Strapping Young Lad
Moderator
- Apr 19, 2006
- 100,638
- 252,428
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Storm, Spurs, Socceroos
- Thread starter
- Moderator
- #776
No need to hang it on him, mate.
-
AFLW 2024 - Round 10 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Review Hawthorn v Cats - match sim - Thursday 23rd Feb, GMHBA
- Thread starter Strapping Young Lad
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Strapping Young Lad
Moderator
- Apr 19, 2006
- 100,638
- 252,428
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Storm, Spurs, Socceroos
- Thread starter
- Moderator
- #777
It wasn’t even a practice game if we want to get literal, they called it match simulation for a reason.
- Feb 5, 2018
- 15,369
- 38,153
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Chicago Blackhawks Melb Renegades
I love this typo so much I won't even edit it.
Strapping Young Lad
Moderator
- Apr 19, 2006
- 100,638
- 252,428
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Storm, Spurs, Socceroos
- Thread starter
- Moderator
- #779
Captain, leadership group member and a former leadership group memeber. Practice match, training drill or the real thing, leaders got to set standards.
Yesterday just reinforced what we already knew.
Newk is all heart and soul and our main man over the next decade.
Lewis is our only half decent tall forward
Our backline is undisciplined and full of sloppy handballers
Worpel is done.
Reeves can become a great tap ruckman.
We have drafted well the past two seasons.
When we play Geelong on Easter Monday, they will have 13 players over 30. We have one.
2023 we will be bottom two.
2025 we will be back.
Newk is all heart and soul and our main man over the next decade.
Lewis is our only half decent tall forward
Our backline is undisciplined and full of sloppy handballers
Worpel is done.
Reeves can become a great tap ruckman.
We have drafted well the past two seasons.
When we play Geelong on Easter Monday, they will have 13 players over 30. We have one.
2023 we will be bottom two.
2025 we will be back.
- Nov 10, 2022
- 12,234
- 9,942
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
Ceglar went well
TheFourPillars
Brownlow Medallist
Veteran
10k Posts
Hawthorn Hawks - Conor Nash Player Sponsor 2021
Hawthorn Hawks - James Cousins Player Sponsor 2021
Hawthorn Hawks - Conor Nash Player Sponsor 2020
Hawthorn Hawks - James Cousins Player Sponsor 2020
Hawthorn Hawks - Conor Nash Player Sponsor 2019
Hawthorn Hawks - James Cousins Player Sponsor 2019
- May 6, 2009
- 17,438
- 56,826
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
Yep we lack connection it is normal problem with young players and lots of change in your team
Interesting re Bowes. I need to watch that doco.
Had the better of Ned for mine.
Mark Mckenzie was not happy
MatteeG
Team Captain
- Jul 30, 2010
- 407
- 997
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Glenelg FC, KC Royals, NO Saints
Reckon it may be worth seeing Rounds 1-10 before we start sacking the players. Cats surprised me with how intense they were - would have thought theyd be the ones playing 'safe'. Excellent learning curve, nothing more.
Wow these guys are paid !? would have got better questions from hard quiz. Game plan, players to watch, experimenting? What didn’t work that Sam tried. ! Sounded like a morning show tv interview !
- May 4, 2013
- 5,005
- 10,901
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
Don't think Sam would give away too much tbh
KermitJagger
Professional Thread Derailer
- May 17, 2017
- 16,365
- 53,581
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
The thing that annoys me most about these knee jerk reactions to the practice match is that we've got people looking at obvious poor performances from players who are far more capable and thinking that it will be this way all season. Obviously it's not ideal that we came out and waved the white flag but I do truly doubt that poor performances from the likes of Sicily, Hardwick and others can be expected based on this one game.
That was our biggest problem yesterday which in turn made a couple of players in particular look very ordinary. Cats connection was A+ which really exposed our turn overs/errors. One big positive that connection can’t get any worse then yesterday and will gradually improve over time as the boys play together …….. stay the course fellow Hawkers!
