Review Hawthorn v Cats - match sim - Thursday 23rd Feb, GMHBA

[hawkinoz]

we need more of Mooooore at HFC

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

Josh Bennetts. This kid has a lot of energy. There's something there to work with.

He was very good tonight. I noticed his lateral movement was very good. Not scared to put his head where others fear to tread

Much improved showing compared to his intra last week which is a good sign. Picking up the faster pace of the game

 

[Bugs1977]

Games started bang on 2 pm in the 80’s

They used to open up those big gates at 3 quarter time there and let everyone back in the day

 

[Titch3Votes0MooreAA]

Bookmarked!

Oh, no! What have I done!? I think I may have irreversibly cursed BMac from having a great career...

 

[almuz]

Barlow is a sh*t commentator - says a lot without saying anything

 

[killerspud]

I know we’ve been starve of footy but surely there’s a few premature overreactions happening here. At the end of the day, all we want out of this is zero injuries.
I’d happily lose both praccys by 20 goals and lose no others before round 1 than win both and be short handed against the scum.

There's a lot of folks here who go prematurely

 

[Hodgey 15]

Thrashed...embarassed.

Few positives:

Rucks are now competitive
Green did well
Newk, Day, Ward in middle ok
Chad showed intent
Moore is class

Rest is a work in progress.

It will be a long and frustrating year folks.

It's a match sim

I know we’ve been starve of footy but surely there’s a few premature overreactions happening here. At the end of the day, all we want out of this is zero injuries.
I’d happily lose both praccys by 20 goals and lose no others before round 1 than win both and be short handed against the scum.

This happens EVERY season. Even in our 3peat era the sky is falling mob started bleating about how rubbish we were going to be that season if we played poorly.

 

[stemline]

I'm reasonably certain we'll play a hell of a lot better than that this year. Probably as soon as next week. But that's not setting a very high bar of course, and actually winning games is another matter altogether.

Some positives to take away I thought -

We didn't get annihilated at the centre bounces, actually held our own at the stoppages for the most part

Wingard on limited time did some good things

Ward does look a player

Long not bad and then quite dominant in the VFL game

Blanck doesn't lose one on ones

In the VFL game I thought Seamus took a big step forward, finally putting on show his one weapon, his speed. Took the game on throughout. Didn't always work but at least he'll be watchable this year as opposed to invisible

Bailey Macdonald super exciting

Jack O'Sullivan has tricks and intensity

Box Hill should be good to watch and pretty competitive - the display today was basically the bottom of their list plus Callum Brown. No senior Box Hill players like Beasley, Horner, Cavarra, Mascitti (is he playing?), Ed Phillips or Cal Porter. Also missing recruits Naish and Trudgeon who were excellent last week.

Lots to like from the Box Hill kids.

 

[Davo-27]

Went to Geelong on a nice summer day, bloody hot in the sun, came away with mixed thoughts

1. Our midfield is looking competitive with some good i50s by a few (although some poor skill execution at times which cost us, our defense looked unorganised with too many counter attackers and not enough actual defenders, what I would give for a Stratton or Gibson, our forwardline missing too many chances (Kosi continually looking disappointing and missing kickable shots)

2. Scrimshaw played by far the worst game I've ever seen him play(seemed like half a dozen poor turnovers and lost most 1v1s) Worpel also seems mentally shot, are they being praised too much? Maybe they need tough love? Idk why they both seem mentally out of it atm?

3. I noticed early in the game forward pressure by Meek and Reeves, if that's the best forward pressure you have it's just going to rebound out of your forward zone, making midfield wins pointless, also turnovers hurt us big, it is preseason so skill errors are bound to happen, but having the likes of Nash kicking it or Scrimshaw having a mare doesn't help things

4. Positives as far as player performance, Moore was great, did he kick 2 or 3 goals? Also created pressure at times, I thought Newcombe and Ward had decent games, I think they ended with 20-odd touches? a couple errors here and there but they looked like having decent seasons, Fergus Greene

26

Fergus Greene

Age

26

Ht

187cm

Wt

75kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.8

2star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.4

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.0

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.8

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.4

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.0

4star

looks fantastic, passed a few times, but I would rather he kick from 50m than pass it to Kosi 40m out who has the yips, Amon uhas fantastic vision, we just need to use him more often, he finds space and is always an option, but we ignored him a few times to our detriment, our best plays involved Amon imo (1 amazing kick to Wingard was just unbelievable vision and execution)James Blanck, just competes in the air and makes his opponent go wide, but with the amount of turnovers and free opponents in their forward line he had an unfortunate day, Impeys run caused opportunities as well.

