2nds Northern Blues 2014

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As expected, Port were too strong for the Northern Blues, who stuck with Port until midway through the 2nd quarter when the floodgates opened. Port are a well drilled team who demonstrate the benefits of having a stable line up from week to week. They have such a good understanding of each other & belief in each other. On a side note, I must say the umpiring today was the worst I have seen at VFL level all season. After letting the game flow for the 1st quarter, they then went whistle happy. The umpiring was the polar opposite to what I have witnessed at VFL level for the rest of the season.

Anyway onto the Carlton listed players:
Russell: Is a work in progress. He moves well, but his reading of the play today displayed how long he has been absent from the game. Will have to wait until after he has had a full pre-season before being able to pass judgement.

Kreuzer: A promising start with some good early marks & his usual work at ground level. Was clearly just blowing out the cobwebs & finished up at 3 quarter time. He looked fit though, so with an interrupted pre-season could really hit 2015 at this best.

Watson: Finished the game with 3 goals, but didn't really have an impact on the game. His efforts in the forward line weren't helped by the usual haphazard delivery from further afield & Pleming mostly playing as a spare man in defence & blocking Watson's space. Had a run in the ruck in the second half & acquitted himself quite well.

Holman: Looked to have the job on Chris Cain & did well to limit his impact on the game. Didn't get a lot of the ball himself though. Kicked a nice goal on the run at the Northern end of the ground, but as I wrote a few weeks ago, I don't think he has much left in the tank for this season, so I would be surprised if he got an AFL call up.

McInnes: This was a better performance from Macca. He actually took the game on a bit & looked more like the Macca of 2012. Did concede some goals, but with the way the ball was coming into the Port forward line, Southby, Silvagni & Doull would have struggled to stem the tide.

Reynolds: A typical Reynolds game. Flashed in & out every now & then, but did not have any real impact on the game. Did end up kicking 1.2 from limited opportunities. When he did present, he presented well, but he just doesn't get enough separation from his opponent, leading to an easy task for his opponent to spoil.

Garlett: Played in the midfield & was up & about early on. Got plenty of the ball however his disposal let him down at times. The positive was that his body language looked good, the best I have seen it during his VFL sojourn.

Cripps: Good for 3 of the 4 quarters, with him being quiet during the 3rd quarter. He was so desperate at every contest & won some possessions he had no right to win. Perhaps could have done a bit more defensively, but otherwise did enough to warrant an AFL call up. I couldn't help noticing how much he has slimmed down as the season has progressed.

Johnson: Spent some time in the midfield & on a wing. His attack on the ball was really good & although he didn't win a lot of the ball, he demonstrated another string to his bow. I like his tempered aggression towards opponents. I don't think he will get a call up next week, but looking towards next year, I think he will see plenty of senior action.

Temay: His first half was as good as anything I have seen from him. He had a real hunger for the ball & he was also working hard defensively. Unfortunately he totally went out of the game after half time, which was a shame because if he had continued on with his first half effort he would have ended up with a 30+ disposal game.

Lucas: Got off to a slow start, but once he started finding the ball he really started to have an impact. His work rate was really good, which led to him covering so much territory. Perhaps could have used the ball a bit better, but overall I think the match committee would have been happy with his performance today.

Byrne: Was a real livewire early on, before he had the stuffing knocked out him. Rebounded back into the game, but not as confidently. His use of the ball was pleasing, often kicking to his teammates' advantage. I look forward to seeing what he brings to the 2015 season as he accumulates further footy smarts.

Warnock: More than held his own in the ruck, particularly when he chose to jump at ruck contests, but didn't do a lot around the ground, save for a contested mark in the last line of defence & a snapped goal late in the game.

Just a word on The Dominator's lad, Clay. He has a beautiful kick on him. It is such a shame he does not have the build for AFL.
 

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No need to cut across MSR's good work.

This was always going to be a loss but some of the turnovers were horrific............at best.
Cattapan, Totevski, no.52? but also unfortunately Holman, Lucas and Garlett basically gave the ball back to the opposition much too easily on occasions.

We can't expect all the kids to put in stellar performances here but the intent from 1st year players in Cripps, Holman, Johnson and Byrne was again top notch. All play with the vigour required to be an AFL player.
Cripps may have played better games this year but this kids thinking is way ahead of the pack. A couple of passages of play where he took possession and dished it out with perfection to a team-mate were mouth-watering.

It's late enough in the season to be able to say this, but irrespective of the possession count from Temay and Lucas, the ball rarely leaves the hand or boot with any real conviction. Don't see a future there from these two boys going forward.
McInnes did put some vigour into his game today, which hadn't been present in recent weeks but it may all be too little, too late.
(sorry for this editorial)

Couldn't feel sorrier for Watson who really should have had at least 5 goals today from limited opportunity.
Really hope he isn't watching his career disappear in front of his eyes because he deserves much better.
Could see the frustration on his face when doing all the hard work against his opponent, just to have the ball butchered coming into him.
Let out a very audible Faaaaaaaark, when Garlett couldn't hit him with what would have been something Garlett would have done with his eyes closed last year.

Under the weight of all the frustration the kids are doing very well and the hard lessons may yet serve them very well, going forward.
 