Last edited:
KermitJagger
Professional Thread Derailer
- May 17, 2017
- 16,365
- 53,581
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
I'm giving bits and pieces a rewatch at the moment and at one stage the main commentator says "Stengle, so clean below ground level" - is it against the rules to be underground during a match? Free against surely.
We thought we had him.
Thought we looked very defensively loose and disorganised. Appears there is a lot of focus on aggressive ball movement but have we got the balance right on defence? An area to watch over the season. In saying that Geelong are very well drilled and organised and play the ground well.
Not sure our forward set up helps - Moore, Greene, chad, Breust, Kosi, 2nd ruck would be up there with weakest group in league for defensive pressure. Combine that with a young midfield being told to attack and some attacking (but loose) half backs stopping goals may become as much an issue as scoring them.
A lot has been said on specific players already but we really can’t afford guys making blatant unforced errors. A fair bit to tidy up.
Only a practice match so a huge amount to play out. Almost every year some teams put in stinkers in the practice matches and show up as a different unit for round 1. Let’s hope that’s us.
Not sure our forward set up helps - Moore, Greene, chad, Breust, Kosi, 2nd ruck would be up there with weakest group in league for defensive pressure. Combine that with a young midfield being told to attack and some attacking (but loose) half backs stopping goals may become as much an issue as scoring them.
A lot has been said on specific players already but we really can’t afford guys making blatant unforced errors. A fair bit to tidy up.
Only a practice match so a huge amount to play out. Almost every year some teams put in stinkers in the practice matches and show up as a different unit for round 1. Let’s hope that’s us.
KermitJagger
Professional Thread Derailer
- May 17, 2017
- 16,365
- 53,581
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
We probably did until the AFL ticked off on Geelong being able to restructure the deal over multiple years.
That's still the strangest part of the whole ordeal. Why were they allowed to do that? If it was known that they were allowed to do that from the start, surely more clubs would have been heavily interested. It also makes the requirement to give over a top 10 pick to get the deal done even more strange too.
I don't genuinely believe there is a conspiracy to help the Cats at AFL house but on top of the other sweetheart deals between the Gold Coast and Geelong it looked woeful.
Anyway, no point rehashing it again. Trying to understand the hows and whys of the AFL's decision making is enough to give anyone a headache.
Complete over analysis of a Match-simulation, where two teams had different goals: (Watched the first six "quarters", bits of the last two)
Position
Clearances: (Reeves/Meek/Lynch, Day, Newcombe, Worpel, Ward, Nash, Maginness) We didn't set up well to take advantage of Reeves tap dominance. I didn't notice Meek or later Lynch as much, but Reeves probably won 90% of the "fair" bounces (a lot of bad bounces were let go). Newcombe stands his opponent, pushes off and is already on the move as the rucks tap the ball - one reason I believe he is able to break so many tackles when he wins the ball - he already has momentum. He can stand an extra 2-3m from the contest as he moves in to the contest. Day was superb as defensive side sweeper, best stint on-ball I've seen from him, using his acceleration and vision to change direction. He seemed to be drawing the most defensive attention at the bounce, but perhaps this was as he was looking for space, not to compete physically like Newk. Worpel tends to stand clear of his opponent, then engages as the ball is bounced. This leaves him flat footed so when he does get the ball he is immediately under pressure. I felt it worked better with Ward (moving) or a bigger body there IMO - we looked far better once Nash and also Maginness took their rotations.
Offensive Transition: (Moore, Wingard, Macdonald, Amon, Impey, Scrimshaw). Amon gives us something we've lacked - his touch was fantastic, and already seems to have developed a connection with Wingard. Offensively we struggled to link up, with Geelong's defensive positioning consistently giving them numerical advantage. In the entire game we managed maybe a dozen clean entries - cutting back from HBF to the middle, overlap running to give us clear space to lead into. It was very obvious we were kicking low and angular to minimise Geelong's ability to intercept - so many kicks fell 2-5m short or were so slow as to lose the advantage. Similarly, we used forward handball and RUN to open up the play. The fluidity needed for this tactic to work will hopefully come with practice. The "dump" kicks forward were much less - and almost universally due to pressure requiring quick disposal. Impey and Wingard gave us good run early then seemed to disappear. Not sure if fitness or minute management; or Geelong tightening up on them.
