VFL RICHMOND v. ESSENDON Semi Final, Saturday 12:40 pm @ PORT (Stannards Stadium)

[Bazzar]

The Ellis boys were our 2 best players.

Not sure about the hate on Brando's first half. Was instrumental in launching most of our attacks and if not for the incompetence of players on the end of those passages of play, we'd have won yesterday. Bit hard for the guy when he's working with muppets. He's first in line to come back into the squad and rightfully so.

Before clicking on the thread you always know which posters are going to pot individual players. It gets to the point you just flick through their comments because you know the end of the story

 

[Bunk Moreland]

It already will. Where does butler play next weekend? In a park?

This definitely will effect the senior side not having competitive spirit around the club

Just reading your reviews of the game so forgive the intrusion.

Next week in the AFL Collingwood are playing and their reserves are out. Hawthorn may be in the same boat after today. In past years clubs have sometimes organised a reserves practice match to give their twos a hitout as there’s usually a few clubs in the same boat. If the club wants them to have a match they’ll probably find one. All the players have plenty to play for given the senior side is alive so it’d be a proper match.

 

[living_in_syd]

Just reading your reviews of the game so forgive the intrusion.

Next week in the AFL Collingwood are playing and their reserves are out. Hawthorn may be in the same boat after today. In past years clubs have sometimes organised a reserves practice match to give their twos a hitout as there’s usually a few clubs in the same boat. If the club wants them to have a match they’ll probably find one. All the players have plenty to play for given the senior side is alive so it’d be a proper match.

Doubt pies will help us out considering we may verse them. Only option is hawks who we have a good relationship with but could easily be knocked out by dees

 

[TheSmokingGun]

Just reading your reviews of the game so forgive the intrusion.

Next week in the AFL Collingwood are playing and their reserves are out.
Hawthorn may be in the same boat after today. In past years clubs have sometimes organised a reserves practice match to give their twos a hitout as there’s usually a few clubs in the same boat. If the club wants them to have a match they’ll probably find one. All the players have plenty to play for given the senior side is alive so it’d be a proper match.

This is the first I've heard of this happening, although it makes sense. Does this happen every year?

 

[Bunk Moreland]

This is the first I've heard of this happening, although it makes sense. Does this happen every year?

Happened a few times I think. Depends who’s left in both comps. You can say it’s helping out the oppostion, though both clubs get as much out of it.

 

[Charlie Pannam]

Markov is no chance of breaking into the side this year but I reckon he showed enough yesterday to get at least another year.
It won’t be easy for him to break into our backline but he is good cover. Has the closing speed and ability to be 3rd man up to play in our backline structure

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

The reason BEllis was left out (imo) is that is was 100% confirmed rain for the game. It is a fact he is an outside runner and stays well wide of contests. In this game, we needed hard in and around the contest players. The same reason Hawthorn brought in Howe (who played his role well tackling etc).
In the VFL he showed he is above that level, but I saw one classic 'no tackle' effort from him which saw the ball go straight in deep forward for a goal. Thats what frustrates some of us with him. He is great depth, but if we need a tackling player in the team, he stays out. If we can afford to lose that, and have an outside runner, he comes in (I guess for Conca - but he plays pure mid now and Ellis is not up to playing pure mid). I'd hate to see him go back down back and replace Broad. And he sure as hell is not getting Macca's spot on the wing. So, depth he remains because I can't see how he pushes anyone out of the 22 for thr next game.

 

[Coxy_]

Don't really know what you mean by 'pure mid'.
Ellis was runner up in a B&F and a member of the AA squad of 40 after a season on the wing at 21 years of age. I suppose you mean playing on ball ala Chimp, Dusty etc ?If there's no match up for Broad in the prelim then Ellis can easily come in as another HB flanker option who can also have a run on the wing.

Should we play the Pies in the prelim you'd think Sexy Dave goes to Big Cox. Rance, Vlastuin & Grimes have the rest of the important match ups covered. The extra runner in Brando would be extremely handy.