5. Negatives as far as player performances, again Kosi missed goals and dropped marks, he did intercept a loose ball and kick a goal, but overall Jeka looked better when he came on, Worpel was barely effective, when he did get it, it just bumbled out of his poss, Nash, his kicking is terrible, his game sense is terrible, he thought about hitting a Geelong guy, then just walked away, if it was a team mate he would've hit him, he just doesn't know when to do anything, so he does nothing .....and his pissweak dinky kicks make Titch look like an amazing kick(very frustrating because he can bring the biff in hard tackles sometimes) Hardwick needs help with these quick forwards and when he doesn't get it, he can look ordinary when they do laps around him, Weddle barely touched it, the 1 touch I did see him get he kicked it on the full to a leading Worpel, of course Worpel is leading to the boundary???, Scrimshaw as I said before uncharacteristically bad, can he improve or will he miss rd1?

6. Moore showed some leadership on field at least, Sicily looked tired and seemed to not care?

Each quarter they kicked 5 or more and each quarter we kicked 1-2 goals, it was a start to finish domination and we have some harsh realities to face, but in 2-3 years we're going to have a large core of players to take us forward. (So mixed thoughts and a large serving of hope)

 

[hawkinoz]

Blicav's needs to watch where he is going

 

[Randy Campbell]

I am looking forward to watching Box Hill this season.

 

[Howe Amazing]

In the main game, they were calling geelong players names in marking contests when the hawthorn player marked it uncontested out in front. Then when the packed formed they'd say "pack forms insert random geelong player here out in front."

Everything they have said so far has been from a purely geelong perspective.

What about when Newcombe copped elbow to face and they said he retaliated

 

[KermitJagger]

Went to Geelong on a nice summer day, bloody hot in the sun, came away with mixed thoughts

1. Our midfield is looking competitive with some good i50s by a few (although some poor skill execution at times which cost us, our defense looked unorganised with too many counter attackers and not enough actual defenders, what I would give for a Stratton or Gibson, our forwardline missing too many chances (Kosi continually looking disappointing and missing kickable shots)

2. Scrimshaw played by far the worst game I've ever seen him play(seemed like half a dozen poor turnovers and lost most 1v1s) Worpel also seems mentally shot, are they being praised too much? Maybe they need tough love? Idk why they both seem mentally out of it atm?

3. I noticed early in the game forward pressure by Meek and Reeves, if that's the best forward pressure you have it's just going to rebound out of your forward zone, making midfield wins pointless, also turnovers hurt us big, it is preseason so skill errors are bound to happen, but having the likes of Nash kicking it or Scrimshaw having a mare doesn't help things

4. Positives as far as player performance, Moore was great, did he kick 2 or 3 goals? Also created pressure at times, I thought Newcombe and Ward had decent games, I think they ended with 20-odd touches? a couple errors here and there but they looked like having decent seasons, Fergus Greene looks fantastic, passed a few times, but I would rather he kick from 50m than pass it to Kosi 40m out who has the yips, Amon uhas fantastic vision, we just need to use him more often, he finds space and is always an option, but we ignored him a few times to our detriment, our best plays involved Amon imo (1 amazing kick to Wingard was just unbelievable vision and execution)James Blanck, just competes in the air and makes his opponent go wide, but with the amount of turnovers and free opponents in their forward line he had an unfortunate day, Impeys run caused opportunities as well.

5. Negatives as far as player performances, again Kosi missed goals and dropped marks, he did intercept a loose ball and kick a goal, but overall Jeka looked better when he came on, Worpel was barely effective, when he did get it, it just bumbled out of his poss, Nash, his kicking is terrible, his game sense is terrible, he thought about hitting a Geelong guy, then just walked away, if it was a team mate he would've hit him, he just doesn't know when to do anything, so he does nothing .....and his pissweak dinky kicks make Titch look like an amazing kick(very frustrating because he can bring the biff in hard tackles sometimes) Hardwick needs help with these quick forwards and when he doesn't get it, he can look ordinary when they do laps around him, Weddle barely touched it, the 1 touch I did see him get he kicked it on the full to a leading Worpel, of course Worpel is leading to the boundary???, Scrimshaw as I said before uncharacteristically bad, can he improve or will he miss rd1?

6. Moore showed some leadership on field at least, Sicily looked tired and seemed to not care?

Each quarter they kicked 5 or more and each quarter we kicked 1-2 goals, it was a start to finish domination and we have some harsh realities to face, but in 2-3 years we're going to have a large core of players to take us forward. (So mixed thoughts and a large serving of hope)

I feel there may be a bit of over analysis here.

 

[Alite]

I watched the centre bounces closely.

Reeves was 3 out of 4 able to tap to advantage…. But zero Hawks players saw it …. I stopped the midfield situation in the video and almost always the Geelong player was in front. The only Hawks player that was in a position to win the ball was Newk.

