- Oct 2, 2014
- 8,413
- 27,770
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
Let me start by saying don’t read anything into this game. Both Geelong and Hawthorn were trying new structures and new personnel that was effective sometimes, and sometimes completely dreadful for both teams. Even though it’s beating Geelong, there was minimal satisfaction I could take out of this game because it was meaningless. Warning: Long Post. It’s detailed for those who couldn’t watch the game and have enough time to read.
Talking Points
JLT Series is about taking a look at some new players, new recruits or fringe players. Here are some of the players who caught my eye, for good and bad reasons.
The Good:
Talking Points
- A Tale of Two Halves - The First Half: With Geelong’s best 22 minus Selwood and Menzel (commentators consider Scott Selwood best 22, which is laughable) I was expecting a thrashing. Imagine my surprise when we killed Geelong in the first half. Tyrone Vickery was BOG for mine (imagine my surprise again). Jaeger was blistering, and his importance wasn't understated in the second half. Burton had class. Miles was quick and was actually given the kick out duties. Langford wasn’t butchering the ball completely. We killed Geelong in contested possessions, we beat them in the centre clearances - and if the ball ever got into the backline Frawley killed the contest immediately. We had fast transition around the ground mostly from quick handballs, employing the Bulldogs model. And we actually took contested marks! At one stage we had 10 inside 50’s for 7 marks. Despite not having a lot of senior personel - as well as the absence of club greats Lewis and Mitchell - there were a lot of signs that the new setup was fixing some of the frustrations we had in 2016.
- The Second Half: Preseason or not, giving up a 41 point lead in the space of one quarter was…pretty bad, to say the least. With McEvoy going off from an errant elbow, and O’Meara placed on ice, our centre setup at the start of the third quarter consisted of Pitto, Lovell, Langford and Stewart. The Cats were also kicking with the wind. Stanley murdered us, with 8 consecutive centre bounces resulting in the likes of Dangerfield, Duncan, Cockatoo etc. getting the ball time and time again. This was a literal bombardment into our backline, and while Hawkins was still well held by Frawley the likes of Aaron Black (believe it or not) actually killed us with 3 goals. Our midfield was outclassed, our forward line had practically none of the ball (3 inside 50’s in Q3) and our backline was constantly under siege. Players like Shoenmakers and Vickery, who had been quite prominent in the first half, faded completely from complete and utter lack of ball.Dallas Willsmore, O’Meara’s replacement, gave us nothing. I think the quarter can be best described by Cyril strolling in 10 metres out from an open goal and spraying it to the left.
- Welcome Back Roughy: He ran out of puff in the second half, but Roughy’s importance to our side was on show. We threw him into the midfield and he provided a large body at the contests, with fantastic no-look handballs and contested marks. It’s just fantastic to see Roughy back on the field. One goal and 14 disposals really understate his impact on the game.
- Stewart the Saviour: The last quarter was a tighter affair, with both sides jostling for the lead. Burton tried hard to create opportunities, but was often outnumbered. Langford, despite his ugly disposal rearing its head, ran hard and tackled hard. Roughy tried but lack of match fitness was clearly taking its tolls. Cue Kade Stewart, my BOG for the second half. Even though he only had 14 disposals, Stewart’s crunching tackles and complete and utter desperation to win the ball stood out among the younger recruits. 9 tackles and 5 marks highlight that whenever we did win a centre clearance, it was usually thanks to Kade’s efforts. Kicking a goal after the siren to win (and give him 2 goals) was the icing on the cake, and while it is only a preseason game the temperament to kick that goal shows positive signs.
JLT Series is about taking a look at some new players, new recruits or fringe players. Here are some of the players who caught my eye, for good and bad reasons.
The Good:
- Tyrone Vickery: Provided a lot of impact at the ruck and around the ground. Here’s an interesting stat: at around 15 minutes in the first quarter he had 5 hit outs and 4 were to advantage. He spent less time in the ruck when Pittonet was on the field, and faded in the second half as a resting forward, finishing with an average 10 disposals and 7 hitouts. But his impact in the first half cannot be understated, especially considering that his trademark marking and ability to hit the scoreboard weren’t actually on display. Really promising signs.
- Jaeger O’Meara: A lazy 12 possessions, 9 contested, combined with 5 tackles in a half of football. He crashed packs fearlessly and showed no signs of injury apart from some strapping. Originally I thought it was quite an impressive but not outstanding performance. My opinion changed in the second half, when we missed his presence and suddenly Geelong was beating us at every centre clearance. Now while there are other factors that contributed to our second half decline, no doubt Geelong lifted their intensity, O’Meara being on ice was a large factor. Combined with Tom Mitchell’s ball winning prowess we have a very competent ball winning core for the next 8 years.
- Teia Miles: I already talked about Kade Stewart, so I’ll give some mention of Miles. Miles was particularly impressive in the first half (like most of our players). He was very quick and agile, darting around his opponents, while also having immaculate kicking skills. With Gibson minding Taylor, Miles played the Gibson role of setting up across halfback. He made some mistakes like getting caught trying to take players on, but his smarts were on display and he was rewarded with 17 disposals. He’s not going to play as a forward, seems very much entrenched in defence.
- Ryan Burton: Big wraps on Burton. This game he played as a forward, and his explosiveness was on show. His desperation and speed to get the ball was eye-catching, beating 2-3 Geelong players consistently and always having good disposals. He set up one or two goals through his physical attributes and footy smarts, reading the football better and outrunning his opponents. In the last quarter, he seemed to be one of the only forwards still trying desperately to make something happen. Ultimately though he only added a sole behind to the scoreboard to go along with his 9 disposals. Flashes of brilliance and smarts but ultimately an average performance.
- Kieran Lovell: I really wanted Lovell to take control of this game. The young pocket rocket has speed and prowess that was on display in the first quarter specifically, but then he faded considerably as the game went on. Accumulated 17 disposals, so he got a lot of the ball, but his impact on the game was minimal and much less than what I expected. Not a great performance but not a bad one either.
- Marc Pittonet: The young ruckman was well and truly beaten this game, losing almost 10 centre clearance bounces in a row. 1 hitout sums up his performance, and he was put on ice in the fourth quarter as McEvoy equalled the contest. Though it wasn’t solely his fault, if there was a person to blame for the third quarter and the midfield ascendancy Geelong gained the first person you would point to is Pittonet. The young man knew this too, looking quite distraught on the bench. He’ll be better for the experience, but still a long way away.
- Dallas Willsmore: I had a lot of hope for Dallas, after hearing of his great preseason. O’Meara was always going to be a tough act to follow, but to follow it with 2 possessions in a half of football (both uncontested) was very disappointing. He played in the midfield and in the backline, where he had no impact in either position. It was his chance to try and put himself in a position for a senior selection, but if his performance tonight was any indication he’s nowhere near it.
- Sicily in the backline seemed to work alright. Still think I liked Burton there more.
- Sheils incident was very weird. From the side angle it looked like a non incident when pushing off, but from the back angle it looked like a deliberate elbow to the head. The fact he was looking at the ball the whole time should be enough to save him, but the MRP are no doubt salivating as the commentators (Healey?) made it sound like Sheils hit the guy with a steel chair.
- Hartung had a good run, providing dash and actually going in for the ball. Perhaps sensing that there’s a spot available.
- I think we took more contested marks in the first quarter tonight then we usually had in a game last season.
- Loved Heatherley taking it up to Hawkins. Only played the last quarter, but is quite the spirited character.
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