Autopsy Round 2, 2023: Positives and Negatives vs GWS

[hudson2006]

I appreciated Witherden’s work today, thought he improved his intensity and won some contests.

Our defense was the weakest line, despite Gov raking up a lot of intercepts. Thankfully our ball movement improved dramatically.

Gaff didn’t seem too bad to me. Hopefully Alesana has some time this week again for reviews!

 

[garlic munchers]

+
A bit of pacey ball movement and life becomes so much better in the fwd line.
Finish the season like this Shuey and retire in the Parthenon of all time WC greats.
Simmo with more passion in his little finger than lost Longmuir
-
Taken me and Simmo until now to realise how good was Jetta in 18!

Freo favourites but at least it’s game on now.

 

[footballfreak]

Positives
Waterman showing that his true value is at full forward
SPS having a breakout game at half forward flank
Jones providing some run
Ginbey showed flashes
Kelly returning to form
Shuey is still our best midfielder
Sheed was solid
Hunt was a important contributor



Negatives
Allen needs to work on his kicking and decision making
Williams is not convincing as a ruckman
Chesser is out of place at AFL level
Gaff still plays too safe with his disposal and too many hospital kicks today

 

[Ishmael_]

Fantastic effort, loved it.

I was pretty confident we'd win, but didn't expect to see that second quarter, to play footy like that - It's something we can really build on.

• Ball movement was beautiful at times. We've retained our kicking identity with more running and handball chains when needed.
• The changes all performed.

SPS, Jones, Waterman found roles that fit and they showed career form.

• Baz better (and used two hands to attempt marks(!)), plenty more lifted.
• Ryan, Cripps
• Ginbey a bull and with some good hands.
• Long

• Chesser, has missed too much footy to jump to AFL. Let him gain some confidence in the WAFL.
• Cole, Hurn, Barrass all with RFI - backline was shaky.

 

[wooshwhisperer]

You’re kidding. McGovern was fine….Barass has had 2 shockers in a row

Haven't watched the replay yet... but did Mcgovern go off in the last quarter?

 

[Mop]

Haven't watched the replay yet... but did Mcgovern go off in the last quarter?

Yeah, but he was able to come back on if required according to ABC boundary rider Bridget Lacy

 

[THE A5]

If Duggan and Cole can find their 2020 form, that wouldn't make as reliant on JJ to much. Suspect teams will be working to shut him down in the near future. Having a few players that can run and take the game on is a huge weapon to have. Hunt is another that can provide that tho it did feel like he played a tad higher up the ground

 

[eaglespremiers]

As Darling's sponsor I am duty bound to post about this particular highlight.
Let me paint you a play-by-play of the story.

8 minutes and 40 seconds to go before half time. West Coast up by two goals.
There's a second stoppage in a row in the forward pocket for West Coast.

Darling is the nominated ruckman.
His direct opponent is Matt Flynn. A player 10cm taller than him and has approximately 7kg of additional weight.
None of this matters. Darling produces a definitive palm which the commentators immediately describe correctly as a "set play".

Jamie Cripps

15

Jamie Cripps

Age

32

Ht

184cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.7

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.8

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.9

5star

G

1.3

5star

D

10.3

3star

K

6.3

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.4

3star

G

0.4

3star

D

6.4

2star

K

4.2

2star

HB

2.2

2star

M

1.0

1star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.4

5star

is streaming deep into the pocket behind a nest of GWS midfielders and defenders.
Darling's deft knock clears this line and goes to turf.

The ball bounces up obligingly to Cripps. He is corralled by Coniglio towards the boundary line.
But none of this matters. Channeling his small forward skills Cripps dribbles the ball allowing the bounces to open up the goal front for a devastating goal.

Another four goals follow for West Coast for the remainder of the quarter.
GWS never recover from this barrage.

Kudos to Cripps for his finishing skills.
But props have to go to Darling for executing such a perfect set play despite being a very part-time ruckman.
I believe that both of Darling's first two games have been solid while he has missed some chances.
However, his versatility to continually fight out of his weight class to give West Coast opportunities cannot be understated.

And there, children, is where we leave our picture story book with a valuable lesson - it doesn't matter if you're big or small, Jack is going to vanquish you all.