Forwards: (Greene, Kosi, Butler, Rucks). Less said the better. Greene looked very good on the lead, constantly finding space at speed. Kosi looked hampered physically - and a few times seemed to be out of the contest mentally. Previously he's excelled when "the main man" and allowed to lead - hopefully just a case of a very good zone defence taking all his space. Butler was lively without being that dangerous, but felt we burned a lot of ball across half-forward and were poor at the contest and on turnover.
Defensive Transition: (HF/Midfield)
Defensively, we were a mess. Very disorganised, and seemed to be caught between attempting to pressure the disposal, and giving some defensive coverage. Too often Geelong just played "checkers" down the field, constantly having an open man to release too forward of the ball. Clarkson always had defensive patterns settled first, then worked an attacking plan from defence. Mitchell seems to want to play in our midfield/forward line, but with so many aggressively-orientated players we were overcommitting and on turnover getting badly exposed.
Defence: (Blank, Frost, Sicily, DGB, Hardwick etc)
Despite the scoreline, I though our defenders were good when "at the contest". Geelong are brilliant at boxing our the drop zone, allowing one player to mark almost uncontested as the rest block their opponent. I didn't feel this happened a great deal, as our issues all stemmed from the (lack of) midfield pressure, allowing Geelong players forward of the ball. Our defenders positioned themselves aggressively, playing in front of their opponent. There was very little team-work, with Geelong (as always) exceptional at keeping space in matchups. The ball came in so quickly and "over the top" that for the most part the aggressive positioning was misplaced. Some (Sicily, Hardwick, Scrimshaw at times) coped better than others by backing themselves in. DGB (first positive comment, there will be a few) got better every minute of the game.
Player Thoughts:
Morrison - DNP
Lewis - DNP
Newcombe - Says a lot about how good he is that a good game is just "expected".
Impey - Speed and balance, two things we didn't see last year. I've been a critic and not seen "it" in him, leaving him out of my 22. I still think he's borderline, and worried he wasn't as prominent after the early burst, but hopeful.
Worpel - At the first bounce I went to look up who was in #5 as I couldn't remember. Says a lot about where Worpel is at, as looked like he couldn't remember how to football either. Need to find a way to clear his head, he is slow and reactionary - like he's thinking instead of just doing. Simplify his role, clear his head and we may see 2019 again, but it's looking more and more unlikely.
Sicily - Blew out the cobwebs. Competed well, had a run around, got a few kicks. Compare him to Stewart who dominated his section of the field in the same role for Geelong. Expect far more from our captain.
Reeves - Typical Reeves game. Dominated taps, which the midfield didn't take advantage of, but did nothing around the ground. Up forward always seemed 5m off the play - still adjusting to the new role, or just not capable of playing KPF. Disappointing he was manhandled regularly without reward, then when he used physicality it was penalised. Has started the "watching-his-opponent-rather-than-the-ball" technique so ingrained in Hawthorn rucks through our recent history. You are tall, back yourself to get to the ball first.
Frost - His desperation saved a handful of goals, even when outnumbered on the last line. Coped better than most left isolated, but with all our KPD, was fighting an impossible battle.
CJ - Did he play? I genuinely can't remember seeing him now.
Amon - Smooth as silk. Watching him was how people described Impey when he first came across. Covers the ground, beautiful disposal - already linking up well with Wingard. I felt a number of times we ignored him in space wide for easier disposal options. Will spend more time in the square in our team than Port, but IMO is best used as an aggressive linkman off the wing. Didn't notice him defensively, which in a team so over-run on turnover could be either good (was covering his man), or bad (not in the same postcode).
Nash - Typical Nash game, did some good things, seemed to have embraced the "just get it to a teammate in space, anyway you can" mantra with lots of dinky around the corner kicks. Isn't suited to playing wing/outside, despite his speed/endurance is best at the contest.
