Autopsy Round 5 vs Essendon

[Cool Kangas]

I sat there on Friday watching the tsunami and just felt a sense of resignation. I knew it would happen. It’s sad that I don’t go to matches often actually really believing we’ll win. I remember the nineties well and back then we were STRONG. We were actually a very tough team and everyone knew it.

We were always (or usually) in every match. We had players that could actually turn the game off their own boot and sheer will and determination. They led by example.

 

[ferball]

Watch it a few more times. All three of our players are goalside at the time of the tap whilst one Essendon player is goalside, one is defensive and the other is at or around the ruck contest itself.

We did not do the right thing there, and what Essendon did well was they played for the lost taps.

According to Brad we actually won first possession frequently. And that's because if Ben or Jed won the ball, 1-2 Essendon mids made a direct path straight to our designated 'outside' player so they could pressure him.

I respect your analysis but I'm not seeing that clip the same way you are.

I agree with that bolded bit actually. And that setup with Higgo and Hall is quite obvious even in the clip. Bellchambers is even poised to intercept a ball to Higgo and Shiel can cover the ball to hall.

I agree in general with how easily we get beaten between winning the ball and getting it outside. Its a massive flaw and its really obvious this year. Not even using Hall out of the square on the burst???!!! Replace Jed with Hall and if Goldy does that same tap to Cunners then Hall only has to beat Heppel on the step and he's running into the 50. I don't remember seeing that at all this year. Seems to me if you stood Brad on a footy field every time he faced the forward line he'd have a huge blindspot, as if the only way he can picture the ball getting forward is to go sideways first.

But...

To me that's just a pissweak ruck contest and the only reason Heppel gets it is cos Bellchambers is under no pressure and can therefore change his tap at the last instant. And it was only after watching it a few times that i noticed it. To me it seems Goldy steps off his line as he runs into the ruck contest and that's why there is no physical pressure on B/Ch who can then decide at leisure in the air which option to take.

After watching the vid a few times I started to come to the conclusion that that bounce was a set play where they rolled the dice on a particular setup and Goldy failed to deliver. Its a pretty clear path from Cunners (cutting out Merret) to Jed and the only bit missing was Goldy not running straight in and getting anything on the ball to stop a clear tap to B/Ch (I know the ball is moving away from the camera not straight up in the bounce but still he steps a mile out of the way.)

What happens after Jed gets the ball (ie easily read play from the same playbook as the last however many times its happened,) is another issue to what I'm getting at.

But still a valid one.

 

[shinboner spiggs]

Higgins is a liability and so is Cunnington

Nah mate it’s just random chaos on the ball.

 

[rm3504]

We have a mismanaged list.

Theres talent there.

There is zero belief.

Anyone playing AFL has a lot of talent
It’s relative talent
I see most teams if not all have half a dozen young players contributing meaningfully every week
We barely have one
In fact our young players are spent after 3-4 weeks and need a rest

 

[Elite Master]

Anyone playing AFL has a lot of talent
It’s relative talent
I see most teams if not all have half a dozen young players contributing meaningfully every week
We barely have one
In fact our young players are spent after 3-4 weeks and need a rest

Our 'young talent' is arguably the most thin in the comp and has been for a long while. Scott was our first rising star nomination in a long time and for good reason. Barely any of our young players over the years have strung together genuinely impactful games. The multiple mid-table finishes hasn't done us any favors with our drafting position, but look at Port, Hawthorn, St.Kilda, Freo, Geelong, Richmond, the Bulldogs just to name a few. These teams have either come off recent success or have been hovering like us yet they have talented young guys contributing almost weekly.

There are many reasons as to why, but the core issue with our young guys being largely so underwhelming is due to poor development.

 

[DEVO]

By the end of Round 5, we will be sitting at the bottom of the ladder and with a percentage 67.8. We have looked like the most inept team in the comp this season and will deserve to be the most heavily scrutinised team during the week. But for all the problems that have been most brutally exposed over the first five weeks and the rants about sacking the coach, Brad Scott's job is safe. For this season at least.

If our board is fair dinkum in their objectives about building a successful club and culture, then what Brad Scott and his assistants do over the next few months should play a substantial role in whether they coach at Arden Street next season. If we continue to be the bumbling, ineffective, disorganised unit we have shown for the majority of the season to date, then I would hope that the board would do their due diligence and look at options for our coaching staff, both head coach and assistants. But if Brad and his team manage to turn it around and we play a more competitive style of football then I have no doubt most of them will be coaching here again next season. Of course if they achieve that it will probably mean that we finish mid-table again and lose any chance of having a high draft pick, or using that pick in a trade for an established player.

