What stood out for me was Cripps jumper being pulled at most stoppages, he got a few and they missed a few more.
i reckon a lot of teams roll the dice with this. hold the playmaker at every opportuinity - they arent going to call it every time. so, you hold him at 100 stopages, and they pay 2 free kicks. pretty good result
Agreed Thry.....if we're serious and on, we should win easily. We still need to learn how to really bury sides when we have the advantage and % could be critical come the pointy end of the season.
Would love to be sitting here on Saturday, watching the other 17 fanbases whinge about Charlie only kicking 10 against the bottom sides, again
I think that this comment from Matt Cottrell is relevant:
"People don't come to the footy to watch a half-forward run his patterns. They come for Charlie Curnow, not a high half-forward whose job it is to connect with the winger. But it's a good role, it suits my game and the way I play.
I can get up and support the backs, then hopefully challenge my opponent going back to goal. But, to give credit to the club, they really value it. Internally, it's highly valued. It gives me a bit of motivation to keep doing it."
Supporters naturally pay more attention to the big name players and spectacular individual efforts (or errors). The work done by lesser lights like Cottrell, Hollands, Cuningham, Fogarty, Owies, Fantasia and Boyd is often overlooked.
I think I mentioned in the post-match post, that i didnt see Cunners out there v Tigs, but then he appeared in the top few in the player rating stats. i reckon this would be due to a) the above - he is doing so much that doesnt show up on the kicks/marks/handballs sheet and b) he did a lot of his good work in close, and hard to see from the grandstand
i saw someone mention on twitter that we have some ridiculous win/loss record, of late, with Cunners and Fog in the team - yet, they arent cyril rioli, so everyone assumes they are on the cusp of being dropped
One thing i did notice, was that our handball game looked fantastic (linking in chains, and good exits from the contest), but our field kicking was woeful
Is Lachie neale a protected species or what? He holds scraps and hits off ball all the time and whilst opponents do it to him, he is happy to dish out. Watch George Hewett get a suspension for that hit.
Including pushing Kennedy into crippas legs and potentially breaking both of crippas legs, early on
Fagan decidedly unimpressive in the presser - a lot of stats…. I know they don’t give much to the journos, but all he did was read out stats, no feel for the what happened or why
No weeters, no Walsh, no Martin, no Motlop, no marchy, doc off at half time. And up against everyyyyyything; momentum, crowd, umpires…. WOW Zac unbelievable after so long out Backline stuck to it - saad awesome, McGovern important, Newman always solid Crippa’s 3rd quarter as good as it gets Carrol great H and Charlie swamped by a very good backline but still kicked 7 No real passengers after a time (maybe fantasia the only one. Ollie and Kennedy weren’t great, but they did enough little things to be given a pass) Still not sure where that came from!,
While Smith did OK getting a start, before we crumbled, I remain convinced that Smith as opener does more for Smith's own career than it does for Australian cricket.
He is basically extending his own career at the expense of developing the next pair of openers. We've let these blokes go on too long, they won't go because they earn too much money, they have to be pushed!
i reckon its down to there not being a perfect alternative - bancroft hasnt looked the goods for aus, and for his great overall fc record, does make a lot of low scores; they want renshaw, but he just cant string scores together for qld; harris is p00.
the smoky may be madinson - like for like for warner (left hand, quick scorer), if he can keep is recent run going since returning from injury
This could be the innings that kicks off Cam Green's career. Seeming deck, team in trouble. If he could push on to a 100, and get the team up to 275-odd, it would be a great knock
Green is a good mate of Nathan Lyon and might as well be a NSW player given he hardly every plays for WA. He lost his place to fellow WA allrounder in Mitch Marsh and should have been dropped out of the squad because his form isnt that great. His only decent test innings was on the flattest track of all time in India where both teams made big scores, his record isnt as good as Shane Watson who averaged more with the bat and had a lower bowling average and also had a greater degree of difficulty having to open the innings on many occasions. Renshaw is averaging 31 in Shield cricket this season...if we are talking batsman in form and who can roll their arm over you would be picking Beau Webster who is averaging 71 or Nathan McSweeney with 45. The selection process is skewed to who the inner sanctum want in the team and has nothing to do with form or stats it seems...
Green's record in Shield cricket is pretty good, when he plays. If you are looking for the next best batsman, from the Shield, based on records, then it is either Bancroft or Green
GTC...Its a bit of WA vs Cricket Australia at the moment, in the old days form and runs in Shield cricket got you selected but now its about who the inner sanctum want in the team as much as anything else and its clear that Bancroft isnt wanted even though he has been the leading run getter for the last two seasons. Smith will probably make it look a good move vs the hapless Windies who are struggling vs some no name team in their tour game and Bailey will get the kudos but long term its not a good move and we should be introducing younger players for the future.
This WA against the rest stuff is pretty funny, when you see Bancroft was overlooked for Cam Green (WA)!!!
I know they are upset that Renshaw is in the 13, but really he is a concussion sub, and prob seen as a better replacement for anyone in the top 6 - do you really get this upset over someone being picked as a drinks carrier over someone from your state
Masterclass in planning and then execution. Kudos Cummins and MacDonald et al.
100% - took some balls to bowl first, when it would have been panned if India made 350, but they did it anyway. Amazing the effect the (Stewie) Dew had on the result. Early in the tourney, Zampa was being pulverised as he tried to bowl with a wet ball. Then when the shoe is on the other foot, Jadeja and Kuldeep didnt take a wicket between them. Looks like a no-brainer of a decision - bowl first in order neutralise their spinners under the dewy conditions, but not an easy decision to live with if it doesnt come off (and if you dont field like demons to back it up)