Autopsy Round 4, 2023: Positives and Negatives vs Melbourne

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I don't think Darling was that bad, especially around-the-ground when the game was on. Might've missed a few but his overall first half was fine by me.

I feel for Hewett, he has had a few misfortunes in each game, just gotta keep plucking away out there and it will come. Along with Ginbey he'll need a wafl rotation at some point.

Hunt has been a good acquisition, has done a few good things each game and like Jamaine and Waterman they are probably the cult players this season. Even if he just turns out to be a semi-regular for 2-3 seasons I'm glad we got him.

On Gaff, he has changed-up his game once again, and him and Barrass are arguably our most consistent performers to date. But yeah, when he often gets the last chain link out and indifferently sends the ball into 50 it often feels a waste (compared to a Kelly or Sheed who have a bit of x factor). Maybe seeing an outside runner like Gaff getting into the packs and tackling is good for team morale or something, one of those stats you can't measure.

I guess the main thing is that it is hard to find the right guy or mix to put on the ball. We did Ginbey in R1, Shuey and Sheed have gone through there, and Kelly and Gaff. They all brings positives and negatives to that position. Often the more brilliant are also a tad more slow or demand possession from younger players. We might win for a quarter and then get figured out. Jamaine and SPS streaking through there like a stand-off halfback or something provides an appreciable different look.
 
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The Passenger said:
Haven't seen the game*, but based on Rounds 2 and 3 (and previous years) I just can't see why Gaff is spending so much time in the midfield. In Round 1 he played pure wing I thought it was the best game he had played in a long time.

So did Gaff actually play well against the Demons? I'm reading quite a few articles praising his performance but not sure if they've just superficially watched the game then had a look at the stats sheet and seen Gaff got 24 possies... Viewing the game through that sort of prism I can definitely see how you'd think he was playing well...

* debating whether to subject myself to it. I said to myself even though we're destined for a bottom four finish, I would watch all of our games this year but that's a lot easier said than done, especially when I'm based in the UK and a lot of games are 7am on a Sunday morning.
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Yes and no. A bit like last week. In many ways it was a really good game by Gaff and his tackling was great (as it was last week). This could be a new lease of life for Gaff if he can keep it up as it hides his lack of pace, although I don't like him attending so many center bounces. All of that said, his kicking was poor and it really seems to be getting worse and his handballing can be ordinary too. So given his status as one of our most senior players, the disposal is a real worry. All in all, I would say it was good to very good game by Gaff but his disposal was a let down.
 
Roobs321 said:
Hunt has been a good acquisition, has done a few good things each game and like Jamaine and Waterman they are probably the cult players this season. Even if he just turns out to be a semi-regular for 2-3 seasons I'm glad we got him
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I don’t think we would be able to transition into a modern game plan without him. Other than JJ who is still learning the role, we’ve got no one able to take the game on through the corridor
 

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Kelly is a turnover merchant but gets a lot of it
Gaff tries but his kicking doesn't hurt you
Barrass is a bad one on one defender
Jones and Hurn are bad small defenders. Hurn is too slow
Darling does some ok things, but needs to stop leading towards the pockets all the time
Waterman needs to stay as a forward, hate seeing him around the ground
Not impressed with hewett, culley, clark and west.
Ginbey is playing as a inside player against seasoned vets and is second to the ball, resulting in a high amount of tackles.
Williams is not the worst but still getting destroyed against every ruckman so far.
Long has the smarts, just need to be more consistent.
Allen has to straighten his kicking.
 
footballfreak said:
Kelly is a turnover merchant but gets a lot of it
Gaff tries but his kicking doesn't hurt you
Barrass is a bad one on one defender
Jones and Hurn are bad small defenders. Hurn is too slow
Darling does some ok things, but needs to stop leading towards the pockets all the time
Waterman needs to stay as a forward, hate seeing him around the ground
Not impressed with hewett, culley, clark and west.
Ginbey is playing as a inside player against seasoned vets and is second to the ball, resulting in a high amount of tackles.
Williams is not the worst but still getting destroyed against every ruckman so far.
Long has the smarts, just need to be more consistent.
Allen has to straighten his kicking.
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But apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?
 
