The Positives vs Saints

[GoDons]

Thought we were good.

To be honest, I didn't think we did a lot wrong with that first term. St Kilda played an exceptional quarter, I think I counted about 3 mistakes in the first 20-25 minutes. There's only so much you can do when a side works that well defensively and is so clean going forward.

Really happy with the way he hit back in the second quarter. I've seen a few sides really drop their heads as though St Kilda's all too hard this season - we didn't. We ran hard, and thankfully, they weren't quite so machine-like.

We followed that on in the second half, and 19 points is probably a fair reflection of the game. St Kilda's skill level going forward is fantastic, and that's what won them the game. They got the easy goals and we didn't.

Going forward, it's a matter of tightening things up and as this group plays more and more together; they'll learn each other's games and, with experience, muscle and fitness, will improve their own games. Largely, to use a shocking metaphor, I think we're at the stage of proof reading rather than still writing the essay; although it's only a first or second draft.

Add Fletcher, Hille, McVeigh, Welsh and Prismall, and we're cooking.

Gumbleton, Hurley, Reimers, Skipworth and Jetta could be very useful as well.

 

[thylacine60]

You blokes are playing the sort of footy I pay money to see - except when it's cleaning up my mob. Congratulations on playing footy, not lock-down, possession at all costs, backward kicking shit. Well done.

 

[stay true]

Pears and Hooker impressed yet again. Big Tayter is officially in the man crush category with Hurley and Windows. Love his aggression.

We showed good heart and had a fair dip after quarter time. Watson just absolutely dominated the contested ball. Had like 20 contested possesions and he rarely wasted it. If only he could have someone tackling him at all times cos his uncontested disposal is frustrating at times. Still one our best.

Dyson is showing some consistency which is good. Neagle is looking better. Davey's disposal hasn't been up to scratch for most of the year, but I guess he's still finding his touch.

Must carry this over to the tigers game.

 

[BringBackCransberg]

Greg Baum's write up's a good'n, I reckon:

Viewed one way, yesterday's match was a blueprint for beating the Saints. Viewed another, it was exhibit A in the case to say that the Saints are for now unbeatable.

The Bombers were up for it, well prepared, came with a plan, were honest, gave it their all, inspired a packed house. And lost.

 

[Donakebab]

Never like saying a loss was a fantastic game, but some of the signs that came from yesterdays game are exactly what we were looking for.

Once again Pears and Hooker standing tall and showing real promise. Nicky and Kozy are both strong marking physical forwards and their ability to spoil a lot of dangerous forward entries prevented it being a 6-7 goal margin. (So did some terrible kicking from said forwards, but that's for another discussion)

Jobe Watson again fantastic all around the ground. The hardness that he plays with and his in and under in clearances are vital to getting that first dig. He's taken a big step up this year, lets hope he can keep it going.

Some good signs from Neagle, but still a lot to be desired. It partially wasn't his fault as he never should have been the single forward target for us in the first half. He still doesn't have the experience to out manoeuvre/muscle the likes of Zac Awesome (who by the way played fantastic, Clarkson is an idiot), but to add to this, he wasn't really given the best chances. High lofted kicks putting him out of position were really just wasted opportunities.

Lovett sparking so much from tight situations, not only through his pressure and pace, but his decision marking. He moved us from the back foot to a strong offensive push with a single well placed disposal. The wake up call he got at the end of last season was exactly what he needed and what he is giving back in return is a level headedness he's never shown before and fantastic football to go along with it.

Dempsy looked like he took that next step. Stood tall in contests and wasn't afraid to take on opponents. What I liked most though was his reading of the play and his placement because of this. With his pace and a nice looking kick, it annoyed me on a few occasion's that he seemed to be overlooked by team mates. On at least 2 separate times when the game was in the balance he was running past into 50 on the fat side of the ground with plenty of space and instead the option to kick to a covered lead in the pocket was taken, which resulted in a quick turn over and St Kilda quickly got it back down the ground. Anyway, the guy has a good footy brain and can't wait to see more.


Other good signs from Hocking, Houli, Ricky etc... Overall apart from the first 15-20 minutes of the game that was easily some of the best footy I've seen us play in a long time.

Monfries could have used a quiet word at half time.

Forget the quiet word, he deserved a grilling and has done for years. He is easily the most disappointing player in our list. He may have shown promise, but after 5 seasons and close to 100 games under your belt, you have to deliver more, especially as a first round pick. Yes, like last week, once in a blue moon that promise is delivered and he hits targets, kicks straight and looks dangerous, but the other 90% of the time he is a big hole that is taking up space in the team. Drop him to the 2's and as soon as his contract is up delist and try to forget yet another wasted pick from the 2004 draft.