VFL Game Day VFL Round 1: Sandringham vs Essendon (71-78 loss)

[eth-dog]

Not denying the can play. Just think crossing so late has hurt hischances of playing a position hes natural in


Largely unsighted in a fwd pocket.

Wait, he played as a pocket? Now that's just plain stupid. One of the worst kicks for goal I have seen at Coburg. His main thing was getting the pill and feeding it to the likes of Ryan, Fox and Cauchi. Just dumb.

 

[Yoda_]

Didn't do anything special but seems to be quite consistent. Begley probably has a better chance of getting into the senior side because he has quite a bit of x-factor whereas Mutch is competing against some good players to get a spot.

Begley would have been lucky to have 10 possessions today. Mutch would have eared 20 but more so the manner in which he accumulated was quite impressive. Worked up and down the Beach Rd wing all day

 

[scanlon]

What a completely imbecilic statement. Bellchambers shits on Smack from a great height.

There was meant to be an 'IMO' at the end of that, meaning smack and leuey are miles ahead in my preferences for number 1 ruckman.

Bellchambers a better tap ruckman, but prefer smacks intensity and second efforts. Wouldn't say Bellchambers "shits on smack" either

 

[eth-dog]

There was meant to be an 'IMO' at the end of that, meaning smack and leuey are miles ahead in my preferences for number 1 ruckman.

Bellchambers a better tap ruckman, but prefer smacks intensity and second efforts. Wouldn't say Bellchambers "shits on smack" either

Smack has gotten into double figures AFL games once in his 8 year career, and has played a lot of games at both SANFL and VFL level. There's a reason why.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Jackson struggled which he will most lfthe year imho

That right there is why he doesn't get picked for the seniors good one week,crap the next. I will be surprised if he's still on the list come at the end of the season

 

[Laverde2Smack]

Disappointing effort by the bombers today. Francis had a few highlights but doesn't get enough of the footy. Looks a million dollars when he does have it. Thomas Bellchambers looks very slow and couldn't jump over a jam tin if he tried. If he gets a game in the seniors we are in trouble.

Bellchambers dominated the ruck in the second half and was a huge reason Essendon got back in the game.

 

[Laverde2Smack]

How was Dylan Clarke today?

Got a bit of the ball but butchered everything. Way off AFL standard on today's effort

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

So no one has put their hand up for next week?

 

[Killer_Mike]

I went along today, and although it was a pretty frustrating game to watch I still thought their was some good to take away.

-Francis

Might as well get him out of the way first. Don't know how many times he touched it but for me its the class he shows when he's got it. To me he looks like a forward due to what he can do to an opponent in a one on one situation. Personally I believe they are giving him midfield time to get his fitness up and also to get him into the game. No doubt in time he could become a midfielder but he to me just sings forward. Sublime goal in the third and a couple of clearances was the catalyst I thought for us getting back into the game.

-Stewart

Wasn't A great day for our forwards, especially in the first half as our midfield was pedestrian and wasteful the we had it. Despite that Jimmy kept working up and down the ground and tried to provide a target. For a relatively light guy he does his share of body on body stuff but unfortunately he still gets man handled a little when he's under the high ball. When he puts on a few more kegs and improves this aspect Im of the belief we have a very good forward.

-Mutch

Very nice game from him. He looks to me like a Stanton MK2. Thats not an insult either as Stants has been a great servant of the club for a very long time. Kobe just keeps on running, and just knows where to go to get the footy. Looked more outside the football today from what I could see but has courage and did win his own ball. He's a very neat footballer and barely wasted a touch from what I could see. Kicking in particular was very nice without having a lot of hurt factor. Appears to me to be vanilla but one with scope to be a very good AFL footballer.

-Hartley

Based on what I saw today will be in the VFL for a while. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning because all he wanted to do was fight his opponent. Continually gets caught behind and again didn't offer a lot on the rebound. Not sure what to say about his development but I hope he turns it around because I'm a huge fan and he's got potential to be a massive weapon. His kicking is as good as anyone else in the team but rarely uses it to advantage. Maybe he needs to be tried forward just to get him to attack the football and not be worried about an opponent?

-TBell

Plays with passion and offers something in the air-liability at ground level though. Needs to do more.

-JMerrett

Didn't offer much in the first half, but wasn't a good day for small forwards. When the ball started coming in faster he offered some real spark I thought.

-Morgan

I thought he was solid leading up to going off with a hammy. Hope to see him come back stronger as I think he's worth persisting with.

