POTY
5 - Andy Otten: Handled the wet ball like it was dry, his kicks were almost all on target, was all over the ground, ran off his man at the right time and came back at the right time, and wanted to play on constantly in the wet which was fantastic to see. When everyone else was slipping over and fumbling the ball he looked as though he was playing on a 25 degree day in the sun. He's become one of our absolute best players
4 - Nathan Bock: If spoils got points in the Dream Team, Bocky would be the top scorer this week. How many times did he spoil the ball away? He looked like a mountain out there, he'd crash into his man, spoiling the ball away, and stay on his feet. He set up so much play and rarely wasted a possession. Bock has the AA CHB position locked away already this season.
3 - David Mackay: How good is this kid? Fumbled occasionally but for the most part was clean as could be, made the right decisions, and ran like crazy the whole day. The play where the Crows got a free and he grabbed the ball off the ground, ran over a massive pack of players and broke free was just awe-inspiring.
2 - Patrick Dangerfield: Absolutely awesome in the first and last terms, and still good in between. Dangerfield was asked to be the primary guy in the centre and he absolutely rose to the challenge. With most players they throw themselves at the ball when it's in the air, or they try to throw their ball/hands in the path of a kick from an opposition player and occasionally they pull it off and you think, nice work. Dangerfield does it with such frightening consistency that it simply cannot be put down to luck anymore. He is the definition of a guy who WINS possessions - even if he doesn't get them to start with. I can't think of anyone else who works as hard in close when he doesn't have the ball. Once he has it, he is almost impossible to dispossess - he was tackled so often, and still got the ball away to dangerous positions. The one-touch, afterburners, kick on goal was beautiful and on line, just didn't quite carry far enough with the damp ball. Would be rated higher but seemed to my reading to go missing for parts of the second and third quarters.
1 - Scott Thompson: What kind of a month of footy has he had? He's been fantastic, but unlike last year where he had a massive month and was clearly BOG in every game, this time he's had a massive month but has had people starring around him (Edwards/Tippett/Knights last week, Walker/Knights the week before that...) to take the spotlight off him. Some of his handballs from the bottom of packs were just awesome in the wet, and you can actually see him sliding into packs and players to lay tackles with a technique designed not to give away free kicks - and it worked. No free kicks against, albeit on a day where the umpires forgot they had a whistle. Inspirational, influentual, equal-leading possession getter on the ground (and nine more than any other NM player). Brilliant.
Honourable mention - Jason Porplyzia: The only guy who honestly looked like kicking a goal on the ground. Some awesome marks, used it well when he got it, laid some great tackles, and just looked like doing something every time he got near it. His steadfast accuracy in front of goal was what gave us the mental edge going into quarter/half time.
BTM
3 - Patrick Dangerfield: This guy wins balls that should never be won, and creates stoppages where the opposition team should be streaming forward. I LOVE him in the centre square. He was inspirational to watch today.
2 - Brad Symes: Still a player with deficiencies in his game but you cannot question his attack on the ball, which is as good as anyone in our entire side. Throws himself at the ball all the time and tends to come out of it better than anyone coming the other way.
1 - Ben Rutten: The definition of a rock in defence. He set up everything, was cool the whole time, and never looked like being beaten. Good midfield pressure has resulted in him looking as good as he did in his AA year.
Honourable mention - Robert Shirley: Started off poorly but worked his way into the game. Was often at the bottom of a pack dishing off key handballs, an area of his game that has always been good but not talked about often. When he got tackled, went to ground, and just stood back up and ran off I cheered.
ROTY
3 - Andy Otten: Best on ground for mine. What can be said about Otten that hasn't already been said this year? Last week was a slight (and only slight) let-down on his prior form, and I wondered if maybe his still slight body was starting to feel the strain, but he showed me up with a fearless, clean, brilliant effort in the wet today.
2 - Patrick Dangerfield: Was put in the centre earlier in the season and showed signs (particularly against Freo) but didn't dominate. Today he dominated. I haven't checked the stats but I'm willing to bet he won the clearances. He had sticky hands, used the ball adequately, and can be relied on to win a one-on-one and draw a one-on-two contest at any given stage of the game.
1 - Jared Petrenko: Started off slow (no doubt on the pine for much of it) but started to really look a player in the second half. I hope he gets another game next week to find his feet. I like him so much more in defence than up forward, I think he's a natural defender. You can see he trusts his disposal and it doesn't let him down, something we demand of all our defenders. A couple of his chase-down tackles were just awesome.
