All ready for tomorow. Hopefully we can discuss something more than a single free.
Charlie 6 & Harry 4 (should have been 5). They’re starting to warm up even if North’s best 2 tall defenders were injured.
Bring Walsh Kennedy & Acres into an undefeated side. Go Blues!
Bring Walsh Kennedy & Acres into an undefeated side. Go Blues!
Will Acres come up (injured pec)
I’m happy. At halftime i was ready to stick my foot thru the tv then an hour later I couldn’t be happier.
Still not 100 % convinced but we are doing what we have to do which is what we couldn’t do in previous years.
Time will tell but if we can improve even 10% we should be a formidable opponent later in the year when the whips are cracking.
Go blues.
Ok. Scrappy, close fought, mistake ridden, ugly wins seems to be our modus operandi this year.
So be it.
Both Saad and Weitering made poor defensive efforts in the last minutes.
They were stuffed.
Great defence all day, and McGovern's kicking was excellent.
That injury must have been worrying him because there were many others who deserved a subbing.
They scored quite a few when he went off so the structure was probably affected as well as the fatigue factor.
Both Saad and Weitering made poor defensive efforts in the last minutes.
They were stuffed.
Great defence all day, and McGovern's kicking was excellent.
That injury must have been worrying him because there were many others who deserved a subbing.
They scored quite a few when he went off so the structure was probably affected as well as the fatigue factor.
I hope they were being conservative with Gov, he is vital to us.
When we consider we still haven't 'clicked' and wobble through games, to be undefeated is very heartening. Building nicely.
31 pts from kick ins (coast to coast) in the second half by us, the most by any team in the history of stats.
I think it's a good thing we are not flying yet - we want to start revving up in July.
I'm not seeing a finals side here, we won but some glaring and obvious issues reared their ugly head again. I'm not liking what I'm seeing.
Poor ball movement and amateurish forward play. Thank the Lord for Saad. Sloppy goal kicking from Harry (nothing has changed).
Weak under physical pressure. Really weak.
Poor skills and decision making under pressure. Fumbling and turnovers.
Effort still appears to be conditional
A long list of players playing poor football. TdK, George...when are they going to get going?
We need to keep turning the list over. It's clear that Cowan and Hollands have outstripped established players.
Need to move on from LoB, Fisher (Fogarty as EB suggests), even JSoS. If you can't do the job, give someone else an opportunity. If we, by some miracle make finals, there's clearly some weak links that won't cope with those kind of games.
I’m happy. At halftime i was ready to stick my foot thru the tv then an hour later I couldn’t be happier.
Still not 100 % convinced but we are doing what we have to do which is what we couldn’t do in previous years.
Time will tell but if we can improve even 10% we should be a formidable opponent later in the year when the whips are cracking.
Go blues.
I'm with you Shawny, I thought some of our blokes were embarrassing in the first half. Again, our best is awesome, our worst is well, bad. We can't seem to click as a unit, even in the third, many went quite. A wins a win, should have been a lot more, c'est la vie.
Radio reporting Gov is a corkie. All good.
Said pregame the two key defenders for Nth missing would cost them and Charlie and Harry would have a good day.
Our midfield was below it's best and we had a few passengers but a win is a win and beating any Clarko team is always satisfying.
Need someone to smack Zurhaar though, just thinks he can whack our blokes and get away with it every game.
Lob, Fisher, Honey VFL next week.
I hope they were being conservative with Gov, he is vital to us.
Had a corkie. No problem.
Definitely room for improvement, especially with the dwindling lead, and our poor % Hopefully we add the "foot on throat" layer soon.
Cracking 100 was a good sign. As was having 7 goalkicker and the talls dominating. The gap between Harry's best and worse keeps us all intrigued 😄 Mind you 14 marks and 4 goals is a good return.
Our defence is the shining light IMO. Weiters, Young, Saad, Newman, McG amassed 42 marks.
Seems that without being convincing, and with many injuries, we find ways to win. I'm thankful we didn't let that turn into another heart stopper.
“Harry and the Brain Fades” sounds like a great name for a band!
Why not mark 10m out then play on and miss everything
31 pts from kick ins (coast to coast) in the second half by us, the most by any team in the history of stats.
That's fantastic. We all know some of the undesirable records we smashed a couple of years back 😖
Apparently Fisher had 28 possessions (no tackles) in the match report, I thought he stunk it up. Honey also had zero tackles. Our half forwards don't do enough delivery into F50 nor apply enough pressure on the defence exiting
Lob, Fisher, Honey VFL next week.
The enigma (Fisher) ended up with 28 disposals...0 tackles.
I'm not seeing a finals side here, we won but some glaring and obvious issues reared their ugly head again. I'm not liking what I'm seeing.
Poor ball movement and amateurish forward play. Thank the Lord for Saad. Sloppy goal kicking from Harry (nothing has changed).
Weak under physical pressure. Really weak.
Poor skills and decision making under pressure. Fumbling and turnovers.
Effort still appears to be conditional
A long list of players playing poor football. TdK, George...when are they going to get going?
We need to keep turning the list over. It's clear that Cowan and Hollands have outstripped established players.
Need to move on from LoB, Fisher (Fogarty as EB suggests), even JSoS. If you can't do the job, give someone else an opportunity. If we, by some miracle make finals, there's clearly some weak links that won't cope with those kind of games.
That was definitely the first two qtr Prof, but to be fair, in the 3rd and 4th the mids went to work and got their hands real dirty. They played some super tough footy and intimidated NM I reckon.
The enigma (Fisher) ended up with 28 disposals...0 tackles.
No tackles, no goal assists no goals , no scores waste of space - leave Carroll in the team
No tackles, no goal assists no goals , no scores waste of space - leave Carroll in the team
100%
“Harry and the Brain Fades” sounds like a great name for a band!
Why not mark 10m out then play on and miss everything
Ha true. But you have to love him. Beautiful mark of the ball when isolated and pretty consistent shot for goal provided he is within 30 on he favoured side.
