Autopsy Rd 3: North vs Melbourne - RIP the Streak

[giantroo]

These were Gawn's words when he was interviewed at the half-time break:

Ben Dixon: Max, what was said at quarter time to flip this game in your favour?

Gawn: It seems to be that every time we play North their inside mids get a hold of our insides, and that was our target at the start of the game, gotta beat them on the inside and they got us in the first quarter, so we gave our mids a bit of a rev up and that's the response we get.

Dixon: You've had a terrific start against your old sparring partner in Todd Goldstein.

Gawn: Yeah, played each other a fair bit, six or seven times, he's probably 6 nil up, so I'll try to get one.

 

[giantroo]

Gawn seemed pretty even with Goldy at that point, I didn't buy what Gawn said in that interview, he was looking to finish to job after that.

His point about the midfield was all true though. They exploited the obvious weakness.

Goldy did have his measure previously. He got smashed in that second quarter though.

That's where Spitta was vital last year.

 

[amaz199]

Goldy did have his measure previously. He got smashed in that second quarter though.

That's where Spitta was vital last year.

That's where Levi was vital as well. It is a cyclical nature of football where we have to accept weaknesses or cracks to provide a replacement strength.

Spitta was also unable to run both ways consistently as did JZ and Cunners. Their legs got burnt beyond what they are capable of hence why we rest them forward obviously. This is also probably why Brad chucked him forward in stages of last year, just to manage his time in the middle. Although not the best idea, it was an indication to the club coaches that Spitta was struggling fitness and match-day performance wise. He gets dropped and returns for the rest of the year as farewell.

If Spitta had gone back to his sublime 2011 form, and played yesterday, the scores would be the opposite.

That Adelaide game in Harvey's NMFC games record milestone (matching Archer's record) will go down as his best game for North. That first quarter was clinical from Swallow. At one stage he had more contested possessions than the entire Adelaide team did. lol.... what was the total disposal count in the first quarter for Spitta? 17? 18? Wow.

 

[muttley45]

Not much mention of the disallowed (clear) mark to Browny, which was duly rushed up the other end for a goal, 12 pt turnaround at a crucial stage right there.

 

[Jasemon]

Watching from the ground, and I'm sure it's been mentioned in the previous pages, but for me one of the most galling elements of our game was the ease in which the Melbourne players seemed to waltz through our attempted tackles. And that included a number of our more senior players.

Tackling!! Lift boys!

 

[Caracas]

No, not really in regards to the centre square. Todd's standing vertical leap is his strength, so I can't see how he can counter Gawn. Gawn is taller and heavier. All he has to do is body up on Goldstein to negate the leap and use his superior reach to palm the ball down. I can't see how this can be easily overcome.

Fair enough. However, if it's only Gawn that does that to him, we can live with that, I suppose. Do you reckon there are other rucks who'll do the same to him?

 

[amaz199]

Fair enough. However, if it's only Gawn that does that to him, we can live with that, I suppose. Do you reckon there are other rucks who'll do the same to him?

Kreuzer... has a freaking good record against Goldy.

Who are we playing this week?

s**t.

 

[Gasometer]

We were "lucky" to win last year at Docklands Iirc

 

[WesternRoo]

We didn't play well, but Melbourne are 3 years ahead of us in their progression.

It makes sense on paper the result.

There should be a couple of changes , but this will be life for us for a while.

I would be looking however at Will Walker etc soon over Hrovat and a couple of others.

We need to promote our most talented

 

[North Viking]

Some posters seriously....... * me Dead!!

You’d think that some posters thought we should be winning a premiership this year. That our list is top 4 material....well I’m going to let you in on a secret. It’s not!

They come out in their droves when we lose, like flies to s**t, to dig the heels, turn the screws, twist the knife in when we lose to attack everything and anything.

We are one year into a rebuild!! What do you expect. We will have flashes of brilliance, portals into the future but mostly inconsistency f

The overreaction in this thread is somewhat like the game day thread on the main board.

Maj first AFL game in defence showed some good signs but also made mistakes. Showed it's worth continuing with. Was a lot better than no1 pick Weitering.

Goldy got smashed in the ruck v Gawn. His advantage is around the ground but simply didn't do it. Gawns domination was worth 3-4 goals.

Hrovat and Turner didn't impact enough.

