Car'n the Blues,
Another loss. Total rubbish.
3rd qtr was absolute crap. Rest of it wasn't too bad but when you get outscored 7.3 to 0.2 in one qtr you're not likely to be winning often.
third quARTER was crape beyond belief....they are average and did that....
Again, no Plan B from the coaching box and no leadership onfield other than Crippa....
Not a lot of smart football going on same dummies doing it
1st and 2nd qtr very good, 3rd qtr terrible (7.3 to 0.2), 4th qtr too late (we won it by a point)
Polson dominated again with an amazing 5 disposals.
Career high perhaps?
JSOS 4 disposals, Pickett 8, no need to go on.
Too many passengers....
And it's not about them being young.....
If I was in charge Bolton would go season's end.
Ratts would get us top 4 with this list + a few good pick ups...
Annoying loss because Freo are carp....Neale, Mundy and Walters aside they didnt have many impact players out there but they all lifted after half time and we fell away especially in the middle of the ground.
We made a good player out of Duman...never heard of him before and he aint that great but we made him look good by kicking it to him all the time......
Too many passengers on our team who didnt get much footy and contribute, Dockers probably had more contributors overall......
Not a real fan of Polson and that tackle from behind might have been legal given the umpire said play on but I actually felt the kid was unlucky as that wouldnt have been called on a big name player like Dangerfield, Martin etc......
Sam Kerridge...29 possessions and zero impact on the game......
Some really good signs from our youngsters again. Samo Charlie H Wow and LOB to a lesser degree. Albeit not for 4q. Loved the synergy between Charlie and H developing.
Daisy and Rowe led well. Ed and Simmo hard as usual. Murphy patchy IMO, injury? Lobbe fantastic especially first half despite losing ho.
I will vomit if Graham plays again. Kerridge still really poor disposal. How many years do you give them?
Sam Kerridge...29 possessions and zero impact on the game......
No worse than Murphy on a good week....
Thought Kerridge was one of our best 6 quite frankly. :o
No worse than Murphy on a good week....
Thought Kerridge was one of our best 6 quite frankly. :o
Murphy was equally poor IMO and Graham another non effective player, 44% DE......Kerridge disposal by foot is horrendous IMO.....SPS was another butcher with ball in hand....
I had a best five...couldnt find six.......
Not sure about Jack down back either, Freo have some real bananas but Jack couldnt handle McCarthy at all...
Felt for Poulson with that play on call - pathetic by the ump imo, giving Freo another easy one.
Not in the spirit of the game imo.
No worse than Murphy on a good week....
Thought Kerridge was one of our best 6 quite frankly. :o
Kerridge couldn't hit the side of a barn from the inside! He is worse than pathetic!
Felt for Poulson with that play on call - pathetic by the ump imo, giving Freo another easy one.
Not in the spirit of the game imo.
Yep it was crap.
In general I feel as though our blokes get called to play on super quickly frequently. A stop and prop and it's play on.
This one in particular made me think it was a 50 metre penalty. It was play on and he was pinged before he could react = player in the protected area IMHO.
Yep it was crap.
In general I feel as though our blokes get called to play on super quickly frequently. A stop and prop and it's play on.
This one in particular made me think it was a 50 metre penalty. It was play on and he was pinged before he could react = player in the protected area IMHO.
Sure that'll be reviewed by the umpires this week. Not.
Yep it was crap.
In general I feel as though our blokes get called to play on super quickly frequently. A stop and prop and it's play on.
This one in particular made me think it was a 50 metre penalty. It was play on and he was pinged before he could react = player in the protected area IMHO.
Same thing nearly happened to Cripps later in the game.
Funny old game that!
I suppose it's the "Time of the season" .....but I found it really hard to get enthusiastic about the game at any stage...even when we were in front.
Hurry up end of the year. :(
Watching on a tiny screen is always hard work.
Usual mix of good bits here and there, with a lot of the usual. Good to see a few improved signs from SPS, he is getting involved and winning contests.
Our lack of possessions down back is one of the big problems. Our defenders are not able to share the ball, so the midfilders are too deep, resulting in shallow entries and the ball coming out fast. Too much left to too few as always
Oh well, only a couple of games left from a wretched season.
Polson dominated again with an amazing 5 disposals.
Career high perhaps?
JSOS 4 disposals, Pickett 8, no need to go on.
Too many passengers....
And it's not about them being young.....
If I was in charge Bolton would go season's end.
Ratts would get us top 4 with this list + a few good pick ups...
FMD... ????
Is that with this list or this 22 ?
There’s a slight difference...
Sack them all ????????
This one in particular made me think it was a 50 metre penalty. It was play on and he was pinged before he could react = player in the protected area IMHO.
Agree
Had to go out so missed the second half - sounds like I didn't miss much. :(
A very disappointing result in the end as we looked quite good, with a couple of notable exceptions, earlier on. It's amazing how those poor players and their mistakes eventually wear a whole team down and into submission. Saps the collective will.