Still 14 marks is a decent game by anyone’s standard.
Commentators gave a bit of attention to a high contact by Harry during the game.
They downplayed it.... but the way that MRO thingy works don't be surprised. ::)
Commentators gave a bit of attention to a high contact by Harry during the game.
They downplayed it.... but the way that MRO thingy works don't be surprised. ::)
Zurhaar should get life then....
Commentators gave a bit of attention to a high contact by Harry during the game.
They downplayed it.... but the way that MRO thingy works don't be surprised. ::)
Yep. Did their best to make it look worse. I bet he has a case to answer.
So how does Zurhaar get away with blatant high shoves/"fend offs". At least one was reportable today he had no intention of pushing into the chest.
I was watching a different game to most of you today.
I was waiting for a 6-8 goal burst, north were brave and played to negate us but were without key personnel and everytime we went forward we looked likely or they infringed.
So how does Zurhaar get away with blatant high shoves/"fend offs". At least one was reportable today he had no intention of pushing into the chest.
Been doing it for a while under the guise he is a just a tough awkward bloke and its all accidental......Cerra copped a fend off in the eye and I think Harry copped a punch to the head(not sure if it was Zurhaar) but the whole game was played with Nth going the cheap shot when available. Clarkson must have thought he was back in London and his blokes could just tee off on ours.
We need someone to dish it back and just crumple Zurhaar and stop how he plays vs us....I always think back to Liam Jones on the boundary and how he got badly hurt from another accidental Zurhaar incident.
To be fair, though NB we were missing half of our starting 6 mids: Walsh, Kennedy & Acres. That tilted the midfield contests which was particularly important to North as they’re trying to implement a game-plan of running in waves using handball until they have a short kick to a loose forward inside F50 or a running kick at goal. Sure, losing their 2 key defenders helped us in our area of strength, but I’m guessing North felt the outs for us in the midfield outweighed their loss of 2 defenders.
On the other hand, the injury to Larkey really stuffed North up. He usually chops us up but the injury reduced him to a witches hat.
When we consider we still haven't 'clicked' and wobble through games, to be undefeated is very heartening. Building nicely.
Very true. We're nowhere near our best at the moment. We were smashed in the centre clearances and yet we found a way to win. You couldn't be happier, considering how much improvement we still have in us.
Apparently Fisher had 28 possessions (no tackles) in the match report, I thought he stunk it up. Honey also had zero tackles. Our half forwards don't do enough delivery into F50 nor apply enough pressure on the defence exiting
Fisher was pretty ordinary early, even though he was getting his share of ball. But after half time he played the best he has done this year.
Jack had 4 turnovers in the first half that ended in opposition scores. He couldn't take a trick. In the third he was excellent. Lochie O'Brien was getting the pill early, but making terrible decisions. After half time he was much better.
In the end, these three may well make way next week, but they weren't the disasters they could have been.
Fisher, in particular, has to get tackles. Get to his opponents and stick them, no just throw his arms in the opponents' general direction.
On top of the ladder!!!
Won't it be fabulous to have BlAcres, Kennedy, Walsh, and tall Durdin put their hand up next week?
MC have an interesting (and rare) task on their hands.
Don't know how Hollands keeps blowing up his gps week after week. He might benefit from a rest across the 6d breaks. Not that his performances are lacking.
Pressers were great. Hope they raised plenty for the sick kids.
Clarko spoke with great respect for the cause, and the opposition 😈
He was just a tad overly warm and touchy to the dear little boy sitting next to him for mine though.
The in game thread noted that Ziebell tried to run through LOB. LOB actually held him up - so had a little win.
We have had two good 3rd quarters or part thereof. Maybe rebuilding the 80s.
In the pre- match someone picked us by 42. We got to 46 in front. Would have been great to hold that. Do we have a game that is especially taxing? We seem to be more tired than opposition at end of quarters.
Cripps also seems to come to the forefront in the second half a game - combo of wearing down opposition and his will to win a game?
I'll take undefeated particularly when we're not playing as well as we can - imagine what it will be like when we do play well.
Cripps also seems to come to the forefront in the second half a game - combo of wearing down opposition and his will to win a game?
I wish we could find ways at times to give this bloke an easier ride.
I wish we could find ways at times to give this bloke an easier ride.
How about we bring in Robin and Bam Bam to help out!
The in game thread noted that Ziebell tried to run through LOB. LOB actually held him up - so had a little win.
We have had two good 3rd quarters or part thereof. Maybe rebuilding the 80s.
In the pre- match someone picked us by 42. We got to 46 in front. Would have been great to hold that. Do we have a game that is especially taxing? We seem to be more tired than opposition at end of quarters.
Cripps also seems to come to the forefront in the second half a game - combo of wearing down opposition and his will to win a game?
I'll take undefeated particularly when we're not playing as well as we can - imagine what it will be like when we do play well.
I said 42 on the back of Harry and Charlie taking advantage of Nths KP defenders being out....Nth kicked some junk time goals and we looked a bit slow and tired at the end but Im happy with the win.
Cripps was good in the second half, Kennedy is under rated in terms of being a key component to our midfield and when he and Walsh are back in I reckon we will run games out better as we will be able to rest players like Cripps more and have them fresher in last quarters.
Cerra had his best game for the season for mine. He has been another good investment.
Apparently Fisher had 28 possessions (no tackles) in the match report, I thought he stunk it up.
Honey also had zero tackles.
Fisher doesn't chase with any urgency or intensity. Honey doesn't play with any intensity - seems to be a long-strider who doesn't change direction as well as he might.
LOB has his limitations but was better as a workmanlike winger - lacks the skills and intensity to be an impact substitute.
The first half of the game showed a continuation of a problem we have had for quite some time, namely, when our mids are under pressure or being beaten, they cannot rely on our small forwards to provide any relief for them.
The small forwards were rarely sighted and when they did attempt to get into the game they were just brushed aside. The North backs, with little or no pressure, ran off them, linked up with their mids and put our backs immediately under pressure.
