Game Day NAB 3, Western Bulldogs vs Collingwood. Etihad Stadium 1:10.

[Unorth]

JJ and Caleb were probably the most impressive from our side. JJ was everywhere and the game just seems to slow down around Caleb when he gets the ball.

If we can get that effort out of T.Boyd most weeks we'll be pretty happy. A nice game to get people off his back for a little while, at least. I think we should play only one of him and Redpath, and Boyd is who, at this point, we should clearly go with.

I liked Macrae's game, aside from that one horrid shot on goal. He was bobbing up a lot when we needed him to.

Some of our more reliable players were off today, but I don't think that's a huge deal. The whole point of these matches is to shake off rust. Hopefully they did that. What's still concerning is our kicking for goal. We miss too many easy ones. You miss the easy ones against good teams, you'll have to trust they'll hit theirs- and that can be the difference.

 

[Doggies_13]

Who will replace him?

McLean looked poor today don't get the raps on him yet.
Jong - god no
Dunkley - not ready
Hrovat - we have enough poor ball users no thanks


Rotations and rests forward for Bont are the solution not playing clearly inferior players

Not Jong on today's effort but with picken Wallis Stevens Bont macrae stringer going through the centre and hunter suckling Daniel through the wings, we need to cut 2 from today and add Dickson and hamling if fit, so with one of Collins and Adams out for hamling and Jong out for Dickson means McLean misses anyway and still one to drop, so doubt we would bring anyone in to replace him it would be more like the midfield we used last year

 

[Rocketsurgery]

If you want to be such a downer, that's cool, but no need to bring others down to your level.
It was a good game, tight at the end, could have gone either way, both teams clearly wanting the win. Not sure why it has to be for four points for you to appreciate it for what it was.

Simply pointing out to you that in a nab cup game that counts for absolutely nothing, you cannot be certain of the intensity and effort of any player or the team as a whole. Each team uses the nab cup simply for preparation leading into the season proper and I'm certain have goals or issues they like addressed that far exceed just winning the game.

But i'm not going to stop you or anyone from enjoying it as a spectacle. Go for your life. I just don't think it should be regarded as a contest as that implies both teams care about winning. Which in the nab is not necessarily the teams goal. Just my thoughts.

The pies played well by the way. Good luck for the season proper.

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[immortalmike]

NSIS? A top notch group of champion mid/forwards (pendles, swan and Sidebottom) showing the way to Treloar, Adams et al and some excellent forwards in Moore and Cloke plus the two best young up and coming ruck in the league (Witts/Grundy) as well as Cox lurking in the background. No surprise if they are top 4 this year in my opinion and not sure what more you could want if you were building a team to attack the season? Think they will shock you this year if you've got them midfield. Time will tell.

Hardly a not sure if serious call. You may disagree and for some decent reasons but while you may think I'm underrating them I am fairly certain you're overrating them.

Moore isn't ready, Cloke has been ordinary for two years, Adams is vanilla, Swan is old and apart from Frost their backline is shaky.
Most of their team looks like the undercard of a 90s WCW show. Filled with vanilla short people.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

It's a NAB game but I'm pretty worried about that 90 cap after today. Some of the efforts in that second half...sheesh. Not sure how much you could see on the broadcast but most of our forward half guys just completely stopped presenting. All were standing around letting their man do whatever they pleased and expecting somebody else to provide an option for the ball carrier. Looked very ordinary.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

People also got to remember it's still about development as well.

For example if Campbell went down in an actual AFL game my guess is that we'd ruck Boyd a lot more than Redpath because Boyd is the better ruckman. But we obviously didn't want to take him out of the forward line where he was playing well and gaining confidence.

In a similar vein it wasn't until late in the last quarter that we we moved Stringerback key forward and the Bont back in the guts. We would have made those moves a lot earlier if winning was a more major priority.

 

[ScragCity]

Yep it was embarrassing to hear them chant in a pre-season game. No arguments here.

I don't see a problem with the supporters getting into it. Its a bloody long off-season and even though it was a practice match there was a lot to be stoked about for both sides and an entertaining watch.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

People also got to remember it's still about development as well.

For example if Campbell went down in an actual AFL game my guess is that we'd ruck Boyd a lot more than Redpath because Boyd is the better ruckman. But we obviously didn't want to take him out of the forward line where he was playing well and gaining confidence.

In a similar vein it wasn't until late in the last quarter that we we moved Stringerback key forward and the Bont back in the guts. We would have made those moves a lot earlier if winning was a more major priority.

Boyd was in the ruck for a fair chunk of the game 3np, if he wasn't in the ruck chances are he wasn't on the ground. Red took a number of key centre bounces towards the back end of the game but Boyd was absolutely spent.

 

[Apex36]

Simply pointing out to you that in a nab cup game that counts for absolutely nothing, you cannot be certain of the intensity and effort of any player or the team as a whole. Each team uses the nab cup simply for preparation leading into the season proper and I'm certain have goals or issues they like addressed that far exceed just winning the game.

But i'm not going to stop you or anyone from enjoying it as a spectacle. Go for your life. I just don't think it should be regarded as a contest as that implies both teams care about winning. Which in the nab is not necessarily the teams goal. Just my thoughts.

The pies played well by the way. Good luck for the season proper.

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That's fine if you feel that way, but generally NAB 3 is a dress rehearsal for round 1. Both sides fielded strong teams, and the contest was played at a good intensity. I'm sure that both teams wanted the win, and it ended up being a great game.

