WBD 2015 Pre-Season

[fronkalicious]

Yep
Yep
Yep
Yep
Yep
Yep
Yep

He's gotta find more of the ball though VD. Surprised they haven't let him loose in the middle.

He is HUGE at the moment. Could even slim down a little if anything.

His contested work is great. Took a killer pack mark today.

 

[fronkalicious]

I think a lot of people are in for a shock when we start playing games... we are still an ordinary team.

It's going to be ugly at times. But I think the excitement is more around a new brand of footy than the results to be honest.

 

[VitalDread]

He's gotta find more of the ball though VD. Surprised they haven't let him loose in the middle.

He is HUGE at the moment. Could even slim down a little if anything.

His contested work is great. Took a killer pack mark today.

He's always been a great inside player
kills teams with his contested work, glad he's playing a different role.
He will get the ball more once he's fully cemented in his role.

 

[Yojimbo]

He's always been a great inside player
kills teams with his contested work, glad he's playing a different role.
He will get the ball more once he's fully cemented in his role.

Don't jinx him Vital, Prudden is almost an urban legend. He could win the
brownlow medal without playing a game. Debut first, followed by some
injury free continuity from little things big things grow.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Thou shalt not question thy Prudgod.

 

[Yojimbo]

Thou shalt not question thy Prudgod.

Who else could win the brownlow without playing a game, but a god?

 

[VitalDread]

Don't jinx him Vital, Prudden is almost an urban legend. He could win the
brownlow medal without playing a game. Debut first, followed by some
injury free continuity from little things big things grow.

he's already debuted...in my heart

 

[Zgope1]

Great work fronkalicious. My favourite bit was the pick up of the tactic of kicking to tall mids.

 

[VitalDread]

I reckon Hamling might be one of the best pick ups
Bloke looks set to have a huge year under bevo

 

[Super Hans]

I reckon Hamling might be one of the best pick ups
Bloke looks set to have a huge year under bevo

You are very positive, VD! Do you think anyone is going to not gun it under Bev!?

 

[Roscoe_au]

I can definitely see Wallis being important, especially if boyd's being hooked from the midfield. Stevens too. Libba and his homies can't handle the full load in there.

I have serious concerns about Wallis as a mid/long term prospect though.

Don't like jong as a tagger either TK.

Wallis was being groomed as the next captain, so a bit concerned he's not keeping up with his peers.

 

[fronkalicious]

Thought hamling was lost a bit out there. He's waaaaay off being an AFL level key defender IMO.

 

[fargy]

Thought hamling was lost a bit out there. He's waaaaay off being an AFL level key defender IMO.

Cheers for the reports Fronk, greatly appreciated!

 

[Some Idiot]

Roarke smith was off the pace and has no right foot. Jordan kelly is too small to play key position and kinda slow. Not sure I understand that one.

Clay smith probably trained harder than anyone. Flogged himself out there. Looks in great nick. Surely he plays earlyish in the season.

Does he ever.. Would be a tragedy if injury keeps Clay from making it, love genuinely tough footballers.

 

[VitalDread]

Thought hamling was lost a bit out there. He's waaaaay off being an AFL level key defender IMO.

Shhh
dont ruin my dreams

 

[Pannalstaroz]

anyone know who mentors Zaine at our club? was curious

also, what has he been doing during his first pre-season?

I believe Tom Williams

 

[Dav1d]

I believe Tom Williams

it would be a real shame if Zaine had the same run of luck with injury as TW
have real high hopes for him

 

[dogwatch]

I like the run and gun style of play, but I'm cautious of it. We DID do something similar under Macca. I was tearing my hair out at times because we didn't slow down or assess our options. The need to play on isn't always there, and it can screw you over.

Yes, it's easy just to see the upside of run-and-gun ... we played like that in 2006-7 under Eade and mostly it worked a treat. In principle it's great and it makes for attractive footy when it's working.

This time around it's less likely to take other clubs by surprise and it only has to go slightly wrong for people to start saying "we've become the club that concedes most goals from turnovers".

Unfortunately that's the flip side of run-and-gun and we have to prepare our scalps for a fair bit of hair-tearing.

