Unofficial Preview SOO. real or exhibition.

[gaskin]

No love for Bill? I thought Jesse would get the medal, but reckon Bill played the whole game and continually impacted.

Also, I’d be interested to know what people say about JOM’s place in the 23 after tonight. Was far from worst on ground out of the best 23 WA players available.

I'd want to know what his TOG was. He was good early and then disappeared for the rest of the game.

 

[ignoramus]

I'd want to know what his TOG was. He was good early and then disappeared for the rest of the game.

JOM? 74%. Thought he did a fair bit in the last quarter.

Just discovered that Bill racked up his stats from just 62% TOG!

 

[ImperialPurple]

Stepping sideways. Sarah Black in her game review on the AFL site had this to say…

Perth has been decked out in yellow and blue for days, with bunting adorning pubs and shops in the CBD.

Even the team hotels had blue and yellow balloons to greet their respective players
…
the crowd decked out in yellow, blue and a wild array of AFL club merch.



The girl colour blind or what? Pretty sure that blue she’s seeing ain’t blue. Definitely looks black to me.

 

[thistimeforsure]

I enjoyed that. But the players were really thrown under the bus. This should be a pre-grand final bye match where the players are fit and carefree.

Nah I’m in the do it once every 4 or 5 years or so but have a couple of weeks off during the season and do it properly camp

The footy olympics

 

[PorcelainBus]

I would hardly call playing ressies for West Perth right under our noses.

Swans actually

 

[PorcelainBus]

Patrick Cripps is pretty useless against quality.

More like Cripps useless when the play is open - that's not his strength

 

[Jezzitizle]

Ash had a great game, was very good both defensively and getting attacks going. Like he was called best for the Vics, gave them so much drive, good whoever votes didn’t just read the possession count and give it to Daicos.

 

[swanny1234]

I was a bit of a cynic, thought it would be a glorified practice match, but was pleasantly surprised first at the competitive nature, and second of all the fact WA were reasonably competitive and didn’t get blown off the park.

The interesting question is what happens next? The game clearly sells in WA, so do you leave it there? Maybe play SA next year?
Do you rotate it so it’s VIC vs SA in Adelaide the year after?

 

[pK75]

Game only existed because WA tourism stumped up the cash to entice the AFL to do it. Would we do it again against SA next year? Or is Vic the only state that will draw the crowd required to see return on investment? Very interested to see what the viewership numbers look like, maybe it could get some legs if Kayo stump up some $$

 

[E Shed]

I thought the Freo boys were all abit average. I didn't really notice Serong's game until his late goal, and Clark was too safe with ball in hand, but he defended really well.

We need to persist with Jackson as a midfielder. He didn't have a huge night, but he makes great decisions with the ball. If he has 20 and 2 in a night, we probably win the game. I think he can make it.

Jackson is hell in a ground ball scrimmage. One of our goals came from him ripping it out off the deck and riffing a handball to the outside.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Game only existed because WA tourism stumped up the cash to entice the AFL to do it. Would we do it again against SA next year? Or is Vic the only state that will draw the crowd required to see return on investment? Very interested to see what the viewership numbers look like, maybe it could get some legs if Kayo stump up some $$

Wonder what they calculate the ROI to be.

Can’t think of any other event where WA has been so heavily marketed, not so prominently.

 

[Barnabus]

Wonder what they calculate the ROI to be.

Can’t think of any other event where WA has been so heavily marketed, not so prominently.

I reckon the current WA government is pretty committed to bringing a big footy event to WA eaxh year. So they would probably be onboard. I think they were talking about international rules for next year. Maybe another SOO in 2028 would work though.

 

[Cesoir]

Fun game to watch, but in reality I think the Vics could easily have blown the game apart. I suspect there was an element of wanting it to be competitive and I didn't mind that. It will never get back to the levels of the 70s and 80s, so it should be viewed as what it was, an exhibition match featuring some of the game's best players.

I'm old enough to remember the "real" SOO games where people would take sickies and have origin parties. They were the only chance we had to see "our boys" up against the might of the VFL and there was an enormous amount of state pride when we won. South Australia... meh, not so much. Malthouse and the Evils ruined that, replacing state pride with the arrogance and self importance that we have all come to love and admire.

