Review Scratch match analysis of North V Saints

the flying ham

Cancelled
Dec 12, 2006
7,403
16,059
AFL Club
North Melbourne
We were certainly far younger and more inexperienced today, particularly around the stoppages. That went a long way to determining the result. They have a number of experienced and clean handed small forwards who were in good touch today and that got them rolling early.

It was effectively a 3rd string midfield. Did like Hayden in the middle, starting to demonstrate some real attacking nous, Lazzaro looks neat and balanced. Powell has beautiful clean hands and looks high IQ.

Stevo adds some ability to find time and space, he can accumulate the pill and has a good nose for goal - going to be a great pick up. He isn't Jed, so let's give the soft calls a spell. He wasn't recruited for that and he will get better with the side.

Perhaps we may need another stay at home tall up forward, love Zurhaar but he is more competitive at ground level than in the air against a genuine tall KPD come season proper. But becomes moot if we lower the eyes and hit our forwards lace out

We won't be fielding a side as inexperienced as that round 1, so let's not sound the alarm just yet.
 

AnEmptyChair

Premiership Player
Nov 12, 2020
4,133
16,757
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I'm not really worried about the negatives. It's the first praccie with an ad hoc midfield while we're trying to implement a new way of moving the footy against a good side.

Biggest positives: Thomas doing everything well, Tom Powell & Charlie Lazzaro look like footballers, Kyron Hayden the midfielder, Stepho kicking a couple and being involved a lot. When we did execute our skills the ball movement was slick as * and resulted in scoring opportunities. Looks like it could be a really exciting way of playing if we get the right blokes kicking the footy.
 

rm3504

All Australian
May 13, 2011
704
873
Perth
AFL Club
North Melbourne
1/3 of the starting 18 out?
Goldie, cunners, LDU, Jed, Polec, Dumont.
No excuse. But a factor.
I don’t think 17 other sides would care or not if the last 4 were playing or not
How about we focus on who was playing rather than not, cos we could play this in/out game for 20yrs and still be in same spot
 
Oct 4, 2006
15,813
33,663
The hood
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I’d be interested in the inside 50’s and clearances as I’d think they’re be pretty even.

We got plenty of Center clearances and got the ball relatively deep into the forward line. Which drew a contest but as per the last 20 years, we still don’t look to have anyone on the field capable of crumbing.
 
Nov 7, 2020
2,591
6,323
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Of the many holes on the field today, someone that can defend, run and carry was one the most glaring.

Perez ASAP please

Imagine.

I will take defensive smarts. Doesn’t even have to be able to defend, just not let easy, soft and match-defining goals to scab small forwards week-after-week.

It’s infuriating watching us work so hard only to be undone by dumb defenders giving away soft free kicks and or conceding goals through poor positioning and disposal under next to no pressure.

Part of this is slowness of mind, but a lot of it is slowness of body and decision-making (possibly due to no options forward of the ball).

Get two more tallish/biggish options in Xerri and Cunners and maybe we will be a bit better.

St.Kilda were very slick today, they have improved their ball use considerably.

Finally, I thought Winx was slaughtered by Frankel. Well done Benny.
 
Without repeating the obvious - I’ll ask one question - why do we always look like we’ve just picked up the ball for the first time in months, and blokes have never trained with one another? This has routinely happened in preseason games under Scott, happened last year and again today?

We really can’t be as bad as we looked today and I’m sure we are not. But the amount of time we fumbled, dropped marks, miss-kicked the thing, missed gettable spoils, gave away stupid 50s (that needs a thread of its own), and generally ran to wrong spots - it was just a typical North preseason game where the opposition was the complete opposite. Sharp and ready to go.


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Psicosis

Brownlow Medallist
May 7, 2012
13,165
58,685
Bird Rock
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Some comments about Hayden being good in the midfield.

And therein lies our problem. A plodder can look good in the midfield but at the end of the day he is a plodder.

God help us if he gets regular midfield time.


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Perplexing that you can label a 21 year old with 9 games under his belt as a plodder.

Even more perplexing to do so right after playing well in his natural position for the first time, against senior opposition.

I counted 6 clearances today against the likes of B.Crouch & J.Steele, without Goldstein.

What a stupid bizarre statement.
 
I’d be interested in the inside 50’s and clearances as I’d think they’re be pretty even.