Worpel had a great open clearance and should have hit up our fwds… Instead he sent the ball to the oppositions advantage. Dumb fall movement.


There were many positivea.

Reeves ….

Newc….

Went to Geelong on a nice summer day, bloody hot in the sun, came away with mixed thoughts

1. Our midfield is looking competitive with some good i50s by a few (although some poor skill execution at times which cost us, our defense looked unorganised with too many counter attackers and not enough actual defenders, what I would give for a Stratton or Gibson, our forwardline missing too many chances (Kosi continually looking disappointing and missing kickable shots)

2. Scrimshaw played by far the worst game I've ever seen him play(seemed like half a dozen poor turnovers and lost most 1v1s) Worpel also seems mentally shot, are they being praised too much? Maybe they need tough love? Idk why they both seem mentally out of it atm?

3. I noticed early in the game forward pressure by Meek and Reeves, if that's the best forward pressure you have it's just going to rebound out of your forward zone, making midfield wins pointless, also turnovers hurt us big, it is preseason so skill errors are bound to happen, but having the likes of Nash kicking it or Scrimshaw having a mare doesn't help things

4. Positives as far as player performance, Moore was great, did he kick 2 or 3 goals? Also created pressure at times, I thought Newcombe and Ward had decent games, I think they ended with 20-odd touches? a couple errors here and there but they looked like having decent seasons, Fergus Greene looks fantastic, passed a few times, but I would rather he kick from 50m than pass it to Kosi 40m out who has the yips, Amon uhas fantastic vision, we just need to use him more often, he finds space and is always an option, but we ignored him a few times to our detriment, our best plays involved Amon imo (1 amazing kick to Wingard was just unbelievable vision and execution)James Blanck, just competes in the air and makes his opponent go wide, but with the amount of turnovers and free opponents in their forward line he had an unfortunate day, Impeys run caused opportunities as well.

5. Negatives as far as player performances, again Kosi missed goals and dropped marks, he did intercept a loose ball and kick a goal, but overall Jeka looked better when he came on, Worpel was barely effective, when he did get it, it just bumbled out of his poss, Nash, his kicking is terrible, his game sense is terrible, he thought about hitting a Geelong guy, then just walked away, if it was a team mate he would've hit him, he just doesn't know when to do anything, so he does nothing .....and his pissweak dinky kicks make Titch look like an amazing kick(very frustrating because he can bring the biff in hard tackles sometimes) Hardwick needs help with these quick forwards and when he doesn't get it, he can look ordinary when they do laps around him, Weddle barely touched it, the 1 touch I did see him get he kicked it on the full to a leading Worpel, of course Worpel is leading to the boundary???, Scrimshaw as I said before uncharacteristically bad, can he improve or will he miss rd1?

6. Moore showed some leadership on field at least, Sicily looked tired and seemed to not care?

Each quarter they kicked 5 or more and each quarter we kicked 1-2 goals, it was a start to finish domination and we have some harsh realities to face, but in 2-3 years we're going to have a large core of players to take us forward. (So mixed thoughts and a large serving of hope)

A good analysis

 

[Newmo89]

Interesting game last night for sure.
I rewatched it last night and the main takeaways were:
GMHBA didn't suit the game plan and was interesting seeing that they stuck with it at all times - have them keep trying it the whole game.
Day looked good through the middle and Duke looked great.
Greene worked really hard and was unselfish at times - could've had 5 or more shots by himself but gave some away to others.
Nash looked better in the middle than on the wing where the ball barely got to them.
Worpel was a real concern - had very little impact and didn't look likely.
Resting ruckman didn't work - Noodle at ground level wasn't able to follow up as well as we'd like to see.
Rucks weren't able to get upper hand on Stanley or Ceglar throughout.
Moore was quieter used primarily at a forward
CMac looked good and so to did Ward
Chad looked good working up the ground but was managed with his game time.
Backline played too loose against a quality opposition.
Finn didn't tag which is his one wood - would be interesting to see how we fared with him playing his accustomed role.
Really looking forward to seeing Cooper Stephens in the guts against the Pies as he's a bigger body and was putting pressure on Worps during the scratch matches at training.

Real test next Thursday against the Pies on a ground more familiar to the style of game Sam wants us players.

 

[ahhhhhh]

I feel like most of you watch a different game. We were much more competitive when Nash was around the ball. He provides a lot of pressure, has great hands in close and spreads quite well. Open for discussion here, but I tend to think I’m watching the correct game as what I see lines up with his selection.

As for his kicking it doesn’t look great from a technique point of view, but I think I only saw one clanger.

 

[toomanysquibs]

Blicav's needs to watch where he is going

What an absolute tool of a player that Blicav is. Went for number 3, and found out what that jumper means at Hawthorn.

Newcome dealt with him as an afterthought too.

