Not as inconvenient as some of the games this season, the game is set at Footscray starting at midday. That should give enough time to anyone lucky enough to get to this game to schlumf into Etihad. Alas, I will not be there - guests for easter.
Footscray Bulldogs vs. Northern Blues Sunday, April 20 Victoria University Whitten Oval at 12:00pm
Footscray Bulldogs
B: Austin Redpath Johannisen HB: Darley Roberts Russell C: Prismall Greenwood Howard HF: Honeychurch Markovic Tutt F: Dickson Cordy Perkins R: Campbell Fuller Lower Int: Fort Jamieson Clarke Gleeson Elliott Finco Barry Sullivan Jensen* Fogarty Iaccarino
Northern Blues
B:Buckley Watson McInnes HB:Docherty Bootsma Giles C:Scotland McLean Lucas HF:B. Johnson White Graham F:Garlett Anthony Armfield R:Wood Cachia Bell Int:Reynolds Cattapan* Sheehan Totevski Wilson T. Thomas Holman Temay Bolger Dirago Coulson Emley Wilkinson
Of course, it won't line up this way, but the side looks strong.
There were 37000 people at this game today. About 65 % would have preferred to be at Visy Park where the Northern Blues won for the 2nd week in a row.
However, those of us at the MCG now have the opportunity to reward the very few players who did anything of significance at the MCG.
You all know the drill. 15 votes in total. At least 3 vote getters (a difficult choice today). No more than 10 votes per player and a rating. 'F' comes to mind....
Yes, it is poor timing, with the senior game overlapping by 45 minutes, but..... It will be an interesting game. Game starts at 2:30, so if we are going particularly badly, there will be some place else to go....
What a disaster! One of the worst performances I can remember. We were outplayed in almost all areas. I find it difficult still to contain my anger, and I don't usually have anger management issues.
Be that as it may, it is time to vote. It will NOT be an easy task.
Remember: [1] Must add up to 15 votes [2] No more than 10 votes for any one player. [3] Please give a rating for the team performance - it determines the weighting for the vote tally. In this case, an 'F' is acceptable, especially in this case. [4] Please don't use nicknames for players - I'll probably know who they are, but I may not. I am not perfect.
VFL starts this weekend and the Blues are up against the team that poached 4 players from us. Very interesting to see how things turn out.
Northern Blues vs. Williamstown Sunday, April 6th Visy Park at 2:00pm
Northern Blues
B:McInnes Watson Bootsma HB:Docherty Giles Armfield C:Scotland Carrazzo Lucas HF:McLean White Cachia F:B. Johnson Casboult Ellard R:Wood Bell Graham Int: Wilkinson Reynolds Sheehan Totevski Wilson CrippsHolman Temay Dirago Coulson Callaway* T. Thomas Anthony
Williamstown
B McCallum Faulks Kulikowski HB Johnstone Mangan Masters C Davies Jolley Lockwood HF Wheeler Clouston Gibbons* F Sikora Ferguson Banner R Meese Carr Marcon Int Tighe Dorgan Fahey McConnon Charleston Owen Sing Anastasio Lambert
Our team is a little unsettled as yet, as the interchange players for the seniors are all named. However, it is looking as strong as it can get. Willi have named Lambert, our reigning B & F on their bench.
Another one of the 'might have beens'. I was a very frustrated life form last night.
Remember: [1] Must add up to 15 votes [2] No more than 10 votes for any one player. [3] Please give a rating for the team performance - it determines the weighting for the vote tally. In this case, an 'E' is acceptable. [4] Please don't use nicknames for players - I'll probably know who they are, but I may not. I am not perfect.
This Saturday at 2:00 PM (with the 2nds game on at 5:00 PM) will be the last practice match for the Northern Blues. Then, like the AFL, the VFL has a complex first round, where the Blues play Willi.
Alas, I haven't been able to find any teams yet. Hopefully that will be fixed before the start of the game, but I cannot guarantee that.
A little good news - the Blues' Development Team beat Box Hill easily last weekend.
NORTHERN BLUES 1.1 4.3 9.8 12. 12. (84) BOX HILL HAWKS 1.1 2.6 2.7 5. 8. (38)
With 24 hours to digest the Disaster at Etihad, hopefully someone out there can find it in their hearts to vote for our B & F, the Jim Park Medal.
You probably remember the rules, but: [1] Must add up to 15 votes [2] No more than 10 votes for any one player. [3] Please give a rating for the team performance - it determines the weighting for the vote tally. In this case, an 'E' is acceptable. [4] Please don't use nicknames for players - I'll probably know who they are, but I may not. I am not perfect.
