Autopsy Round 1 v Tigers - If only the quarters were longer

[Just Kreuzing]

Haven't watched the game and I know I said I wasn't interested in commenting till after round 4 but .....

.....fix the ******* slow starts or gtfo!

Greyhound trainers might have some advice on fixing the slow starts but may not be legal....

#needapiglett
#livebaiting

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

Will be watching the rest of this round with interest - I think there will be a few games where one side is less distracted by the surrealism of an empty stadium and jumps out to an early lead. Cannot doubt that it would have been very strange to walk out onto the MCG for a competitive game of AFL footy, and have nobody watching you.

Was a little distracted myself watching the game, as we had company last night. A few things certainly caught my eye though.

Dow. I still have faith in him. But my god, Paddy, switch the fu** on. Coughed up the first goal of the game with a brainfade 50m penalty. Almost every time I saw him after that he was jogging behind his man. Get proactive and win the damn ball. On the cusp, for mine, and could do with a year without much footy and with a heap of time in the gym.

Cunners. Those saying he "needs more possessions" are a little off the mark. If we want to play him up the field, then sure, but if he's playing forward then anywhere from 8-12 touches with 2+ goals is a very good return. It's not "elite" small forward numbers, but as one element of the forward combination it's enough. A preferred forward line of McKay, Curnow, McGovern, Martin, Betts, Cunners....that's the aim.

Martin. Wow. This is what I was hoping to see, and he bloody well delivered. Tackled with intent, hunted the ball, hit the scoreboard and turned the momentum of the game. Exactly what we need, just need to persist and get some continuity into the side.

Handballing. You CANNOT get away with bullshit loopy hospital handballs in AFL footy, especially against the Tigers. It killed us. So many players guilty of it in the early stages of the game. Richmond look for it, wait for it, and when you do it they come at you hard, force the turnover and rebound immediately with a number of frontrunners. Flat direct handballs, please boys.

Kreuzer. God-*******-damnit. Ah well, Pittonet or TDK get their chance now. Up against WB and English in round two, could either be seen as a good opportunity for TDK against a younger ruck opponent, or a chance for Pittonet to put his physicality to good effect and set the tone for the mids.

Other little observations. Thought Newman laid some good, hard tackles early, but that elbow(?) injury looked painful. No idea what Setters and Gibbons were doing last night, both are better than what they showed but it'll be interesting to see if the MC send a message and give blokes like Willo and Philp an opportunity instead.

As far as scoring is concerned, I think we're looking better up forward. 8 goals between the three dedicated smaller forwards (Martin, Cunners, JSOS) is brilliant. Only 3 from the "talls" (Cas and Gov) isn't enough, but down a ruckman early meant one of these guys was on the ball most of the time. Only 1 goal from the midfield is a travesty though. Guys like Cripps, Murph, Curnow, Dow, Walsh, Fisher, Gibbons and Setters need to find ways to hit the scoreboard. Dow kicked two behinds, but other than that this group didn't register a single point.

Anyway - that weird ******* experience is over and done with. Learn from it, and come out next week with some ******* intensity from the first bounce.

Good post. JSOS and MMG are the same height and both played pretty much as talls last night. Cas played mostly ruck. The return from them on the scoreboard was fine imo. Our small forwards return was great. Mids horrible.
Agree with Cunners. Sometimes he looks like a headless chook out there but he has got a knack of bobbing up and hitting the scoreboard. No way in hell do I pick Setters, Gibbons or Dow before him atm.



Just on JSOS. He really struggles to find the football and because of his lack of pace probably always will, he has to make the most of every touch he gets. this is why I always worry about him because I just don’t trust him in front of goal at all. Last night though besides that one stupid pass I think he was actually really impressive. He also would’ve had another shot on goal if it wasn’t for an advantage call where Cunners kicked a goal. Could’ve/should’ve kicked 3-4 himself.

