Review R2: The Good, Bad and Ugly vs. Essendon

[Thrillthorpe7]

Can see why gws let them go tbh

GWS had a 4 year deal in front of both of them lmao. Peatling was their first choice midfielder in finals last year.

Any chance of thinking before typing?

 

[MrBarry]

Can see why gws let them go tbh

They wanted to keep both of them..... Possibly worth researching before spouting tripe.

 

[MrBarry]

Thought Milera was very important in the first half in helping setup the win. His best game in a long time.

Milera at his best, is an ectremely talented AFL footballer. His issues have been the setbacks and then how long it takes him to get going again.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Can see why gws let them go tbh

??

 

[Mostyn]

They wanted to keep both of them..... Possibly worth researching before spouting tripe.

That guy is a Port troll, I'm sure of it

 

[GreyCrow]

Dan is building... he was very good in the early and then got a bit quiet and then worked himself back into the game... you can see he will have a 20+ disposal game very soon.

Benchmark is 14 though

 

[cm_perfect]

Bad - Keane. That is all.

Cost me $250 so sign me up

 

[MRB37]

Did we conceded a lot? Yeah but given me a 10 goal win every week. Blighty would be smiling

Partly think we dropped off intensity wise in the last and Bombers opened up the game on their end, so that's 6 goals in 1 quarter compared to 9 in the previous 3. Up until the last 20 minutes of the game we had them at 36 inside 50's and they were at like 68 points. We dropped off and they got another 12 I50's for 5 goals.

 

[mcleod at 50 lines it up]

GWS had a 4 year deal in front of both of them lmao. Peatling was their first choice midfielder in finals last year.

Any chance of thinking before typing?

Yup at below the market rate. Still early days so let's not get too excited, just expected a little more quality

 

[GreyCrow]

The Good
Rankines Goal
Dawson started like he had a needle before the start
Soligo
Keays
Forward structure - I was wrong you can play 4 talls
Everyone contributed
Who do you drop? Really I cant see it

The Bad
Essendon struggled but you play who is on the ground with you
We let Merrett off the chain too easily

The Ugly
Aint none when you win like that

 

[Crow_68]

Good: forward line looks like James Rahilly is back coaching us (Davis influence perhaps?)
Bad: MCG surface
Ugly: Brad Scott’s pre-season extension, Dodoro, McKay

 

[MRB37]

Not too concerned by our defence TBH; but they'd want to tighten up a bit against the best.

Peatling had a bit of a dirty day, was fumbly but he'll get there. Cumming had an off day too, didn't do a whole lot wrong, he just didn't do much. Looks like he's lacking confidence.

Essendon were as solid as melted butter, but it's nice to see some brilliant foot skills on show, we will carve up better sides this year.

To be able to take Rankine off in the 3rd quarter uninjured is a luxury I wasn't sure I'd ever see.

I thought there were plenty of times Peatling got in great positions, he was just slightly off with his disposal so it went from a play that could have opened up the field to one where we had to slow it down a bit to get the ball or a turnover.

Work in progress a bit there, but I'd always take it as a positive if a guy works to get into the right spots.

 

[GreyCrow]

The Ugly

First time we have played Essendon at the MCG since 1995

Come on AFL

 

[Thrillthorpe7]

Only been 9 games to have a team score 25+ goals over the last 10 years. That’s 2000+ games of footy.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Good: forward line looks like James Rahilly is back coaching us (Davis influence perhaps?)

I think it's just smarter entries and ball movement across the ground, which yes is probably a Davis initiative

Lots of quick kicks to uncontested players, and fast handball chains

 

[GreyCrow]

Only been 9 games to have a team score 25+ goals over the last 10 years. That’s 2000+ games of footy.

2018 Crows beat Carlton kicking 26.9
2023 Crows beat West Coast kicking 27.12

So we have 3 of them

 

[GROTTO]

2018 Crows beat Carlton kicking 26.9
2023 Crows beat West Coast kicking 27.12

So we have 3 of them

Grey Facts with GreyCrow.

 

[Pea Nut]

Only been 9 games to have a team score 25+ goals over the last 10 years. That’s 2000+ games of footy.

The stat that grabbed me was 20+ goals kicked last year only happened 12 times. We've done it twice in 2 weeks.

 

[MRB37]

We went +70 on marks too. +42 on possessions and +12 on tackles. Lots of good signs there I think. Once the ball is outside the contest I don't think the Bombers have enough guys who want to work hard for it. We scored triple digits off their turnovers because they don't want to work to win it back.

If there's one thing we can give credit to Nicks and our list management is I think we've generally weeded out those guys from our list and it's a minority who may play that way.

 

[Owen_AFC97]

The Ugly

First time we have played Essendon at the MCG since 1995

Come on AFL

It’s nice to play at the G but Essendon don’t belong there.

 

[huludicidal]

Good:
Dawson - despite a few early howlers, he finished the game in the best 5 on the ground and looks in career best form

Soligo - such a damaging player. Clearly benefits from playing alongside Crouch too.

Crouch - playing some great footy and feeding the speedier beasts around him

Murray - solid as a rock back there and went in especially hard a number of times

Michalanney - annihilated Kako

Curtin - was FANTASTIC. I’m stoked the coaches stuck with him and didn’t drop him or make him the sub. Pretty much everything he touched today turned to gold, and his skills are nothing short of DAZZLING. Must play every week.

Thilthorpe - comfortably in the best 3-4 key forwards in the comp. We all love him clunking marks, but his ability at ground level and the way he can lace out targets by foot is absurd.

Fogarty - made his opponent look like a frightened child on a number of occasions.

Rankine - sublime skills, a goal of the year contender. Hope there’s no secret injury there because his durability is really his only weakness.