Day - For mine one of the best games he's played. That attacking role sweeping off the back of the contest allows him to utilise his acceleration, and he's genuinely dual-footed (for 2023). He gets hit a lot as he takes the game on, but hopefully his body is now at the point he can withstand the hits better, and his aggressive mindset gets team-mates into space.
Moore - Hit the scoreboard, worked hard. Industrious hard-working player who I can't quite work out how he does it. Maybe destined to spend more time forward, as our new aggressive gameplan will require lots of defensive running coverage from HF.
Scrimshaw - Bad Jack. My grandma has a better handball, and she's been dead 15 years. Cannot question his toughness in the air, he will back into the unknown pack without hesitation - but will offload to anyone (no-one) at the slightest hint of a tackle. Has he been paired with Newcombe or Nash in training or something? Seemed to struggle with conversion from mark-kick to run-n-gun from defence, achieving neither. He needs to be a deeper/wider option, releasing by foot up the wings.
Hardwick - At his best goes completely unnoticed. I barely noticed him apart from being stepped once, and a blind clearing kick to a nest of Cats. Like his captain, given a pass for miles in the legs.
Bramble - Was in a lot early from HBF - our new run'n'gun rebound style should suit him. Is one I haven't rated previously, so was pleasantly surprised, especially as he showed some hardness defensively to neutralise a couple of contests I haven't noticed previously.
Meek - Geelong's rucks are all mobile and physical, Meek seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time up forward where he was ineffectual. When rucking around the ground he was a physical presence after the contest, but didn't offer much in the ruck itself.
Lynch -
Wingard - I think he will love what Amon gives our midfield, and just hope he has the fitness and can give us an injury free season.
Stephens - DNP
Breust - DNP
Koschitzke - Had a genuine chance to stamp himself as our FF, but put in one of his worst performances. He's always struggled as the second/third forward, but competed well when numero uno. Yesterday he didn't even compete.
DGB - I've been a huge critic, (mainly due to spending so much draft capital) but as the game wore on, and he matched up against VFL opponents he rose to prominence. Still too small, slow and way too light to play that role at AFL - but there was more than a flicker of potential there. Perhaps he has finally reached the baseline fitness required to play a game competitively.
Ward - Plays like a prime midfielder already, fits in well with Newk and is comfortable with the physical aspects of the role, always distributes well and makes good choices. I'm confident he is going to be a solid B-grader at worst. What a difference access to top level talent makes.
Greene - Who would have thought a fast, fit, strong leading forward would do well in an AFL system? He can play 100 games of AFL like that and have a strong career despite a later start.
Long - Not a liability at AFL level, and as the standard dropped to VFL he got better and better. Is noticeably quicker than last year, and with his big body gives flexibility around the ground. Amusing how often he and Ward end up in the same combination - you can tell they've spent a lot of gametime together.
Mackenzie - DNP
Serong - DNP
Butler - Pace, aggression, hard at the contest. Small and light but his efforts overcome those limitations. Another who started brightly then faded - not sure if his opponent tightened up, or he just couldn't find the same space as our system started to falter.
Macdonald - I honestly forgot about him until the 3rd quarter when he was prominent in a few plays across HF. The video with Hale telling him to focus more on getting dangerous than just getting touches is telling.
Maginness - Released from tagging responsibilities, and gave us a bit of drive. Like Nash, his best play seems at the contest, rather than around it - suggesting a centre-square mid rather than wing (despite his running prowess).
Brockman - held back for the VFL game, was clearly a step above in talent. Another others have raved about and I have been cautious, he has the talent and unique abilities to be a good AFL player, just needs to find a way to stay involved.
O'Hara - assume he DNP, but still don't really know who he is.
Morris - DNP
Blanck - The extra couple of seasons are obvious compared to DGB, and Blanck is much better when standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Struggled with the aggressive positioning, was too slow to adjust back to his opponent on the (regular) turnovers and caught 5m off the contest. For someone who offers little offensively, I would be more comfortable him just keeping the opposition FF quiet.
