Some thoughts on the game...

[Kane McGoodwin]

We won ugly, but we won that's the main thing. When Collingwood hit the front I thought their crowd would get them over the line but too our credit, we didn't give in. They can't use injuries as an excuse either, they had no Buckley we had no Bock.

Yep, we came back when we looked gone after losing the momentum. I'm just happy we got the 4 points & got away from the bottom of the table. We have now got an away win to offset the loss to the Weagles last week & stopped any sensationa calls from Rucci for the Crows to sack NC. Noticed how NC wasn't too keen to give Rucci full answers in his press conference.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Just got home from the game:

Great result considering we played with 17 players on the field for most of the day and I'm confident in saying without having taken one contested mark (Perries may have spoiled that record in the last qtr with that mark and goal?)

Here are some general game thoughts:
1. Worse game of footy since I saw the bulldogs/hawthorn game last year - it was which team was best at losing the game.

2. Our tackling rate was horrible (17 tackles up to half time and I would suggest less in the last half) - Collingwood were able to run out of defense and thru the centre with very little resistance from us.

3. We definately lack speed around the ground - Stiffy was great in the backlines, but in the midfield and forward area

4. The Crows as a team really lacked cohesion and that sense of real teamwork.
There were players on the ground today that simply were getting in the way of our playmakers!!!!

5.We have some dumb footballers!

Some Player Reviews:

Skipworth : seriously lad you are not up to it, he played every minute today and was as fresh as at the start of the game and without so much as a bruise.
Does not have the pace to start from behind the ball (which is correct positioning) and then get past our player with the ball to launch an attack.
Cannot win a one on one dual of any kind!
In the forward line could not get to the contest due to lack of leg speed and was wandering around the ground with no opponent within 20 mtres the whole day, obviously trying to be a linkman.

Bode: Same as above (and don't let the last 5 mins of the game fool you) he had no leg speed to get to the contest or the opposition player to lay a tackle. Fell to the ground at every opportunity and could not break free of the slowest Collingwood player thus causing him to crab all over the place and get caught. Spent long long periods on the bench - Why you ask.

Welsh: Just played dumb footy and was not switched on today.

McGregor: Said last week he was hopeless and I'll repeat the comment today.
Played dumb reactive footy, marked when he should have punched, fumbled, missed marks and was led to the ball by a very unfit Rocca who SHOULD HAVE destroyed him
Question : is NC's attacking style going to suit Mcgregor ????

Reilly: sad to say was more than ordinary. Was second to a 50/50 contest way too often for my liking. Was huffing severely in the early last qtr and IMO lacked a bit of heart to push thru the pain barrier??

Thompson: the reverse of Reilly, hungered for the contest, oozed class and was obviously without any petrol in the tank in the last qtr but pushed on - great effort.

Stiffy: BOG country mile

Bassett: Fantastic game, read the ball and game exceptionally well, NC might have added a few more years to Bassetts career.

Biglands: "Meh" whats different?

Hudson: you little beauty

Stevens: Did he play?

Mattner, Hart, Rutten, Perrie and Hentschell: just average contributors 5/10

Goodwin: absolutely busted his boiler today was a great leader on the field getting stuck into Welsh after an insipid effort, then took a hit for the team to show what had to be done - fantastic Goody.

Macca and Roo also had the days you expect of these players.

Agree with most of your player assessments, especially Bode and Skip. However, I think you were a little harsh on Mattner, Trent and especially Rutten.

 

[tribey]

The Ugly
1) Doughty's effort to spoil against Rowe. Absolutely pathetic.

Softest effort I've seen since he pulled out of that contest with Pickett and feigned contact to the head in a bid to get away with it on realising just how ****-weak he was at that moment.

He didn't make an attempt to get under the ball, he didn't make an attempt to find touch and try to body out. He just stood there like a bunny in the headlights before making a woeful attempt at spoiling that would have seen him dragged at Amateur League level.

Had Perrie and Macca not stood up in the last few minutes that moment would have cost us the game.