Had our mids not lifted and brought the small forwards into the game in the second half, it could well have been a repeat of the first half.
Now it shows why Owies is so important.
.........................................
He was just a tad overly warm and touchy to the dear little boy sitting next to him for mine though.
I noticed that too. I doubt there's anything sinister in it, but I think a hands off approach (like Voss), is better.
Fisher doesn't chase with any urgency or intensity. Honey doesn't play with any intensity - seems to be a long-strider who doesn't change direction as well as he might.
LOB has his limitations but was better as a workmanlike winger - lacks the skills and intensity to be an impact substitute.
Honey is a strange one, looking at the Telstra Tracker, Honey was the 2nd fastest on the day at 32.9km/h, fastest was Lewis Young at 33.3km/h (yep no 33 ran at 33.3km/h). In terms of sprints, Scott from NM and Dutchy had the most with 27, Honey was next with 25. So he is running, my problem with Honey is that he seems avoids contact at all costs. His disposal is poor also (although stats say his DE was 77%)..
Pressers were great. Hope they raised plenty for the sick kids.
Clarko spoke with great respect for the cause, and the opposition 😈
He was just a tad overly warm and touchy to the dear little boy sitting next to him for mine though.
Its a sad world when a person is looked upon awkwardly for showing affection (on national TV I might add) to a lad who has been through hell health wise in his short life thus far. To me it showed a soft and caring side of a bloke who's known to be an angry little Kent.
No doubt North were acutely aware of being undersized and undermanned down back, hence the massive work rate around the contest to cut off supply to Harry and Charlie. Once we were able to get the ball in their hands, it was all over.
I heard Voss in the presser saying he spoke to the boys about the how they finished the game (he was disappointed). Not sure if the issue(s) are fatigue, concentration, arrogance etc. Hopefully they can fix it. Harry and Charlie won't be kicking 10 goals every game.
Champagne football it is not.
Good teams find a way to win and even better when they win ugly and not at full strength.
I would be very worried if we were winning by playing our best team and playing our best football in April.
Doing what we need to do by kicking a bigger score than the opposition on the day WITH heaps of room for improvement.
For sooooo long we have lost games like that, we are still learning how to win.
I just like the FACT we are doing it without some of our best 22 and MANY players still sub par.
Harry the heartbreaker ::) he undoes all his great work from up the ground with his lazy goal kicking.
How good is Lewis Young? And Gov? So important, just hope Gov can stay fit for the year, such a glass man.
Winning feels good. Winning regularly is such a nice feeling.
Go Blues
Champagne football it is not.
Good teams find a way to win and even better when they win ugly and not at full strength.
I would be very worried if we were winning by playing our best team and playing our best football in April.
Doing what we need to do by kicking a bigger score than the opposition on the day WITH heaps of room for improvement.
For sooooo long we have lost games like that, we are still learning how to win.
I just like the FACT we are doing it without some of our best 22 and MANY players still sub par.
Harry the heartbreaker ::) he undoes all his great work from up the ground with his lazy goal kicking.
How good is Lewis Young? And Gov? So important, just hope Gov can stay fit for the year, such a glass man.
Winning feels good. Winning regularly is such a nice feeling.
Go Blues
Well said, we have banked some early wins, now just pace ourselves with aim of being fully fit and firing at the business end when it really counts. 🙏
I have no doubt Harry will be in trouble with the Chook Lotto MRO for that bump/collision in the last.
Lob, Fisher, Honey VFL next week.
I think Zackery's 2nd half saved him, even though his 1st half was woeful.
With Bam Bam, Walshy & Blacres set to return for r5, there'll be an obvious 3 outs.
JSOS is a worry with his flying for marks against team mates and horrible turnovers.
LOB and Honey would be going back to the Magoos. I think Carroll, who didn't look out of place for the 15 minutes he was on, could probably keep the sub seat warm.
So, Blacres replaced LOB, Bam Bam replaces Honey? but who goes out for Walshy? Do we manage/rest Dutchy? Thoughts?
No doubt North were acutely aware of being undersized and undermanned down back, hence the massive work rate around the contest to cut off supply to Harry and Charlie. Once we were able to get the ball in their hands, it was all over.
I heard Voss in the presser saying he spoke to the boys about the how they finished the game (he was disappointed). Not sure if the issue(s) are fatigue, concentration, arrogance etc. Hopefully they can fix it. Harry and Charlie won't be kicking 10 goals every game.
Without giving it too much emphasis, but maybe something worth thinking about was, the importance of McGovern to the structure yesterday.
He had 27 disposals (yes, hed id take a lot of the kick-ins before he went off- but 80%+efficiency and many of them long kicks to a target.
A lot of the late North goals came in the minutes after he went off.
A couple of our normally disciplined players made uncharacteristic poor efforts in defence during that time.
I'd say that was pretty much fatigue and picking up the slack from McGovern being missing.
Without giving it too much emphasis, but maybe something worth thinking about was, the importance of McGovern to the structure yesterday.
He had 27 disposals (yes, hed id take a lot of the kickouts) before he went off- but 80%+efficiency and many of them long kicks to a target.
A lot of the late North goals came in the minutes after he went off.
A couple of our normally disciplined players made uncharacteristic poor efforts in defence during that time.
I'd say that was pretty much fatigue and picking up the slack from McGovern being missing.
It's possible, although I for one would be pretty concerned if a team like North can score so easily in the absence of one player. I'm hoping it's more fatigue than anything else.
Pressers were great. Hope they raised plenty for the sick kids.
Clarko spoke with great respect for the cause, and the opposition 😈
He was just a tad overly warm and touchy to the dear little boy sitting next to him for mine though.
I understand this viewpoint. But I also think it is sad that masculine affection is viewed with a certain concern and suspicion, a sorry situation with its origins in a shocking history, over many decades, even centuries, of a small % of males abusing and molesting innocent young people from a position of authority and trust. Most males find these actions of a minority of seedy men despicable... and many an abuser has found himself on the wrong end of a fist, or worse, when every day blokes find out what has been done to an innocent young person (by one of these 'sickos').
