Positives/Negatives

[Sharks On A Plane]

Positives to be taken out of the game against Hawthorn:

1. Gibbs was excellent. Looks so composed out there.

2. Kreuzer looked very good below his knees and is a superb athlete.

3. Hampson continues to impress, some nice ruckwork.

4. Bower I thought was pretty impressive in patches, Jamison good as usual.

5. Fev tried hard all night and set a good example, deserved a better return.

6. Hadley did some important things, looked quite at home (maybe a touch slow though?)


Negatives:

1. Betts was disgusting.

2. Jordan Russell is finished.

3. Austin looked scared and lost.

4. Murphy. Don't know what's going on with him...

5. The complete lack of pressure around the packs in the first half - it was as if everyone was just standing there waiting someone else to get the ball/lay a tackle.

6. Handballing is probably the simplest skill required of an AFL footballer, but for some reason Carrazzo can't grasp the concept. Almost every time he handballs, it is a dinky, looping piece of shit that takes an eternity to get there and puts his teammate massively under the pump. IT IS SHITTING ME UP THE WALL.

 

[andrew coombs]

Anyone noticed that Murphy is as slow as treacle?

 

[murphy3]

would have to disagree with murphy in the negatives. got 30 touches and i thought was alright. maybe he wasnt the amazing skillful self he has been in other games but i wouldnt include him in the same group as betts and russel tonight

 

[M_I_G]

agree with pretty much everything, how do u assess waite's play?

would have to disagree with murphy in the negatives. got 30 touches and i thought was alright. maybe he wasnt the amazing skillful self he has been in other games but i wouldnt include him in the same group as betts and russel tonight

sure he had a lot of possies which is good but was it just me or did he seem to fumble more when the pressure was on?

 

[MBIB]

My gosh is Stevo a leader or what? He looked repulsed after the game and gave them a good talking to. Lead by example I thought. Simmo also picked up where he left off last year

Bower improved more the night went on IMO, a couple of really good moments but he needs to be able to think quick when he has the ball, he either gets chased down or tends to give off a hosptial handball.

There does seem to be something odd about Murph at the moment but I'm sure whatever it is it'll sort itself out. Probably made up for each of the bad spots with equally good things.

Betts was no where and Hadley did some good things (apart from kicking backwards).

Overuse of the ball was a massive issue - stop the handballs!
BUT we can see that Ratten is using this comp for lots of trials. He's trialling game plans and positions and for this reason we must be patient.

 

[The Real Deal]

Waite has to work harder on the defensive side of his game. Gives up the ball a little too easily sometimes.

At least in that 3rd quarter the midfield started to show some class. Gibbs- fantastic, Hadley made a difference. Put Judd in there and there is some optimism....

 

[judd5]

-Murphy cannot kick in front of goal for sh*t.
-I think that there still could be a few times that we get smashed this season judging by our first half. It is the most frustrating thing to watch-people wasting the ball and going nowhere. When Hawthorn were running in groups with the ball, we were stuffing round going backwards and nowhere.
-Our defensive pressure (in particular manning up) was poor at times, as Hawks players could often run freely through the middle of the ground, particularly in the first half. Although at times there were a few good chases from guys like Fev and Armfield.
-Don't know whether to look into our better second half too much. As Sam Mitchell said after the game, the Hawks took many players off such as Franklin, and lacked the intensity that they had in the first half.
-Nobody seemed to be able to play on Franklin. Waite played off of him too much and didn't show the respect that Franklin deserved.
-Good reality check today. If wse are to make the finals this year we will have to be much more competitive than that, even though it was a pre season game. All we were missing was basically Judd, Walker, Setanta and Hartlett. Few excuses.

although, Gibbs showed many good signs.

 

[gandaal]

Anyone noticed that Murphy is as slow as treacle?

Anybody notice andrew coombs getting a yellow card?

 

[murphy3]

Hadley did some good things (apart from kicking backwards)

haha, at least he still hit thornton on the chest

 

[Jeremias]

Positives to be taken out of the game against Hawthorn:

1. Gibbs was excellent. Looks so composed out there. Agreed. NAB Cup game, I know - but he has done very well in the last 2 weeks. Now not only does he continue to display his composure but he gets a fair amount of the ball, too. It will do wonders for his personal confidence heading into the season. His challenge is to maintain the form.

