D GRADE: Give me something...

[BlueBoys88]

Fairly predictable round of footy over the weekend with the exception of the yarra vs rupo match, and the extent of the margin would suprise a majority of readers.

OM's have well surely put a nail in the therry coffin?
Huge game for both rupo and yarra valley this week!

Let the run home to finals begin!!!

On an unrelated topic, there has been much speculation about the identities of certain posters. I think the beauty of this forum is that one can take on an alias to post honest, intelligent, supportive and at times harsh comments on players, coaches and clubs without being ridiculed.

 

[uglydermie]

Re the identity of people. Totally agree with the previous post - if you need to speculate can I suggest the use of private messages. The beauty of this forum is the way in which we can freely comment on D1 issues.

Maybe at the end of the season we could all catch up for beer at a central pub - we are all probably pretty similar blokes (or ladies).

Ugly - out.

 

[Henry24]

It is officially a 3 horse race. OC, OGS and BT.

DG

How can you rule Yarra Valley out of it DG? Surely they are peaking at the right time of the year, and getting quality players back by the sound of it. No doubt they have great potential, the first quarter agaist BT was enough to confirm that they have talent for mine, especially in the forward half and with the drew brothers in the midfield.

Toohas, what was the extent of the Rob Drew injury? Miss any games?

Is That So, great research and stats, interesting results.

Keep up the good work lads, top reading!!

 

[Conduct Unbecoming]

How can you rule Yarra Valley out of it DG? Surely they are peaking at the right time of the year, and getting quality players back by the sound of it. No doubt they have great potential, the first quarter agaist BT was enough to confirm that they have talent for mine...

quote]

Totally agree Henry, I have said repeatedly, YV's 1st quater v BT was the best quater of football I have seen this year (in D1 anyway). YV to take 4th spot for mine !! Agree with you too Toohas (the thinking man's DI thread contributor), Rob Drew is a really hard player to match up against, tough but fair. Unfortunate to hear of the circumstances from Saturday.

IMO both OG and OC remain the best chances to progress to C grade...BT have beaten OC, OG YV and Rupo and with R Bain from Essendon and T Waters back from Port Melbourne, they can not be underestimated. Ugly/Bullant, my spies tell me neither Ryan or Matt Bain played v St Leos?? Just resting Ryan after his first game back at the large Como oval?? What about Matt - BOG v OG then missing?? Injured or playing VFL??

Is that So - great work re the player stats..to be on the net at 1:30am on any website other than www.bigjuggs.com suggests to all of us that you are clearly an ammo football nut, gay or the Qwill (or all three). Either way, I dips my lid to you my friend...

Archangel17 (best name on this thread imo) - they are some handy names returning at Prahran. Can you confirm that they are playing again?

And finally, to the Carey posters...any truth in the rumour that Carey have been playing their reserves team in the seniors all year and have 21 guns returning from injury, overseas, retirement, interstate, Guantanemo Bay and the International Space Station in the coming weeks....if we take this thread as gospel, it appears that there is a whole other side sitting mysteriously by the sideline ready to come back in the next few weeks....

 

[AJPAJP]

How can you rule Yarra Valley out of it DG? Surely they are peaking at the right time of the year, and getting quality players back by the sound of it. No doubt they have great potential, the first quarter agaist BT was enough to confirm that they have talent for mine...

quote]

Totally agree Henry, I have said repeatedly, YV's 1st quater v BT was the best quater of football I have seen this year (in D1 anyway). YV to take 4th spot for mine !! Agree with you too Toohas (the thinking man's DI thread contributor), Rob Drew is a really hard player to match up against, tough but fair. Unfortunate to hear of the circumstances from Saturday.

IMO both OG and OC remain the best chances to progress to C grade...BT have beaten OC, OG YV and Rupo and with R Bain from Essendon and T Waters back from Port Melbourne, they can not be underestimated. Ugly/Bullant, my spies tell me neither Ryan or Matt Bain played v St Leos?? Just resting Ryan after his first game back at the large Como oval?? What about Matt - BOG v OG then missing?? Injured or playing VFL??

Is that So - great work re the player stats..to be on the net at 1:30am on any website other than www.bigjuggs.com suggests to all of us that you are clearly an ammo football nut, gay or the Qwill (or all three). Either way, I dips my lid to you my friend...

Archangel17 (best name on this thread imo) - they are some handy names returning at Prahran. Can you confirm that they are playing again?

And finally, to the Carey posters...any truth in the rumour that Carey have been playing their reserves team in the seniors all year and have 21 guns returning from injury, overseas, retirement, interstate, Guantanemo Bay and the International Space Station in the coming weeks....if we take this thread as gospel, it appears that there is a whole other side sitting mysteriously by the sideline ready to come back in the next few weeks....