Perhaps because I am an expressively affectionate man by nature, though I do respect and understand boundaries - especially with girls/women, I saw Clarkos affection as nothing untoward, simply a genuine care for the young fella. He wanted to connect with the young fella through sincere touch. I get that. I'd like to think that had the young fella been a young girl, Clarko would not have been the same, as Vossy did (with a young girl).
And to add to that, although I am far from a fan of Clarko the person, I thought his thoughts on us and obvious respect for us was pretty classy.
One good quarter of football in sixteen yet we are on top of the ladder undefeated. There is still a problem of us turning up ready to play, there is still a problem of us not playing out quarters and matches, there is still a problem of us not being able to hit targets when coming out of defence, there is still a problem of our small forwards not being at the fall of the ball and kicking goals, there is still a problem of our midfield lacking a bit of genuine pace and there is still a problem of us getting our best team on the park, however we sit on top of the ladder with three wins and a draw.
Our defence has become rock solid and I think it is because we have good players down there and the mids are getting back to help out and clog it up a bit. By the same token our midfield aren't getting forward enough and impacting on the scoreboard. North have some seriously good players and probably had the best of the battle there except in the third quarter. Our midfield will improve with the returning of Walsh, Kennedy and Acres.
Our kicking to our team mates continues to be a source of frustration and Silvagni was probably the worst offender yesterday. Harry was bog until he decided to miss goals from one meter out. He needs to stop thinking and just start doing. Fisher has become a bit of a whipping boy for some on this site and I think people are concentrating on what he doesn't do rather than what he does do. He had a pretty good game but he should also stop thinking and just do as he is a good kick and he adds a bit of pace and run in the midfield. We need a bigger spread of goal kickers and we need our small forwards and mids to kick more goals. These groups need to be kicking up to ten goals a match and they need to be kicking goals early.
You don't want to be playing your best football early in the season. In the good old days Collingwood was referred to as the May Premiers. If we can start getting more of our best players onto the ground and if we can start fixing our cohesion issues and if we can improve as the season goes along, we should be all right.
I understand this viewpoint. But I also think it is sad that masculine affection is viewed with a certain concern and suspicion, a sorry situation with its origins in a shocking history, over many decades, even centuries, of a small % of males abusing and molesting innocent young people from a position of authority and trust. Most males find these actions of a minority of seedy men despicable... and many an abuser has found himself on the wrong end of a fist, or worse, when every day blokes find out what has been done to an innocent young person (by one of these 'sickos').
Perhaps because I am an expressively affectionate man by nature, though I do respect and understand boundaries - especially with girls/women, I saw Clarkos affection as nothing untoward, simply a genuine care for the young fella. He wanted to connect with the young fella through sincere touch. I get that. I'd like to think that had the young fella been a young girl, Clarko would not have been the same, as Vossy did (with a young girl).
And to add to that, although I am far from a fan of Clarko the person, I thought his thoughts on us and obvious respect for us was pretty classy.
x1000
Being an older gentleman, it irritates me that you can show affection to younger people, male or female and been viewed as a dirty old man. I grew up in an era where we were taught to be a gentleman and open doors for ladies and older people, something i still do today. There is nothing wrong with being a caring sharing person without having sinister intentions.
Cerra had his best game for the season for mine. He has been another good investment.
Yep thought the same thing, He certainly was in the coal face getting some important clearances.
One good quarter of football in sixteen yet we are on top of the ladder undefeated. There is still a problem of us turning up ready to play, there is still a problem of us not playing out quarters and matches, there is still a problem of us not being able to hit targets when coming out of defence, there is still a problem of our small forwards not being at the fall of the ball and kicking goals, there is still a problem of our midfield lacking a bit of genuine pace and there is still a problem of us getting our best team on the park, however we sit on top of the ladder with three wins and a draw.
Our defence has become rock solid and I think it is because we have good players down there and the mids are getting back to help out and clog it up a bit. By the same token our midfield aren't getting forward enough and impacting on the scoreboard. North have some seriously good players and probably had the best of the battle there except in the third quarter. Our midfield will improve with the returning of Walsh, Kennedy and Acres.
Our kicking to our team mates continues to be a source of frustration and Silvagni was probably the worst offender yesterday. Harry was bog until he decided to miss goals from one meter out. He needs to stop thinking and just start doing. Fisher has become a bit of a whipping boy for some on this site and I think people are concentrating on what he doesn't do rather than what he does do. He had a pretty good game but he should also stop thinking and just do as he is a good kick and he adds a bit of pace and run in the midfield. We need a bigger spread of goal kickers and we need our small forwards and mids to kick more goals. These groups need to be kicking up to ten goals a match and they need to be kicking goals early.
You don't want to be playing your best football early in the season. In the good old days Collingwood was referred to as the May Premiers. If we can start getting more of our best players onto the ground and if we can start fixing our cohesion issues and if we can improve as the season goes along, we should be all right.
Good stuff BM. Just on the Fisher whipping boy thing, for me its the fact that I can't pinpoint his role. Not a mid, not a fwd, not a def, not an effective link man, what does he do? I saw a lot of gives to him from Cripps then blaze away with an errant kick or handball. Tries to do too much then gets caught. Voss's idea of taking the game on is not the same as Fishers idea IMO. Trying to dance around opponents and giving overhead, backwards HBs to players under pressure is not taking the game on. I saw 28 of the most useless disposals I have seen in a long time. Maybe I need to watch the game again and take some notes on his possessions to figure it out but at the moment, I am at a loss to see why he is in the side over and above players dominating the 2s.
x1000
Being an older gentleman, it irritates me that you can show affection to younger people, male or female and been viewed as a dirty old man. I grew up in an era where we were taught to be a gentleman and open doors for ladies and older people, something i still do today. There is nothing wrong with being a caring sharing person without having sinister intentions.
Yep
We were born too early into a different world.
This world is one where you have to check yourself and double guess what people might think of your actions.
It's one of the hazards of being a middle aged-older man these days.