LDU managed. That's fine.

LMac tries To do to much at times and gets caught. That's fine, prefer that than not taking the game on. Needs to be in the middle too.

Atley busts his gut,Dumont showed some guts putting his body on the line, Jy isn't slow.

Ziebell and Cunners forward kicking goals is as it should be.

This season is no doubt going to be frustrating but some of the drama we spew on this board is, to me, more aggravating than watch the team.

Edit: Ben Brown is an absolute gun. Never gives up, never drops his head and clearly loves the club.

i cannot like this post enough.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Fair enough. However, if it's only Gawn that does that to him, we can live with that, I suppose. Do you reckon there are other rucks who'll do the same to him?

Goldstein is going to struggle against Gawn and our midfield is going to struggle against ~10 sides this year. These are unavoidable facts that won't be getting resolved this year no matter who we bring in to the side.

Sometimes there just isn't any short term solution.

 

[LeverPuller]

I know the streak is dead, but can I just say that Jacobs is a genius. There's taggers, then there's him. Deserves to be talked about alongside peak Ling and Crowley. Oliver did well to crack forward but Jacobs totally nullified him for a heap of the game, worst game he's had since his debut season.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Goldy did have his measure previously. He got smashed in that second quarter though.

That's where Spitta was vital last year.

Spitta?

Are you referring to, "washed up, slow and useless, play Dumont ahead of him (who is now playing in the backline)", Spitta?

 

[giantroo]

Spitta?

Are you referring to, "washed up, slow and useless, play Dumont ahead of him (who is now playing in the backline)", Spitta?

Yep.

It's such a shame as the players we brought in to replace he and Boomer are yet to provide a quarter of what they provided.

 

[Snake_Baker]

An outrageously under appreciated footballer by some around here.

His record (all time North):

8th for most disposals in a season
3rd for most handballs in a season
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th for most tackles in a season
2nd and 3rd for most clearances in a season
2nd, 3rd and 9th for most contested possessions in a season

You don't lose a bloke like that without leaving a big hole in their wake.

Spittas average 5.25 clearances, 6.6 tackles and 10.25 contested possessions would be very handy right now. Those career average numbers would place him 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in our current season stats. Probably worth 3 goals to us.

 

[giantroo]

An outrageously under appreciated footballer by some around here.

His record (all time North):

8th for most disposals in a season
3rd for most handballs in a season
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th for most tackles in a season
2nd and 3rd for most clearances in a season
2nd, 3rd and 9th for most contested possessions in a season

You don't lose a bloke like that without leaving a big hole in their wake.

Spittas average 5.25 clearances, 6.6 tackles and 10.25 contested possessions would be very handy right now. Those career average numbers would place him 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in our current season stats. Probably worth 3 goals to us.

I hope LDU can be the player that can fill this hole asap.

 

[King Corey]

An outrageously under appreciated footballer by some around here.

His record (all time North):

8th for most disposals in a season
3rd for most handballs in a season
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th for most tackles in a season
2nd and 3rd for most clearances in a season
2nd, 3rd and 9th for most contested possessions in a season

You don't lose a bloke like that without leaving a big hole in their wake.

Spittas average 5.25 clearances, 6.6 tackles and 10.25 contested possessions would be very handy right now. Those career average numbers would place him 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in our current season stats. Probably worth 3 goals to us.

Have kept saying it but in classic "you don't know what you've got till it's gone" - you NEVER questioned Swallow's effort. Pre or post achilles.

It was part of his player psyche and credit where it's due probably galvanised under Laidley in 2006-7. We don't breed this kind of desperation in many others.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Have kept saying it but in classic "you don't know what you've got till it's gone" - you NEVER questioned Swallow's effort. Pre or post achilles.

It was part of his player psyche and credit where it's due probably galvanised under Laidley in 2006-7. We don't breed this kind of desperation in many others.

Regular WBC candidates, Swallow and Thomas, are going to have an even greater level of respect for their efforts by the end of this season.

Some folks just can't grasp just how thread bare we are in the midfield at the moment. They can move all of the player magnets all over the board, and things aren't going to get any better.

I actually admire the fact that we haven't been blown away that often over the last season and 3 games. We've only copped one 10+ goal belting.

