke was fantastic. Absolute monster of a man and every time it went his way he just felt dangerous. Too big and outmarked his man more often than not. Kicking not great but I get the impression that he will continue to build on last years form and produce to an even higher level in 2012.

Thomas - really slow getting into the game but in the 2nd half was more productive. Didn't have his usual influence and didn't seem to inject his usual energy into the game. Is he being overtrained? Just didn't look like himself out there for the majority of the match.

Swan - really not a fan of the direction his game is going. 2010 was by far his best year and I don't expect him to ever have a better year. Offensively will accumulate his 30 disposals as always. What I don't like is his lack of defensive running. He is playing as a purely offensive player, not tackling and letting his man go loose. Really needs to increase his defensive effort and tackle more, because he looks more concerned about racking up his dreamteam points through kicking than he does making the right plays and playing 2 way ball. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.

Ball - Played his typical relentless game. Won the hard ball and tackled like a man throughout. His touches weren't damaging which is why he will have gone mostly unnoticed but he played his role and played it to a very high level as always.

Yagmoor - Didn't impress me and thought it was probably a bit early to see him debut. Will learn from the experience but needs time at VFL level.

Paine - Again left the game liking his contribution. Presented well. Did the little things such as shepherd and create space for the other forwards which is what impressed me about his game. Presented himself as a target and kicked a goal. Solid debut and deserves another game for his solid effort.

Seedsman - Played the limited minutes so not allot can be looked into with his performance. With time and space looked ok. When under pressure turned the ball over once or twise. Will learn from the experience and come back stronger.

Blair - Lively and worked hard. One of our better players.

Sidebottom - Started slow but got into the game in the 2nd half. Defensively was a little disappointed with his efforts but was otherwise ok. I admit though my expectations of Sidebottom are much higher than last year having seen his solid NAB Cup.

Keeffe - Really impressed me and probably one of the better games he has played. Defensively was solid, in one contest managed to get front position on Franklin and beat him which was a nice surprise. Didn't see him get beaten 1v1 often to my surprise so this is a positive step forward considering my expectations coming into the night.

Sinclair - pretty average. His pressure at times was good but kicking let him down often enough. Had one nice kick where he hit Cloke lace on out the lead early, but otherwise missed another 2-3 targets he should have hit.

Rounds - was ok and lively around goals at times without having a significant impact.

Jolly - Solid in the ruck and crept forward for some goals which is always a positive.

Dawes - Presented strongly up forward and his size like with Cloke really had those Hawthorn defenders worried. Goal kicking was uncharacteristically poor by his standard, but should turn it around next week. In the ruck was less effective than expected and when he was rucking Hawthorn seemed to really get on top with the contested footy and clearances whereas with Jolly rucking we seemed to mostly control the centre.

Fasolo - Kicking good for much of the night and seemed pretty clean whenever he had the ball. 2 goals is a reasonable return.

Shaw - Started well in the first quarter but otherwise had little influence on the game.

Goldsack - Liked his game. Started well before that Franklin tackle. But gave good effort and was one of our better players.

O'Brien - Defensively really poor and let his man off the hook a number of times disappointingly. Not sure why Mick rates him defensively? O'Brien is shocking as a shutdown player. Would have liked to have seen him play more higher and in more of a rebounding role of half back where he can use his hard running more.

Clarke - Started ok. Still has that wonderful left boot. Really disappointed with how he faded out of the game and had no influence in the 2nd half. With the way the game was flowing should have been used more with his perfect long kicking.

Toovey - Was solid as always and did his job defensively. Along with Goldsack and Keeffe was one of our less bad defenders on the night.


Very keen to get as many senior players back as possible. Really cringed when I first saw this team selected with the 3 debutants to go along with the inexperienced: Sinclair, Rounds and Keeffe. Hawthorn have much better depth and it showed tonight with less non producers.
It's not totally bad to bring in 1st gamers. It's good for these players to experience senior football against a good opposition. But not against a contender and not all in the same week!!

Looking forward to seeing Maxwell, Tarrant, Beams, Johnson and hopefully Didak back.

 

[Wooljay]

Blair did (almost) everything right in playing his role tonight, personally I f'ing LOVED it. It was what we saw on a regular basis from him in 2010 and he is goddamn important. Finds good places to be when he's on, will chase tail all night, great defensive pressure, and he's a little goddamn tank engine. If Wellers had the hunger that Blair does...gee whizz.

This is the first time I've ever walked away from a loss and thought, "well that went better than expected". I think the kids for the most part held up pretty well under an unbelievably intense match, and you have to love the glimmers that Paine showed, as well as Sinkers, Seedsy and the lovely kick ins by Yagz.

I really hope Paine gets 10 games this season under his belt, we could be dealing with something special in 2013.

Bloody hell though, so glad we wrapped up Pendles before Round 1 - after that game you'd think the GWS would literally sell their soul to get him. (Assuming they have one).