I thought this is a game we could have, and should have won, but when over half the side are passengers it's damn near impossible.
Same old story, not enough contributors, a litany of fundamental skill errors.
Oh, and Freo have their hand on it if they think they are going anywhere with that 22. At home, with umpires in their pocket and they limp over the line - unimpressive at best.
Cmon Proff, they had a few guys stand up all day and did what they had to do.
Neale and Landon did 90 percent of the work, and lets face it, if you can't beat a side with only 14 on the park (we had about 8 blokes who were there but didn't participate) you not travelling well.
On another issue, we need to ask the AFL to please explain what Polson was pinged for. The tackler was clearly inside the protected zone.
Neale and Landon did 90 percent of the work, and lets face it, if you can't beat a side with only 14 on the park (we had about 8 blokes who were there but didn't participate) you not travelling well.
On another issue, we need to ask the AFL to please explain what Polson was pinged for. The tackler was clearly inside the protected zone.
Too slow taking his kick, umpire called play on and he was tackled from behind, like I said before if that had been Dangerfield, Martin etc he would have been given more time....
Too slow taking his kick, umpire called play on and he was tackled from behind, like I said before if that had been Dangerfield, Martin etc he would have been given more time....
I agree with Thry, tackler must have been in the protected area.
Tv didn’t replay with sound, but the commentators said the umpire said “Move it on” is that in the rules ? Or do the rules say “play on” ? I’d take “move it on” as a warning...
Cmon Proff, they had a few guys stand up all day and did what they had to do.
I'm with the Prof...Freo team on the park was carp, they had eight players with 20 games or less........Taberner, Cox and McCarthy isnt exactly forward royalty is it?
We didnt take our chances early to bury them, too many missed opportunities and then Neale, Mundy, Langdon took over around the packs and the above kicked goals on our leaky backline.
Players like Duman looked like champs as we kept kicking the ball to them, we had junior and senior passengers...Cripps got left to try and lift us and Daisy had to pick up the slack down back...too much left to few.
Annoying because we only needed a bit more effort from our senior players and we could have knocked them over....different to when we played GWS and just didnt have the talent, Freo just had a few more contributors for 4 quarters....
I think you’ve nailed it in your last sentence EB.
I agree with Thry, tackler must have been in the protected area.
Tv didn’t replay with sound, but the commentators said the umpire said “Move it on” is that in the rules ? Or do the rules say “play on” ? I’d take “move it on” as a warning...
I think they use the "move it on" as a bit of a "prior opportunity" to get things going.
It seems to be a continuous sentence when they say it..."Move it on, play on"
So in effect it's a warning that quickly turns into a 'play on'.
Most players realise that even when the 'play on' call is made they still have a bit of time to dispose of the ball.
He can see the man in front, no-one in the protected area by his side.
The only one he can't see is the man coming from behind
The speed with which Polson was run down must have bordered on the player being too close.
This is a game would have won - easily - with 22 contributors.
Getting tired of Neale tearing us a new one every time, time to try somebody else other than Ed as a stopper.
Putting aside the result was it just me or do we seem to have changed our game plan over the last 3 weeks.
We seem to want to take the attacking inside option especially when the ball is in the better users (I know we don't have many) which opens up more scoring options for us.
A loss is a loss I know but just seem to be playing a better brand of footy and as shown in the first half when we put in, we now look capable of scoring.
On another note, geez did we miss Fisher yesterday.
Okay so Freo might not be the best team going around, but I thought we did pretty well.
Sure the 3Q was a disappointment but it was nice to see improvements in some of the kids.
You've got to remember - nothing to play for (yes, i know, play for yourself, self respect etc etc - it's been a long season tho). No Fish, K, Plow, Weiters, Kennedy, Doch etc etc.
Murph seems very off his game - still injured I reckon.
Playing over there too, umps will always give homeside advantage over there - if the Ump said move it on, that's not PLAY ON and was a bullcrap call. There were 3 bullcrap calls that resulted in them getting a goal/us not getting a goal. How was H's mark not called in the 4th? All 50/50's went to them, you can only beat that when you're obviously starring, and we just don't have the men at the moment.
Yes, some extremely annoying passages - Murph turn over, Graham again kicking around his body when he had plenty of time - feel for this guy, he has so many skills but then it's let down quickly with crap disposal.
Thought the boys played alright and the younger ones are getting there - you can't expect Dow to be able to not go missing yet, he's a kid, first season - yes others are doing better in first season, but I bet those teams are much higher up the ladder!
The problem is at this time of the year it's really hard to get a handle on the value of performances.
They had a couple of significant outs.
They pretty much will finish on the ladder where they are now, so there is really nothing for them to play for either, so for both sides it was a case of going through the motions.
For us it's a time to get those players with niggles fixed up and ready for the pre-season, maybe expose a few more youngsters to senior football and play those who are on the chopping block one or two more times before we say goodbye.
