Autopsy Round 16, 2019: North Melbourne v St.Kilda *BILLINGS' 100TH*

[pebblesofsand]

Long
Ross
Sinclair
Acres

 

[Premium]

Out of his depth playing as our number one mid IMO.

half back flanker

 

[Saint Watto]

Dunno. Haven’t listened for a year.

I haven't listened to it for nearly 2 years.

 

[saintkildaman]

We really need a 3rd marking target up forward, we are so predictable going inside 50. Hopefully Battle is okay, would be nice to see Brown return and Josh in attack.

Billings, Bruce, Clark, Dunny, Steele and Roma our best for me. Parker needs a rest, Lonie also straight back into the side.

 

[Mikka84]

Of course. They are both B+ so you would only consider trading them if it gets you the next level up - an elite mid.

My main argument is that this group of mids/small forwards/back flankers is not going to get us a flag or even top 4 in my opinion. So let’s make some Geelong and Hawks like moves.

GWS want Gresh badly. Plenty of players to trade for.

 

[Mowman]

GWS want Gresh badly. Plenty of players to trade for.

In a heartbeat

 

[Joffaboy]

GWS want Gresh badly. Plenty of players to trade for.

Tomlinson, Bonar and Cogs will do

 

[Dr Spaceman]

Anyway what concerns me is the club keeps saying “we have a core group of 10-12 players all getting into the 100-200 gamebracket”...

Dunstan, Acres, Sinclair, Newnes, McKenzie etc.

 

[Aussieviking1]

Nope. With ability comes increased expectations. Billings needs to take the game on more, he too often looks to give up responsibility for creating a move to someone else. If you want $650k per year earn it.

I really don't think our game plan allows it mate. All of our mids etc are all defending opposition mids or sweeping off half back. How many goals have our mids kicked this year. All of their kicks are from the back half of centre and bombed forward. They have no chance to get forward to do damage.
We need mids with spread etc. There are plenty of them coming up.
We need a new game plan from a coach who encourages spread and run and confidence to go forward. Make them chase us.

 

[StCicatriz]

Matt Finnis: " We couldn't be happier"

Clearly has his finger on the pulse of the football department and is an excellent read on how we are tracking.

 

[Proper Gander]

I haven’t seen the game yet, but the melts are teaching me what I need to know before I watch the replay.

Just letting you guys know that I appreciate you.

Sorry that I’m lurking. I read other boards because I hear opposition fans talk about players I don’t know much about, which helps my engagement in neutral games etc.

That aside Human, could you please tell me what exactly that thing in your avatar is? I’ve been wondering for months now

 

[Enclosed_Animal]

GWS want Gresh badly. Plenty of players to trade for.

Unless they are offering Whitfield, Haynes and Caldwell in exchange they can F**K right off!

Not his best day today, but noooo way in hell you let a talent like Gresh go! What I would ask for Gresh would make the Paul George trade look cheap ...

 

[gringo2011]

Brisbane Lions were the s**ttest team in the comp in 2017 and finished last on the ladder

2019 they are a genuine finals contender

What the hell have we been doing?

We don't draft well. We have no plan for a list build either. Have used a lot of future picks and none has managed to be a gun player yet.

 

[AirWinmar]

Billings had 35 touches at 80% plus efficiency and pretty well zero influence on the game. After first quarter I watched him closely...the vast majority of his possessions went sideways between 15 and 25 metres. The vast majority also came back over his head a few seconds later. Doesn't break lines, doesn't gain metres, doesn't open up the game with precise disposal.

Noticed this the last few games. He has been playing well, but when he gets it he should be looking at trying to maximise scoring opportunities. We didnt draft the best kick in the draft so he could chip it around or kick it down the line. Understand you need to do it sometimes, but we need our good skilled players looking to make agressive kicks and make the most of their posessions. Sincs, Battle, Wilks, Long, Savage should all have the same mindset

 

[Mowman]

Unless they are offering Whitfield, Haynes and Caldwell in exchange they can F**K right off,

Not his best day today, but no way in hell you let a talent like Gresh go!

It’s not fair on them if we keep them let them enjoy their life

 

[WhiskySaint]

I had the pleasure (not so much the first quarter) of going today. It was my 5 year olds first game and he loved it. Asked if we could come again tomorrow, ha.

Clark is very good and he looked gassed at times but just kept pushing through. He is physical, just needs the muscle to back it up.

Thought Coff was good too, got pushed around a bit, but that’s to be expected.

Some suggestions that Long was poor, but at the game he worked his ass off. Presented plenty and was ignored plenty. Looked frustrated at times.

The only other thing I wanted to mention was how crushed some of the players looked once the game had gone. Think Newnes looked crushed and frustrated.

