- Nov 23, 2015
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- AFL Club
- GWS
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- #1
The Gather Round win puts GWS Giants first on the ladder (on percentage) with a 4-0 win/loss record. Uncharted territory for our club. We join Carlton (first time 4-0 since 1995) & Geelong (first time 4-0 since 2017) on that mark, while thanks to opening round there are actually 5 teams on 16 premiership points, though Sydney and Melbourne are 4-1. Why am I saying that? Well, my point is that while it's a great start for us, the ladder is crowded & it's still early in the season, so we cannot afford to rest on our laurels nor think we are better than we actually are.
And for much of the game against the Gold Coast Suns, they matched or beat us, particularly in the contest and clearance battle. They moved the ball quickly at times, and found marking targets inside their F50. So, we'll need to up the ante in all facets of our game, but particularly the midfield, for the game against Saints. While they might not be the best midfield combination in the competition, with guys like Jack Steele working at the coalface, and running players such as NWM who can spread from the contest, they will pose a challenge notwithstanding their 2-2 current standing. A bit like the Suns, underestimate them at our peril.
The good for GWS in round 4 was that the midfield did push through its problems to take control of the contest in the last quarter. Briggs and Cogs were probably the main drivers behind that. And they will need to replicate that next week, while let's hope that Tom Green bounces back from a subdued performance. From Adam Kingsley's comments a few days ago, Callan Ward might be a possibility to return to the team for this game, and I would think that Kingers would appreciate his presence in the middle.
The forward line functioned well, as it has this whole season, racking up another 100+ scoreline on the back of a good spread of goalkickers across talls and smalls. As in the game against Collingwood, we converted our chances accurately, which certainly helped our cause. Hogan continued his impressive year, and almost held several other marks. Toby was back to his crafty best, while continuing to create for others. Unfortunately, he is on MRO watch for his tackle on Mac Andrew. While I don't think there was much in it at all, unfortunately the way the MRO is - and given some similarity to Tom Green's actions that handed him a 1-game suspension last year - he's likely to spend a week on the sideline.
The defensive team had a funny game. They weren't poor, but they weren't at their best either, partially down to Suns actually having some good methods of entry into our D50. Himmelberg got plenty of ball but made a few errors that led to goals. Buckley was excellent, and probably just shaded Sam Taylor today. Whitfield and Ash did some good things, but also made some errors. Overall, they probably just need to tweak their performance by a few extra percentage points.
So, what about potential changes? There doesn't seem to be any injuries, so it's probably just the chance that Toby misses from suspension. And Ward might be available to come back in. Might there be a straight swap? What if Toby doesn't miss and Ward is available, does he come back in for someone else, in which case, who? Harvey Thomas might be the logical choice - after 3 pretty good games, he was a bit quieter today. If Ward doesn't get up, who else might come in? Darcy Jones possibly, Toby McMullin perhaps. A bit to play out this week. Any chance of unforced changes? Well, I can't rule them out, but Kingers doesn't seem to be one to drop players readily, so despite some mutterings in the game thread, I'd be surprised if there are too many changes. I could see an adjustment to the sub, depending on what happens with Toby and Cal Ward.
What are your thoughts?
And for much of the game against the Gold Coast Suns, they matched or beat us, particularly in the contest and clearance battle. They moved the ball quickly at times, and found marking targets inside their F50. So, we'll need to up the ante in all facets of our game, but particularly the midfield, for the game against Saints. While they might not be the best midfield combination in the competition, with guys like Jack Steele working at the coalface, and running players such as NWM who can spread from the contest, they will pose a challenge notwithstanding their 2-2 current standing. A bit like the Suns, underestimate them at our peril.
The good for GWS in round 4 was that the midfield did push through its problems to take control of the contest in the last quarter. Briggs and Cogs were probably the main drivers behind that. And they will need to replicate that next week, while let's hope that Tom Green bounces back from a subdued performance. From Adam Kingsley's comments a few days ago, Callan Ward might be a possibility to return to the team for this game, and I would think that Kingers would appreciate his presence in the middle.
The forward line functioned well, as it has this whole season, racking up another 100+ scoreline on the back of a good spread of goalkickers across talls and smalls. As in the game against Collingwood, we converted our chances accurately, which certainly helped our cause. Hogan continued his impressive year, and almost held several other marks. Toby was back to his crafty best, while continuing to create for others. Unfortunately, he is on MRO watch for his tackle on Mac Andrew. While I don't think there was much in it at all, unfortunately the way the MRO is - and given some similarity to Tom Green's actions that handed him a 1-game suspension last year - he's likely to spend a week on the sideline.
The defensive team had a funny game. They weren't poor, but they weren't at their best either, partially down to Suns actually having some good methods of entry into our D50. Himmelberg got plenty of ball but made a few errors that led to goals. Buckley was excellent, and probably just shaded Sam Taylor today. Whitfield and Ash did some good things, but also made some errors. Overall, they probably just need to tweak their performance by a few extra percentage points.
So, what about potential changes? There doesn't seem to be any injuries, so it's probably just the chance that Toby misses from suspension. And Ward might be available to come back in. Might there be a straight swap? What if Toby doesn't miss and Ward is available, does he come back in for someone else, in which case, who? Harvey Thomas might be the logical choice - after 3 pretty good games, he was a bit quieter today. If Ward doesn't get up, who else might come in? Darcy Jones possibly, Toby McMullin perhaps. A bit to play out this week. Any chance of unforced changes? Well, I can't rule them out, but Kingers doesn't seem to be one to drop players readily, so despite some mutterings in the game thread, I'd be surprised if there are too many changes. I could see an adjustment to the sub, depending on what happens with Toby and Cal Ward.
What are your thoughts?
