2nds Northern Blues 2013

Remove this Banner Ad

Terrific game today with plenty for both sides to take out of it. Played like a quality AFL match and not a second grader

What I took out of it was "process"
Webster let the boys work into their positions even if they were getting beaten.
Had the impression the plan was set and we weren't going to deviate from it as it would have been easy to put Laidler back and to take Dale out of the back-line. It didn't happen.

Casboult B.O.G. along with Ellard today.
Casboult was imposing himself all across the ground frightening the opposition at times. We know what his strength is and he showed plenty of it today.
Ellard was nothing short of brilliant working the centre clinically and kicking goals from difficult positions.
Bell was Bell whilst Cachia also did plenty of the hard work through the middle. Both impressed and treated this like a make or break game.
Mitchell also deserves some credit. Took some good marks and presented very well. Played a good team game and good support for Casboult. Seems to be the forward captain.

Some will have some negative things to say on Watson but he worked his arse off today and set our back-line up. Seems he has been given back-line captain duties.
Bootsma was in and out but effected some of his usual fantastic spoils at important times. His smaller opponent did get away from him at times.
McCarthy: Just wish he'd get a little more involved. Always comes across just a little too hesitant.
Dale got murdered early on but came back strongly in the last and just as well.
Duigan: Whatever Duigan had, he hasn't got any more. Lost the ball at times and got very frustrated again. Wasn't all bad but hard to see him back at senior level.
Buckley didn't have that much to do today. Didn't do anything bad but just wasn't as involved as he was against Werribee.
Collins again did some good things and mixed it up with some poor disposal. Not sure where to from here for Collins.

All in all most of the boys showed something and best of all they all looked serious. Thank god for that after last year.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

thylacine60 said:
Nice one, Harks. Bell just being Bell - is that good enough at this stage? We looking for some form of improvement in skills along with the usual belldozering stuff? Know it's still early doors.
Click to expand...

Skills were quite good and he also laid several heavy tackles.
It was quite windy out there today but the general standard was of a high quality.

When all the boys put in the way they did today, I'm very happy and especially so after a win last night.
Again I say that it's all very early but there just seems to be method to what we're doing at both levels that connects the two. Hope that doesn't change win, lose or draw.
 
I get the feeling that Casboult suffered a bit under the weight of expectation that comes with the big blockbuster games. Would like to see him come back into the side against Melbourne and a few of the other weaker teams to get his confidence back, I can really see him getting a hold of the weaker defences.

Happy for Rowe to keep his spot for the time being but Levi is a longer term project who I think will eventually make a serious impact at AFL level.

Very encouraging that the twos are playing genuinely good footy this year.
 
Gone from a basket case to likely premiership favorites. Good to see things going well and good to see plenty of Carlton players putting their hands up for selection. The NB's look to have a really good group of core players and with some AFL players due back soon and a few blokes rested they can only be stronger.
 
Made the journey out to Coburg. A healthy crowd in for the battle of the next door neighbours (Coburg v Preston has always been a healthy rivalry). Weather was fine, but a strong breeze blowing straight down the ground, making the Southern end of the ground the scoring end.

I thought the Blues played smart football into the wind in the first quarter, then capitalised on the wind in the second quarter, taking a 32 point lead into half time. The third quarter was shaping up to be a repeat of the first quarter, until about halfway through, when the Blues' defensive game dropped right off, allowing Coburg to gain some momentum, pulling the margin back to 6 points. This defensive lethargy continued for about the first 10 minutes of the last quarter, allowing Coburg to take the lead. Fortunately the Blues snapped back into action & ran out the game well. Following are my thoughts on the Carlton listed players' performance in today's game.

Bell: Probably our best in the first half. Was back to breaking tackles, bulldozing through packs & mostly used the ball well. Kicked a nice goal, using the breeze beautifully.

Bootsma: Started the game on Nahas & kept him very quiet. As Harks has noted, his spoiling was at its usual level & found a little bit of the ball, but didn't do anything that really said "pick me." I think there is little doubt he is being groomed for the long term role as 3rd tall in the seniors.

