TAC rd 15

[Humble Minion]

Pretty mouthwatering game at Oakleigh this week. Chargers with their school boys back vs Gippsland who regain Marusic and Haydn Hector and should be fielding close to their strongest side.

Think I'll be checking this one out.

 

[Spitz]

So Oakleigh regain Tyson, Greene, Tomlinson and Viney.... pretty handy.


Is Luke McDonald playing for Oakleigh this weekend? surely is well inside the 18's best 22 following the end of Trinity's/AGSV year?

 

[Super Hans]

rebels missing half of there side due to st pats being the the herald sun shield final.

 

[Humble Minion]

Went out to Chadstone to catch Oakleigh vs Gippsland today, two teams who will probably feature prominently in the finals.

Fast, high-pressure game with ferocious tackling at both ends and both sides at times getting some very fast transition going though the middle. Oakleigh dominated the 1st qtr, winning clearances at will and scooting forward under no pressure. 2nd qtr and the Power got back into it with the first handful of a long string of odd free-kicks in front of goal. For the rest of the game it was an arm-wrestle, with the margin between 3 and 10 points the Chargers way most of the time, until about part way through the 4th a couple of horrible Gippy stuff-ups in the defensive 50 gave Oakleigh a 15 point buffer, and while Staley kicked a couple of quick ones to give the power a sniff, another defensive stuff-up sealed it and Oakleigh hung on by 12 in an excellent game marred by some gruesome over-umpiring, particularly in the 1st half. Gippy lost it through their first quarter, some inaccurate kicking on goal, clumsy tackling which gave away too many frees, and terrible blind bombing forward entries all day. Oakleigh probably copped the rough end of the umpiring pineapple, but were only have themselves to blame for giving up their early lead as Gippy seemed to pick out short targets through their midfield defensive structure pretty much at will.

Pretty spiteful sort of game, at least three all-in melees.

Greene dominated the 1st qtr and was good in the second, though I think he copped a thigh injury around about then and his influence for the rest of the game was a fair bit less. Expert in skirting the back of the pack at full speed and picking up the ball at pace, uses the ball well, dancing feet in close to get himself a bit of time.

Tyson not as obviously influential, but he, Arnot and Wooffindin were so dangerous in close that Oakleigh could oftne afford to have fewer players at the stoppage than Gippy, which meant they had more runners available when the ball got pried free. very impressed with his handball - long, accurate, creative and to good options. Seemed to prefer to hand it off rather than run with the ball (a bit Jobe Watsony), but I've seen him do the opposite in other games.

Curran was very prominent early. Took a lot of good marks down back, cut off loads of attacks, and was able to press forward to shoot at goal as well. Really shaped the game, since he dominated the air in the Power f50, prevented membrey from ripping the game apart, and absolutely dined out on the high-in-hope ball that the Gippy mids kept pumping forward.

Arnot might have played the best game I've seen from him. Did more than just bore in at the stoppage - got outside ball, made smart position, kicking was ok which has sometimes been a problem for him. Hits the ball at pace and takes it away. Seemed a bit angry, was at the centre of a lot of the rough-ups, particularly one late against Clay Smith.

Gotch was unstoppable early as a small fwd. Just so quick and evasive. Should have kicked more than 1. Too small for AFL though.

Viney was very good early, played a lot in the fwd line, kicked a goal though he missed a few very gettable shots and arguably should have had 4 or 5. Bores in very hard and gets a lot of frees cos his head is over the ball.

For Gippy, Staley had a funny old game, playing mostly as FF, got a lot of terrible delivery but got a few terrible umpiring decisions in his favour too. Kicked 3 but should have nailed more - one late miss was particularly costly. One of the better games I've seen him play, always presented and was dangerous, drew multiple defenders, clunked a few big contested marks.

Smith worked his way into it as the game progressed, starting to get on the end of a few, run to make an option, and help the other Power mids pick the zone apart. Rarely beaten but probably not quite able to put his stamp on the game except for a period in the 3rd qtr when he kicked a goal and should have had a couple more except for the Power's rubbish decision making inside 50.

Butcher was very good, and almost played a lone hand in the 1st qtr when the Power were getting stomped. Runs very very hard to find space, likes to break the lines. Defensive work is ok, desperation is unsurpassed in this years draft crop from what I've seen. Kicks under pressure a bit too often for my taste, and is prone to up-and-unders. Very willing to get his hands dirty in packs and stoppages, though it's not his natural habitat and he doesn't get clean clearances that often. A bigger Dahlhaus might be a comparison.

Marusic took the points over Tomlinson, spent a lot of time back on him (Docherty did a bit too, and was fairly good), kept him goalless and provided useful drive off half-back. Footskills could use some work, but are considerably better than last year. Big husky bloke with a good engine and a bit of flexibility.

Tipungwuti played fwd and kicked a couple, did his usual short-spurts-of-awesome-followed-by-a-lot-of-nothing-much show. Needed to get to the fall of the ball better, since while Staley and Membrey were probably beaten on the day, Power got a lot of f50 entries but the Oakleigh defence generally cleared it out far too easily when the ball hit the ground. But as I said, if the Power fwd line had a structure today I certainly couldn't tell what it was, so it's certainly not all his fault.

Drew McGrath an underage midfielder who really did his bit all day, one worth watching for next year.

Josh Scott did some nice things across half-back, nice size, utility with a bit of pace and desperation, hands and footskills looked good . Underager.

 

[RMercadi]

Humble, nice write-up. Was at the game too, and you are pretty spot on.

Just on your comment about both sides figuring in the finals, without the private, the chargers have struggled and are currently in 9th and need to rely on northern losing one of their next 2 (assuming Chargers win both).

So no guarantee of a finals berth for probably the best team running around in the TAC.

I rate Membrey though - though he did a few good things.

 

[Humble Minion]

TAC finals include basically everyone again, don't they? Top 12 system, cos otherwise some sides were too disadvantaged by school footy and champs.

Membrey was ok, though I've seen him play better. As a mid-sizer he needs delivery to be spot-on, and it just wasn't today. Will be very handy for them next year though.

 

[Dean3]

Think they have reverted to a top 8 this year.

 

[footyman]

Definately Top 8, traditional finals format (top four double chance).

The final round this year is two "triple headers" to compensate and give all players one last chance to impress the AFL clubs.

 

[Humble Minion]

Definately Top 8, traditional finals format (top four double chance).

The final round this year is two "triple headers" to compensate and give all players one last chance to impress the AFL clubs.

Fair enough, didn't realise that.

Chargers should still make it though. They've only got to knock off Bendigo and Geelong, while Northern could very easily lose both of their last 2 against Calder and the Rebels.

 

[Raymann]

Definately Top 8, traditional finals format (top four double chance).

The final round this year is two "triple headers" to compensate and give all players one last chance to impress the AFL clubs.

Guys,

is it 1v4 or 1v8.

 

[footyman]

Guys,

is it 1v4 or 1v8.

1 v 4, 2 v 3 (double chance for the losers, winners to the prelim)

Same system as the AFL use.

 

[Raymann]

1 v 4, 2 v 3 (double chance for the losers, winners to the prelim)

Same system as the AFL use.

Thanks mate...

i think Dandy will finish 5th and end up playing Oak chargers. would prefer to play Gippy!