We got plenty of Center clearances and got the ball relatively deep into the forward line. Which drew a contest but as per the last 20 years, we still don’t look to have anyone on the field capable of crumbing.

Most people wondered why the hell we didn’t pick at tall forwards in the draft or trade. Today that was exposed once again. Our forward line wasn’t AFL standard. (Of course delivery was crap as usual but that’s a separate issue). Mason kicking 4 goals further highlighted the shitfulness of the situation.


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Apr 24, 2013
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Arden Street Hill
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I reckon this passage of play sums up how Noble wants them to go about it this year. Much less rebounding run out of defence and quick transition forward from the midfield.



Much less rebounding run out of defence and quick transition forward from the midfield.
 
Hard to take much out of a game where we only one of our five best clearance players/mids was on the park.

On some individuals:

Scott: Very good. Won a one on one on his defensive flank where he left his man to go and contest the loose ball and killed the situation. Had he not left his man St Kilda would have got it and easy inside 50, had he lost the contest, same. But he won the contest by tying it up.

Thomas: Very good. I like him roaming the ground as a utility, looks quite nice in defence, dare I say Bunji McLeodish but nowhere near the runs on the board yet. He operates with a class we need. As a seasoned football analyst, I'd have him slightly higher than fifth or sixth in line for a spot as a mid/fwd, in fact he'd be one of my first picked. Will be a very different player at 100 games.

Curtis: See above. Get him to 100 games asap. He has dash and talent in equal measure. Plays very tall, hits them hard and has exquisite skills. There's something of a J. Hird about him in the way he's so skinny but utterly fearless too. If he becomes 75 per cent the player Jimmy Hird was, we've got an absolute gun.

Kyron: I fail to see how anyone ever has any doubt on Ronny. From his first game where he was giving one of the great mids of the modern era a touch up as a tagger until he got hurt, his work last year, he's a player. Did some real nice things in the middle against a finals quality unit without much real class by his side.

Jaidyn: They tried to rough him up early and he wasn't phased. He's getting his head around how we want him to play mid. He'll be our Higgo replacement for a decade - that same mix of inside/outside ability that is lethal round goals. We got a bargain off the Woods.

Ziebs: I thought he was fine down back. Did what was asked of him. Defensive unit as a whole was under siege. Experiment working for mine.

Powell: Kid can play. Deadset play. Get him to 100 games asap as well. Get the boy laid, eating steaks and playing ones. If he needs a rest from getting belted week in week out, send hinm down top the two for fortnight to rack up a lazy 50 touches against some NEAFL mob. Is exactly what we need.

Big Bobby Campbell: Heart the size of Phar Lap, goes when it his turn, leaves everything out there, but not AFL standard.

SPECIAL NOTES ON THE ONE FLAG BUT FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT DISCO SAINTS

Hunter Clark: Bloke is a jet. Absolute gun. Get him in your DreamCoachFantasySuperFooty teams if he isn't already. Play like a classic old school centreman. Would love him at North.

Max King: Big sooky la la mopey free kick wanting drip. Looks amazing when he gets a run at it and can take a spectacular grab, but he's already got the Nick Riewoldt turn pleading to the umpire at the slightest sensation of contact, even if it a blade of grass brushing him, down pat. "Free" King. Brother better anyway and less of a tool. Looks kind of like Sandi from Monkey Magic.

Mason Wood: They will probably give him an extra year off the back of this. Seen this preseason Mason many many times.
 

DrZaius

GENERATIONAL
Mar 28, 2016
4,221
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Most people wondered why the hell we didn’t pick at tall forwards in the draft or trade. Today that was exposed once again. Our forward line wasn’t AFL standard. (Of course delivery was crap as usual but that’s a separate issue). Mason kicking 4 goals further highlighted the shitfulness of the situation.


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No point having gun forwards if we can't get the ball into our fwd 50. If anything, today highlighted the importance of having a talented midfield that can run both ways (which is what we DID draft for).
 

Frank Thring

Premiership Player
Mar 3, 2016
3,762
11,790
AFL Club
North Melbourne
When you attack the corridor and you're not good at it, youre going to give away way easy goals and the saints are full of front runners in Butler, Higgins, Wood, Lonie and Hill who pick up easy uncontested possessions lagging behind the play and look like millionaires.

It is going to take some time and a lot frustrations.
 
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