AFL Toast RND 1: Bombers smoke the Hawkes

[84859300]

After reading the match thread and watching the replay, after seeing it live - not much has really been said about how Scott managed us after a horrible first quarter.

In seasons gone by, we'd be screaming out for a plan B. Scott tweaked enough to hold the basics of the game plan, while switching some magnets to make a difference in the second and beyond. Certainly not premiership material yet, but happy to have a coach that has options available if Plan A isn't winning.

Finally - As much as Parish had the ball yesterday, he copped an absolute bath in the first with pure lazy football. Kudos to whomever spoke to him at the breaks as he improved, but that first 30 minutes was poo. His direct oponent walking out of the middle untouched, positioning was opposite from where we needed, wrong side for defensive setup etc. Would have been worse against a Geelong or Melbourne.

 

[ghostdog]

Scott intimated as much in his presser without calling them out for how s**t they are.

they will have patches where they will run and gun and carve through sides throughout a game. But it's not gonna be sustainable.

They reminded me a little bit of us a few years ago.

 

[Chief]

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Soak it in, boys!!

We're in the top 8!

 

[ant555]

Have watched the replay a couple of times so a few thoughts.

We do have enough decent players on the list to win 9 games (plus or minus 1). There will be some losses along the way but there is no reason why we can not do well against the bottom and middle tier sides if they stay on the park.

All week I kept hearing from some inside the AFL that the Hawks where going to be antisocial. Not even close.

Hawks are going to struggle but after quarter time our positioning through the middle forced them to keep going wide which they did not want to do. It was good to see the team structure working a lot better. They still need to work on the zone sliding across as they allowed the wide guys an outlet kick up the ground a few times but in general the set up worked. The played a basic square zone and kept control of the corridor. I think it can stand up against better sides as far as not getting smashed off the park. It is not overly complex but it is effective for now.

We where very good for the first 12 minutes. Average for the next 20 and then took control of the game.

Parish gets a tick. We all know he can run around and get 35 touches. His tackle count was not high but his efforts to chase and find a player in the zone where much improved. He looked switched on. He also took advantage of the good work his captain and Setterfield did around the stoppage.

Merrett. Excellent. Did all the team stuff. Was physical. Played smart by going to another Hawks player at stoppage dragging his tag with him. Big tick.

Jones and Weideman where not prolific but worked hard and their pressure was good.

Archie will kick 50 goals if we keep playing him in the same role. His defense was at a improved level.

Back 6 where good and I do not care what anyone says BZT was good after a few early nerves.

Martin and Durham. Excellent work rate all day.

Davey. Not really surprised. He is a smart player and he will be even more dangerous going forward as he will have the ability to stick a few more tackles. His pressure and defensive knowledge is very good for a young bloke.

Setterfield did what we needed him to do. Good inside pressure at stoppage. Crashed into blokes. Found enough of the footy himself and ran hard all day. Does not have to be a star. Just has to do what he did yesterday.

Langford. During the first quarter I was thinking WTF are you doing ? He was out of position a lot and seemed to be going around in circle. After 1/4 time he was really good coming from half back.

McGrath was good. He is much more effective running in straight lines up the ground.

It really was an improved effort over several areas. Forward 50 pressure was good. Zone was solid and only really leaked on its outside. They seemed more organized . Still plenty to keep chipping away at but a good starting point. Will be interested in seeing how well they hold up under more pressure.

 

[ant555]

And only one side in the last 28 years that has been on top of the ladder after round 1 has missed the finals
And no I can not tell you who it was. Someone will be quick to find it

 

[eth-dog]

And only one side in the last 28 years that has been on top of the ladder after round 1 has missed the finals
And no I can not tell you who it was. Someone will be quick to find it

Brisbane in 2007