Weddle - Clear he hasn't been a winger before. Didn't seem to know how to get involved, and give his team-mates options. Think he's far more comfortable as a HBF but uncertain about his disposal. Can see the comparison to Blicavs - taking an athlete and finding a position for him to excel.
Ramsden - Don't remember him playing?
Jeka - Looked GOOD as a leading forward later in the game, gave us something we had missed with Kosi's poor showing. Still behind Greene for the 3rd forward, but with Lewis out and Kosi struggling we need someone to give us a target. I'm a fan from what I saw at Box Hill a few seasons back.
Mitchell - Don't remember him playing?
Bennetts - Think it was him throwing himself into a couple of contests in the forward line? By the time he was on I wasn't paying that much attention.
B.MacDonald - First look, I didn't notice like others have but guessing he did plenty late after I'd lost interest.
O'Sullivan - Impressed a couple of times, he has a desperation about him and surprising physicality.
Hustwaite - Lovely handskills, his "evasion while standing still" makes me think of Pendlebury. I read he is a long way short of fitness required, and didn't notice his kicking but he looks very comfortable in tight congestion manipulating space around himself and backing himself to find good options under physical pressure.
Position
Clearances: (Reeves/Meek/Lynch, Day, Newcombe, Worpel, Ward, Nash, Maginness) We didn't set up well to take advantage of Reeves tap dominance. I didn't notice Meek or later Lynch as much, but Reeves probably won 90% of the "fair" bounces (a lot of bad bounces were let go). Newcombe stands his opponent, pushes off and is already on the move as the rucks tap the ball - one reason I believe he is able to break so many tackles when he wins the ball - he already has momentum. He can stand an extra 2-3m from the contest as he moves in to the contest. Day was superb as defensive side sweeper, best stint on-ball I've seen from him, using his acceleration and vision to change direction. He seemed to be drawing the most defensive attention at the bounce, but perhaps this was as he was looking for space, not to compete physically like Newk. Worpel tends to stand clear of his opponent, then engages as the ball is bounced. This leaves him flat footed so when he does get the ball he is immediately under pressure. I felt it worked better with Ward (moving) or a bigger body there IMO - we looked far better once Nash and also Maginness took their rotations.
Offensive Transition: (Moore, Wingard, Macdonald, Amon, Impey, Scrimshaw). Amon gives us something we've lacked - his touch was fantastic, and already seems to have developed a connection with Wingard. Offensively we struggled to link up, with Geelong's defensive positioning consistently giving them numerical advantage. In the entire game we managed maybe a dozen clean entries - cutting back from HBF to the middle, overlap running to give us clear space to lead into. It was very obvious we were kicking low and angular to minimise Geelong's ability to intercept - so many kicks fell 2-5m short or were so slow as to lose the advantage. Similarly, we used forward handball and RUN to open up the play. The fluidity needed for this tactic to work will hopefully come with practice. The "dump" kicks forward were much less - and almost universally due to pressure requiring quick disposal. Impey and Wingard gave us good run early then seemed to disappear. Not sure if fitness or minute management; or Geelong tightening up on them.
Forwards: (Greene, Kosi, Butler, Rucks). Less said the better. Greene looked very good on the lead, constantly finding space at speed. Kosi looked hampered physically - and a few times seemed to be out of the contest mentally. Previously he's excelled when "the main man" and allowed to lead - hopefully just a case of a very good zone defence taking all his space. Butler was lively without being that dangerous, but felt we burned a lot of ball across half-forward and were poor at the contest and on turnover.
Defensive Transition: (HF/Midfield)
Defensively, we were a mess. Very disorganised, and seemed to be caught between attempting to pressure the disposal, and giving some defensive coverage. Too often Geelong just played "checkers" down the field, constantly having an open man to release too forward of the ball. Clarkson always had defensive patterns settled first, then worked an attacking plan from defence. Mitchell seems to want to play in our midfield/forward line, but with so many aggressively-orientated players we were overcommitting and on turnover getting badly exposed.
