VFL Game Day Round 9: Essendon vs Richmond, MCG, Saturday 20/05/2023 @ 2:35 PM

[silk]

Late game fade outs not exclusive to the 1s?

 

[carloss]

Dons by 10

 

[carloss]

Dons by 4

 

[Duckworth]

Dons by 4

That free... Hmmmm

 

[carloss]

Richmond in front.........by 2

 

[Duckworth]

Oh Crap

 

[carloss]

free kick....... to richmond

 

[Happyskeret]

Wow unbelievable

 

[Dons4days]

Umps doing their best to get the tigers over the line. Absolutely laughable double standards throughout the game.

 

[Duckworth]

Dropped 5 goals in the last quarter. Shite finish.

 

[Dudoro]

Good to see there’s consistency between the VFL and AFL team they both aren’t fit enough to run a game out

 

[ant555]

Have to wonder what they where thinking when we had the ball in our forward 50 with a 2 point lead and we allowed them to have 3 loose to rebound the footy to the other end . All we had to do was be man on man and keep locking it in. The total lack of defensive thoughts cost them the game .

 

[Dons4days]

As a club, surely we’re set to blow the record for 3qtr leads blown in a season

 

[Zach Package]

Wow unbelievable

I’d say given what we know it’s entirely believable.

Happens with so much regularity I don’t even give the other team any credit for doing it any more.

 

[Duckworth]

Bryan - best on for us. (24 disp) with 8 clearances to go with it. At VFL this guy is elite in the centre. 35 hitouts and is good on the follow up too. I've been critical of his work around the ground, but this was on the improve today. I think he looks more comfortable in defense when resting (rather than forward). Will break into the AFL side sooner or later and I'm interested to see how he goes with Draper.
Voss - got 3 goals and took some marks by having more strength than his opponent. I don't think his feet left the ground at all during the game. He's good on the lead and the forward line looked quite mobile, giving him the space.
Munkara - had a few attempts at the mark of the year and didn't get close, giving away silly frees. Kicked a few goals and has looked good in patches. Had some shocking kicks in general play and delivery into forward 50 that needs some work. Is on the improve, but needs to pick up the pace of the game a bit more.
Montgomerie (17 disposals) - is a rock in defense and great on the intercepts. Is a very neat kick. I see Ridley. Worked well with Hayes (20 disposals) and both performed well.
Lord (14 disposals) - made a case for an improved game early. Had a nice run out of defense. Then got caught a few times, and some boot-bangers going forward. Still has many areas of the game to improve.
Guelfi (7 disposals) - only played a half (I think). Kicked a couple of goals and is a class above at VFL. Needs a full game IMO, but would be shaking Menzie loose if he doesn't have a good game tonight.
Wanganeen (6 disposals) had a good run along the wing but goes missing too much.
McBride (5 disposals) is a strong unit. I'm sure it was his tackle that buried (Cumberland?) Just doesn't do enough It was good that he was out there today.

 

[Happyskeret]

I’d say given what we know it’s entirely believable.

Happens with so much regularity I don’t even give the other team any credit for doing it any more.

It’s a shame they got in such a good position but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Reminded me of the Collingwood game/s.

 

[ant555]

As disappointing as it was one thing to remember is that with 11 to 13 players out and a VFL list that is still pretty young these results are always on the cards . On top of that several of our AFL listed players are in the delist zone . Guelfi only played a half and Munkara only plays 15 or so minutes a quarter.
On top of that outside of Narkle and Phillips the VFL guys are still pretty inexperienced.
They threw away a win for sure but it was well below the side we could be playing.

 

[Zach Package]

It’s a shame they got in such a good position but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Reminded me of the Collingwood game/s.

It is what it is. As I said, hardly a surprise anymore.

The only Ross Lyon adage ‘anytime, anywhere’ applies to Essendon completely stopping 5 minutes into the last and getting swallowed up.

 

[Happyskeret]

As disappointing as it was one thing to remember is that with 11 to 13 players out and a VFL list that is still pretty young these results are always on the cards . On top of that several of our AFL listed players are in the delist zone . Guelfi only played a half and Munkara only plays 15 or so minutes a quarter.
On top of that outside of Narkle and Phillips the VFL guys are still pretty inexperienced.
They threw away a win for sure but it was well below the side we could be playing.