Don't worry, SOS, pick 1 is just about assured. Okay SOS what were you doing to the players in the rooms at half time? Cue Rocky (the Bugs Bunny runt gangster), "I don't know how yews done it but I's know yews done it!!!" I wonder if SOS's middle name is, Sherman? ;D
Funny how when we play sides we should beat we have a quarter or half of diabolical footy to ensure a loss but for the remainder of the game we actually look pretty good.
BB filthy on the 3rd qtr capitulation :)) :)) :)) ;D
On a serious note... (F flat?) ...really good/promising stuff from SPS, H, Charlie, Dowow & Casey.
Sterling efforts also from Cripps, Simmo, Daisy, Lobbe and Rowe.
Lamb is holding is own down back.
Kerridge should be banned from kicking. Murphy was pretty good at giving it back to the opposition as well. Why exactly did we get Lang and Pickett again?
Kerridge should be banned from kicking. Murphy was pretty good at giving it back to the opposition as well. Why exactly did we get Lang and Pickett again?
Pickett was flying before his injury, he has youth on his side.
Kerridge is hard at inside, and should stay there.
Murphy was OK, I suppose it's easy to focus on a couple of negatives and pay out on the experienced players. Simmo was off colour as well, yet stats say he went at 90% DE, weird isn't it!
Lang is a real worry!
/>
Yes he is.
I hope his ‘efforts’ Are due to injury - I saw him twice go half arsed at the contest. If that’s his best, he can bugger off!
Kerridge is one I would delist , 29 possies that were useless and Murphy was similar with his output, our entire midfield struggled to hit targets and our young forwards deserve better.
We cannot continue with players like Kerridge, Graham etc....
Pickett has talent and skills most of our others don't have but continues to be a 10-12 possession player only.....one more year for him to improve then bye bye....
Kerridge is one I would delist , 29 possies that were useless and Murphy was similar with his output, our entire midfield struggled to hit targets and our young forwards deserve better.
We cannot continue with players like Kerridge, Graham etc....
Pickett has talent and skills most of our others don't have but continues to be a 10-12 possession player only.....one more year for him to improve then bye bye....
Pickett needs a full pre-season to build some sort of fitness base, once he has this we should begin to see what he can bring as he gets to more and more contests. Will probably never be a 25+ possession player but 15+ creative ones will do us nicely.
Our pressing problems going forward is one more classy mid, which should be addressed by Walsh in this year's draft, and small forwards.
Wright is the best we've got and he's competent without being anything special, but Garlett, Pickett and Polson have repeatedly shown that they simply can't get their hands on the ball at senior level.
Ballantyne isn't elite by any means but he showed us how the small forward game should be played, that's the type of player we desperately need.
I won't judge Pickett until next year when he has s full pre-season and full year. Never judge a half fit player. Showed plenty when he got his chance last year and it is what we expect to see when he is fit and going.
Don't worry, SOS, pick 1 is just about assured. Okay SOS what were you doing to the players in the rooms at half time? Cue Rocky (the Bugs Bunny runt gangster), "I don't know how yews done it but I's know yews done it!!!" I wonder if SOS's middle name is, Sherman? ;D
Funny how when we play sides we should beat we have a quarter or half of diabolical footy to ensure a loss but for the remainder of the game we actually look pretty good.
BB filthy on the 3rd qtr capitulation :)) :)) :)) ;D
On a serious note... (F flat?) ...really good/promising stuff from SPS, H, Charlie, Dowow & Casey.
Sterling efforts also from Cripps, Simmo, Daisy, Lobbe and Rowe.
Lamb is holding is own down back.
Kerridge should be banned from kicking. Murphy was pretty good at giving it back to the opposition as well. Why exactly did we get Lang and Pickett again?
I know how he did it. kerridge and Graham went in to start doing the heavy lifting in the third and Dow was nowhere to be seen (his first half was terrific).
We were up by about six points early in the third term and Graham missed the easiest running goal I've ever seen from 35 metres out with plenty of time on his side and after that freo scored quickly twice to get themselves in front and that's all she wrote.
Everything kerridge and Graham touched in that third quarter turned to pooh resulting in repeat scoring for freo.
That moment single handedly saw the collective heads drop which to me is a massive issue a.d needs addressing. When the chips are down go harder not softer!
Pickett.
I've never seen a bloke have a thumb injury return to the field in such poor running condition.
For a bloke who's got jets we haven't seen them once this season.
Our pressing problems going forward is one more classy mid, which should be addressed by Walsh in this year's draft, and small forwards.
Wright is the best we've got and he's competent without being anything special, but Garlett, Pickett and Polson have repeatedly shown that they simply can't get their hands on the ball at senior level.
Ballantyne isn't elite by any means but he showed us how the small forward game should be played, that's the type of player we desperately need.
We need 3 more mids.
We simply don't share the load. Cripps does all the heavy lifting, while the likes of Murphy skirt the packs and don't impact games.
