CalWard Is Money
Team Captain
Ok, so after three consecutive Prelim losses and an identified deficiency in leg speed and forward pressure, what exactly did we work on over the break? Because what I witnessed on Sunday was the continuation of a very disturbing trend.
To the forgiving souls out there who are already thinking to themselves "geez, it's only round one" this thread is not a knee-jerk reaction. It is something that i have been worried about since Round 20 of last season (seriously, Premiership contenders don't get beaten by over 100 points!!!).
I have analysed some recent data and things do not look good. If we can't reverse some of these obvious deficiencies then our hopes of finishing top2 are done.
The Forward Line:
Many in the media and on this board have been quick to pot our midfield but it was our lack of effort in the front half which was the most disturbing thing. Too many times the ball was waltzed out with ease and some of our blokes looked like they didn't want to be there.
In attempting to improve our defensive side as a unit we have lost the ability to really hurt sides on the scoreboard. What happened to the days when we would have blokes lining up to kick goals??? We were lethal a few years back and now we look impotent.
Check the following stats;
In 2008 we kicked 405 goals and had 13 players kick 10+ goals
In 2009 that figure dropped to 386 goals but still a healthy 15 players kicking 10+ goals
In 2010 we dropped again to 348 goals and only 10 blokes managed to kick 10+ goals.
What is even more disturbing is that we only had 6 individual goalkickers on the weekend(Collingwood had 13). "Only Round One, mate" I can hear you saying...well in the round 22 game against the same opponent last year we had just 5 individual goalkickers. The following week in the QF we had only 5 individual goalkickers. In the semi against the Swans we had 6 individual goalkickers and in the Prelim our measly 8 goal total was kicked by 7 individuals. The entire competition has adopted our strategy of a few years back of spreading the load yet we, bizarrely, have gone the other way...why?
Tackling in the forward line was identified as our biggest weakness last season and we supposedly took steps in the off-season to alleviate this. I saw no improvement whatsoever on Sunday. Sorry to bring up Collingwood again but they are the benchmark, on Saturday their two key forwards (Cloke & Dawes) and new crumber (Krakouer) laid an impressive 16 tackles between them. On Sunday our two key forwards (Hall & Grant) and new crumber (Djerrkurra) combined for ZERO tackles AND gave away 6 free kicks!!!
Jones and Grant did an ok job of presenting and trying to make a contest but these efforts of bringing the ball to ground become null and void if you don't have the right people crumbing. Higgins and Gia are too slow and we are getting exposed far too easily. Bomber Thompson had that smug look on his face in the coaches box like he knew exactly how to dismantle us and why wouldn't he??? Nothing HAS changed from when Geelong belted us in Round 20 last year.
My solutions are;
a) Play Murphy up front. We play our best footy when Bob is leading hard and fast up the middle and playing on quickly. He is great wherever he goes but he turned that Semi on it's head last year with his poise and balance. He straightens us up and is wasted down back.
b) Put Picken forward. He is quick, aggressive and lays 100 tackles a season, throw in that he has a knack of bobbing up and kicking a goal then why not at least try? He too is wasted in the back pocket. Bring Wallis in to do his job.
c) Sherman was recruited for a reason. His pace and touch around goals are exactly what we needed. In 2009 he kicked 30 goals and laid 97 tackles, again exactly what we need. Ridiculous to play him as a sub if he was underdone(as has been suggested elsewhere). We gave up a lot to get him, bloody play him.
d) Make Jones earn his red, white and blue jumper. The kid has a lot of upside but how about he shows some consistency at Willi before we give him the privilege of a guernsey.
e) drop Danny G. He has been a great servant but the game has passed him by. If it wasn't for a bit of individual brilliance from Higgins he wouldn't have got near the scoresheet on Sunday.
f) get Higgins closer to goal. He is getting so strong through the core and can take a grab. Stop trying to push him into the midfield when he is clearly a dangerous forward.
Rucks:
Ok so we have 6 months to plan for the Bombers, we have watched them all the way through to the NAB GF and the brains-trust come up with Hudson and T-Will to tackle their two giants???
Minson has had his best pre-season and has been good all summer and Roughead is a prodigious talent yet we CHOSE to go with a 32 yo warrior against two younger and more athletic ruckmen...what the???
I love Huddo and what he does but c'mon he can't do it by himself. Eade admitting they made a mistake makes it even worse. Remember the 6 p's Rocket, Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!
Midfield:
What do Boyd, Cross, Ward and Libba all have in common...One has to go and it has to be the most one-dimensional...Crossy has been unbelievable but he is a liability out there now. He can't penetrate with his kicking, he is not quick and he does not hit the scoreboard. I understand that he is a massive part of where we have come from and the fabric of the club but geez so were Lockyer, Presti, O'Bree, Fraser and the likes at Collingwood. This competition is brutal and weaknesses get exposed, Crossy has a lot of weaknesses.
Defence:
Held up considerably well when you take into account that the Bombers had their most inside 50's in a match since the 2000 GF. Hargrave, Lake, Harbrow and Gilbee were all missing from the Prelim side too. Once these guys get back (minus Harbrow of course)and our forward line does its part then we will be solid again.
Sub:
Every man and his dog could see that Libba was spent in the second half yesterday yet Djerrkurra was the one subbed off??? Did i miss something...
I love what Rocket Eade has done for this club but his faith in players who have had a chance to deliver and failed not once, not twice but three times WILL be his undoing. Not making the hard call on Johnno, Aker, Eagle and Hahn after '09 cost us in 2010, which in effect is costing us now.
The AFL is a fiercely brutal comp and those that are happy enough to get close enough get left behind. I felt jealous watching the Bombers yesterday, playing with so much pride and hunger. It reminded me of us in 2006, young and plucky and wanting to take on the world...hunting.