Tune in next week to see the exciting sequel featuring this muppet:

 

[wooshwhisperer]

Gaff had 22 disposals but if there was an effective disposal stat, he would be lucky to have 3 or 4 I reckon.

If you rated each of Gaffs disposals 1 to 5 on effectiveness, he'd be struggling to get 50 out of 110... and that's not giving minus 5 to a couple of the absolute clangers.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Haven't watched the replay yet... but did Mcgovern go off in the last quarter?

40% TOG in the last.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Nice to see a few of the old boys suiting up.

I’m having trouble placing a couple of them…

Far Left - in the civies next to Butler
Far Left - Next to Kasey Green

Kasey Green

Age

44

Ht

187cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

3.7

4star

T

1.8

4star

No current season stats available

D

9.4

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

1.0

3star

(that one is annoying me!)
Right - in the grey shirt between Sampi and Rojo.

Got the rest of them - weird mix of mid 2000s champs, early 2000s blokes who barely played a game and Brett Heady - aged 53!

 

[mattyc75]

I swear the only time i saw gaff moving at any pace other than his walk/shuffle was when he sprints to the interchange bench, very frustrating

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Nearing half time in the replay.

Props to Jack Darling

27

Jack Darling

Age

31

Ht

191cm

Wt

95kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.4

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

14.6

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

4.0

5star

G

1.4

5star

. Didn’t get a tonne of service as the 1A option, but worked his ass off in the ruck, eight score involvements, five tackles inside 50 (some absolute rippers too).

A really impressive game for a KPF who only kicked one.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Nearing half time in the replay.

Props to Jack Darling. Didn’t get a tonne of service as the 1A option, but worked his ass off in the ruck, eight score involvements, five tackles inside 50 (some absolute rippers too).

A really impressive game for a KPF who only kicked one.

Good call on that - worked his arse off today. Second efforts at the contests too, not just last man off the deck when the ball has been spoiled. Rotate him with Waterman for a good stint now.

 

[Sw3Et]

+ Waterman is the new JK and not Oscar afterall.

 

[Keys]

The SPS love - I was getting ready for work so zoned in and out of the game, saw most of the first and second Q.
I thought he was okay, but not sure about the raving part..? Did I just miss his key parts?

Yes

 

[Keys]

Went to the game and have just finished the replay so doing this 10 beers in

Random comments first
• Props to the bloke who sat next to me halfway through the second because he couldn’t be arsed walking up any more steps (I was seat 2, he took advantage of a vacant seat 1). Sank 3 full trays of 4 beers in around a half of footy. I’m not counting what he drank pre laziness or what he sank during halftime but he’s $120 down Judy in what I saw without so much as a stumble. Impressive or sad I’m not sure
• Plenty of comments bemoaning our 2nd half. I thought the first 5 or so minutes of the 3rd quarter was as relentless as I’ve seen for some time. Got out to a 12.8 to 5.5 lead and essentially had the game won. Kicked 2.8 after that and had the giants not kicked the last 3 the final margin would’ve better reflected the game. I’m taking it regardless

Wasn’t going to do negatives but there were a couple
• Barrass out of sorts
• Oscar still shedding some rust
• Game is passing Gaff by
• Chesser probably needs to go back to WAFL to just find some footy
• The two Greens shaped as match winners but whilst their stats look reasonable (particularly Toby’s 4 goals) I thought their influence was relatively subdued
• We went from 13.8 to 14.16. Whilst GWS missed several of their own opportunities we should have taken the chance to bury them

Positives. Strap in, there’s a lot
• Kickins didn’t all go to the right. We mixed them up a bit and looked better for it
• Effort could not be questioned