 

[Grrr]

Yep, very impressed with Markov. Hope he doesn't leave. Would rather trade BEllis.

Should take Ellis's spot next year I'd reckon.

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Don't really know what you mean by 'pure mid'.
Ellis was runner up in a B&F and a member of the AA squad of 40 after a season on the wing at 21 years of age. I suppose you mean playing on ball ala Chimp, Dusty etc ?If there's no match up for Broad in the prelim then Ellis can easily come in as another HB flanker option who can also have a run on the wing.

Should we play the Pies in the prelim you'd think Sexy Dave goes to Big Cox. Rance, Vlastuin & Grimes have the rest of the important match ups covered. The extra runner in Brando would be extremely handy.

Yes, thats exactly what I mean by pure mid, ie Conca - Ellis is poor playing that role. After watching him earlier in the season playing down back, I will disagree he can do that role well, especially in a final, whoever the match up. He panics and turns it over. I do agree he can play the wing role, but again, who do you take out from there to put him in. Or if you feel Broad comes out, who goes back?

 

[Coxy_]

Yes, thats exactly what I mean by pure mid, ie Conca - Ellis is poor playing that role. After watching him earlier in the season playing down back, I will disagree he can do that role well, especially in a final, whoever the match up. He panics and turns it over. I do agree he can play the wing role, but again, who do you take out from there to put him in. Or if you feel Broad comes out, who goes back?

Well he very rarely goes near the centre bounces or plays as an on-baller, so I wouldn't suggest we bring Bellis into the side to play there.

I disagree strongly that he couldn't play down back in a final. He did it 3 times last year and did it well, also got a premiership medallion for his efforts. Yeah, sometimes he panics and turns it over. Like Houli & Short did on Thursday night. Happens to all running to defenders at times. He's a good player, all 3 of those boys are.
I'm not outright suggesting we drop Broad but if there's no logical match up for him then I would. And I'd bring back Ellis. Broad's touched the footy 10 times in his last 3 games. If there's no match up for him you'll get SFA out of him in terms of run, rebound and good ball use. Ellis at his best provides that.

For me it's simply a case of horses for courses. We'll see what we need when we know who we're playing against

 

[_RT_]

Stats for the AFL boys yesterday, some good performances, some not so good. Some players ending their time with Richmond having a real crack which is great to see.

Menadue 26 disposals(16 kicks 10 handballs) 8 marks 3 tackles 4 I50s 3 R50s 2 goals
B.Ellis 24 disposals(10 kicks 14 handballs) 3 marks 1 tackle 2 I50s 4 R50s
C.Ellis 23 disposals(16 kicks 7 handballs) 2 marks 1 tackle 5 I50s 2 R50s
Miles 19 disposals(9 kicks 10 handballs) 4 marks 7 tackles 3 I50s 1 R50 1 goal
Lloyd 18 disposals(12 kicks 6 handballs 8 tackles 7 I50s 0.2
Markov 15 disposals(9 kicks 6 handballs) 4 marks 2 tackles 2 R50s 1.1
Moore 13 disposals(9 kicks 4 handballs) 5 marks 2 tackles 2 I50s 1 hitout 2.1
Stengle 11 disposals(6 kicks 5 handballs) 3 marks 2 tackles 3 I50s 1 goal
Garthwaite 10 disposals(5 kicks 5 handballs) 4 marks 3 tackles 3 R50s
Miller 10 disposals (3 kicks 7 handballs) 1 mark 3 tackles 3 I50s 1 R50
Naish 10 disposals (8 kicks 2 handballs) 2 marks 4 I50s 1 R50s 0.1
Soldo 9 disposals(8 kicks 1 handball) 3 marks 5 tackles 2 I50s 1 R50 28 hitouts
Balta 6 disposals(4 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 1 tackle 2 R50s
Coleman-Jones 5 disposals (2 kicks 3 handballs) 1 mark 5 tackles 4 hitouts 0.1
Eggolesse-Smith 3 disposals (2 kicks 1 handball) 1 mark 3 tackles 2 R50s
Chol 1 kick 3 tackles 8 hitouts 1 R50

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Well he very rarely goes near the centre bounces or plays as an on-baller, so I wouldn't suggest we bring Bellis into the side to play there.

