AFL Toast RND 12: Win against NORF

[Chief Hopper]

What a close game.
Geeze North played out of their skin, they have a really bright future.
I thought we needed Setterfields input today. He gives our mids space, something they lacked after the first quarter.
Onwards and upwards.

 

[Vander18]

Vander18 ’s boy.

I’m singing form your hymn book now

Georgie boy?

I was at the game and just watched replay to get a better look. He goes ok….far out.

 

[DERO]

Georgie boy?

I was at the game and just watched replay to get a better look. He goes ok….far out.

JHF will be a good player but they may still come out of things ok. Wardlaw looks a beauty.

 

[Godzke]

Such gusto, so passionate

So much "yeah, we won" let's get on and forget about it.
Apart from the 4 points, they only upside from that game is that it hopefully gives the team a boot up the arse ahead of the Carlton game.

Pleased to see Stringer having a crack. Was an ordinary game with ball in hand (41% DE, 1 goal, 4 SIs) but he did all the defensive things we wanted of him (6 tackles, 3 Ti50, 28 pressure acts).

 

[citizen-erased]

Might see him surface as depth again, I didn't realise this but apparently he's contracted until the end of next year.

Que?

 

[Cold Sober]

Dodged the biggest bullet, both teams deserved to win. Great game to watch.
Carlton is now a big worry.

 

[outersanctum]

Norf have got some talent coming through. Didn't realise it was so close in average age/average games played.. it shows just how well this team is performing.

And we are 6th because we deserve to be.. you couldn't not call our draw easy, nor have we had a gifted run with injury, umpires or lucky bounces. This team has clawed and fought its way to a very respectable position.

Very easy to forget just how young and inexperienced this team is. I can't wait to see what Scott can get out of them in 2-3 years. We are missing a few key position players.. need at least 2 of Cox, Reid, Jones et al to come through.

 

[Jade]

Trash.

Worth nothing more than 4pts.

That side should be deregistered in favour of one that can offer some value to the league.

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

that game was like watching 2 drunks fighting over the last light beer at a wedding of cousins

You speak from experience?

 

[outersanctum]

For context, last year we sat 16th after playing 12 matches. We were on 2 wins and 10 losses with a % of 73.08%. Norf sat just below us in 17th place.

What a difference 12 months makes.

 

[Ati Tude]

Baldwin.

He's not all that big. Would still like to see him played forward, especially given how bad Weid was.

 

[citizen-erased]

He's not all that big. Would still like to see him played forward, especially given how bad Weid was.

I think he's a backman now
The tigers game, his VFL game today and really what he's been building all season, if id bank that

 

[Yoda_]

Something else that's gone well under the radar is how s**t the AFL fixture has gone against us in the last month. We have played 3 interstate games in the last 4 weeks with another against back to back against Geelong and Melbourne inside 5 days as well. Thats 7 games inside 6 weeks

Insane that 3 of those were interstate as well

 

[Skipper_]

For all the talk around North’s kids (and don’t get me wrong they are very good), this could well be the 23 we put out in the near future:

B: Ridley - BZT - Reid
HB: Redman - Laverde - McGrath
C: Martin - Merrett - Durham
HF: Perkins - Voss - Guelfi
F: Stringer - Wright - Langford
R: Draper - Setterfield - Parish
I/C: Caldwell - Hobbs - Cox - Tsatas
Sub: Menzie

 

[blitzer]

I have mixed feelings about that one.
On the one hand it was a 6 point win against a bottom side.
On the other hand they are in a bit of good form right now and are bound to win a game or 2 soon I reckon. They were really cracking in hard today. We also still have a fairly lengthy injury list even now.

We do have our issues though as we carried quite a few passengers today.
Overall I'll take that one as getting the job done even though we had a down day overall.

Looking forward to getting Wright back next week. I would refrain from dropping Weid because we really need to get the combo of Wright and him up and running as soon as possible. So I'd drop Phillips instead - who was also pretty bad (just less bad than Weid).