Guess I have to start this off. Pity our effort was pretty lousy. I will update this file, like usual, as we go along. Not looking forward to this week's results.
Time for the younger Blues to see some action against the reigning VFL premiers. According to the Northern Blues' web site, the game is set to start at 11:00 AM (somewhat earlier than previously advised). Entry to the ground will be free at either end. Wish I could get there.....
At times like this we will miss RR's reports the most. Best wishes to him. However, hopefully someone can get there and give us the good oil. If I can, I will fill in data using Twitter: not the same as being there, but the best I can manage at times.
Teams have not been published as yet. They probably won't be published.
I apologize for not finishing this in one hit, but it isn't easy to get on the computer around here at the moment. It is now complete - I hope it can inspire some thoughts:
The preseason is over for another year and the real stuff is about to begin. We've played 3 'practice matches' against fair dinkum opponents. So: [1] What have we learnt about our chances for 2014? [2] Do we look to have improved significantly? [3] Has our recruiting and player development improved? I am normally pretty positive. I like to find the good things and look forward hoping for the best. However, I am really struggling with that at this point. Maybe I need to have my antidepressants.... < >
Why am I not confident? (1) Trend towards preseason performances corresponding to season's performances: In many past seasons our preseason has shown little about how we are going to play in the main games. In 1995, for example, we lost every single preseason game and went on to win the premiership. We did the same thing in 1987 and 1979. Similarly, most Malthouse coached teams have not done well in preseasons. That would bode well, would it not? However, this trend has not quite worked out in the few years. Since our Flags, back in the Pagan Days, our preseason and our season have been very similar: if we play poorly in the practice matches we usually start poorly and struggled to overcome that. We have seriously disappointed and lost to teams we shouldn't have. Since Ratts became coach, we have ended up doing a lot less 'experimenting' and ended up playing combinations well below our best in rounds 1 and 2. It may not be mathematically significant yet, but it is getting there.
This preseason looks to be following the trail of our recent ones. We haven't had a lot of guys coming through. We have had injuries and slow recoveries from surgery that have really meant we've started well below our best.
(2) List Management: Our list does not appear to have improved significantly. Firstly, of our current regulars, a number of really important players are well behind in their recovery and look seriously underdone. Judd will miss at least the first 3 games. Carrots has been missing and looks to miss more. Hendo may or may not be fit enough, but he is well underdone. Kreuzer is a long way from his best form. We may not have huge numbers of injuries, but our present ones are particularly strategic. Few of guys who have been playing look like they can cover these players. Secondly, our depth appears to be of concern. Our depth was once really important. We could introduce guys who would fill in adequately until our other 'better' players came back. We certainly don't appear to have that depth at the moment. The last time we appeared to was when Robinson and Garlett got their first game against Richmond. We looked very weak on paper, but we surprised Richmond and all of our new players had good nights. Thirdly, we have barely introduced any new players in early rounds since then and have little success from the few we did. Certainly our team sheet appears to be quite predictable in early rounds. At the moment we appear to be really short on good quality players around the packs, in the key defence and forward roles.
(3) Centre Square: We have played 12 competitive quarters so far this year and have won in the centre square for only 3 of them. And those 3 were the first 3 against North Melbourne. Although our clearance numbers do not appear too bad, we are really get smashed in the centre square. Against Adelaide, for example, we won1 centre clearance compared to every 4 the Crows won. Basically, that is the difference between winning and losing in itself. We found it difficult to come back because we couldn't get the ball to our forwards in any approaching a reasonable manner. Against the Dogs, they brought on Liberatore at half time and had him get 16 possessions for the 3rd term alone. He had more centre clearances for the quarter than our entire team did. If we keep going like that we have no chance at all: our forwards don't get any reasonable opportunity. I don't see where our clearances are going to come from either, with Judd and McLean suffering injuries. It also make we wonder about our ruck division, as we are winning a reasonable number of hit outs, but not getting any advantage out of them.
(4) Lack of Intensity: Granted that we only have the 3 games to compare to and none of the real thing, but we appear to lack the real intensity, the win at all costs belief and willingness to push that extra step that teams like Geelong and Hawthorn have. Without this 'killer instinct', the hyper competitiveness that guys like Silvagni used to have, we will not be able to beat the favourites. We just don't win enough 1 on 1 battles around the field, especially when it counts; our key forward and key defenders in particular.
