AFL Autopsy RND 18: Essington crapped on by the Cats

[Vindicater]

You still need options to kick to. You still need players up the ground to be able to mark it in a one on one contest. May may be a weapon with his kicking but he is not in our side with our rucks or KPF in front of him. On top of that their number priority in the back half is defending / intercept . If this is the argument then yes we do need to upgrade not just Heppell but Kelly and Laverde and BZK and McGarth. Redman and Ridley are the only two weapons who also defend.
That is not happening short term.

We do need to upgrade at least one of Lav or Zerk I agree. I think Reid and his kicking ability was a big part of the plan moving forward but his injuries obviously make that a 50/50 now.

 

[citizen-erased]

We need a big bodied defender !
Lack of midfield pressure does not change that one bit.
We need a goof FB and we need a CHF. The order they come in does not really matter as long as we get them in the next two years.
We need better marking midfielders and we need a small forward with X factor.
The issues are the same as most have been commenting on for the last 5 years. One year of Scott is not going to be some sort of magic wand.

Probably missed setterfield too.
Perkins was outclassed early by danger and we had no other move to make there

But yeah, bigger FB - even if Baldwin is an option, with injury you want cover. Retire stewart if spots are an issue and replace him
And absolutely on the CHF. Enough cheap vfl standard stop gaps or bean poles that take years to develop. List mgmt team has been extremely poor in this regard. Best we've had since lloyd/lucas was daniher (f/s) and hooker (late season switch)

 

[outersanctum]

I didn't watch last night's game, thankfully, but it's crazy to read analysis like this, given you've been saying very similarly for 5 or so years.

How the club are content to maintain their list/recruitment strategy when they've not had a balanced list in 20 years is perplexing.

Agree that list management is not up to scratch. How Duds keeps his job is beyond me. Has had 20 years to build a list and not once has he created a contender. Most of it has been hot garbage.

We could rinse and repeat how we lose against top sides.. we lose the aerial battle, our skills aren't good enough across the board, our midfield is too short and no pace, no big bodied defender and a real lack of small forward pressure.

20 years and we still haven't fixed the problem. McGrath is a prime example.. a good player, fine player.. but when you get that #1 pick.. you have to make it a superstar/champion. A match winner. McGrath is not a match winner. We have also got unlucky with injuries but why are we recruiting guys that all have the same build and thus all seem to fall to the same injuries?? Other teams seem to recruit to need, recruit guys who are almost plug and play and yet we just don't.

Not Duds fault but yet again we haven't even got a look at our top 5 draft pick. Just a reoccurring theme of poor recruiting, poor fitness, poor management and bad luck.

 

[the PILL]

Something was well an truly off with our mindset last night... Looked a lot like "ewww it's too cold, ewwww the ball is all slimey, ewwww that Cats player is running at the ball too hard, ewwww there's no space to play our flashy flash etc etc"

Pretty much everyone here will swallow a loss if we try and the effort is there but it's like we'd conceded before we ran out...

Hobbs gets a pass mark for slaving his guts out...

Brad got a dose of players playing for just wages last night if things aren't going their way and he's going to have to find that switch in their heads that effort is a non negotiable...

Still filthy i put that game down to a barometer as to where we might be and we just wet lettuced it...

 

[citizen-erased]

McGrath belongs on that second list. His usage is awful.

Mcgrath is a one step fwd/one step back player.
He's not quite bad enough to drop but **** me he can be a liability most the time. Really needs a lesson or two in knowing his limitations and how to put the ball to advantage

 

[andleanback]

If we somehow make finals. We likely play geelong id rather just miss this year. Nothing to be gained.

 

[citizen-erased]

We do need to upgrade at least one of Lav or Zerk I agree. I think Reid and his kicking ability was a big part of the plan moving forward but his injuries obviously make that a 50/50 now.

I see zerk as the chb. His reading and intercept game is quite good and he moves well to make space to dispose of the ball out of defence.