HARKER said:
Couldn't feel sorrier for Watson who really should have had at least 5 goals today from limited opportunity.
Really hope he isn't watching his career disappear in front of his eyes because he deserves much better.
Could see the frustration on his face when doing all the hard work against his opponent, just to have the ball butchered coming into him.
Let out a very audible Faaaaaaaark, when Garlett couldn't hit him with what would have been something Garlett would have done with his eyes closed last year.
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Thanks Harker - can you elaborate a little more on Watson's form as a forward? I thought his form at the end of last season would see him nail down a spot in the 22 but the rise and rise of Rowe has put an end to that. Does he look like he may make it as a forward?
 
marleyblue said:
Thanks Harker - can you elaborate a little more on Watson's form as a forward? I thought his form at the end of last season would see him nail down a spot in the 22 but the rise and rise of Rowe has put an end to that. Does he look like he may make it as a forward?
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Some may laugh but Watson does have some good speed once he gets out of the blocks.
Unfortunately though the game doesn't allow one enough space to continually get a clear run to the ball.

I still see the back-line as being Watsons go and I hope he's only been adding strings to his bow rather than being given the "Laidler" treatment.

The guy is trying hard but not being favoured by the delivery to him........nothing I haven't said here one hundred time already. :)
 
chipzac said:
To those who saw today's game, if we have to bring in 3 or 4 players to play seniors next week (which we probably do) based on their performances today, who would you choose?
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I would be very surprised if Cripps doesn't get a game.
Garlett may come in as a replacement for Ellard & either Lucas or Johnson for Menzel.
 
mediumsizered said:
Kreuzer: A promising start with some good early marks & his usual work at ground level. Was clearly just blowing out the cobwebs & finished up at 3 quarter time. He looked fit though, so with an interrupted pre-season could really hit 2015 at this best
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Very encouraging .. imagine what he'd be able to do with an uninterrupted one!

(seriously though, love your work MSR -great write up. I find very, very few of your observations regarding players and their ability/chance to make it turn out to be incorrect.)
 
RedFury said:
Very encouraging .. imagine what he'd be able to do with an uninterrupted one!

(seriously though, love your work MSR -great write up. I find very, very few of your observations regarding players and their ability/chance to make it turn out to be incorrect.)
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I guess I've become so used to our players having interrupted pre-seasons that it almost seems like it is part of our training regime.
 

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Cripps is a very smart player.
You can tell that he's already worked out the next step before even taking possession of the ball.
Pity the ump pulled him up through one passage of play where he manouvered around a few Port players heading towards goal.
Looked as though it could have been quite a special moment in the game...........but not to be.

Noticed someone elsewhere suggested that Cripps can't tackle.
Well, that's just not right as Cripps may have the face of a kid but he'll bury you once he's got hold.
Once he's got some muscle on him, you won't want to caught by him. He'll hurt you.

Big plus for Cripps is that he can/will play through pain and exhaustion.
Not sure whether he's at a Kreuzer standard but if not, then he's not far off either.

No idea who we may draft this year but I look forward to watching him along with Byrne through the pre-season. Gonna be a good one.
 
thylacine60 said:
Clearance machine. A stoppage freak. Cripps is built like Kouta and clears packs like Williams. Keep....
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Also beats his opponents with fireballs from his eyes and lightning bolts from his arse.

Cripps is apparently now 7 feet tall...
 
mediumsizered said:
Russell: Is a work in progress. He moves well, but his reading of the play today displayed how long he has been absent from the game. Will have to wait until after he has had a full pre-season before being able to pass judgement.
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Have Gus mentor him.

Gus spent 23 years out of the game and seems to be reading the play quite well....
 
etsal1 said:
Holman named as the best? Possible debut?
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Sort of hard to put a definitive 1.2.3 in this game but yes, he was definitely one of the best and hadn't he turned the ball over twice I would have had him best for the NB's with Anthony and Cripps close behind.

The problem for Holman though, is where do we play him?
Not ready for the middle yet and the back posts are largely covered.

That aside, I'd love to see him given a go. He'll make mistakes but he'll give you everything.
 
Thanks Harks. Even if there is no debut this year, I'm pleased that he seems to be on the right track and continuing to develop. Haven't seen him play in a few months so good to hear he is continuing from what I saw. Love the way he plays.
 
etsal1 said:
Thanks Harks. Even if there is no debut this year, I'm pleased that he seems to be on the right track and continuing to develop. Haven't seen him play in a few months so good to hear he is continuing from what I saw. Love the way he plays.
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Holman does his job. No theatrics but just hard as nails and learning to become disciplined.
Started the year well, became a little frustrated for a few weeks but is back on the job now.

Makes me laugh reading/listening to people bemoan how poor the NB's are going.
They sort of miss the point of what this level sets out to do.

How one can demand all your first year kids to beat up on hard bodies is.........................It's silly, isn't it?
 
HARKER said:
Holman does his job. No theatrics but just hard as nails and learning to become disciplined.
Started the year well, became a little frustrated for a few weeks but is back on the job now.

Makes me laugh reading/listening to people bemoan how poor the NB's are going.
They sort of miss the point of what this level sets out to do.

How one can demand all your first year kids to beat up on hard bodies is.........................It's silly, isn't it?
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Have you read the reports from yesterday's game on TC? I just laughed.
 
HARKER said:
Cripps is a very smart player.
You can tell that he's already worked out the next step before even taking possession of the ball.
Pity the ump pulled him up through one passage of play where he manouvered around a few Port players heading towards goal.
Looked as though it could have been quite a special moment in the game...........but not to be.
Click to expand...
I was furious when the umpire pinged him for running too far. He would have probably covered 10 metres however the umpire assumed because he had got around a few Port players that he had run too far & yet in another passage of play a Port player ran a good 20 metres at the Northern end of the ground without the umpires batting an eyelid.
 

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