AFL Toast RND 17: Win Against The Cold Pies

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The Good;

Zac Merrett - the best we've had since Hird. One of, if not the best field kick in he comp and duly should be in the conversion for he Brownlow and in line for his 5th AA guernsey

Nate Caddy - Kid is going to be a star. Running under the ball will improve as he grows with confidence and picking up the speed of the game. A HUGE positive

Jye Caldwell - Has transformed into mr reliable this year after glimpses since he was brought over from GWS. Love hat he does it on the inside bu has the ability on the outside.

Harry Jones - We can all agree, this has been a masterstroke from Scott. Is growing in confidence week to week. When the fas starts grow o 4 quarters, we've got some serious weapons on the wing.

Jordan Ridley - Pure class

Dylan Shiel - Resolve I had double Dylan held. Not only to get back in but from Q1 to finish as strong as he did was as big a positive as any from the game.

Kyle Langford - 4 quarters and we win? no coincidence I say.



The bad;

(Opposition) Fast starts.... again. Can we take control of a game early for once and then just control the narrative from there please.

Runs of goals again, another 4 in the first, last 5/6 goals to put me on edge that we may lose late.. again

We allow the same players the same leashes. Sidebum again had a field day. Pendlebury took us to task a few times.

The ugly;
Wins against top 8 sides = 0 lol
Run of goals happens to everyone. It is not just an Essington thing.
 

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Me taking a casual stroll around town today.

cosmo kramer pimp GIF
 
We look to have taken one area our game to a new level. Our marking presence all over the ground has gone through the roof. The move of Jones to the wing has turned what would be some 50/50 contests to our ball now with his height. Cox is starting to grab some marks in one on one situations...where it looks like the opposition has no chance because he is so dam tall. Dursma can take a grab as well. Then you have Durham taking a couple of contested grabs each game through the middle. Even Draper has been getting a few in packs over the last few games. Rids, McKay, Lav and Red dog all can mark well down back. Adding Caddy to forward line who has a great jump and reach as well. It is starting to look like a real point of difference that opposition will have to deal with.
One of my biggest bugbears going into this season was the lack of aerial PRESENCE in our team despite having so many talls. It was epitomised by the likes of Wright, Jones, and Cox. Having Jones and Cox playing on wings against smaller opponents is an inspired move to help them to develop aerial confidence. Wright still lets me down from time to time but he does enough to be a giant headache for defenders. And now Draper is hitting the air with greater purpose and McKay and Ridley are sure hands in defence. Caddy and Langford are sure-handed and as you say Duz and Durs are good overhead. We are suddenly very difficult to nullify in the air which is one of the most pleasing improvements this year.

Now, if we can just be more clinical in front of goal…
 
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The ugly;
Wins against top 8 sides = 0 lol

What if all of Collingwood, Footscray, GWS & Hawthorn end up making the top 8 by the end of the year.

That would be 4 wins against top 8 sides this year.

Just like that we’ve gone from 0 wins to 4 wins against the top 8 without ever having to play those sides again for the rest of the season.

Would that make you feel better, just because.
 
Can’t remember who he nailed with a rib-smashing tackle near the end but I felt it viscerally sitting in my recliner at home.
That was a beauty, I think it was Josh Daicos, a bit like the one where he got Libba.

If we had a couple of marksmen small forwards (like prime Fantasia) I would be daring to dream this year.
 
The Good;

Zac Merrett - the best we've had since Hird. One of, if not the best field kick in he comp and duly should be in the conversion for he Brownlow and in line for his 5th AA guernsey

Nate Caddy - Kid is going to be a star. Running under the ball will improve as he grows with confidence and picking up the speed of the game. A HUGE positive

Jye Caldwell - Has transformed into mr reliable this year after glimpses since he was brought over from GWS. Love hat he does it on the inside bu has the ability on the outside.

Harry Jones - We can all agree, this has been a masterstroke from Scott. Is growing in confidence week to week. When the fas starts grow o 4 quarters, we've got some serious weapons on the wing.