Buckley: Kicked our first goal of the game, but was disappointing for much of the game. Didn't seem to have a hunger for it today. I just hope that he hasn't got a bit ahead of himself after making his AFL debut last week.

Cachia: His strength in contested situations was very important today. There were lots of scrimmages (we don't hear this word enough these days) & Cachia was in there winning many of them. Continues to use the ball well & is really putting his hand up to be the next rookie to be elevated, should the need arise.

Casboult: Now that's what I am talking about, Levi. On a windy day, his marking was first rate, not just in the F50, but even getting back into defence on some occasions. Kicked 3 goals & seemed to be kicking the ball well. His ball drop almost looked conventional. Arguably B.O.G. & has put a bit of pressure on both Rowe & Hampson (sorry Aph).

Collins: He flashed in & out of the game, but never really looked like having an impact. He tries to do too much (I wonder if he has read some of the tongue-in-cheek stuff posted on BF about his greatness) & as a result either gets caught with the ball or has to give off a rushed/indiscriminate disposal. On what I have seen of him over the last 2 weeks, he has fallen well behind Cachia & Bell in the rookie nomination stakes.

Dale: Was given the defensive job on Aaron Edwards & was found wanting. It was clear that Edwards' instructions were to take Dale as deep as possible, because he looked totally lost when the ball was kicked to Edwards. Conceded 4 goals before Webster decided enough was enough. Such a shame to see him so badly beaten, because I like this kid. He has good hands & a good kick on him, but he cannot be allowed to be dragged to the last line of defence. I would much rather see him played on a HFF where his marking & kicking could be valuable.

Duigan: His confidence is shot. Fumbling, miskicking, being outmarked, giving away silly free kicks. Where has Nick Duigan circa 2011 gone? We want him back. I think he would like to just forget about today's game, which was only made worse by being switched onto Edwards & conceding 3 goals to him in 1 1/2 quarters. I think he is further away from senior selection than he has been at any time during his 2 & a bit years at the club.

Ellard: Brilliant game today. Started at half forward & rotated into the midfield. Finished up with 4 goals & just looked a step above VFL level. Between him & Levi for B.O.G. honors. Would have to be a chance for senior selection this week should Eddie not get up. Most likely as a replacement for Joseph.

Laidler: Started forward again this week & kicked a nice goal in the first half, but with Levi & Squida being the preferred targets up forward, was not able to get into the game. Is still not moving as freely as he/we would like. Finished the game in defence, but by then the ball was mostly in our forward line.

McCarthy: Doesn't do a lot wrong, but his game is currently made up of a few cameo performances here & there. He does read the play well, but seems at times to be torn between playing the percentages & going defensive, or taking the game on. Needs to string several games together in a row & hopefully his confidence will develop as a result.

Mitchell: Has already made steady progress this season. Had 6 shots on goal today & probably should have nailed 5 of them. 3 goals was a reasonable return in the end. Still needs to add a bit more pace to be able to get decent separation from his opponent & I would like to think he will start clunking more contested marks, because he gets his hands on plenty, but brings down very few of them.

Watson: Steady, without being outstanding. Wasn't outmarked too much & his kicking was a handy weapon in the wind. I don't think he is going to raise the bar much more at VFL level, but I have no doubt that when he gets a call up to the seniors he will acquit himself well. There is not enough decent tall forwards in the VFL for players like Watson to be tested against.

A quick comment about my impressions of the Richmond listed players. Should the Tigers have a bad run with injuries they are in for a lot of pain. Aaron Edwards & Orren Stephenson seem to be the best of the AFL listed players running around in the VFL. Also, Vlastuin seems to be a long way off it. Choco Williams was constantly having to bark instructions to him as to where to run to, when to run & where to position himself.

I must say I am thoroughly enjoying watching the VFL this season. It is very clear the Northern Blues are embracing the style of football being played by our seniors & this is showing in the results. A stark contrast to last season when they were all over the shop & our AFL listed players seemed confused as to what sort of game plan was being used.
 
