Pros and Cons of C'wood Game

Be Aggressive

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#26
I must have been watching a different Masten to some of you guys.

For a kid playing on the ball for most of the game, he did really well. I've watched the first half twice and he does a lot of feeding the ball out by hand, so a lot of his work goes un-noticed. He isn't the player that is going to break away from packs and kick running goals. He'll learn to find more space around the ground, but how anyone could put him down as a CON is absolutley terrible and beyond belief! He needs to improve his disposal, but most of his touches were under pressure. It is early February - the real stuff is ages away. The kid played a few games last year without much of a pre-season and spent most of the time on a half forward flank. Last night he was up against hardened midfielders like Dane Swan - a huge step up - and more than held his own.

Swift was great - especially considering the amount of footy he has missed. Crazy really. Can't wait to see more of him.

Was real happy with Staker's first half when on the ball. Seems really willing to tackle and bump and use his bigger frame, which is great as some of our young mids are tiny. Hopefully he can start doing it over 4 qtrs on the ball.

Nico was good back there, a few rusty kicks, but overall good considering the Pies were always pushing forward in numbers. Cockie has a future for sure. Spangher was good back too, as was Wilkes. There was an endless supply of football coming in, so it was a hard night for the backs.

The only CONS I see:
- kicking long into the forward line doesn't work if:
a) No one takes a contested mark (especially when EVERY team will flood back against us to counter).
b) There are no crumbers playing. It will be better once Le Cras and Wirra are back in there.
c) There is little defensive pressure when the opposition gets the ball and rebounds. Has a bit to do with (b).

- Collingwood rebounded way too easily from end to end.

- We really struggled to break through Colligwood's defensive zone, turned it over a lot between half back and centre kicking to two-on-ones. I would be working on this more than anything.

Overall, I don't see how any level-headed supporter could be too disappointed with last night, especially not to the point of listing young kid's performances as cons. In the season proper they'll be surrounded by veterans (Embley, Wirra, Hunter, Stenglein, Hansen, Waters, Selwood) and have a bit more guidance. The Pies didn't bring any kids over and look to be a really good team in 2009. We got to see our kids, and while a lot of them are raw, hopefully not many should be required to play at all this year. If Swift breaks through and Masten continues his improvement, while the best 22 stays fit - we should improve a lot.

The only real cons are the injuries!
 

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Kickett Punches Read

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#27
first game of the nab cup... i think you guys are being a bit too pessimistic. swift and cockie are real players. i thought wilkes played well on cloke, cloke got three soft goal square goals remember, wilkes ahd his measure in most of the one on ones. masten gets the ball, had dreadful skills though which was unfortunate. i reckon you guys showed a bit in the first quarter and then the youth of your side kicked in... not all doom and gloom
 
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#28
I wouldn't be too worried about Masten's disposal, from memory his kicking and decision making were considered elite at junior level and this was his first real game under pressure for a while (and against a quality Collingwood side). That said he didn't seem too composed when he had the ball but that was probably made up by his stoppage work (he is a tackling machine). Also remember that it is a lot harder to have effective disposal when there is no one to give it to. Not a brilliant game but plenty to be excited about.

Swift was incredible for a first gamer whenever he got the ball, his first disposal where he dodged two players and gave off the handball was brilliant. He is clearly lacking confidence in his kicking but not surprising considering he has hardly played a game in the last two years and suddenly he is playing afl.

Played down back mostly which was a bit dissapointing and generally stayed away from packs but was still ferocious when the ball was there. His effort in the Collingwood goal square to crash the pack when he jarred his knee? (I think) was great and shows he has confidence in his knees at least. Still a bit skinny (should put on 5-10 kilos this year) and lacking match fitness but a definite improvement over the scratchy.

Who would have thought that he would be by far the most ready out of any of our draftees (bar Cocky but he can't play). Can't wait to see him at some stoppages around the ground as well. I don't want to get too far ahead but he could become a starting midfielder by seasons end. The Sunday Times though said today that he is likely to play Rd 1, not sure if Woosh has that much confidence in him yet but he has exceeded all expectations so far. :thumbsu:
 

PRANKSTER666

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#31
Something else I realised last night is that we need Wirra down back this year. We need those silky smooth skills and cool head under pressure. If that is the case then we still need to find a small roving forward...

