Ready for tomorrow. I hope to be back from the weekend shopping to find out the result.
And the Blues win again in Adelaide!
The cost was high: Kemp probably done for the year and H done after less than a quarter. At last he'll be back in a couple of week.
Some real positives: Our midfield was dominant without Cripps being dominant.
Our defence has been pretty firm, but had a very good day today.
Tom barely got a possession, but we got the ball out of the middle.
Charlie is slowly warming up.
As Kruddler noted in the in-game thread, we won the ball on the outside today. The Weagle mids had shockers.
7 of the lowest 8 possession getters were Weagles today, and the 8th was H, who missed 90% of the game.
Can't really get a read on that game, in terms of whether the final score and domination was more us or them. Nice to get a win and 4 points, but still need a bigger sample space than 1 game IMO. At any rate, enjoy the win for now.
De Koning did end up with 14 touches after having 2 just short of half time. So that picked up.
still not happy with our team ,fwds dont lead, kicking straight to opposition, missing easy targets against good sides we get punished and to play like this against bottom side doesnt impress me , anyway need to beat north
One has to start somewhere. I'm pleased to see we finished on and kicked the last 6.
Wish we picked up McMahon instead of Evans.
We might pick up McMahon yet. Assuming the Kemp injury is as bad as it looks. We'll have to approach the AFL, but there is hope here.
Besides, we do need another forward.
We dominated. But couldn't finish in front of goal.
There was balls touched off the boot. Touched on the line. Balls hit the post. Balls sprayed across the face and out on the full.
There was joe the gooses that went over the head of the bloke in the goalsquare.
There was blokes who started 5m clear of opponents running into an easy shot on goal that took an extra step and got tackled.
There was 30m set shots directly in front of goal shots that only scored a behind.
We dominated the game, but should've won by more.
I think Liam Ryan had a hand in half of the eagles scores in one way or another and he was the only blokes that looked like he could 'do something' from the eagles.
Really good to get the win and get the monkey off the back.... temporarily.
Looks like we might have a couple missing next week which is a shame.
Still lots of room for impovement.
In a game that saw a few big knocks it was pretty 'bruise free' football
Inside 50's 73-35 our way....which reflects our dominance.
Our tackles for the game 35 to their 46...which in a weird way also reflects our dominance.
We had the ball.
TDK seems a bit out of sorts the last few weeks.
He may be needed to play forward next week with Kemp and Harry missing...which may open the way for Pittonet to get a run if he's fit.
Good to see a small forward getting amongst the goals. We sometimes forget Durdin is still only young at 22and there is plenty of time for him. Same with Motlop who seemed more active today.
Have a shilling on Hewett for the Best and Fairest. ;) ...Mr consistency ;)
All around a better performance...but still below the standard we'll need to reach to compete with the better sides.
Tall forwards we are jinxed. Take him.
Think we still have a spot in the MSD regardless of whether Kemp gets added to LTI or not.
Still, should've already been on our list!
We're not much chop but the eagles aren't AFL standard
I have only just got home from work so am still to watch the match, however, I'm reliably informed by someone who did watch it that Matt Carroll is the real deal.
Got touched by a state league ruckman.
Nice footballer, will get better, what he did he did pretty well. I heard someone say during the week he's played his last VFL game, lets hope so.
Wins a win, George was mighty, Walshy got some goals, so did the Skipper and ol mate Durds.
Some nice shots at goal and some deplorable ones.
We need to be way better to beat Norf at Marvel.
Feel so sorry for H.
Yes it's a win, but don't go over the top, remember the hype post-game against GWS in the pre-season, today's opponent was comparable.
I got lectured by quite a few on here because I begged the forum to hold it's horses after a win over a lack-lustre pre-season opponent. I was told, "They couldn't get near us", "They(GWS) tried and tried but failed", then reality hit Rnd 1!
FFS, we apparently won the footy today on the outside, that should be a huge tell to fans, because we don't win outside or run off anybody. That's not our game, our list isn't even built for that purpose!
I hope I am wrong - TDK has taken the foot off the pedal - maybe his destiny is already sealed.
Motlop is a good option in the middle now that Crippa is probably forced to play as key forward which I dont mind.
71 point win and 19 behinds that could very well have meant another 5 goals at least. Enjoy the win, celebrate the form of some of those who have been down and praise the 'dare' that was shown at times. It's far better than the alternative!!!
Motlop looked alot better in the midfield.
Various positives from the game as others have commented. However the most pleasing from my viewing at the game was the continued intent to try and find a player in the forward line with "a pass"! Not the big roost on top of forwards and hope we have come to see in recent seasons.
