Positives and Negatives vs Port Adelaide

WCE Wizard

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Jun 14, 2015
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+ Mids really lifted
- Redden 31 touches and 13 contested with 8 clearances
- Gaff 36 possessions 460 metres gained
- Sheed 24 with and 11 contested 7 score involvements
- Kelly was supberb with 28 touches 11 contested and 8 score involvements
- Shuey was great shame about his hammy just frustrating

+ Forwards were excellent esp Cripps and Allen looking in good nick. JK is looking fantastic finally seems injury free and moving well. Darling had another great game,

+ Defenders looking great

- Sloppy disposal in the second half
- SHuey
- Let them get some easy goals
 

Rowan18

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Feb 20, 2018
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One of the best things about last night is that it was an exciting win in a game most thought we'd lose. The last few years have been so pedestrian, we tend to win the ones we should and lose the others. It was so good to see the team go to a level that we didn't think they had anymore.

This has been a great start to the year, both in performance and interest in the draw. We've played three finals contenders already and get to play another 3 in the next few weeks. Friday footy and Hurns 300th are coming up soon as well
 

hudson2006

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The first half felt like finals intensity from WCE, a contested side of the team we know is there but don't often see.

I understand the decision to take the foot off the pedal in the second half, given the amount of energy expended in the first and the big month of footy to come. But it wasn't much fun for us.

Brander looks bigger and more confident, and his skills are excellent. I reckon his development could be very fast, it's all between the ears. Needs some of Trew's aggression.

Jones would probably be disappointed with some ground ball contests and fumbles, an AFL small forward needs to be winning a few more of those. I like having him in the team though, confidence will build.

Winder looks to have demanded a HF spot, team selection could be interesting!
 

Total_Juddshanks

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We went from a game where people were saying Hinkley would be eating a sandwich in the box, to a game where we were up 50 at half time.

I understand being frustrated we didn’t kick on and turn in something historic. Everybody wants to win by 20 goals. It’s simply not reasonable to expect, in professional sport, that the team you support will just dominate every single moment of every single game. If every team that was up by 50 at half time won by 100 at full time, why not just call off the game?

Nobody is saying wanting more is bad. Nobody is saying percentage might not be important. But the tone on the board tonight wasn’t so much “nice win though that’s a good opportunity missed” but more of a “this is typical West Coast laziness. Of course we’ve won, but what about the percentage.”

We absolutely flogged one of the best sides in footy, destroying them in the very contested footy they specialise in and we lament. It was hand waved away by many because we were in such control by half time everyone got bored and turned their attention elsewhere.

The mood on the board if we’d ticked away, winning each quarter by two goals and coming away with a good solid eight goal win, the worm always slowly creeping up, would be way better than it is now. That’s very weird to me, given we have now seen that the 2021 Eagles’ best footy is still overwhelming and relentless, which seems like the bigger story.
Yep I can't understand the mentality which complains about the lack of four quarter performance on a day like yesterday- it makes me question what people actually want from their football team.

If a team controls a game to the extent there is not a moment from start to finish where the other team could possibly have won, they've done their job, the margin doesn't matter.

West Coast utterly blasted a top 4 fancy off the park and had the game iced by half time. Until junk time they utterly controlled every part of the ground and did what they pleased. The challenge isn't to squeeze every last bit of % out of a win like that, the challenge is to repeat that performance every week for a season, win enough games to nab a double chance and home finals and then do it when it counts. Do that and noone is going to remotely care whether you win by 50 or 35. Hell, I would have happily taken a 2 goal win if it meant Shuey had sat out the last quarter with his hammys intact.

Sometimes I think eagle fans tend to forget how menacing this team looks from an opposition point of view when they are in that sort of form at optus- when nicnat is winning it out of the centre, the assortment of star forwards are getting it one out, the intercept markers are dominating their men in the air and the rabid crowd is getting into the umps it is simply the scariest road trip in football, and a few junk time goals don't change that.
 
Last edited:
Oct 3, 2007
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Yep I simply can't understand the mentality which complains about the lack of four quarter performance on a day like yesterday- it makes me question what people actually want from their football team.If a team controls a game to the extent there is not a moment from start to finish when the other team could possibly have won, they've done their job, the margin doesn't matter.

