2nds VFL Rd3 North Ballarat Vs Geelong Bankers Friday 22nd April Eureka Oval 7:00pm

[Daniel McL]

Goals: Bates 2, Tudor 2, Cornell, Murdoch, Horlin-Smith, Parsons, Luxford, Lucey, Atkins, McLachlan, Rees, Haintz, Stewart, Hickey #PJVFL

Best: Atkins, Stewart, Cornell, Horlin-Smith, Tsitas, Lucey #PJVFL

Disposals: Stewart 24, Atkins 22, Tsitas 20, Horlin-Smith 20, Luxford 18 #PJVFL

Tackles: Atkins 13, Cornell 7, Hickey 6, Murdoch 6 #PJVFL

 

[CatsDoItBetter]

Interesting Lucey in the best hard to know what his game was like obviously. But his improvement over the season will be good to watch.

 

[catempire]

Vardy plz.

 

[Daniel McL]

Arj great pics

 

[Bobby_]

Billie is literally pencil thin

And people keep telling me he's big in the upper body. Will get thrown around like a rag doll at the top level.

 

[Cezz The Catter]

Great to see Murdoch pushing his case for selection (stats wise), hope we never see that biscuit again.

Also gimme the scoop on Parsons someone, how's he going pretty raw? Also Bewsy?

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Well done Dan.


Tudor went well again? 23 looks a very handy VFL player.

I said the same last year Turbo when he was playing in the back half... Reads the plays well and is neat by foot.

Good win tonight by the sound of things.

 

[winty]

Arj great pics

View attachment 238721

Must've been a cold night if you're wearing two jumpers - one long sleeve, one sleeveless!

 

[FredLeDeux]

Must've been a cold night if you're wearing two jumpers - one long sleeve, one sleeveless!

9 degrees at the start, apparently.

 

[cats_09]

Must've been a cold night if you're wearing two jumpers - one long sleeve, one sleeveless!

Alternatively he didn't have a long sleeve jumper with his number on it, but they bought his sleeveless jumper with his number - so hence the sleeveless over the top. Be interesting to see the reason

The opening night game at SS a couple of years back, I remember Jimmy was wearing 2 jumpers with his "Dawn to Dark" over the top because it doesn't appear they made those one in long sleeve versions, so he had his standard long sleeve jumper underneath the special edition one.

 

[JUBJUB]

Billie is literally pencil thin

And people keep telling me he's big in the upper body. Will get thrown around like a rag doll at the top level.

Andrew Mackie looks fat compared to Billie in that picture

 

[JUBJUB]

Must've been a cold night if you're wearing two jumpers - one long sleeve, one sleeveless!

It is Ballarat remember.It's always cold there.

 

[catswhiskers]

Great to see Murdoch pushing his case for selection (stats wise), hope we never see that biscuit again.

Also gimme the scoop on Parsons someone, how's he going pretty raw? Also Bewsy?

its very early to get a line on these kids. Cunico looked ordinary up to his surgery and then looked quite good afterwards for instance.

Parsons doesn't appear to have any glaring deficiencies. Good size, a frame to work with, gets around OK, nice kick but not deadly, and in a couple of games he got involved. On the other hand there is no standout attribute either. Raw is correct. We will have more of a line on how he travels when 3 or 4 more senior players join him in the team and ball movement is better across the board. Its been pretty ordinary so far (didn't see last night).

I am bullish on Bews. Watching close up in the VFL (without being too invested in the result) his pace has surprised me. It has been on show on rare occasions in the AFL but as a lock down he has had to be reactive. Last night Puopolo showed how having the pacey players out the back hurts teams. I am extrapolating here but Bews would have done better than Cheney and Laird I think it was, who were not quick enough to stop Puopolo. I have also been banging on about him being used in a more attacking role. Can play IMO.

 

[catman2006]

Disappointing none of the fringe players pushed their case to be in the 1's, lot of work ahead for the boi's

 

[Cosmic Energy]

Billie is literally pencil thin

And people keep telling me he's big in the upper body. Will get thrown around like a rag doll at the top level.