Laird - much maligned but suited far better in this role than anything near the midfield and playing some solid footy.

Neal-Bullen - such a fundamentally sound player and excellent decision maker. A guy who we can clearly always count on in crunch time for years to come.

Rachele - has started 2025 in top form. Looks far more agile and confident than 2024 and is reaping the rewards of playing alongside the dangerous talls.

Keays - the Essendon killer was back to his best after what I felt was a poor showing in Rd 1

Sholl - footskills on both sides were a key feature. I think he’s now ahead of Cumming in the pecking order tbh.

One particular tackle laid by Mitch Hinge caused movement in my nether regions.



Bad:
O’Brien was absolutely horrendous from start to finish. He’s just not good at football, it’s that simple.

Worrell had an absolute shocker apart from a couple of nice marks, and his decision making needs to be sorted out pronto. Multiple moronic handballs in both games so far leading directly to opposition goals. The hack kick is actually sometimes the answer Josh. Play within your limitations.

Keane did several dumb things and looks terrible when defending one on one against anyone.

Peatling was poor but I’m not worried at all.

Cumming was poor and I’m slightly worried about him as he just doesn’t look to be moving all that well, but him being replaced by Nankervis would certainly not weaken the team so it’s probably not a huge deal.



Ugly:
What on earth was going on with Essendon’s backline? One of the worst collective efforts I’ve ever seen. McKay and Reid were nothing short of a joke.

Finding a way to concede 100 pts to that poorly coached shitshow of a side.

Allowing Merrett to run around like an unregistered dog all day.

Umpires calling “not 15” on kicks that travel 22m in defense, but paying marks for kicks that travel 12m in the middle of the ground.

The holding the ball decision against Sid where he blatantly didn’t even have the ball.

 

[MRB37]

Good:
Dawson - despite a few early howlers, he finished the game in the best 5 on the ground and looks in career best form

Soligo - such a damaging player. Clearly benefits from playing alongside Crouch too.

Crouch - playing some great footy and feeding the speedier beasts around him

Murray - solid as a rock back there and went in especially hard a number of times

Michalanney - annihilated Kako

Curtin - was FANTASTIC. I’m stoked the coaches stuck with him and didn’t drop him or make him the sub. Pretty much everything he touched today turned to gold, and his skills are nothing short of DAZZLING. Must play every week.

Thilthorpe - comfortably in the best 3-4 key forwards in the comp. We all love him clunking marks, but his ability at ground level and the way he can lace out targets by foot is absurd.

Fogarty - made his opponent look like a frightened child on a number of occasions.

Rankine - sublime skills, a goal of the year contender. Hope there’s no secret injury there because his durability is really his only weakness.

Laird - much maligned but suited far better in this role than anything near the midfield and playing some solid footy.

Neal-Bullen - such a fundamentally sound player and excellent decision maker. A guy who we can clearly always count on in crunch time for years to come.

Rachele - has started 2025 in top form. Looks far more agile and confident than 2024 and is reaping the rewards of playing alongside the dangerous talls.

Keays - the Essendon killer was back to his best after what I felt was a poor showing in Rd 1

Sholl - footskills on both sides were a key feature. I think he’s now ahead of Cumming in the pecking order tbh.

One particular tackle laid by Mitch Hinge caused movement in my nether regions.



Bad:
O’Brien was absolutely horrendous from start to finish. He’s just not good at football, it’s that simple.

Worrell had an absolute shocker apart from a couple of nice marks, and his decision making needs to be sorted out pronto. Multiple moronic handballs in both games so far leading directly to opposition goals. The hack kick is actually sometimes the answer Josh. Play within your limitations.

Keane did several dumb things and looks terrible when defending one on one against anyone.

Peatling was poor but I’m not worried at all.

Cumming was poor and I’m slightly worried about him as he just doesn’t look to be moving all that well, but him being replaced by Nankervis would certainly not weaken the team so it’s probably not a huge deal.



Ugly:
What on earth was going on with Essendon’s backline? One of the worst collective efforts I’ve ever seen. McKay and Reid were nothing short of a joke.

Finding a way to concede 100 pts to that poorly coached shitshow of a side.

Allowing Merrett to run around like an unregistered dog all day.

Umpires calling “not 15” on kicks that travel 22m in defense, but paying marks for kicks that travel 12m in the middle of the ground.

The holding the ball decision against Sid where he blatantly didn’t even have the ball.

There was zero consistency last week on the not 15 calls too. They seem to only want to pay them in the D50 to keep the ball moving. We'd have questionable ones paid in our D50 and then Tex and Fog mark on 5-6m kicks and the ump pays it (we scored goals on both too)

 

[n4sir]

I caught the second half after a long lunch. Some general thoughts.

Good:

Getting a win at the G ticked off early in the season, and a ten + goal one at that.

Our forward structure like last week looks other worldly compared to last season. It looks even better than when Rahilly was in charge. The forwards have space and are being honored with passes to advantage, and our accuracy at goals for two games looks genuinely elite.

We seemed to work the whole dimensions of the G to our advantage, and that's the first time I've seen that for a long, long time.

Rach's goal followed by Izak's back to back in the third quarter were a thing of beauty.

Bad:

Nothing bad enough to mention.

Ugly:

Umpires. Again. That's two weeks in a row the maggots have tried their best to f*ck us, and it's made no difference in two ten goal thrashings. Suffer in your jocks you cheats.

 

[Hbanger]

Ugly. The McG turf.

Edit. Not actual turf but it was still ugly.

 

[Mostyn]

The complaints against ROB are a bit much I think.

A couple of dumb errors by foot in open play, but that's not a surprise.

What is a surprise is how good his hitouts to advantage have been the last couple of weeks. He's absolutely feeding the ball into good positions - Crouch is especially benefitting from this.