Autopsy Rnd 7, Hawthorn vs Melbourne, MCG, 11th May

[MJK_23]

The only thing to take from last nights game was once again out ordinary conversion rate! hate to say it cause i dont mind the club but man Melbourne is a long long long way off it right now! Everyone keeps saying they were good for for the first quarter but really they were given a fair sniff because of our inability to open up an early considerable lead! As soon as we converted a bit more they totally lost any intensity the had and let us play our way! Buddys kicking is a real concern now! I think her generally connected a bit better last night with a few cause lately hes hasnt been just missing but missing by a long way lol. Even though his set shots have been wide he usually converts at least 3 outta 5 id say. Gilhams return was promising although will have to man bigger opponents than sylvia in weeks to come but moved and used the pill well!

 

[MistyAvalon]

just watching it now,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,there go buddy missing the easiest of goals.......... ah smile as Rioli puts through a toughie..........

a win is a win a nd I will take it but dear god we need to get t he kicks under contrl

 

[macdaddio]

Its hard to judge how good we were last night because we were also very bad..

Game should of been over in the first term and this exact same thing happened last week against the Saints, game then should of been over in the first term.

Our biggest problem is not our defense or our midfield or Rucks, but our goal kicking and we should really be in top 4 right now with a 6-1 record, if not for our poor goal kicking.....

This problem was suppose to have been fixed after we sent J.Barker packing, but in the complete opposite it has gone worse...

 

[markr]

I don't know about the stats, but I agree that Suckling was pretty ordinary before about half time. When there is tackling pressure on he can struggle a bit. As the game went on and it opened up he started hitting those long targets like only he can and was superb. I guess the question is how does he go when the pressure is on for the whole match like it will be against tough opposition, or when the opposition man him up a bit more. The top sides don't let him coast around on his own while we feed him the ball.

I'm a bit fan of looking at what I guess you would call the total score involvement for a player. Suckers might contribute say one goal against per game with a fumble or a missed target when he's trying to be a bit cute, but as long as he is creating more scores than that by hitting targets no one else would I'm happy with him.

 

[christoff91]

Good to see Young, Hale and Gilham playing well

 

[Roger Rogerson]

Good to see Young, Hale and Gilham playing well

That is the problem with Hale. Plays well against the crap sides and does not perform against quality.

Havent seen the game but sounds like Youngy was good. He is definately in our best side because of his running power.

Good to hear Gilham played well.

 

[Phil McCreviss]

Some of the posts in here are hilarious.

Not sure what some supporters expect. Maybe we should have won by 150 and played Melbourne like it was our Grand Final.

There is no point peaking in the middle of May. It is a long season. The immediate aim is to get a stable 22 together, get some continuity and things will click. List management is more crucial than ever since GWS and GCS have joined the comp.

We still have a few boys underdone and that can make us look slow and clumsy. The way the game is played today, we can't dominate a team for 120 minutes. It is not feasible....yet that seems to be what the expectation is from some of our supporters.

Be happy with the 11 goal win. Personally I couldn't give a rats about our inaccuracy in meaningless games like this. 40 scoring shots to me is a bloody good effort and show's our intensity and pressure is starting to turn the corner.

Sure there are still a number of things to improve on and we get a better test next week against Freo. The only sour note was Ossie's injury which could impact our depth. Apart from that, we did what we had to - bit sick of the whining.

 

[LuvMyHawks]

Let's face it, we should have flogged them by over 100pts last night..Buddy needs some coaching in goal kicking, he gets worse every year, it really makes you wonder why he has not kicked better this year...Far too many points and not goals..One day it will cost us a VERY important game,until they all learn how to kick ruddy goals!!! Honestly, do they know they should kick between the two BIG sticks??? Unbelievable kicking..

 

[Roger Rogerson]

I don't know about the stats, but I agree that Suckling was pretty ordinary before about half time. When there is tackling pressure on he can struggle a bit. As the game went on and it opened up he started hitting those long targets like only he can and was superb. I guess the question is how does he go when the pressure is on for the whole match like it will be against tough opposition, or when the opposition man him up a bit more. The top sides don't let him coast around on his own while we feed him the ball.

