Voting is as usual: you have 15 votes to award pretty much as you will, with the following provisos:
[1] 15 votes in total, no more, no less.
[2] No more than 10 votes for any one player (even Sam Walsh or Patrick Cripps)
[3] Three players at least must get a mention.
[4] A grade for the game, A+ (what I want to see) to F-.
I won't get to sleep for at least another hour yet, so I'll start off proceedings.
1st Semi Final Carlton vs Melbourne
Another heart-stopper and the perfect result. But I can’t give the team an A, not even for a win like this. We made far too many errors at crucial moments and wasted a lot of Inside 50’s.
Team: B+
Finding a way to win from where we were was special.
Votes:
[3] Sam Walsh
[2] Patrick Cripps
[2] Jacob Weitering
[1.5] Tom de Koning
[1.5] Nic Newman
[1] Adam Saad
[1] Sam Docherty
[0.5] Mitch McGovern
[0.5] Jesse Motlop
[0.5] Blake Acres
[0.5] Lachie Fogarty
[0.5] George Hewett
[0.5] Adam Cerra
Explanations:
[3] Sam Walsh: 34 possessions, 2 brilliant goals, 6 marks, 8 tackles and 3 clearances says it all: the sort of game that makes a difference.
[2] Patrick Cripps: 27 possessions, 9 clearances, 6 tackles and some really good moments describes the game from a man who it mattered to.
[2] Jacob Weitering: Head knock or not, Weitering dominated his position, even if he didn’t hold some he usually marks. His ability to starve the Melburne key forwards was crucial.
[1.5] Tom de Koning: Tom produced in some big moments. He took only 4 marks, but each of those was crucial, as were his goals and clearances.
[1.5] Nic Newman: A few uncharacteristic mistakes, but a very solid game on defence at 30 possessions again.
[1] Adam Saad: Really did a job on his opponents.
[1] Sam Docherty: Came back after a dislocated shoulder and was crucial at important times.
[0.5] Mitch McGovern: 20 possessions and a solid job in defence.
[0.5] Jesse Motlop: Not a lot of ball, but his goals were crucial.
[0.5] Blake Acres: Down for him with only 17 possessions and was targeted by the Melbourne players, but still managed to pop up at do crucial things when he was needed.
[0.5] Lachie Fogarty: Not enough scoring, but still doing very good things in the forward line.
[0.5] George Hewett: 20 possessions; a solid game.
[0.5] Adam Cerra: Faded out of the game, but what he did was excellent.
Honourable Mentions:
Brodie Kemp: Not his best game, but still doing nice things and hold down a critical post.
Matthew Kennedy: Not really a key forward, but he worked hard and did some nice things.
Caleb Marchbank: What could have been: got to a lot of contests but didn’t hold his marks. His decision making was much better tonight.
Marc Pittonet: Lion-hearted in the ruck. Worked hard and kept Gawn under control mostly.
Oliver Hollands: 4 possessions in the last quarter, and 1 kick smothered poorly, but his run and smart disposal was excellent in that final flurry.
Alex Cincotta: Not huge possessions, but really did a solid negative job.
Team: A +
5. Acres
4. Walsh
3. TDK
2. Weitering
1. Motlop
Heart/Spirit: A+
Game: B+
5- Walsh
3 - Cripps
1 - Acres
1 - Docherty
1 - Newman
1 - Pittonet
1 - Saad
1 - TDK
1 - Weitering
HM: Kemp, Gov, Motlop.
Team B
5 Walsh
4 Acres
3 Newman
2 Saad
1 Weitering
Team A-
5. Walsh
2. Cripps
2. Newman
2. de Koning
1. Pittonet
1. McGovern
1. Motlop
1. Acres
HM: Cerra, Weitering, Saad, Docherty, Cincotta, Hollands.
Team B minus
3 Walsh
2 Acres
2 Cripps
2 Weitering
1 Newman
1 De Koning
1 Cerra
1 Motlop
1 Saad
1 Docherty
Team A+....
3: Acres..match winning efforts again after being targeted for some rough stuff early but stood up.
3: Walsh...Mr Reliable
3: Weitering...See Walsh
2: TDK...one of his best games imo, goals, speccy's and important moments.
1: Docherty....soldiered on with a bung shoulder and a credit to the jumper and himself as always.
1: Cripps..led well and was humble in victory, very impressive character.
1: Pittonet...great job dogging Gawn all game
1: McGovern...copped a few hits like Acres but got up and helped Weitering defend well when he had to.
Team = A - largely on the basis of winning under duress.
4 - Walsh
2 - Cripps
2 - Newman
1 - Docherty
1 - Acres
1 - Pittonet
1 - Saad
1 - TDK
1 - Weitering
1 - McGovern
Team: B
4 - Walsh
3 - Cripps
2 - Weitering
1 - Newman
1 - Saad
1 - Acres
1 - Docherty
1 - TDK
1 - Motlop
Team A
5. Walsh
4. Acres
3. Cripps
2. Weitering
1. TDK
Team A
3 Blacres
2 Crippa
2 Walsh
2 Weitering
1 Newman
1 TDK
1 Cerra
1 Motlop
1 Saad
1 Doc
HM Fogarty, Pitto
Team: A (extra rating for snatching the lead at the death)
5 - Walsh
4 - Cripps
3 - Weitering
2 - Acres
1 - De Koning
Everyone else gets HMs
Team A-
5: Walsh
4: Cripps
3: Weitering
2: De Koning
1: Docherty
HM’s: Newman, Acres, Pitto. All players had their moments…
I want to close this off, so, If you want to vote, please do it ASAP!