The Age report on the game..


The Northern Blues repelled a stunning comeback in the final term in which Coburg hit the lead mid-way through the term for the first time since quarter-time.
Consecutive goals to Tom Bell, Levi Casboult and David Ellard gave the Blues the breathing space they needed, despite Edwards' mammoth effort up forward. Nick Duigan was shifted to Edwards late and finished with 10 touches. Although out of favour with the Blues' match committee, coach Luke Webster said Duigan would be in the mix to return in the coming weeks.
''I thought he was pretty good,'' Webster said. ''It's just the back line of Carlton is going reasonably well so the good thing is that they're all fighting for spots.''
Casboult and Luke Mitchell did the most damage with three goals each, along with Ellard with four goals.

​
 
mediumsizered said:
Made the journey out to Coburg. A healthy crowd in for the battle of the next door neighbours (Coburg v Preston has always been a healthy rivalry). Weather was fine, but a strong breeze blowing straight down the ground, making the Southern end of the ground the scoring end.

I thought the Blues played smart football into the wind in the first quarter, then capitalised on the wind in the second quarter, taking a 32 point lead into half time. The third quarter was shaping up to be a repeat of the first quarter, until about halfway through, when the Blues' defensive game dropped right off, allowing Coburg to gain some momentum, pulling the margin back to 6 points. This defensive lethargy continued for about the first 10 minutes of the last quarter, allowing Coburg to take the lead. Fortunately the Blues snapped back into action & ran out the game well. Following are my thoughts on the Carlton listed players' performance in today's game.

Bell: Probably our best in the first half. Was back to breaking tackles, bulldozing through packs & mostly used the ball well. Kicked a nice goal, using the breeze beautifully.

Bootsma: Started the game on Nahas & kept him very quiet. As Harks has noted, his spoiling was at its usual level & found a little bit of the ball, but didn't do anything that really said "pick me." I think there is little doubt he is being groomed for the long term role as 3rd tall in the seniors.

Buckley: Kicked our first goal of the game, but was disappointing for much of the game. Didn't seem to have a hunger for it today. I just hope that he hasn't got a bit ahead of himself after making his AFL debut last week.

Cachia: His strength in contested situations was very important today. There were lots of scrimmages (we don't hear this word enough these days) & Cachia was in there winning many of them. Continues to use the ball well & is really putting his hand up to be the next rookie to be elevated, should the need arise.

Casboult: Now that's what I am talking about, Levi. On a windy day, his marking was first rate, not just in the F50, but even getting back into defence on some occasions. Kicked 3 goals & seemed to be kicking the ball well. His ball drop almost looked conventional. Arguably B.O.G. & has put a bit of pressure on both Rowe & Hampson (sorry Aph).

Collins: He flashed in & out of the game, but never really looked like having an impact. He tries to do too much (I wonder if he has read some of the tongue-in-cheek stuff posted on BF about his greatness) & as a result either gets caught with the ball or has to give off a rushed/indiscriminate disposal. On what I have seen of him over the last 2 weeks, he has fallen well behind Cachia & Bell in the rookie nomination stakes.

Dale: Was given the defensive job on Aaron Edwards & was found wanting. It was clear that Edwards' instructions were to take Dale as deep as possible, because he looked totally lost when the ball was kicked to Edwards. Conceded 4 goals before Webster decided enough was enough. Such a shame to see him so badly beaten, because I like this kid. He has good hands & a good kick on him, but he cannot be allowed to be dragged to the last line of defence. I would much rather see him played on a HFF where his marking & kicking could be valuable.

Duigan: His confidence is shot. Fumbling, miskicking, being outmarked, giving away silly free kicks. Where has Nick Duigan circa 2011 gone? We want him back. I think he would like to just forget about today's game, which was only made worse by being switched onto Edwards & conceding 3 goals to him in 1 1/2 quarters. I think he is further away from senior selection than he has been at any time during his 2 & a bit years at the club.