2. Kreuzer looked very good below his knees and is a superb athlete. Yep, he's looking the goods. As you say, is a superb athlete, his efforts for such a big bloke are pretty good. Sometimes his disposal is questionable (eg. the missed supergoal), but it's nothing to worry about. He'll be right.

3. Hampson continues to impress, some nice ruckwork. Seemed a bit quieter tonight, but we were getting thumped so that's no surprise. However, he continues to impress.

4. Bower I thought was pretty impressive in patches, Jamison good as usual. We really have found a good defender in Jamison. Will play most games this year. As for Bower, I like the look of him, but he still worries me with his disposal and decision making a lot of the time. Still has a long way to go and a lot of work to do before he has me completely convinced.

5. Fev tried hard all night and set a good example, deserved a better return. Purely by looking at the scoreboard, one could summise that Fev had a dog of a game. Didn't have his kicking boots on, but his work is still very good, even if it doesn't translate to personal glory on the scoreboard. Stands up for himself and his teammates which is great to see.

6. Hadley did some good things, looked quite at home (maybe a touch slow though?) Looked really good for his first game. Knows how to find the ball, and knows how to use it too. Will be a valuable addition to the team. Looks like he could be leadership material, too. Always expected him to be slow - he has had 2 knee reconstructions, after all. But pace isn't all that important when you know how to find the ball and use it, which he does on both accounts.


Negatives:

1. Betts was disgusting. Had a bad game, but don't look to much into it. Being a Carlton forward tonight was a tough gig, and he found it tough.

2. Jordan Russell is finished. Hardly did anything all night. Has a big struggle ahead of him if he wants to stay on the list beyond this year. Has talent, but doesn't show it anywhere near enough.

3. Austin looked scared and lost. 2nd game of AFL so it's not unusual for this to happen, particularly for a tall defender who was under constant pressure.

4. Murphy. Don't know what's going on with him...His first half was horrendous. But to his credit, really lifed after half time and ended up being one of our better players on the night. Threw himself into it a lot more, and demanded the ball from his teammates which is what we like to see. Goalkicking is disappointing though.

5. The complete lack of pressure around the packs in the first half - it was as if everyone was just standing there waiting someone else to get the ball/lay a tackle. Really highlights a major difference between the 2 sides. The Hawthorn midfielders were way too strong and determined for us in the first half. We looked lost and unsure what to do. To our credit, we managed to get on top of them in the 3rd and beat them frequently.

6. Handballing is probably the simplest skill required of an AFL footballer, but for some reason Carrazzo can't grasp the concept. Almost every time he handballs, it is a dinky, looping piece of shit that takes an eternity to get there and puts his teammate massively under the pump. IT IS SHITTING ME UP THE WALL. I agree - and this was my main negative from the night. His disposal, especially by hand, was absolutely disgraceful tonight. Really needs to improve this as he doesn't do enough damage to the opposition. Did more damage to us than to them tonight, actually.

My thoughts to your issues are in bold.

Stevens was a huge positive for me tonight. Looks to be getting back his form, and his leadership is second to none. He will be a massive inclusion for us this year. Well done to him.

Armfield continues to impress me with the little things he does, even though he's not a big possession winner at this stage.

Grigg was very disappointing. Doesn't seem to be able to handle the pressure of playing in defense at this stage. Just doesn't suit him down back at all.

 

[lopezz]

I was very impressed with the 3rd qtr midfield! Don't think many would have expected Gibbs and Hadley to be the ones to stand up! Thought Hadley's composure settled us a bit, and Gibbs was all class. Jamison continues to impress down back, thought he was good all night!

Hawks had a full strength side and were going flat out with their intensity, that took us by surprise early. but we showed a few good signs in the second half. Few missed super goals could have changed momentum a bit. All in all we had two less shots on goal!! We did a lot to loose the game on our own! Would have been nice to come home in the last with Judd, Walker, Fish and Setanta on the ground!

Don't think stoppages and packs are Simpson's strengths! He seems to get caught flat footed and handball's to other stationary players in as much or more trouble. He looks much better when he is running the wings.

