Thoughts on the Melbourne Game

[E Shed]

He is an absolute beauty. Seems like a real steal as a 40 odd pick in the 2008 draft.

Definitely a steal at 44. That was an amazing draft. Anthony, Jetta, Robinson, Stanley, Banfield all in the 40's.

Sloane is a real comer. Good win today guys. All the best.

 

[macca23]

We shouldn't under-estimate the games playd by Reilly and Doughty today.

Reilly on Maloney was excellent. Restricted him to a very modest game while picking up more disposals than Moloney.

Doughty tagged the very dangerous Davey and like-wise kept him down to being a player that had very little influence on the game.

Good efffort by these 2 boys.

In defence, it was a toss-up between Goody and Stiffy for BOG, while in attack Tippett was the stand-out,

I agree with you Drumm, that given the large number of mobile talls that we have drafted in recent times that Stevens time and position will really be under threat next year, which is then likley to be his last.

 

[macca23]

Griffin. now was Griffin playing well in the first half or was it because the opponent was Miller in the ruck? Jamar still dominated the ruck contests, but i thought Griffin played well today in the ruck as well as around the ground. him and Maric even both popped up for a goal each. from today's performance, it does look like Griffin has overtaken Maric for number 1 ruck mantle. good on him, now Maric has to lift his game.

Griffin set the patten for his game right at the very first bounce with that soaring leap and excellent tap down to our player. His attitude is excellent at the moment and naturally that reflects in the quality of his game.

At the moment he's definitely playing the better of our 2 rucks and IMO is now our #1 ruckman.

At the end of last year there were alot of clls for him to be traded, and on his form last year that was a fair call. Now, IMO he's a must keep, and we must sign him up on a new contract for the next 2-3 years.

 

[Bicks]

We shouldn't under-estimate the games playd by Reilly and Doughty today.

Reilly on Maloney was excellent. Restricted him to a very modest game while picking up more disposals than Moloney.

Doughty tagged the very dangerous Davey and like-wise kept him down to being a player that had very little influence on the game.

Good efffort by these 2 boys.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

THIS!!!!!

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

As good as some parts of yesterday were, the win also reinforced two of the reasons we have been struggling this year.

The first is defensively, with our zone. The few times Melbourne did manage to kick their way through (like the handful of times Davey got the ball) they were able to get in behind us and they had a very high percentage of scoring shots per F50 entry.

Teams with good footskills are able to work their way our zone more regularly. Yesterday proved again that our zone works fine against average teams.

The second is offensively. I don't know how many F50 entries we had but I imagine it would be quite high. We dominated possession, dominated F50 entries and Melbourne have only a fair/average defence but our goalkicking return per F50 entry was poor.

Against better teams we will be (and have been) shown up in these areas. Inefficient when we go forward, easy to score against when the opposition go forward.

Walker was pretty good defensively, but did give away quite a few unnecessary frees. 4 FAs and 6 clangers, but it was so good to finally see him kick those goals in the last quarter. he was pumped!

I'm pretty sure FAs also count as clangers.

 

[Allefgib]

Good points Carl. One feeds off the other as well IMO. We insist on the 'deep entries' and often thats to Tippett with 2 or 3 hanging off him. We don't mix up the variety of our entries and consequently don't get enough 'easy goals'. Deep entries pushed for so we can setup the zone behind it with Rutten pushed up to the middle. If we lose the ball too easily across the full back line and teams can use footskills to get through their HB line we are dramatically exposed.

A team rule I wouldn't mind coming in is that we always have someone in both 50m arcs. Always someone up forward to cause concern when the oppoisition wants to zone up the ground and always someone back for us in case we get broken down to easily.

 

[WALL-e]

Reilly smashed Moloney. Was a rippa of a game from him. His contested ball work was also great. Ironically his previous strengths in disposal are now a weakness.

 

[srv23]

"Imagine what our team would look like without the veterans" - I just saw it (Goody excluded) and I like what I see.

