Autopsy Round 4, 2022: Hawthorn v St.Kilda

[Fehring]

Some belated observations now that I've had time to watch the replay.

The most important one is that our game plan stacks up. The key is pressure on the ball carrier when they have the ball. It relies on leaving your man and knowing that a team mate will push up to cover your man and so on. What that does is gradually build pressure, even when the opposition has a clean exit from our F50. You saw it so many times - they'd get a clean disposal out to a player. We'd push up hard on that player who would get the next disposal off to a player who'd be under more pressure and so on. By the time they got to their F50 they were under maximum heat. It turned their biggest strength (slingshots from D50) into a weakness. It also means we're not just reliant on F50 pressure. It's more comprehensive than that.

Interestingly, the downside of our game plan was the Ryder suspension. One element of the plan is that our players must make sure that when their opponent gets a kick or handpass forward, they block their run so that they can't link up to get another possession. That's what Ryder was doing when he clipped the Hawks guy on the chin. (if it wasn't for that little gash on the chin, he would have got off).

Other observations, most of which have already been made:

• The defensive running from Dmac, Sinclair and - yes - Ross is off the charts. Ross seems like a different player, and Sinclair's speed makes him a defensive weapon. Everyone notices his speed with the ball in hand, and his silky skills, but that defensive running is elite.

• Could Lienert be best 22?!! He played a great game in defense, but it's his kick outs that make a real difference. We all know Doogs is terrible at it, and it's a waste to have Hill (who can also be hit and miss) or Sinclair that deep. He hit up a couple of rippers, one which resulted in a coast to coast goal and a few others that gave us opportunities to score. I haven't felt that confident in our kick outs since about 2011.

• I think Windhager is AFL ready, but I think it's NWM who will stay in, possibly for the whole year. I think his skill with the ball is a nice addition to our team so he holds his place while developing the other facets of his game.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Just want to say this about Sincs. I have been his biggest fan. The way he has adapted his game.
He has improved his ball winning ability, he has improved his defensive work completely out of sight. I actually think when he’s in a one on one he’s one of our most reliable defenders. HOWEVER the ball use is something else. Not since BJ and Dal have we had someone with the level of skill and creativity. His kick of the outside of his boot to King was out of this world.

How about a couple of those little low bullets that didn’t get above about chest height with traffic all around whoever he was kicking to!?

He’s such a joy to watch and the flowing mullet just makes it even better.

 

[aussierulesrules]

I had a lot of reservations, I just look like an idiot now. He's not at all the player I thought he was. I was picturing him as Fiora but he's really more like Isaac Smith imo.

I had no opinion about how hard or otherwise Wang was, but I hadn’t seen much evidence of any speed- either from footage or profiles- so I’ve been extremely pleased with some of the speed and sustained speed I’ve seen from him so far.

That run he did from the wing to the back pocket in the first minute last week to chase 3 different Tigers was right in front of us and I was like “wow!” As super-impressive.

I thought he was going to be more your Pendlebury type, who was smooth and evasive but not quick, but he’s definitely not that.

Another thing outside of his kicking that’s so impressive is how ridiculously clean his hands are. The ball just seems to melt into them as soon as he touches it. It’s a thing of beauty.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Max king on the g. I love it

Max King IS the G.

 

[CursingFijian]

Gee King had more looks at goal than his score sheet suggests. He will kick 10 one day and I can’t wait.

 

[Tommy Wigs]

I had no opinion about how hard or otherwise Wang was, but I hadn’t seen much evidence of any speed- either from footage or profiles- so I’ve been extremely pleased with some of the speed and sustained speed I’ve seen from him so far.

That run he did from the wing to the back pocket in the first minute last week to chase 3 different Tigers was right in front of us and I was like “wow!” As super-impressive.

I thought he was going to be more your Pendlebury type, who was smooth and evasive but not quick, but he’s definitely not that.

Another thing outside of his kicking that’s so impressive is how ridiculously clean his hands are. The ball just seems to melt into them as soon as he touches it. It’s a thing of beauty.

Silk

 

[XhazzafootyX]

Gee King had more looks at goal than his score sheet suggests. He will kick 10 one day and I can’t wait.

Passed two off for memory

 

[Bill Mohr]

There was a rugby league player called Peter Peters. Talk about daft.

On SM-T290 using BigFooty.com mobile app

Dont get me started on Donald McDonald...

 

[aussierulesrules]

Gee King had more looks at goal than his score sheet suggests. He will kick 10 one day and I can’t wait.

Also dropped 3 marks inside 30m that were far from hard, including one at the top of the goalsquare in front of us that was about as simple an overhead marking opportunity as you’d want.

