Review Cats defeat Crows by 19 at AO

[allrighty]

So, how about that lid? Off like a bride's nightie!

EDIT - I am putting it back on!

 

[CHAWKTS]

I guess we can thank atkins injury for saving us from bad decision making then as shaun impacts too much to be sub.

Certainly gave him a chance for full game which is good for him - played well.

But we are going to have selection issues when we get full availability. A blessing and a curse for Shaun is he has shown he can impact as a sub (whereas Dempsey for example needs to build into a game) so with full list he may still be happy to be sub if gets squeezed out.

Also unless Dempsey plays more permanently wing or they see Mannagh as MF there is a squeeze on the forward 7 spots. (rohan not far away?)

But as CS says best 22 is an academic exercise through the year given we never have full availability. I think next week if we have Duncan Bruhn and Bowes available you then have danger out…you get Knevitt and maybe Mullin or 2E come out? Sub then becomes interesting question.

He will certainly get enough chances to show what he can give. Only negative feedback they will give him I reckon (given he can definitely find the ball) is that he missed a few team mates a number of times. Hoping that will come as I would love to have him in team in finals

 

[Gunf]

After watching the replay.

Miers is by far the best linkman in the AFL and yes i know that isn't a real position but Miers doesn't really play a traditional position so i am claiming it.

Stewart is our best player and one of if not the best defender of the last 15 years. The crows tried something but it didn't work so gave up.

Hawkins will be the player we miss more than any other in the last 20 years he is our barometer.. And yes i think we will miss him way more than Selwood. Selwood was our heart but Hawkins is just something else and it is hard to put into word what he is for the club.

Blics is another we will miss once he is gone as he is the most unique player i have ever seen he can play almost any position and do it well some of them elite. Lat night when Stanley went off Blics went right ****ers lets get things back on our terms and led from the front.

Kolo as much as everyone gives him shit he turns up and most times keeps his opponent quiet and has a good game easily best 22.

Dempsey will be a star his ability to think through situations in Stivie J like he just needs games and some wieght.

Clark a bull that we need to keep pumping games into and things will click. His attack on the ball and will to impact a game reminds me of young Selwood. Give him time and the composure will come.

Mannagh Has all the tools to be a very good player hopefully he does.

Mullin you can see what the coaches see he is just very raw but even with him getting lost a little last night i thought he was decent another we need to get games into probably at VFL level for now but it won't be long before he just needs AFL games.

 

[cats_09]

Hope it was worth it

 

[kickazz]

Watching the replay and noticing that part of the reason it was a scrappy game is the umpires not paying enough free kicks. It leads to an increase in illegal tackles, hanging on to the ball too long, congestion.

 

[Matthew Jelley]

Great spread of goalscoring from our forwards, also very pleasing to see Stengle back in touch with several great inside 50 passes
Blicavs definitely led the midfield today, he was especially good at being clean when it was chaos around him

 

[CHAWKTS]

If there were other injuries it makes it more strange that we didnt sub knevitt in earlier.

I think the non danger issue might be “soreness” rather than injury. So (as you said in another post) they will just need to think about how they manage players in next two games given 10 and 5 day breaks.

 

[Catastrophe!]

Expect four weeks and be pleased if it’s shorter.

Really, what makes you say that?

We've got the Hawks in 10 days, and he had no ice on it after the game...nor did he appear to be in any discomfort walking around after the game. I mean hell, he helped carry 90kg Stewart off the ground; can't be that bad.

Might miss the Hawks game because we're conservative, but I reckon he's back the following week.

 

[cats_09]

I know we're only 2 games into our season, but one player where there seems consensus that is already having a better 2024 than they did 2023 is Kolodjashnij - and this may raise a couple of eyebrows, but I think that is at least in part due to Ratugolea moving to Port

In 2022 we were playing a defensive structure that consisted of SDK as our main KPD and JK as our second KPD option - he had more of a set role, and knew what his focus was each week

Last year, especially in games where we played all 3 of SDK, JK & Ratugolea, it was JK who was shifted to the third tall option or even a mobile medium forward, and while he had some success in that type of role when he was younger, he has bulked up over recent years to play as more of that KPD option

This year in a limited sample size he seems to have gone back to that 2nd KPD role, a position he looks more comfortable playing & is backing himself with the decisions his making

I'm hoping he takes some confidence out of these first couple of matches, as he's not just playing "solid" football but having a positive influence in our defensive unit

Early days in terms of season 2024, but I'm liking the look of our defensive group, how they're working together & backing each other up - yes there's improvement to be had, but good signs:

Round 1 - 44 inside 50s for 23 scoring shots
Round 2 - 66 inside 50s for 22 scoring shots

 

[year of the cat]

Interesting selection quandary next round with presumably Atkins, Duncan, Bruhn and possibly Bowes all available. Tough to drop Parfitt after last night. Knevitt and Mullin clearly both go. Dangerfield is a possible loss with a hammy.