-Begley

Nearly forgot about him He has some real AFL qualities. Very much see ball get ball at this stage but but is a real competitor and has Voss like quality of hunting the football and if by chance you happen to hurt an opponent on the way to it, thats just a bonus. I think he may be a midfielder in future but he's going to take some time. Couple of years and he will really start to show his quality.

Overall I thought we were exposed for foot speed on the outside and not nearly clean enough when we had it. Quite a few changes from last year though so need time to gel and will look forward to getting Heppell back in a few weeks as he's a real barometer for this team I think.

 

[Yoda_]

So no one has put their hand up for next week?

Honestly? Not really

Mutch was very good. Francis was good at getting his hands on the ball but butchered it far to much. Didnt aid a team mate to advantage

 

[onthemove77]

It is, but in this case I'm not. How does a loss to a team that is quite clearly a bogey side (having not beaten them since 2013) change the fact that we're a genuine flag chance? The reigning premiers lost yesterday to a side that's unlikely to make the 8.

Uysal has been dominating clearances for 4 years and if he was playing for Coburg today they would have beaten Collingwood.

Relax ETH I'm taking the piss mate

 

[Laverde2Smack]

Bellchambers - lowered his colours in the first half bit was excellent in the second half, constantly feeding the ball to Hocking and Bird.

Francis - pretty quiet in the first half playing forward but was a class above when injected into the midfield in the second half. Should come into the seniors next week on that performance.

Begley - Cracked in all day and was solid . Was impressed with one bit of play where he was chasing a guy on the wing, he ran straight through two players that tried to shepherd then dumped the guy just as he was kicking.

Stewert - quiet for the most part but to be fair the ball use coming in was diabolical pretty much all day. Kicked one nice goal.

Mutch - Loved his game today. Got plenty of it and had a good balance of outside and inside play. Couple of courageous marking efforts also. Surprised how big he is already.

Merrett - Had a poor game.

Bird - One of the best. Tried hard all day and got some nice clearances.

Morgan - Good in the first half, 8-10 touches at 100% when nobody else could hit a target. Took the game on a bit more and used his pace to break away from a couple of stoppages. Very quiet second half.

Hartley - Dominated whoever he played on. Couple of dodgy passes but other than that was good.

Clarke - found the pill but disposal was terrible. First time I've seen him play so not sure what he is normally like but if his disposal is normally this poor He is going to struggle.

Draper - barely sighted.

Hocking - probably best on for us. Will be pushing for a senior recall.

McKernan - OK, not the worst. Kicked a couple and tried super hard to impact the game. As with Stewert hard to be too critical due to the awful supply they we're getting.

Dea - was OK but didn't have his normal offensive side to his game.

Overall first half was awful especially the skills. Second half was encouraging and probably should have won given the territorial dominance we had in the last quarter. Highlight was Francis' third quarter playing on the ball.

 

[Laverde2Smack]

Honestly? Not really

Mutch was very good. Francis was good at getting his hands on the ball but butchered it far to much. Didnt aid a team mate to advantage

Agree he butchered it in the first half but in the second half he used it pretty well and his poise stood out from the rest.

 

[eDPS]

Mutch as picked up where he left off last year. Massive ball winner who is a neat user but no real hurt factor. Good things with Mutch is that you know what your going to get every week, super consistent player and just a great kid in general.

 

[Yoda_]

Bellchambers - lowered his colours in the first half bit was excellent in the second half, constantly feeding the ball to Hocking and Bird.

Francis - pretty quiet in the first half playing forward but was a class above when injected into the midfield in the second half. Should come into the seniors next week on that performance.

Begley - Cracked in all day and was solid . Was impressed with one bit of play where he was chasing a guy on the wing, he ran straight through two players that tried to shepherd then dumped the guy just as he was kicking.

Stewert - quiet for the most part but to be fair the ball use coming in was diabolical pretty much all day. Kicked one nice goal.

Mutch - Loved his game today. Got plenty of it and had a good balance of outside and inside play. Couple of courageous marking efforts also. Surprised how big he is already.

Merrett - Had a poor game.

Bird - One of the best. Tried hard all day and got some nice clearances.

Morgan - Good in the first half, 8-10 touches at 100% when nobody else could hit a target. Took the game on a bit more and used his pace to break away from a couple of stoppages. Very quiet second half.

Hartley - Dominated whoever he played on. Couple of dodgy passes but other than that was good.

Clarke - found the pill but disposal was terrible. First time I've seen him play so not sure what he is normally like but if his disposal is normally this poor He is going to struggle.

Draper - barely sighted.

Hocking - probably best on for us. Will be pushing for a senior recall.

McKernan - OK, not the worst. Kicked a couple and tried super hard to impact the game. As with Stewert hard to be too critical due to the awful supply they we're getting.

