Autopsy We pissed it in v the pies

[Ticky009]

 

[Kapers]

Actually really really like Craig McRae

Craig Mcrae

Age

50

Ht

176cm

Wt

73kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.9

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

3.9

3star

M

2.4

3star

T

1.9

4star

G

1.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

16.2

4star

K

10.6

4star

HB

5.6

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.2

3star

G

1.4

5star

. Just goes about it the right way in my opinion.

 

[caesar88]

Wowee. That was, without any exaggeration, the most enjoyable home & away win I can remember. For the second week in a row, we just stuck at it. I really don't know how else to describe these last two games other than "sticking at it." Ferocious intensity, followed by inevitable lapses, followed by such mature absorbing of the opposition's momentum, followed by ferocious intensity to regroup. There's a maturity there that's translated into two really easy watches, even when the scoreboard's suggested I should be nervous.

Best on ground once again was Heeney. Ironic that we played the Pies tonight, because the player Heeney's reminded me of the last two weeks is one S. Pendlebury. Strong, balanced and poised. It's a really unique combination of attributes. Makes him hard to predict. He's a big body so he should use brute force but instead uses his aerodynamism. He's a hard, contested mid, so shouldn't be so calm with the ball like an outside player. He's a mind-f*** for opponents and I feel like we haven't had a mid like that since... I don't even know when.

Rowbottom when he's on is the most impactful player on our list and as the great ancient philosopher Dido once said, I will go down with this ship. It's the second week in a row it's felt like he's laid the foundations for team dominance that others have then feasted on. Although was he being managed or something? Just 30% inside time and only 74% TOG tonight was weird considering our outs and the mids being our only weakness tonight.

McCartin & Melican... oh boy. I've made no secret I love a key defender partnership. Bolton & Barry, Richards & Grundy (which still sounds like a songwriting partnership from the early 60s). You could actually see how confident both boys were playing aggressive and in front tonight, as if they knew the other's presence in the team could cover any mistakes. It cannot be understated how important having that confidence in each other is for defenders.

Not sure I'm a fan of McDonald being accused of getting "cheapies." I'd say it's the result of a combination of smart reading of the play from McDonald and effective structuring from the other forwards that we were so often able to get that spare forward out the back. It's akin to accusing Gulden's many handball receives or Warner getting on the end of plays inside 50 as being "cheapies."

I thought Fox had some great moments, McLean & Amartey both contributed when needed, Roberts' ability to get boot to ball in tight confines was impressive, and McInerney really grew into the game and showed some of that signature hutzpah (God it feels good to use that word.)

Apologies for the rant all. I am ******* so happy.

 

[RubbaDuck]

For those wondering about the ball>> overhead camera incident - none of the Umps saw the ball hit the camera, so play on.

In 2023 the AFL introduced a fourth field umpire to ensure nothing was missed.

Clearly it's working

Three umpire system



Four umpire system

 

[RubbaDuck]

Wowee....There's a maturity there that's translated into two really easy watches, even when the scoreboard's suggested I should be nervous.

Hard to believe this team is so young. Almost all of the teams we fielded in 2023 were older then Friday night's team. Our youth are beating older, more experienced and more celebrated teams. Two of the last three premiers in the first two games.

There's a danger our players start getting ahead of themselves. Horse will need to keep them grounded and humble.

 

[Ed_Gein]

Great to beat Collingwood on their own ground.

Should've won by around 10 goals, though. Converting chances was something that cost us dearly last year and we could've been out of sight at half time, but it's fortunate for us that Collingwood look to be having a massive premiership hangover.

 

[momentbymoment]

Nice work Swans

33 points soooo flattered the Pies. Anywhere else in Australia but the MCG where their "army" influences the umpiring and you beat them by 10+ goals

I swear if I see that Umpire's love child Nick Daicos get one more soft as butter free kick I'll do a Terry Wallace and SPEW UP!!!

You truly crapped all over them. Loved the Swans run and gun forward handball game, especially through the centre of the ground They seemed totally bamboozled by it and totally buggered it up by tryng to counter it with a high risk a and highly unsuccessful counterpunching strategy from their half back line.

My biggest regret right now is knowing that if my beloved Lions had brought anything like their A game to the 2023 GF we would have exposed the Pies as brutally as the Swans did tonight

Not easy for a non VIC team to win a granny.
It’s why they will never rotate the venue …

 

[momentbymoment]

Harsh on Logan. 3 of his goals were from freebies, but his work rate was immense and he had quite a few score involvements.

I don't think relying on our midfielfers for goals is a terrible thing. It's been a defining feature of most flag teams for the better part of the last decade.

He made the effort to get into space.
I wouldn’t call that a freebie …

 

[momentbymoment]

I'm one of those umpire whingers but I felt as much as we missed tonight we were awarded a few that whilst not evened it up we probably did ok in a 80k Collingwood crowd.