I dont necessarily believe we need a 200cm/100kg+ goliath at FB. But we need a better key defender. Someone grimes/vlaustin that is hard to play against.

 

[jdstorm]

Mcgrath is a one step fwd/one step back player.
He's not quite bad enough to drop but * me he can be a liability most the time. Really needs a lesson or two in knowing his limitations and how to put the ball to advantage

He’s a decent lockdown Back Pocket. Basically Jake Kelly with more athleticism.

I think expectations ie Draft Status, Team Captain ect get in the way of that.

People call him Pidge Mcgrath but he’s much closer to Shawn Tait. Can do a job but not someone you can build a group around

 

[outersanctum]

He’s a decent lockdown Back Pocket. Basically Jake Kelly with more athleticism.

I think expectations ie Draft Status, Team Captain ect get in the way of that.

People call him Pidge Mcgrath but he’s much closer to Shawn Tait. Can do a job but not someone you can build a group around

He turns it over a LOT by foot because he over estimates how far he can kick. His kicks are floaters at best.. never shaped or at speed. His hands are good and his pace is good.

And yes draft status isn't 'fair' but heck we needed to nail that pick and we didn't. We really needed a superstar. An out and out.. pull you out of the fire champion.. and instead we got a handy back pocket with dodgy disposal. urghh

 

[Lore]

Ling interviewing Ridley with that smug smirk was the last straw!

Ling is always awful to listen to, especially when commenting on a Geelong game. He seems to have a special dislike of Essendon but the bias is there regardless.

 

[citizen-erased]

He’s a decent lockdown Back Pocket. Basically Jake Kelly with more athleticism.

I think expectations ie Draft Status, Team Captain ect get in the way of that.

People act like he’s Glen McGrath but he’s much closer to Shawn Tait. Can do a job but not someone you can build a group around

I dont know cricket but im seeing more baguley than i am daniel. He can defend, but i hate the ball in his hand

 

[brain taylor]

And yes draft status isn't 'fair' but * we needed to nail that pick and we didn't. We really needed a superstar. An out and out.. pull you out of the fire champion.. and instead we got a handy back pocket with dodgy disposal. urghh

there kinda just wasn’t a superstar there to pick though, taranto probably the best option in hindsight but it’s not like he’s chris judd or anything either

 

[Red Black and Blue]

I don;'t know what was worse, we could have showed up with some fight, an honourable loss put the AFL world on notice that we are a serious football side. We are 5th, playing the 8th ranked side on the ladder. Coming off a decent win playing exciting football in our captains 200th match .

Instead, we don't even show up for a pretty resilient sort of guy who could have left but stayed loyal. What an insipid performance. We've been up for a fair bit this year, even in the losses to Port, Collingwood, we've fought. Perhaps a blip. It is a hurdle we need to overcome if we are to ever take the next step from potential to actual football club.

I thought we did show some fight. The effort was there, the capability is not.

 

[Lore]

For those who have yet to see the game (and still want to, for some masochistic reason):

In the interests of your sanity, I recommend watching the extended highlights for Bryan & Perkins (and anyone else you have a particular interest in) on the stats section of the AFL app. Getting to it is a little convoluted, but tap 'Stats' on then navigation, then tap 'Players' at the top of that page and search for the player you want to view.

Scroll to the bottom of the player's profile to get to the match highlights, tap the video to play, and then change it from 'Highlights' to 'Extended'. (You can also use the widget below the match video to select past games for comparison purposes.)

'Extended' will give you ~15 minutes worth of timestamped clips of every stat that particular player got, including every hit out that got sharked, every clanger, every spoil and one percenter. Not just the disposals that had positive outcomes.

While it won't necessarily give you a good view of structures, you tend not to get that from the television coverage anyway so you're not missing much

 

[jdstorm]

I dont know cricket but im seeing more baguley than i am daniel. He can defend, but i hate the ball in his hand

Basically Glen McGrath was known as a Metronome. Ultra consistent, not overly fast but his consistency led to his success. Think Selwood.