The kids have an excuse, the skipper and probably our highest paid player needs to do more or move on.
Since Kruezer has been injured, opposition teams are just focusing on Cripps and we are paying the price.
Our Back line and forward line have some structure.
Yeah we need a classy small/mid forward or two, but they are easier to find than quality mids.
If Pickett rocks up day one of PS in crap condition is desist him. If he won't get fit he won't make it and let's not waste our time.
I won't judge Pickett until next year when he has s full pre-season and full year. Never judge a half fit player. Showed plenty when he got his chance last year and it is what we expect to see when he is fit and going.
He had a full pre season this year, he injured his hand which shouldn't have affected his aerobic fitness at all and he's now been back playing for six or seven weeks.
I hope he steps up next season but the signs aren't promising in my opinion.
We need 3 more mids.
We simply don't share the load. Cripps does all the heavy lifting, while the likes of Murphy skirt the packs and don't impact games.
The kids have an excuse, the skipper and probably our highest paid player needs to do more or move on.
Since Kruezer has been injured, opposition teams are just focusing on Cripps and we are paying the price.
Our Back line and forward line have some structure.
Yeah we need a classy small/mid forward or two, but they are easier to find than quality mids.
Murphy had 15 possies at 54% DE, Graham had 18@ 44%........once Dow had no fuel in the tank after half time it was Cripps vs Neale, Lanngon and Mundy and the numbers won out.....
Backline is a worry IMO...Taberner, Cox and McCarty are garbage but we struggled to contain them...Marchbank isnt KP, Jack couldnt handle McCarthy and it was left to Rowe to try and steady the ship. Our maligned forward line actually has a better look to it, Charlie, McKay and Kerr when he plays looks good for the future........
Yes, wrist injury and came back unfit, don't understand how that can occur. Must have used the other hand to eat the KFC with. Needs to get committed and professiobal very rapidly or he'll end up on the "talented but didn't work hard enough" category.
Not saying he had a good game but Murphy was involved in a lot of our scoring chains.
It was glaring yesterday his inability to zip away from contests, his apparent reluctance to tackle and his neglible defensive pressure. Combined with his poor disposal efficiency it puts a lot of onus on the other mids to cover for him.
In an ideal world i would play him as a small forward, his roving days are closed to finished.
Murphy had 15 possies at 54% DE, Graham had 18@ 44%........once Dow had no fuel in the tank after half time it was Cripps vs Neale, Lanngon and Mundy and the numbers won out.....
Backline is a worry IMO...Taberner, Cox and McCarty are garbage but we struggled to contain them...Marchbank isnt KP, Jack couldnt handle McCarthy and it was left to Rowe to try and steady the ship. Our maligned forward line actually has a better look to it, Charlie, McKay and Kerr when he plays looks good for the future........
Our backline should have some pretty good inclusions at the start of next season, with Doc, Weitering and Williamson.
If we don't recruit mids it won't improve
You can only conclude that playing SOJ 1 on 1 on McCathy was a deliberate 'strategy'?
When did Jack last play as a KPD? In u/7s?
You can only conclude that playing SOJ 1 on 1 on McCathy was a deliberate 'strategy'?
When did Jack last play as a KPD? In u/7s?
Given the absence of Weitering, Plowman and Jones it was probably him or O'Shea.
All things considered we did well to lead at half time.
Our backline should have some pretty good inclusions at the start of next season, with Doc, Weitering and Williamson.
If we don't recruit mids it won't improve
Docherty will be a great inclusion but I remain unconvinced about Weitering as a KP defender, I think he works better as the intercept marking defender, problem is that Marchbanks best role.
Neither handle the true KP players that well...our best KP defenders are ACOS and Rowe and both are at the end.....
IMO we need another KP defender who has some muscle and height.....
Williamson has been a massive loss and is one of my fav players but his back injury worries me for the future.....
He had a full pre season this year, he injured his hand which shouldn't have affected his aerobic fitness at all and he's now been back playing for six or seven weeks.
I hope he steps up next season but the signs aren't promising in my opinion.
Then he missed 12 weeks. That's probably worse than missing a pre-season. There would've been alot he couldn't do, not to mention the loss of match fitness, which many don't get back. He looked the part last year so we wait until he plays when fit.
Kerridge might rack up the possessions but barely any are worth it? Continues to turn it over as does Nick Graham. Graham's miss when kicking around the corner early in the 3rd quarter from 30m out was so costly...Freo took it down the other end and goaled and from there we just fell away. Polsen is only young but runs around like a headless chook burning up fuel tickets to gather half a dozen kicks. Way too many players register single digit possessions week after week....Silvagni, Polsen, Marchbank etc. We simply do not have enough quality players on the current list to be remotely competitive for 4 quarters each week. Pickett looks like he could be anything but rarely gets near it...and the same with Jarrod Garlett. I thought he would be a handy pick up given we gave up virtually nothing to get him...but not up to AFL standard.