Dogga and Reilly's shut down roles on Davey and Moloney were outstanding - Davey is a quality player and Moloney coming off a blinder against Collingwood.

Goodwin was sensational today - very good disposal, that interecept in the last was classy. Cut off lots of the Dees attacks.

Sloane - absolutely love him. His contested is work is just brilliant and his hands in close are very clean. A real goer - would have loved to see him slot one of those goals, but he is going to be a fantastic player for us.

Jaensch up forward was outstanding. I loved the role he played - his attack on the footy was very good and his skills are superb. Perhaps the small forward we've been looking for?

Hendo showed some nice signs - has pace and very exciting to watch.

Armstrong - has great skills and nice to see some very good defensive efforts too.

Stiffy was sensational - great defensive efforts, great run out of defence and slots a goal too. Star.

Davis - looks more and more composed every time he plays. Starting to generate some run out of defence too and get some possessions down the ground.

Griffin - great game by the big man yesterday. Fantastic intensity, great leap, good around the ground and kicked a goal - One of his best games and perhaps finally showing what we expected him to become 2 years ago. Slowly taking the number 1 ruck spot from Maric.

Walker - very good defensively and nice to see him contribute even when he doesn't kick a bag. Found ways to get himself into the game, even without kicking goals. 15+ possessions and 2 goals is not a bad return for him. If that's a quiet Walker game - he is in for a very big future.

Tippett - Finding his feet again. Finished with another 4 goals - nice to see him snap goals as well as taking contested marks with 3 defenders hanging off him. The grab out of the ruck and snap goal was great. Unfortunate to see that he can still be scragged or slung without the ball and not earn a free. It seems once the AFL publically names you as a stager you don't deserve free kicks anymore.

Vince - good to see Bernie back - some nice work in close and good disposal - his goal was a ripper. Not yet up to the standard he set for himself last year - but for one of the first times this year looked like he was busting his gut and working hard and actually got some meaningful midfield posessions. Hopefuly turning the corner.

Douglas - quieter game for Dougy than the last month but still won some good clearances and got some good inside 50's. Having a great season.

Stevens - mixed bag for Stevo - did some nice things around the ground and took some strong contested marks. But then makes frustrating mistakes that make you tear your hair out. Thought he was better today than the last few weeks. Will be overtaken by the youngsters over the next 12 months you would think.

Symes - Had a shocker against Hawthorn so fantastice to see him come out and play so well. First quarter was superb when the game was there to be won. Disposal much better and as always his commitment to the contest is sensational.

Dangerfield - Is he the strongest 20 year old you have ever seen? The way he throws himself into packs is inspirational. I thought he started to get a little more free ball today and even got into position for the handball receive a couple of time but didn't get it. His dispoal was a bit iffy at times and his kicking for goal was disappointing but the kid is going to be a star. Loved when he took that mark outside 50 - started running in for goal (reminiscant of the big Roo) then baulked, ran through the 50 - would have gone nuts if he'd slotted it. He will be scary good in 2 years. Please please please stay Danger.

Thommo - Tagged by Jones but still got his hands on the contested ball. A little quieter than we've come to expect but was great to see that even with Thommo tagged - to see guys like Danger, Sloane and Symes step up and win the contested ball. Usually if Thommo gets tagged out of the game we get smashed in contested possession but yesterday the young guys stepped up and won it themselves. We're starting to get a nice brigade of inside mids - Another quality outside mid would top things off nicely.

All in all a great game where all played well - only marred by our shocking kicking for goal. The game should have been well and truly over at half time had we kicked straight.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

"Imagine what our team would look like without the veterans" - I just saw it (Goody excluded) and I like what I see.

In a season of 'learning experiences' hopefully Craig has learned more than anyone.

 

[Wood_Duck]

In a season of 'learning experiences' hopefully Craig has learned more than anyone.

Lets hope so. I do have a sneaking suspicion that he is not a real fast learner though.