 

[GreatBradScott]

Clarke needs to be moved to the wing as he does have some run and carry in him. Hartung needs reinforcements when he's not able to get the footy.

McDonald spent a lot of time as a defensive mid, and his best footy will not be there. He was servicable, but we need his footy brain to be doing creative things, not taking lifesaving marks in the back pocket. Like Atley, he needs to be moved up the ground.

We need to find more Marley types, hopefully Wright gets back and both Hibberd and Mountford eventuate into something.

I am sick to death of us drafting footballers with signs of creativity, before it being snuffed out by stuffing them in the back line.

Clarke, McDonald, Atley, Hartung is a dangerous wing/half-forward quartet. I know it means little until we sort out our inside midfield issues, but this structural deficiency is offsetting the teams potential creative abilities. This on top of the fact that both Clarke and McDonald aren't top tier ball users (LMac is above average at best).

They will not damage opposition teams by taking the stationary kick down the line at half-back, 40 meters out from the opposition goal on the flank. Their carry and overlap would do much more damage up the ground.

I entirely understand current personnel makes this difficult, but we've got to start heading in that direction.

Also Goldy sucked.

 

[Tas]

I know the streak is dead, but can I just say that Jacobs is a genius. There's taggers, then there's him. Deserves to be talked about alongside peak Ling and Crowley. Oliver did well to crack forward but Jacobs totally nullified him for a heap of the game, worst game he's had since his debut season.

I think the only player Jacobs hasn't done a complete number on is Ablett. He has monstered pretty much everyone else and quite often got more of the ball than his opponent. We missed him a lot the last two years.

 

[LeverPuller]

I think the only player Jacobs hasn't done a complete number on is Ablett. He has monstered pretty much everyone else and quite often got more of the ball than his opponent. We missed him a lot the last two years.

Looking forward to seeing him take on Titch

 

[Tas]

Looking forward to seeing him take on Titch

Yeah, it will be interesting, he is a real ball magnet.

 

[Caracas]

Goldstein is going to struggle against Gawn and our midfield is going to struggle against ~10 sides this year. These are unavoidable facts that won't be getting resolved this year no matter who we bring in to the side.

Sometimes there just isn't any short term solution.

No argument from me there. I am looking forward to getting Wright and Ahern into the team, though. Not to mention, Will Walker, at a later stage.

 

[benbanjo]

Been a while since i've posted on here, but after going to the game on the weekend here is a few aspects of what i had seen.

Defence: Was ok as a whole
Daw: Was decent positioned himself well and killed a number of contests, was aggressive and certainly stopped a few goals, probably one of his best games for us.
Macmillan: Nothing good can be said about his performance and it seems to happen far too often, he is very reactive, poorly balanced, lets his player get goal side and must be one of the worst tacklers in the side, cost us 3-4 goals, which is a shame because he seems like a decent bloke.
McDonald: Pretty disappointing start to the season for him, was very poor with decision making cost several goals
Thompson: was reasonable.
Hartung: really gives us something different, and while he sometimes runs into trouble i like his endeavour and creating plays.

Forwards: Did what they could with the rubbish ball use.
Turner and Hrovat need to step up both not contributing and not providing pressure in the F50
Brown: Solid as always
Waite: Was OK, provided an outlet and kicked some goals, hands were not at their best, provided good blocking for brown to get off his man when the ball is up field.
Midfield: by far our biggest issue, sure if Gawn was having a massive day, start roving to his taps, but they smashed us out of the centre almost every time:
Cunners: Gets a pass barely
Jz: Poor in the midfield, why he is played there is beyond me.
Goldy: Winning hitouts v Gawn is not realistic since he is far taller, however he needs to put in around the ground, he didn't do this and our mids also didn't kick to him or get him involved in the game.
Jacobs: Won his battle IMO
Anderson: i cant remember the stats but i didn't notice him at all apart from the nice mark he took, perfect game for him to prove himself but he failed badly.

All in all a very poor performance from us and an average performance from Melbourne, the biggest issue is and has been for some time is Brad Scott, no in game strategies, out coached once again

 

[shintemaster]

All in all a very poor performance from us and an average performance from Melbourne, the biggest issue is and has been for some time is Brad Scott, no in game strategies, out coached once again

Even the best chess player will lose when they're scooting around the board with nothing but one Knight & the King against an opponent with 12 pieces left.