Review R22: The Good, Bad and Ugly vs. Footscray

[Gtowncrow]

I really liked what I saw from Berry. Really developing into a valuable player.

A few fumbles early but better than Crouch or Laird today.

Crouch had lots of the ball as usual but I'm seeing crab tendencies again lately. Laird also had lots of the ball but is making too many skill and decision errors.

Both are closer to being out of the 22 than they were at the start of the season.

 

[Eddie Murphy]

A few fumbles early but better than Crouch or Laird today.

Crouch had lots of the ball as usual but I'm seeing crab tendencies again lately. Laird also had lots of the ball but is making too many skill and decision errors.

Both are closer to being out of the 22 than they were at the start of the season.

I thought Crouch had a great game today. And unlike Laird, he actually has a decent boot on him.

 

[AFC979810]

Hang on, there’s been a few clappers coming out of the woodwork tonight

Speaking of coming out of the woodwork, why were you avoiding the changes thread this week Mullett?

Didn't you hear? Poor bloke passed away mid week and couldn't post. But just like Jesus - a miracle happened and he was back alive 3 days later.

 

[clinto69]

Much much better performance today with some real one on one wins. And we'll take it. But again the numbers are still very worrying. 43 inside 50s vs 59. You aren't winning too many games with so few. +37 hitouts and yet again we lost clearance -3. -18 tackles. Won contested possessions by +7 which was good to see. Truth is our numbers this year have been really poor. Anyway I will still enjoy the win in a season there haven't been many.

 

[AFC979810]

Much much better performance today with some real one on one wins. And we'll take it. But again the numbers are still very worrying. 43 inside 50s vs 59.

We have an insanely talented forward line. It should be top 3 in 2025. For me thats not a concern. With TT, FOG, Rankine, Rachele, Keays, Tex we should be very efficient.

 

[azza77]

Havent seen him mentioned much in here, but I think Bond is turning out to be quite the small defender. His development and performances at AFL have certainly caught me by surprise. Disposal can be shite house at time I know, but he sticks his man like glue and does not give an inch.

 

[clinto69]

We have an insanely talented forward line. It should be top 3 in 2025. For me thats not a concern. With TT, FOG, Rankine, Rachele, Keays, Tex we should be very efficient.

True. But just imagine the scoreline with 60+ entries.

 

[Moonwatcher]

WOW foot on the line!

 

[AFC979810]

Not sure how anyone is complimenting Sholl this week.

Had zero tackles, had only one 1%.

I mean sure he had most disposals, most kicks, most marks, most meters gained, most R50's - but I like my wingers to get their hands dirty!

 

[adelaidecrows]

How much more proof do we need that he he is not very smart...

He knows there are people coming for Murphy and he is defending him. The wrong way. The smart way to defend a player is to say we regard him highly but he knows what he needs to work on. Job done. No, he makes stupid shit up. He treats people outside the club as being dumb. Yet he is the one with the shit record this year.

 

[StonesThrow]

Much much better performance today with some real one on one wins. And we'll take it. But again the numbers are still very worrying. 43 inside 50s vs 59. You aren't winning too many games with so few. +37 hitouts and yet again we lost clearance -3. -18 tackles. Won contested possessions by +7 which was good to see. Truth is our numbers this year have been really poor. Anyway I will still enjoy the win in a season there haven't been many.

Geelong was an indication of where numbers told the story. We were really outplayed and the numbers backed this up. The score line flattered us.

This game was the opposite imo. Sometimes stats aren't a good indicator.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

How do you explain Hawthorn losing the first 5 games?

16th place in 2023. A team expected to be bottom four performing as expected in the first five rounds.

Been impressive since then.

 

[StonesThrow]

Havent seen him mentioned much in here, but I think Bond is turning out to be quite the small defender. His development and performances at AFL have certainly caught me by surprise. Disposal can be shite house at time I know, but he sticks his man like glue and does not give an inch.

I don't think he's that bad with ball in hand. Better than I expected. Has looked fairly composed as well.

 

[crows dude]

A few fumbles early but better than Crouch or Laird today.

Crouch had lots of the ball as usual but I'm seeing crab tendencies again lately. Laird also had lots of the ball but is making too many skill and decision errors.

Both are closer to being out of the 22 than they were at the start of the season.

Crouch got 2 votes from campo. Fog 3 and Rob 1

 

[kirky]

About Murphy, who had yet another bad game.
There must be some Murphy fans out there in BigFooty-Land who are Murphy fans (apart from Nicks).
Can any of you tell me why he gets a game, week after week, when his actual game impact is more negative than positive?

I’ve yet to come across one either at the footy, gym or the streets after a game in Melbourne.

Even today, he had the opportunity to handball it off (I forgot who) but instead had a shot for goal and what came as a little surprise missed.