I disagree strongly that he couldn't play down back in a final. He did it 3 times last year and did it well, also got a premiership medallion for his efforts. Yeah, sometimes he panics and turns it over. Like Houli & Short did on Thursday night. Happens to all running to defenders at times. He's a good player, all 3 of those boys are.
I'm not outright suggesting we drop Broad but if there's no logical match up for him then I would. And I'd bring back Ellis. Broad's touched the footy 10 times in his last 3 games. If there's no match up for him you'll get SFA out of him in terms of run, rebound and good ball use. Ellis at his best provides that.

For me it's simply a case of horses for courses. We'll see what we need when we know who we're playing against

Fair call. Assuming Weagles and looking at them last night. Kennedy, Darling, Vardy - Rance, Astbury, Grimes - Ryan, Rioli, LeCras, Venables - Short, Houli, Vlas - so Broad or Ellis. We already have alot of run with the other 3, so for me, Broad matches up on LeCras. But a long way to go yet for that. Just where I see things by Sept 29 (hopefully!!)

 

[tropicaltiger]

How did Brando play?

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-09-08/axed-tiger-shines-in-heartbreaking-vfl-loss

 

[TigerImposter]

Ellis will not get a game this year as he’s only looking for an easy ball and appears to be in the wrong mindset . His only asset is hard gut running which becomes neutralised by his poor attack on the footy in the coal face. This is the reason why he’s not in the side otherwise he’d be getting a game.
Out of yesterday’s side I would move on
Morris Miles Lloyd Soldo Chol Menadue and CEllis. Although some of these guys showed something yesterday we need to remember it was a VFL game and this is their ceiling. Brando survives bc he’s proven at the level , but he’s got to realise Higgins Baker Short and future kids will go passed him if he continues to shirk contests and avoid contact .

 

[mad_tiggy911]

Even Geelols kids are s**t. On ya Scotty!

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Out of yesterday’s side I would move on
Morris Miles Lloyd Soldo Chol Menadue and CEllis. Although some of these guys showed something yesterday we need to remember it was a VFL game and this is their ceiling. Brando survives bc he’s proven at the level , but he’s got to realise Higgins Baker Short and future kids will go passed him if he continues to shirk contests and avoid contact .

As I said earlier TI, we dont have much mid depth, so Im not sure taking out Miles, Lloyd, Menadue and CEllis in one hit is wise, unless we have 100% got some players coming in. Miles seems most likely to go, and then Lloyd also would have some currency. But r3-5 kids will not likely be ready next year, if ever. I know we need to turn the list over, as I agree, those you put up arent likely to become AFL level of more than a C, but they can come in with mature bodies and keep us in the hunt in games better than a kid. R1 we get the best mid, and next year go again on mids. Of course, hopefully this year we do some more trades. Happy to give up r1 for a B+ mid.

 

[TigerImposter]

As I said earlier TI, we dont have much mid depth, so Im not sure taking out Miles, Lloyd, Menadue and CEllis in one hit is wise, unless we have 100% got some players coming in. Miles seems most likely to go, and then Lloyd also would have some currency. But r3-5 kids will not likely be ready next year, if ever. I know we need to turn the list over, as I agree, those you put up arent likely to become AFL level of more than a C, but they can come in with mature bodies and keep us in the hunt in games better than a kid. R1 we get the best mid, and next year go again on mids. Of course, hopefully this year we do some more trades. Happy to give up r1 for a B+ mid.