The thing is that I strongly doubt that abuse and abusers were less common in days of yore.
It was just hidden a lot better, and maybe it's a price we have to pay for these things to be exposed.
Been doing it for a while under the guise he is a just a tough awkward bloke and its all accidental......Cerra copped a fend off in the eye and I think Harry copped a punch to the head(not sure if it was Zurhaar) but the whole game was played with Nth going the cheap shot when available. Clarkson must have thought he was back in London and his blokes could just tee off on ours.
We need someone to dish it back and just crumple Zurhaar and stop how he plays vs us....I always think back to Liam Jones on the boundary and how he got badly hurt from another accidental Zurhaar incident.
Have to agree there some what. As in first half i thought this guy is going to really hurt someone. He got picked up for a face fend off which was correctly paid as a free. Another one against DOC was high in the throat area which I think was 50/50 from where i was sitting.
On the other hand I also thought that if you wanted to target real hard nut that is not afraid to put his body on the line he would be first on my list. He would easily be ahead of some of the other players that have been already mentioned in this thread.
Thoughts anyone?
I thought that Fisher's first half was crucial because he was the only one of our midfielders who convincingly beat his opponents and got plenty of the pill. He may not have laid any tackles but that doesn't mean that he's not defending. Players are coached to corral opponents rather than overcommitting and Fisher did that very well with his pressure contributing to intercept marks in our defensive 50. Fisher was second behind Cripps with 5 clearances (2 from centre bounces) and his disposal efficiency was 79%. Not a bad effort for a whipping boy!
I believe that this is the first time that we've been undefeated after four rounds since 1995. Our third quarter was reminiscent of the "premiership quarters" of our halcyon days. Not bad for a team that's yet to play its best footy for four quarters. There's a lot to like - our solid defence, Harry and Charlie's cohesion, Ollie Hollands, playing two rucks and three tall forwards together, Lachlan Cowan, Jesse Motlop, Mitch McGovern's intercepts and playing through injury, Lewis Young, Cerra stepping up a notch - but, as Vossy said, there wasn't a lot to like about our last quarter.
What is pleasing is the coaches and players being able to pick apart what's not working and make effective adjustments. Adding Walsh, Acres and Kennedy to the midfield mix should help to address our last quarter lapses but there will be a couple of unlucky players who will miss out.
Go Blues!
I'm also an "older gentleman" and I think it's great that we can listen to groups that have heretofore been denied an effective voice, and simply ask them, or do research, find out etc., what's important to them and what they want.
I'm not for a second suggesting that Clarkson is going on National TV and doing something inappropriate, but there are understandings about how to interact with kids these days (not your own kids), and I think he went overboard. Children don't have the more highly developed discriminatory capacity of an adult - they can't distinguish between someone like Clarkson and someone with more sinister motives.
Definitely not a Clarkson fan but I have no problem with his press conference. He was out of his comfort zone, tried to engage the young 7 yo who was overawed and spoke genuinely about the child and his family. Giving a kid a pat on the back and ruffling his hair, while speaking about years of illness and surgeries. If we have a problem with that, maybe we are the ones with the problem. Well done both clubs and both coaches, great messages all round!
Seeing kids like that your heart breaks. I saw nothing wrong with Clarkos actions.
The feeling after the game was a bit like last week in a way.....4 points but a lot of improvement to come. To be 46 points up...should've nailed them to the wall and won by 10 goals or more but it just isn't something we're able to do. The first half was bloody hard to watch to be honest and North, to their credit, seemed to drag us down to their level. Apart from Shiels (post-retirement), Tucker and young Sheezel playing his 4th game, it was basically the same team that won the wooden spoon last year....and missing McKay and Logue...and Larkey on one leg.
Goldstein was killing us in the ruck and Simpkin, Cunnington and LDU were dominanting in the middle.
But the 3rd quarter was exceptional to watch. The ball movement improved dramatically and we seemed to be able to chase and tackle...something we didn't do in the first half. Cripps looked buggered in the first half and plenty of blokes couldn't get near it.
We should be taking more advantage of the fact that so many of our defenders, for the most part, use the ball by foot really well. Weitering, McGovern, Saad, Newman, Docherty, Cowan......Young probably the only one who can be really shaky by foot.
O'Brien, Honey and maybe Ed out for Walsh, Kennedy and Acres next week? Not sure Owies will come up after only a week off. That should stiffen us up even more and make the midfield better again.
Thought Cerra was exceptional yesterday and his last few weeks have been really good. Newman was good again. McGovern played probably his best game this year and is incredibly important to us IMO.
Charlie is Charlie....he just finds ways to hit the scoreboard week after week. Harry should've kicked at least 6 too but his strong marking around the ground was a big feature.
One and a half of quarters of footy won't win games against the top sides but it shows that if we play at our best, it's exciting footy and Walsh, Kennedy and Acres in will have us as close to full strength as we've been for awhile.
I found that game very annoying & irritating.
We we were behind at the first two changes even though they were fielding a seriously undersized defence.
Furthermore, when we booted 10 in a row to get out to a handy 40-point lead, instead of powering on further to a 10-goal percentage booster, we rested on our laurels and allowed them to reduce that to the final margin .
McKay should have kicked 10 on his own, he had everything in his favour to do so ...... and as for that OOTF from the goal-line ........ FMD !!
Our players are not desperate enough, our players prefer to let a team-mate pick-up the slack plus we have some serious brainfades & yips when kicking for goal. I'm also frustrated at the skill level when it comes to player disposal, we make it near impossible for ourselves at times.
Granted, North are a better team this year under Clarkson but they are not a big player in the scheme of things. They were ripe for the picking but we either didn't want to do it or didn't have the ability to which is IMO, unacceptable.
The draw against Richmond was good, the win over the Cats was 'okay' (don't forget, they haven't won a game yet and got rolled by the Suns) & the win over the Giants was nothing special either.
It's great that we are sitting on top of the ladder for the moment but we need a collective improvement if we are going to challenge for a flag.