 

[Brendon Bolt]

Before we all tee off on a few players that had poor games. Let’s put this into perspective:

1. These are unprecedented conditions. It is not surprising that one team got a jump on the other. No one could predict how players would react to the conditions.
2. Richmond have won 2 of last 3 flags (probably should have all 3). They are a very good team who have the luxury of playing instinct / higher risk footy. They have earned the rights to do that.
3. And finally, in every match, there will be good players and bad players. One game does not make a season. Yes, there were some that probably followed on from average/poor years last year, but let’s just give them a couple of weeks to see if there is improvement

Bulldogs are another good outfit, we will learn a bit more next week.

 

[Pablito]

As much as I'm disappointed with certain players in the team. We shouldn't be dropping people on form off 1 match. After 2 or 3 then fair enough.

 

[Kruezing]

Must bring in players who can kick and who are willing to play with intent ... there is no purpose leaving players in who don’t meet that criteria ... Dow and Setters completely lacked any physicality and urgency ... inexcusable ...

 

[thebluelagoon]

its an exciting year to watch who is going to step up and become legit from our young midfield brigade. We have some depth there of guys who are yet to stamp there name on a regular spot in the side.

Dow
Setters
Fisher
O'brien
Kennedy
Cuners

We need to start seeing some elite performances rising out of this mob and the blues will start to look like a better side

 

[Blues90]

Pretty much. It's been a couple of year now that I've liked what they do without taking possession of the ball.
The little taps of the ball to advantage, a little push here and there and that's why i stated that their fluid, as everything seems to come about easier than for what it does for us.

All that will come about but what won't be tolerated is 100% effort and that's where I feel the spotlight may shone on a few players today.
Something just looked off with some of our guys.

They have made very few list changes for years and they don't just give you a game on form you have to know the system 100% too. Will look better next week I think people say disposal efficiency but that will increase as they learn to play with each other it's what made hawksso good. Trust the list manager and let them get don't change too much that's why Melbourne had the year last year.. still learning each other

 

[Blues90]

its an exciting year to watch who is going to step up and become legit from our young midfield brigade. We have some depth there of guys who are yet to stamp there name on a regular spot in the side.

Dow
Setters
Fisher
O'brien
Kennedy
Cuners

We need to start seeing some elite performances rising out of this mob and the blues will start to look like a better side

It's been one round I'll judge them after 6

 

[Aphrodite]

Where is Aphrodite?

I'm here.

Why do you ask!

 

[FlowersByIrene]

I think we really need some more better users in the side. I'd like to see Williamson and O'Brien play.

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Noticed a lot of empty seats last night, anyone get a crowd total??

 

[Accidental genius]

It's been one round I'll judge them after 6

true but haven't we seen the same before in previous years..to me it looks like not much has changed with this group (apart from kennedy/obrien who did not play). They need to show more intent....determination to win.

 

[KnightsBlue]

Noticed a lot of empty seats last night, anyone get a crowd total??

Preety sure everyone left at half time....

 

[Accidental genius]

I think willo definitely needs to come into the side. we should have played him in this match. I think he takes newmans place.

 

[KnightsBlue]

I love krueze. He has been a warrior over the years.. i groaned the biggest groan last night when he went down. All i could think is what else is going to go wrong.... after having a sleep on it i see this as a good thing. We have options to take over who are younger and bring something different. And i want to see that

 

[Blue__Balls]

It's been one round I'll judge them after 6

Yeah nah.

Definitely expecting improvement over time, but for blokes who are as talented as they are, there is very little excuse for 6 or 7 touches and **** all defensive pressure.

If they're not laying tackles, but they're getting into dangerous spots and being fed the ball, that's OK.
If they're not getting much footy, but they're applying intense pressure and forcing the ball back into their teammates hands, that's OK.
If they're not laying tackles or getting much ball, but they're bobbing up and hitting the scoreboard in a meaningful way, that's OK.

To get bugger all ball, apply bugger all pressure, and not trouble the scoreboard - serious questions have to be asked. Not saying drop all three, drop whichever one struggled most to execute the role they were assigned, and send a message early that we're happy to test our depth if the preferred players want to be passengers.

 

[Blue__Balls]

As much as I'm disappointed with certain players in the team. We shouldn't be dropping people on form off 1 match. After 2 or 3 then fair enough.