Can we sustain that style of game against greater pressure from the better teams, only time will tell.
Ab
In pre-match, some asked what happens if we win by 10 goals, 5 goals, less than 5 goals or (heaven forbid) lose.
For me the only important bit was the 'w' to gain some confidence - as long as we don't get over confident as a result.
Didn't see any of the game, heard bits on the radio - doesn't sound as if it was a great game. Unfortunate to lose Kemp and Harry.
Apart from the W there were little things to be happy about, Doc looked better, Motlop took a run in the middle and got some touches, the younger boys looked to be finding their feet. Downside was how easily we got opened up in the middle in particular in the first half. Still plenty of improvement needed but a step in the right direction.
Important Safety Tip.
Don't wear the sub's top when you're on the field after the game on crutches in a moon boot. ;)
A few folks in other places are asking what happened to Lord.
Any news on Kemp?
A couple of folks have commented on Motlop's turn in the centre. He did look OK and involved. He has been in there a couple of times in the past but he showed a bit today, nothing dramatic, but worth persisting with it at times.
Talk on the news is 'suspected achilles' but that's probably what most people have guessed at.
Vossy sounded like it wasn’t good, don’t expect to see him for a while.
Good for his confidence to get his hand on it and run, Durdin and Fogs will play the small forward role. Not sure who comes in for Mackay and Kemp, suspect it will be Young and Moir again.
Happy to win comfortably but my gosh are they bad and our performance is still miles off the better team lets not kid ourself. Watching Bris play and the way they skillfully and with pace move the ball - we are no where near that level and even when we have men free inside 50 playing the bottom team we still muck the last kick up too often.
Must say Motlop into the middle i dont mind at times. Carroll and Lord show something and deserve to hold their spot.
Hewitt and Walsh both massive games.
Durdin played his role very well.
Charlie meh.
North is 50/50
A win is a win, is a win.
Pretty darn difficult to gauge anything from that game! Looked much more like a first up preseason game between a side further along the training schedule than its opponent!
I guess we could pull it all apart and get all excited about the performances of a number of individuals, but it'll amount to naught as today's opposition is nothing like last weeks and very unlikely to be anything like next week's (opponent). Leaves you feeling a bit like having just danced with your sister.
Nevertheless, it was good to see Doc get some confidence, Mots have some midfield minutes, Crippa get on the end of a few, Whitey and Lordy get their first goals at AFL level, Carroll show real talent, Durds get a bag and Hewey continue his good form. Even Gov showed glimpses.
Bottom line is that we probably won't know more for a few weeks. But all you can do is beat your opponent, and we did that... very well.
Haven't seen the game yet, but I was interested in the comment last night of how Sydney had six of their best 23 out yet last week Carlton probably had had six of their best 23 out against a full strength Collingwood. Now while our intent and endeavour last week was sub par, having fit Smith, McKay, Durdin, E.Hollands, Newman, and Cottrell in the side would have been helpful. McKay and Kemp unavailable next Friday. Might be time for Lemmey and E.Hollands though Moir and Young will probably be in the mix.
Just wish his hands were a little cleaner but yes he wasn't too bad today.
Yep, my heart sank for all of about 5 seconds before I worked out that doesn't look likenlords haircut. Then i twigged.
His best 2 games this year have been with him playing extended minutes in the middle. Can't remember if it was round 2 or 3 that he last played there, but it needs to happen more often
Reminded me of the first term against the tiggers, we can do anything (including kick the ball to a teammate) when the opposition fails to apply any pressure - clearly the Weagles applied little or no pressure and, if we hadn't wasted opportunities kicking for goal, the margin at half time could have been anything.
From what I have seen, just about anybody would have been better than Evans
Looked good with the extended run in the midfield (better than as a small forward) but the absence of opposition pressure might have contributed more than a little.
Performance by Hollands was easily his best of the season, with and without the ball.
I wonder if he spent more time on the wing in Akers' absence.
I am putting this win into perspective, there was virtually zero pressure for 4 qtrs, it came down to the team which made fewer errors and kicked straighter. WC were horrid in both departments, some of our goal kicking left a lot to be desired.
We beat a team that won't win many less games than we will (on current projections).
Yep, Ye Rat O' the River. This remains, and may just remain for years to come, the most perplexing decision and use (waste!) of a list spot.
A very big question needs be asked of the person who floated this addition to our list, and an even bigger question to the clown who agreed with him!