Lobbe has worked hard since coming into the side and is worth persevering with. But big questions now over Kruezer, and Phillips is always injured.
If we don't secure some talent through free agency or with packaging up first round picks for players then it'll be another 3 or 4 years of battling it out for the wooden spoon. I hate being a pessimist but it's very hard to see where the improvement is coming from. Apart from Cripps, Curnow and maybe Fisher, we have an uncanny knack of taking young players who look like they've got some talent and turning them into ordinary footballers.
Seems clear to me:
One good ruckman - Preuss would be ideal.
Three mature bodied mids - we've all seen the list potentially available
Elites - Shiel, Kelly, Gaff, Crouch Bros
Next - Hannebury
Others - Miles, Holman, Grigg, that crows' rookie, Schloithe, Marlion pickett
Smal forwards - name escapes me (the guy we talked about him last week)
Seems clear to me:
One good ruckman - Preuss would be ideal.
Three mature bodied mids - we've all seen the list potentially available
Elites - Shiel, Kelly, Gaff, Crouch Bros
Next - Hannebury
Others - Miles, Holman, Grigg, that crows' rookie, Schloithe, Marlion pickett
Smal forwards - name escapes me (the guy we talked about him last week)
Surely Wallis and or Libba get a mention.
I know they are not A graders but I would take 2 B Graders.
Considering Kerridge and E Curnow are C-D
Sure, forgot those two!
Surely Wallis and or Libba get a mention.
I know they are not A graders but I would take 2 B Graders.
Considering Kerridge and E Curnow are C-D
Wallis and Libba are being considered I believe , Wallis wants Essendon but wants Libba with him, Bombers are cool on the Libba component.
Both are knobs off the field...for that reason I'm not so keen, you can be a knob if you are a Dane Swan or a Dustin Martin in what you deliver on the big stage but
the two dogs players are not at that level....not sure I'd have Wallis and Libba as B graders either.....
After watching the horrendous kicking skills of some of our midfielders, we need blokes who can kick....throw the big bucks at Gaff as a free agent and try to broker a deal with GWS for Shiel. Then if you can get one of Libba or Dalhaus or Wallis as midfielders via free agency then go for it. Our midfield is not up to scratch. Defence will be stronger next year if you put back in Jones, Weitering, Plowman, Docherty and Williamson into the side that played on the weekend.
After watching the horrendous kicking skills of some of our midfielders, we need blokes who can kick....throw the big bucks at Gaff as a free agent and try to broker a deal with GWS for Shiel. Then if you can get one of Libba or Dalhaus or Wallis as midfielders via free agency then go for it. Our midfield is not up to scratch. Defence will be stronger next year if you put back in Jones, Weitering, Plowman, Docherty and Williamson into the side that played on the weekend.
Gaff might be looking for some time out of the limelight, maybe a lowly club who dont get much TV/media exposure etc might suit....think Sheil is going to be hard work to prise out of GWS.....worth a try but I reckon Gaff might be in the state of mind that he could be persuaded and that finals may be less of an issue at this stage...
After watching the horrendous kicking skills of some of our midfielders, we need blokes who can kick....throw the big bucks at Gaff as a free agent and try to broker a deal with GWS for Shiel. Then if you can get one of Libba or Dalhaus or Wallis as midfielders via free agency then go for it. Our midfield is not up to scratch. Defence will be stronger next year if you put back in Jones, Weitering, Plowman, Docherty and Williamson into the side that played on the weekend.
You wouldnt get Wallis to improve the kicking aspect of our team....not his strong point, both him and his knob mate are better by hand IMO.....Dalhaus would be my preference even though he is small and I dont likem too small but he can kick goals as a forward pocket and he can be value in the midfield(I'm going on fellow poster Jezza's knowledge ;))
Wallis and Libba are being considered I believe , Wallis wants Essendon but wants Libba with him, Bombers are cool on the Libba component.
Both are knobs off the field...for that reason I'm not so keen, you can be a knob if you are a Dane Swan or a Dustin Martin in what you deliver on the big stage but
the two dogs players are not at that level....not sure I'd have Wallis and Libba as B graders either.....
Is Wallis that bad off the field?
Cameron Mooney said a week ago he is an outstanding young guy.
I have not heard differently.
They are both getting a little older now, so hopefully they would mature.
Two Dogs eh? Mmmm.
Two Dogs eh? Mmmm.
Here you go Cookie:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Dogs
Here you go Cookie:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Dogs
:))
A strong association with lemons I see.
I was also thinking of Graham Kennedy.
Is Wallis that bad off the field?
Cameron Mooney said a week ago he is an outstanding young guy.
I have not heard differently.
They are both getting a little older now, so hopefully they would mature.