I agree , but our last two drafts and trades we’ve gone at a high strike rate.
So let’s assume Baker and Naish with another preseason will improve further which would put them well ahead of CEllis and Menadue. We’ve also seen the rise of Higgins in less than a season , so if we can back out FD to trade in or draft some new boys with more upside than the current fringe players it’s a no brainer.
Then add late picks or Rooky selections:
Campbell upgrades Soldo immediately.
We look at guys like Thorpe and Gibbons from Willy and Rookie AArts Or Thompson from our VFL or Lentini from Coburg.
The list improves immediately both at VFL as well as AFL.
Taylor Hunt was the perfect example why solid bodies aren’t going to cut it as you need some ticker and skill as well. Now the younger names I mentioned I reckon Hunt was still a better footballer than them as horrible as he was.
Out of the lot I mentioned Menadue would be the likely to survive bc of his speed and I was a bit harsh on him bc of his horrid field kicking yesterday.
It may come down to who Balme can con during trade week, but after the axing of Lennon it’s clear Balme takes no passengers with him on the Tiggy train.

 

[Rubber Hips]

Stats for the AFL boys yesterday, some good performances, some not so good. Some players ending their time with Richmond having a real crack which is great to see.

Menadue 26 disposals(16 kicks 10 handballs) 8 marks 3 tackles 4 I50s 3 R50s 2 goals
B.Ellis 24 disposals(10 kicks 14 handballs) 3 marks 1 tackle 2 I50s 4 R50s
C.Ellis 23 disposals(16 kicks 7 handballs) 2 marks 1 tackle 5 I50s 2 R50s
Miles 19 disposals(9 kicks 10 handballs) 4 marks 7 tackles 3 I50s 1 R50 1 goal
Lloyd 18 disposals(12 kicks 6 handballs 8 tackles 7 I50s 0.2
Markov 15 disposals(9 kicks 6 handballs) 4 marks 2 tackles 2 R50s 1.1
Moore 13 disposals(9 kicks 4 handballs) 5 marks 2 tackles 2 I50s 1 hitout 2.1
Stengle 11 disposals(6 kicks 5 handballs) 3 marks 2 tackles 3 I50s 1 goal
Garthwaite 10 disposals(5 kicks 5 handballs) 4 marks 3 tackles 3 R50s
Miller 10 disposals (3 kicks 7 handballs) 1 mark 3 tackles 3 I50s 1 R50
Naish 10 disposals (8 kicks 2 handballs) 2 marks 4 I50s 1 R50s 0.1
Soldo 9 disposals(8 kicks 1 handball) 3 marks 5 tackles 2 I50s 1 R50 28 hitouts
Balta 6 disposals(4 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 1 tackle 2 R50s
Coleman-Jones 5 disposals (2 kicks 3 handballs) 1 mark 5 tackles 4 hitouts 0.1
Eggolesse-Smith 3 disposals (2 kicks 1 handball) 1 mark 3 tackles 2 R50s
Chol 1 kick 3 tackles 8 hitouts 1 R50

Faaarq. ME...Balta 6 disposals(4 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 1 tackle 2 R50s

Some of the posts here suggests he is Jesus reincarnate

6 disposals...that’s it... pathetic in a final. ...how much game time did he have?

 

[tugga]

Markov is no chance of breaking into the side this year but I reckon he showed enough yesterday to get at least another year.
It won’t be easy for him to break into our backline but he is good cover. Has the closing speed and ability to be 3rd man up to play in our backline structure

Would not be against him getting another year at all.
With the signing of Lynch and Grigg and Houli committing to another year, you can't top up your list with all kids.
Would be happy having Ollie around for another year for that four to five game senior season if need be.

 

[Coxy_]

Faaarq. ME...Balta 6 disposals(4 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 1 tackle 2 R50s

Some of the posts here suggests he is Jesus reincarnate

6 disposals...that’s it... pathetic in a final. ...how much game time did he have?

