For a team that has consistently lacked run and effort lately, i'm not sure why people feel the need to drop Ollie Hollands.
He gives 100%, 100% of the time. He is not the problem.
If we start dropping people based on output, how far down our team do we get before we get to Ollie Hollands.....and how far down are VFL team to do we get before we find a replacement. I'll save the effort. There is nothing better below. Ollie stays.
I saw one part where he was 'chasing' Warner down the wing, and he was truly in second gear at best.
That's the problem with so many of the team atm - not bad when they've got the ball, but almost disinterested when they don't.........
Let's be honest, to beat Sydney in Sydney, we needed to have absolutely everything going for us.
Reality is, it was exactly opposite - down on a significant number of important personnel (10 or more), probably our slowest possible combination against a team that runs like crazy, and coming off a crap last quarter against the Dees.
I have been saying for several years now, we have virtually no pace through the midfield. Until we address that deficit, we will consistently get done on turnover and out of the middle.
And we simply do not tackle enough, at least not effectively.
need to stop transition footy from our forward line ,most teams beat us when they go quick from there defense so our forwards Must bring the PRESSURE especially on the lizard
We really only got towelled in the last 10 minutes of this game, not the whole last quarter. At the 25 minute mark, we were still 20 points in front when they fluked the goal after Viney's knock-back from the behind line. Then we went into panic mode.
Until then, we were pretty much in control and Melbourne's lack of a forward line meant they needed Petracca to have a career-high 5 goal game to even get close.
Observations.....
* Weitering was great, but had virtually no opposition all night - it won't always be that easy. * Curnow's best game for the year, I thought - really exposed May's lack of run. Would have been even better if he'd kicked straight after his screamer * Harry's quietest game for the year. I was a bit disappointed with how easily McDonald out-muscled him - and Harry needs to stop playing for free kicks. * Cincotta is a fast-developing shut down defender. The best part about this is it should mean that Saad can get more of a free run and not have to worry so much about the other side's best small forward when he returns. * Crippa was great, but that annoying habit of trying to do too much seems to have returned. Sometimes, banging it on the boot is the best answer (especially when the game is greasy like last night). * Walsh - need say nothing more * McGovern's kicking out of the backline was a welcome sight to see. He's probably the best kick in the team. * Martin didn't do a lot, but he has x-factor in spades. A very hard match-up for defenders.
Over the last 3 weeks, we
- had more scoring shots than Geelong and got umpired out of the game - should have beaten the reigning premier - beaten another top-4 contender
All with several key players missing.
Improvements are needed, but if I had offered anyone on this site a 6-3 line after Round 9, I don't think there would have been too many who wouldn't have taken that, especially with Walsh and Weiters missing the first month.
(1) Absolutely no run out of the backline whatsoever - they're all too busy looking for sideways kicks so they don't have to make a big choice, and when they run out of ideas, it's a dump kick to Charlie/Harry/Tom on the wing. So easy to defend against and turnover. The inside 50's said it all last night ( 38 - 64 !). We had far more of the ball, but far less of the play......
Answer : need Saad and McGovern badly.
(2) Not only are our small forwards not getting the ball, they are physically useless - get bumped off the ball far too easily, whether it be in one-on-ones or marking contests. I have lost count of the number of simple marks defending half-backs have taken against us this year because of lack of competition. Matt Owies tries, but will never be a true marking option. Starting half-forward line for most centre bounces last night was Durdin, Owies, Fantasia, with the three big guys all standing within 15m of each other near the goal square. How does that work?
Answer : get a third mobile tall in there - I would suggest Brodie Kemp (has to be a better use of him than sending him down to the twos). Need Martin back badly, but can't expect much out of him for another 3-4 weeks. Start Charlie at 50 for some of the centre bounces to get a bigger body in there.
(3) Match Committee - WTF? Carroll and Kemp get dropped so Durdin and Fantasia get a game, and Kennedy is sent to the Sub bench? They say it about 'team balance', but Carroll or Kemp having a crack is far more balanced than two small forwards who have zero impact on the game.
Answer : pick the best 22 we can muster and go from there.
This is starting to turn into a frustrating year. We could easily lose the next 3-4 and be back in the chasing pack.
Have you watched him in the 2's? My impression from the broadcast last week was that he ran out of puff. Maybe needs to build his tank. His footy smarts and skills make it look like he has time to size things up. Loads of potential but areas needing attention I expect.
Rankine started a bit like that as well. The really gifted players often shine in the junior ranks based on their supreme skills, and because of that they haven't really needed to buckle down and develop their aerobic capacity. The big question is whether or not he has the drive to address his fitness.
Don't mind replacing Fantasia, but Moir is still a fair way off. He will be given plenty of time to develop before being paraded out a la Binns. With one or two exceptions, we are right into development and ensuring young players have served a comprehensive apprenticeship.
I know it's early days, but Moir has a bit of Izak Rankine about him.... we can only hope!