I dare anyone to continue to defend him after today. You'll be defending the indefensible.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Maybe it is the new boots.

Speaking of new boots, if Hentschel is going to play like that every week, he sure as hell can wear those ugly purple boots he had on today

Lets not get carried away he was just average today - 3 AW rated all the players and Hentschell was given 3/10

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Skipworth : seriously lad you are not up to it, he played every minute today and was as fresh as at the start of the game and without so much as a bruise.
Does not have the pace to start from behind the ball (which is correct positioning) and then get past our player with the ball to launch an attack.
Cannot win a one on one dual of any kind!
In the forward line could not get to the contest due to lack of leg speed and was wandering around the ground with no opponent within 20 mtres the whole day, obviously trying to be a linkman.

Bode: Same as above (and don't let the last 5 mins of the game fool you) he had no leg speed to get to the contest or the opposition player to lay a tackle. Fell to the ground at every opportunity and could not break free of the slowest Collingwood player thus causing him to crab all over the place and get caught. Spent long long periods on the bench - Why you ask.

Do we bite the bullet & blood the likes of Van Berlo if these 2 will never come up to a decent standard?

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Agree with most of your player assessments, especially Bode and Skip. However, I think you were a little harsh on Mattner, Trent and especially Rutten.

Honestly an average game is not being harsh - they just had average games

 

[Gets!]

Van Berlo in next week.

Doughty and Bode, back to SANFL for mine.

Bring in Watts as well

 

[just maybe]

Softest effort I've seen since he pulled out of that contest with Pickett and feigned contact to the head in a bid to get away with it on realising just how ****-weak he was at that moment.

He didn't make an attempt to get under the ball, he didn't make an attempt to find touch and try to body out. He just stood there like a bunny in the headlights before making a woeful attempt at spoiling that would have seen him dragged at Amateur League level.

Had Perrie and Macca not stood up in the last few minutes that moment would have cost us the game.

I dare anyone to continue to defend him after today. You'll be defending the indefensible.

Wow, you really hate Doughty. Granted he had a crap game but he's been far from our worst under Craig, and McLeod has done plenty of soft lazy stuff lately - look at last week.

 

[just maybe]

Bode: Same as above (and don't let the last 5 mins of the game fool you) he had no leg speed to get to the contest or the opposition player to lay a tackle. Fell to the ground at every opportunity and could not break free of the slowest Collingwood player thus causing him to crab all over the place and get caught. Spent long long periods on the bench - Why you ask.

What a load of crap.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Softest effort I've seen since he pulled out of that contest with Pickett and feigned contact to the head in a bid to get away with it on realising just how ****-weak he was at that moment.

He didn't make an attempt to get under the ball, he didn't make an attempt to find touch and try to body out. He just stood there like a bunny in the headlights before making a woeful attempt at spoiling that would have seen him dragged at Amateur League level.

Had Perrie and Macca not stood up in the last few minutes that moment would have cost us the game.

I dare anyone to continue to defend him after today. You'll be defending the indefensible.

Not going to defend him but bodywork is not a strong point to his game, he WAS SUPPOSED to be the link player running out of defence delivering to the forwards.

Yes he was very average but that making effort I can tell you there were 5-6 players who put in similar marking efforts

 

[WaynesWorld19]

What a load of crap.

Watch the game (if he was on the ground) and stop judging his game on the basis of the last 5 minutes as you obviously have.

What you don;t see out of the camera shot was his continual inability to get to the contest and when he did lose his feet.

 

[kirky]

Just some more points:

These sort of games are not good for my health .

Spot on, I reckon I can go to Centrelink this week and collect the age pension coz that game made me age 25 years.

I found it funny during the call, I was making comments like putting Biglands/ up in forward lines and stop bombing the ball in and then Gary Lyon would say the same thing 10-15 minutes later. Surely, it was that obvious.

The move of Biglands up forward at least freed Perrie to take some marks rather than worry about two defenders all the time. Why didn't we do it earlier ie leave the resting ruckmen up forward??