My hope is the board are looking at conducting a review (preferably an independent review conducted by someone outside the club) of our current coaching team, with a plan to implement any changes suggested, including changing the head coach if it is felt that his contribution to the future success of the NMFC can not be guaranteed.

Brad Scott arrived at NMFC at a time of great instability, and has played a major role in stabilising our club and securing it's place in Melbourne, but the next step in NMFC's growth require be a more adventurous coach who has the ability to take our playing list to a level that can compete for Premierships.

Of course, if we had kicked straight over the last three weeks, we may have snuck away with a win against Hawthorn, thrashed Adelaide and the result on Friday night wouldn't look anywhere near as dire as it does at the moment. Perhaps all we need to do is have more goal kicking practise during the week.

 

[archereleven]

By the end of Round 5, we will be sitting at the bottom of the ladder and with a percentage 67.8. We have looked like the most inept team in the comp this season and will deserve to be the most heavily scrutinised team during the week. But for all the problems that have been most brutally exposed over the first five weeks and the rants about sacking the coach, Brad Scott's job is safe. For this season at least.

If our board is fair dinkum in their objectives about building a successful club and culture, then what Brad Scott and his assistants do over the next few months should play a substantial role in whether they coach at Arden Street next season. If we continue to be the bumbling, ineffective, disorganised unit we have shown for the majority of the season to date, then I would hope that the board would do their due diligence and look at options for our coaching staff, both head coach and assistants. But if Brad and his team manage to turn it around and we play a more competitive style of football then I have no doubt most of them will be coaching here again next season. Of course if they achieve that it will probably mean that we finish mid-table again and lose any chance of having a high draft pick, or using that pick in a trade for an established player.

My hope is the board are looking at conducting a review (preferably an independent review conducted by someone outside the club) of our current coaching team, with a plan to implement any changes suggested, including changing the head coach if it is felt that his contribution to the future success of the NMFC can not be guaranteed.

Brad Scott arrived at NMFC at a time of great instability, and has played a major role in stabilising our club and securing it's place in Melbourne, but the next step in NMFC's growth require be a more adventurous coach who has the ability to take our playing list to a level that can compete for Premierships.

Of course, if we had kicked straight over the last three weeks, we may have snuck away with a win against Hawthorn, thrashed Adelaide and the result on Friday night wouldn't look anywhere near as dire as it does at the moment. Perhaps all we need to do is have more goal kicking practise during the week.

Yeah, nah.



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[ferball]

Yep. People have been happily giving it to Goldy but you watch that and he is the only player in their that comes close to putting any pressure on 3 different players while his team mates (whose job it is to compete) stand around with their fingers up their arses (except Higgins who basically ambles off in the other direction).

If he'd hit the ruck contest right he wouldn't have had to do any chasing imo.

 

[Themanbun]

If he'd hit the ruck contest right he wouldn't have had to do any chasing imo.

I really don't think we can defend our midfield positioning which presumes and relies upon Goldy wining a hitout to advantage or else we're toast. They all ran D side, away from their opponents, to occupy space. Essendon were much better balanced on the contest, even if their ruck lost the tap.

 

[ferball]

I really don't think we can defend our midfield positioning which presumes and relies upon Goldy wining a hitout to advantage or else we're toast. They all ran D side, away from their opponents, to occupy space. Essendon were much better balanced on the contest, even if their ruck lost the tap.

Maybe but I don't remember them doing that every contest. With the 666 rule that is the sort of thing you should do every now and then just to try and get the jump on opponents.

IMO anywya.

 

[Billy Bob65]

Commiserations on the loss.

Here are the midfield frequency stats from the match.

Overall Summary - 28 Bounces

Polec 25 wing
Anderson 22
Higgins 21
Cunnington 20
Hall 14 wing
LDU 14
Dumont 11 wing
Ahern 6
Scott 6 wing
Ziebell 1

Rucks:

Goldstein 25
Zurhaar 3

1st Half - 14

Polec 13 wing
Higgins 12
Anderson 11
Cunnington 10
Hall 8 wing
LDU 6
Ahern 5
Scott 4 wing
Dumont 3 wing
Ziebell 1

Goldstein 13
Zurhaar 1

2nd Half - 14

Polec 12 wing
Higgins 12
Anderson 10
Cunnington 10
LDU 8
Dumont 8 wing
Hall 6 wing
Scott 2 wing
Ahern 1

Goldstein 12
Zurhaar 2

Notes:
- First analysed game where Ahern hasn't finished in the top 6 mids. He was basically jettisoned from the midfield mix after 1/2 time.
- Dumont replaced Hall as a first choice winger for the final term.
- Scott didn't receive a rotation in Q4

 

[Doss]

Obviously a pretty tough day for you all on Friday.