Bullants were Bainless on Saturday, Mattys form earned a callup to Oakleigh Chargers

 

[DG-Man]

Henry, may be a little harsh to be ruling out YV. I guess i am saying i don't believe the team finishing 4th will make the GF. YV may indeed finish 4th, but i think that is as far as they may go. I expect OGS to touch up YV next week, meaning the following weeks game for YV against BT will become a must win. We will see!

Tipping Ladder (A lot of 5's this week as all favourites won!)

MJS2 (5) 22

Ugly (5) 21

DG-Man (5) 20 (unlucky not to get 6 this week!)
Henry (4) 20
Is It So (5) 20
St.Kevs Cowboy (5) 20
Hansie (5) 20

Bullant (4) 18
Moss Rocket (5) 18
Bede me Up (5) 18

SSBob (3) 17
Toohas (4) 17
Midas (4) 17

Mystery Dog (3) 15

OC37 (2) 14
King Brown (4) 14
Half Back (4) 14
Blue Boys 88 (4) 14
Knackers (4) 14

ILSSully (3) 13

* Sorry Sandra, but i had to highlight your position. Some (not me of course) will be happy to see you struggling down there. A few large calls recently are not being backed up on the field!

* You will all notice that the tipping ladder is a new improved version allowing for people to see what everyone else scored for the week. As the weeks roll on and the tension mounts (who will be the winner!) it may be important to have as much info as possible on your main opposition!

Some great new input in the last week or two. Theories are being slapped left, right and centre! Keep it up!

 

[Toohas]

How can you rule Yarra Valley out of it DG? Surely they are peaking at the right time of the year, and getting quality players back by the sound of it. No doubt they have great potential, the first quarter agaist BT was enough to confirm that they have talent for mine, especially in the forward half and with the drew brothers in the midfield.

Toohas, what was the extent of the Rob Drew injury? Miss any games?

He copped a knee in the quad from a player coming at full speed, so it was probably the mother of all corkies. I hope he doesn't miss any games, but I guess I'll know more after training on Tuesday.

To be honest, we don't give a toss if other sides rate us or not, we beat Old Geelong pretty convincingly last time we played them and we will potentially be putting our best side of the season on the park on Saturday. Why wouldn't we think we can win?

 

[Kibe]

Really good effort from Leo's on Saturday. I think the BT supporters will agree that we had as much of the play as them, and as many inside 50's. The only difference was that BT took their opportunities, and their key forwards stood up, and Leo's didn't.

 

[DG-Man]

Toohas, Not saying that the DG does not rate you, just do not think you are as good as the top 3 sides. As the season goes on, injuries can become more regular and i don't think your side has the depth (Ressies are 0-11) to make the GF. I guess if you had your best 22 available come finals time then anything is possible. Then again i still rate the best 22 from a few clubs as superior.
I will be tipping OGS next week, but will be happy to reconsider my thoughts on YV if you can beat them (but i guess you don't really give a toss about my thoughts anyway! )

 

[Toohas]

Number of players that have played at least 1 senior game this year per team:

BT :43
OM :40
Ban :39
Rup :38
OC : 37
TP :37
ESL :37
OG :35
YV :35
Pra :33

What does this mean some had more injuries than others, or depth is such that playesr are elevated or dropped any thoughts?

With 10th, 9th and 7th on the list, I'd suggest it indicates a lack of quality depth in the reserves, players that can come in and do a job in the seniors. I wrote a while back that we'd used 47 players last year and that seemed like way too much, but if you've got the fringe senior players running around in the twos, it will hold your team in good stead.

I think what it's also shown for us is that we've been pretty lucky with our injuries/abscences. We've had quite a few injuries this year, but it seems like just as a player has to miss a couple of weeks, another player is coming back from an injury and ready to take his place. The Old Carey game in Round 10 was probably the first where we've been found out for a lack of depth, after Stevo went down.

With Old Mentonians being right up the top, I suggest this points to the strength of their twos. When we played against them, I couldn't believe how many of their ones players from last year were running around in the reserves. They have the depth to cover for injuries at the moment and I think they are sneaking under the radar a bit. They are only half a game behind us. If they had beaten St. Leo's last week, they would be ahead of us on the ladder right now.

Correct, DG Man, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. It seems every Monday we have someone on the forum with their new and improved official statements (that have been completely changed from the previous week). Like last week when everyone was saying the winner of our game vs Rupertswood would definitely finish fourth. Well, we won and Rupertswood are still fourth. Bottom line is we need to win at least one more game than they do for the rest of the year to play finals. And I'm sure Old Mentonians and Therry aren't thinking about their footy trips just yet.

 

[AJPAJP]

As you do on a Saturday when you get home alone at 1.30 in the morning, looking for some useless stats !
The VAFA website team stats shows players names number of games etc.