I'm a bit fan of looking at what I guess you would call the total score involvement for a player. Suckers might contribute say one goal against per game with a fumble or a missed target when he's trying to be a bit cute, but as long as he is creating more scores than that by hitting targets no one else would I'm happy with him.

That is a fair call looking at the balance sheet with Suckers.

I still reckon he isnt trustworthy enough in defence this season. He should be played forward of centre as a goalkicker.

 

[Rioli magic]

I think in many ways Suckling should be viewed as "one of the rebounders", along with Birchall and Guerra who have superb footskills coming out of the back half. We saw last night Melbourne tagged Guerra and did it effectively, but we then had Birchall and Suckling up the top of the possession chart. Very hard for teams to stop all 3 of these guys, take one or two out and that job becomes a lot easier (see Birchall missing). If we get 75 possessions from these 3 each week (regardless of the make up of possessions) we're able to break zones, hit up targets or maintain possession quite effectively.

Obviously there is a defensive side to the game as well, but I don't recall any of these players have a goal kicked on them (maybe Sucklings 50 could be attributed?).

 

[Roger Rogerson]

I think in many ways Suckling should be viewed as "one of the rebounders", along with Birchall and Guerra who have superb footskills coming out of the back half. We saw last night Melbourne tagged Guerra and did it effectively, but we then had Birchall and Suckling up the top of the possession chart. Very hard for teams to stop all 3 of these guys, take one or two out and that job becomes a lot easier (see Birchall missing). If we get 75 possessions from these 3 each week (regardless of the make up of possessions) we're able to break zones, hit up targets or maintain possession quite effectively.

Obviously there is a defensive side to the game as well, but I don't recall any of these players have a goal kicked on them (maybe Sucklings 50 could be attributed?).

I am staggered Melb tagged Guerra. It is hilarious. Tag Guerra but not Birchall? Seems like Neeld was trying to be too smart.

 

[Rioli magic]

I am staggered Melb tagged Guerra. It is hilarious. Tag Guerra but not Birchall? Seems like Neeld was trying to be too smart.

Yeah maybe, but if you look at last weeks game vs St Kilda it may have just been purely on form. Guerra was fantastic while Birchall struggled a bit coming back from injury. Maybe he just thought try and lock down the one in the best form? I wasn't unhappy with their decision.

 

[WWSD]

That is a fair call looking at the balance sheet with Suckers.

I still reckon he isnt trustworthy enough in defence this season. He should be played forward of centre as a goalkicker.

Do you think he has it in him to play that Chris Knights HFF type role of 2009? Knights kicked 43.21 in 2009, Nicoski is another one similiar, but can Suckling play that similiar role up forward? Not saying he will kick 43 goals in year, but every time Suckling goes forward he hits the score board, whether its a goal or a behind, so a wing HF role i think could be a good move, he could easily kick perhaps 20-25 goals in a season IMO playing a role like that and that's a win.

 

[Tulip]

In the VFL game, on ABC1, Bateman has just done a shoulder. Being iced now after a bump by Spencer.

Nothing in the bump, looks okay

 

[Thaihawk]

IMO one big plus was the improvement in our tackling. No slide tackles, and from memory there was only one high tackle. Well done.

 

[JustKickIt]

In the VFL game, on ABC1, Bateman has just done a shoulder. Being iced now after a bump by Spencer.

Nothing in the bump, looks okay

and the Goal Kicking continuing the same as last night's as well

 

[Watsclarkosmob]

Just RE: the goal kicking, I've said it before about Buddy but now maybe the whole team. Take down the goal posts(if possible) and no one is to have any shots on goal until they matter next week in a real game not even before the game, i have no real evidence that this would work but it would be something different. These guys know how to kick goals make them hungry for it and hopefully come next week due to not slotting one through the sticks all week(also not missing as well) it will come naturally.

 

[gohawkz1]

Cats getting smashed! What a season...

 

[Brownie_30]

That is a fair call looking at the balance sheet with Suckers.

I still reckon he isnt trustworthy enough in defence this season. He should be played forward of centre as a goalkicker.

I think he's probably not a forward of centre player because he is a bloke that seems to take his time, and can get knocked off the ball a little easy.