In his last 5 quarters he’s kicked 8.3, missed one other that didn’t score and had the one last week where he marked the ball about 30m out- in front- but for whatever reason played on and got tackled.

So he could without too much difficulty have kicked 10-12 goals in his last 5 quarters.

 

[Hugh Jars]

That's a car crash. How many weeks did Christian serve this guy for the permanent damage to Clark?

IIRC Christian did give him weeks but got off at tribunal?

 

[aussierulesrules]

Play like today and we'd scare the Dees. Carlton probably the bench mark at the moment but just lost Cripps.

Interestingly, there are 10 teams with a better percentage than Carlton, including us, who are 28% higher!

They are one more loss away from dropping down to as low as 11th.

 

[pebblesofsand]

IIRC Christian did give him weeks but got off at tribunal?

Nah - too hard for Christian. He didn't grade it but sent it straight to the Tribunal for a decision.

Mainly because that time the media were carrying on about how players must be able to contest the ball and shouldn't be required to pull out of contests in order to minimise the risk of injury to other players. This was despite the fact that clearly McKay ran through Clark (with the ball in the general area) rather than him actually trying to win the ball.

Ahh the media - this week the blab fest is how the head is sacrosanct!!!

 

[Hugh Jars]

Nah - too hard for Christian. He didn't grade it but sent it straight to the Tribunal for a decision.

Mainly because that time the media were carrying on about how players must be able to contest the ball and shouldn't be required to pull out of contests in order to minimise the risk of injury to other players. This was despite the fact that clearly McKay ran through Clark (with the ball in the general area) rather than him actually trying to win the ball.

Ahh the media - this week the blab fest is how the head is sacrosanct!!!

I stand corrected. Poor Paddy was case in point of trial by media!

 

[Joffaboy]

There was a rugby league player called Peter Peters. Talk about daft.

On SM-T290 using BigFooty.com mobile app

He was Greek and the surname was Anglocised.

 

[Sun Ra]

There was a rugby league player called Peter Peters. Talk about daft.

On SM-T290 using BigFooty.com mobile app

He was sponsored by Peters Ice Cream, wasn't he ?

 

[sammm]

Some belated observations now that I've had time to watch the replay.

The most important one is that our game plan stacks up. The key is pressure on the ball carrier when they have the ball. It relies on leaving your man and knowing that a team mate will push up to cover your man and so on. What that does is gradually build pressure, even when the opposition has a clean exit from our F50. You saw it so many times - they'd get a clean disposal out to a player. We'd push up hard on that player who would get the next disposal off to a player who'd be under more pressure and so on. By the time they got to their F50 they were under maximum heat. It turned their biggest strength (slingshots from D50) into a weakness. It also means we're not just reliant on F50 pressure. It's more comprehensive than that.

Interestingly, the downside of our game plan was the Ryder suspension. One element of the plan is that our players must make sure that when their opponent gets a kick or handpass forward, they block their run so that they can't link up to get another possession. That's what Ryder was doing when he clipped the Hawks guy on the chin. (if it wasn't for that little gash on the chin, he would have got off).

Other observations, most of which have already been made:

• The defensive running from Dmac, Sinclair and - yes - Ross is off the charts. Ross seems like a different player, and Sinclair's speed makes him a defensive weapon. Everyone notices his speed with the ball in hand, and his silky skills, but that defensive running is elite.

• Could Lienert be best 22?!! He played a great game in defense, but it's his kick outs that make a real difference. We all know Doogs is terrible at it, and it's a waste to have Hill (who can also be hit and miss) or Sinclair that deep. He hit up a couple of rippers, one which resulted in a coast to coast goal and a few others that gave us opportunities to score. I haven't felt that confident in our kick outs since about 2011.

• I think Windhager is AFL ready, but I think it's NWM who will stay in, possibly for the whole year. I think his skill with the ball is a nice addition to our team so he holds his place while developing the other facets of his game.

thats what i noticed about Lienert. his kick outs are great. Port never used him properly. i am not sure we can drop him once others come back.

 

[gringo2011]

I had no opinion about how hard or otherwise Wang was, but I hadn’t seen much evidence of any speed- either from footage or profiles- so I’ve been extremely pleased with some of the speed and sustained speed I’ve seen from him so far.

That run he did from the wing to the back pocket in the first minute last week to chase 3 different Tigers was right in front of us and I was like “wow!” As super-impressive.

I thought he was going to be more your Pendlebury type, who was smooth and evasive but not quick, but he’s definitely not that.