Honourable mention - Taylor Walker: Even though he only kicked one goal I didn't mind Walker's game today. That one on the boundary line in the third quarter was through for all money on any other day. Walker really looks to me like he has stepped up his defensive efforts this past month, and chases even when he's unlikely to catch, tackles whenever he gets a chance and loves to give people a bump. Took an awesome mark to score his one goal. Got a fair bit of a ball further down the ground, which I don't mind, because gee he's a beautiful kick inside 50. I also love his 55m passes down the wing
5 - Andy Otten: Handled the wet ball like it was dry, his kicks were almost all on target, was all over the ground, ran off his man at the right time and came back at the right time, and wanted to play on constantly in the wet which was fantastic to see. When everyone else was slipping over and fumbling the ball he looked as though he was playing on a 25 degree day in the sun. He's become one of our absolute best players
4 - Nathan Bock: If spoils got points in the Dream Team, Bocky would be the top scorer this week. How many times did he spoil the ball away? He looked like a mountain out there, he'd crash into his man, spoiling the ball away, and stay on his feet. He set up so much play and rarely wasted a possession. Bock has the AA CHB position locked away already this season.
3 - David Mackay: How good is this kid? Fumbled occasionally but for the most part was clean as could be, made the right decisions, and ran like crazy the whole day. The play where the Crows got a free and he grabbed the ball off the ground, ran over a massive pack of players and broke free was just awe-inspiring.
2 - Patrick Dangerfield: Absolutely awesome in the first and last terms, and still good in between. Dangerfield was asked to be the primary guy in the centre and he absolutely rose to the challenge. With most players they throw themselves at the ball when it's in the air, or they try to throw their ball/hands in the path of a kick from an opposition player and occasionally they pull it off and you think, nice work. Dangerfield does it with such frightening consistency that it simply cannot be put down to luck anymore. He is the definition of a guy who WINS possessions - even if he doesn't get them to start with. I can't think of anyone else who works as hard in close when he doesn't have the ball. Once he has it, he is almost impossible to dispossess - he was tackled so often, and still got the ball away to dangerous positions. The one-touch, afterburners, kick on goal was beautiful and on line, just didn't quite carry far enough with the damp ball. Would be rated higher but seemed to my reading to go missing for parts of the second and third quarters.
1 - Scott Thompson: What kind of a month of footy has he had? He's been fantastic, but unlike last year where he had a massive month and was clearly BOG in every game, this time he's had a massive month but has had people starring around him (Edwards/Tippett/Knights last week, Walker/Knights the week before that...) to take the spotlight off him. Some of his handballs from the bottom of packs were just awesome in the wet, and you can actually see him sliding into packs and players to lay tackles with a technique designed not to give away free kicks - and it worked. No free kicks against, albeit on a day where the umpires forgot they had a whistle. Inspirational, influentual, equal-leading possession getter on the ground (and nine more than any other NM player). Brilliant.
Honourable mention - Jason Porplyzia: The only guy who honestly looked like kicking a goal on the ground. Some awesome marks, used it well when he got it, laid some great tackles, and just looked like doing something every time he got near it. His steadfast accuracy in front of goal was what gave us the mental edge going into quarter/half time.
BTM
3 - Patrick Dangerfield: This guy wins balls that should never be won, and creates stoppages where the opposition team should be streaming forward. I LOVE him in the centre square. He was inspirational to watch today.
2 - Brad Symes: Still a player with deficiencies in his game but you cannot question his attack on the ball, which is as good as anyone in our entire side. Throws himself at the ball all the time and tends to come out of it better than anyone coming the other way.
1 - Ben Rutten: The definition of a rock in defence. He set up everything, was cool the whole time, and never looked like being beaten. Good midfield pressure has resulted in him looking as good as he did in his AA year.
Honourable mention - Robert Shirley: Started off poorly but worked his way into the game. Was often at the bottom of a pack dishing off key handballs, an area of his game that has always been good but not talked about often. When he got tackled, went to ground, and just stood back up and ran off I cheered.
ROTY
3 - Andy Otten: Best on ground for mine. What can be said about Otten that hasn't already been said this year? Last week was a slight (and only slight) let-down on his prior form, and I wondered if maybe his still slight body was starting to feel the strain, but he showed me up with a fearless, clean, brilliant effort in the wet today.
2 - Patrick Dangerfield: Was put in the centre earlier in the season and showed signs (particularly against Freo) but didn't dominate. Today he dominated. I haven't checked the stats but I'm willing to bet he won the clearances. He had sticky hands, used the ball adequately, and can be relied on to win a one-on-one and draw a one-on-two contest at any given stage of the game.
1 - Jared Petrenko: Started off slow (no doubt on the pine for much of it) but started to really look a player in the second half. I hope he gets another game next week to find his feet. I like him so much more in defence than up forward, I think he's a natural defender. You can see he trusts his disposal and it doesn't let him down, something we demand of all our defenders. A couple of his chase-down tackles were just awesome.
Honourable mention - Taylor Walker: Even though he only kicked one goal I didn't mind Walker's game today. That one on the boundary line in the third quarter was through for all money on any other day. Walker really looks to me like he has stepped up his defensive efforts this past month, and chases even when he's unlikely to catch, tackles whenever he gets a chance and loves to give people a bump. Took an awesome mark to score his one goal. Got a fair bit of a ball further down the ground, which I don't mind, because gee he's a beautiful kick inside 50. I also love his 55m passes down the wing
