Thoughts on the game - player review

[Rohan25]

Sometimes I think Wellingham does some really nice work, then lets himself down with a stupid smartalec-y lookaway handpass that none of his teammates were expecting, and then we turn it over. Is it just me, or does he do it regularly?

 

[MAKESHIFT]

Very disappointing.
There are players out there that should not be playing and holding down positions continually. MM plays his favourites and is so stubborn about selection it will be the undoing of Collingwood this year.
IMO he has lost the playing group they all look disinterested and lacking confidence. You can bet if its true that he attacked Jack, Cox, Stanners etc that he also does it to most players and it looks to me like he has managed to not only sap Stanners self confidence but Heaters and a few of the other players. Messing with players heads and threatening them before games can work with some but usually creates doubts in players especially when not given enough time to adjust. Ever since Heaths incident last year he really has not been the same. I would bet that MM has weaved his magic on him too and threatened him.
That is the thing of the past. Who can function under those conditions.
The body language and lack of passion and endeavour suggests to me he has lost alot of the players.
I must say looking back at the stats from Mon night and yesterday Stanners would have been up there in the best.........
Maybe MM needs to get off their backs let them all do what is natural and play their natural game without fear of being dropped etc and see what happens.
Rest Swan and a couple of the other oldies and let the young ones have a fair crack. It is not like we will be going anywhere this year and if we are going to delist trade players at the end of the year lets make sure we pick the right ones not be forced to get rid of the ones MM thinks should go because he has not given them all a fair go.
I am all for bringing in Dawes Bryan Stanners Caff and Barham. THey are all hungry to play and play well in the VFL together as a team.
TEAM that is also what is missing out there. Players are burning each other so that they look good. Where is the team help when needed.
Also both Bryan and Stanners are so tough. Watching VFL on Sat I loved watching those two play til Stanners came off.
Stanners took on the world and won. So angry and tough. Bear so strong and lay back they could add a bit of grunt to the team which we do not have.
Beams to me was a nothing player out there got a goal in junk time but struggled big time. I was pleased with Siddy he looked great I would have put him in the best at least he tried. Can't believe Toovs got a game after Del Santo got 38 stats on him last week. Cook will never change he just kicks it to anyone. I know alot of you knock Stanners and he did make a few silly mistakes but he always tries to look for a better option than just getting it and kicking to anyone like Cook and Co. This is where good teams thrive because all your team mates are there to support you not stand there like Corrie and let you take the heat.
I hope MM changes the team and brings in players that try their guts out each week in the VFL surely they will not be any worse than the flogs he keeps playing.

 

[The Dawes]

A few random thoughts:

Like many other posters I am wondering where Marty Clarke is at with his footy - he isn't stanating as much as he seems to be going backwards. He is so badly down on form at the moment I wonder why he is even in the side.... but I suppose he is just one of many at the moment.

Harry O is also getting carved up by the opposition small forwards - last week it was Schneider, yesterday Betts - what are the odds of him playing on Le Cras this week?

I think Wood is a pretty good tap ruckman, but doesn't do nearly enough around the ground.

Pendles is a star - worked his arse off yesterday. Should be All-Aust this year if he holds his form. Comfortably our best player on the list now.

Sidebottom is already justifying the hype. Looke forward to watching him for many years.

Why was Toovey brought in to replace Medhurst, when we were already down on potential goalkickers?

Leigh Brown simply does not deserve to be playing seniors. He does not do anything well enough to justify his place in the team.

Presti was excellent - we would have beaten Carlton twice last year if he'd been available.

 

[DWil6]

I liked Anthony's endeaveour. He kept presenting in a very Cloke like effort but without the big contested grabs that we need from Cloke. I also love how he manages to pull goals out of his @#$%. A few games back I recall him being behind 2 or 3 opposition players in the goal square marking contest, just shoved someone in the back and in some sort of domino effect managed to take an easy mark and kick the goal. Yesterday he just ripped one of the defenders out of the contest with a bit of strong arm over the shoulder play and marked and goaled. Sure, it's not in the rules necessarily, but it's good to see him make the most of these unlikely chances.