Defence: (Blank, Frost, Sicily, DGB, Hardwick etc)
Despite the scoreline, I though our defenders were good when "at the contest". Geelong are brilliant at boxing our the drop zone, allowing one player to mark almost uncontested as the rest block their opponent. I didn't feel this happened a great deal, as our issues all stemmed from the (lack of) midfield pressure, allowing Geelong players forward of the ball. Our defenders positioned themselves aggressively, playing in front of their opponent. There was very little team-work, with Geelong (as always) exceptional at keeping space in matchups. The ball came in so quickly and "over the top" that for the most part the aggressive positioning was misplaced. Some (Sicily, Hardwick, Scrimshaw at times) coped better than others by backing themselves in. DGB (first positive comment, there will be a few) got better every minute of the game.
Player Thoughts:
Morrison - DNP
Lewis - DNP
Newcombe - Says a lot about how good he is that a good game is just "expected".
Impey - Speed and balance, two things we didn't see last year. I've been a critic and not seen "it" in him, leaving him out of my 22. I still think he's borderline, and worried he wasn't as prominent after the early burst, but hopeful.
Worpel - At the first bounce I went to look up who was in #5 as I couldn't remember. Says a lot about where Worpel is at, as looked like he couldn't remember how to football either. Need to find a way to clear his head, he is slow and reactionary - like he's thinking instead of just doing. Simplify his role, clear his head and we may see 2019 again, but it's looking more and more unlikely.
Sicily - Blew out the cobwebs. Competed well, had a run around, got a few kicks. Compare him to Stewart who dominated his section of the field in the same role for Geelong. Expect far more from our captain.
Reeves - Typical Reeves game. Dominated taps, which the midfield didn't take advantage of, but did nothing around the ground. Up forward always seemed 5m off the play - still adjusting to the new role, or just not capable of playing KPF. Disappointing he was manhandled regularly without reward, then when he used physicality it was penalised. Has started the "watching-his-opponent-rather-than-the-ball" technique so ingrained in Hawthorn rucks through our recent history. You are tall, back yourself to get to the ball first.
Frost - His desperation saved a handful of goals, even when outnumbered on the last line. Coped better than most left isolated, but with all our KPD, was fighting an impossible battle.
CJ - Did he play? I genuinely can't remember seeing him now.
Amon - Smooth as silk. Watching him was how people described Impey when he first came across. Covers the ground, beautiful disposal - already linking up well with Wingard. I felt a number of times we ignored him in space wide for easier disposal options. Will spend more time in the square in our team than Port, but IMO is best used as an aggressive linkman off the wing. Didn't notice him defensively, which in a team so over-run on turnover could be either good (was covering his man), or bad (not in the same postcode).
Nash - Typical Nash game, did some good things, seemed to have embraced the "just get it to a teammate in space, anyway you can" mantra with lots of dinky around the corner kicks. Isn't suited to playing wing/outside, despite his speed/endurance is best at the contest.
Day - For mine one of the best games he's played. That attacking role sweeping off the back of the contest allows him to utilise his acceleration, and he's genuinely dual-footed (for 2023). He gets hit a lot as he takes the game on, but hopefully his body is now at the point he can withstand the hits better, and his aggressive mindset gets team-mates into space.
Moore - Hit the scoreboard, worked hard. Industrious hard-working player who I can't quite work out how he does it. Maybe destined to spend more time forward, as our new aggressive gameplan will require lots of defensive running coverage from HF.
Scrimshaw - Bad Jack. My grandma has a better handball, and she's been dead 15 years. Cannot question his toughness in the air, he will back into the unknown pack without hesitation - but will offload to anyone (no-one) at the slightest hint of a tackle. Has he been paired with Newcombe or Nash in training or something? Seemed to struggle with conversion from mark-kick to run-n-gun from defence, achieving neither. He needs to be a deeper/wider option, releasing by foot up the wings.
Hardwick - At his best goes completely unnoticed. I barely noticed him apart from being stepped once, and a blind clearing kick to a nest of Cats. Like his captain, given a pass for miles in the legs.
Bramble - Was in a lot early from HBF - our new run'n'gun rebound style should suit him. Is one I haven't rated previously, so was pleasantly surprised, especially as he showed some hardness defensively to neutralise a couple of contests I haven't noticed previously.
