Autopsy The good, the bad and the oh dear v St Kilda

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As has been pointed out as nauseum, the mature players we have are just not good enough. Tucker, Corr, McDonald, Simpkin, Fisher. It’s a horrific 26-30 yo cohort. Zurhaar could be thrown in as well.

Whether that be training or playing, they are so far off the required standard.

And that is made clear in match day results.

Then there is the handicap applied through horrid set up’s (defensive ‘zone’), playing four small defenders who can’t defend, playing one key forward with glacial ball movement which results kicking long to 3v1.

The whole thing is a shitshow.

We don’t score through playing a fluid system, it’s through moments of individual brilliance or catastrophic errors by opposition defenders.
Our execution is so terrible and it's the receiver under so much pressure that no system will work to consistently score goals.


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Bad - continue undisciplined acts causing 50 meter penalties leading to opposition goals ..
I would love to know our for & against on 50m penalties for this season…
 

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Late to this one: the Saints fans cheering Webster whenever he got the ball was impressively gross. What a pack of ferals.
Honestly, if one of our players was getting booed by opposition supporters for whatever reason I’d expect cheering to try to drown it out. I objected strongly to the minority who were booing Jy.
 
That game felt like it was a lot closer than it was in the end. That Saints run of 6 goals cost us.
Couple of times when I felt we were a sniff to cut it back to 3 goals but Saints just managed to get a goal in response.
The players gave better effort and intensity but they can't do it for a full game. Wardlaw was an absolute animal.
Archer showed some passion and I think it rubbed off on the other players, same with Wardlaw.
The defensive group actually kept the Saints Forwards pretty quiet but the pressure from the F50 and through the middle is not good enough. It's too easy to transition the ball against us right now. It's like the street sweeper takes over.
It's clear we don't have those small pressure forwards who can close down space quickly in our F50.

We are seriously our own worst enemies in so many ways.
6-7 goals from our own errors, players not being switched on defensively or giving away frees and 50m penalties.
Larkey doesn't give the handball to Zurhaar and then feels that decision for the rest of the game.
Team chemistry - It's still clunky. Looked like there was a real effort to fight and get around each other after efforts.
But moments like Fisher handballing it backwards to Comben when looked like he was in the clear.
Tristan "choose your own adventure" Xerri either grabs the ball out of the ruck or taps it in close or even worse when he decides to hit the ball for once on the wing he hits it straight to the Saints extra at the back of the stoppage.
Jaidyn Stephenson was poor. Delist or trade him. Did not get out of a jog. Ford/Harvey/RHJ/George/Bergman in for him.
Pink as the sub I didn't quite get but might be worth trying him as the 2nd forward as he took a few grabs.
Shiels too fumbly but it looked like he was talking to the mids about their setups so he's almost a coach basically.
Clarko just has to keep cycling through the young guys and balance with senior players trying to protect the kids for now.
 
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Xerri has his moments and works hard but he is frustrating to watch, coming into this game he was 3rd in AFL for hitouts, but I think he is probably 17th or 18th for hitouts to advantage. The amount of hitouts that either land at his feet or go directly to an opponent are mindblowing, his clearance and tackling numbers are greater than Goldstein's ever were, but that is because Goldie was an elite tap ruckmen who was excellent at finding a teammate, whereas Xerri couldn't find a teammate if everyone in the middle was wearing Royal Blue and White. I think he is a liability and the primary major reason our midfield is struggling.

Xerri is 10th overall in the league for hitouts to advantage per game this season, as well as being 5th over the last 5 games which suggests he is not only improving but statistically is one of the best tap rucks in the comp the last month but whatever :thumbsu:

Wanna guess where Goldy is on that list?
 
Xerri is 10th overall in the league for hitouts to advantage per game this season, as well as being 5th over the last 5 games which suggests he is not only improving but statistically is one of the best tap rucks in the comp the last month but whatever :thumbsu:

Wanna guess where Goldy is on that list?
How many of those hitouts to advantage are really just him grabbing the ball in the ruck and then getting caught causing a secondary ball up?
 

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How many of those hitouts to advantage are really just him grabbing the ball in the ruck and then getting caught causing a secondary ball up?