 

[forwardflanker]

Pendlebury is awesome and Blair was also very good.

I was pretty happy with the performance and didnt really expect the game to be competitive given the selected sides. In the end could of been much closer if not for some pretty poor mistakes the younger players + one or tow more senior.

Paine didnt get much of it but certainly looks like he is going to be a player - very impressive.

Was expecting Keefe to get owned however his performance was very encourage. Probably wont play much more this season especially since we have a lot of epth in his position however he is looking an excellent long term prospect.

Yagmoor looked good in the preseason but the h&a intensity was a bit too much for him tonight. I think a lot of it was to do debut although footpace might be an issue. Has clean hands though and I think he will probably make it.

Atm Sinclair and Rounds skills are not up to AFL level, both were very poor.

Harry O'Brien WOG, if he plays bad next week needs a spell in the 2's

All in all I thought it was very encouraging given who we have available to come back.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

With the number of posters giving Keefe the thumbs up, you might think he deserves another game next week if there is a match up. He certainly was not the worst (though he was less than great). We had lots of players down - Reid, Thomas, O'Brien, Clarke and Dawes I thought were all disappointing.

Others here liked Dawes' game but again he could not take an overhead mark nor fulfil his job as a goal scorer + had little effect in the ruck. If he had better opposition he would have been even less effective. Cloke made Schoenmakers (or however his name is spelt) his bitch all night. Cloke's kicking for goal was appalling. He and others lost the game in the first half with amateurish efforts around goal.

I also loved Goldsack's game and see him as a certain starter next week and hopefully beyond. Yagmoor seemed to be out there for decorative purposes only, whereas Paine seemed capable of belonging at this level.

Why did we draft Sinclair rather than keep Barham who is a better player than little Ben? You have to do more than chase to be a good footballer. Sinclair always seems to be dashing after people whereas he should be the one being chased by players. If the game was called 'Chase' or 'Pressure' instead of football, Sinclair would be up there with the best of them. His foot skills are not good enough at this level. The shot at goal that went out of bounds was exactly what I expected Sinclair to deliver, and to his debit, he did not disappoint.

Best game I have seen Blair play. He seemed to spend a lot more time around centre bounces and seemed to do well in that role. His goals were opportunistic, and he did not get caught trying to do too much as happened quite often last year. I thought he showed that he has something important to offer the midfield in years to come.

Pendles and Jolly kept us in the game in the third quarter in particular. Ball did not feature as much as I thought he would - he seemed quiet, but our mid-fielders always seem to lower their colours to Mitchell and Lewis.

We had several passengers tonight yet kept with Hawthorn for three and a half quarters. We were not expected to win and we didn't. Next time will be different.

 

[thecig]

Really liked Blair's game, him and pendles seemed like the only 2 mids who were able to stand up when the momentum was in Hawthorn's favour.

Paine started pretty quietly, but by the end of it he'd clunked a few marks and got going - great prospect.

Harry had a horrible game. The whole game I found myself screaming "just get rif of it! Why are you taking on Rioli? He's the one player you don't do that to!"

Daisy was really quiet. But he'll bounce back.

Trav killed Shoenmakers (spelling?). Too bad he kicked horribly!

The kick-ins frustrated me, he were pretty bad and they were able to go coast to coast way too often...

But overall I was happy how we went, had we kicked straight I think we may have been in with a chance. Oh well, hopefully Richmond feel the wrath of the mighty pies next week!

 

[PieNSauce]

Really liked Blair's game, him and pendles seemed like the only 2 mids who were able to stand up when the momentum was in Hawthorn's favour.

Paine started pretty quietly, but by the end of it he'd clunked a few marks and got going - great prospect.

Harry had a horrible game. The whole game I found myself screaming "just get rif of it! Why are you taking on Rioli? He's the one player you don't do that to!"

Daisy was really quiet. But he'll bounce back.

Trav killed Shoenmakers (spelling?). Too bad he kicked horribly!

The kick-ins frustrated me, he were pretty bad and they were able to go coast to coast way too often...

But overall I was happy how we went, had we kicked straight I think we may have been in with a chance. Oh well, hopefully Richmond feel the wrath of the mighty pies next week!

You wouldn't like to be in their shoes if we get a few back. Personally I see massive positives in last nights game. Obviously you can look at individuals or moments but to have dominated that first half the way we did spells trouble for opponents. There's no way we will miss that many opportunities too many times and put back a bit more experience and I think the composure will make a huge difference. It's going to be a big year boys. Get on!