Serve up that crape next week in Adelaide and they will make us pay for it.
Definitely not a Clarkson fan but I have no problem with his press conference. He was out of his comfort zone, tried to engage the young 7 yo who was overawed and spoke genuinely about the child and his family. Giving a kid a pat on the back and ruffling his hair, while speaking about years of illness and surgeries. If we have a problem with that, maybe we are the ones with the problem. Well done both clubs and both coaches, great messages all round!
x2
Cerra had his best game for the season for mine. He has been another good investment.
Absolutely, 3 Leos. I was also really impressed that he played through the hurt, every bit as hard, having difficulty with the right eye and potential shiner as well.
I found that game very annoying & irritating.
We we were behind at the first two changes even though they were fielding a seriously undersized defence.
Furthermore, when we booted 10 in a row to get out to a handy 40-point lead, instead of powering on further to a 10-goal percentage booster, we rested on our laurels and allowed them to reduce that to the final margin .
McKay should have kicked 10 on his own, he had everything in his favour to do so ...... and as for that OOTF from the goal-line ........ FMD !!
Our players are not desperate enough, our players prefer to let a team-mate pick-up the slack plus we have some serious brainfades & yips when kicking for goal. I'm also frustrated at the skill level when it comes to player disposal, we make it near impossible for ourselves at times.
Granted, North are a better team this year under Clarkson but they are not a big player in the scheme of things. They were ripe for the picking but we either didn't want to do it or didn't have the ability to which is IMO, unacceptable.
The draw against Richmond was good, the win over the Cats was 'okay' (don't forget, they haven't won a game yet and got rolled by the Suns) & the win over the Giants was nothing special either.
It's great that we are sitting on top of the ladder for the moment but we need a collective improvement if we are going to challenge for a flag.
Serve up that crape next week in Adelaide and they will make us pay for it.
Richmond are still an unknown quantity and hard to measure imho, I dont rate them as yet and it will be interesting to see how they go vs another midpack 50/50 team in the Bulldogs who are also hard to fathom.
The North game wasnt a great spectator watch imo and was full or errors but you often get dragged down into the gutter with these crape teams playing their type of football which doesnt suit our skillset.
The good thing was we won comfortably enough and that was an improvement on last season where we lost these types of games.
The Crows will be the same type of game and another test in our ability to get the game on our terms for long enough for our greater talent to take over and win us the game.
The brand of footy we are playing isnt great and we have been lucky with umpiring(GWS) and injuries to other teams ie Nth in key areas that helped us but this is the best start to our season since 1995 and we know what happened that year so I'm going to expect the brand of play to improve and our wins to improve by greater margins as we get our best team on the park.
North had more scoring shots, more I50's, won the contested ball, won the clearances. My big hope is that this victory means we are getting closer to winning becoming habitual, so even if we don't win every stat we still find a way to get the 4 points. But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.
North had more scoring shots, more I50's, won the contested ball, won the clearances. My big hope is that this victory means we are getting closer to winning becoming habitual, so even if we don't win every stat we still find a way to get the 4 points. But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.
I think Vossy is focused on teaching us how to 'control ' games for wins and part of that is to let teams use up their petrol tickets before we really turn on our attacking mode.
I think Vossy is focused on teaching us how to 'control ' games for wins and part of that is to let teams use up their petrol tickets before we really turn on our attacking mode.
Interesting that you should mention that, I was thinking along similar lines. North threw everything at us in the first half, whilst we played the slow, kick mark game, which apart from denying the opposition the footy, also means we conserve energy.
I think Vossy is focused on teaching us how to 'control ' games for wins and part of that is to let teams use up their petrol tickets before we really turn on our attacking mode.
Yep
Their best chance was to hit us hard and fast with pressure and speed.
It was a taxing style that they couldn't maintain for four quarters....yet! (give it a year or two and they might be a worry)
We took control, and set up a pretty much insurmountable lead, before taking the foot off, and no doubt tiring a bit ourselves.
I think Vossy is focused on teaching us how to 'control ' games for wins and part of that is to let teams use up their petrol tickets before we really turn on our attacking mode.
Good Carlton teams would win the premiership 3rd quarter even after poor first halves where the other teams controlled games and had the better of the stats. Its a good sign when you can play one good quarter and put rubbish teams like Nth away imho.
Save your 4 quarter games for the better teams....
The feeling after the game was a bit like last week in a way.....4 points but a lot of improvement to come. To be 46 points up...should've nailed them to the wall and won by 10 goals or more but it just isn't something we're able to do. The first half was bloody hard to watch to be honest and North, to their credit, seemed to drag us down to their level. Apart from Shiels (post-retirement), Tucker and young Sheezel playing his 4th game, it was basically the same team that won the wooden spoon last year....and missing McKay and Logue...and Larkey on one leg.
North's style of play has improved a lot. They move the ball very quickly. They've had talent, they haven't had a style of play.
Goldstein was killing us in the ruck and Simpkin, Cunnington and LDU were dominanting in the middle.
It amazes me that Goldstein was not their 1st choice ruckman. He was the reason their midfield was so effective. We probably got more clear wins in the tapouts, but when he got his, North players were able to run onto the ball and get a destructive clearance. Our clearances were not that great, because our rucks didn't supply our mids very well. We really need to work on that, as North's clearances were much more effective than ours were.
Honestly, Goldstein almost was the difference/
But the 3rd quarter was exceptional to watch. The ball movement improved dramatically and we seemed to be able to chase and tackle...something we didn't do in the first half. Cripps looked buggered in the first half and plenty of blokes couldn't get near it.
We should be taking more advantage of the fact that so many of our defenders, for the most part, use the ball by foot really well. Weitering, McGovern, Saad, Newman, Docherty, Cowan......Young probably the only one who can be really shaky by foot.
O'Brien, Honey and maybe Ed out for Walsh, Kennedy and Acres next week? Not sure Owies will come up after only a week off. That should stiffen us up even more and make the midfield better again.