A few positives though? Zurharr, I was impressed by him. Had a crack all day. Anderson went hard all day, which seems to be his norm, and Cunnington tried his guts out as always. Of the genuine newbies, Bailey Scott definitely has something worth working with.

Not sure what the issue is with Mason Wood in front of goal, but I can barely recall seeing a forward who appears to so hesitant when taking a shot. It’s mystifying because he doesn’t lack for talent.

 

[Gasometer]

Obviously a pretty tough day for you all on Friday.

A few positives though? Zurharr, I was impressed by him. Had a crack all day. Anderson went hard all day, which seems to be his norm, and Cunnington tried his guts out as always. Of the genuine newbies, Bailey Scott definitely has something worth working with.

Not sure what the issue is Mason Wood in front of goal, but I can barely recall seeing a forward who appears to so hesitant when taking a shot. It’s mystifying because he doesn’t lack for talent.

That Wood missed goal in the first quarter, after all the inaccuracies from the week prior sucked all the energy out of us and the crowd

 

[Snake_Baker]

I didn’t realize Archer had stepped off the board. Maybe he needs to get on.
I look at the Pies and Tigers and how we were able to clear out the coachs etc around Hardwick and Buckley and to their credit re-invigorate and re-energise the club. I don’t think Scott could do that. I don’t think it’s in his nature to eat some humble pie and re-evaluate.
Your list shouldn’t be where it is. My take, bring in Sam Mitchell as your next coach. I think he could do some good things.

Arch was just a token board member selected by the current impostors because he's apolitical and doesn't have a Machiavellian bone in his body.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Apparently, Sam Mitchell is a brilliant football mind.

But. * having Sam Mitchell in your football club.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Arch was just a token board member selected by the current impostors because he's apolitical and doesn't have a Machiavellian bone in his body.

McKernan has run a couple of businesses so he has the commercial nouse. And he's as passionate as any of us. I don;t know if he wants to wade into the s**t though.

 

[Snake_Baker]

McKernan has run a couple of businesses so he has the commercial nouse. And he's as passionate as any of us. I don;t know if he wants to wade into the s**t though.

There'll be no "s**t" mate. There will be a takeover and he'll be at the wheel.

 

[Caracas]

This is it, we’ve officially bottomed out. Either we flatline or the only way is up. This is as ugly as 2001. Except, 2001 was at the end of one of the clubs most successful eras. Right now, I’m blaming Mason Wood and his confidence-sucking crap kicking. I’d argue it was our worst defeat that I can remember. Ironically, this weekend, Melbourne, WC, GC, Lions and WB were equally as crap.


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[see see]

Apparently, Sam Mitchell is a brilliant football mind.

But. **** having Sam Mitchell in your football club.

Not sure whether this post is pro or anti Mitchell.

Someone like Mitchell is exactly what we need - a highly successful player with a streak of campaigner a mile wide. We need a coach who the players respect, not one who wants to be their best mate. It's not a popularity contest.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Not sure whether this post is pro or anti Mitchell.

Someone like Mitchell is exactly what we need - a highly successful player with a streak of campaigner a mile wide. We need a coach who the players respect, not one who wants to be their best mate. It's not a popularity contest.

Too ruthless. He wouldn't compromise in the quest for glory.

 

[giantroo]

Coaches votes

NORTH MELBOURNE v ESSENDON
8 Dylan Shiel (ESS)
8 Zach Merrett (ESS)
5 Dyson Heppell (ESS)
4 Michael Hurley (ESS)
4 Orazio Fantasia (ESS)
1 Cale Hooker (ESS)

 

[King Corey]

Coaches votes

NORTH MELBOURNE v ESSENDON
8 Dylan Shiel (ESS)
8 Zach Merrett (ESS)
5 Dyson Heppell (ESS)
4 Michael Hurley (ESS)
4 Orazio Fantasia (ESS)
1 Cale Hooker (ESS)

They only win by 58 points yet get all of the coaches votes? Rigged.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

They only win by 58 points yet get all of the coaches votes? Rigged.

I couldn’t see any North players I’d have given votes to in the three quarters I watched.

 

[King Corey]

I couldn’t see any North players I’d have given votes to in the three quarters I watched.

'Twas being sarcastic my friend.

They could've played pro bono and still been overpaid on the night.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

'Twas being sarcastic my friend.

They could've played pro bono and still been overpaid on the night.

Oh good. I thought maybe there were some decisive passages of play from our team that I missed while my hands were over my eyes.