 

[damage_inc07]

-Murphy cannot kick in front of goal for sh*t.
-I think that there still could be a few good times that we get smashed this season judging by our first half. It is the most frustrating thing to watch-people wasting the ball and going nowhere. When Hawthorn were running in groups with the ball, we were stuffing round going backwards and nowhere.
-Our defensive pressure (in particular manning up) was poor at times, as Hawk player could often run freely through the middle of the ground, particularly in the first half. Although at times there were a few good chases from guys like Fev and Armfield.
-Don't know whether to look into our better second half too much. As Sam Mitchell said after the game, the Hawks took many players off such as Franklin, and lacked the intensity that they had in the first half.
-Nobody seemed to be able to play on Franklin. Waite played off of him too much and didn't show the respect that Franklin deserved.
-Good reality check today. If wse are to make the finals this year we will have to be much more competitive than that, even though it was a pre season game. All we were missing was basically Judd, Walker and Hartlett. Few excuses.

although, Gibbs showed many good signs.

Actually it was Judd, Walker, Sentanta and Fisher that we missed from our regular side, I for one wouldn't down play the importance of any of these 4 for us.

We didnt get smashed, we got gametime, Ratten probably got to trial some new tactics, nothing really to be worried about, or if there is, I guess Collingwood, Port, Brisbane, Bulldogs, West Coast ect. should give up this season after there 30+ losses

 

[mediumsizered]

would have to disagree with murphy in the negatives. got 30 touches and i thought was alright. maybe he wasnt the amazing skillful self he has been in other games but i wouldnt include him in the same group as betts and russel tonight

Have to agree with you on Murphy. I thought he really led the way after the 1st quarter shellacking. Some of his possessions were a bit untidy, but he kept competing & in the end was close to our best player.

Other positives were the poise & class of Gibbs & the continuing development of Jamison & Bower. Fev's attack on the ball was very good, although he needs to be careful when he is throwing his weight around because he gives the MRP plenty of stuff to look at. Ellard shows promise, although he obviously needs at least 2 more pre-seasons to build his stamina. Simpson's courage continues to make him a shining light & Kreuzer after looking a bit lost early on, finished the match strongly & a special mention to Hadley who showed he is prepared to get in & under & mostly used the ball well.

Negatives? Austin's intensity, or lack thereof, is disappointing. He is only 3 weeks older than Gibbs & therefore was one of the younger players drafted in 2006, so I think the jury should stay out on him at this stage. Russell presented well a couple of times, but still fails to impose himself on a game. Admittedly he didn't see a lot of ground time tonight, but he needs to show the coaching staff that he deserves more ground time. Betts didn't give 100%, but it is only the pre-season, so I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt & someone needs to teach Carazzo how to handball properly. 20 handballs tonight & most of them were floaters/hospital jobs. He is sensational at finding the 'pill' but he now needs to take the next step & use it better.

 

[AlecDuncan]

6. Handballing is probably the simplest skill required of an AFL footballer, but for some reason Carrazzo can't grasp the concept. Almost every time he handballs, it is a dinky, looping piece of shit that takes an eternity to get there and puts his teammate massively under the pump. IT IS SHITTING ME UP THE WALL.

Even a looping, slow handball is better than handballing to your teammate's feet when he's already under pressure. God knows how many times these last two weeks we've seen that happen.

 

[blues_clues]

really happy to see gibbs step up tonight, thought he impressed. i thought murphy was alright, disposal a bit suspect but he's just warming up for the season proper .

two things that i saw that i really liked was when kreuzer in the second quarter chased about 5 dif hawks players from full forward to half back, he looked buggered but i was impressed with the effort and in the the third when stevens was chasing a player on the wing and armfield flew by him in a flash and tackled the hawks player.

 

[MBIB]

-Murphy cannot kick in front of goal for sh*t.

So how about a positive for that? He got the ball and had opportunites for a goal. He didn't kick them TONIGHT. So what? At least he got his hands on it.

 

[NWTYRX]

Did we kick a goal from a set shot that wasn't from the goal square?