Just on that I think both he and probably moreso Bruest have a massive problem in that their bodies simply arent strong enough to break tackles or hold their ground, even against sides like Melbourne who arent a massive side. They struggle to get their hands free to dispose the ball or keep it alive.

Having said that both players talent is obvious and they are worth sticking with, but maybe later on in the year it may start to take a toll on their bodies.

Other than that the game was a win, a comfortable one. You cant be at your best every week, but take the points and move on.

 

[LuvMyHawks]

I just love to see the cats flogged today..68 pts already..The cats are playing crappy anyway today..Crows are playing such a good style of play, and kicking goals...Lets see if the cats come from behind today, like they all brag about how good they are from there..Bet they don't do that today!! Bet Tom Harley would be happy...

 

[Harper_Hawk]

Postives: Jordan Lewis. Hard tough at the ball. put his body on the line time and time agin. Liked what I saw when he gave it to a few Melbourne players when they had a go at Smith. Respect.

Goal kicking practice from now on till the end of season. Day in and day out till we iron out what the hell is making us kick 15.25?

Positives from the day. Seeing Geelong get flogged. Love it. Not as happy as a Hawthorn win..but not far off. Ossie..not sure where to from here. Hope its not as bad as they report. Tough little guy that roams around the forward line getting in the oppositions face and sneaking a goal or two now and then. All the best to you!

 

[illnino]

Absolute Insanity.

Some of you guys are harder to please than a seasoned Taiwanese hooker.

The guys have admitted that last night was far from their best effort collectively, however you can't just flick that switch overnight. Yes there are areas of our game with further improvement still required but how anyone can be disappointed with the improvement shown last night that saw us ultimately dominate Melbourne, I have zero idea. Missed kicks were the ONLY reason we didn't completely and utterly annihilate them....the ONLY reason.

It's a marathon guys, it really is. There is no need for us to go out all guns blazing every single weekend, and it would actually be quite negligent of us as a club to do so. So instead, we'll continue to work on our game and continue to show steady improvement throughout the next few weeks leading up to the bye. In fact, looking at the draw, I'd be mighty surprised if we were to drop anymore than just 1 game before then which will have us sitting nicely in the upper reaches of the ladder.

People whinged when the media kept building us up as the flag favourite, yet every week those same people whinge when we don't play like it.

 

[Davo23]

Absolute Insanity.



People whinged when the media kept building us up as the flag favourite, yet every week those same people whinge when we don't play like it.

I have to agree - stop the damn whinging!
It was a good early-season performance. Get the 4 points and improve the percentage - perfect result at this time of year.

Some Highlights:

1. Clinton Young - small steps, but that hard-running and long kicking was great to see again. And a few nice short passes. And a couple of goals!

2. Stevie Gilham: welcome back. He's so cool and accurate kicking out of defence, allowed the other tall defenders to creat some run, and didn't Shoey benefit from that!

3. Jordan Lewis: such a tough bastard!


Put it in the bag and lets get on with the season.


.

 

[Pino]

Wasn't a great game but we did enough of the little things to ensure we won. Very happy with Gillham. There were no real stand-outs tonight such was the nature of the game. I do believe we need a ruckman in the team. Thought Smith had a good game too.

Roughy has just been amazing since he has been back. Biggest highlight this year.

 

[illnino]

Some Highlights:

1. Clinton Young - small steps, but that hard-running and long kicking was great to see again. And a few nice short passes. And a couple of goals!

Can't believe I forgot to mention Youngy!

Reading through the thread and I really thought there would have been more made of Young's promising return to the team. I know it's only one week (two if you count his BOG for Box Hill last weekend), but in his current form, he is certainly best 22. Didn't rack them up last night as much as he normally does but something that he normally doesn't do, is dispose of the ball well, and yet he did it in fine fasion last night.

I missed the first 10 mins of the second quarter thanks to a power outage, but from what I saw, he didn't miss a target all night. The 2 goals he slotted reminded me of the Young of old and a couple of his passes were picture perfect, particularly the one to Buddy in the forward pocket from 30-40 meters away, just perfectly weighted.

Can't wait to see if he can back it up next weekend, and it's also got to give Ellis a little bit more motivation to get his body right and show what he's really capable of.