Wallis hangs out with Libba, and Stringer is also a good mate.., bit of rumour that Tom Boyd aint a mate of any of them and it might have got a bit ugly
down there at the Kennel with Boyd refusing to play/train with them ..Wallis not happy with his pay packet and very unhappy with the Boyd pay packet and let the coach know, who let Wallis know what time the reserves started the following week...
once again we need players that can run and spread like185cm fischer
Wallis hangs out with Libba, and Stringer is also a good mate.., bit of rumour that Tom Boyd aint a mate of any of them and it might have got a bit ugly
down there at the Kennel with Boyd refusing to play/train with them ..Wallis not happy with his pay packet and very unhappy with the Boyd pay packet and let the coach know, who let Wallis know what time the reserves started the following week...
Interesting EB. I wonder what role these three mouseketeers may have played in Boyd's mental issues?
Sorry, but I don't have much sympathy for Boyd. If you jump ship for silly money don't expect everyone to love you for it.
Interesting EB. I wonder what role these three mouseketeers may have played in Boyd's mental issues?
Cookie, separate issues I think, Boyd appears a bit of a coaches fav but Wallis copped a bit of a public bake a while back for lack of form and while playing a straight bat to the media I think the Wallis camp were not happy and contract talks have not run smoothly. An element of ratpack sorting out being done at the Kennel, Stringer already gone, Libba in the doghouse and Wallis caught in between.
Cookie, separate issues I think, Boyd appears a bit of a coaches fav but Wallis copped a bit of a public bake a while back for lack of form and while playing a straight bat to the media I think the Wallis camp were not happy and contract talks have not run smoothly. An element of ratpack sorting out being done at the Kennel, Stringer already gone, Libba in the doghouse and Wallis caught in between.
Fair enough EB. I don't like the sound of them though, especially Libba, who could be a real handful/disruptor for the club to deal with off-field, albeit the type of goer we do need on field. His dad also has a bit of history with us.
Fair enough EB. I don't like the sound of them though, especially Libba, who could be a real handful/disruptor for the club to deal with off-field, albeit the type of goer we do need on field. His dad also has a bit of history with us.
Not a "happy ending" from memory
Not a "happy ending" from memory
From memory he was going around a few years ago saying that we had been deliberately tanking during his time at the club.
Yeah, not sure Libba snr would be welcome around the club.
Libba jnr i'm not a real fan of either, but him and his mate Wallis would certainly fill a roll at the club....blue collar workers.
Could do worse...
From memory he was going around a few years ago saying that we had been deliberately tanking during his time at the club.
Yeah...nothing concrete...he just had a 'vibe' ;D
Yeah, not sure Libba snr would be welcome around the club.
Libba jnr i'm not a real fan of either, but him and his mate Wallis would certainly fill a roll at the club....blue collar workers.
Could do worse...
I'm not interested in either of them, we're building something special and the last thing we need is a couple of disgruntled blow ins with attitude and an inflated opinion of themselves.
Libba senior had no qualms sticking the shiv in. Doesn't seem the type to engender much loyalty, team etc. Big no from me.
To be honest Wallis interests me somewhat, but Libba does not. If they have to come as a pair, I'm happy to have Essendon have them. If Wallis wants to come alone, I'd be dickering.
We DO have to get another decent mature body in the middle: we can't go into another season with Cripps, followed by not much. But we also have to be careful not to ruin ourselves in the process. If idiots were our flavour, we'd never have got rid of Robbo.
If idiots were our flavour, we'd never have got rid of Robbo.
Robbo's specialty was shooting himself in the foot, in hindsight he actually stitched himself up by lying about rescuing a team-mate, a team-mate who didn't stick up for him it seems!
The two suggested above, fall in the later category, they'll sink the ship before they drown trying to save somebody! ;)
sorry in advance - just realised how long this post was...
in the first few rounds i noted that we were still in development mode. Playing Dow & O'B so early was a clear sign to me the match committee was still trying to get games into kids over going for the win. Could have played Graham & Kerridge and had a better chance of winning. We continue to play Polson, which is clearly not based on merit, I can only assume they are trying to fast track his development. You never know (but I doubt it from what I've seen), but this might be the making of the kid, if he gets a good taste of seniors, has a really strong off season and works REALLY HARD on his abundant deficiencies, he might come back next year and go from being a D grader to a C grader, and maybe a B grader the year after. Optimism abounds.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make, is that we are way in development mode still, and playing kids who do not get enough of the ball yet. If you replaced the bottom 6 players with some of Doc, Weiters, Williamson, Fisher, Plowman, Kennedy & Kreuzer, and then add another 5 possies or so a week (from natural growth) to Dow, O'B, SPS, Fisher, Kennedy, Big H, & Charlie, then things won't look so bad.
Pickett is starting to make me look bad, because I rate him, but he's really got to have a strong year next year. Same with Lang, they both need to get fit and show what they can do, or they can move on. Kennedy I think will be a good solid midfielder, but also needs to get fitter. Marchbank is a much better player than he is currently showing, of that I'm certain. That's four players underperforming, and I expect atleast 2 of them to prove themselves.