 

[Ati Tude]

Not sure what to make of this match. 4 points is still 4 points. Didnt think it would be easy but was hoping for a sold 5 goal+ win especially given the start. The centre clearances especially in the last quarter were a disaster. Zach is carrying the midfield group that desperately needs Darce and Setters back.

Guelfi gave us some real spark, Rids, Perkins and Langford good and Martin is just a jet. That kick to Langford towards the end who then passed it to Flipper (for a point!) was magnificent. Really frustrated with our disposal (especially McGrath), rucks and lack of height (everywhere). Weid got his hands to the ball a lot but couldnt hold on. Maybe with 2MP, he takes those instead and Weid benefits from 2nd defender. That is the hope. Coaches shouldnt bag players in press conferences but gee he talked up contributions of Draper, Phillips, Weid and String who were average today and not much more than that for a while.

We desperately need more height in defence. Zerk and Laverde try hard but can't make up for not being tall enough. Don't think we solve it this year but here's hoping that 2 of Reid, Cox, Monty and Hayes work out. We can't be giving up 100 (99) points to 17th on the ladder. That is about the mids as much as it is the defenders also. Some work to do.

And it seems Shiel wasn't injured but subbed out. Dont play him next week and get him right for back part of the season. Will be interesting to see the result in the return bout which isnt that far away. We really need the bye to refresh and hopefully can hit the ground for a strong back half of the year (with less travel).

 

[windyhill]

Norf fans reaction to another torturous loss to us is like picking wings off flies and watching them go for it.

 

[Foxx]

It's been the same almost every game we've played.
We turn the ball over way too much to be considered a legitimate contender.
The only reason we are winning is because of our pressure.
The only time we beat a top 6 team (Melbourne) is the only game we brought both the pressure and the efficiency.

Having said that, I'm still very happy we are looking good to play finals!

 

[TheGrizz]

Something else that's gone well under the radar is how s**t the AFL fixture has gone against us in the last month. We have played 3 interstate games in the last 4 weeks with another against back to back against Geelong and Melbourne inside 5 days as well. Thats 7 games inside 6 weeks

Insane that 3 of those were interstate as well

Yet we are still 7-5 and have the easiest draw in the comp to finish the year.

Take it as a positive!

 

[jmoo wan]

You speak from experience?

I really wanted that beer…

 

[VelvetSledge]

Yet we are still 7-5 and have the easiest draw in the comp to finish the year.

Take it as a positive!

The ultimate test of Essington is whether or not we can take advantage of the good run home and cement our place or if we absolutely pack it in and s**t the bed

 

[mike ross]

The ultimate test of Essington is whether or not we can take advantage of the good run home and cement our place or if we absolutely pack it in and s**t the bed

Considering where we're coming from I don't think missing the finals makes it an Essington performance.

The boys are showing a lot, they've turned their defensive game around. As a result we are winning more games. We are going to have bad games and losses but we are tracking well in Scott's first year.

 

[wichidi]

This from the front page of the norf thread:

The best loss we've had in many years. So much to love outside of the result. The result was irrelevant. The Shinboners were back today.

Oh man, best loss in many years? Is this how you measure success? I almost feel sorry for their fans but then I remember it’s norf.

 

[bombadeer]

This from the front page of the norf thread:

The best loss we've had in many years. So much to love outside of the result. The result was irrelevant. The Shinboners were back today.

Oh man, best loss in many years? Is this how you measure success? I almost feel sorry for their fans but then I remember it’s norf.

Aside from the lack of a W, if I was a North fan, I’d be licking my lips at that midfield performance. It was utterly dominant. I can see that posters point.

It’s the kind of loss that would give their squad a heap of confidence.

 

[Scottie65]

Can’t believe I’m seeing us get hammered cause we didn’t win by 5 plus goals … get a grip guys … credit to north they were good today and that wardlaw crushed our mids … a win is a win but doesn’t mean we are crap.. we have a lot of key player missing at the moment … wright, parish, Kelly,tippa, Reid,…. Credit to the boys for always being in the game and fighting it out … not always going to pump teams to a pulp… we are heading in the right direction and that’s the key factor from what we saw in the past few years …. Go bombersss