Player Review vs North

[TheGreatGrundy]

Highly encouraged by that effort with so many first-choice players missing and decent opposition...
Thought Browny's effort was better than some are giving him credit for...
Think some are underrating Swallow [what were the clearance numbers again?]...
Can't believe anyone thinks Thompson 'curbed Cloke's influence' [only some of his goalkicking did that]...
Got all my food and drinks paid for by anti-Collingwood people at the bar where I watched...

Brown was excellent against Petrie.
What kind of bar shows the footy in Shenzhen? It's one of the fastest growing cities in the world, or so I just read, situated in the special economic zone. How's the lifestyle?

 

[DaVe86]

I would like to do a player review too.

Russell - Thought he took a while to settle in, but eventually found a spot and became important when Johnson left the field. Has missed a fair chunk of footy, so I think he will be better for the run. I think he copped a bit of a corky at quarter time, and seemed to be a bit hesitant in q2 which saw him a bit lazy in a few tackling efforts. But was a real contributor in the second half. Not sure if he has locked in his spot yet with Seedsman and Shaw to come back, but happy to have him on board.

Macaffer- A great one to have behind him and he got better as the game wore on. Fitting that he kicked the winning goal and I think he is a vital part of the forward set-up. Will take good opponents.

Maxwell - Good typical Maxy game. Still has the odd bomb kick or 2, but overall as solid as you get. Seemed to enjoy having the 3 tall defenders next to him which freed him up totally.

Goldsack - Really displayed his value after Reid went down. He was able to float back and he provided real bounce out of half back. Was one of the few players I felt comfortable with the ball in his hand in the last quarter. He has a penetrating kick and doesn't seem to have lost any pace after the ankle op. Needs to get involved for 4 quarters...especially when in attack. But he was so valueable and is a genuine utility who can play wherever needed.

O'Brien - I have been critical, but he was awesome. He will relish his role on the wing. I prefer him taking the game on higher up the field than down back where he can turn it over in dangerous positions.

Clarke - Really pleased with is game. Another fringe player who is going to make it hard to displace. I would like to see Buckley continue to use him in negating roles though. I think he could do a job on Kade Simpson for example next week. But he had a bit of aggression about him and was reliable by foot.

Pendlebury - No need to elaborate. BOG

Blair - Another who got better as the game wore on. Whilst others were struggling to keep moving, Blair kept hitting in hard. Will be better when the other mids re-join the team.

Brown - Held his own against Petrie. Agree with Snoop that it wouldn't hurt for him to play infront...but he was there witih Petrie in every contest and didn't get out-bodied once.

Jolly - I thought Goldstein had the better of the battle, but Jolly held up. Goldlstein absolutely smashed Jolly the last time they met, so a break-even was as good as a win.

Elliot - I reckon we can only afford one of he and Sinclair because neither kick goals! But his forward pressure is great and he is a clever user of the ball. Great in traffic, a good mark and hits in very hard. His tackling was fantastic. If he can just kick a goal a game he would be the complete player.

Reid - Like Maxwell, I think he enjoyed having Frost in the team to free him up. The defence was really solid. Hope he is ok for next week.

Lynch - It was as if he and Cloke had been playing together for 15 years. They combined beautifully. To have 6 goals come from our tall forwards is a huge plus. Also did well when required in the ruck. A great asset.

Sidebottom - Back to his best, and looks most dangerous as a forward. Glad to see Bucks give him more forward time because he is so clever. Ran the game out well. He could've iced the game in the last but missed an easy goal. Would've capped off the perfect game.

Josh Thomas - A good first up effort and was dominant in the stoppages in the first half. But he ran out of puff and his kicking was a big issue. Plenty to work with and may get another crack...but fitness is going to be an issue. Will probably make way for Beams. But I was really happy with his debut. Has a great frame to work with.

Ben Johnson - I don't think he is a walk up start anymore and he might be one who makes way if his corkie doesn't recover. I thought he was playing OK but his footskills are once again a liability.

Sinclair - See Elliott above. His tackling pressure was incredible and he definitely got involved. He just needs more scoreboard impact. I think he is in a real battle with Elliott. In the mean-time, both are doing a job. Sinclair offers a bit more as a negating forward, whereas Elliott offers more offensively.

Cloke - Not much more needs to be said other than the fact that he looks free from burden this year and will enjoy big Q standing next to him. Looks fit.

Toovey - For me was also close to BOG. Was simply amazing. Not sure if he had the Thomas match-up early in the game, but I think he moved onto him and shut him down. But it just seemed as though he won every 50/50 contest, he provided great run and went in hard. So underrated.