Thought Cerra was exceptional yesterday and his last few weeks have been really good. Newman was good again. McGovern played probably his best game this year and is incredibly important to us IMO.
Charlie is Charlie....he just finds ways to hit the scoreboard week after week. Harry should've kicked at least 6 too but his strong marking around the ground was a big feature.
One and a half of quarters of footy won't win games against the top sides but it shows that if we play at our best, it's exciting footy and Walsh, Kennedy and Acres in will have us as close to full strength as we've been for awhile.
Harry offered a week. Surely we'll appeal?
Harry offered a week. Surely we'll appeal?
There was contact but it wasnt malicious and the player continued fine, not much remonstration from the Nth players either.
Dont know how they missed Zurhaars stuff and yet pinged the gentle giant Harry...?
Seeing kids like that your heart breaks. I saw nothing wrong with Clarkos actions.
I was a nurse at RCH back in the day (saw Charles & Di in the flesh there too) and there was no shortage of tear-jerkers & feel-good stories on a weekly basis.
Some times there were really ill children who you knew were not going reach their 20's and it would reduce some of the girls in my group to blubbering messes when they returned to the nurses home after a shift.
There was contact but it wasnt malicious and the player continued fine, not much remonstration from the Nth players either.
Dont know how they missed Zurhaars stuff and yet pinged the gentle giant Harry...?
You can just about guarantee that if the broadcast folk replay an incident it's going to be a week or two. Appeal it anyway.
Surely that was nothing more than a free kick
I was a nurse at RCH back in the day (saw Charles & Di in the flesh there too) and there was no shortage of tear-jerkers & feel-good stories on a weekly basis.
Some times there were really ill children who you knew were not going reach their 20's and it would reduce some of the girls in my group to blubbering messes when they returned to the nurses home after a shift.
I don’t know how you do it mate. I have a ton of respect for nurses and medical staff in general. It’s a tough gig underpaid and mentally can be very challenging. I don’t have the emotional strength for situations that are just too cruel and unfair in this world. Been thru some tough situations that has scarred me and always look up to those in that industry thats deal are forced to deal with it daily.
Careless, Medium Impact, High Contact, thats a week by the rules. Cant see him getting off either.
Not sure about medium impact. Nothing happened to Sheezel, except he fell over.
Not sure about medium impact. Nothing happened to Sheezel, except he fell over.
106kg vs 80kg and made forceful enough contact to bowl him over.
Stupid thing to do when game was over!
Won’t get off
like his set shot kick selection not a clue about consequences
Honey is a strange one, looking at the Telstra Tracker, Honey was the 2nd fastest on the day at 32.9km/h, fastest was Lewis Young at 33.3km/h (yep no 33 ran at 33.3km/h). In terms of sprints, Scott from NM and Dutchy had the most with 27, Honey was next with 25. So he is running, my problem with Honey is that he seems avoids contact at all costs. His disposal is poor also (although stats say his DE was 77%)..
Honey runs more like a track athlete than a footballer.
I have no doubt Harry will be in trouble with the Chook Lotto MRO for that bump/collision in the last.
Deserves a week for stupidity
I thought that Fisher's first half was crucial because he was the only one of our midfielders who convincingly beat his opponents and got plenty of the pill. He may not have laid any tackles but that doesn't mean that he's not defending. Players are coached to corral opponents rather than overcommitting and Fisher did that very well with his pressure contributing to intercept marks in our defensive 50.
Running along behind an opponent, without using the acceleration that he has when he has the ball, is not going to corral anyone but that is a common trait.
I think Vossy is focused on teaching us how to 'control ' games for wins and part of that is to let teams use up their petrol tickets before we really turn on our attacking mode.
Agreed - every game we spend periods of time employing the short, slow kick despite the fact that too many of the players are high-risk candidates to turn the ball over. Nevertheless, this policy is providing the team with an alternative game plan to implement when we need to slow the momentum; an option that we will need from time-to-time.
Honey runs more like a track athlete than a footballer.
That's probably right.
He would have grown up around the track,
Dad was a very good Pole vaulter (Comm. games bronze medallist) and his uncle a champion long jumper (Olympic silver)
The MRO has offered Harry a week off for pushing Sheezel.
Nothing for the bloke who punched Harry in the head or for Zurhaar’s dangerous straight arm to Cerra’s face 🙄
I noticed that our tackles were more vigorous when Zurhaar was the target. Doc certainly made him pay for the high fend off that wasn’t penalised.
The MRO has offered Harry a week off for pushing Sheezel.
Nothing for the bloke who punched Harry in the head or for Zurhaar’s dangerous straight arm to Cerra’s face 🙄
I noticed that our tackles were more vigorous when Zurhaar was the target. Doc certainly made him pay for the high fend off that wasn’t penalised.
"Pushing" is a bit rich DJ
"Pushing" is a bit rich DJ
Harry has a fair bit of momentum up initially but he puts the brakes on and is almost stationary when he makes contact with Sheezel's shoulder. His arms extend and his left hand slides over Sheezel's shoulder and makes contact with his neck. Harry then throws his arms out and away from Sheezel. The "expert" comments, "I don't think there's anything to worry about there." It's the pushing action to the shoulder and neck that upends Sheezel.
If anything, the MRO should commend Harry for doing everything he could to minimise what could have been a very forceful contact.
Harry has a fair bit of momentum up initially but he puts the brakes on and is almost stationary when he makes contact with Sheezel's shoulder. His arms extend and his left hand slides over Sheezel's shoulder and makes contact with his neck. Harry then throws his arms out and away from Sheezel. The "expert" comments, "I don't think there's anything to worry about there." It's the pushing action to the shoulder and neck that upends Sheezel.
If anything, the MRO should commend Harry for doing everything he could to minimise what could have been a very forceful contact.
Why didn't he put his arms up in the air immediately when he decided not to tackle?
Why didn't he put his arms up in the air immediately when he decided not to tackle?
It wasn't malicious and more clumsy, Sheezel got up ok but when a big bloke collects a little bloke it never looks great as any contact however slight sends them flying...my gripe is Zurhaar was punching, fending off to the face /head and got away with it...again...