Dea - was OK but didn't have his normal offensive side to his game.

Overall first half was awful especially the skills. Second half was encouraging and probably should have won given the territorial dominance we had in the last quarter. Highlight was Francis' third quarter playing on the ball.

Hartley was putrid

 

[Yoda_]

Would like to elaborate a bit on the 'game plan' or lack there of.

Our rebound from half back was crap. If we are trying to replicate the seniors we need to improve our ball use significantly. Average using inside ball winners should not be kicking from half back.
Our fwds pressed up the ground far to much and despite the simple game plan of the Zebras (man at the back of the stoppage), we didnt bother changing it.

Just on the fwds. We didnt give them space to lead into despite our somewhat mobile fwd set up.

Will need to regeoup and maybe re consider the hb line of VFL listed players we used there. Honest as they are, Hind, Cornell, Peters are not elite users.

 

[MightyDons4]

Morgan's injury look serious?

 

[mayhem20202]

That right there is why he doesn't get picked for the seniors good one week,crap the next. I will be surprised if he's still on the list come at the end of the season

I hope he isn't


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Killer_Mike]

Morgan's injury look serious?

Looked to be a hammy

 

[MightyDons4]

Looked to be a hammy

 

[Killer_Mike]

lol

 

[Yoda_]

Michael Luxford our best today?

Lol

 

[Laverde2Smack]

I went along today, and although it was a pretty frustrating game to watch I still thought their was some good to take away.

-Francis

Might as well get him out of the way first. Don't know how many times he touched it but for me its the class he shows when he's got it. To me he looks like a forward due to what he can do to an opponent in a one on one situation. Personally I believe they are giving him midfield time to get his fitness up and also to get him into the game. No doubt in time he could become a midfielder but he to me just sings forward. Sublime goal in the third and a couple of clearances was the catalyst I thought for us getting back into the game.

-Stewart

Wasn't A great day for our forwards, especially in the first half as our midfield was pedestrian and wasteful the we had it. Despite that Jimmy kept working up and down the ground and tried to provide a target. For a relatively light guy he does his share of body on body stuff but unfortunately he still gets man handled a little when he's under the high ball. When he puts on a few more kegs and improves this aspect Im of the belief we have a very good forward.

-Mutch

Very nice game from him. He looks to me like a Stanton MK2. Thats not an insult either as Stants has been a great servant of the club for a very long time. Kobe just keeps on running, and just knows where to go to get the footy. Looked more outside the football today from what I could see but has courage and did win his own ball. He's a very neat footballer and barely wasted a touch from what I could see. Kicking in particular was very nice without having a lot of hurt factor. Appears to me to be vanilla but one with scope to be a very good AFL footballer.

-Hartley

Based on what I saw today will be in the VFL for a while. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning because all he wanted to do was fight his opponent. Continually gets caught behind and again didn't offer a lot on the rebound. Not sure what to say about his development but I hope he turns it around because I'm a huge fan and he's got potential to be a massive weapon. His kicking is as good as anyone else in the team but rarely uses it to advantage. Maybe he needs to be tried forward just to get him to attack the football and not be worried about an opponent?

-TBell

Plays with passion and offers something in the air-liability at ground level though. Needs to do more.

-JMerrett

Didn't offer much in the first half, but wasn't a good day for small forwards. When the ball started coming in faster he offered some real spark I thought.

-Morgan

I thought he was solid leading up to going off with a hammy. Hope to see him come back stronger as I think he's worth persisting with.

-Begley

Nearly forgot about him He has some real AFL qualities. Very much see ball get ball at this stage but but is a real competitor and has Voss like quality of hunting the football and if by chance you happen to hurt an opponent on the way to it, thats just a bonus. I think he may be a midfielder in future but he's going to take some time. Couple of years and he will really start to show his quality.

Overall I thought we were exposed for foot speed on the outside and not nearly clean enough when we had it. Quite a few changes from last year though so need time to gel and will look forward to getting Heppell back in a few weeks as he's a real barometer for this team I think.

Hartley was putrid

conceded 1 goal for the game.

 

[goal kicking wingman]

Didn't see match but sounded like Francis played a variety of positions so doubt he had one specific opponent all match. From what i read he played forward and also played some midfield.

Francis doesn't play

Bellchambers dominated the ruck in the second half and was a huge reason Essendon got back in the game.

What happened the first half??? Longer beat Bellchambers hands down which isn't hard as he spent most the day with his hands on his knees.

 

[Killer_Mike]

conceded 1 goal for the game.

He's not playing VFL because his defence is in question.