Nice position to be in.

 

[Hamingja]

Seen a few crows supporters berating the loss of James Rahilly

James Rahilly

Age

45

Ht

187cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.2

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.6

3star

T

1.6

4star

No current season stats available

D

6.4

2star

K

2.8

1star

HB

3.6

3star

M

0.6

1star

T

1.0

3star

. Intriguing tactics from the Crows. They have gone one way where the rest of the competition has gone the other. The difference between intent in ball movement between the Saints last week and the Crows this week were at polar opposites.

 

[Lana]

The difference between intent in ball movement between the Saints last week and the Crows this week were at polar opposites.

Not in the first half

 

[CHAWKTS]

Really, what makes you say that?

We've got the Hawks in 10 days, and he had no ice on it after the game...nor did he appear to be in any discomfort walking around after the game. I mean hell, he helped carry 90kg Stewart off the ground; can't be that bad.

Might miss the Hawks game because we're conservative, but I reckon he's back the following week.

They will be very conservative. Ice wasn’t going to help it. He wasn’t happy after game but didn’t want story about him.

On a positive note he has done the work in pre season. So if he misses a few games now it won’t impact him for the year. He wasn’t going to play full year anyway

 

[CHAWKTS]

I know we're only 2 games into our season, but one player where there seems consensus that is already having a better 2024 than they did 2023 is Kolodjashnij - and this may raise a couple of eyebrows, but I think that is at least in part due to Ratugolea moving to Port

In 2022 we were playing a defensive structure that consisted of SDK as our main KPD and JK as our second KPD option - he had more of a set role, and knew what his focus was each week

Last year, especially in games where we played all 3 of SDK, JK & Ratugolea, it was JK who was shifted to the third tall option or even a mobile medium forward, and while he had some success in that type of role when he was younger, he has bulked up over recent years to play as more of that KPD option

This year in a limited sample size he seems to have gone back to that 2nd KPD role, a position he looks more comfortable playing & is backing himself with the decisions his making

I'm hoping he takes some confidence out of these first couple of matches, as he's not just playing "solid" football but having a positive influence in our defensive unit

Early days in terms of season 2024, but I'm liking the look of our defensive group, how they're working together & backing each other up - yes there's improvement to be had, but good signs:

Round 1 - 44 inside 50s for 23 scoring shots
Round 2 - 66 inside 50s for 22 scoring shots

Good analysis.

Also at the ground it felt like we defended that short kick really well all over the ground. Did you notice that too? This helps defenders as there was obvious pressure up the ground. I think our all team defence is really good early. And I think part of that is the mixture of youth. None of this shows on stat sheet but you have Dempsey Clark Mannagh close Miers etc all filling spots and constantly moving to close gaps.

 

[Catastrophe!]

OUT:

Danger (hamstring)
Mullin (omitted)
Knevitt (omitted)
Stanley (soreness)

IN:

Duncan
Bowes
Bruhn
S. Neale


B: J. Henry, SDK, Zuthrie
HB: T. Stewart, Kolo, Holmes
C: Miers, Parfitt, Duncan
FO: Blics, Bowes, Bruhn
HF: O. Henry, S. Neale, J. Cameron
F: Dempsey, Hawkins, Stengle
INT: O'Connor, Close, Clark, Tuohy
Sub: Mannagh

EMG:

Conway (needs a block of VFL games)
Mullin (did a lot right, but a strong group to break into)
Knevitt (needs a good block of VFL, but definitely in the MC's plans)

 

[JohnZ]

Watching the replay and noticing that part of the reason it was a scrappy game is the umpires not paying enough free kicks. It leads to an increase in illegal tackles, hanging on to the ball too long, congestion.

HTB is a cruicial free kick that opens up the game. Yet the AFL continues to direct the umpires to not pay it and instead wait for the ball to spill out of the pack which just creates more congestion....

 

[Catastrophe!]

They will be very conservative. Ice wasn’t going to help it. He wasn’t happy after game but didn’t want story about him.

On a positive note he has done the work in pre season. So if he misses a few games now it won’t impact him for the year. He wasn’t going to play full year anyway

That's annoying, but thanks for the clarification. Gah.

 

[CHAWKTS]

That's annoying, but thanks for the clarification. Gah.

Oh and I should have added for balance that the view is their concern not 100% confirmed as no tests done. But they think danger knows his own body well and he thinks it is a bit of time on the sideline. Won’t know for sure for a few days so maybe we can cling on to some hope that he is being pessimistic. In any event I would be suprised if they risked anything

 

[CHAWKTS]

OUT:

Danger (hamstring)
Mullin (omitted)
Knevitt (omitted)
Stanley (soreness)

IN:

Duncan
Bowes
Bruhn
S. Neale


B: J. Henry, SDK, Zuthrie
HB: T. Stewart, Kolo, Holmes
C: Miers, Clark, Duncan
FO: Blics, Bowes, Bruhn
HF: O. Henry, S. Neale, J. Cameron
F: Dempsey, Hawkins, Stengle
INT: O'Connor, Close, Clark, Tuohy
Sub: Mannagh

EMG:

Conway (needs a block of VFL games)
Mullin (did a lot right, but a strong group to break into)
Knevitt (needs a good block of VFL, but definitely in the MC's plans)

As good a guess as any I reckon.