Was lucky he didn't get nasty.

 

[burger09]

Duke and Moore picked up where they left off and looked great when involved.

Ward looked good after a somewhat limited pre season. McDonald got involved enough in a difficult position and Green looks likely. Slightly disappointed in Amon but hey it was a 'simulation'.

Less said about the backline the better but the ball was streaming in and we know they are capable.

 

[Stranglers]

Blicav's needs to watch where he is going

My first thought was that this was a perfectly-executed bump. Didn't go off his line, hit the body only, didn't leave the ground, and caused an incorrect disposal.

Then I read in the comments a 50m penalty was awarded against Newk for this?

God help us if this is the umpiring standard we have to look forward to.

 

[Gut Runner]

Duke and Moore picked up where they left off and looked great when involved.

Ward looked good after a somewhat limited pre season. McDonald got involved enough in a difficult position and Green looks likely. Slightly disappointed in Amon but hey it was a 'simulation'.

Less said about the backline the better but the ball was streaming in and we know they are capable.

I was a little disappointed in Amon as well but he will still be getting use to his team mates and that skinny ground would help a wingman looking for space.

Surprised with the yearly rebuild of the stadium they couldn't at least make the ground bigger.

 

[Gut Runner]

One observation I had was our players looked exhausted a lot of the time. Hands on legs hobbled over gasping for breath. Maybe when you are chasing a lot it takes it out of you, I hope that is the case and we are not underdone.

 

[peetoo]

Interesting game last night for sure.
I rewatched it last night and the main takeaways were:
GMHBA didn't suit the game plan and was interesting seeing that they stuck with it at all times - have them keep trying it the whole game.
Day looked good through the middle and Duke looked great.
Greene worked really hard and was unselfish at times - could've had 5 or more shots by himself but gave some away to others.
Nash looked better in the middle than on the wing where the ball barely got to them.
Worpel was a real concern - had very little impact and didn't look likely.
Resting ruckman didn't work - Noodle at ground level wasn't able to follow up as well as we'd like to see.
Rucks weren't able to get upper hand on Stanley or Ceglar throughout.
Moore was quieter used primarily at a forward
CMac looked good and so to did Ward
Chad looked good working up the ground but was managed with his game time.
Backline played too loose against a quality opposition.
Finn didn't tag which is his one wood - would be interesting to see how we fared with him playing his accustomed role.
Really looking forward to seeing Cooper Stephens in the guts against the Pies as he's a bigger body and was putting pressure on Worps during the scratch matches at training.

Real test next Thursday against the Pies on a ground more familiar to the style of game Sam wants us players.

Impressed you re watched

 

[Blackhawk42]

My first thought was that this was a perfectly-executed bump. Didn't go off his line, hit the body only, didn't leave the ground, and caused an incorrect disposal.

Then I read in the comments a 50m penalty was awarded against Newk for this?

God help us if this is the umpiring standard we have to look forward to.

There was no point mentioning it for obvious reasons, but the umpires had the least impressive performance on the ground last night. Some horrific missed calls and this 50m penalty in particular was just bizarre.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

Nash is usually a fairly good kick so I'd assume his ball use yesterday was more of an aberration than the norm (like Scrim, although his handballing has always been suspect). I think people see Nash's odd style and assume he must be bad, but his 2022 KE% was higher than Bont, Touk, Tom/JOM (obviously), Oliver, Petracca, Neale, Crisp, Cripps etc. Not that he's a better kick than these guys, but those stats also wouldn't suggest he's a bad one. I really hope he performs well enough to stay best 22 because having a 197cm athlete as a midfielder is an insane weapon. But he was outperformed by Finn yesterday and will need to bounce back vs Collingwood to stay in the "probables".

also i will never understand why Stanley seems to get the Goldstein whistle vs Hawthorn but never vs any other team. Dude gets monstered by Reeves on two occasions and the ump just calls for an infringement for no particular reason. Same annoying shit happened in that godforsaken R2 game vs Geelong in 2020

 

[Burtman]

I feel like most of you watch a different game. We were much more competitive when Nash was around the ball. He provides a lot of pressure, has great hands in close and spreads quite well. Open for discussion here, but I tend to think I’m watching the correct game as what I see lines up with his selection.

As for his kicking it doesn’t look great from a technique point of view, but I think I only saw one clanger.

I think by the end of the year if nash hasn’t improved significantly then I can see him falling to the wayside. Doesn’t win enough of the ball. for a guy his size I feel he doesn’t use his body as well as he should, isn’t a contested beast. Doesn’t have the iq to be dangerous forward. When I think of guys I want to see in the middle, there’s just so many other options with players who I think have much higher ceilings. I’d rather see ward, day, Newcombe, McKenzie, cmac, Moore, hustwaite get a gig in there.