Unofficial Preview West Coast v Fremantle FEB 27th: Scratch Match **LIVE STREAM SAT 27th FEB 10am

[El_ahrairah]

I thought it was obvious from the ruck contests that neither Meek nor Vardy were putting their body into it. Don't think I recall a centre bounce where they directly jumped into each other, instead they tried to judge the ball and avoided contact. IMO it looked like a directive in the interest of self-preservation.

 

[mick06]

So watching the highlights, Flaaaaarn is basically our only good player and should win the Brownlow

 

[Wild Kelly]

Would love to see how many Vardy hitouts went directly to Dockers players possibly more than Meek

Sounds like you had him under notice......

 

[Dark Sharks]

Just because Duggan CAN appear to play midfield, doesn't necessarily mean he's any good at it.

For example, he didn't hold a candle to Brayshaw or Serong's mid work today. He ran around collecting touches, but did he have any real impact? Not particularly.

Don't recall him setting up many scores, foot skills weren't all that attacking and I certainly don't remember many, if any clearances.


But for our club, which has laughably bad midfield depth, it's a huge blessing for him to be able to come in and do this.

Just not something I'd be keen on pushing if we had a healthy Yeo, or at the expense of Trew, O'Neil and Edwards. Early days though.

 

[Avalor]

I was only able to watch the last quarter, but I think the Vardy criticism is off the mark. His tap work to Duggan was excellent, and I only remember one of his knockouts go astray to Bradshaw. I saw a piss weak tackle by Gaff, I think on Walters, but no surprise there with tackling not being a strength of his, still it's disappointing after so many years in our system. Duggan was good. Surprisingly, I thought Ainsworth was reasonable to good, so I don't think he is a lost cause - had one shank in the last quarter. Branded is better in the forward line. JJ looms as being an important cog.
Overall, in a low intensity scratchie, nothing too concerning.
Expect a step up at Optus next Sunday.

 

[TOA.]

Just because Duggan CAN appear to play midfield, doesn't necessarily mean he's any good at it.

For example, he didn't hold a candle to Brayshaw or Serong's mid work today. He ran around collecting touches, but did he have any real impact? Not particularly.

Don't recall him setting up many scores, foot skills weren't all that attacking and I certainly don't remember many, if any clearances.


But for our club, which has laughably bad midfield depth, it's a huge blessing for him to be able to come in and do this.

Just not something I'd be keen on pushing if we had a healthy Yeo, or at the expense of Trew, O'Neil and Edwards. Early days though.

Yeah his actual clearance work and inside stuff was limited. He just did ok around the ground as a mid. That’s ok because he’s had basically no exposure to clearances and stuff since he was drafted but that shows (1) how short term we have been thinking (2) we really need to start now because he’s our main hope. Luckily Kelly isn’t that old but fu** me we really need to develop some blokes it’s dire.

 

[WCE_phil]

I was only able to watch the last quarter, but I think the Vardy criticism is off the mark. His tap work to Duggan was excellent, and I only remember one of his knockouts go astray to Bradshaw. I saw a piss weak tackle by Gaff, I think on Walters, but no surprise there with tackling not being a strength of his, still it's disappointing after so many years in our system. Duggan was good. Surprisingly, I thought Ainsworth was reasonable to good, so I don't think he is a lost cause - had one shank in the last quarter. Branded is better in the forward line. JJ looms as being an important cog.
Overall, in a low intensity scratchie, nothing too concerning.
Expect a step up at Optus next Sunday.

The first three quarters show just how horrendous Vardy was. Ainsworth outside of that one Embley final type kick was good in the fourth but was sh*t outside of a couple of small handballs in the first 3 quarters. Brander did almost to less than nothing in the first 3 quarters other than cork Luke Ryan's hip and got a bit lucky in the last when freo let the heat off a bit.

JJ definitely looms as being a potential roleplayer and was also better in the last 1/4 but outside of trying hard didn't do much in the first 3/4 as well. Is definitely an upgrade on Ah Chee though and Petch at this stage though. Langdon also wasn't bad in the first 3/4 until he rolled an ankle and applied good pressure and run.

As i said earlier in the thread though we just got destroyed through the midfield, couldn't transition from midfield to the forward line outside of Ryan and basically looked outskilled and outcoached by a hungrier, younger team.

 

[bunkyboy]

The first three quarters show just how horrendous Vardy was. Ainsworth outside of that one Embley final type kick was good in the fourth but was sh*t outside of a couple of small handballs in the first 3 quarters. Brander did almost to less than nothing in the first 3 quarters other than cork Luke Ryan's hip and got a bit lucky in the last when freo let the heat off a bit.

JJ definitely looms as being a potential roleplayer and was also better in the last 1/4 but outside of trying hard didn't do much in the first 3/4 as well. Is definitely an upgrade on Ah Chee though and Petch at this stage though. Langdon also wasn't bad in the first 3/4 until he rolled an ankle and applied good pressure and run.

As i said earlier in the thread though we just got destroyed through the midfield, couldn't transition from midfield to the forward line outside of Ryan and basically looked outskilled and outcoached by a hungrier, younger team.