Ran further at higher speed and far more willing to sprint repeatedly

• Definite plan to move the ball quicker. Came unstuck at times but love the intent
• Ryan was engaged all game. Forward pressure was immense and disposal sublime
• Waterman presented brilliantly as a forward and competed well as a ruck
• Hunt showed why we chased him. Among other highlights his effort in the fourth to chase from our F50 to just outside their arc without quite getting close enough to tackle but affected the last disposal was immense
• Ginbey was tasked with looking after Tom Greene and wasn’t embarrassed. Did some really nice things
• Samo ****ing Petrevski-Seton shone as a HHF. Great game from him
• Kelly set the tone from the opening bounce and was a driving influence all game. More of this Kelly please
• Shuey was solid without being a key primemover in the win. Exactly the type of game you want from an aging veteran
• It’s been a while since we’ve seen an Eagles player impose himself physically on a game. Duggan’s bump was the catalyst for our 2nd quarter surge. Did some nice things outside of that too
• Cripps did his contract negotiations no harm
• Jones run off half back and determination to break lines was pivotal. Outstanding game from him
• Long had a massive impact in the 2nd quarter. Cripps owes him at least 2 beers. Wasn’t greatly influential outside that quarter but he helped set up the win. Will be a crowd favourite in no time

So much nicer to see a W next to our name

 

[Mop]

I know we all joke it's the Harley Reid cup but as on the cultural side we need to be winning every game possible. Show the young boys what it means to win. Last week stung, this week felt really good.
This week we could see the change in gameplan come to life.
We'll still lose more games than we win, but that's okay as long as there are times where we show this

 

[Dark Sharks]

I'd rather put a line through us for the Harley Reid cup as soon as possible.

Don't want to get to the tail end of a season and find myself cheering us to lose the last few games.


Besides, Hawthorn's blatant tanking was made clear last trade period. Hopefully that blows up in their face.

 

[Mop]

I'd rather put a line through us for the Harley Reid cup as soon as possible.

Don't want to get to the tail end of a season and find myself cheering us to lose the last few games.


Besides, Hawthorn's blatant tanking was made clear last trade period. Hopefully that blows up in their face.

Hand on heart I don't even reckon we'd draft him, we'd trade down again. Admittedly we'd get over the odds, but I would expect a repeat of the '22 draft approach

 

[WeaponX]

Keep an eye on Long, I think this kid is going to be the best pick from the 2022 draft. His size might be an issue but he makes up for it with his decision making and speed from his hand balls.

 

[Cornelius Roy]

Positives:
A clear change in desire from some senior players
A clear intention to move the ball quickly
Individual performances: JJ shows how important he is to our ball movement, Waterman beneficiary of better ball movement, TK was a big driver of the game being won, Ryan sublime, SPS very good, Long did some special things and Hunt was very solid.
Promising progress from youngsters Ginbey and Long, Hewett also looks like he has the touch just needs time to get the speed of the game.

Negatives:
We still didn't play four quarters
Some senior players still calling for cheap possessions when flat footed
Posters pointing at this game as a justification player x no longer deserves any criticism. It's great to have a win and see some boys playing well but this is a GWS team that was expected to finish low without Kelly, Whitfield and Perryman playing. Let's see this performance more consistently against better competition before we start handing out the never ending credits.
Some players need to take the time to settle when in space before disposal instead of unnecessarily rushing the kick. Liam Ryan

1

Liam Ryan

Age

27

Ht

181cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

2.7

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.3

5star

D

9.9

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.6

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.6

5star

and SPS did this fantastically well to ensure their possessions mattered.

Indifferent:
Not all rookies need to go down the path of debuting early and looking like stars in their first few games. There's nothing wrong with Chesser getting up to the speed & running patterns required through practice in the WAFL. It's what's needed at this stage and gives a chance to reward someone who performed on the weekend in the beagles or give hewett a better crack. I still think there'll be a decent player in there, at the very least and enthusiastic and good influence on the young playing group in his training application just needs time, patience and a slightly different pathway to Chris Judd. This is the AFL, you don't get games just because you were a top 20 pick, go down and earn them kid, but get around him and tell him the club believes in him.

 

[AFL4ME]

I actually liked Simmo losing his shit in the box at times.

 

[Yeahnahmate]

Noah Long is so good in close. If we can find a way to get him in the middle and to as many contests as possible he just reads the play so well and is very fast and clean with his disposal

 

[BeornJ]

+ I am a genius

I wonder if Simmo has thought of putting Ginbey on Green. Got the strength and aerobic capacity to run with him, good tackler, and will be good development for him. If we can shut Green down that's almost the game right there.