Agree, tackling stats were half that of a usual game and zero defense was required. I did like how we bullied them at stoppages even without TDK having much presence and Hewett and Walsh led the way. Motlop is better with a run on the ball and imo should get that opportunity every week and I thought Jack and Weitering did what they had to do down back with Matt Carroll showing some enterprise.
Different story next week with Nth who are not that good but like playing us and our best troops are going to be occupied which means players like Carroll will have to play some defense as well as attack and it's going to be a test especially if we can't dominate in the middle.
Take the 4 points and lick our wounds with Kemp gone for the year more than likely and Harry suffering concussion which is not we he needed.
Mid season draft beckons and hopefully we pick up something else than more small forwards and wingers.
Id pick Elijah this week too and tell him he owes us a good game...
Yep. This game gave us the opportunity to 'practice' our offensive game, and the blokes lapped up the freedom to attack. Probably the last game this year we'll have that kind of opportunity. The Kangabies will be a very different prospect... there will be pressure.
Here's another positive, at the moment we have the best % of any side outside the 8. Hey, you take whatever you can get with our season thus far.
If only we had beaten Richmond and the Dogs like we should have.
There was little pressure yesterday, and the defenders were chipping it around to players in the clear, but the disposal efficiency figures were interesting and at odds with some of the disposal criticism of recent weeks
Our top four for disposal efficiency were
McGovern 95.7%
Weitering 93.3%
Silvagni 93.3%
Haynes 90.5%
Next best was Saad at 84%
Probably says a bit about the opposition's forward pressure.
You take away the oppositions pressure from any team in the AFL and you'll get figures like that from defenders... anyone, really.
Our Achilles Heal this year has been when opposition sides have brought sustained pressure. The Weagles played like it was a preseason game... not wanting to get injuries!
Let's see what happens to those figures in our next few games.
If Kempy teared his achilles then its three-four months - July-August
If he snappedhis achilles it's nine months. - wont be in full training until end of January.
Fingers crossed for him.
Our disposal issues aren't coming from the D50, it's pretty much everybody forward of CHB that is the problem.
Yesterday, despite the lack of pressure, was not different, go and watch the replay to see players burning opportunities entering F50.
I think McGovern has been OK, down but not as bad as some suggest. Fans focus on 1 or 2 errors, often boosted by dud commentators, and ignore all the rest of the good stuff. Yesterday McGovern was elite with his ball use, probably our best ball user as both he and Weitering have that capability to take on and hit targets from 50m+.
btw., It's not McGovern or Weitering's fault when our F50 deliver a piss-weak contest making the defenders disposal look rubbish!
Only saw about 1 1/2 qrtrs but still think most of our issues are with F50 entry and inside F50 even against weaker opponents.
Just finished watching.
This game had absolutely zero pressure on it. Like playing u18s!
Watched the replay. The first and final quarters were pretty open and not how Carlton plays their best footy. I thought the second and third quarters were pretty solid. Still missing targets but the intent was better. They need to be willing to keep at it against good sides when things aren't going well. I think we get open up at the back because the last player in the line is getting drawn to the play too early. Bryce Gibbs was excellent at holding his position whereas too many players get sucked into the contest when they see the ball. Good to see Durdin get on the ball while Motlop seems to be better up in the middle of the ground.
When we hit shorter targets instead of bombing the ball into a congested forward 50 it actually opens up the forward line for the key forwards. Cripps actually looked like a key forward in the last quarter.
Got to win next week and then two of the next three.
There has been talk about our tackle numbers but there are tackles and there are tackles. Against Collingwood our players were tackling with their arms without much body behind them whereas the McGovern tackle was excellent and is how you are supposed to tackle.
McGovern had a better game but needs to do it against good opposition. I am still not convinced about him Docherty or Haynes going forward.
They keep saying that there is no need to panic as we have been in similar situations in the past and have shown we can get out of them, but the point is that we shouldn't be getting into these situations in the first place.
Agree with others about the lack of pressure. Somewhat like a PS hitout, including the high temperature.
It didn't particularly test our 2nd half issues. Whatever they are. Neither our pattern of folding under pressure. Next week will give a better read.
Hopefully, we gain maximum bang for our confidence issues. A couple of players are finally finding some form and Durdin and the newbies went ok.
What remains a major issue IMO is goalkicking and poor decision-making near goal. Stop with the cute stuff and take the shot already. We also have work to do on communication. Getting tackled unawares by a no pressure side is very poor.
In all, not a great spectacle. We did enough and managed the conditions ok. I'm still unconvinced that we're going anywhere this year. Certainly hope I'm wrong as our window is closing and we're falling behind several teams development wise.