 

[duds0101]

A few random thoughts:

Like many other posters I am wondering where Marty Clarke is at with his footy - he isn't stanating as much as he seems to be going backwards. He is so badly down on form at the moment I wonder why he is even in the side.... but I suppose he is just one of many at the moment.
Drop him for a few games and bring him back in.

Harry O is also getting carved up by the opposition small forwards - last week it was Schneider, yesterday Betts - what are the odds of him playing on Le Cras this week?
Harry O seems to be lacking confidence. I think play him in the midfield now. No one would tag him. He can't possibly do any worse there than the backline atm.

I think Wood is a pretty good tap ruckman, but doesn't do nearly enough around the ground.
Yeah hopefully gets better and lives up to his no.14 status. With WCE getting ruck at no.2, maybe go after Mark Seaby?

Pendles is a star - worked his arse off yesterday. Should be All-Aust this year if he holds his form. Comfortably our best player on the list now.
Awesome, simple as that.

Sidebottom is already justifying the hype. Looke forward to watching him for many years.
Steele is going awesome. Like you, I look forward to seeing him in years to come.

Why was Toovey brought in to replace Medhurst, when we were already down on potential goalkickers?
Because Caff had played the day before? Also Reid was needed aswell.

Leigh Brown simply does not deserve to be playing seniors. He does not do anything well enough to justify his place in the team.
Totally agree but this is what MM said after the game "Brown has been fantastic for us. He's a competitor, he helps out in the ruck, he can go forward if we lose our forwards and he can go back if we lose our backs." By the sounds of that he'll be getting more games this year, also we need to play Wood and Bryan if Fraser is out. They can't ruck alone!


Presti was excellent - we would have beaten Carlton twice last year if he'd been available.
Maybe pushing for AA at the end of this year if he can keep it up?

I agree with what you said. Something has to change at the Lexus Centre or we are in trouble. Might aswell give the youngens a chance figure out who is good depth and worth keeping, figure out who is tradeable and delist the rest(Brown and Corrie come to mind as definites we SHOULD delist but he won't be unless Bucks or anyone else is coach. If MM stay L.Brown stays.)

 

[DaVe86]

I'm hoping Micks comments about Leigh Brown were simply aimed at trying to justify our selection of him in the draft last year in amidst of the criticism the club will cop when he gets omitted this week.

Perhaps wishful thinking. But I'd love to see Josh and Wood in tandum next week. We are up against Cox and Lynch at the end of the day,.

 

[duds0101]

I'm hoping Micks comments about Leigh Brown were simply aimed at trying to justify our selection of him in the draft last year in amidst of the criticism the club will cop when he gets omitted this week.

Perhaps wishful thinking. But I'd love to see Josh and Wood in tandum next week. We are up against Cox and Lynch at the end of the day,.

I think with that we need Bryan in for Wood, we need a big body with Cox and Lynch. Wood and Fraser are 2 bean pole's and would just get exposed. We need a big body (not L.Brown this time).

 

[Old Spice]

With Mick's patented opposition goal-scoring convection system where the ball is slowly pushed wide while a build up occurs in our forward line before pushing the ball straight back through the middle to our defence, L Brown is surely a lynchpin.

I've not been overly generous with Stanley, but I certainly put him ahead of Cook. In fact I would have him ahead of Corrie who is the master of contriving a fake tackle - falling at just the right moment before tickling his opponent arse on the way down.

I didn't mind them necessarily as insurance, just like Suban in my Supercoach team, but they are not being used as last resorts as they should be.

Time for a flush out. I worry that as Mick plays for his reputation, old players will bet a go rather than running with your Reids, Dawes etc so we end up maybe 8 or 9 rather than put time into our young players and future which might also land us a higher draft pick. We need a very savage assessment of our list and where we realistically are at and what needs to be done to turn things around.

 

[Quicky]

Time for a flush out. I worry that as Mick plays for his reputation, old players will bet a go rather than running with your Reids, Dawes etc so we end up maybe 8 or 9 rather than put time into our young players and future which might also land us a higher draft pick. We need a very savage assessment of our list and where we realistically are at and what needs to be done to turn things around.

I think you are spot on here Old Spice. I think we need to be very cut throat in our assessment of our players and who is going to take us forward.