Bode could have saved himself with some good play in the last 5-10 minutes but earlier he really did stuff things up. The problem is we have some smaller players ie Bode and Skipworth that whilst honest triers don't have a special quality and they certainly don't have any pace. What do they offer???.

Happy with both Macca's game and especially so of Johncock. Thompson is going to be very handy - a player withy a bit of grunt. At least Roo won't have to do it all by himself. Trent tried well and he will give a contest all the time and 3 goals is what we want from a forward - 3 of them do that plus a few goals from your midfield and you will win most games.

Backline did very well but I'm still trying to work out what our game plan is!!!!

 

[Stiffy_18]

Lets not get carried away he was just average today - 3 AW rated all the players and Hentschell was given 3/10

He took a couple of very good marks in the 50 and kicked 3 goals. I would be happy with that return every week

 

[just maybe]

Watch the game (if he was on the ground) and stop judging his game on the basis of the last 5 minutes as you obviously have.

What you don;t see out of the camera shot was his continual inability to get to the contest and when he did lose his feet.

Watched the whole game, thanks, and yes he made some mistakes, but he was also willing to get in and under and his disposal was pretty good this game.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

He took a couple of very good marks in the 50 and kicked 3 goals. I would be happy with that return every week

Thats the problem! as the third tall in a Collingwood forward line a bit undersized he had the opportunity today to take control.

Yes a nice cameo performance, but thus far a lt of Hentschells games have been cameos rather than 4 qtr efforts.

Clement and Wakelin were dominant for the Pies.

 

[kirky]

He took a couple of very good marks in the 50 and kicked 3 goals. I would be happy with that return every week

Agreed, Stiffy, this bloke at least will put in for every contest and if he can average 3 goals a week, I will be more than happy.

We were not good but Collingwood were worse.

Good to get a win of any kind. 1-1 is a lot better than 0-2.

 

[tribey]

Some Player Reviews:

Skipworth : seriously lad you are not up to it, he played every minute today and was as fresh as at the start of the game and without so much as a bruise.
Does not have the pace to start from behind the ball (which is correct positioning) and then get past our player with the ball to launch an attack.
Cannot win a one on one dual of any kind!
In the forward line could not get to the contest due to lack of leg speed and was wandering around the ground with no opponent within 20 mtres the whole day, obviously trying to be a linkman.

He doesn't have a redeeming feature at AFL level. He's too small. He lacks pace. He has trouble reading the play and his best effort by foot comes in 40m-lollipop form. When you see the likes of Brett James, Damien Squire and Chris Hall running around in the SANFL you can only wonder where Skippy keeps the polaroids.

Bode: Same as above (and don't let the last 5 mins of the game fool you) he had no leg speed to get to the contest or the opposition player to lay a tackle. Fell to the ground at every opportunity and could not break free of the slowest Collingwood player thus causing him to crab all over the place and get caught. Spent long long periods on the bench - Why you ask.

Bode infuriated me at times (what's new?) as he looked like molasses mixed with quick-dry cement - but in that last 10 minutes when the game was there to be won and lost his attack at the ball was fearless and he got a few important touches.

Welsh: Just played dumb footy and was not switched on today.

I'm a big wrap for Welshy but my god, he was appalling today. Regularly beaten to the contest, couldn't hold a mark and on the rare occasion he did manage a shot at goal his radar was busted. Take out that first seven minutes against West Coast and Welshy has nothing to show for the first two rounds.

McGregor: Said last week he was hopeless and I'll repeat the comment today.
Played dumb reactive footy, marked when he should have punched, fumbled, missed marks and was led to the ball by a very unfit Rocca who SHOULD HAVE destroyed him
Question : is NC's attacking style going to suit Mcgregor ????

This is the version of Kenny that had me going against the grain of the entire board back in 2003 when I didn't rate him at all and regularly said as much. Is he carrying an injury? Interesting that both he and Chad Cornes haven't been at the races so far this term.