Those aren't recorded as any sort of hitout - rather they are type of possession known as a "Ruck Hard Ball Get". Xerri leads the category in 2024.

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Honestly, if one of our players was getting booed by opposition supporters for whatever reason I’d expect cheering to try to drown it out. I objected strongly to the minority who were booing Jy.
Where I was sitting a few of them got lippy when there was contact on the boundary line between one of our players and theirs. I suggested - reasonably loudly - that we were doing it wrong and the appropriate action is apparently for our player to utilise their elbow in that situation. Surprisingly quiet for some reason afterwards.
 
That game felt like it was a lot closer than it was in the end. That Saints run of 6 goals cost us.
Couple of times when I felt we were a sniff to cut it back to 3 goals but Saints just managed to get a goal in response.
The players gave better effort and intensity but they can't do it for a full game. Wardlaw was an absolute animal.
Archer showed some passion and I think it rubbed off on the other players, same with Wardlaw.
The defensive group actually kept the Saints Forwards pretty quiet but the pressure from the F50 and through the middle is not good enough. It's too easy to transition the ball against us right now. It's like the street sweeper takes over.
It's clear we don't have those small pressure forwards who can close down space quickly in our F50.

We are seriously our own worst enemies in so many ways.
6-7 goals from our own errors, players not being switched on defensively or giving away frees and 50m penalties.
Larkey doesn't give the handball to Zurhaar and then feels that decision for the rest of the game.
Team chemistry - It's still clunky. Looked like there was a real effort to fight and get around each other after efforts.
But moments like Fisher handballing it backwards to Comben when looked like he was in the clear.
Tristan "choose your own adventure" Xerri either grabs the ball out of the ruck or taps it in close or even worse when he decides to hit the ball for once on the wing he hits it straight to the Saints extra at the back of the stoppage.
Jaidyn Stephenson was poor. Delist or trade him. Did not get out of a jog. Ford/Harvey/RHJ/George/Bergman in for him.
Pink as the sub I didn't quite get but might be worth trying him as the 2nd forward as he took a few grabs.
Shiels too fumbly but it looked like he was talking to the mids about their setups so he's almost a coach basically.
Clarko just has to keep cycling through the young guys and balance with senior players trying to protect the kids for now.
Yep.

Overall I left feeling a little more confident we are edging in the right direction. It felt live like a reasonable response.
 
Those aren't recorded as any sort of hitout - rather they are type of possession known as a "Ruck Hard Ball Get". Xerri leads the category in 2024.

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Interesting stat, they have been measuring for over 20 years and I've never heard of it. There was actually an article on it on the AFL website week, but I missed it.

The best ruck-mid duos, and why it doesn't guarantee success

Ruck hard-ball gets have increased slightly from an average of 2.8 to 3.2 year-on-year.
When individual players are then looked at, it's clear some are now making a marked effort to grab the ball out of the stoppage and give the quick hands or belt it forward by foot, with the stat dominated by 2024 seasons.
And yes, that's not a typo – Luke Darcy's 2002 season was definitely one out of the box, unmatched for nearly 20 years.

Average ruck hard-ball gets (first measured in 2002)
Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne, 2024) – 5.1
Marc Pittonet (Carlton, 2024) – 5.0
Max Gawn (Melbourne, 2024) – 4.7
Kieren Briggs (GWS, 2024) – 4.6
Kieren Briggs (GWS, 2023) – 4.4
Nic Naitanui (West Coast, 2021) – 4.2
Luke Darcy (Western Bulldogs, 2002) – 4.0
Toby Nankervis (Richmond, 2024) – 3.8
 
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Is contact below the knees a rule that has disappeared? I counted 5 goals to them from bullshit free kicks that shouldn’t been paid, not even 50/50 free kicks, bullshit 50m penalties or blatantly missed frees to us.
 
Surely was the last straw for Fisher in the backline. From what I saw McKercher was great but also shouldn't be deep in defence!
He gets dragged in there. He’s alright off half back. Because they set up a little more 1v1 in defence he was exposed (kerch) but thats ironing out stuff over time.
 

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