Meek - Geelong's rucks are all mobile and physical, Meek seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time up forward where he was ineffectual. When rucking around the ground he was a physical presence after the contest, but didn't offer much in the ruck itself.
Lynch -
Wingard - I think he will love what Amon gives our midfield, and just hope he has the fitness and can give us an injury free season.
Stephens - DNP
Breust - DNP
Koschitzke - Had a genuine chance to stamp himself as our FF, but put in one of his worst performances. He's always struggled as the second/third forward, but competed well when numero uno. Yesterday he didn't even compete.
DGB - I've been a huge critic, (mainly due to spending so much draft capital) but as the game wore on, and he matched up against VFL opponents he rose to prominence. Still too small, slow and way too light to play that role at AFL - but there was more than a flicker of potential there. Perhaps he has finally reached the baseline fitness required to play a game competitively.
Ward - Plays like a prime midfielder already, fits in well with Newk and is comfortable with the physical aspects of the role, always distributes well and makes good choices. I'm confident he is going to be a solid B-grader at worst. What a difference access to top level talent makes.
Greene - Who would have thought a fast, fit, strong leading forward would do well in an AFL system? He can play 100 games of AFL like that and have a strong career despite a later start.
Long - Not a liability at AFL level, and as the standard dropped to VFL he got better and better. Is noticeably quicker than last year, and with his big body gives flexibility around the ground. Amusing how often he and Ward end up in the same combination - you can tell they've spent a lot of gametime together.
Mackenzie - DNP
Serong - DNP
Butler - Pace, aggression, hard at the contest. Small and light but his efforts overcome those limitations. Another who started brightly then faded - not sure if his opponent tightened up, or he just couldn't find the same space as our system started to falter.
Macdonald - I honestly forgot about him until the 3rd quarter when he was prominent in a few plays across HF. The video with Hale telling him to focus more on getting dangerous than just getting touches is telling.
Maginness - Released from tagging responsibilities, and gave us a bit of drive. Like Nash, his best play seems at the contest, rather than around it - suggesting a centre-square mid rather than wing (despite his running prowess).
Brockman - held back for the VFL game, was clearly a step above in talent. Another others have raved about and I have been cautious, he has the talent and unique abilities to be a good AFL player, just needs to find a way to stay involved.
O'Hara - assume he DNP, but still don't really know who he is.
Morris - DNP
Blanck - The extra couple of seasons are obvious compared to DGB, and Blanck is much better when standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Struggled with the aggressive positioning, was too slow to adjust back to his opponent on the (regular) turnovers and caught 5m off the contest. For someone who offers little offensively, I would be more comfortable him just keeping the opposition FF quiet.
Weddle - Clear he hasn't been a winger before. Didn't seem to know how to get involved, and give his team-mates options. Think he's far more comfortable as a HBF but uncertain about his disposal. Can see the comparison to Blicavs - taking an athlete and finding a position for him to excel.
Ramsden - Don't remember him playing?
Jeka - Looked GOOD as a leading forward later in the game, gave us something we had missed with Kosi's poor showing. Still behind Greene for the 3rd forward, but with Lewis out and Kosi struggling we need someone to give us a target. I'm a fan from what I saw at Box Hill a few seasons back.
Mitchell - Don't remember him playing?
Bennetts - Think it was him throwing himself into a couple of contests in the forward line? By the time he was on I wasn't paying that much attention.
B.MacDonald - First look, I didn't notice like others have but guessing he did plenty late after I'd lost interest.
O'Sullivan - Impressed a couple of times, he has a desperation about him and surprising physicality.
Hustwaite - Lovely handskills, his "evasion while standing still" makes me think of Pendlebury. I read he is a long way short of fitness required, and didn't notice his kicking but he looks very comfortable in tight congestion manipulating space around himself and backing himself to find good options under physical pressure.
CaptainWorpedo
Premiership Player
- Feb 15, 2021
- 3,295
- 7,599
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
If we play this bad for the rest of the season, we will be welcoming Harley Ried.
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
- Locked