Reilly: sad to say was more than ordinary. Was second to a 50/50 contest way too often for my liking. Was huffing severely in the early last qtr and IMO lacked a bit of heart to push thru the pain barrier??

Two words: Aaron Fiora.

Thompson: the reverse of Reilly, hungered for the contest, oozed class and was obviously without any petrol in the tank in the last qtr but pushed on - great effort.

Looks a gun. Quality reading of the play and plenty of poise in close. Fine delivery by foot and desperately unlucky not to have finished with a couple of goals to his name today.

Stiffy: BOG country mile

Yep, terrific as the sweeping small/tall, especially in the absence of Benny. Pulling away from Radar quite comfortably in the ongoing head-to-head debate.

Bassett: Fantastic game, read the ball and game exceptionally well, NC might have added a few more years to Bassetts career.

Picked up where he left off from last week. Stellar defensively and linked well going forward - the only minus was when he was beaten for pace by Tarrant and Rocca on occasion, however, as the third-up spoiler he should have had McGregor and/or Rutten covering him when a lead needed to be checked.

Biglands: "Meh" whats different?

Ayres and Craig would have told him to harness the blatant aggression he showed last year when he was reported 2 or 3 times. They wouldn't have told him to curb it altogether. Biggles was like a desexed poodle out there today. No fire at all.

Hudson: you little beauty

Disappointed he wasn't sent to the goalsquare in bursts to provide the target we were crying out for when Welsh, Stevo and Perrie all conspired to hand Clement and Wakelin all those uncontested marks, but with Biglands' showing it's understandable he spent the majority of his shift in the ruck and around the ground.

Stevens: Did he play?

In the last legs saloon. Tried hard but looked too old and slow for the most part.

Mattner, Hart, Rutten, Perrie and Hentschel: just average contributors

# Mattner's good far outweighed his bad.
# I thought Hart was terrific in the first half before he disappeared. The fact Collingwood only managed 3 goals in that period was a testament to Hart's steadying influence on his teammates. There is no way Blake the Mercenary would have broken loose in the third if Benny was there to shackle him.
# Rutten broke even. His man (Rocca and Tarrant in varying degrees).
# Perrie was insipid for the first three quarters before doing the biz with 2 deciding goals in the last.
# Hentschel was good in bursts, if he can perform for 4-quarters more often than not we'll have a very good player on our hands.

Goodwin: absolutely busted his boiler today was a great leader on the field getting stuck into Welsh after an insipid effort, then took a hit for the team to show what had to be done - fantastic Goody.

Absolute quality. Adds not just another dimension to our midfield but a good sixpack to that particular esky.

Macca and Roo also had the days you expect of these players.

McLeod's most devastating performance since he took the Michael Tuck Medal home at the same ground and against the same opposition in 2003. Also reminded me very much of Ricciuto's matchwinning performance against Carlton in the wet back in 2000 except without the gratuitous violence.

Macca summed up the moment, pointed to the objective and said "get on my back lads, I'll carry you."

Ricciuto was excellent also, a real captain's game typified by his calm work in the last couple of minutes.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Watched the whole game, thanks, and yes he made some mistakes, but he was also willing to get in and under and his disposal was pretty good this game.

Doesn't take much skill to dive into a pack.

Trouble was he couldn't get to the contest and the pies were steaming thru the centre a lot today because of the slowness of the likes of Skippy, Shirley and Bode.
Skippy in all his centre bounce representations DID NOT TOUCH THE LEATHER ONCE!

 

[outback jack]

some negatives...........

not sure if anyone saw it but thompson had a go with cloke, after he'd crunched him, and not one of our guys helped him out. That really ********es me off. I think it was Doughty who stood and watched.

Doughty is shi te, should get a youngster in

Welsh has some question marks, did some silly things and should really be performing better.

NC not fixing caracella with someone like bassett, was very poor, he kept them in the game

In efficient going forward, despite having heap of ball

Postives...

