Autopsy Port def Freo @ our home game in Qld Rd 3

[stax on the mull]

Look at every Port goal scored that quarter and Brennan's receding hairline damply features in the background of pretty much every one of them

Slight exaggeration. Sure, Cox was beaten in a few contests by Dixon and Marshall - both players have some size on him ( the one against Dixon when he shouldered Hughes aside, Cox's run at the contest was impeded) but he wasn't alone. Conca also had a couple of plonker efforts on his own in the 2nd quarter.

He was caught in possession with the ball in front of goal for the 2nd time in the match, and another goal conceded was when the ball came to him over the back of a marking contested and he completely missed a punch at the ball.

 

[Bring back Drum]

I just rewatched the second quarter and, fu** me, I take back everything I said about Brennan Cox. Sure, he got better as the game progressed but he kind of had to - his second quarter was more limp than octagenarian utensil.

He was late to the party. He was at the wrong part of the party when he finally did get to the party. Knocking over people's drinks, letting the cat out, loudly mentioning the host's herpes. Hopeless.

Look at every Port goal scored that quarter and Brennan's receding hairline damply features in the background of pretty much every one of them, sitting atop the mug of a bloke who was out of position when it mattered and regreting it greatly. It wasn't just Dixon who handed him his arse on a plate, it was that bloke Marshall who is the same age and draft year.

I do remind myself that he got better but that fabulous Freo propensity to just tune out for 5, 10 maybe 15 minutes seems hardwired into Brennan's mindset.

I think your letting the midfield off the hook here. 20 inside 50’s to none until 1 minute to go in the quarter. Any sort of pressure up the field, the backs look better.
Cox had some moments, no doubt, but the second quarter s**t show wasn’t on him.

 

[Square Peg]

I think your letting the midfield off the hook here. 20 inside 50’s to none until 1 minute to go in the quarter. Any sort of pressure up the field, the backs look better.
Cox had some moments, no doubt, but the second quarter sh*t show wasn’t on him.

Agreed. Appalling lack of leadership from our supposed leaders to not stem the tide.

 

[Joao]

Neither Fyfe or Walters noted defensive players (rightly so since they are offensive weapons). Thats when you need someone like Mundy or Conca to get in their and sort that **** out.

 

[MadMundy]

Cox definitely was nowhere near as bad as some people were melting about on Sunday night. The guy had plenty of howlers but he definitely became stronger as the game went on. He's nowhere near the level of guys like Pearce and Hamling but he still puts in plenty of effort every single week.

 

[arsesmart]

Slight exaggeration. Sure, Cox was beaten in a few contests by Dixon and Marshall - both players have some size on him ( the one against Dixon when he shouldered Hughes aside, Cox's run at the contest was impeded) but he wasn't alone. Conca also had a couple of plonker efforts on his own in the 2nd quarter.

He was caught in possession with the ball in front of goal for the 2nd time in the match, and another goal conceded was when the ball came to him over the back of a marking contested and he completely missed a punch at the ball.

Watching the game again and got to say the criticism of Cox is waaay over the top and pretty unfair. Sure he needs to develop his defenders' craft (not unexpected), but he's put in quite a few good efforts, even in that second quarter.

Port (Westhoff and Dixon especially) did really well in clunking marks in the wet, while Freo couldn't find anyone to provide relief on that score. Port also got away with a lot of predictive scragging/tackles, but were a lot more assertive all round in that second quarter.

 

[Lach72]

Would like to see Conca in the centre square as the defensive mid, rotating with tucker doing the same role.
IMO we'd be better with Aish at HB. He's better defensively in the air than Conca and 1000 times better by foot.

Something like:
Hughes Cox Ryan
Aish Logue Young

Frederick Tucker Hill
Walters Tabs Switta
Serong Hogan Lobb

Meek Fyfe Cerra

Brayshaw Conca Wilson Valente/Blakely/Mundy

I want Frederick fast tracked.
We need his pace and kicking skills

 

[Bigger]

I think your letting the midfield off the hook here. 20 inside 50’s to none until 1 minute to go in the quarter. Any sort of pressure up the field, the backs look better.
Cox had some moments, no doubt, but the second quarter sh*t show wasn’t on him.

