Autopsy Official Practice Match: Sydney v Carlton, Blacktown Int Sports Park, Friday 3rd March 7.10pm AEDT

[Kiama Chris]

Good hit out, team looked much more fluid tonight.
Blakey makes a huge difference down back with the run he gives us.
I'd imagine he's going to be tagged fairly often this season so we need to be prepared for that as quick ball movement out of defence is a key for us.

Campbell was good down back tonight, but I'm still not convinced his kicking wouldn't be of more benefit further up the ground.

Logan getting on his bike and presenting an option up on the wing looked really good and gets him out of Buddy's 'shadow'.

The whole holding/impeding the fwd is going to create havoc early in the season.

As Caesar mentioned above Dwayne was getting confused between Roberts & Campbell.
Decent game from Roberts, however 14 kicks 1 HB, disposal efficiency of 46%
Campbell 15 kicks 2 HBs, DE of 88%.

And just on our 'kickers' Logan does tend to get overlooked. Beautiful field kick.

Noted that we scored a lot of goals on the back of defensive chains. Horse would be delighted.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Hahaha! Whiting rewrote his first para.

 

[caesar88]

Noted that we scored a lot of goals on the back of defensive chains. Horse would be delighted.

To be fair though, Carlton were absolutely rubbish and offered nothing by way of defensive structure or forward pressure, which made our transition from defence look pretty darn good.

 

[RilesMacca]

Been sticking fat with Ladhams ever since he came to the club. He was good tonight, had a few nice clearances and grabs and didn't punch anyone.

Gives me a bit of confidence with him up against Witts in 2 weeks time.

 

[Banyo Bloods]

And Dwayne commentary after Heeney gets his first possession mentions him getting his first in the second quarter of the Grand Final. Who the F is he trying to impress with that crapola.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Roberts has not overtaken Sheldrick. Two very different players. It is like saying that McInerney has overtaken Parker. Just dumb.

I actually think Roberts is a better chance for R1 based on ToG today.

Gus didn’t come on until the late stages of Q3.
Roberts played circa 70%.

And at this stage, Roberts is being played as a mid, Gus as a forward.

But I still think both are tracking very nicely.

 

[Superstar swan]

Campbell was really really good tonight .

I still believe he should be in the middle by now but he really injected himself into the game

 

[JZ_Skitzo]

Roberts has not overtaken Sheldrick. Two very different players. It is like saying that McInerney has overtaken Parker. Just dumb.

How so?

 

[The King!]

didnt watch a second of it, but flag is coming

 

[caesar88]

Why does Roberts have to overtake Sheldrick or vice versa?

They're both second year players, both with one game to their name.

Roberts looks more ready of the two and I'm sensing the coaches think the same, but they're not intrinsically linked as players.

Both have shown some promise, that's all that matters.

 

[SydneyBlood]

Was unable to watch. From reading here there was concern about a Ladhams injury but seems like he came back on the field and did ok based on a few comments in last page or two?

 

[rustycrate]

I actually think Roberts is a better chance for R1 based on ToG today.

Gus didn’t come on until the late stages of Q3.
Roberts played circa 70%.

And at this stage, Roberts is being played as a mid, Gus as a forward.

But I still think both are tracking very nicely.

That is what I mean
Gus is mainly being played forward. Defensively he wrapped his opponent. Did a lot of one percenters.
Roberts is mainly in the team as a replacement for Mills in the guts. He looks composed and comfortable there. I liked his kicking in general play which I thought was suss. He is a quality kicker of the footy. Nice game from him.

 

[caesar88]

Not sure if already noted, but McAndrew leading our tackle count (6) off just 38% TOG is seriously impressive endeavour.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Not sure if already noted, but McAndrew leading our tackle count (6) off just 38% TOG is seriously impressive endeavour.

I’d just temper that a bit - the “tackles” were mostly when it was wet and ruck contests turned into a scrum.

But having said that - he did perform well.

 

[Superstar swan]

Logan was fantastic

His field kicking was excellent

Goal kicking is still an issue

 

[Superstar swan]

We are at a strange time when buddy and Parker are no longer anywhere near out best players

 

[Ticky009]

Was unable to watch. From reading here there was concern about a Ladhams injury but seems like he came back on the field and did ok based on a few comments in last page or two?

Well, he didn't deck anyone so we're calling that a win.

 

[SeanM]

Cunningham seems a decent stand-in for Clarke. His history as a small defender could be useful in shutting down an opposition half back. He has a bit of pace to pressure in the forward line. Also a versatile player so if we are struggling in defence can be used as a small defender.