Enjoy the moment and build momentum quick smart and the tide can change. Go Blues.
The bump/knock in Harry, will that be looked at? Head high and elected to go the man while Harry was going towards the ball
High bump on H: My guess. It'll be looked at.
A player who elects to bump and causes a head clash gets a holiday.
Nope. Nothing to see during H incident. Not according to MR at least. Go figure.
Gross, Motlop, Baker all fined for other incidents 🙄
They clashed heads. Bump or no bump, if he goes for that the MRO have rocks in their head. Its the out incidental contact of every seen. The only difference is the other bloke got up.
I have managed to watch the first quarter thus far (working all weekend didn't help my cause) and to be brutally honest, was completely underwhelmed.
There was no urgency & there certainly was no desire to put the Eagles to the sword either. It was all just more of what we have seen so far in 2025 but against better credentialld teams, it fell really short.
Hopefully I can get some more time this week to watch the rest of the match and end up with a more positive feel about it.
I think there was a concerted effort to finish the game strong and not spend the petrol tickets early.
Good stuff, LN. And great pick-up - which I highlighted. I recall when Mots was tackled as he was streaming toward goal early in the game and he was caught, the first thing I thought was 'where's the talk!' Where were his team mates warning him that he was 'hot?' Or did he ignore them?
Young Jesse seems to take on the defenders like that at least once per game. He does have the strength, acceleration and agility to get around a defender but trying to run through two defenders isn't a high percentage play.
I think there are times when all of Jesse's senses are focused on the big sticks and defenders - or teammates in the clear - become irrelevant.
I notice that very few players, only Crippa actually, got interviews that made it to the club's website after the Weagles game. I suspect that Weiters got into a bit of strife over his 'not mentally strong' enough comments after our last loss. Voss was asked about Weiters' comment in his post game chat and was caught off guard somewhat and deferred to him focussing more on 'behaviours.' Well where do you think 'behaviours' come from, Vossy... yep, what's going on between the lugholes. Perhaps the harsh reality (and accuracy) of what Weiters said hit home, it aint a secret! And it sure aint anything you can keep 'in-house.'
Though now that I've pointed this out, a plethora of comments from players will probably now hit the website... heavily scripted and edited!
If Weiters got in trouble over his comments the club is more forked than I thought.
Corey Durdin and Sam Walsh were interviewed after the game and both interviews were immediately posted on the club's Facebook page. Worpa's is more of a quick comment but Durds' full interview was immediately posted to the club website.
You don't think that Weiters and Vossy got their heads together before Weiters' interview? I thought that his comments were calculated to complement Vossy's interview.
Update:
George Hewett did an interview with the Ch7 crew on the Sunday and Adam Saad was also interviewed about his 200th game … and I should offer my congratulations for that achievement 👏
Jeff White does some good analysis, online, mainly around centre square set ups. he is big on a couple of blokes holding their position, while 1 bloke actually goes in for the footy. as you said, many cant help themselves, and just naturally go in for the footy
They have rocks in their head.....or at least have in the past.
Was it Maxwell who got done for it originally in Perth all those years ago.
Of course there was Plowman debacle.
Incidental contact when a player elects to bump is not a defence.
Plowman got a fist on the ball at the time of contact but 'chose to bump' and because he got up, was penalised.
At the time the commentators said they didn't think the eagles player was even aware that harry was there and didn't square up for a bump. That is what saves him.
2 obvlivious players run into eachother.
This is where the AFL and MRO lose all credibility.
Harry was intent on the player with the ball and was intending to tackle or put him under pressure. He’s not aware of Gross.
Gross gets set for a hip and shoulder and crunches an unsuspecting Harry. There’s a head clash, Harry is out of the game and out of our next game as a minimum. It’s also his fourth concussion in five seasons.
The ball carrier was Harry’s object. Gross wasn’t going for the ball and elected to bump. That resulted in a head clash and a concussion. According to the AFL’s guidelines, Gross has to cop at least one week’s suspension. I guess the head isn’t sacrosanct this week 🙄
Comparison with the Plowman-O’Meara head clash are irrelevant; Plowman was intent on making a contest for the ball. Gross was intent on stopping Harry tackling his teammate.
Surely you're not asserting different rules for different clubs or players!
I suppose in the meantime Kysaiah Pickett is still permitted to continually and accidentally jump his shoulder into Cripps head around stoppages.
Not really LP; I don’t think the player or club enters into whatever thought processes go on in Christian’s head.
We can be sure that the head is sacrosanct … except for when it’s not 🙄
If Pickett tries that again it should involve a lights out response