 

[JJHunter]

Almost an hour of skills to start with. The rookies looked excellent in this part of the session. Dale (wow), McLean and Daniel never miss targets. Big difference between those guys and the Wallis, jong, dal crew in the skills department.

The kids were quieter during the match simulation of course. But bugger me if I don't want to buy some shares in Bailey Dale inc. Kid is a 6'1 flying machine with elite skills and great decision making. Every instinct he has is right, and his skills are sublime. If he can find the footy at afl level......whoa.

I'll whip through the guys as quickly as I can:

Wood - played very well. Intercept marking was excellent. Disposal still rugged, but he's afl standard and should play.

Picken - Yep, they're playing him forward. And I have no idea why. Just not a natural up there compared to the other smalls/mids. Weird.

Bonti - dominated the clearance drills before the match simulation, but was quietish during the game. Still had some highlights and in great nick.

Minson - looked quite good when resting forward. Marked a few, moved well and kicked well. Looks ready to go.

JJ - played back and off a wing. Has to play round 1. Just adds something we sorely lack. Is getting more comfortable with ball in hand and although he's still a work in progress with his disposal and decision making, he's attacking and aggressive and adds plenty to the team.

Biggs - super quiet. And sprayed a couple when he did get it. Not as afl ready physically as guys like Darley and prudden either IMO.

Hrovat - sorry MD, this kid is all class. Every time he touches the ball, good things happen. Kicked the goal of the day and is just a one touch player. Very impressive.

Roughie - was pretty ordinary in the first half. Well beaten by cordy and redpath who all moved him around well.

Morris - solid. Played on strings and kept him pretty quiet.

Strings - was ok. Looked better when he went into the middle a bit where he helped win some clearances.

Grant - doesn't find enough footy to play on the wing. He super dangerous when he plays half forward and we rebound quickly. He finds space with his pace and is very creative with the ball. One trick pony though and I'm not sure he fits in.

Darley - very very impressive. Looks to have an afl body and an afl tank now. Defends well and his ball use is superb. He starts round 1 on today's form.

Libba - quiet. But who cares.

Macrae - quiet. But who cares.

Stevens - very quiet. Hmmmm. Big year coming up for him. Will play plenty of senior footy this year, but the kids have some tricks that he doesn't so unsure where he fits in mid term.

Redpath - good first half. Looks in good shape, moved well and worked hard. Looked dangerous.

M boyd - the rumours are true (sadly). He's being played in a back poket. I don't like it and I don't get it. Beveridge has clearly turned the midfield over the next generation though, which is a positive.

Talia - was excellent. Won Plenty of the ball and beat Boyd in most contests. Lock him in.

Murphy - in mint condition. Best player out there. Amazing.

Jong - excellent first half. Worth playing I think. One thing to keep an eye on was murph waiting for minson to lead to one side of the ground and then kicking to jong or bonti (matched up with mids) on the other. Jong took a very nice contested mark from a kick out in this situation. Still untidy at times, but worth investing in.

Hunter - looks comfy in the midfield. Smart and makes good, attacking decisions. Disposal was a bit ragged at times, but he's good talent.

Dal - played 90% midfield. Won plenty of the ball and played v well, but he's still rough with his disposal. Bugger me if he didn't kick a killer crumbling goal when he went forward. Looks like beveridge is determined to play him in the middle though.

T boyd - competed ok and kicked a couple. Still needs to improve his tank, his body shape and his speed/agility, but you can see the potential.

Dickson - our most natural forward and uses it well. He plays for mine.

Prudden - has a mans body now. Doesn't find it enough, but has some great attributes. Took a pack mark that included boyd, talia and Morris at one point. Just needs time in the saddle.

Cordy - impressed. Marked well, jumped well at the bounces, kicked a couple, competed well and smart with the footy.

Campbell - coming along well.

Honeychurch - hmmmmm, needs to find a niche. Doesn't have the touch of the rookies, the class of hrovat/hunter nor the speed of JJ. Goes so hard, but was quiet.

Crameri - was crameri.

Wallis - ugh. I fear for this guy. Skills were poor during the skills session. Hands were poor during the match sim. He's slow, clumsy and has poor disposal. Not in my 22 I'm afraid.

