Things we've learnt from tonight

[OzBomber]

Well done guys. Your blokes looked brilliant tonight. Far too good for us. Looks like the Pies are in for a big season.

All the best.

 

[Mental Magpie]

Beams, Macaffer, Sidebottom and Barham.

Add this talent to last years list.

Me sense Big Things are comming.

I'M F&^%*$G EXCITED!

 

[dale_mighty_pies]

The bloke that said Wood had a better game than Bryan...... which game were you watching??

Bryan played very well, while Wood was again looking very very ordinary and disinterested.

 

[DoubleO7]

Where do you see him playing? I havent seen him play but from what i've read he seems like another tall flanker, similar to Cox and Goldsack. Is that accurate or am i way off?

Quicker than those two and has excellent kicking skills but he would play in the same position has the other two mentioned guys.

 

[Mental Magpie]

IMO Bryan was much better. Wood needs to get angry. He's not all that interested. I think he wants to go home to SA.

 

[skeetz]

Very very worried about Wood's performances so far. I keep hearing "pick 14" in my head as well.
Bear killed him tonight. Wood did absolutely didly-squat.

 

[camo2572]

Bryan:

15 disposals
12 hit outs
9 marks
2 tackles
2 goals

Hope he puts in a shocker like that every week

agreed I mustve been watching a different game I thought Wood is a long way of from being our 2nd ruckman, IMO bryan ahead plus he gives much needed mongrel to the team.
Barham fumbled too much tonight, Cox has really stepped up, Corrie wont play much this season nor L Brown but will provide backup when needed
Must say loved Daisy playing a Hodge role tonight but can he be consistent at it ? jury still out for me,
Im excited about Sidebottom Beams and Anthony, the media is all saying we are playing 2nd rate teams and we are full strength but they have forgotton how many 2nd yr players with less than 20 games in our side, thats what im so excited about

oh and RRoooocca love you thing at the bottom there 90/09 I never thought of that and im a bit superstetious too i like it

 

[Old Spice]

I don't know what the centre clearances were at the end but I'm pretty sure we were being slaughtered in the 1st half. Still need an extractor.

 

[JOELY]

Where do you see him playing? I havent seen him play but from what i've read he seems like another tall flanker, similar to Cox and Goldsack. Is that accurate or am i way off?

collingwood vfl side played a match against nth ballarat this afternoon. your assement is pretty close, but i'd say blight is bit less blue collar than goldsack, and more silk. is a little way off as far as bulk is concerned, but his base size is just perfect, and is a beautiful mover. slightly awkward kicking style but he thumps it. loved the way he confidently swooped on the ball from defense in this afternoons game. if anyone has any more questions about the game just shoot. i dont have the best memory though. if someone wants to make a thread about it ill chip in.

 

[Old Spice]

Not terrific stats for Barham and a few unlucky incidents, but I thikn he provides something no-one else can at this stage and that is blistering pace and hard tackling. I really liked the look of Barham despite the stats.

 

[mdc]

Not terrific stats for Barham and a few unlucky incidents, but I thikn he provides something no-one else can at this stage and that is blistering pace and hard tackling. I really liked the look of Barham despite the stats.

I was torn between "really love his quickness and effort" and "seems a bit of a scragger" the whole game. How tall is he? Looked tiny out there.

Either way, agree with the assessment of unlucky, and want to see another game before passing any judgment.

 

[Heater39]

Thanks Double07 and JOELY for the info regarding Blight

Another question JOELY (ill try not to ask too many)

How was Medders? Did Rusling and/or Dick play? howd they go?

 

[skeetz]

agreed I mustve been watching a different game I thought Wood is a long way of from being our 2nd ruckman, IMO bryan ahead plus he gives much needed mongrel to the team.
Barham fumbled too much tonight, Cox has really stepped up, Corrie wont play much this season nor L Brown but will provide backup when needed
Must say loved Daisy playing a Hodge role tonight but can he be consistent at it ? jury still out for me,
Im excited about Sidebottom Beams and Anthony, the media is all saying we are playing 2nd rate teams and we are full strength but they have forgotton how many 2nd yr players with less than 20 games in our side, thats what im so excited about

oh and RRoooocca love you thing at the bottom there 90/09 I never thought of that and im a bit superstetious too i like it

Medhurst, Fraser, Maxwell, Rocca. All those guys will do a waltz straight into the line up come round one, if they are fit. You only had to look at how many 1st and 2nd year players were out there to know that
a) We are NOT at full strength right now.
b) There is massive amounts of improvement left in this side. Even some of our "best" players are still on the way up (Cloke, Pendles, Daisy etc).