It wasn't malicious and more clumsy, Sheezel got up ok but when a big bloke collects a little bloke it never looks great as any contact however slight sends them flying...my gripe is Zurhaar was punching, fending off to the face /head and got away with it...again...
Im not for a minute suggesting it was malicious EB, I agree it was clumsy, he put both forearms up and collected his head. Whilst I agree with you, incidents involving Zurhaar or other players are totally irrelevant w.r.t Harry's incident.
If that's worth a week Pickett should have been gone for the year and Buddy for 10. AFL yet again has messed this up - in week one for goodness sake.
Im not for a minute suggesting it was malicious EB, I agree it was clumsy, he put both forearms up and collected his head. Whilst I agree with you, incidents involving Zurhaar or other players are totally irrelevant w.r.t Harry's incident.
Ive said this in another thread, and I think we are better off playing a game without one of Charlie or Harry to understand what else is there just in case, that if he cops a week for that then every single head high contact must be sighted and taken to the tribunal. Spoils are worse than what sheezel copped from Harry.
We have to stick by our players, a KPP experiment is no reason not to challenge.
We have to stick by our players, a KPP experiment is no reason not to challenge.
100% agree, Spotted One. If we have to 'experiment' through necessity (injury/suspension), okay. Otherwise we do everything in our power to support and stick by our lads... and keep the band together (channelling the Blues Bros.). Though I think I get where 3 Leos is coming from in attempting to put a positive on the potential of losing H for a game.
Ive said this in another thread, and I think we are better off playing a game without one of Charlie or Harry to understand what else is there just in case, that if he cops a week for that then every single head high contact must be sighted and taken to the tribunal. Spoils are worse than what sheezel copped from Harry.
I see what you mean however I think we have been virtually playing with only one of them as Harry was basically not there for the first 3 games, considering his output.
I see what you mean however I think we have been virtually playing with only one of them as Harry was basically not there for the first 3 games, considering his output.
Marking everything in sight in the last 1/4 of the tiggers game wasn’t enough on its own ?
Coaches' votes :
9 Harry McKay (CARL)
9 Charlie Curnow (CARL)
3 Mitch McGovern (CARL)
3 Harry Sheezel (NMFC)
2 Cameron Zurhaar (NMFC)
2 Zac Fisher (CARL)
1 Jacob Weitering (CARL)
1 Luke Davies-Uniacke (NMFC)
Marking everything in sight in the last 1/4 of the tiggers game wasn’t enough on its own ?
H hasn't been playing badly: he's just not kicking goals. He took a huge number of marks in the first two games, but kicked poorly and didn't have a great number of marks close to goal. He only thing he did wrong against Richmond was fall over and not take the mark from O'Brien's kick.
Looking at his goal-kicking yips, it is probably good he has been getting kicks further away from goal.
Coaches' votes :
9 Harry McKay (CARL)
9 Charlie Curnow (CARL)
3 Mitch McGovern (CARL)
3 Harry Sheezel (NMFC)
2 Cameron Zurhaar (NMFC)
2 Zac Fisher (CARL)
1 Jacob Weitering (CARL)
1 Luke Davies-Uniacke (NMFC)
So one coach liked fishers game worthy of giving him 2 votes.
Interesting.
So one coach liked fishers game worthy of giving him 2 votes.
Interesting.
It would tell a bit of a story depending which coach.
Assuming it's Voss, then Zac had some key goals and roles for the game which he more than met.
Sometimes the worth of a player's contribution is overlooked by 'us' who have little idea about the role they've actually been asked to play.
Not many of us would have Fisher as our fourth best player on the weekend.
Without looking back I think some even called for him to be dropped.
On the other hand, if it's Clarkson he might have just thrown in a smoky.
Taking the piss.
Our coaches may be scratching their heads and thinking what did Clarkson see that we didn't.
They'll be tossing it over until selection night. :D
He's a devious little bugger.
(P.S. I'm sure it was Voss) ;)
(Just had a look at the Jim Park and a couple of folks gave Fisher votes- DJC, Blue Moon. So they get it.)
This is where the B&F voting is always interesting. Players get votes for fulfilling their role on the day.....not just the stats that they accumulate. (e.g. Lachie Plowman over the years).
I'm sure that Fish was given specific instructions and, from the coaches' point of view, they were all carried out as asked. Sometimes there are things going on in the backroom that we are unaware of ..........and neither we should be!!
(Just had a look at the Jim Park and a couple of folks gave Fisher votes- DJC, Blue Moon. So they get it.)
Forget about how many tackles Fish may or may not make. Watch his work around stoppages and contests. When he's on, he's a vital link in getting the ball clear for a chain of possessions. He generally sets up on the defensive side and uses his acceleration to receive a handball or to shut down an opposition break away. Fish was on against North and got the ball moving our way on many occasions, as well as getting his own clearances.
Full disclosure I have no clue when it comes to individual contributions.
Its why I stopped voting in Jim Park. My criteria is based on what I see, and I don't analyse things greatly. The one thing I have seen is that players sometimes do a mountain of work off the ball that goes unnoticed particularly if they are the unused option.
Then there are the intangibles. Simply taking up position somewhere to provide an outlet repeatedly could be match winning, even if the kick doesnt come to you, because it draws opponents away and frees space elsewhere.
Full disclosure I have no clue when it comes to individual contributions.
Its why I stopped voting in Jim Park. My criteria is based on what I see, and I don't analyse things greatly. The one thing I have seen is that players sometimes do a mountain of work off the ball that goes unnoticed particularly if they are the unused option.
Then there are the intangibles. Simply taking up position somewhere to provide an outlet repeatedly could be match winning, even if the kick doesnt come to you, because it draws opponents away and frees space elsewhere.
On the basis of those astute observations, you're more than qualified to vote for the Jim Park award!
Jack Martin is a player who runs his butt off (when his calf is OK) but rarely gets the pill. He does attract attention from opposition players and, as you say, that frees space for a teammate.