Another thing outside of his kicking that’s so impressive is how ridiculously clean his hands are. The ball just seems to melt into them as soon as he touches it. It’s a thing of beauty.

I haven't thought of him as a super fast but he's a real endurance athlete. He doesn't seem to have a defined role so runs end to end with the play and he has a very even glide across the ground. He's got enough pace but seems to know where the ball is going to get to before it does so doesn't need to sprint like an electric rabbit.

He's very clean with the footy. For a kid who should be adjusting to the speed of the game he doesn't seem to show any evidence of panic or fumbliness.

 

[gringo2011]

Interestingly, there are 10 teams with a better percentage than Carlton, including us, who are 28% higher!

They are one more loss away from dropping down to as low as 11th.

The way Carlton were playing looked like a finals side. Really polished ball use, great inside game and good everywhere else. I still think that they have a game that should hold up if they can stay fit. Cripps is a massive loss though. If he goes down they go down IMO. Their Steele.

The early win against a decent Richmond side and then knocking off the Dogs were big steps forward but right now they are looking like the weight of expectation has given them a few wobbles.

The worry for us is that we are converting at a higher rate than average. That's somewhat a luck thing and vulnerable to the yips. Hopefully we win this week because a loss and we look like we are starting to look similarly wobbly. GC aren't s**t any more and it's not a gimme game. We have to win and so far we've been able to find a way.

 

[Bill Mohr]

Would like to see us get off to a flyer for a change. Apart from the Hawks we have been slow out of the blocks. Try and play a good 4 qtrs of football and work on the defensive aspect. Little bit tricky to work out the game style but it seems to be full on attack after half time. The forward line as predicted is our strength and opposition find it hard to shut us down for the whole game. Also various players are proving hard to match up on mainly Sinclair, King, Hill and Gresham. I think we will convert well against the GC as well especially if we play a bit taller because they do not have any big defenders.

 

[bird_man]

Would like to see us get off to a flyer for a change. Apart from the Hawks we have been slow out of the blocks. Try and play a good 4 qtrs of football and work on the defensive aspect. Little bit tricky to work out the game style but it seems to be full on attack after half time. The forward line as predicted is our strength and opposition find it hard to shut us down for the whole game. Also various players are proving hard to match up on mainly Sinclair, King, Hill and Gresham. I think we will convert well against the GC as well especially if we play a bit taller because they do not have any big defenders.

I'd be happy to see us not give up 2 goals in the first 80 second this week

Lets see if we can last 2 minutes this time

 

[Bill Mohr]

I'd be happy to see us not give up 2 goals in the first 80 second this week

Lets see if we can last 2 minutes this time

Been behind at Qtr and half time in all games this year except the Hawks game. Maybe the midfield has not got the 6x6x6 worked out properly as we always seem to cop the early chat from the Umps and have given a way a couple of free kicks in that area.
The team has confidence and must feel it can reel in any lead the opposition takes early. Not sure if this is from the game plan, increased fitness or player skill improvement.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Dont get me started on Donald McDonald...

If you crossed Roger Rogerson he gave you a right rodgering.

 

[gringo2011]

I'd be happy to see us not give up 2 goals in the first 80 second this week

Lets see if we can last 2 minutes this time

That's on the midfield to break even from the first bounce.

 

[aussierulesrules]

The way Carlton were playing looked like a finals side. Really polished ball use, great inside game and good everywhere else. I still think that they have a game that should hold up if they can stay fit. Cripps is a massive loss though. If he goes down they go down IMO. Their Steele.

The early win against a decent Richmond side and then knocking off the Dogs were big steps forward but right now they are looking like the weight of expectation has given them a few wobbles.

The worry for us is that we are converting at a higher rate than average. That's somewhat a luck thing and vulnerable to the yips. Hopefully we win this week because a loss and we look like we are starting to look similarly wobbly. GC aren't s**t any more and it's not a gimme game. We have to win and so far we've been able to find a way.

The last couple of weeks we may have been above average for scoring accuracy, but for the year overall we’re actually bang-on the expected score- unlike some teams who are well above and others who are well below- so we were presumably inaccurate for the first two rounds and evened that out over the next two.

 

[aussierulesrules]

I haven't thought of him as a super fast but he's a real endurance athlete. He doesn't seem to have a defined role so runs end to end with the play and he has a very even glide across the ground. He's got enough pace but seems to know where the ball is going to get to before it does so doesn't need to sprint like an electric rabbit.

He's very clean with the footy. For a kid who should be adjusting to the speed of the game he doesn't seem to show any evidence of panic or fumbliness.

He’s not electric quick with burst speed, but his cruising speed seems very high. He can cover some ground at serious speed.