Also, my hands are hurting from the amount of high-fives given and accepted tonight .

 

[JOELY]

Thanks Double07 and JOELY for the info regarding Blight

Another question JOELY (ill try not to ask too many)

How was Medders? Did Rusling and/or Dick play? howd they go?

Medders generally looked a class above. Mostly played in the middle and spent a fair bit of time rotating off the bench. A good hit out for him. Rusling didn't play. Dick looked good. Missed a couple of goals he normally would have kicked, but otherwise looked back on track. Couple of nice tackling efforts impressed me and tried his guts out.

 

[Ant85]

It's good to see the young kids play with such hunger. They're all obviously fighting for a spot in the top 22. I just hope if they make it into the big league, they keep playing good footy.

I was also very pleased with Chris Bryan tonight. The battle for 2nd ruckman between Bryan and Wood might have been settled tonight after their disparate performances. Bryan showed he wanted to play, whereas Wood seemed to be in another world.

 

[anubis]

I was surprised when i saw Sidebottom.I though he would be alot smaller but he has the body of someone who had been in the system a few years.I am not sure how many games they will play this year but atleast we have a couple of rookies who can come into the middle if injuries hit and hold their own.

 

[buzzbuzz]

Things I learnt from tonight:

*Anthony is our Full Forward. Not for more than 10 years have we had a leading full forward who kicks so straight.

*Beams, Sidebottom, Barham: future superstar midfielders.

*Bryan in, Wood out.

*Toovey is much better than I remembered. Much, much better.

*We can win with Lockyer, Swan, Davis, Didak and Presti resting on their laurels and missing Maxy, Frase, Rocca, O'Brian and Medhurst.

*L.Brown is a better ruckman than C.Wood, but neither are in our best 22.

*Pendlebury may NOT be our future captain. He doesn't seem to exude leadership. But then hey, he might just be a captain who leads by example. Hard to tell how it would pan out.

*We still need O'Bree. He is the best clearance/ground ball/contested centre player we have, but we desperately need a replacement or three.

*I have no idea where Reid should play. He kicks long and kicks well, but not for goal.

*Davis continues to earn the number 1 on the back of my Collingwood jumper.

And much more.

I recorded the game so I'll probably re-watch over the weekend and give a fuller assessment.

Carn the Pies!

 

[jonesy86]

Presti, Presti, Presti, Presti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh how badly we needed a big negating defender in the defensive 50 last year. Tonight he had no problem keeping up with Lucas and Lloyd, hopefully he can minimise the impact of Fevola, Franklin etc... when they play in the 50.

 

[DoubleO7]

To be honest I thought Bryans actual ruckwork was quite poor. He got caught holding the ball a couple of times which pissed me off. When he eventually got the kick away is where he had his affect on the game.

 

[popathon]

Wood's tapwork was quite good and the only thing Bryan had going for him around the ground was his size. That said he did out-perform wood

 

[jonesy86]

Can we give Bryan Wood's height and tap work?

 

[Gymnorhina tibic]

Things I learnt from tonight:

*Anthony is our Full Forward. Not for more than 10 years have we had a leading full forward who kicks so straight.

*Beams, Sidebottom, Barham: future superstar midfielders.

*Bryan in, Wood out.

*Toovey is much better than I remembered. Much, much better.

*We can win with Lockyer, Swan, Davis, Didak and Presti resting on their laurels and missing Maxy, Frase, Rocca, O'Brian and Medhurst.

*L.Brown is a better ruckman than C.Wood, but neither are in our best 22.

*Pendlebury may NOT be our future captain. He doesn't seem to exude leadership. But then hey, he might just be a captain who leads by example. Hard to tell how it would pan out.

*We still need O'Bree. He is the best clearance/ground ball/contested centre player we have, but we desperately need a replacement or three.

*I have no idea where Reid should play. He kicks long and kicks well, but not for goal.

*Davis continues to earn the number 1 on the back of my Collingwood jumper.

And much more.

I recorded the game so I'll probably re-watch over the weekend and give a fuller assessment.

Carn the Pies!

We were watching the same game, currently watching again on Austar and you are spot on

 

[The 10th Letter]

Very impressed with Sidebottom and Beams -- particularly Beams who managed to back-up an impressive debut (albeit pre-season) with an even better second game. There were question marks over Beams' disposal by foot prior to being drafted, but personally I don't see anything to worry about. Steele just knows where to run, reads the play so well and his stats reflected that. He uses the ball very well and sharked a couple of nice clearances to boot.

