Here's some highlights from the 1st Quarter:
Riley Bonner
Bonner the ball on the run because he's in motion in support of the midfield, delivers the ball to Ryder and most importantly
keeps running to put pressure up the field and provide support to the forward line. This is the reason why Riley Bonner is in the team. This was a feature of all the players during the game - the constant run forward in support.
Sam Powell-Pepper
Yeo gets crunched by Powell-Pepper from his blind side near goal, allowing Boak to pounce on the resulting crumb. This was due to Powell-Pepper leaving his man and going after a player who fumbled the ball (Yeo) instead of waiting for him to recover and trying to get the ball back by covering the outlet or simply waiting on the outside for an easy possession, which creates a scoring opportunity for Boak.
Sam Gray
Notice the work rate of Gray in this passage. Sees that he's not going to be part of the play if he stays where he was trying to make the ground wider in case Lycett decided to switch, and so steams in to get near the fall of the ball and then put pressure on not one but two Eagles defenders which ends up in an intercept mark to Robbie Gray.
Todd Marshall
Just want to highlight this. This is what Todd Marshall brings to the side when he's on his game - elite defensive pressure. He forced at least two or three changes of direction in this passage of play simply because he was chasing and harassing opponents. It is this sort of pressure that creates the implied pressure later in the game.
Zak Butters
RussellEbertHandball talks about UFH - Useless ******* Handballs. Well, this is a case of EFH - Effective ******* Handballs. Instead of kicking the ball into the line of defenders that are setup behind the play, Butters handballs to Ebert who handballs on to Powell-Pepper running in support. Notice that Howard is also running forward in this passage of play next to Powell-Pepper. The handball from Butters meant that Powell-Pepper's resulting kick could be chipped over to a waiting Duursma - who only started to work off of Jetta once he knew we had the ball, because he trusted his teammates to do the right thing. Defending is important, but the purpose is to
get the ball back. Once you've got the ball back, it's time to run and spread.
Dougal Howard
This play shows you why he can be an All Australian defender if he applies himself. One handed trap and gather of the ball on the run and a calm delivery of the ball. The defensive version of Marshall.