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I realise you're not following me around, but I have already blamed the midfield.

I happened to be at the gym when the second quarter was being replayed and it boiled my piss all over again to see how easy Dixon had it. I was busy forgiving Cox because - well, because I thought Dixon was Logue's man, to be honest - but then Coxy stood at the right rear of Marshall and tried to punch around the leftside to repel incoming ball; just out of position.

Trust me, I know he improved and in fact was one of our better ones as the game wore on, but when you're being sliced open, it is in the nature of humans to take notice of who is letting the cutting happen.

 

[arsesmart]

Scape Goat - Whipping Boy - vacancies available

Looks like Lachie Schultz is the early contender for Freo's 2020 whipping boy. Colyer needs delisting

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I realise you're not following me around, but I have already blamed the midfield.

I happened to be at the gym when the second quarter was being replayed and it boiled my piss all over again to see how easy Dixon had it. I was busy forgiving Cox because - well, because I thought Dixon was Logue's man, to be honest - but then Coxy stood at the right rear of Marshall and tried to punch around the leftside to repel incoming ball; just out of position.

Trust me, I know he improved and in fact was one of our better ones as the game wore on, but when you're being sliced open, it is in the nature of humans to take notice of who is letting the cutting happen.

Cox was actually one of the better KPD in that second quarter (had the luxury of just watching it) and possibly made a few errors given he seemed to be covering more ground than anyone else. His positive acts far outweighed the negative, but as is the curse of the defender, the "lapses" stood out the more for the consequence. A much more experienced and talented player in Walters was exponentially worse than Cox in that second quarter.

 

[ilikepotatoes]

Logue was much worse than Cox in the second quarter.

 

[Bring back Drum]

Agreed. Appalling lack of leadership from our supposed leaders to not stem the tide.

Neither Fyfe or Walters noted defensive players (rightly so since they are offensive weapons). Thats when you need someone like Mundy or Conca to get in their and sort that **** out.

We are really missing Pearce & Hamling, not just because they are great defenders, but they are leaders with voice, which is what we are missing.

In all honesty, I wish Pearce was on the park every week, he’d be my 1st choice captain.

 

[Bigger]

Cox was actually one of the better KPD in that second quarter (had the luxury of just watching it) and possibly made a few errors given he seemed to be covering more ground than anyone else. His positive acts far outweighed the negative, but as is the curse of the defender, the "lapses" stood out the more for the consequence. A much more experienced and talented player in Walters was exponentially worse than Cox in that second quarter.

Agreed. I was just venting, as one does. Earlier, I said this:

Scape Goat - Whipping Boy - vacancies available

Looks like Lachie Schultz is the early contender for Freo's 2020 whipping boy. Colyer needs delisting

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[Lach72]

Watched the first quarter.

all the small forwards contributed something.
tabs was good, Lobb looked good.
aish was excellent. Tucker, Brayshaw and Cerra going along nicely...and Young is very exciting...he out bodied Grey, and took that mark that shouldnt have ended up in a Dixon goal...and how s**t is Dal Santo as a commentator?

fyfe and Walters were average...

 

[Scham]

Watched the first quarter.

all the small forwards contributed something.
tabs was good, Lobb looked good.
aish was excellent. Tucker, Brayshaw and Cerra going along nicely...and Young is very exciting...he out bodied Grey, and took that mark that shouldnt have ended up in a Dixon goal...and how sh*t is Dal Santo as a commentator?

fyfe and Walters were average...

I didn't know who it was and seriously thought they'd got a Port player in to help with commentary.

 

[Lach72]

At Fred the second.
That HB against Conca was complete bullshit

 

[estibador]

I didn't know who it was and seriously thought they'd got a Port player in to help with commentary.

Yeah maybe I'm the biased one but he sounded quite anti-Freo with his comments to me. Maybe upset at RTB being sacked?