It will never reach those heights again, and will never be what the NRL Origin series is. NRL is just two states, bitter rivals, who are genuine "frenemies" in the same way as WA and Victoria - no third state and no best of the rest Allies to dilute it.

I will always treasure the memories of those early origin clashes, but the reality is a Fremantle flag is the only important thing in AFL for me now. I used to joke that I'd like to see at least one flag before I die but it's becoming less of a joke and more of a desperate yearning as the years go by!

If I want to see genuine State of Origin now I'll keep watching it in the NRL and watching Qld smash the cockroaches.

 

[The Feeder Club]

It was a good game, you always got the feeling the Vics just had one higher gear they could shift to whenever we threatened them.

Where to now? If they get it right, reviving SOO might turn out to be the best thing Dill has done in his reign. I got talking to a bloke next to me that suggested it should be one game a year and the holders host, with the challenger alternating. So next year Vic host SA, the following year whoever wins that hosts WA, etc.

I quite like that, incentivises winning as you get to host and play the following year.

It will depend on if the Vic public embrace it and turn up with the same passion WA did, and rely on the AFL showing sense and restraint. Two significant ifs.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Honestly think if WAs mids had ever decided to follow their opponents back into defence they could have gotten up.

Vic mids worked back much harder.

Number of times there were 2-3 Vic mids inside 50 in miles of space and their WA opponents were still in the centre square watching was ridiculous.

 

[DQ 4EVER]

That was great!
Gotta keep playing that.
WA vs Vic is the go. Forget SA. If we play SA next year, nobody in Vic will watch it.
The mullets have Gather Round. That's enough.

 

[Alfonz]

He is really inaccurate. I think he really needs to do extra work on this at training.

He's always been a 50/50 chance (often kicking the hard one and missing the easy one) and I don't think that is going to change. But we want to see 3.3 from 6 shots, rather than 1.3.

He also had 1 more shot denied when WA played on from a free to Bolton. That's 7 shots against Victoria. He has an insane ability to generate shots on goal, and even though he misses a lot of them, if he wasn't playing then those scoring chances wouldn't be happening in the first place.

I am super excited about what he can bring this year. Was carrying an injury last year and still kicked 28.29. I can see a 40.40 season coming if he stays fit. Hopefully he makes all those negative nellies eat their words who seem to want to get stuck into him and actually seem like they want him to fail.

 

[Knees of Ben Allan]

Another exhibition game masterclass by J-Lo, for mine. Despite the humiliation of becoming the sacrificial lamb to the much inferior Cox (a political machination which bares the yellow and blue rigor mortised thumbprints of ol’ Pontifex Maximus Wayne Martin, no doubt), he maintained that prize-winning posture and helped prepare his much less cerebral colleague through his paces, which is a credit to the man.

In his capacity as orange cutter for the Sandgropers, he was playing the long game; 4D chess even, to dip into the zeitgeist.

Yesterday, thousands slouched in a sun-rich, carbs-heavy, bucket-hatted excursion of State of Origin.

J-Lo, however, (born for that flattering black polo by the way) in a fashion much like a bored undergrad, had configured his mental playback speed to 2.5 X, the whiteboard in his mind already at the mid-season break, despite the necessity to trot out rote “One week at a time” messaging, just to adhere to a brand of humility that us braying masses tend to require.

You can’t tell me that those instances of “Hamstring awareness” for fellow Sandgropers, wasn’t J-Lo future proofing the fixture, either. Macbook’s flashing red and J-Lo releases his Gustavo Fring, dishing cool and calculated rationale as to why said players should still be on the field when data and experience says otherwise. Leading to Cox and crew gazumped by the Jedi mind tricks, as one after another sitting on the pine with ice under non-Dockered legs. And all between innocuous, bird sized sips of his diminutive Coke Zero.

To cap off the mastery, probably even got in a slow dance with Chad right under that rotting septum’s of Cox’s:

“What do you see in him? You could do better than him, Chad. I’m just saying. Thanks for the dance. Call me.”

 

[Jezzitizle]

He's always been a 50/50 chance (often kicking the hard one and missing the easy one) and I don't think that is going to change. But we want to see 3.3 from 6 shots, rather than 1.3.