 

[Blue Dawn]

Positives to be taken out of the game against Hawthorn:

1. Gibbs was excellent. Looks so composed out there.

2. Kreuzer looked very good below his knees and is a superb athlete.

3. Hampson continues to impress, some nice ruckwork.

4. Bower I thought was pretty impressive in patches, Jamison good as usual.

5. Fev tried hard all night and set a good example, deserved a better return.

6. Hadley did some important things, looked quite at home (maybe a touch slow though?)


Negatives:

1. Betts was disgusting.

2. Jordan Russell is finished.

3. Austin looked scared and lost.

4. Murphy. Don't know what's going on with him...

5. The complete lack of pressure around the packs in the first half - it was as if everyone was just standing there waiting someone else to get the ball/lay a tackle.

6. Handballing is probably the simplest skill required of an AFL footballer, but for some reason Carrazzo can't grasp the concept. Almost every time he handballs, it is a dinky, looping piece of shit that takes an eternity to get there and puts his teammate massively under the pump. IT IS SHITTING ME UP THE WALL.

Agreed with all of those points. A couple of apologists will point out that Murph probably had 28 or so touches - problem is half of them were sh!te and he has no composure around goal. Needs to lift immediately.

I'd also add that Edwards was a clear NEG - with Fish out we need him and he didn't get a touch tonight. That's POOR performnces in 2 out of 3 matches so far.

On the positive side i really liked Cloke and Armfield's second halves. Both worked hard and with a bit of aggression too. People won't be hammering our young kids with immunity anymore if Cloke's response to Brown's late charge on Special K is any indication.

 

[MBIB]

Did we kick a goal from a set shot that wasn't from the goal square?

Good point, we only kicked 7 (total) goals for the match, which I think included 3 nine pointers?

Fev had a bit of trouble getting a clean mark but made up for that with some great bumps. He also missed a few but so did most!

 

[judd5]

So how about a positive for that? He got the ball and had opportunites for a goal. He didn't kick them TONIGHT. So what? At least he got his hands on it.

Think that he said that he kicked like 10 goals 16 behinds last year or something.
It is a hard thing to figure out, hopefully it is just a confidence thing though and he can sort it out.

 

[andrew coombs]

Anybody notice andrew coombs getting a yellow card?

From whom and for what? A young kid but either nil awareness or no speed. I suspect the latter.

 

[gandaal]

Positives:

1. Gibbs: It was only when Gibbs stepped up in the midfield that we started pegging back the Hawks lead. The kid was fantastic.

2. Grigg: He did some great work in defense, getting plenty of the ball and using it well

3. Jamison: He's a rookie who already plays with the composure of a 100 game veteran. I'm more and more impressed with him every time I see him play. And to think that halfway through last year I thought he was gone.

4. Hadley: Good start without being spectacular.

5. Bower: Best game for the club? I think so but he still managed to get himself caught with the ball even if it was an extremely harsh call from the ump.

6. Murphy: Despite having a poor afternoon he still continue to work hard and eventually through sheer determination actually ran into some good form, and the same can be said of the team as a whole which you have to be happy to see.

7. Shaun Hampson: Led the match for hitouts against two senior ruckman and Renouf who was probably his main competition for the "2nd best ruck from the 2006 draft" title.

Negatives:

1. Quite a few players were barely noticed unlike the Port game. Too much was left to too few.

2. Disturbing lack of pace running through the midfield. We can't rely on Judd alone to fix this issue.

3. Let Hawks get a run on in the first quarter while we just sat back and watched. Where were the leaders standing up then when it mattered?

4. Stevens: Has lost any pace he had in the first place. Got plenty of the ball and used it well enough but was very very slow. With him, Scotland, Houlihan, Gibbs, Hadley and eventually bentick in the midfield we're going to have real trouble breaking away from the opposition.

5. Lack of a secondard forward: Forget about Setanta as a defender people. I was right, we need him at CHF.

 

[DaveyBlues]

Possitive for me, We finished stronger than we started for e nice change.

 

[judd5]

Possitive for me, We finished stronger than we started for e nice change.

IT was good to see that we didn't drop off in the second half even though we were getting smashed at the time. It could have gotten awfully embarresing for a while there.

 

[Free Willy]

Waite has to work harder on the defensive side of his game. Gives up the ball a little too easily sometimes.

At least in that 3rd quarter the midfield started to show some class. Gibbs- fantastic, Hadley made a difference. Put Judd in there and there is some optimism....

AGEED