Murphy has some issues with his kicking, which I think it might be fitness, because early on in the game he was involved in a lot of our scores, and hit up our forwards very nicely. He's one of the few mids we have who can put the ball to the advantage of our forwards, and he clearly has a good feel for the game because he usually picks the right option and kicks nicely to space. He needs to play wing or forward.
Big H and Charlie also faded, and it must be related to fitness, because early on they were on fire. Either that, or the midfielders fell away so badly they lacked good opportunities in the second half. I think it was a combination. Even so, they have given us a glimpse of what might be a very deadly pairing.
Back to the team in general. As mentioned in earlier posts, our bottom six are generally dreadful, and occasionally ok. We don't have the depth yet, because we only want 1 of them playing at any one time, not all of them! Every club gets injuries, and obviously the weaker the list, the more it hurts. We still lack depth, and still need more time developing the kids.
But let's look at our top 5 of the future. I've only picked young players who have that certain something that makes them standout above the rest, and who you would consider elite (or very promising signs they will become so in the next 1 - 2 years).
Cripps - young gun, deadset star.
Doc - still relatively young, hopefully returns as good as he left, because they don't dish out AA's for free, and he is a very good player.
Charlie - getting better every week, and will develop more muscle and more composure, and will be challenging Cripps for best player at the club.
Dow - if he continues to develop like he hes been the last month or so, then we have another seriously good player, with a real weapon in his explosiveness and toughness in tight.
Fisher - provides real dash and class, and top notch harrassment.
And then there's a few who might become Elite, but can still easily become run of the mill A graders, or whatever the level is below elite.
SPS - after a slow start to the year, improving week by week. Has real awareness, and while he mungs some of his kicks, the rest are sweet, and he is one of those blokes who seems to have more time than everyone else.
Big H - let's roll the dice here. He could be a super player if he wants it bad enough, or he could be a so so player who shines every now and then, just often enough to get a good pay check. Dunno. Hope he really has a dip coz he has plenty to like about him.
Weiters - some might wonder about this, but I think he'll toughen up as he ages, and will become the key defender we need. Of course he's not going to match it with ACOS & Rowe yet physically, they've got 10 preseasons on him. When his confidence started coming back he showed how good a mark and kick he is. I still have confidence in him.
That's 8 really good young players, and maybe another 9 who should be good soldiers (O'B, Kennedy, Lang, Plowman, Williamson, Lamb, Jones, Marchbank & Byrne).
After that are the speculatives, where you'd think only one or two, or hopefully three of the following will make it as good players (Silvagni, Cunningham, TDK, Schumacher, Macreadie, Polson, Pickett, Garlett & Kerr).
Somewhere in there is the top 20 at our club in the next couple of years, remembering there are no veterans in that list. Doc is the oldest listed there and he's still not 25. We chuck in half a dozen veterans and we still only have 26 good players to choose from. Half of the 26 are still in early development phase. Throw injuries at our list and look what happens. Polson, Graham & Kerridge is what happens, and a few others who aren't far in front of them. We still need another 10 decent players in the next 2 - 3 years to replace the spuds and the veterans and have a list of 30 good players to choose from.
That's 3 good players a year we need for the next 3. A priority pick this year would really help our cause. If we have pick 1, 20 (PP), and another couple in the twenties from the crows and the bulldogs, surely we can get 3 or 4 of them this year.
pretty sure i've strayed off topic, and better stop now.
Well Tragic... that post was a fine read indeed.
I think you're right in the MC motives, which like your post, have strayed as the season passed. Our injury toll and lack of depth undoubtedly spell: go to plan scrape-the-bottom-of-the-barrel.
Thanks for the great post????
Well Tragic... that post was a fine read indeed.
I think you're right in the MC motives, which like your post, have strayed as the season passed. Our injury toll and lack of depth undoubtedly spell: go to plan scrape-the-bottom-of-the-barrel.
Thanks for the great post????
Yeah! Well done Tragic.
@ Tragic
I think you've pretty much got it nailed there mate. Well done, top effort!
Agree Tragic!
Good post Tragic!
But it also highlights our 'holes' only too well.
1. A long term, top ruckman - Special K surely must retire?
B. Preuss (206cm, 109kg) should be our target. 10 yr ruckman.
2. Mids, mids and mids - quality and experienced.
Surely we have loads of $$$ to splash about?
The Doggie twins, Grigg (SA), Holman, Schloithe, that other Crow rookie, Marlion ? from South Freo....Miles from Tigerland. Sam Fisher...
If we trade #1 for 2 first rounders and we get a PP (which surely we must as the AFL will be bending over to help Gold Coast) use 1 of the 3 picks on Shiel (if we get lucky) then 2 kids or more trading about....
3. Small forward
Garlett, Polson, Pickett, Lang - 3 out of those 4 don't seem overly hungry for it. The 4th shows ticker but little else (Polson).