Shows how much attention you were paying - Ainsworth didn't play the first half!! And, no, Langdon was invisible. No impact.

Agree with your last paragraph though. Also agree about JJ he was exciting last year until he did the hamster he gives us a spark.

 

[Dark Sharks]

Brayden and O'Neil came on after half time with Nelson and Edwards.

Foley came on for the 4th quarter i believe, got one touch and turned it directly over.


Langdon certainly seemed a nothing player in the first half particularly, but I think he actually got more touches than we all think. Just not very noticeable.

Would love to see his overall stats, tackling more than anything, given that's what he was targeted for and is his strength.

 

[bunkyboy]

"Witherden has rated elite for disposals (20.7), kicks (15.3), effective kicks (11.7), metres gained (388.4) and rebound 50s (4.7) across his four seasons to date."

Alex Witherden | AFL (westcoasteagles.com.au)

 

[El_ahrairah]

Duggan is coming into the centre square 6th inline (Shuey, Kelly, Yeo, Gaff, Redden) for his first real run at it today, don't think we should be too hard on the bloke for playing a role.

 

[WCE_phil]

Brayden and O'Neil came on after half time with Nelson and Edwards.

Foley came on for the 4th quarter i believe, got one touch and turned it directly over.


Langdon certainly seemed a nothing player in the first half particularly, but I think he actually got more touches than we all think. Just not very noticeable.

Would love to see his overall stats, tackling more than anything, given that's what he was targeted for and is his strength.

Oh well Ainsworth was only sh*t in the 3rd then and maybe my bias is overselling how bad he was.

On the Foley train im not even sure he should be playing firsts in the WAFL. I just see nothing. At least ainsworth gives it everything he has.

 

[bunkyboy]

Oh well Ainsworth was only sh*t in the 3rd then and maybe my bias is overselling how bad he was.

On the Foley train im not even sure he should be playing firsts in the WAFL. I just see nothing. At least ainsworth gives it everything he has.

Yea, it was a pretty embarrassing post from you, but never mind. Brains had 5 disposals in the third and was solid. Was he good in the last was he? Were you at the game, or are you just talking about the 8 minutes or so before the stream stopped? Trusting that his fitness has gone to another level this year. Not sold on Foley either but who knows.

 

[TOA.]

Oh well Ainsworth was only sh*t in the 3rd then and maybe my bias is overselling how bad he was.

On the Foley train im not even sure he should be playing firsts in the WAFL. I just see nothing. At least ainsworth gives it everything he has.

Brander was also fine. You just picked on our whipping boys as easy targets. So many in the same boat.

 

[Balls In]

Team doesn't seen to have that mental edge anymore. Unfortunately the tide is also going out on the careers of those who had it. Good on Liam Ryan but the Kelly recruiting gap looks misaligned with where our squad actually is.

 

[bunkyboy]

Brander was also fine. You just picked on our whipping boys as easy targets. So many in the same boat.

Watched the highlights and Brander was good in the last. He looked to be playing deep full forward and showed some real speed and desire to get in the front position to mark the ball which was great to see.

 

[Dark Sharks]

I'm clearly no Brayden fan, but other than his hilarious inside 50 attempt he was decent. Disposals by hand and foot all hit the targets.

Would've enjoyed seeing him play an entire game actually attending the CBD's where he used to be good.

 

[amazingjoshy]

I was only able to watch the last quarter, but I think the Vardy criticism is off the mark. His tap work to Duggan was excellent, and I only remember one of his knockouts go astray to Bradshaw. I saw a piss weak tackle by Gaff, I think on Walters, but no surprise there with tackling not being a strength of his, still it's disappointing after so many years in our system. Duggan was good. Surprisingly, I thought Ainsworth was reasonable to good, so I don't think he is a lost cause - had one shank in the last quarter. Branded is better in the forward line. JJ looms as being an important cog.
Overall, in a low intensity scratchie, nothing too concerning.
Expect a step up at Optus next Sunday.

Agree with the nothing too concerning considering a scratchie, and to be fair I only saw the first half..... but Vardy was mauled by 0 gamer Lloyd Meek when I was watching.

Practice game, grain of salt and all that, but a guy competing for a spot in the 22 up against a zero gamer should be giving out the lesson not copping it imo

He can be a handy 2nd ruck/fwd but he just isn't a first choice ruckman. If we need him to do it at any stage this year we're in deep trouble

 

[ep2018]

Team doesn't seen to have that mental edge anymore. Unfortunately the tide is also going out on the careers of those who had it. Good on Liam Ryan but the Kelly recruiting gap looks misaligned with where our squad actually is.

Only a practice game today, I will make a judgement after a couple of rounds season proper, but there is similarity with this team compared to our mid/late 90s team, too good to miss finals but never a realistic chance of winning the flag.

 

[PremiershipNo4]

Freo clearly want it more. I hope to the lord above that bailey williams post injury is ahead of vardy as he was either completely outdone in the ruck by a zero gamer and when he did get free taps they were straight to freo boys. The team looked sloppy and well behind freo in close, freo much cleaner extracting the ball and feeding it out to advantage. Brayshaw I thought was very good and freo's younger players and fringe 22 looked much better than ours.

