Autopsy Round 13, 2013 - Hawthorn v Eagles

[lyger]

Just some thoughts after watching the replay:

Guerra was bloody good last night. Still not using it perfectly but he was our physical benchmark after Hodge was last week. Got laid out quite a few times but punished quite a few Eagles with bumps and savage tackles. Two good ones in a row and fair to say his death was well and truly exaggerated on this board.

Lake's second quarter was phenomenal. We are seeing first-hand what has made him such a great player for the Doggies. He is not without chinks but he can dominate his third of the ground for entire quarters and with that wall up we have the talent to cash in. Last week's third Q was another case in point.

I have been a knocker of Savage but as has been noted he looked very good last night. If he can show that kind of zip and physical presence every week then he will keep his spot. Was willing to hit the contest with purpose which is something I do not believe he has done previously. If that continues then he provides a point of difference to Smith and should be selected ahead of him.

Finally I am very happy with what Simpkin is giving us. While no longer racking them up he is still having a meaningful impact against better sides. He is uncanny with his ability to hit up forwards and he sticks his tackles. Though he is 25 we are still seeing development in his game the more he is exposed to this level. I can't really fault any of his performances to date and see him as best 22 at this stage.

Agree on Savage. He played with real intensity and vigour. I remember Birchall was at the cross roads a few seasons back for not being physical/aggressive enough and he has since developed into an elite and rounded player. If Sav can go on with it, he will be a huge asset to the team as he has the burst speed to break away from congestion like Dangerfield and is a long and accurate kick at his best.

 

[lyger]

In part I think it is to protect Roughy. What it does for us structurally is it allows us to play 3 talls in the forward line all game and by doing this stretch defences. We have shown an ability to isolate each of our tall forwards. We kick to them more evenly rather than focus on Buddy. Buddy and Gunston often lead up at the ball leaving Hale and Roughy isolated. Teams have really struggled to double team our key forwards this year and given the even goal return from our three key forwards plus Hale is still scoring at about 1 goal per game, you would have to say it is working. Suspect in the long term we will prefer a Grimely type over a Hale type but you can't argue with Hale's record at this time.

And in turn this brings our small forwards into play, the likes of Rioli, Breust, Puopolo and Burgoyne. I am just loving how our forward line is functioning at the moment.