Blake and marshal in the centre, and we get a clean centre clearance.... who’d thunk it

 

[gringo2011]

The draft is a lottery & we don’t have the pillars in place to gamble on our better players. We are not Hawthorn.

This year we will add another top 5 pick plus probably a top 20 pick for Jack Steven. Additionally, Max King & Bytel next year will be like two new recruits.

You could say we are already hitting the draft & implementing rebuild 2.0 without coming out & saying it.

That's the problem, I think we know we need it but the club is looking at older players to ty to prop up the list instead of doing it the hard way. Having sold off all our mid range picks for this year and no one we want to trade makes us vulnerable to fire sale players. Hickey was a mistake last year seeing as we need to find a back up ruck again. I have very little faith in the list management.

 

[Mowman]

We don't draft well. We have no plan for a list build either. Have used a lot of future picks and none has managed to be a gun player yet.

That is the saddest thing we really don’t have a plan we just go from one stuff up to the next. Hate thinking like this but we have gone backwards over the last six year and are in just as bad position as when the pigeon took over

 

[Mikka84]

Unless they are offering Whitfield, Haynes and Caldwell in exchange they can F**K right off,

Not his best day today, but no way in hell you let a talent like Gresh go!

I’ve been disappointed with his year to be honest. Has adopted a sloppy finish to his game. That said, you build around him. Hoping it’s a case of playing in the mid more often without any decent around him.

 

[WhiskySaint]

Noticed this the last few games. He has been playing well, but when he gets it he should be looking at trying to maximise scoring opportunities. We didnt draft the best kick in the draft so he could chip it around or kick it down the line. Understand you need to do it sometimes, but we need our good skilled players looking to make agressive kicks and make the most of their posessions. Sincs, Battle, Wilks, Long, Savage should all have the same mindset

Think it’s a game plan thing. JB gets it in the back flank a bit, then the they press up, block the switch and no one works to create space. I didnt see many opportunities for aggressive kicks today, we are way too stagnant out of the back half

 

[theprospect]

Just move him 40 metres up the ground and he will be a star? Cool story. Players like Sinclair are a coaches nightmare.

Really? Try telling me it didn't work for Billings moving him from half forward to the wing. Spare me. He's one of the best kicks in the team, has great endurance, why wouldn't you be playing him there? Go back to 2017 and tell me how Sincs went playing on a wing. Completely nonsensical and no reason for him not to be playing there now.

 

[Mowman]

Really? Try telling me it didn't work for Billings moving him from half forward to the wing. Spare me. He's one of the best kicks in the team, has great endurance, why wouldn't you be playing him there? Go back to 2017 and tell me how Sincs went playing on a wing. Completely nonsensical and no reason for him not to be playing there now.

Was our only player classed as elite when he was on the wing in 2017 and hasn’t been played there since

 

[FlyingSledghamer]

I really don't think our game plan allows it mate. All of our mids etc are all defending opposition mids or sweeping off half back. How many goals have our mids kicked this year. All of their kicks are from the back half of centre and bombed forward. They have no chance to get forward to do damage.
We need mids with spread etc. There are plenty of them coming up.
We need a new game plan from a coach who encourages spread and run and confidence to go forward. Make them chase us.

This. I want to see what this team can do post Richo this season. See if they get a bounce like North.
Your 100% correct. The Game plan doesn't seem to play to players strengths. Billings is an example of this. The players always look like it's maximum effort for least impact.
Another good example today was Bruce. He plays a great game finally kicks a bag. Which our fwds have struggled all year. But we still loose by 40.

 

[VDS66]

I’ve been disappointed with his year to be honest. Has adopted a sloppy finish to his game. That said, you build around him. Hoping it’s a case of playing in the mid more often without any decent around him.

He could become our Betts IMO.

Problem we have is we don't have much currency to trade for decent mids.

Ideally you get them and leave him forward.

 

[Enclosed_Animal]

I’ve been disappointed with his year to be honest. Has adopted a sloppy finish to his game. That said, you build around him. Hoping it’s a case of playing in the mid more often without any decent around him.

Was just discussing exactly this in the Sandy thread.

Jye Simpkin is the same age as Gresh and is also a gun young talent to build a midfield around.

This year under Brad Scott, Simpkin had 6 games of less than 20 disposals and was dropped at least once.

Last week: 30 disposals, 11 clearances, 7 I50s
This week: 36 disposals (21 contested), 9 clearances, 6 I50s

Stop coaching elite talent kids to play the same the way you teach a rookie back pocket with limited ability to be accountable!!

PS: Gresh is top 20 in the league for center clearances despite still only being a part time mid. Just behind Cognilio and above Danger. But sure, lets trade him ...