His performance has definitely been overrated but he was pretty handy. Did a great job keeping Francis away from the footy in the first quarter. Came to life in the 2nd half and took a couple of brilliant marks that bailed us out of trouble.

He's very much in a stage where he makes a very positive and exciting contribution but it's only in spurts right now. Needs plenty of time but should be an absolute gun one day.

 

[Charlie Pannam]

It’s pretty standard to see first year players numbers dropping off late in the season, most of them hit the wall. Naish and Balta have had some really good performances through the middle part of the season, Naish had 3 or 4 games in a row in the mid 20s .

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Faaarq. ME...Balta 6 disposals(4 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 1 tackle 2 R50s

Some of the posts here suggests he is Jesus reincarnate

6 disposals...that’s it... pathetic in a final. ...how much game time did he have?

As posted above, he had a shutdown role at CHF. So his stats reflect that.

 

[TigerImposter]

Faaarq. ME...Balta 6 disposals(4 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 1 tackle 2 R50s

Some of the posts here suggests he is Jesus reincarnate

6 disposals...that’s it... pathetic in a final. ...how much game time did he have?

I think you’ve misread the posts mate as people were looking at him more in terms of potential.
He’s at the stage where he’s getting to the right spots and working hard in getting there. He’s a competitive beast and that’s heart warming in itself.
ATM he’s not impacting the game possession wise bc he’s not strong enough to hold his ground when he cops that big hit on his body he will drop more marks than clunk them. He’s a first year player just like Jack and Rance were at one stage and people like you ,had their doubts about these boys. Yet I wasn’t as I was looking at where they were at the start of the season and what they were doing after a season. You could see they had the smarts , skills and class without the strength and body. Noah is at this stage and the two blokes that were with me ( one a bomber) all agreed that he has the capacity to be a super player once he develops fully. He threatened to own the game at times , but his body and tank let him down and considering it’s been a long season it was entitled to. Just be patient as the old cliche goes “ Talls take longer” .
CCJ is similar and four weeks ago he got 46 ho and around 20 possessions against the number one ruck in the comp and yet yesterday he couldn’t blow out a candle.
Miller was super impressive yesterday after a few quiet weeks and he looked like a future Big Boy McEvoy , but with a bit more speed. I was really impressed with him and I’d wished Fly had thrown him in the ruck against that young big Bomber dinosaur as he was looking extremely mobile and in threatening form. Soldo was too slow and playing into his hands and Chol was clueless and clumsy when forced to ruck. So commonsense was to throw Miller in there as his ground and aerial work up forward was troubling Essendon, but he was getting limited opportunities bc of our lack of deep forward entries . Throw him in the ruck and put him into the game like a Nankervis type and suddenly you have a massive midfielder opening up the game for our midfielders. Xxxx it I’m still bleeding bc win that game and Baker and Bolton come back the next week.

 

[Phar Ace]

His performance has definitely been overrated but he was pretty handy. Did a great job keeping Francis away from the footy in the first quarter. Came to life in the 2nd half and took a couple of brilliant marks that bailed us out of trouble.

He's very much in a stage where he makes a very positive and exciting contribution but it's only in spurts right now. Needs plenty of time but should be an absolute gun one day.

His first half was a very defensive role and he did well enough as we were certainly kept in the game. An absolute brain fade gave away a 50 and goal in the 3rd. His redemption came in the 4th with some telling marks as he settled back into his defensive role again.

The guy that showed improvement for mine was Miller. Was involved in goals through bullocking work, taps and handballs when we were getting nothing from Soldo.

Not even going rate Naish's game, clearly injured and showed enough courage just to be out there.

I can't see a redeeming feature in Morris's game. He has slipped massively. No doubt he has the heart, but stuggling at even VFL. Was responsible for Green who carved him up because he played him so wide - he was worse that loose.

It was good to catch up with TI at the game. We argued solidly about players, but that just shows how different eyes have different perspectives and cause pause to think. Enjoyed the banter!