To the forgiving souls out there who are already thinking to themselves "geez, it's only round one" this thread is not a knee-jerk reaction. It is something that i have been worried about since Round 20 of last season (seriously, Premiership contenders don't get beaten by over 100 points!!!).
I have analysed some recent data and things do not look good. If we can't reverse some of these obvious deficiencies then our hopes of finishing top2 are done.
The Forward Line:
Many in the media and on this board have been quick to pot our midfield but it was our lack of effort in the front half which was the most disturbing thing. Too many times the ball was waltzed out with ease and some of our blokes looked like they didn't want to be there.
In attempting to improve our defensive side as a unit we have lost the ability to really hurt sides on the scoreboard. What happened to the days when we would have blokes lining up to kick goals??? We were lethal a few years back and now we look impotent.
Check the following stats;
In 2008 we kicked 405 goals and had 13 players kick 10+ goals
In 2009 that figure dropped to 386 goals but still a healthy 15 players kicking 10+ goals
In 2010 we dropped again to 348 goals and only 10 blokes managed to kick 10+ goals.
What is even more disturbing is that we only had 6 individual goalkickers on the weekend(Collingwood had 13). "Only Round One, mate" I can hear you saying...well in the round 22 game against the same opponent last year we had just 5 individual goalkickers. The following week in the QF we had only 5 individual goalkickers. In the semi against the Swans we had 6 individual goalkickers and in the Prelim our measly 8 goal total was kicked by 7 individuals. The entire competition has adopted our strategy of a few years back of spreading the load yet we, bizarrely, have gone the other way...why?
Tackling in the forward line was identified as our biggest weakness last season and we supposedly took steps in the off-season to alleviate this. I saw no improvement whatsoever on Sunday. Sorry to bring up Collingwood again but they are the benchmark, on Saturday their two key forwards (Cloke & Dawes) and new crumber (Krakouer) laid an impressive 16 tackles between them. On Sunday our two key forwards (Hall & Grant) and new crumber (Djerrkurra) combined for ZERO tackles AND gave away 6 free kicks!!!
Jones and Grant did an ok job of presenting and trying to make a contest but these efforts of bringing the ball to ground become null and void if you don't have the right people crumbing. Higgins and Gia are too slow and we are getting exposed far too easily. Bomber Thompson had that smug look on his face in the coaches box like he knew exactly how to dismantle us and why wouldn't he??? Nothing HAS changed from when Geelong belted us in Round 20 last year.
My solutions are;
a) Play Murphy up front. We play our best footy when Bob is leading hard and fast up the middle and playing on quickly. He is great wherever he goes but he turned that Semi on it's head last year with his poise and balance. He straightens us up and is wasted down back.
b) Put Picken forward. He is quick, aggressive and lays 100 tackles a season, throw in that he has a knack of bobbing up and kicking a goal then why not at least try? He too is wasted in the back pocket. Bring Wallis in to do his job.
c) Sherman was recruited for a reason. His pace and touch around goals are exactly what we needed. In 2009 he kicked 30 goals and laid 97 tackles, again exactly what we need. Ridiculous to play him as a sub if he was underdone(as has been suggested elsewhere). We gave up a lot to get him, bloody play him.
d) Make Jones earn his red, white and blue jumper. The kid has a lot of upside but how about he shows some consistency at Willi before we give him the privilege of a guernsey.
e) drop Danny G. He has been a great servant but the game has passed him by. If it wasn't for a bit of individual brilliance from Higgins he wouldn't have got near the scoresheet on Sunday.
f) get Higgins closer to goal. He is getting so strong through the core and can take a grab. Stop trying to push him into the midfield when he is clearly a dangerous forward.
Rucks:
Ok so we have 6 months to plan for the Bombers, we have watched them all the way through to the NAB GF and the brains-trust come up with Hudson and T-Will to tackle their two giants???
Minson has had his best pre-season and has been good all summer and Roughead is a prodigious talent yet we CHOSE to go with a 32 yo warrior against two younger and more athletic ruckmen...what the???
I love Huddo and what he does but c'mon he can't do it by himself. Eade admitting they made a mistake makes it even worse. Remember the 6 p's Rocket, Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!
Midfield:
What do Boyd, Cross, Ward and Libba all have in common...One has to go and it has to be the most one-dimensional...Crossy has been unbelievable but he is a liability out there now. He can't penetrate with his kicking, he is not quick and he does not hit the scoreboard. I understand that he is a massive part of where we have come from and the fabric of the club but geez so were Lockyer, Presti, O'Bree, Fraser and the likes at Collingwood. This competition is brutal and weaknesses get exposed, Crossy has a lot of weaknesses.
Defence:
Held up considerably well when you take into account that the Bombers had their most inside 50's in a match since the 2000 GF. Hargrave, Lake, Harbrow and Gilbee were all missing from the Prelim side too. Once these guys get back (minus Harbrow of course)and our forward line does its part then we will be solid again.
Sub:
Every man and his dog could see that Libba was spent in the second half yesterday yet Djerrkurra was the one subbed off??? Did i miss something...
I love what Rocket Eade has done for this club but his faith in players who have had a chance to deliver and failed not once, not twice but three times WILL be his undoing. Not making the hard call on Johnno, Aker, Eagle and Hahn after '09 cost us in 2010, which in effect is costing us now.
The AFL is a fiercely brutal comp and those that are happy enough to get close enough get left behind. I felt jealous watching the Bombers yesterday, playing with so much pride and hunger. It reminded me of us in 2006, young and plucky and wanting to take on the world...hunting.