He also had 1 more shot denied when WA played on from a free to Bolton. That's 7 shots against Victoria. He has an insane ability to generate shots on goal, and even though he misses a lot of them, if he wasn't playing then those scoring chances wouldn't be happening in the first place.

I am super excited about what he can bring this year. Was carrying an injury last year and still kicked 28.29. I can see a 40.40 season coming if he stays fit. Hopefully he makes all those negative nellies eat their words who seem to want to get stuck into him and actually seem like they want him to fail.

Couldn’t agree more.

There was a time when everyone on here bemoaned a lack of X factor in the team, can’t say that now.

Bolton is a tricky match up, definitely can turn a game from centre bounce with his pace and evasiveness and manages to get loose going forward.

That said, he did kick some real flour bags last night, felt like more than usual. If he can win clearances then let Bruce or Young take the inside 50 kick, and get some goals over the back/crumbing out of nothing he will be a weapon for us, the coaching is important. If he is kicking from 50 either passing or shooting he will miss more than he hits.

 

[Balardong]

How did Lawson Humphries get in the team

Humphries has been in the best three or four for WA. 23 disposals at 91% efficiency plus 8 marks and some important spoils

 

[Count Moriarty]

Hope that McVee is nearly as good as Humphries.

 

[mattis117]

How good does Serong look already

Young and Brayshaw will love lining up with him in the middle

Serong confirmed a starting place in a few supercoach and dream team midfields.

 

[King Huskii]

Serong confirmed a starting place in a few supercoach and dream team midfields.

I don't do supercoach anymore but Murphy Reid going mid might increase his possessions so increase his points. I guess he nay not kick as many goals which May ballance it out.

I'm not sure exactly how it works these days

Young Brayshaw Serong starting middle with Reid Jackson and Bolton to rotate. Potentially Wagner to do a run wirh role and Switta Johnson and Erasmus to have stints in the middle shapes up as very deep.

Just as deep as the very best midfields maybe just as not explosive as Brissy or GC

 

[fnerd]

That aged well

Which I acknowledged in another post

FWIW Ive long had that view of humphries (and few others in the Geelong system for that matter)-

And that’s not to say I think they’re average footballers - it’s just I’m big believer in Chris Scott and his Geelong system,(similar to what RTB has done at both saints and Freo likewise)in that they have an amazing ability to “elevate” certain players output by getting them to play to their maximum ability and even above themselves fairly consistently.

And this is done primarily by finding a role and position that both maximises a players strength whilst hiding/lessening their weaknesses
Its Something I regard as one of a coaches most important characteristics

Hence noting Lawson plays what I’d have to regard as the “easiest” position to look good in in the AFL too - the rebounding /semi accountable HB role.
A role that amplifies his good kicking skills/speed and decision making , conversely it minimises his weaknesses of one on one defending and contested work as evidenced by
Toby Greene embarrassing him defensively quite a few times


All that said ,Fair play to Lawson yesterday, started very poorly but had a good second half and his GF performance in a well beaten side is probably his most impressive outing AFAIC in his career.

However at this stage I still happily maintain A Bona fide star and decent first round draft pick material trade value wise humphries is not

And finally and actually the main reason behind my reply in the first place what’s a newly minted norf supporter trawling the Freo boards threads?

Are you a relation/friend of LW?

 

[Dirty_banchez]

He's always been a 50/50 chance (often kicking the hard one and missing the easy one) and I don't think that is going to change. But we want to see 3.3 from 6 shots, rather than 1.3.

He also had 1 more shot denied when WA played on from a free to Bolton. That's 7 shots against Victoria. He has an insane ability to generate shots on goal, and even though he misses a lot of them, if he wasn't playing then those scoring chances wouldn't be happening in the first place.

I am super excited about what he can bring this year. Was carrying an injury last year and still kicked 28.29. I can see a 40.40 season coming if he stays fit. Hopefully he makes all those negative nellies eat their words who seem to want to get stuck into him and actually seem like they want him to fail.

He doesn't kick the ball properly. I saw his kicks come off the instep of his foot. He's not doing the reps at training.