Not form - effort and intensity. Different thing.

 

[KnightsBlue]

I think willo definitely needs to come into the side. we should have played him in this match. I think he takes newmans place.

Newman who had some decent moments was very poor last night imo. Bring in williamson

 

[Just Kreuzing]

its an exciting year to watch who is going to step up and become legit from our young midfield brigade. We have some depth there of guys who are yet to stamp there name on a regular spot in the side.

Dow
Setters
Fisher
O'brien
Kennedy
Cuners

We need to start seeing some elite performances rising out of this mob and the blues will start to look like a better side

Ordinary looking midfield prospects there, we really need to get a class free agent across the line.

In recent years the top teams have added good talent from other clubs to compliment their onball brigade.

Richmond- Prestia
Hawthorn- Mitchell
Collingwood- Treloar/Adams
Brisbane- Neale
Eagles- Yeo/Kelly
Geelong- Dangerfield
Port- Rockliff
*Ess- Shiel/Smith

We need to target 1 and get him across the line that can support Cripps going forward.

 

[Just Kreuzing]

Not form - effort and intensity. Different thing.

Exactly

 

[Blue since 72]

Watched a replay last night.

Our Skills (dropped marks, poor hand balls, poor kicking) in the first quarter lost us this match. Most players who touched the ball turned it over and given it was a collective effort, nerves would be my best guess as a reason as they seemed to be rushing everything they did.

After that we played competitive footy in the main. Credit to the Tigers, even once we had settled they did have some passages where they
played "Premiership side" footy.

Other than that:

Not quite

Setters (laid some tackles but did **** all offensively, and I think he'd played wing? should have been in the middle)
Fish was quiet
Some rusty disposal from Doc (not surprised) but still a good come back
Jones was schooled early by big red but did bring that back as the game went on
Krueze going early didn't help the forward structure
Dow not a lot
SPS usual sublime disposal (skills are elite I just feel he needs to impact the game more at this stage of his career)
Mitch would have had more impact if Levi was there I reckon

Thumbs up

Martin (wow) just do that every week thanks
Centre square clearances (don't know the numbers but we looked like we had the edge)
Weiters nice Shut Lynch out completely
Newnes did enough to get another game
Plow (owned by Martin once but did a great job otherwise)

Wash up: You cannot turn the ball over like that against a quality side and expect a win

Clean up the disposal and the results will start to flow (don't start a game half asleep however relax and stop panicking with the footy in hand early in games)

 

[Just Kreuzing]

I think willo definitely needs to come into the side. we should have played him in this match. I think he takes newmans place.

Could he play across half forward in Dow’s role ?
Defensive forward who has the kicking skills to improve our F50 connection and hit the scoreboard.

 

[BrisbaneCFC]

At the moment he can’t even win a contest on the wing hows he gonna do it in the guts.

He's not a wing to begin with, which is kind of the point.

 

[BrisbaneCFC]

So essentially 2 reasons nothing to do with this particular game? Just some carry forward opinion? Fish 100% is best 22 and so is Simmo, we either don't have the cattle to replace them/ have to use the replacements in other areas first.

SPS is clear as day the Simmo replacement, hence no need to play him any longer. And I disagree with your assessment on Fish and Simmo.

 

[Accidental genius]

Yeah nah.

Definitely expecting improvement over time, but for blokes who are as talented as they are, there is very little excuse for 6 or 7 touches and fu** all defensive pressure.

If they're not laying tackles, but they're getting into dangerous spots and being fed the ball, that's OK.
If they're not getting much footy, but they're applying intense pressure and forcing the ball back into their teammates hands, that's OK.
If they're not laying tackles or getting much ball, but they're bobbing up and hitting the scoreboard in a meaningful way, that's OK.

To get bugger all ball, apply bugger all pressure, and not trouble the scoreboard - serious questions have to be asked. Not saying drop all three, drop whichever one struggled most to execute the role they were assigned, and send a message early that we're happy to test our depth if the preferred players get want to be passengers.

spot on! i hope MC look a bit harder at who plays who misses out in future matches.