Good luck to you guy too (except when you play us of course )

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Boyd was in the ruck for a fair chunk of the game 3np, if he wasn't in the ruck chances are he wasn't on the ground. Red took a number of key centre bounces towards the back end of the game but Boyd was absolutely spent.

My estimate was that it was 60% Redpath 40% Boyd in the second half. If it happened in a H&A match I'd suggest it'll be more in the 20% Redpath 80% Boyd range.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

My estimate was that it was 60% Redpath 40% Boyd in the second half. If it happened in a H&A match I'd suggest it'll be more in the 20% Redpath 80% Boyd range.

Your numbers are probably accurate but I can't stress enough how spent Boyd was. He was close enough to mark the ball for his last goal almost solely because he was too tired to defend his man. He was absolutely gone.

 

[Deadly Darcy]

Hardly a not sure if serious call. You may disagree and for some decent reasons but while you may think I'm underrating them I am fairly certain you're overrating them.

Moore isn't ready, Cloke has been ordinary for two years, Adams is vanilla, Swan is old and apart from Frost their backline is shaky.
Most of their team looks like the undercard of a 90s WCW show. Filled with vanilla short people.

Hopefully you are right. I think they are the most balanced up and coming team going around. They have some serious depth in Sharenberg, Broomhead and the like that has barely been sighted yet as well and assuming get past their injury runs will be guns. The filth are a bigger threat to our flag hopes in the coming years than GCS and maybe even GWS in my opinion. I think both ourselves and Collingwood have gone past and will stay past Port. Anyway we will watch this space.

....and De Goey... bloody gun... And Levi Greenwood.....more depth

(Wasn't trying to offend you with NSIS I just see it very very differently - clearly )

 

[7ft Cox]

Caleb Daniels

 

[webbo]

Your numbers are probably accurate but I can't stress enough how spent Boyd was. He was close enough to mark the ball for his last goal almost solely because he was too tired to defend his man. He was absolutely gone.

Good sign that his intensity is well up, even for a NAB game. Seems to be in the Macrae mould of fiercely competitive, but in a different manner to a Stringer.

 

[TempleKelvington]

Thought it was a great hit out, made crystal clear what the round one team is. I think we once again showed that we are a good Side, but if we drop our guard even for a moment we are venerable. We showed it last year when we lost to Stkilda after leading strongly, we had the pies covered, but we relaxed a fraction, they responded.

Very excited about what I saw today. Tom Boyd, must have the doubters extremely nervous. Redpath complimented him. We didn't have a KP defender in sight so that area will improve I hope.

Biggs is in round 1. Superb from him, playing on talls. Daniel is in. Hope TC is ok, is was great early.

Great hit out, Pies are the real deal. We'll go into round 1 with a reality check.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Good sign that his intensity is well up, even for a NAB game. Seems to be in the Macrae mould of fiercely competitive, but in a different manner to a Stringer.

Oh yeah his intensity and aggression were fantastic, I loved his game. Spending a decent chunk of the game in the ruck and still throwing himself at the ball like he was in marking contests is a bloody great sign. He was certainly out on his feet by the end though.

 

[Rocketsurgery]

Good luck to you guy too

You must be the Collingwood version of topdog69.

And best of luck to you

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[Apex36]

You must be the Collingwood version of topdog69.

And best of luck to you

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I don't get the reference, but thanks? I meant to say guys btw, just on my phone at the moment and not double checking before I post!

 

[webbo]

Adams went at 85% efficiency also. As long as he can get it to our runners, that's all his disposal needs to do.

 

[Dry Rot]

I don't get the reference, but thanks? I meant to say guys btw, just on my phone at the moment and not double checking before I post!

topdog69 was my nomination for poster of the year on this board. A big compliment.

 

[dogwatch]

... I think we once again showed that we are a good Side, but if we drop our guard even for a moment we are venerable.

Disagree. IMO we'll only be venerable if we win three flags on the trot.

 

[Apex36]

topdog69 was my nomination for poster of the year on this board. A big compliment.

I knew he must have been an excellent poster for me to be compared to him!

 

[Oor Wally]

Its a NAB game a practice match. Remember when Richmond beat us by 100 and the next match Round1 we won by 100 I reckon Bev pulled the plug he saw what he wanted and no injuries, I hope?

 

[dogwatch]

Thanks for the reports guys. Missed this game as well as the last.

The best news seems to be the form of Daniel, T.Boyd and JJ. Also it seems Biggs played a solid game. Is that right?

Not overly concerned with the result or even the less-than-brilliant efforts from Bont and Libba. I think they will lift when the real stuff starts, and with another couple of weeks' work under their belts. Hoping Dickson is right for Rd 1.

Like others I'm still to be convinced of the value of Stringer in midfield other than for a brief change of structure and matchups. To me, he always looks more dangerous as a forward.

Biggest concern is the ruck. We are in trouble if neither Minson nor Campbell are fit for Rd 1. Roughead seems a long way back and I don't like the idea Boyd rucking all day, or Redpath rucking at all.

Just some questions for those who were there:

• Not much discussion of Mitch Wallis and Matt Boyd who seemed to rack up some good numbers. Did they look as good as the numbers suggest?
• Was McLean's performance in 47% of game time worthy of an early game in the seniors (even if not Rd 1)? I haven't seen enough of him in his 4 senior games last year and one NAB Challenge that I saw him live. He just seems to me like he's not quite ready yet. Both in physique and impact.

 

[Ozil]

I don't know what everyone else took away from his game but I'm more than convinced by Toby McLean's credentials for Round 1. He is a star.