(5) Fitness: Late last year when Cordy left and Buttifant came in, the word around was that we were working on our ability to run out games. This was something that was really noticeable when Cordy started. teams feared our ability to come back in the last quarter. However, in recent times we appear to run out of gas and rarely score more than our opposition in the last stanza. We managed it a couple of times towards the end of last season and it really stuck out. Not only did we come back to win, but it gave our team a of of confidence and momentum leading in to the next week. So, with this as our goal, it appears we have improved in no way. We have been overrun in the last quarter in 2 of the 3 games and we have been unable to overcome a tiring opponent in the 3rd. The Dogs were definitely losing momentum, yet were unable to bridge the gap. That is really bad.
(6) X Factor & Kicking for goal: Back in the day we had a lot of players who really had x - factor and who could take the spectacular mark or get the miracle goal that could kick start the lineup. We seem to be lacking that at the moment. Our kicking for goals appears quite pedestrian, especially with Waite and Casboult. There is no longer and Eddie Betts to make a goal out of nothing. Nor is there the Fev who can pull out a mark and kick a goal from almost anywhere. I am hoping that Daisy Thomas can make an improvement in this area as he gets his form and fitness back, but he can't do it alone. We need someone who can really lift and lift the side with him. Our goal kicking is also suspect under pressure. We have a lot of guys who miss clutch goals. Kreuzer, once one of the best shots at goal, has scored 1 in every 3 attempts in the last couple of years. Waite and Casboult have been known to miss from close range. Our former Captain is one of our worst offenders. he used to be able to make goals out of nothing at the Weagles, but now he misses 3 out of 4 shots.
So, to answer my original questions: [1] Our chances do not look good, as a number of teams appear to be very much on the rise. Our better players are one year older and we appear to be a mid round team at best. [2] We do not appear to have improved significantly in the areas we really needed to. Our forward line and key defensive posts look suspect and we appear deficient int he centre square. [3] While our kids look a little better at this point than last year, they do not appear as yet to be the answers to our prayers.
I will be heading to Etihad next weekend with a lot of foreboding. I'll be shouting my guts out and willing us to do well. But my expectations at this point are low. I really hate that.
Northern 9. 9. (63) defeated by Coburg 13. 12. (90) From the sounds of things, the effort was considerably better than it has been over the last couple of weeks. There were also NO Carlton listed players playing, so the effort said that the group is improving slowly. Mitch Gleeson played: he is the son of Bear Gleeson. Don't know much else about him at this point.
Disposals: Cattapan 24, Taglieri 18, Tardio 17, Thomas 15, Sutton 15 That will probably get Cattapan a senior game come Round #1.
Goals: Couch 2, Bowkett 2, Dorman, Schleibs, K. Roberts, Kur
I wish I could write a better report, but.... Unlike about 95% of the crowd, I waited around after the game to watch the Baby Blues play their practice match. It was quite a strange affair under the (lack of) lights at Eureka Stadium. The first quarter lasted only 14 minutes (although the time clock was working for this game, even though it was not working during the main game. I have no intention of explaining that one.) and I gather that was the way of things for the rest of the night. (You can also gather I did not stay for the whole game). I hope RR or some of the others may be able to shine a little light (pun intended) on what happened.
Why did I NOT stay? I had no idea who the players were. There was no record or team sheet provided and there were few players I recognized from last year. There may have been a few Carlton players running around, but I found it difficult to recognize them. I am pretty sure Simon White was playing across half back (and was one of our better players).
Basically the Blues lacked a lot of cohesion and a lot of class. Our disposal was ordinary, which made our game plan hard to determine. However, I was very pleased with the tackling pressure on a team that had a lot more class and cohesion (the Roosters). The closer the Blues could manage to keep it, the better for the Blues it was; when the ball broke free, the Roosters' better skills usually allowed them to move the ball around the ground fairly well.
Anyone who could shred more light on proceedings (OK, I'll stop the light puns) would be appreciated.
With a few new chums on the list, and the structure of the competition, I can see quite a few youngsters getting a game. But who deserves it?
[1] Dale Thomas: a certainty to play at least 1 game, even if he starts on the bench. Needs the run. [2] Sam Docherty: as a guy with some senior experience, I'd expect him to be pushing for a game. [3] Andrejs Everitt: a certainty. He needs to start jelling with his team mates on the field. [4] Cameron Wood: this will give me nightmares, but I am sure he will get game time. [5] Patrick Cripps: would not mind seeing the future running around and getting some handballs.
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