 

[GingerDocker]

Watched the first quarter.

all the small forwards contributed something.
tabs was good, Lobb looked good.
aish was excellent. Tucker, Brayshaw and Cerra going along nicely...and Young is very exciting...he out bodied Grey, and took that mark that shouldnt have ended up in a Dixon goal...and how sh*t is Dal Santo as a commentator?

fyfe and Walters were average...

He's very pro Ross, so has probably burned everything he owns that's purple, with his mate getting the flick.

 

[Lach72]

I don’t know how anyone can watch that second quarter and think: Brennan Cox is the problem

the midfield has been complete dog s**t. Loose at the stoppages, shithouse method, poor work rate

 

[estibador]

I don’t know how anyone can watch that second quarter

You could have stopped there...

 

[Lach72]

You could have stopped there...

the first half of the quarter was ok I guess. That howler from Conca notwithstanding...
But the midfield group was lazy, setting up poorly and out worked

 

[Wigarus]

I don’t know how anyone can watch that second quarter and think: Brennan Cox is the problem

the midfield has been complete dog sh*t. Loose at the stoppages, shithouse method, poor work rate

Especially with the commentators rabbiting on about the lack of inside 50s.

 

[Freomaniac]

I don’t know how anyone can watch that second quarter and think: Brennan Cox is the problem

the midfield has been complete dog sh*t. Loose at the stoppages, shithouse method, poor work rate

I think its a mixture of a lot of things.

Yeah, some of the midfield is crap. Horrible at the stoppages, bad methods, Poor work rate.

Injuries to experienced players like Hill and Acres hurts. both of them fully fit would help. We are also playing youth as well.

For every experienced mid Aged 25 or over we are playing in Fyfe, Conca and Mundy, we are also playing an under 22 mid in Cerra, Brayshaw and Banfield.

 

[apuchar]

It is interesting that the two most glaring poor defensive stoppage errors that resulted in oppo goals were committed by Fyfe and Walters.

 

[Scham]

I think its a mixture of a lot of things.

Yeah, some of the midfield is crap. Horrible at the stoppages, bad methods, Poor work rate.

Injuries to experienced players like Hill and Acres hurts. both of them fully fit would help. We are also playing youth as well.

For every experienced mid Aged 25 or over we are playing in Fyfe, Conca and Mundy, we are also playing an under 22 mid in Cerra, Brayshaw and Banfield.

Everyone in that side is experienced enough to know that in wet weather you take territory and don't overuse the ball.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

I’ll clarify my thoughts on Cox since I’m one who criticised pretty early this week.

I think he has potential to be a very good player and I’ve had big wraps on him since the start. I also think he will be a bit of a liability for the rest of the year if he keeps playing his current position. And he will keep playing his current position coz we have no other option.

For me, his strengths and weaknesses do not lend themselves to be playing as a key back as a primary role, and I see them as follows

Strengths
1) Calm under pressure - I've never seen him sweat when getting tackled
2) Good decision maker with decent disposal
3) Good mark when given a good run at the ball

Weaknesses
1) Laconic, not overly competitive - doesnt have that mongrel in him too not lose a contest
2) Core strength - This one I'm hoping might be a confidence since there are contra-indicators. He always stands up in tackles, but then, when under the ball, he gets pushed off way way too easily. I've seen this a lot of times
3) Average speed - if he loses a player off the mark, he's not catching up
4) Reach - while he has decent size, he doesnt have particularly long arms or good leap.

My read of his strengths and weaknesses are that a key defender roll goes against every one of his weaknesses. To me, his best position is as a 3rd tall either up front or down back, and, while he can pinch hit as a key defender, the good monsters will eat him up which we saw on the weekend. Yes, the ball came in a fair bit in that second quarter but his direct opponent took three contested marks against him, in torrential rain, for three goals.

I'll say it again, I think Cox can be a very good player for us, but, he will have to play a position for the rest of the year that he is completely unsuited for. While this is not his fault, this will be an issue for the rest of the year.