Pickett needs to step it up next year, no more excuses....
So, Fasolo, Macadam (surely LeBois is goneski) looked at.....
Good post Tragic!
But it also highlights our 'holes' only too well.
1. A long term, top ruckman - Special K surely must retire?
B. Preuss (206cm, 109kg) should be our target. 10 yr ruckman.
2. Mids, mids and mids - quality and experienced.
Surely we have loads of $$$ to splash about?
The Doggie twins, Grigg (SA), Holman, Schloithe, that other Crow rookie, Marlion ? from South Freo....Miles from Tigerland. Sam Fisher...
If we trade #1 for 2 first rounders and we get a PP (which surely we must as the AFL will be bending over to help Gold Coast) use 1 of the 3 picks on Shiel (if we get lucky) then 2 kids or more trading about....
3. Small forward
Garlett, Polson, Pickett, Lang - 3 out of those 4 don't seem overly hungry for it. The 4th shows ticker but little else (Polson).
Pickett needs to step it up next year, no more excuses....
So, Fasolo, Macadam (surely LeBois is goneski) looked at.....
yes we do need a ruckman. Philips looks atleast decent, but really struggles to stay on the park unfortunately. What would Preuss cost us in trade - one of our lesser picks in the 20's? seems like a fair deal.
Hopefully SOS has been in Shiel's ear and tells him to stay put until he becomes a free agent and we can grab him for nix. Otherwise we'd have to dish out a pretty good pick to get him. He grew up a blues fan FFS, we gotta get him. Prefer not to give away picks to get him, but if we have to, we have to. Kelly would be a little better, but I'd take either in a heartbeat.
the tough bit about trading for experienced but still youngish guns, is they cost a lot, generally 2 first rounders. pulling one out of another team (not just talking about Shiel/Kelly) is expensive. the only other way is to try and get a young bloke with promise for a late first, or second round pick. SOS had a go at that, and we have to wait to see how it pans out, but so far Plowman, Marchbank, Kennedy & Lang are the ones he's tried to do that with. the results so far are ok'ish, but not great, but we should wait until the end of next season to really judge those. need to keep trying it though. the swans and hawks have been the masters at it, the bummers did ok last year, the cats have had some success (with some of our players no less). no excuses though - we need more quality mids, ready to go.
i think you nailed the small forward issues we have - not enough hunger or impact. Pickett is the most talented of that lot and gets one more chance. we are crying out for speed, smarts, and pressure in the forward line, and none of them have all 3. It is a priority for sure.
Yes, but Shiel will be a RFA come the end of 2019...why not deal now and relieve salary cap pressure....
http://www.sportingnews.com/au/afl/news/three-afl-clubs-in-bid-to-steal-dylan-shiel-away-from-gws-giants-trade-rumours-hawthorn-essendon-carlton/5vhnzdntpjgv1h4vnmeouhf9r
Yes, but Shiel will be a RFA come the end of 2019...why not deal now and relieve salary cap pressure....
http://www.sportingnews.com/au/afl/news/three-afl-clubs-in-bid-to-steal-dylan-shiel-away-from-gws-giants-trade-rumours-hawthorn-essendon-carlton/5vhnzdntpjgv1h4vnmeouhf9r
Agree...I'd offer the No 1 pick for Sheil and the GWS first rounder.....get GWS interested in dealing with us only.....
Agree...I'd offer the No 1 pick for Sheil and the GWS first rounder.....get GWS interested in dealing with us only.....
We hold the cards there having the No 1 pick. If other clubs are going hard we have to deal now in any case.
The handbags need a key forward really bad. Duncan, Menegola and their first rounder for No. 1?
We hold the cards there having the No 1 pick. If other clubs are going hard we have to deal now in any case.
And whether other clubs buy the hype on Lukosius too - will be interesting.
Still think a deal with the Crows is the obvious and easiest path. Our #1 (and pick #) for 7,15 and Pat Wilson/Luke Brown?
Or #1 for the Crouch brothers....
Or McGovern in the mix if he wants out.....
The handbags need a key forward really bad. Duncan, Menegola and their first rounder for No. 1?
Think Geelong would take the local boy Walsh with pick one.......
Tim Kelly has been offered 1.5mill/3 year deal to return home to WA if you believe rumour and is thinking about it for family reasons....
Duncan is highly regarded and they wouldnt let him go.... as much as Gaz jr and Danger etc get the glory its Duncan who does a lot of the ground work to win them games....
Adelaide still our best trading scenario or GWS IMO...
Kelly will never get that coin at Geelong, he'll go I reckon, but there is the issue of a contract. Watch Geelong go for the throat on this one, they're been good at prying players from other clubs but will be pricks in return.
Adelaide still our best trading scenario or GWS IMO...
I agree with this.
GWS will want a good replacement for the battered Patton.
They will want more than pick 1 for Sheil though.
They may want more but remember we have something they want as well.