Problem is that MM is playing for his career now and is not going to concede while we are still feasably in the finals race. He will continue to be conservative as always. I think we are a finals team with our best 22 out there even with MM's archaic and ineffectual gameplan but I am sure we are not a premiership contender.

We really need to make some hard decisions on older players like Johnson, Bryan, L Brown and Rocca who are not performing at an AFL level or who are not going to be in a future tilt at a premiership. I'd add players like Presti, Lockyer and O'Bree to that list but while they are performing I think they add too much value to a very inexperienced side.

I think some hard decisions also need to be made on the futures of some of our young players that that havn't progressed as well as they should have. By this I mean guys like Goldsack, Dawes, Toovey, Cox, Reid, Wood, Cook, and Stanley and make a decision on their futures. Now i'm not saying that these guys won't make it just that we need to be proactive about their futures at the club and where we see them. I think we should try to get what ever value we can out of players that are superfluous to our needs while they still actually have some value. And in doing so try to address the real holes on our list.

 

[Elevenforty]

Long time listner, first time caller............

The inept performance displayed by the team on Sunday has forced my hand to post on BigFooty for the first time.

To the point - It appears to me that we have gone considerably backwards, not only in skill level, but endeavour. How can the likes of O'Bree, Cook and Swan consider themselves AFL standard kicks? All three players would make sensational tennis players with the lobs they throw up.

 

[DaVe86]

I liked Anthony's endeaveour. He kept presenting in a very Cloke like effort but without the big contested grabs that we need from Cloke. I also love how he manages to pull goals out of his @#$%. A few games back I recall him being behind 2 or 3 opposition players in the goal square marking contest, just shoved someone in the back and in some sort of domino effect managed to take an easy mark and kick the goal. Yesterday he just ripped one of the defenders out of the contest with a bit of strong arm over the shoulder play and marked and goaled. Sure, it's not in the rules necessarily, but it's good to see him make the most of these unlikely chances.

yer i like that too.

When you're 3 on 1, you don't really have much of a hope. Better off to do something like that and hope the ump doesnt see it...or atleast show your opponent he has to earn his kick. That's opposed to sitting there and watching your opponent clear the ball with ease.

As it went, we managed an unlikely goal. Was not within the rules, but if you get away with it then its fantastic play. Atleast he is in the game and dangerous.

 

[HawkPatrol]

I thought Wood held his own against Kreuzer. The hitouts were very even, as were disposals. So what Kreuzer scored a goal

 

[shawthing09]

Reid just floats around the ground. I'd like to see him given a role on a CHF at some stage, just so he learns when and where to run.

I have noticed that in the two games he played this year too. I am unsure as too why though. In all his games previous to this year he actually timed his leads well and generally lead to the right areas to be of use to the ball carrier. He played a pretty conventional lead up CHF -FF Lucas type role. This year he has floated all over the joint.

Although I think very much in the Adeliade game and at times yesterday it is more that he is being moved regularly. Against Adeliade he'd go foward. Follow his man up the ground, go foward, then come to the bench, go back on in defence, get moved foward, go to the bench and so on and so forth. Yesterday he played more time as a foward but still tended to stay on the wing for a while after a lead (possibly a tank issue) and for one period was played in defence whilst N Brown went foward.

 

[Pennypacker]

Invigoration, you are so wise you're like a miniture budha with hair. I agree with everything you said. At last someone recognises how bad Cook's disposal is.
If i was fortunate enough to be coach of the Pies i would do the same thing Grant Thomas did at St Kilda with Mathew Capuano a few years ago and do a mid season sacking of the following players:
L.Brown
Cook
Toovey
A.Corrie

The quicker we get rid of these players the faster we can get back on track.

 

[mdc]

I've not been overly generous with Stanley, but I certainly put him ahead of Cook. In fact I would have him ahead of Corrie who is the master of contriving a fake tackle - falling at just the right moment before tickling his opponent arse on the way down.

And for all my skepticism of Barham, I'd rather have 22 Jacksons in the team before 1 Cook or Corrie.

Cook might be the stupidest footballer I've ever seen (actually, maybe Matthew Lokan by a nose).