 

[ksardog]

5: Pendlebury, just awesome
4: Sidebottom, worked as hard as anyone all night, wheres the love?
3: Cloke , shame his kicking was off the boil, a monster
2: Blair, great in the midfield and impacted the scoreboard
1: Jolly, a return to form but was only playing on a kid

Of the kids would like to see seedsman more, genuine leg speed (which we lack) and a penetrating kick.
Paine was ok , needs to develop more in the vfl.
Yagmoor was overwhelmed.
Rounds showed definate glimpses,
Sinclair is desperate but is that enough.
Keefe was good and steady down back

 

[Sloth]

Best game i've seen sinclair play...he could become another Blair if he keeps improving

 

[Sloth]

PS just give the Brownlow to Pendles now

 

[Jelly Bean]

Best game i've seen sinclair play...he could become another Blair if he keeps improving

While this is true (it was his best game) it was still not up to standard and showed a weakness in his game that he will not be able to correct, and that is disposal. To be storming into goal 40 out directly in front and to miss everything is a fair illustration.

We also missed Leon in the backline... Just sayin'...

 

[well left]

While this is true (it was his best game) it was still not up to standard and showed a weakness in his game that he will not be able to correct, and that is disposal. To be storming into goal 40 out directly in front and to miss everything is a fair illustration.

We also missed Leon in the backline... Just sayin'...

We missed a few out of the backline last night but yeah the loss of Leon was highlighted by our kick outs.

I'm not quite prepared to give up on Sinclair yet. As Snoop said I almost fell off my chair when Sinclair hit someone lace out on his left but it fell away after that. I'm hoping the skills will improve when he gets a bit more composure after 15-20 games. The only thing is with our depth he may not get that opportunity.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

If Sinclair gets 15 or more games, well left, they are likely to be 15 losing games. Give me Barham any day rather than Sinclair. Don't understand why he was drafted by us.

 

[jonbe54]

If Sinclair gets 15 or more games, well left, they are likely to be 15 losing games. Give me Barham any day rather than Sinclair. Don't understand why he was drafted by us.

Hey is that a glass half empty there in your sig MMM???

Certainly appropriate if so.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Hey is that a glass half empty there in your sig MMM???

Certainly appropriate if so.

I am afraid you are correct.

 

[jonbe54]

I am afraid you are correct.

Well I'm not a half full guy myself. . .

I'm a - there appears to be some liquid in that glass type of guy

 

[well left]

If Sinclair gets 15 or more games, well left, they are likely to be 15 losing games. Give me Barham any day rather than Sinclair. Don't understand why he was drafted by us.

I'd agree with you if he is surrounded by kids like he was last night.

Once at full strength there will probably only be room for one of Rounds or Sinclair. At the moment I'd prefer us to get some games into Rounds but I think both will benefit from 15-20 games.

As I said earlier I am not sure he will get that opportunity.

 

[SuperSub17]

In one of the papers this morning it said something along the lines of "Schoenmakers played admirably on Cloke and kept him to two goals", I couldn't help thinking that that couldn't be further from the truth. Whenever it went to them one on one Cloke absolutely dominated and looked like marking it every time. If he kicked straight he would have kicked 5.

 

[pendles2425]

I completely agree, i believe Sinclair has a lot of upside. You have to remember he has only played about 4 games of footy and still needs to adjust to the tempo. His kicking when he is at full pelt has not been great as of yet, but he has been hitting his field targets, and his forward pressure its very very decent. He is always up there is our tackle count and should be sticking a few more each game. Give him another 10-15 games and he will be a great small forward for us

 

[sloth6]

Bad kicking is bad football, but considering who we had out, it was a great effort. Still disappointing as hell though after hitting the front and having momentum in the last.


Harry O was horrible - body positioning no good and still can't mark high balls overhead.


Seedsman - I think he will be a good player but was all at see. Cost us two goals with poor decisions - playing on after a mark surrounded by two hawks was just stupid and not holding the ball in when tackled cost us another. Would never have been pinged for holding the ball, so hold it on and reload at the stoppage.


Clarke looked good at the start, then looked lost for the rest of the match.


Fasolo can't be getting 5 or 6 possesions per match. He is one of our best kicks, needs to be getting his hands on the pill more or our players trying to feed him the ball by hand so he can deliver.


Rounds was ok - should've kicked two goals.


Thought Goldsack was great too, hopefully the shoulder is ok.


Thought Keefe was excellent, did a super job.


Blair was sensational as well - goals, tackles, clearances - our second best by far.


Votes:


5. Pendles (best game he's played I reckon)
4. Blair
3. Cloke
2. Ball
1. Jolly

 

[sloth6]

I completely agree, i believe Sinclair has a lot of upside. You have to remember he has only played about 4 games of footy and still needs to adjust to the tempo. His kicking when he is at full pelt has not been great as of yet, but he has been hitting his field targets, and his forward pressure its very very decent. He is always up there is our tackle count and should be sticking a few more each game. Give him another 10-15 games and he will be a great small forward for us

No good being able to tackle if you can't pin the arms and get a holding the ball or stoppage in the forward 50.

Great chaser, but opposition is still able to release the footy and get out of trouble.

Should not be allowed to kick on the run for goal - handball to better user if possible