I was happy with what I saw of Barham, he didn't set the world on fire but he worked hard and finished the game with 5 tackles to his name which was the highest of any of our players. As was previously mentioned, he has that zip about him also which is something we have lacked in previous times. I think he'll get more opportunities this year and he does have time on his side.

Shannon Cox has just about convinced me that he has taken the next step, although I'm still reserving my judgment until the season proper. He has been one of our best for the last three games; seems to be working harder and continues to use the ball very well.

What can you say about Marty Clarke? He's an absolute gem. He's one of the most clever and innovative players on our list at the moment, probably only behind the likes of Didak and Davis; not to mention his incredible work rate. Loved his passage of play where he made both Davey and Jetta - who continually get talked up for all their exploits - look foolish before clearing the ball.

Cameron Wood still seems to be in that grey area where we don't quite know what to make of him or which way he's going to go. He's still developing and there is a lot to like about him, but I personally thought that Bryan was of more value tonight, particularly around the ground.

I was calling for John Anthony to be tried down back prior to the NAB Cup, but after tonight he's wrapped up a starting spot in the forward line until his form lulls. It's been a while since we had a player bag seven, but what was most impressive was the manner in which he did it. His contested marking was much improved tonight, he actually looked like a genuine forward as opposed to a hard-working part-timer.

Ben Reid and Macaffer were both good in the limited game time they were given. Ben Reid is one of the most welcome positives to come out of the pre-season so far for mine; he's beginning to look like an AFL footballer. His stats weren't all that flattering tonight, but the way he presents and his versatility are very promising. Macaffer replaced Reid and provided a good target across half-forward, his work rate without the ball was also commendable.

I hadn't heard much about Goldsack during our pre-season training, but he really put in a great performance tonight. I was a bit worried heading into this game without Maxwell and O'Brien, but Goldsack really stepped up. He's probably still sitting on the fringe, as I don't know if we could carry Maxwell, O'Brien, Cox and Goldsack in one team; but I think we can safely say we have some real depth now. After that performance, it would be hard to leave him out of the starting 22. He gave nothing away, was clean and provided good rebound whilst using the ball well by foot, which is an area he has been suspect in at times.

I expected a big game from Ryan Cook tonight, as after only racking up 10 disposals last week (whilst I liked a few things he did) I really thought he had to step up tonight against weaker opposition to cement a spot. I don't think he grasped the opportunity at all. Cook seems stronger this year and has been able to stand up and even break tackles, but he just isn't a clean player. There were numerous occasions tonight where he just didn't control the ball during critical passages. Personally, I would have preferred to give another opportunity to Stanley.

I was content with Toovey tonight, last week he had a blinder and tonight he followed it up by being dour in defence. I can understand why Malthouse likes him, he gives his all and looks a little bit better this year than previously. I can see the likes of Toovey, Cox and Goldsack all competing for 1 or 2 spots in the senior squad. If I had to choose, I think I'd run with Cox from Goldsack from Toovey.

Leon Davis looks poised to pick-up where he left off; he's just too classy for most. Dale Thomas performed well in a few different roles, whilst still managing to bag two goals. Travis Cloke has become such an imposing target, I'd still like him to get the ball closer to goal but his work rate and marking is superb.

Very pleased with the performance tonight, Essendon were gifted a couple of nine pointers which diluted the true scoreboard dominance. We looked a lot less rusty all-in-all and seem to be improving each week. The game was fairly open and Essendon didn't really expose us for pace at any stage.

I'm expecting to play the Cats next week and I'm not too fussed with how the result pans out (although it would be nice to win it!), so long as we get through injury free.

 

[FuManchu]

They need to ensure their foot passing and even handball hit the intended mark, too many soft kicks falling short. Bucks would have drilled it half way down your throat, some players try and finesse the kick too much. If you are going to play the short game, you need to make sure your possesions are clean.

 

[buzzbuzz]

We were watching the same game, currently watching again on Austar and you are spot on

Haha, glad to hear it!

And to The 10th Letter; great post, made for some enjoyable post-match reading. Always feels great to have a win, NAB cup or no.

I totally agree about Cook.

As for Cox... I still don't know. He lopes along and seems to have slow decision making but it has, admittedly, improved over time. I've always loved Moneybags and would like to see him play more often.

I'm not sure if it's a planned strategy for the various NAB Cup games or a difference in coaches, but I really liked how we played tonight. Man on Man, 1 on 1. If it was Caracella, then all kudos to him. If it was Mick, well, good on ya Micky.