There has been lots of talk on this thread about injured players or players coming back etc, here are my findings (before todays games)
Number of players that have played at least 1 senior game this year per team:

BT :43
OM :40
Ban :39
Rup :38
OC : 37
TP :37
ESL :37
OG :35
YV :35
Pra :33

What does this mean some had more injuries than others, or depth is such that playesr are elevated or dropped any thoughts?

How many clubs play a player out of the Reserves as the 4th interchange, this would distort these figures somewhat

 

[DG-Man]

Agree with the possible distortion. Perhaps a better indicator of something worth discussion would be how many players at each club have played all (or maybe 10 or 11) games this year. Who is getting there best 22 more regularly out on the track.

Is It So...you may be the man for this research project!

Toohas, i see nothing wrong with having an opinion that the current top 3 sides will fight it out for promotion this year. Doesn't seem like a crazy prediction to me! I think i was one of those who thought the winner of YV and Rupo would finish 4th. Saying that i think it is a 3 horse race does not go against this!

 

[Hawker28]

Long time reader, and must say a massive fan of this thread! Must say it has been a little quiet in here this morning, and we all know what i mean don't we ILSS!

D1 is starting to to clear up with some clear contenders and some that will find it hard to run home. You can not rule out Rupertswood by any mean's, a similar incident like this happen last year and they ran home only to get done in GF. Expect a finish somewhere round the 3rd 5th mark for the sharks.

 

[Toohas]

Yes OC, BT and OG have been good this year and would probably be the favourites to go up to C grade next year. My point is nothing is guaranteed. Unlike last year, it seems like who wins this year will depend, not only on who makes the final 4 and gets the double chance, but who they are matched up against in the finals. The top four each seem to have a bogey team (BT less so than the others since they reversed the OG result from Round 1) and the team that wins it may be the team that avoids playing against their bogey team in the finals. There have already been plenty of surprises and I don't think they're over with yet.

 

[The Late Mail]

LM,

I saw you tried to liven things up the other week with your Dineen/Hailibury gags. Can you tell us who you play with in A-Grade?Perhaps some of us here will share some common ground with you!!
And perhaps try and steal you for next season!

Ha ha thanks DGM, nice to know someone understood my humour! I don't claim to be a comic genius, just trying to add a little spice to an otherwise boring thread (not to metion a pretty boring day at the office!). Tried to open a a few cans but all I got was "your information is wrong" and "you are not funny"...can't blame a man for trying, back to the drawing board i guess. Still, I still got to stitch up Jono Horn which was satisfying, although from the responses, people probably think I consider him a well respected journalist!

 

[Conduct Unbecoming]

Ha ha thanks DGM, nice to know someone understood my humour! I don't claim to be a comic genius, just trying to add a little spice to an otherwise boring thread (not to metion a pretty boring day at the office!). Tried to open a a few cans but all I got was "your information is wrong" and "you are not funny"...can't blame a man for trying, back to the drawing board i guess. Still, I still got to stitch up Jono Horn which was satisfying, although from the responses, people probably think I consider him a well respected journalist!

Late Mail - I still don't get it? Bernie Dineen's name has not been in Marcellin's best all year. And as for the garlic mayo, it tasted a bit sour to me...

 

[kingbrown]

What is harder about assessing YV is the ground they play at. They murdered OG there and were far too good for us on Saturday. They looked less top heavy up forward with Keem and Lecordier very dangerous as well as (35) hanging out wide. (27) Savage was fantastic down back and (42) Stone was smart and a very solid man. (63) on a wing i thought he came off the bench Johnno they called him showed sublime skill with his left foot at times. Our skills and discipline in th second quarter was our worst for the year.
Toohas, this is nat an excuse but did you think you guys got the better of the umpiring Saturday. As the umpires walked off one of your supporters mentioned to the umpires it was the best umpiring he had ever seen at Amateur level. I thought this was funny.
I have talked up many teams, I rated Banyule last week and and have always rated Therry. I rated YV in our game earlier in the year. All going well for them i think they can beat anyone. Very solid side.

 

[kingbrown]

4 out of 6 at home over the coming weeks. Our boys have been fair and square beaten by better sides over the last 5 weeks. 3/4 losses have been away. Rupo need a few players getting confidence back and we can turn it around!

The guys contributing to this thread, brilliant.

 

[Phar Lap]

Cheers guys I thought the Big Red would have copped a pasting on here this morning. Come on ILSS I have come out of hiding I am sure you could do the same! What can I say about our game again we were 5 goals up at half time and again we fell a sleep in the 3rd quarter. We have a must win against St Leos this week otherwise we could be staring d2 in the face............
I think that it's a great idea that we all meet in a pub at the end of the year to have a few beers and talk about the season gone, let me know which one and I will be there.
Come on ILSS only a few weeks left untikl the big game, I think this thread will be running hot that week..........
Racing

 

[Conduct Unbecoming]

What is harder about assessing YV is the ground they play at. They murdered OG there and were far too good for us on Saturday.... I rated YV in our game earlier in the year. All going well for them i think they can beat anyone. Very solid side.