 

[Wood_Duck]

Really good performance and one that you could see coming from the very first minute. We brought good intensity to the contest today and it started in the rucks. I was a bit perplexed as to what we’d start Maric on the bench but Griffin started really well and set the tone with his energy and intensity at the contests. Our midfielders all deserve a pat on the back today, they were terrific. What’s encouraging is that it’s Douglas, Sloane and Dangerfield often winning the clearances and up forward I thought we had the best set-up we’ve had all year. There were the twin targets of Tippett and Walker and a ton of speed with Henderson and Jaensch. We also used the resting ruckman wisely with Maric and Griffin both slotting goals and from memory it’s been a long, long time since both our ruckmen (excluding Tippett) each slotted a goal......

Great write up Drumm. I love it when you get bagged by other posters. Its a very quick way to work out who on this board hasnt got a clue. I reckon you have more idea than most other on this board.

 

[srv23]

In a season of 'learning experiences' hopefully Craig has learned more than anyone.

I hope so too. If you have young kids with talent, have faith in them and give them a decent go (Not one game where you make a few mistakes and get dropped) they will more often than not reward you. Yes we will have ups and downs from game to game and quarter to quarter - but we will reap the benefits next year from the experience we are currently giving guys like Sloane, Hendo, Davis, Armstrong, Jaensch etc

 

[DavidSaywell]

Liked the way Fabulous Phil doesn't panic under pressure. Several times he went to ground but tapped the ball out to players near by. Has great awareness

 

[WALL-e]

In a season of 'learning experiences' hopefully Craig has learned more than anyone.

There was an imagine during the game with Craig and Walker on the bench together during the game that was ripe for a transcript of its own.

 

[sydney_crow]

Great win - amazed in many ways we didn't win by 12+ goals such was our domination...lack of scoreboard pressure didn't come back to bite us but it has in other games.

So many good players but I reckon you have to give credit to Griffin as the man who started it. He (with Maric in support) was good all day against Jamar but I thought the way he started the game was inspirational. He put on a clinic in the first half of the first quarter (note the first tap of the game was a ripper...pity about the free kick against Thommo) and just got things going our way...winning the clearances is something we've done all too rarely and he ensured we dominated this category.

Hopefully the past month is a sign of things to come.

PS Even though he was comprehensively thrashed (partly due to NC's two ruckmen tactic) Jamar was still noted by the commentators as an "All Australian" quality/candidate ruckmen on numerous occasions...all the while missing the glorious work that Griffin was displaying!

 

[jo172]

The one bloke Drumm left out who deserves a mention is Rutten.

We saw everything from Benny yesterday, saved 3 - 4 goals, but seemed determined to stick with the running hands game plan. Needds to seriously work on the rather basic skill of handballing.

But when Bock isn't there Truck is such an important part of our defence. Considering over the past few years the staple has been Rutten, Bock, Mcleod, Johncock and Basset back there, relative to the amount of experience out there yesterday Rutten is a necessity!

Its a very quick way to work out who on this board hasnt got a clue. I reckon you have more idea than most other on this board.

The delisting/trading of Pfeiffer and Meesen has done wonders for Drumm's posting

 

[sydney_crow]

You often hear it said that the thing about the great players is that the difference between their good and bad games is much smaller than for the run of the mill player (how many <30 disposal games does Ablett have?).

In that context I thought Douglas' game yesterday spoke as much to his improvement as did some of his better games of the past couple of months.

He was quieter but he was still working hard, contributing and if that's his new 'floor' level of performance then I reckon it proves the progress he's made.

 

[WALL-e]

Liked the way Fabulous Phil doesn't panic under pressure. Several times he went to ground but tapped the ball out to players near by. Has great awareness

His footy smarts are off the chart.

 

[WALL-e]

Also Dougie was on the receiving end of the McKenzie tag; shows his improvement.

 

[Wood_Duck]

The delisting/trading of Pfeiffer and Meesen has done wonders for Drumm's posting

Hes had occassional lapses due to his advocacy for his Norwood boys.