Jordan Ridley - Pure class

Dylan Shiel - Resolve I had double Dylan held. Not only to get back in but from Q1 to finish as strong as he did was as big a positive as any from the game.

Kyle Langford - 4 quarters and we win? no coincidence I say.



The bad;

(Opposition) Fast starts.... again. Can we take control of a game early for once and then just control the narrative from there please.

Runs of goals again, another 4 in the first, last 5/6 goals to put me on edge that we may lose late.. again

We allow the same players the same leashes. Sidebum again had a field day. Pendlebury took us to task a few times.

The ugly;
Wins against top 8 sides = 0 lol
Their last 5th and 6th goal came in the 2nd quarter.
 

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What if all of Collingwood, Footscray, GWS & Hawthorn end up making the top 8 by the end of the year.

That would be 4 wins against top 8 sides this year.

Just like that we’ve gone from 0 wins to 4 wins against the top 8 without ever having to play those sides again for the rest of the season.

Would that make you feel better, just because.
I hoped the "lol" at the end of that comment made it poignant I was being facetious
 
Can opposition supporters please stop with this "easy fixture" bullshit? Every team plays all the other teams once. Then have six double ups. Our double ups are Saints, Swans, Eagles, Pies, Crows and Gold Coast. Eagles the only "gimme" out of those.
Plus we had a super hard fixture at the start. And we finished low on the ladder.
 
truthfully, as optimistic as i am towards us, i wasn't going in expecting anything but a close loss. i was impressed by the maturity that shiel brought into the second half. his work at centre clearances has been something we've sorely missed because he has pace and is happy to get the quick disposal.

i think everyone played their role well, it was a team win, but **** me, how good is jye caldwell? he's a machine and that goal was the icing on the cake
 
Some talk of this as a statement game….im not buying it.

Last week would have been a statement game….and as certain as I was that we’d lose to Geelong, I knew we’d beat Pies. As soon as the media narrative changed to “they could drop out of the 8 now” and expectations lowered….i knew we’d perform better. We seem unable to handle high expectations.

Let’s see what happens. Games v Sydney and Brisbane, right at the pointy end, will give us a good feel for who we really are. I’m still uncertain.
 
Some talk of this as a statement game….im not buying it.

Last week would have been a statement game….and as certain as I was that we’d lose to Geelong, I knew we’d beat Pies. As soon as the media narrative changed to “they could drop out of the 8 now” and expectations lowered….i knew we’d perform better. We seem unable to handle high expectations.

Let’s see what happens. Games v Sydney and Brisbane, right at the pointy end, will give us a good feel for who we really are. I’m still uncertain.
We match up well against Collingwood because they are not an overly big side and they really on pressure more than system which forces us to match it.

Geelong are very experienced and well drilled which forces us to play smarter which we struggle with.
 
I think I’m broken but I don’t feel that last night changed or solidified anything.
I still don’t consider us bankable. What is bankable is that we can turn out that Cats performance on any given day.
I applaud the victory last night, I enjoyed the victory last night but the Pies were severely depleted and haven’t been in great form.
 
Some talk of this as a statement game….im not buying it.

Last week would have been a statement game….and as certain as I was that we’d lose to Geelong, I knew we’d beat Pies. As soon as the media narrative changed to “they could drop out of the 8 now” and expectations lowered….i knew we’d perform better. We seem unable to handle high expectations.

Let’s see what happens. Games v Sydney and Brisbane, right at the pointy end, will give us a good feel for who we really are. I’m still uncertain.
Similar view


Beat Collingwood when they are in he 4 and humming is different beast to how they are spluttering right now.

Even Melbourne next week, the narrative would be, oh, they are nothing without Petracca and Oliver is in poor form.


A statement is beating Sydney in round 23 or the Lions away in round 24. The other games really could go either way or have excuses attached to either a win or a loss
 

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