I thought Gulden might spend more time forward to replace Papley. But instead he looks natural as an inside mid. (It is funny how good he is in multiple positions.) Gulden playing inside would give more opportunity to our other young wingers. It means Campbell can spend time on the wing. Or maybe allow Mitchell or Corey Warner to get a game later in the season.

Campbell might end up playing a lot of half back. And end up being the short term replacement for Fox. Maybe his struggle in defence last match was worthwhile. Because over the course of a season, we may need him playing in the back line due to injuries.

It was good to see guys like Roberts, McAndrew, Sheldrick, Edwards and Rankin get game time against AFL opposition. It gets them used to the increased pace and pressure. And gets them used to the senior team structure. (Because VFL games seem messier and relatively unstructured)

I thought McLean looked ok at full forward. Even when he was not cleanly marking it. He seems to be able to knock it down to our advantage. He could be a decent stand-in for Franklin if he can't play every game. Also felt having McLean at full forward allowed Logan to roam upfield and wide to get involved early.

 

[Dan87]

Ladhams now listed at 204 cm and 103 kg, growth spurt. He's grown into bruiser territory. He was good tonight.

Looking forward to his season. He's the #1 now imo

 

[hairy biker]

From stats/supercoach site, FanFooty - #1 fantasy footy source for AFL Fantasy, Supercoach and Dream Team!




I can only assume some Roman guy is their photo editor.

 

[caesar88]

From stats/supercoach site, FanFooty - #1 fantasy footy source for AFL Fantasy, Supercoach and Dream Team!

View attachment 1620862
View attachment 1620865

I can only assume some Roman guy is their photo editor.

Maybe that picture is referring to the gold Gulden struck?

 

[Nuggetz]

Thought Ladhams and Logan had solid games. Gulden was on another planet. Campbell was great from hb.

Warner was poor, a bit too selfish. Buddy was slower than any point last season. I don't want to see him in the side unless he's 100% fit, otherwise he's a liability. It might mean he only plays half the games but 100% fit buddy is a complete different beast to an unfit buddy.

Thought Mclean was good too, him and reid flying for marks was good to watch. I think having those 2 in our forward line, mainly for the long bombs is something which will work well. Mclean was competitive in the fwd 50 ruck too.

 

[caesar88]

Thought Ladhams and Logan had solid games. Gulden was on another planet. Campbell was great from hb.

Warner was poor, a bit too selfish. Buddy was slower than any point last season. I don't want to see him in the side unless he's 100% fit, otherwise he's a liability. It might mean he only plays half the games but 100% fit buddy is a complete different beast to an unfit buddy.

Thought Mclean was good too, him and reid flying for marks was good to watch. I think having those 2 in our forward line, mainly for the long bombs is something which will work well. Mclean was competitive in the fwd 50 ruck too.

Very harsh on Warner I think.

It didn't seem to me like he was doing anything different to what he was doing last year: trying to take the game on, trying to work onto his preferred foot, trying to work into that pocket of space so he can break away from the congestion. Carlton seemed onto it, so he was being tackled and prevented from doing those things. So what seemed like selfish plays were just foiled attempts to play the role that he's in the team for.

This also seemed evident last week against the Lions. His explosion into stardom last year would've put him on the radar of every team in the comp, and given his game is not exactly one of subtlety and deftness, it'd be easy for opposition teams to figure out what he's going to do.

He'll work through it though, both by getting smarter about how he uses those attributes of his, and also by other dangerous mids getting off the chain and offering Warner some relief.

 

[Kapers]

I can't remember where I posted it, but Logan justified my previous post on him completely.
He's such a weapon up the field.

 

[Nuggetz]

Very harsh on Warner I think.

It didn't seem to me like he was doing anything different to what he was doing last year: trying to take the game on, trying to work onto his preferred foot, trying to work into that pocket of space so he can break away from the congestion. Carlton seemed onto it, so he was being tackled and prevented from doing those things. So what seemed like selfish plays were just foiled attempts to play the role that he's in the team for.

This also seemed evident last week against the Lions. His explosion into stardom last year would've put him on the radar of every team in the comp, and given his game is not exactly one of subtlety and deftness, it'd be easy for opposition teams to figure out what he's going to do.

He'll work through it though, both by getting smarter about how he uses those attributes of his, and also by other dangerous mids getting off the chain and offering Warner some relief.

Hence the a bit too selfish, he needs to identify better options when he's not able to burst through congestion or break free from tackles. He didn't really do that throughout the game, he kept doing the same thing over & over again. It was poor that he didn't recognise the balance needed tonight. He should improve with experience but the poor is justified.

I don't think it's helpful giving him a pass mark because that's just the type of player he is, I would rather see a bit more evolution in his game. I also think better identification on when to pass to a teammate or not will make him more threatening. If opposition players know he'll take it himself it makes him predictable.