Learnings

 

[Yoda_]

As disappointing as it was one thing to remember is that with 11 to 13 players out and a VFL list that is still pretty young these results are always on the cards . On top of that several of our AFL listed players are in the delist zone . Guelfi only played a half and Munkara only plays 15 or so minutes a quarter.
On top of that outside of Narkle and Phillips the VFL guys are still pretty inexperienced.
They threw away a win for sure but it was well below the side we could be playing.

Was thinking about it just the other day, we don't seem to have the calibre of local guys like we during the Bendigo alignment, even if Melbourne locals. Freezer, Coghlan, Dushcer, Stroobants etc.

I like the cut of Rasinac's jib, ditto Bernacki. Both good to (possibly) very good VFL player, Conforti was good in his first season, stagnated a bit I feel, the lack of top end AFL talent filtering into the VFL side is telling at the moment. In an ideal world a combination of Menzies, Hobbs, A.Phillips, Massimo, Durham, Baldwin, Hind are all playing VFL which makes us infinitely stronger.

I look at sides like Casey (James Munro, Evan Pannozza, Kyle Matthews, Michael Stockdale), Box Hill (list is endless for VFL stalwarts, some whom eventually get drafted), even Geelong, Sandringham have had mainstays who are better than average VFL players for years on end. We never seem to have stability in that regard.

anyways, will get around to watching the replay but Bryan was good? Hayes stat line (20d, 17k, 3hb, 10m) also reads well? A report on social media suggested Montgomerie was close to our best by half time, surely he's getting close to a debut?

As for the rest, just sounds like cameo's, Guelfi 2 goals, Munkara 2 goals, Voss another 3 goals.

After suggesting out VFL guys are not great, reads like they were a big reason new got as close as we did, lost it to a more professional side with 3 goals leaked in red time

 

[ant555]

First time this year I have been able to watch a VFL game from any sort or real elevated position. They played reasonably well but in the end a lack of experience under pressure got them and they made a few silly defensive mistakes in the last 10 minutes . The team defense fell away a bit and they allowed the Tigers some easy transition. Outside of Narkle and Phillips our VFL listed players are a bit inexperienced as well with the Likes of Conforti / Rasinac / Cootee / Bernacki / Fitzgerald all being 20 to 30 game players who will give us a good core group the more they play. Then we had a lot of young guys with under 10 games experience.

Hayes. I like what I am seeing. He is raw and skinny and makes the odd mistake but he also intercepts a bit and reads the play well. His one on one defense will improve as he gets a bit stronger.

Bryan was easily best. Now he has had a really good block of 5 games he should be given a run.

Lord was okay. Starting to attack the game and the footy a bit more. Made some mistakes but is playing better footy.

Geulfi played a half and kicked a couple of early goals. Not a lot of the footy but made the most of what he had.

Monty was very good as well. Had some issues when he was matched up with Cumberland but overall he was good with some really good spoils and intercept marks.

Voss. Had a good look at him as from the top level you can get a good look at what he is doing. He played okay but his issue is he is not quick and he has a very average leap. If he gets separation on the lead he will mark it but getting the separation is the issue. His opponent actually ran past him on the lead a few times. If he is not playing on a taller opponent he has the strength to protect the drop zone and mark but he is very limited as far as pack marking goes.

Wanganeen. Tried hard but he was just a fraction of the pace as far as positioning goes and being involved. Possibly trying too hard to make it happen.

McBride has just stagnated. Showed a lot of promise with his athletic ability and marking but he has just not gone on with it. Looks like he has lost a bit of his pace as well.

Munkara kicked a couple of goals and took a few marks. He flashes in and out and obviously his fitness is a long way back. Right now he struggles picking up the pace of the game and the concentration level. Things happen at times before he has processed it. Give him the footy in space and you see the raw talent .

Narkle was good again. He could be a decent fit for someone but I am not sure he offers us something we do not have as far as midfield goes . Maybe as a forward that you could use in the midfield rotation.

If we wanted a real project I would look at John Jorgensen. Maybe not midseason but as a rookie at the end of the year. Had a quiet day yesterday but he looks like a guy you could maybe make something out of.

Conforti / Rasinac / Cootee / Bernacki where all pretty good.