Gaff.
I'm one of his toughest critics.
But this year, so far, surprisinlgy, I cannot question his fitness and effort.
He is actually tackling hard and contesting, and doesn't look hampered by injury.
Unfortunately his kicking, especially numerous times on the weekend when he is out in the clear, is still a massive let down.
Melbourne going into 50 kicked to space, whereas we seemed to kick to contests, and not to our player's advantage.
 
footballfreak said:
Kelly is a turnover merchant but gets a lot of it
Gaff tries but his kicking doesn't hurt you
Barrass is a bad one on one defender
Jones and Hurn are bad small defenders. Hurn is too slow
Darling does some ok things, but needs to stop leading towards the pockets all the time
Waterman needs to stay as a forward, hate seeing him around the ground
Not impressed with hewett, culley, clark and west.
Ginbey is playing as a inside player against seasoned vets and is second to the ball, resulting in a high amount of tackles.
Williams is not the worst but still getting destroyed against every ruckman so far.
Long has the smarts, just need to be more consistent.
Allen has to straighten his kicking.
Click to expand...
Come join us friend, you've got potential.
 
footballfreak said:
Kelly is a turnover merchant but gets a lot of it
Gaff tries but his kicking doesn't hurt you
Barrass is a bad one on one defender
Jones and Hurn are bad small defenders. Hurn is too slow
Darling does some ok things, but needs to stop leading towards the pockets all the time
Waterman needs to stay as a forward, hate seeing him around the ground
Not impressed with hewett, culley, clark and west.
Ginbey is playing as a inside player against seasoned vets and is second to the ball, resulting in a high amount of tackles.
Williams is not the worst but still getting destroyed against every ruckman so far.
Long has the smarts, just need to be more consistent.
Allen has to straighten his kicking.
Click to expand...
And the negatives?
 
footballfreak said:
Kelly is a turnover merchant but gets a lot of it
Gaff tries but his kicking doesn't hurt you
Barrass is a bad one on one defender
Jones and Hurn are bad small defenders. Hurn is too slow
Darling does some ok things, but needs to stop leading towards the pockets all the time
Waterman needs to stay as a forward, hate seeing him around the ground
Not impressed with hewett, culley, clark and west.
Ginbey is playing as a inside player against seasoned vets and is second to the ball, resulting in a high amount of tackles.
Williams is not the worst but still getting destroyed against every ruckman so far.
Long has the smarts, just need to be more consistent.
Allen has to straighten his kicking.
Click to expand...
Fold the club
 
Pretty tough initiation for the kids coming up against probably the best contested midfield in the competition with minimal backup from senior bodies. I thought they all played as well as can be expected in the circumstances and would have learnt a lot. I didn't think any of them looked like they didn't belong.

Very impressed with Edwards in particular. He's clearly a very smart footballer. Players like that, who get to the right spot and make the right decision with good skills, are pure gold in today's game. They don't need to have elite physical attributes to have a massive impact. Could be the perfect foil to the bigger inside mids.
 
I think BW is just lacking in confidence. He’s getting to the right spot and getting hands to ball but dropping sitters. Give him time as he seems to be getting better each week.
All the newbies are showing a bit here and there.
I’ve never been a big fan of Waterman but I’m wondering if he may really flourish in this new open style as he is quite versatile.
The one BIG negative all round is the lack of ferocious tackling. I know a lot of these lads are young and not fully developed but I wish we’d see some Daniel Kerr type tacklers.Some actually step aside when some of the bigger bodies come charging through.
If we keep bombing the ball on to OAs head we are gunna shorten his footy career.If you charge forward;look up and see OA next to Stephen Man and Lever surely the brain needs to click in. Maybe grubber the ball , maybe look sideways but think!!
 