It depends where he plays. Bruest, Gunston, Smith & Hill aren't exactly Max Rooke.

 

[FredLeDeux]

It depends where he plays. Bruest, Gunston, Smith & Hill aren't exactly Max Rooke.

Size and strength are assets for a footballer, but they're not the be all and end all; if Smedts hasn't got those assets, he has to make up for it with others. It's a similar equation that Horlin-Smith faces with his lack of foot-speed and body-pace. Both players simply have to be better in aspects of the game where those drawbacks don't count as much.

 

[Cezz The Catter]

its very early to get a line on these kids. Cunico looked ordinary up to his surgery and then looked quite good afterwards for instance.

Parsons doesn't appear to have any glaring deficiencies. Good size, a frame to work with, gets around OK, nice kick but not deadly, and in a couple of games he got involved. On the other hand there is no standout attribute either. Raw is correct. We will have more of a line on how he travels when 3 or 4 more senior players join him in the team and ball movement is better across the board. Its been pretty ordinary so far (didn't see last night).

I am bullish on Bews. Watching close up in the VFL (without being too invested in the result) his pace has surprised me. It has been on show on rare occasions in the AFL but as a lock down he has had to be reactive. Last night Puopolo showed how having the pacey players out the back hurts teams. I am extrapolating here but Bews would have done better than Cheney and Laird I think it was, who were not quick enough to stop Puopolo. I have also been banging on about him being used in a more attacking role. Can play IMO.

Excellent, really insightful review here mate thanks for that!

 

[Spazz Cat]

its very early to get a line on these kids. Cunico looked ordinary up to his surgery and then looked quite good afterwards for instance.

Parsons doesn't appear to have any glaring deficiencies. Good size, a frame to work with, gets around OK, nice kick but not deadly, and in a couple of games he got involved. On the other hand there is no standout attribute either. Raw is correct. We will have more of a line on how he travels when 3 or 4 more senior players join him in the team and ball movement is better across the board. Its been pretty ordinary so far (didn't see last night).

I am bullish on Bews. Watching close up in the VFL (without being too invested in the result) his pace has surprised me. It has been on show on rare occasions in the AFL but as a lock down he has had to be reactive. Last night Puopolo showed how having the pacey players out the back hurts teams. I am extrapolating here but Bews would have done better than Cheney and Laird I think it was, who were not quick enough to stop Puopolo. I have also been banging on about him being used in a more attacking role. Can play IMO.

I agree on Bews. I think he's got a lot to offer us.
I've got no problem with him spending plenty of time in the VFL however cause to be an attacking defender I think you need a lot of confidence and he'll make plenty of blues along the way. Be good to develop this side of his game in the 2nds till his ready.
Ruggles is doing a preety solid job for us atm so there's no massive rush.

 

[Cosmic Energy]

Size and strength are assets for a footballer, but they're not the be all and end all; if Smedts hasn't got those assets, he has to make up for it with others. It's a similar equation that Horlin-Smith faces with his lack of foot-speed and body-pace. Both players simply have to be better in aspects of the game where those drawbacks don't count as much.

Yep. To me his assets are his agility, ball handling (not necessarily kicking), reasonable pace and a bit of nous around the goals which seem well-suited to wing, half forward, forward pocket roles. With his height he can compete in the air when required also. Those assets were there on display in 2013, albeit briefly. They would seem very much complementary to our current senior forward structure too.

Although I feel like I've been banging on about him for so long I may have lost all objectivity! But at his brief best capability & versatility-wise I think he can offer at least as much as Gregson, Lang, more than Murdoch, perhaps too early on McCarthy to say. I'd also prefer his type over Kersten. Anyway I think he'd be a reasonable combo with Menzel with the big guys.

I just hope he gets the chance in this current side so I can shut up either way

 

[Bobby_]

Billie's kicking is poor Cosmic Energy.
It's one of the worst in the competition. You can see by that photo just how poor his technique is. His hand leaves the ball far too soon and this means he is often hit and miss once he gets boot to ball. He doesn't have many other good traits he can fall back on either. He has excellent athleticism in terms of jumping & speed but not much else. If he had awareness and footy smarts like Enright had when he first came into the league, that would be something to get by for the meantime.

