Over 50's Clique - Nostalgia, Memorabilia, Reflection and Opinion for the Mature Lion.

[dlanod]

I wouldn’t be so hard on him in the second. It was one way traffic out of the middle and our defence was under siege. TV commentators got it right when they said two consecutive goals during Melbourne’s run were because McKenna wouldn’t man up. He was so slack in terms of work ethic. Across the four quarters Lester and Starcevich were our best two defenders by a mile, in my opinion.

McKenna and Joyce were very poor, Starcevich was good, I have Andrews doing an underrated job - missed the highlights because he wasn't intercepting, but the number of forward entries vs the number he killed was impactful, Lester had quite a few big gambles where he went out of position to try to intercept/attack the ball, sometimes it came off but several times he misread where the Melbourne player(s) were and basically was left out of the contest around the forward 50 arc or through the middle, a very dangerous proposition. Outside of those gambles he was his usual solid self, but he made a number of those 50/50 calls and got quite a few wrong this week.

 

[3KZ is Football]

McKenna and Joyce were very poor, Starcevich was good, I have Andrews doing an underrated job - missed the highlights because he wasn't intercepting, but the number of forward entries vs the number he killed was impactful, Lester had quite a few big gambles where he went out of position to try to intercept/attack the ball, sometimes it came off but several times he misread where the Melbourne player(s) were and basically was left out of the contest around the forward 50 arc or through the middle, a very dangerous proposition. Outside of those gambles he was his usual solid self, but he made a number of those 50/50 calls and got quite a few wrong this week.

There was one that really sticks out in the third quarter, and I ‘freeze framed’ it to look at the set up. The issue that Lester had in this instance was that he had two opponents to cover because Melbourne had moved the ball so quickly over the back and his teammates were a mile off their men. He was the defender in the passage, but he was never going to beat two men. Goal to Pickett, but responsibility up field.

That to one side, he laid a number of vital tackles, his field kicking was excellent, he marshalled our defence well all night and his marking was super solid, especially the clutch grab in the last quarter that sent us back inside 50.

 

[M Malice]

Quite simple IMO, if there is good pressure up the field the defensive group have the opportunity to look fantastic, if there is slack pressure up the field any defence is vulnerable.

Midfielders and forwards must be on with their pressure.

FWIW I thought Darragh Joyce

41

Darragh Joyce

Age

27

Ht

195cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.4

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

4.6

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.4

3star

MG

207.6

3star

No current season stats available

D

11.4

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

4.6

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.4

4star

MG

207.6

4star

was serviceable except for a couple of real howlers with his disposal, Payne obviously the better option.

 

[McIvor]

I’m looking forward to the Irish experiment being over. That’s all I’ll say.

 

[martinson]

I’m looking forward to the Irish experiment being over. That’s all I’ll say.

McKenna can play. Joyce struggles to get to a passable standard.