Roberts, cordy and goodes didn't play. All the rooks were reasonably quiet by Im so so impressed with their quality. Hamling looks off the pace to me. Pearce is so neat at the back. Glad he's still on the list.

Apologies for the essay. Hope it was interesting.

3 votes - fronk

Awesome report mate

 

[JJHunter]

just onm Boyd and this trial of playing him back... Remember Bev has come from the hawks where they moved Mitchell back with some moderate success.

The one key difference is the fact Mitchell has sublime skills and Boyd average skills.

But knowing where Bev has come from it doesn't surprise me he is trying it. I think it will soon be evident u need to be a good user in that role and Boyd will move from there

 

[TempleKelvington]

Just a few comments:
Picken is an extremely successful tagger/backpocket and has been for several seasons; he's also one of the first picked in my opinion. I wouldn't change this.
Cordy is still extremely speculative and I'd need a lot more evidence of improvement to put him in the starting lineup.
M Boyd is a canny old warrior who still has plenty to offer despite his well-documented weaknesses. There will be times when younger bodies flag and he will be required in the midfield. Just can't see him as a backman unless it's as an extra man/sweeper.

Exactly, the mature bodies will be needed this year. We can't expect the kids to carry the load.

 

[TempleKelvington]

And that's where he should be. If he's effective in there then that's a plus. I see him, Libba and Bonts as the ones that need to shoulder most of the inside work and because of Bonts age, Libba and Wallis need to be the workhorses. I know Stevens and Boyd will get runs on the inside but neither are my preferred options.
Jong maybe inside. I asked a question about his hands in traffic previously but haven't received any insight. I like him taking over from Picken/Wallis as the hatchet man in the short term.

Bont is just a second year player. It would be amazing if smashes it this year, we have pull back our expectation of him. It's got to fall to the more mature guys to carry the load, Bont will do his bit but we can't expect him to play 22 games 80% on ball.

Just on Jongy, he's ok by hand in traffic, he's not in Libba or Bont class in the respect. He's the kind of player who more likely to run it through the traffic and is very brave. He looks spectacular when the run sees him burst through the other side with the ball. He will put his head over the ball and he's good enough by hand. It's his bursting run through traffic is his weapon though. We don't have a lot of players who do it now that Griffen and Cooney are gone.

 

[fronkalicious]

Bont is just a second year player. It would be amazing if smashes it this year, we have pull back our expectation of him. It's got to fall to the more mature guys to carry the load, Bont will do his bit but we can't expect him to play 22 games 80% on ball.

Just on Jongy, he's ok by hand in traffic, he's not in Libba or Bont class in the respect. He's the kind of player who more likely to run it through the traffic and is very brave. He looks spectacular when the run sees him burst through the other side with the ball. He will put his head over the ball and he's good enough by hand. It's his bursting run through traffic is his weapon though. We don't have a lot of players who do it now that Griffen and Cooney are gone.

Jong burst through clearances 3 or 4 times yesterday, drawing oooohs and aaaaaahs from spectators each time. Probably took the ball with him 50% of the time.

His overhead marking can be a weapon too. Took some nice ones.

 

[Zeno The Great]

Jong burst through clearances 3 or 4 times yesterday, drawing oooohs and aaaaaahs from spectators each time. Probably took the ball with him 50% of the time.

His overhead marking can be a weapon too. Took some nice ones.

Great to hear this. I have to say last year in a few games he played, i thought he looked very lost out there, decision making under pressure was terrible, but obviously he had a great finals series in the VFL and this has continued on this pre-season, so looking forward to see the improvement in him, he has some unique attributes that can make him into a handy player if he can improve his skills and decision making.

 

[Mofra]

just onm Boyd and this trial of playing him back... Remember Bev has come from the hawks where they moved Mitchell back with some moderate success.

The one key difference is the fact Mitchell has sublime skills and Boyd average skills.

But knowing where Bev has come from it doesn't surprise me he is trying it. I think it will soon be evident u need to be a good user in that role and Boyd will move from there

If I had to pick any player on our list to be the most like Mitchell I would have said wally, not Boyd.
Both are a way off on current form though.