Yeah …
Am I the only one who feels like we got the rub of the green when we get close to an even number of frees?

 

[luderick]

Heeney has to stay in the midfield.

When Parker comes back in he goes forward, Mills can spend a bit more time further back and Adams can be an in an under mid too.

Heeney is too damaging for him to be anywhere but the midfield.

So who goes out then? Adam’s might struggle to force his way in



Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

I'm one of those umpire whingers but I felt as much as we missed tonight we were awarded a few that whilst not evened it up we probably did ok in a 80k Collingwood crowd.

It was not a 80k Pie crowd. From the colours and noise I reckon the dominant crowd was the vociferous and rude Bloods crowd.

We are the biggest and best supported aclub

Shake down the *ing THUNDER.

 

[the hypnotoad]

Speaking of pissed. I'm pretty pissed we took our foot of the pedal at the end there and some seriously stupid calls from the umpire's which led to them kicking 3 junk time goals. We should have won that by 60+. We were the far superior team all night and to walk away only 5 goal winners was really disappointing. Just not reflective of how dominant we were.

in the past i'd have felt the same but i think it was clear for all to see last night that we dominated them, in the end the scoreline wasn't that relevant ... we absolutely outclassed the defending premiers on their home debut for the season
we blew enough of our own chances early, but from early second quarter to the last five minutes we smashed them

 

[the hypnotoad]

Why would I prefer that, but not every game you will get freebies and youll need to do thigns the hard way

2 weeks in a row he hasnt executed on key actions a fwd needs to do

Amartey iffy too

I'd be disappointed if the coaches weren't quietly concerned about our talls fwd regardless of the win

Its about winnign the flag and its a small worry right now. I said theres the whole season to try address this

those big three forwards did what they had to do, kicked goals when opportunities presented, played team roles when required ... in the meantime, other players were kicking goals, that's the key ...
i would be very surprised if the coaches had any particular worries about the big forwards, apart from maybe missing gettable shots at goal
amartey was a presence compared to last week, and you can see what an outstanding contested mark he can be as his confidence grows
mcdonald's work rate is outstanding, and you could see even from the first half to the second last night, his confidence growing ... and he's still young, turns 22 april 4 ...
mclean as a backup ruck is proving more and more mobile, and is continuing the development he showed toward the end of last season ... he was an important link up the ground
they've still got so much improvement to come, individually and as a combination
you're entitled to have your concerns but i think you're harshly underestimating them, particularly as last week was generally regarded as a write-off for big forwards
two weeks in, i think they're going fine

 

[Jack Lord]

Salute to young Matty Roberts. I for one cocked an eyebrow at his round zero selection. An untried rookie who, though showing promise, was a long way from demanding a place in my opinion.

For 8 solid quarters he has proved me wrong. He gets in good positions , has taken his fair share of intercept marks and looks on for the contest. Deserved his round zero rising star and backed it up with another good game last night.

Well done selectors. Well done to the young fella. Big season ahead. For mine.

 

[RocketBooster]

Great start to the season
Beating two of last years top 4 teams, both by a decent percentage boosting margin
3 very winnable games coming up, no reason we cant go 5-0 and set the season up

 

[Rhino5]

McDonald got better as the game went along and Armartey had his moments (shame about the kicking for goal, he needs to improve that). McLean was a bit quiet but did kick a lovely goal from a set shot.

I don’t have an issue with any of them as individual footballers, it’s playing all of them at once that I question. They are all young and inconsistent and can often struggle to impact.

While we’re winning and everything is great, it’s probably fine. You maybe don’t need all three to be great in every game, but I just feel the team is better balanced with two talls. Maybe when the mids come back one of them will need to be squeezed out.

 

[the hypnotoad]

Been a few comments about McDonald getting "cheap" goals. He worked his defender away from goal and broke back most of the night. Comprehensively won that contest. Kick straight he has six. Has goal assists. One-percenters.
This is the style of play we apparently wanted from him. We got it. Cheap goals. Really?

yes, i agree ... the idea of "cheapies" is nonsense ... mcdonald worked hard to get into those positions, and mclean worked hard up the ground ...
the bottom line is that the team is up and going, and individual players are playing their roles and contributing

 

[Jimbo OZ]

As others have said, the margin flatters Collingwood. That was a dominant win. Heeney and Warner were stars. Most of the others were bloody good even if it didn’t show on the stat sheet. Despite players being able to play multiple roles, they stuck to the role that they were playing in that moment.

On the flip side, Campbell and Hayward weren’t at their best and I reckon Grundy got beaten comfortably by Cameron. Still also unsure where Lloyd will fit in long-term.

 

[Joycerama]

Told you we would


I wasn't actually sure but I did dream it..