Perhaps Cockie could be that player?
 

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#32
Something else I realised last night is that we need Wirra down back this year. We need those silky smooth skills and cool head under pressure. If that is the case then we still need to find a small roving forward...

Perhaps Cockie could be that player?
Shuey is apparently a fairly decent forward
 
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#33
Swift and Masten really impressed me and in a Few Season they could become a very good Midfield again for you guys
 

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#34
I reckon play waters up forward for about 60% of games.
Has great defensive pressure and tackling, is very good overhead and his poor kicking won't cost us as dearly up forward. Play him as a defensive half forward, shutting down rebounding HBF'ers and then drifting forward to crumb.
We have A.Selwood, Scooter, Stenglein, davis, bones, hurn, nicoski, houlihan and embley who can play as small defenders in waters' place.
 

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#36
Pros:
-Our 3 guns look set for a big year.
-Masten and Swift are going to be very good players.
-Staker looked alright, but for the love of god please stop making the same mistakes!
-Brett Jones in fine form.
-We drafted Nicholas Naitanui
-Only a pre-season game and didnt really expect us to be in top form like the Pies.

Cons:
-I dont know what has gotten into Seaby.
-Kennedy is not ready to take over Hansen's role.
-Priddis was all over the shop.
-That forward line set up with 4 tall forwards and 2 loose forwards roaming at HF.
-Wilkes and his jitters.
-The injuries.
-Disposal efficiency.
 

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mitchzz

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#37
Masten....don't think he will ever approach "gun" status.

Wow. He's played just nine games and his disposal was terrific last year and it's the first game back for god sakes.

PROS
- Swift and Cockie looked right at home, particularly pleased with Swift's composure.
- Masten found it, kicking was abit off but certainly looks more confident. A few times he went hard through traffic and was able to evade a few tacklers.
- Nicoski played well.
- Kerr was a class above.
- I liked Spangher's game.

CONS
- Two injuries...
- Hurn's kicking
- Overall sloppy play
- Too many handballs
- Bombing into an out-numbered forward 50.
 

Crimson King

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#38
Oh and Nicoski.:thumbsu:

Man that guy is going to have a big year.

Also I wouldnt worry about Masten's kicking just yet. He needs more games to get that confidence. Hopefully he has a solid pre-season challenge.:thumbsu:
 

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#39
Pros

* We blooded a lot of youngsters against a full strength Collingwood side.
* Our willingness to take a shot on goal from outside 50.
* We already have players up the top end so travel cost will be down.
* Lack of injuries to key players.
* More responsibility to less experianced players in midfield.
* Experiance, Experiance, Experiance.
* The boys that got injuried last year will be more confident after the run.
* More training away from prying eyes for our next gen of players.

Cons

* 2 injuries to Mackenzie and McGinnity.
* We have to travel to second rate surfaces for the remaining games.
* We lost.


Forget about structures and setups and game plans because you cant rate any of these without the players they were designed for not playing.
We played half of our starting team and even then our 2 best players were replacements with minimal game time, as well as our experianced players playing out of their regular positions to give the younger guys a chance to show what they are made of.
This is a very differant team that will front for Round 1 and their for the result was irrelevant.
I look at this game as another type of intra-Club match and Collingwood did us a favour by playing a full strength side, It lets our younger guys know what level they need to be to compete at in the AFL.

Collingwood will play a totally differant side next week unless they are trying to win the NAB cup and then if that is the case there players will burn out by Rnd 15 of the regular season and have no effect on the Finals.:cool:

Its all Good just wait and see.
 

mitchzz

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#42
Oh and Nicoski.:thumbsu:

Man that guy is going to have a big year.