West Coast utterly blasted a top 4 fancy off the park and had the game iced by half time. Until junk time they utterly controlled every part of the ground and did what they pleased. The challenge isn't to squeeze every last bit of % out of a win like that, the challenge is to repeat that performance every week for a season, win enough games to nab a double chance and home finals and then do it when it counts. Do that and noone is going to remotely care whether you win by 50 or 35.

Sometimes I think eagle fans tend to forget how menacing this team looks from an opposition point of view when they are in that sort of form at optus- when nicnat is winning it out of the centre, the assortment of star forwards are getting it one out, Barrass/Mcgovern/Hurn are dominating their men in the air and the rabid crowd is getting into the umps it is simply the scariest road trip in football, and a few junk time goals don't change that.

Agree with this but it can send a message to other clubs to never give in against West Coast as they will likely drop their work rate.
I don’t think people are upset with the result, probably more of the line that when you have a team down you need to bury them. We don’t seem to be that type of group though.
 
Sep 8, 2011
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Was impressed by Brander, looks like he has grown into his body a bit which brings confidence. He Still needs to work on his kicking.

Allen, Kennedy and Darling. The three headed big attack is awesome.

Naitanui. If not all hit outs are made the same. Then not all hit outs to advantage are made the same.

Sheppard was great as usual.

Josh Rotham really cemented his spot. Just so reliable now.

Redden really stood up. Best game for a long time. Look forward to more of this.

Petrucelle showed glimpses

Kelly is really shining this year. Serious chance at BnF
 

woosha24

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So I didnt get to see the presser - has Simmo confirmed Shuey's done the hammy? Or was he slinging around terms like "hamstring awareness"?
 

woosha24

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Minor hamstring. 21 dayer.

Should keep him out for a Month maybe...
Yeah fair enough. Hopefully wont miss him too much - the Collingwood game becomes a bit more dicey now, but we should beat Saints and Fail-o.

And of course we couldnt win at Kardinia Park if we had a midfield stacked with Chris Judds, so eh.
 
Jun 30, 2009
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No idea if it's been discussed or not, but just noticed that unused medical subs still get counted as a game played for those players?
It's listed on the Eagles website as such, so Jones in round 1 and Ah Chee in round 2 who didn't get subbed on has a game added to their tally.
Surely this can't be official?
If it is, an uncapped player could be an unused medical sub and be considered to have made their debut?
Or more importanly an older player can be stuck in there to get f/s ;)
 

Rowan18

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Yeah fair enough. Hopefully wont miss him too much - the Collingwood game becomes a bit more dicey now, but we should beat Saints and Fail-o.

And of course we couldnt win at Kardinia Park if we had a midfield stacked with Chris Judds, so eh.
Ironically, Judd missed that 2006 comeback game (last time we beat Cats away).
 
Jan 13, 2013
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First game I've been to in person for a couple of years but I'm not surprised we took the foot off the pedal in the last quarter, it was hot and muggy and we never seem to run the game out well in those kind of conditions.
Was good to see us bring some pressure to the game though, felt like our contested game around the ground and our tackling was all vastly improved over the last couple of games.
Brander was a pleasant surprise, finally saw some hunger from him and he actually looked like he belonged at AFL level.
Hurn was great all day, going to really miss him in the backline when he finally goes which leads on to my next point.
One thing I did notice in person that doesn't always come across watching on tv is how frustrating Nelson and Cole are across half back, both seem to make a lot of mistakes with the ball, poor decision making and Cole in particular misses a hell of a lot of tackles.
 
Ironically, Judd missed that 2006 comeback game (last time we beat Cats away).

Yep, Quarterbrain said during the commentary "No Judd no West Coast". Summed up his football knowledge perfectly.
 

Avalor

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As much as I whinged about the rule changes, they've definitely been a godsend for our elder statesmen. Hurn and JK are looking fierce.

The rule changes have been terrific, 100% improvement on the rolling scrums we used see all the time. It's back to being a fast paced game again. 👍
 
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