Swan - Probably not his most influential game, but had 2 terrific plays in the last quarter to help win the game including a great pack mark and crucial one on one mark in defence. He went back to help stem the tide. Great game.

Dwyer - Influential when he came on. Is worthy of a spot in the side, but there is just too much class to return for him to hold his spot. Amazing depth player and does everything right. Gets better at this level everytime he plays.

Frost - I think we looked great with 3 talls. A few times he got caught behind and tended to bomb it everytime he got it...but great backup and more than capable of holding a top 22 spot when the opposition has 3 talls. Proved we can play with 3 KPP backs.

 

[EB&W Pieman]

I wonder if we forget that this was Josh Thomas' FIRST GAME!

He has missed a lot of football over the past four seasons so it's not surprising that he took time to get used to the pace of first team football. He'll have to go back to the twos, but I still have high hopes.

 

[4#Didak#4]

WOW so many positives out of that game. I think at years end it will stand up as one of our best wins of the year, given the hurdles they had to jump over to get the 4 points.

Depth
We have talked it up all season and it turns out we are not full of hot air. To cover the outs we had today shows our depth is excellent and we didn't lose too much. The quality perhaps was down when you are without the Thomas, Beams, Krak, Fas types, but the desire and effort was still there in spades.

Debutants
Josh Thomas didn't let his faithful followers down and had many on here remove him from their "delist at years end lists". He replaced big shoes in Beams and while its impossible to cover that loss he did what was required in close and what he has big wraps for. His clearances were vital and he is the Luke Ball heir apparant.

Jack Frost with a 10min prep for the game was great. As per pre-season stood up & did whats required. Has some rough edges, but can only improve. Keefe & Frost ensures we now have some back for Ben "injured again!" Reid & Brown.

Sam Dwyer as sub had an impact and can play at ths level. Hard to find a spot for him when the rest return, but proves he can step in at a moments notice & play a role.

Endurance Runners
The new AFL sub rules now & in the future has made it apparent that sides will need endurance runners to succeed. So many sides just stopped to a halt this round & couldn't run the game out. We should have too with 1 interchange left, we had every excuse to stop running. In the last quarter we did slow down, but did enough. We have some great endurance runners in Sidebottom, O'Brien, Clarke, Pendles. Their ability to keep pushing & covering ground is the reason we won that game and were not completely over run. Clarke's position is tenuous, however his great advantage is he can out run most on our list and this is beginnning to be a massive factor late in games.

Defence
The defence was great and worked well as a unit. A new look with Russell & Frost in there. Nathan Brown looked really good. They say it takes a year after a knee to get back to form and maybe that is the case with Nathan. The great unsung hero is Toovey. Especially first half when we were under the pump he did some great things. So dependable. Goldsack was also great going back in the last half. I still think thats his best position.

The Wingman
I have always wanted Harry O as my wingman . Somethig I have been hoping we would try for a few years. On the wing he utilises all his strengths and avoids his weaknesses which get exposed deep in the defensive 50 on quality smalls. With our depth and Russell doing a job down back we can afford to use him as a weapon. He is dynamic, explosive and has great endurance. This allows him to get back to help out the defense, apply tackling ball carrier pressure through the middle/half forward, break the lines with his run & carry. He is not a one way runner like a lot of outside mid/wings. He also has that x-factor that can break up play & cause havoc.

The Recycled
Q & Russell, while not overwhelmingly great did exactly what they were recruited for.

The Game Plan
I don't think its terribly complicated, which I like. We are basically going to take advantage of the twin towers by winning a lot of midfield ball & getting it in there quick. A century old proven plan! We have upped our defensive pressure all over the ground which was a must. I also liked some of our transition from defence which has been poor. I will wait & see if we improve these areas for the year. The game was quick - quick ball movement - both sides, which was great. Interesting to see if we keep this up & if it holds up under better defensive pressure.

 

[DaVe86]

I agree JT was great in his first game. 7 clearances in that frenetic opening half is a real credit to him...as was that smother in the last when he was dead on his legs. Was also still a step or two off the pace which saw him cop 2 HTB decisions against him.

I think the point is that he doesn't have the fitness or ball skills yet to be in the top 22. I think if he can string together a solid month or two of VFL footy then he'll be better placed. If guys like Beams and Thomas aren't ready yet, then I'm more than happy to give him more exposure.

But he is definitely the readymade Luke Ball replacement we were hoping for. A real great debut.

The worry next week is that Carlton are a fit side and had a massive last quarter against Richmond last week. With all the youth in our side, we faded hard. Having too many rookies will have that effect.

I still think we need our most senior team in...but I'm all for giving JT more exposure if possible.