Finally winning a close one
All our stars performed
Didnt give tarrent much room up forward, last yr we would have left him a paddock
Good to see the mini-flood in action, or atleast getting numbers to crowd the forward line


Both teams are going to be poor this yr.

 

[tribey]

Wow, you really hate Doughty.

I hate his utter softness and unwillingness to attack a contest at times, and we're not just talking about under Neil Craig either. Had Perrie and McLeod not first got us back into it and then won it for us that complete lack of effort would have cost us the game - fact.

As I said last week, Doughty's greatest asset is his foot disposal, when he chooses to use it. But on this occasion, he found himself in the back-50 under the ball with scores level. He needed to stand up not just for himself, but his club and the 40000 season ticket holders who contribute to his salary.

He didn't.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

He doesn't have a redeeming feature at AFL level. He's too small. He lacks pace. He has trouble reading the play and his best effort by foot comes in 40m-lollipop form. When you see the likes of Brett James, Damien Squire and Chris Hall running around in the SANFL you can only wonder where Skippy keeps the polaroids.

Bode infuriated me at times (what's new?) as he looked like molasses mixed with quick-dry cement - but in that last 10 minutes when the game was there to be won and lost his attack at the ball was fearless and he got a few important touches.

I'm a big wrap for Welshy but my god, he was appalling today. Regularly beaten to the contest, couldn't hold a mark and on the rare occasion he did manage a shot at goal his radar was busted. Take out that first seven minutes against West Coast and Welshy has nothing to show for the first two rounds.

This is the version of Kenny that had me going against the grain of the entire board back in 2003 when I didn't rate him at all and regularly said as much. Is he carrying an injury? Interesting that both he and Chad Cornes haven't been at the races so far this term.

Two words: Aaron Fiora.

Hey DT we've agreed with each other for I think the first time

We even agree on Reilly today as there were some worrying signs that do need to be corrected in his game.

I'm not sure the new gameplan is suiting McGregor or whether the archilles PS problem has slowed him down but he is sadly out of form.
He maybe too defensive a CHB for Neils attacking gamestyle - going on how much Craig reflects Blights philosophies I would think an attacking CHB in the Caven mould (Gibson?)

 

[AJ_No.4]

Lets not get carried away he was just average today - 3 AW rated all the players and Hentschell was given 3/10

Hmmm............ I reckon you heard that wrong. How could you be given 3/10, if you kicked 3 goals and your side only kicked 12?????

 

[WaynesWorld19]

NC not fixing caracella with someone like bassett, was very poor, he kept them in the game
.

Not true, tried Doughty, Reilly and I forget who his last opponent was?

 

[Eggzoi]

some negatives...........

not sure if anyone saw it but thompson had a go with cloke, after he'd crunched him, and not one of our guys helped him out. That really ********es me off. I think it was Doughty who stood and watched.

Yes, saw that in the background and thought it was a very poor effort on behalf of the rest of the team. Wonder how Thompson was feeling at the time, first game and no backup.

 

[kirky]

Trouble was he couldn't get to the contest and the pies were steaming thru the centre a lot today because of the slowness of the likes of Skippy, Shirley and Bode.

We cannot afford to have all three blokes in the team at once. I'm not sure who can replace them but I don't care - we can't carry all three - no pace, no pace, no pace.

Bode - did some really silly things and got caught numerous times - last 5 minutes did some good but 5 minutes of play does not necessarily get you a game the next week.

Skipworth - as I have said previously. I can kick further than him. Offers nothing and today was pi*ssed of with that effort in the last quarter - it should have been a certain goal and not a kick to a 50/50 contest. Dumb, dumb, dumb. He is not up to it.

Shirley - he is a tagger granted but today we didn't need a tagger and his major weakness is he doesn't have an offensive game. Should have been on the bench and used sparingly given he did play a good game against Judd. Due to his tagging roles he doesn't or won't attack. Stenglein would tag but at the same time get important offensive touches. Shirley needs to do the same.