Ellard: Brilliant game today. Started at half forward & rotated into the midfield. Finished up with 4 goals & just looked a step above VFL level. Between him & Levi for B.O.G. honors. Would have to be a chance for senior selection this week should Eddie not get up. Most likely as a replacement for Joseph.

Laidler: Started forward again this week & kicked a nice goal in the first half, but with Levi & Squida being the preferred targets up forward, was not able to get into the game. Is still not moving as freely as he/we would like. Finished the game in defence, but by then the ball was mostly in our forward line.

McCarthy: Doesn't do a lot wrong, but his game is currently made up of a few cameo performances here & there. He does read the play well, but seems at times to be torn between playing the percentages & going defensive, or taking the game on. Needs to string several games together in a row & hopefully his confidence will develop as a result.

Mitchell: Has already made steady progress this season. Had 6 shots on goal today & probably should have nailed 5 of them. 3 goals was a reasonable return in the end. Still needs to add a bit more pace to be able to get decent separation from his opponent & I would like to think he will start clunking more contested marks, because he gets his hands on plenty, but brings down very few of them.

Watson: Steady, without being outstanding. Wasn't outmarked too much & his kicking was a handy weapon in the wind. I don't think he is going to raise the bar much more at VFL level, but I have no doubt that when he gets a call up to the seniors he will acquit himself well. There is not enough decent tall forwards in the VFL for players like Watson to be tested against.

A quick comment about my impressions of the Richmond listed players. Should the Tigers have a bad run with injuries they are in for a lot of pain. Aaron Edwards & Orren Stephenson seem to be the best of the AFL listed players running around in the VFL. Also, Vlastuin seems to be a long way off it. Choco Williams was constantly having to bark instructions to him as to where to run to, when to run & where to position himself.

I must say I am thoroughly enjoying watching the VFL this season. It is very clear the Northern Blues are embracing the style of football being played by our seniors & this is showing in the results. A stark contrast to last season when they were all over the shop & our AFL listed players seemed confused as to what sort of game plan was being used.
Click to expand...
great review MSR
Awesome to see Ellard have another solid game coming back. Must be a few in the 22 knowing their time is short!
 
oh and on Duigan- had to catch the red eye home after being really disappointed in not getting the nod for last nights game. I would not have expected much after such an ordeal
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Excellent work chaps.

Good to hear that Levi's confidence is back. Like to see him stay there until it is irresistable.

Ellard should come back into the seniors asap. Better option than AJ.

Good to hear that Cachia is playing well, and Bell. Good to have hard nuts on the list.
 
Big Sim said:
Excellent work chaps.

Good to hear that Levi's confidence is back. Like to see him stay there until it is irresistable.

Ellard should come back into the seniors asap. Better option than AJ.

Good to hear that Cachia is playing well, and Bell. Good to have hard nuts on the list.
Click to expand...
The grunt work around the ball is a key contributor to the Northern Blues being undefeated so far.

The midfielders were mostly playing to a losing ruck with Meese being barely competitive against Stephenson & Derickx, yet due to the hard work of Bell, Ellard & Cachia (among others) our midfield won their battle against the Coburg midfield.
 
mediumsizered said:
The grunt work around the ball is a key contributor to the Northern Blues being undefeated so far.

The midfielders were mostly playing to a losing ruck with Meese being barely competitive against Stephenson & Derickx, yet due to the hard work of Bell, Ellard & Cachia (among others) our midfield won their battle against the Coburg midfield.
Click to expand...

Spot on msr. The NB's really missed that "dud" Warnock :)

Visser went into the ruck for the last part of the last quarter and started controlling it. Went some way (as well as the wind) for our win, in the end.
 
Apparently our Menzel missed yesterday's game to be with his brother after what happened on Saturday with his ACL. Daniel really is shattered and Troy wanted to be with him yesterday.
Not sure how true it is but was told by someone pretty heavily involved with Northern. Don't mind Troy missing given how bad it must've been for DanMenz.
 