Also I wouldnt worry about Masten's kicking just yet. He needs more games to get that confidence. Hopefully he has a solid pre-season challenge.:thumbsu:
Yep, last year I remember he was one of our better kicks, especially over big distances... I think people are getting a bit OTT about it.
 

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#43
Oh and Nicoski.:thumbsu:

Man that guy is going to have a big year.

Also I wouldnt worry about Masten's kicking just yet. He needs more games to get that confidence. Hopefully he has a solid pre-season challenge.:thumbsu:
Yep, Nico was excellent last night. If he returns to his 05 form, he'll easily be a starter through the regular season.
 

Crimson King

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#44
Although we got pumped, the margin increasing was proportional to when the youngsters were out on the ground and our senior players on the bench. In the first quarter, our seniors had most of the game time and we kept the margin to 14 points, the 2nd and 3rd quarters the youngsters had most of the game time and the margin blew out, and finally in the 4th, when our senior players were out there, we were competitive again.

So its not all doom and gloom, it was a typical WCE pre-season game, where the kids are played only for just some experience.
 

Crimson King

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#45
Yep, last year I remember he was one of our better kicks, especially over big distances... I think people are getting a bit OTT about it.
Rnd 8 vs the Kangas (I think it was round 8).

Got 3 brownlow votes and 21 disposals. Best game for the Eagles and I suggest people having doubts watch it again. His inside work was absolutely sensational and his kicking was top class and IIRC every single of his handball was going forward.

Interesting to note last season he was ranked 1st among rising stars in tackles per game.


 

Dragz

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#47
Been keeping an eye on Swift for a while. Looked ok last night to me.
Do you guys think he's a chance for a few senior games this year? (Or even more than a few?)
 
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#48
Pros: We Certainly haven forgotten how to handball.. :cool:
Masten played well, liked stakers game, Cockie looks like he could be a gun.
Nicoski was actually really good, even though he hanballed more than anyone, his handballs were much more positive (ie trying to make the play, 1-2 type)
Kennedy side steping opponents. It looked brilliant from 25m away. :thumbsu::p
Kerr. What can I say. comes on, gets the ball after 6-7 useless handballs, does his jump thingy he does, side steps an opponent, and KICKS the ball 40m to a player in the clear. he is my new fav eagle after today, he was just a class above everyone. (Except for Cox)
He didn't get the ball much, but Arrowsmith did ok I thought, he chased well from what I saw, he's a big boy and can position himself well.
Spangher played well. I certainly wouldn't want to write him off just yet, he reads the ball well.
Cons: We Certainly haven forgotten how to handball.. :cool:
I'm not going to go much on the cons. It was a preseason game, playing rookies against a pretty much full Strength Collingwood side. They just pressured us so much, thus causing the overuse of the handball.
The thing that annoyed me the most was the cheap goals we gave Cloke last night, he doesn't work hard enough for mine, he got lucky on several occasions.
 

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#49
Been keeping an eye on Swift for a while. Looked ok last night to me.
Do you guys think he's a chance for a few senior games this year? (Or even more than a few?)
Barring injury, I think he will play every game this season. He looks ready even though his frame is light.
 

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#50
One of the pros was that the eagles looked a lot quicker over the ground than last year. Both Cockie and Swift looked good - especially Cockie.
Worsfold will/should have learnt a lot.
-- Wilkes is an honest trier at best and cant play key position (3rd tall attacker is his only option) - good players towel him up. McKenzie is a better option
-- Priddis needs players moving around him to be successful - his mind works more quickly than his skills
-- Fletcher offers experience and little more - his one handed attempt to collect an "in-dispute" ball sums up where he is at. My 6 yr old calls him a big girls blouse and unfortunately he's right.
-- Hurn is lost at present as he is so negative. He is spending so much time second guessing and dropping backwards towards goal to provide cover that his main assets of strength, run and disposal are nonexistant. Worsfold needs to play him off the wing and tell him to be attacking or I reckon eagles supporters may see Hurn as tradeable at the end of the year.
-- Questions would be asked about futures of Houlihan and Arrowsmith - IMO I cant see either making AFL standard.
 
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