Guess though the pies havent won a game all year so maybe its not that impressive hey


Heeney is elite right now

Gulden Jmac Rowbottom Jordon

defence

McDonald lifted

wowee

Bt is sad

*en proud

What a great win. Very scrappy up forward but the running between the arcs has been terrific for two rounds. Just numbers at the ball all day long. We are fit and Collingwood was not physically primed. Credit to the midfield gut runners, Heeney and JMac included. I just hope our fitness doesn’t fade throughout the season.

Interesting how vital these premiership points are at the beginning of the season - achieved via fitness and intensity mainly (our execution is still quite rusty). Banking them now will prove priceless as we approach the inevitable August log jam.

Super happy.

 

[The King!]

It was a statement win. Don't get me wrong plenty to fix up , plenty to do, but premiers round 2 mcg means a lot for where we are at and where we want to go.

 

[Joycerama]

What happened to that tall Canadian flog with the glasses that the media spent so long talking about?

Don’t tell me Cox is Canadian. I will relinquish my citizenship if that dog is from north of the border.

 

[The King!]

yes, i agree ... the idea of "cheapies" is nonsense ... mcdonald worked hard to get into those positions, and mclean worked hard up the ground ...
the bottom line is that the team is up and going, and individual players are playing their roles and contributing

You might get one cheapie being average, but you don't get 4 "cheapies" unless you work hard.

Mcdonald has to improve of course, especially in the marking contests but the workrate is great

 

[The King!]

Parker might be Okeefe this year

 

[the hypnotoad]

Wowee. That was, without any exaggeration, the most enjoyable home & away win I can remember. For the second week in a row, we just stuck at it. I really don't know how else to describe these last two games other than "sticking at it." Ferocious intensity, followed by inevitable lapses, followed by such mature absorbing of the opposition's momentum, followed by ferocious intensity to regroup. There's a maturity there that's translated into two really easy watches, even when the scoreboard's suggested I should be nervous.

Best on ground once again was Heeney. Ironic that we played the Pies tonight, because the player Heeney's reminded me of the last two weeks is one S. Pendlebury. Strong, balanced and poised. It's a really unique combination of attributes. Makes him hard to predict. He's a big body so he should use brute force but instead uses his aerodynamism. He's a hard, contested mid, so shouldn't be so calm with the ball like an outside player. He's a mind-f*** for opponents and I feel like we haven't had a mid like that since... I don't even know when.

Rowbottom when he's on is the most impactful player on our list and as the great ancient philosopher Dido once said, I will go down with this ship. It's the second week in a row it's felt like he's laid the foundations for team dominance that others have then feasted on. Although was he being managed or something? Just 30% inside time and only 74% TOG tonight was weird considering our outs and the mids being our only weakness tonight.

McCartin & Melican... oh boy. I've made no secret I love a key defender partnership. Bolton & Barry, Richards & Grundy (which still sounds like a songwriting partnership from the early 60s). You could actually see how confident both boys were playing aggressive and in front tonight, as if they knew the other's presence in the team could cover any mistakes. It cannot be understated how important having that confidence in each other is for defenders.

Not sure I'm a fan of McDonald being accused of getting "cheapies." I'd say it's the result of a combination of smart reading of the play from McDonald and effective structuring from the other forwards that we were so often able to get that spare forward out the back. It's akin to accusing Gulden's many handball receives or Warner getting on the end of plays inside 50 as being "cheapies."

I thought Fox had some great moments, McLean & Amartey both contributed when needed, Roberts' ability to get boot to ball in tight confines was impressive, and McInerney really grew into the game and showed some of that signature hutzpah (God it feels good to use that word.)

Apologies for the rant all. I am ******* so happy.

i agree with everything you've said here, but particularly the highlighted sections
in these two games there's been a maturity to hold steady when the momentum is going against us ... i believe that's a sign of how the team has really toughened up and learned from the bad times going back to the 2022 grand final and the bad period in the first half of last season

 

[Jimbo OZ]

McDonald got better as the game went along and Armartey had his moments (shame about the kicking for goal, he needs to improve that). McLean was a bit quiet but did kick a lovely goal from a set shot.

I don’t have an issue with any of them as individual footballers, it’s playing all of them at once that I question. They are all young and inconsistent and can often struggle to impact.

While we’re winning and everything is great, it’s probably fine. You maybe don’t need all three to be great in every game, but I just feel the team is better balanced with two talls. Maybe when the mids come back one of them will need to be squeezed out.

I think the three tall structure will remain as it stretches opposition backs making everyone accountable. One problem with having only two talls occurs when Grundy is rested. We then only have one tall in the forward line allowing an intercept far easier for the opposition. I think it is all about structure and less about personnel.

 

[Jack Lord]

Canadians are humble folk.

Mason Cox

46

Mason Cox

Age

33

Ht

211cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.7

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.2

4star

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.3

2star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.0

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.8

5star

is from Texas.