I think an earlier post from AJP highlighted the finals venue as Box Hill City Oval. Given this, I think YV (should they make it) will potentially struggle. Toohas, how have your guys fared on bigger, faster grounds this year?

On the other hand, should Rupo make it..they will find a venue exactly to their liking (fast, solid ground, wide open wings etc.).

I would think Carey, Old Geelong and BT will be fine no matter where its played. But, lets no everyone count their chickens before they hatch...still 7 games to go.

 

[Toohas]

#35 is Brad Peake, he will become our games record holder on Saturday. I personally think we look much better when he and Stoney are playing in the forward pockets, their poise when they've got the ball is terrific and they would probably be my number one and two picks to take a shot for us from 40m to win the game. They will really make teams pay for keying on Keem and Lecordier.

Keep quiet about Savage, he's one of the most underrated players in the league (first time I've heard his name mentioned) and I'm quite happy for it to stay that way. As for Johnno Trend, it was his best game for the club by a mile. He's easily our youngest player, but he's made the step up to senior footy and now he's developing the poise and trust in his teammates to really start putting his stamp on games.

We are suited to the wet conditions, definitely, but with guys like Britt, Hancock, Beal and Lear either back already or coming back, I think we will acquit ourselves quite well playing any style.

We've had the older umpire a few times now. He was red hot on us early in the season, we had started to get an ordinary reputation with regard to melees and backchatting the umpires. Barnsey has been harping on this issue and you won't hear much abuse from the Yarra boys towards the umpires anymore. This umpire in particular seems to be giving us and our style of play a bit more latitude as he becomes more familiar with us. The Therry Penola game was similar, we were first in for the ball and he looked after us. We are used to giving away more free kicks than we receive, the difference has been massive in alot of games, due to our physical style. Barnsey told us we were up 10-1 in the first half and the Rupo boys had 7-1 in the third quarter when they started getting in first for the ball. 25m have been down since we instituted a penalty that anyone giving one away had to do the dishes on Thursday night.

 

[Toohas]

I think an earlier post from AJP highlighted the finals venue as Box Hill City Oval. Given this, I think YV (should they make it) will potentially struggle. Toohas, how have your guys fared on bigger, faster grounds this year?

Fair point. Saturday will probably answer that question one way or the other. Carey, we were probably found a step slow against their leading forwards, they played that ground to perfection. It's a pretty unique ground, Carey, it's almost as wide as it is long and I think the dimensions contribute to their home ground advantage. We've also lost at Bulleen Temp (didn't see the game) and Rupertswood (in it all day, disappointed to lose).

 

[kingbrown]

Toohas, (17) gave some good run off the backline and 23's workrate is very good, i think he runs down the ground just to tire his opponent. It was really a good all round team effort.
The (7-1) third quarter quickly changed as we got closer. What was the last quarter, sometimes i think umpires (especially the older guy) umpire by the scoreboard. You definitely were the far better side on Saturday.

Ugly, Collo our captain is the most articulate and honourable person i have met. He in my opinion is the most corageous player in D1. If there was a vote at Rupertswood for the most admired player at Rupo he would win by a mile. The discipline issues have to be addressed as a whole group, including Collo however i am sure he is not leading the issue we had on the weekend. He was blamed by the umpire for an incident that was another player (trust me i know), I think Toohas has explained well the issues YV had earlier in the year and we have to meet them head on as well.

 

[BlueBoys88]

Yarra Valley play their swamp very well, and was interesting to see several YV players take the field saturday with flippers and a snorkel.

KB rupo are definently at a crossroad following the loss on the weekend, and seem to be missing the x factor they had in earlier games. Don't be writing off rupo yet chaps...as they did beat OC by 10 goals.

 

[Toohas]

Honestly don't know the count in the last quarter. From memory didn't seem like they paid too many either way. #17 Laing, is one of our most courageous players, former b&f, slips under the radar a bit, but he is just one of those reliable blokes who always seems to make the right decision and never shirks an issue. Perfect player to have in a back pocket.

#23 Yeo, can play pretty much anywhere due to, as you mentioned his workrate and a very big engine. He was usually found somewhere down the spine, but he's been a revealation on the wing, with his brother manning the wing on the other side. He'd be a pretty intimidating match up for most wingmen I reckon, bit like an Embley in that he can play as a tall or a small. I agree, it was a great team effort, but the pats on the back are done with and we need to beat Old Geelong, or we are back to where we were two weeks ago.