Only 1 I query is Neale. I just don’t see how they have 3 talks in forward line. Plus with Mannagh in that would mean 9 forwards. The Jezza to wing experiment didn’t really work last night but maybe they try it? Dempsey played all but a few minutes on wing so obviously they have that flexibility?

If Neale kicks a bag today then I suppose that forces the issue a bit?

 

[cats_09]

OUT:

Danger (hamstring)
Mullin (omitted)
Knevitt (omitted)
Stanley (soreness)

IN:

Duncan
Bowes
Bruhn
S. Neale


B: J. Henry, SDK, Zuthrie
HB: T. Stewart, Kolo, Holmes
C: Miers, Clark, Duncan
FO: Blics, Bowes, Bruhn
HF: O. Henry, S. Neale, J. Cameron
F: Dempsey, Hawkins, Stengle
INT: O'Connor, Close, Clark, Tuohy
Sub: Mannagh

EMG:

Conway (needs a block of VFL games)
Mullin (did a lot right, but a strong group to break into)
Knevitt (needs a good block of VFL, but definitely in the MC's plans)

If Stanley doesn't play then Conway has to - we can't go into a match with just Blicavs to ruck

I'd also be keeping Parfitt or Mullin in before Tuohy who's just starting to look like his losing the pace of the game - wouldn't have been upset if he was subbed out at halftime last night, and doubt Knevitt would have given us less than we found from Tuohy

 

[cats_09]

As good a guess as any I reckon.

Only 1 I query is Neale. I just don’t see how they have 3 talks in forward line. Plus with Mannagh in that would mean 9 forwards. The Jezza to wing experiment didn’t really work last night but maybe they try it? Dempsey played all but a few minutes on wing so obviously they have that flexibility?

If Neale kicks a bag today then I suppose that forces the issue a bit?

Hawkins to play versus Hawthorn

Then rest him against WB in gather round off a 5-day break and bring Neale in

Work out the next step after that

 

[Catastrophe!]

If Stanley doesn't play then Conway has to - we can't go into a match with just Blicavs to ruck

I'd also be keeping Parfitt or Mullin in before Tuohy who's just starting to look like his losing the pace of the game - wouldn't have been upset if he was subbed out at halftime last night, and doubt Knevitt would have given us less than we found from Tuohy

As good a guess as any I reckon.

Only 1 I query is Neale. I just don’t see how they have 3 talks in forward line. Plus with Mannagh in that would mean 9 forwards. The Jezza to wing experiment didn’t really work last night but maybe they try it? Dempsey played all but a few minutes on wing so obviously they have that flexibility?

If Neale kicks a bag today then I suppose that forces the issue a bit?

Oh I'm not going off my own instinct, more what I think the MC will do.

Conway has not made it into the emergencies the first few weeks, while Neale has. We also trialled the 3 tall forwards during Pre-season and apparently were reasonably happy with it.

Blics is always preferred in these Stanley situations, so I see Neale coming in to give him a chop out/stretch the undermanned Hawks defenders (they literally have no KPD's lol).

Clark on the field is meant to be Parfitt (put him in twice when I got the expanded explanation on Danger's hammy). Fixed now.

Would like to see Tuohy out, as he's the one who has really stood out to me as having father time catch up with him. Kolo and O'Connor have had two really good weeks - particularly Kolo -, so it's Tuohy and maybe Clark and Mannagh who are vulnerable (along with Parfitt) when all of Guthrie, Danger, Rohan and Atkins return.

 

[CHAWKTS]

Hawkins to play versus Hawthorn

Then rest him against WB in gather round off a 5-day break and bring Neale in

Work out the next step after that

Agree. Good to get Neale in against our Bunny’s the Bulldogs (sorry for those that believe in jinx!)

 

[supahoops]

Danger looking after Knevitt, end of, you’re not putting a bloke on your shoulders with an iffy hamstring.

Mullin stays and takes care of Nick Watson. Parfitt is a confidence player give him a run at it. Conway or Neale to give Rhys a rest for English given a 5 day break. I’d also give Clark and Tuohy a spell with Dogs in mind.

Good to have some selection headaches and genuine options.

 

[Gazzathegoat]

Great team performance. Blicavs is a nightmare matchup for opposition midfielders. Thought Parfitt was incredible.
Clark very solid. Back 6 were all exceptional.

Will be very interested to see how Conway goes in the VFL today. Surely he gets a run against Hawks.