Of the limited amount seen our fringe 22 players don't look to really have improved at all. Freo's youngsters look much classier. Exxon has shown a bit and maybe a Redden replacement in 2-3 time (redden won't last that long but that's the peak level i have exxon pegged as).

Ainsworth looked decent in close in a couple of passages of play but my word he just can't ******* kick to the advantage of the team. A ball drop where the ball is sitting on your hand and the is outside the line of your body is just abominable. It can't be fixed, it's not some quirk.

Duggan to the midfield looks good with his intensity but again looks either rusty or that he doesn't have the footy IQ going from the middle forward. Looks much better coming from HB.

Rotham a shining light, clearly looks best 22 and building into his career. Almost a shep clone but more assured and less errors at the same age. Needs to be a bit more offensive as he has the skills.

Brander, sorry i mean Staker was all over the shop and either doesn't understand his role, isn't comfortable in it or isn't up to standard. The only positive out of him was him putting a knee into Luke Ryan (something about Ryan just pisses me off)

Liam Ryan clearly our best on ground, everything positive from half forward to goal was coming through him. He and walters very similar with Ryan being a better mark and not a diving prick.

Oscar Allen can play anywhere but lets keep him out of the ******* ruck before it destroys his body.

Senior players like Darling and Shep put out what I expected.

Hurn continues to look more and more one dimensional. Almost as though as his kicking depth slowly gets shorter he has become more unsure of opening the play and plays safe.

McGovern clearly played as though being out there was below him. Did he use his left on every kick?

Shuey looked to use his left every time bar 1 small right foot kick.

Cripps had a mare.

Cole and Nelson both pretty much what I expected. They both look best 22 but in the last couple picked. I would have Rotham ahead of both as a small to mid sized defender now.

Witherden tried opening it up but a bit like some lions games bit off a bit more than he could chew on a few occasions and his kicking depth wasn't quite as good as i'd hoped. Still needs to improve defensively. The one thing I will also say here is with a cross breeze and a first hitout for a new team I wasn't disappointed.

Langdon looked borderline best 22 as a pressure and running player. Didn't look like anything more than that though.

Barrass was meh.

Gaff and Sheed both about as much as expected but they look like a good teams fourth to 6th best mids.

Petch, ******* back yourself. The mark on the outer side 50. With his speed and the open space behind the mark he should have tried running through with a sidestep and then kicked for goal.

JJ had great intensity but didn't show much.

Ah Chee I saw very little of and what I did didn't inspire confidence.

I've missed a couple but really didn't have comments on their games.

Our gameplan doesn't seem to have improved at all, still greatly lack transition from midfield through to the forward line. However without our first choice mids we were destroyed out of the middle which makes it difficult. Also makes it hard to give a read on the forwards. Also continually beaten at the fall of the ball. Freo on the other hand looked to have made significant improvements and holding sweepers back as part of the on the mark rule. It could genuinely stop me watching footy it pissed me off that much.

We are 3 weeks out and without our best mids and Nicnat we don't look like a team that can contend. Even then I'm not sure we are at the level anymore. Our best 22 fully fit with the right gameplan are premiership contenders, but to me our best 30 (the coverage you need for a season) aren't and we don't look to have improved structurally.

Looks to me like 5th to 12th is our mark depending on whether things go our way or not. We genuinely looked impotent out of the middle. Of the top 4 that finished above us last year I question whether port can back it up, particularly as their gameplan pushes so far up, the new man on the mark rule could really hurt them. If Brisbane with their age trajectory continue to improve I see them finishing around the mark again. Richmond the incumbent and I don't see their gamestyle being hurt, Geelong have put everything on this upcoming season I think and with their inclusions if everyone is fully fit i think they are the best side in the comp. Will their lack of ruck ability or having so many older players hinder them?

I'll just leave it with two questions.
1. For all his positives in accumulating the ball and hard running is gaff actually a structural weakness in our ability to move the ball forward?
2. Do we actually have a single player who can run the ball out of defence If Duggan and Yeo are mids?

Ridiculous reflection on a scratch match!
Maybe try getting g a root instead, FFS!

 

[El_ahrairah]

I will make a judgement after a couple of rounds season proper,

I'm gonna put myself out there and take a guess, your judgement is going to be that we're not very good?

 

[ep2018]

I'm gonna put myself out there and take a guess, your judgement is going to be that we're not very good?

Tough first few rounds. I'm thinking anything less than 5-1 or 4-2 and its a poor start.

 

[eaglespremiers]

Duggan might get some brownlow votes this year with that hair. Hes the one i notice onscreen the most. Like when Nic Nat is out there. Draws the eyes.

The guy who received 5 Brownlow votes last year despite dominating his position and being probably the most important player in the AFL? Umps are stupid.

 

[Wosh]

Have we folded the club yet?

 

[El_ahrairah]

Have we folded the club yet?

Close bae, one more practice match loss and I'll be asking for a refund on my membership - all 26 years worth.