The Grunt Match Report - Rd 3
“It was a game of two halves with the wind the way it was, so it was critical they we clogged them up in the third quarter,” Mitchell said.

“Everyone played a role today. Guys like Davey Ellard and Tommy Bell were really important in getting the ball deep and also hitting the scoreboard.

“The wins are great, but we have to keep turning up with the same attitude we have for the past three weeks. If we do that, we’ll be right more often than not.”
Click to expand...
The Grunt Match Report - Rd 3

tumblr_mf3dfpQ7XO1rknruyo1_500.jpg
 
Good to see the Bullants getting up over Coburg. As someone who comes from the area and the Bullants being my old VFA team, I am very happy that we are continuing with our association with them...

Nice write up MSR :D How about some news on some of the Bullants boys as well?
 
Dramoth said:
Good to see the Bullants getting up over Coburg. As someone who comes from the area and the Bullants being my old VFA team, I am very happy that we are continuing with our association with them...

Nice write up MSR :D How about some news on some of the Bullants boys as well?
Click to expand...
Kane Lambert had a good game & slotted a couple of goals in the last quarter to snuff out Coburg's challenge.
Adam Marcon got plenty of the ball, as he mostly seems to do.
Tyson Thomas, after kicking 11 goals in the previous two games was mostly unsighted.
Tom Wilson flashed in & out of the game, but he is a nuggety player who is happy to put his head over the ball.
Nick Meese struggled in the ruck against Orren Stephenson & Tom Derickx.
Luke Visser was moved into the ruck in the last quarter & showed some promise. He is a good build of a lad, who may come to the attention of AFL recruiters in the next couple of years.
Brent Bransgrove also won plenty of ball & considering his size (170cm) is not scared to get in & under the packs.

The main difference you notice between the VFL listed players & their AFL counterparts is their size. With the VFL listed players not getting to do the same amount of training as the AFL listed players, they are generally much slighter built than the AFL players & this sometimes makes them easy fodder for AFL listed opposition players. The exception to this is Nick Meese who is a strongly built person, but lacks the height to compete with the taller ruckmen.
 
mediumsizered said:
Kane Lambert had a good game & slotted a couple of goals in the last quarter to snuff out Coburg's challenge.
Adam Marcon got plenty of the ball, as he mostly seems to do.
Tyson Thomas, after kicking 11 goals in the previous two games was mostly unsighted.
Tom Wilson flashed in & out of the game, but he is a nuggety player who is happy to put his head over the ball.
Nick Meese struggled in the ruck against Orren Stephenson & Tom Derickx.
Luke Visser was moved into the ruck in the last quarter & showed some promise. He is a good build of a lad, who may come to the attention of AFL recruiters in the next couple of years.
Brent Bransgrove also won plenty of ball & considering his size (170cm) is not scared to get in & under the packs.

The main difference you notice between the VFL listed players & their AFL counterparts is their size. With the VFL listed players not getting to do the same amount of training as the AFL listed players, they are generally much slighter built than the AFL players & this sometimes makes them easy fodder for AFL listed opposition players. The exception to this is Nick Meese who is a strongly built person, but lacks the height to compete with the taller ruckmen.
Click to expand...
Something about being a professional sports person getting paid 3-400k/year to play your sport and showing up for training a couple of times a week and then having to work a proper job to pay the bills.

And thanks for the feedback on the bullants players :)
 
Sunday, April 28
VFL Radio: Northern Blues vs Port Melbourne
Tune from 1:30pm in via:
On the web: Click HERE from 1:30pm On analogue radio: Via Vision Australia Radio on 1179AM in Melbourne, Bendigo (88.7FM), Mildura (107.5FM), Shepparton (100.1FM), Warrigul (93.5FM), Geelong (99.5FM), Warrnambool (94.5FM) and Albury (101.7FM). On your iPhone: Via the Red Time Sport iPhone app which you can download for free from the iTunes store. :rolleyes:
 

Remove this Banner Ad

2nds Northern Blues 2013

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top