 

[kirky]

It was a very good win but are the returning posters ignoring they kicked 9.18, we were smashed in inside 50s and we lost clearances despite dominating the hit outs?

Thankfully 2 weeks in a row our excellent forward line were deadly when we got the ball in there.

Just imagine what we could do if we had a decent senior coach and midfield coach.

 

[kirky]

Soligo seemed out of sorts today. He lost his normal composure and calm disposal. Could he benefit from an early end to his season to ameliorate his groin problems? This would allow us to debut another young player.

There is zero chance Nicks will put anyone in cotton wool for the remainder of the season, he wants to win the last two games, certainly doesn’t want any Hawthorn type losses.

 

[davos44]

Good:
Curtin getting a full game, nowhere near it right now but he got a taste. We got a couple of glimpses of his talent with some nice kicking and great hands. Be patient and settle down with the "n1x Is RuINIng HIM" rubbish, he isn't rushing home to Perth crying because "that bald nasty chipmunk man covered in Pepsi Max won't let me play" just yet.

Murphy seem to be spending more time at half back, looked better but I'd rather see literally anyone else play at half back. We have like 9 in the SANFL.

Soligo is a gun, a few kicks forward need work but he clears congestion. Berry's strength is a weapon, can take a tackle and keep the ball moving.

Crouch is criminally underrated, 18 contested possessions!

Charlie Edwards having good back half of the year, maybe a sneaky "in" for Sydney if he keeps going OK (were putting half our side on ice for round 24 in my head).




Bad:
The Bulldogs are AO are putrid. So much talent, so little interest when they were 5 goals down (apart from Richards).



Ugly:
West Adelaide giving Lachie Gollant the entire 50M arc to work in. Awful side.

Play like this all the time, but do it when it matters. Too many times this year we have just looked flat, slow, shellshocked and timid. Worrell, Murray, MM, Keane and Nankervis can handle a bit of turnover pressure 1 on 1. Get the ball to Hinge, MM or Nank as they have leg speed (not Laird!).

 

[kirky]

Despite that they had 1 more scoring shot despite not playing well. You can say it was the umps but how many shots on goal were in relation to the umps compared to ours?

Didn’t they get 7 frees well inside 50? Remember the goal at halftime but can’t not the others were points.

The one that Murray gave away was the dumbest free I’ve ever seen - he had the ball and their bloke ran into him. Just bizzare.

 

[Mostyn]

Different plan though today. Most noticeable was our hustle to get into position and our look to move the speed of our play to take advantage of this. Really showed when we came out of defence. So good to watch this unNicks like style. But he is still learning i guess…….

Isn't this closer to the style we played last year?

I feel like we've been trying to get this midfield pressure and fast rebound game going all year, but we've struggled to get the pieces together.

That - and the potent forward line kicking winning score with fewer entries - was due to us struggling to have the depth to deliver on the plan.

Injured Tex and Filthy has a big impact. Starting the year with Soli, Schoenberg, Jones all carrying injuries meant the midfield depth was thin. Who we had to rotate through weren't able to do what the plan needed.

I think this is where they were wanting to be, and we've needed a few pieces to come together to do it.

 

[Mostyn]

How do you explain our 1st month of football...

Injuries that exposed our midfield and forward line depth.

A month of bad form, like Sydney, Carlton and Collingwood are having now and Hawthorn had then.

Every side in the league has had a month or so where they've gone off the pace. It was frustrating it happened to us so early and rattled us.

 

[Mostyn]

Bond's job on Weightman should not be understated.

Continually matches up on the best small forward and with the exception of Stengle for a few contests, has come out on top.

It's a position we've really needed in the team.

They should be congratulated for identifying that this kid could do it, and sticking to their guns when nuffies like me had written him off.

 

[Mostyn]

Dogs had 35 games more experience per player so experience isn't the reason we won

No, but it's one of the reasons it was a really fantastic win.

We won because we absolutely out played them, and they made dumb errors.

Doing that with an inexperienced team is a real positive.

 

[kirky]

Injuries that exposed our midfield and forward line depth.

A month of bad form, like Sydney, Carlton and Collingwood are having now and Hawthorn had then.

Every side in the league has had a month or so where they've gone off the pace. It was frustrating it happened to us so early and rattled us.

What injuries besides Tilthorpe and Murray?

Our midfield injuries? And beside Tilthorpe in our forward line, who?

In our first four games we scored 8, 11, 5 and 8 goals with minimal injuries to our midfield and forward lines. Care to explain?

 

[Mostyn]

Curtin actually looked a natural forward. Still not really sure where his best position will end up being.

I agree - I'm not sure he's quite there around the contest yet, but he does a great job of getting himself in the right positions as a forward.