 

[catswhiskers]

Yep. To me his assets are his agility, ball handling (not necessarily kicking), reasonable pace and a bit of nous around the goals which seem well-suited to wing, half forward, forward pocket roles. With his height he can compete in the air when required also. Those assets were there on display in 2013, albeit briefly. They would seem very much complementary to our current senior forward structure too.

Although I feel like I've been banging on about him for so long I may have lost all objectivity! But at his brief best capability & versatility-wise I think he can offer at least as much as Gregson, Lang, more than Murdoch, perhaps too early on McCarthy to say. I'd also prefer his type over Kersten. Anyway I think he'd be a reasonable combo with Menzel with the big guys.

I just hope he gets the chance in this current side so I can shut up either way

Watching Stringer, Bruest, Gunston, Dickson (WB) , Cripps (WC) . the medium size non leading forward is coming to the fore. We are hoping Menzel and Kersten are up to it. Smedts needs another crack at it up forward before he is passed over all together. I hope they start with this positioning in the VFL.

 

[Seeds]

Billie is literally pencil thin

And people keep telling me he's big in the upper body. Will get thrown around like a rag doll at the top level.

And this is why he hasn't come on. His shoulder injuries means he still has an upper body of an 18 year old. Will not make it if he can't rectify this problem but probably needs 2-3 years to build his body up to even be at a level capable of afl and this is assuming he will have no more injury problems. Highly unlikely.

 

[goyoucatters]

Great to see Murdoch pushing his case for selection (stats wise), hope we never see that biscuit again.

Also gimme the scoop on Parsons someone, how's he going pretty raw? Also Bewsy?

However poor you think Murda is a footballer, this is an even poorer post.

One of the key means by which our club will improve is if we have stacks of players pushing for senior selection every week.

On that basis alone, it makes sense to wish all of our players (yes, even Murdoch) every success so that the collective good of the GFC is promoted.

Dismissiveness bordering on abuse of our own players is seriously ordinary and clearly at odds with the competitive philosophy that would see the club planning for every player to produce their best week after week.

No team is ever improved by having less intense competition for spots.

 

[Bobby_]

One of the key means by which our club will improve is if we have stacks of players pushing for senior selection every week.

On that basis alone, it makes sense to wish all of our players (yes, even Murdoch) every success so that the collective good of the GFC is promoted.

Dismissiveness bordering on abuse of our own players is seriously ordinary and clearly at odds with the competitive philosophy that would see the club planning for every player to produce their best week after week.

No team is ever improved by having less intense competition for spots.

Murdoch doesn't have to push for selection though.
He's always been given an easy run in the senior team throughout most of his career. Only now, after almost 70 games played, does he start getting questioned by the coaching staff.

We have already seen the kind of example this has left as younger players have walked in the hope of finding opportunities elsewhere.

Murdoch, like a few others on the list, simply get a better run at it than most which makes this talk about competition for spots redundant.

 

[Live in hope]

I agree on Bews. I think he's got a lot to offer us.
I've got no problem with him spending plenty of time in the VFL however cause to be an attacking defender I think you need a lot of confidence and he'll make plenty of blues along the way. Be good to develop this side of his game in the 2nds till his ready.
Ruggles is doing a preety solid job for us atm so there's no massive rush.

Agree with the Bews love - has very good first 5 metres pace, size/strength and his kicking (whilst not elite) is a lot better than many believe. He did actually perform some good shut down efforts at AFL level in early games, although admittedly did look all at sea in some later games. Clearly behind Ruggles in terms of the small BP role.

I wonder if they should try him on ball, as a tagging mid, where the attributes above could be a great asset. Sure, we have blitz as the semi lock down, but would good to have another option. Also think Geelong AFL could do with another quickish, strong bodied mid option.

Think Andrew's no.1 issue is building up a tank, getting more hands on experience. Good game time as a mid in the VFL would help.

Not so bullish on Smedts for the reasons pointed out by others. Showed flashes of marking ability and some goal sense in 2013 but really has no clear standout attribute. Hopefully an injury free run can help prove us wrong.