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Rowan18 said:
It's early in the season but Tim Kelly is having a career best year. Averaging highest disposals (29) and going at a goal a game.
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There are stats and there are stats. Seriously, what’s the point of getting the ball if you keep turning the bloody thing over or otherwise butchering your disposals. It’s demoralising for the other players on the field and it breaks supporters’ hearts. Does TK have the potential to be elite? Absolutely. Is he wonderful to watch, ball in hand? Absolutely. But is he gonna help us win games (or maybe lose less ignominiously)? No. Not until he improves his disposal. If he improved his disposal effectiveness by 25%, you’d see a marked improvement in the whole group – of that I’m sure.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
footballfreak said:
Kelly is a turnover merchant but gets a lot of it
Gaff tries but his kicking doesn't hurt you
Barrass is a bad one on one defender
Jones and Hurn are bad small defenders. Hurn is too slow
Darling does some ok things, but needs to stop leading towards the pockets all the time
Waterman needs to stay as a forward, hate seeing him around the ground
Not impressed with hewett, culley, clark and west.
Ginbey is playing as a inside player against seasoned vets and is second to the ball, resulting in a high amount of tackles.
Williams is not the worst but still getting destroyed against every ruckman so far.
Long has the smarts, just need to be more consistent.
Allen has to straighten his kicking.
Click to expand...
 
RedWeddingGuest said:
Does TK have the potential to be elite? Absolutely. Is he wonderful to watch, ball in hand? Absolutely. But is he gonna help us win games (or maybe lose less ignominiously)? No.
On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
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Can you explain why he’s third in the coaches votes across the whole league if he isn’t helping us to win/compete in games?

Both Simmo and the opposition coaches clearly think he is, what are they missing?
 
RedWeddingGuest said:
There are stats and there are stats. Seriously, what’s the point of getting the ball if you keep turning the bloody thing over or otherwise butchering your disposals. It’s demoralising for the other players on the field and it breaks supporters’ hearts. Does TK have the potential to be elite? Absolutely. Is he wonderful to watch, ball in hand? Absolutely. But is he gonna help us win games (or maybe lose less ignominiously)? No. Not until he improves his disposal. If he improved his disposal effectiveness by 25%, you’d see a marked improvement in the whole group – of that I’m sure.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
Agree with this. He's doing the hard work to find it but needs to compose himself before disposal. Only one game above 65% DE so far this year and that was a GWS side without some of their best. 51.5% against Freo.
 
Feeling Groovy said:
Yes and no. A bit like last week. In many ways it was a really good game by Gaff and his tackling was great (as it was last week). This could be a new lease of life for Gaff if he can keep it up as it hides his lack of pace, although I don't like him attending so many center bounces. All of that said, his kicking was poor and it really seems to be getting worse and his handballing can be ordinary too. So given his status as one of our most senior players, the disposal is a real worry. All in all, I would say it was good to very good game by Gaff but his disposal was a let down.
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Did he use the ball when he got it? 54% disposal efficiency says no.

What he did do well was work alot harder and applied pressure when he didn't have ball, evident in his tackling numbers. Not only does this set a far better example for our youth but it also creates opportunity for others to earn possessions from loose balls.

I'd honestly much rather it be this way than watch him receive 30 15m chip receives around the half back line and dink kick it to someone 20m away and have zero other impact on the game.
 
Oscar Allen is averaging possessions and multiple goals and should be in the conversation for best player in the league.
 
RedWeddingGuest said:
No, and a great deal (obviously)


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
I dunno mate, seems like each set of coaches giving Kelly votes for the past three games, including a unanimous best on ground in our win, second best on ground in the Derby plus runner up in the Glendinning medal (so the coaches and voters for the medal all independently saw that one the same) might just mean he’s helping the Eagles.

Seems like everyone is missing a great deal obviously…quite sad for them really.
 
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