Shawn Tait was nicknamed Wild Thing. Was one of the fastest Bowlers Australia ever produced and even topped 160km with some consistency (100MPH) an achievement few reach.

Wildly inaccurate. Used to give away lots of runs but took enough wickets to have a decent career in shorter forms where economy doesn’t matter.

Bit like Andy. He has one thing he does at an elite level but not much else, and on a bad day harms you more then he helps

 

[rumply]

Got to say I agree 100%

 

[Nicholas61]

Something was well an truly off with our mindset last night... Looked a lot like "ewww it's too cold, ewwww the ball is all slimey, ewwww that Cats player is running at the ball too hard, ewwww there's no space to play our flashy flash etc etc"

Pretty much everyone here will swallow a loss if we try and the effort is there but it's like we'd conceded before we ran out...

Hobbs gets a pass mark for slaving his guts out...

Brad got a dose of players playing for just wages last night if things aren't going their way and he's going to have to find that switch in their heads that effort is a non negotiable...

Still filthy i put that game down to a barometer as to where we might be and we just wet lettuced it...

Mats Wilander once said of Roger Federer (until he started using a modern size racquet) that his balls shrink whenever he plays Nadal. It seems the same with us playing Geelong - they have dished out horrendous beltings to us with matches seemingly over 10 minutes in. I remember one about 13 years ago and Henry Slattery tried neutralizing the damage by kneeing GAJ as hard as he could in the arse. Bloody hurt but didn't stop him or the Cats.

I was annoyed with Laverde early doing a couple of turnovers but then again at least he provides some genuine physicality and when it gets to the situation we have last night us supporters are less critical of turnovers compared to guys just moving out of the way to avoid physical contact like McGrath with that Geelong running onto the ball and then scoring.

 

[TheWeapon]

Turned it off at quarter time a real jarring reality check
The list needs a bigger KPD and KPF at minimum, plus another 2 pre-seasons into our young mids before we can do anything of substance
The smaller ground made it harder to possess the footy and we got smashed around the contest
In finals like intensity there needs to be a Plan B instead of chipping the footy eg take territory and compete better at the contest

 

[Zephyr Effekt]

Dear Llyod,

 

[ghostdog]

Geelong definitely hitting their straps. They did it to Brisbane as well in the finals - they seemed to have loose players everywhere and Brisbane couldn't move the ball without being strangled, same as last night. Is that aerobic capacity as much as gameplan?

It's why I said I want to see a pre-season with wall to wall repeat sprints.

 

[Squeaky]

Last 3 1st qtrs Geelong vs Essendon…

20-13-133. 4-2-26

Beaten before we run out.

Horrendous!

 

[Darealrath]

Played like they didn't think they could win.

Also didn't seem to really plan for the different dimension of the ground. Kept trying to build from the back pocket but the narrow wings made that so much easier for Geelong to defend, especially the kick that usually goes to the flank from the back pocket. Exacerbated by having no marking targets apart from Wright.

Only positives were Ridley seemed OK after last week, Hobbs cracked in all game and Bryan had a couple of nice moments which should build his confidence (though he's going to have to develop some more physicality if he's ever going to be a no.1 ruck).

 

[jannissary]

not even my unending optimism can bring much to the table other than nick bryan looked good in the first 3 quarters (couldn't stomach the last, drank some shitty craft beer i got for free and it had my hunched over the loo until about 2am)

just hoping that they don't take the result to heart and use it as a stepping stone to launch into some good form. hobbs competed well, ridley looked good and had no issue with movement. think bryan does have what it takes, i just don't think he's used to not being primary ruckman (yet)

few positives but lots to work on

 

[Cold Sober]

Bad night, file and forget.
I think Weeds could make a solid backman.
Bryan should back himself to mark rather than punch all the time.
Chase McKay [norf]
Will bounce back and beat the Doggies.

 

[Shanghaistu]

Got to say I agree 100%

Kane doesn’t pull any punches - can’t work out if he’s particularly anti-bombers or just shock-jock and cantankerous to everyone in general