 

[StickerMan]

Great write up Drumm. I love it when you get bagged by other posters. Its a very quick way to work out who on this board hasnt got a clue. I reckon you have more idea than most other on this board.

I second that.

 

[craig crowing]

Reilly smashed Moloney. Was a rippa of a game from him. His contested ball work was also great. Ironically his previous strengths in disposal are now a weakness.

Great write up Drummond on a great game where lots of our kids really stood up . Especially when key players like Thommo and Vince werent at their damaging best .
Feel we are handballing too much in that centre square has to be done to get players free but feel we in particular thommo and Vince etc are looking for handball back before seeing if can get clear penetrating kick in first especially ehen on the 2nd or third handball
Hard to rate what excited me most about game but probably Griffins form was massive and if he can continue to do that we will win more than lose .
Griffin has size and ability to win ruck strongly where Maric is a competitor in ruck .
Sloane really showed us why so many including coach have rated this player. Such a competitor with class.
Good on ya Craigy playing Jaensch first and then playing him forward as many of us posters have been screaming out to happen .
Great improvement in Armstrongs game not too sure long term what role he will play in team as not strong in body for a defensive role as we start moving up ladder again.
Good to see Van Berlo and Symes starting to really find their touch again
along with Doughty as losing all our experience a in form Doughty in D will be important in 2011 especially after Goodys game Sat you wonder how we are going to cover him.
I wont be happy till hear that Stiffy has signed to play another year as he is in AA form after a hiccup last week .
Tippett will kick a bag of 8+ before season end is my forecast .
Bad news of course was Mackay injury and just hope can get back and play a few games to get back in form season end.

 

[Ticktak]

Gee we look so much better when we just pump it forward quickly from a centre bounce. Did anyone else notice when we did that stupid little 1 metre handball backwards it turned over and instead of us going into our forward 50 they scored from it? It remember at least 3 times and guess who did it. Goodwin twice and VB once. Thank goodness it was only done a few times this week.

Isn't it amazing when you have guys who have an idea of how the crumb to a big tall forward. Seriously it's not that hard! Slaone and Jaensch showed Douglas & Petrenko how to do it. Actually with Dougie I just don't think his big turning circle allows him to do it and Pets just has no idea on when & how to get to the contest.
We need to get a specialist crumber quickly because he would eat it up. Seriously how good is the service from Tippett??? If he doesn't mark it he always ALWAYS brings it straight down in front and then holds off his man. Milne would kick a 100 in our team!

I reckon Doughty could go around next year a tagger. Anyone remember the job he did on Kerr a few years ago? He still plays some good footy down back but as a tagger I reckon he may have a bit more consistancy in this position for his remaining year/s. I don't think Reilly is going to be consitent enough in this role long term so maybe they could share role over coming years.

Love to see Mckernan, Cook & Wright play a few (more) games before the seasons out. I don't care what their SANFL form is like. Just get them in so they are ready to go and the confidence is up come next year. How exciting is it when these young boys get a go? And that's exactly what they are doing, is having a go!!

 

[crowman86]

Easy to say, give the other young kids a go, but who do you drop for them to come into the side?

 

[Allefgib]

Easy to say, give the other young kids a go, but who do you drop for them to come into the side?

Stevo definitely in danger. Though you would think Bock comes in for him.

You would think youngster to youngster swap will happen at some point in the 2nd half of the season. As much as a breather for guys like say sloane or armstrong after playing 5 or 6 straight - and then give other youngsters a slot in their place.

Loving the look of Hendo but reckon given the 'project' nature of him you give him 4 to 5 games and when he 'peaks' in his development (as you suspect he would this year) drop him back to SANFL to refine his craft more. Tippet was a little different, in terms of being another player with bball background, because we coudl play to his 'football ignorance' by dropping it on his head or putting him in the ruck. Hendo doesn't have that ability/flexibility so I expect him to peak after 4 or 5 in a row.

Then of course.. injuries will rear their heads