This thread is for those who aren't going to FREAK OUT over not just one single loss... but a loss in a NAB Cup match.

This is for even, considered discussion of the match against Freo, and what happened during that match.

Those that wish to panic and carry on, please take it to another thread.

I thought Frawley was pretty good last night. He looks in for a big year.

Cale Morton we really need to see more from. I accept its pretty hard when his body is still growing, so that he is perpetually built like a twig, but he's played 40 games and I'd expect a better showing from him when the season commences.

Maric looked much better, even if he did shank his shot at goal. Not convinced he'll make it, but at least the effort seems to be there and he's building the parts of his game he needs to complement the skills he has.

That delivery to Miller was top notch.

One thing I noticed missing from last night's game was the intensity. Whilst understandable for such an early preseason game, it's one thing I'd definitely be focusing on next week.

There was little of the ferocious tackling that we saw in the WCE game when jimmy announced he was ill last season, for instance.

Scully looked a few steps ahead.

I saw one time when he got caught holding the ball because he knew it was the wrong time to give it off the Sylvia, and held it, waiting for another player to stream past. That player never came and he was crunched.

Good signs from him though.

I thought Frawley was pretty good last night. He looks in for a big year.

Our BOG I think. Good player.

Maric looked much better, even if he did shank his shot at goal. Not convinced he'll make it, but at least the effort seems to be there and he's building the parts of his game he needs to complement the skills he has.

That delivery to Miller was top notch.

One good delivery amongst a few bad ones. And he was caught without disposing of it a couple of times.

Still unconvinced.

I'll post here because I'm TRYING to stay positive. I think they key to last nights game was intensity. The boys just didn't seem switched on at all, dropping marks, poor decisions, missing tackles - I can't see us playing like that all year, or even most of the year. I was pleased with:

Morton - Has a bit of class and instead of playing him across half back I'd prefer to see him moved forward. When we play him there he always seems capable of snagging a few goals.

MacDonald - Shows he fits in, although the ball was down there a lot which padded his stats. Doesn't take a backwards step which is handy.

Scully and Trengove - Just happy they have a game under their belts. I don't think they played all that well (nor did I expect them too) but they will be better for the run.

Frawley - Something to be pleased about, thought he fought hard against Pavlich and came out even.

The kids - Another game under their belts as well, can only learn from the experience.

I'm not throwing the year away after one NAB Cup game, but gee, it was a little disappointing...

Thoughts on Strauss? I thought he showed good signs.

This thread is for those who aren't going to FREAK OUT over not just one single loss... but a loss in a NAB Cup match.

This is for even, considered discussion of the match against Freo, and what happened during that match.

Those that wish to panic and carry on, please take it to another thread.

No the sky is not falling, but the earth isn't flat either.

Yep, intensity was not there at all. They seemed very reactionary. I heard Morton interviewed during the week and he stated "we're just keen to see how much we've improved"..Where is the belief? Where's the "We're looking forward to going over there and beating Freo"?

I'm a rap for Bailey but he needs to get this group to start believing or all our high picks will end up elsewhere a la McLean.

Having said that, liked the game of Frawley, Rivers and Jmac and I thought Cheney was looking trimmer and maybe a touch quicker off the mark. Also was good to see Maric get involved he has plenty of potential.

What was going on with Jurrah?

Probably the biggest positive of all was that it was 34 degrees February day and they still ran it out.

Thoughts on Strauss? I thought he showed good signs.

He showed good signs, true. There were times there where his disposal was fantastic and showed a glimpse of what he can bring to the team coming off a half back flank. Still a work in progress but more of a positive than a negative!

It's pretty sad when you need to make threads like this. Narrowing the viewpoint and opinions to avoid a feeling of anxiety and worry. People just don't even what to think of the thought that maybe our club has gone no where? Maybe our coach is no good and the players we have drafted are bad? I do not believe this at all but threads like this are just avoiding the thought discussion of such things.

I'll get worried if we perform like this in the real season, not in some glorified practice match.

hard to stay positive afta that performance fellas......i jst thought some of the senior boys in our midfield just werent good enough. I tell you what.....col sylvia has the potential to be a great footy player but geeezz that bloke is such a front runner....when the going gets tough he is jst no where to be seen.

Strauss is playing his first few games of his career. He was fine.

We seemed to play like slightly hyperactive school kids at the beginning and when the sugar wore off we looked plain flat. The fumbles were poor and it appeared each time we got a run on an over excited umpire found Freo a free kick and on 2 occasions a 50 metre penalty. All probably legit but the timing was bad for us. Sandilands killed us in the centre and distributed the ball at will. I though Bennell, Jetta and Maric had a real crack but just couldn't find the groove. Cheney concerns me even though you can't fault his effort.

I'm going to pretend Liam wasn't playing because in essence he wasn't.

Morton clearly finds practice matches a waste of time. Anyone concerned with his form cast your mind back to his game on Goodes last year. He will be fine, please leave the hysteria alone when it comes to one of our truly talented players.

Colin drifted in and out but looks strong and hungry. A big year awaits.

In the back half Frawley and Rivers played well as did Macdonald who looks to be a handy addition.

The forward line is a little bare and will be our weakness until Watts, Bate, Jurrah, Wonaeamirri et al find some form and consistency. personally I would have played Green out of the square and allowed Liam to do as he pleased.

I was seriously impressed by picks 1 and 2, who looked at home and did some nice things.

Jones was also another who seems to have continued his improvement and he had a solid game and showed a bit of pace at times.

Stef Martin is an interesting one. Where do we play him? I think he has something to offer the team I'm just not sure what that is.

We'll be a better team with Bruce and Jamar in the middle.

I hope Tapscott can help the forward line because you can't have too much strength down there.

Ricky Petterd looked lively at times and could well contribute to a functioning forward line.

Couldn't fault the captain's game.

Mckenzie may well just be a player. Seems to know where to be but he wouldn't want to get any slower.

Fitzpatrick will play the year at Casey alongside Spencer.

I want them to give Dunn a crack in the forward line.

All in all a poor first up game. Do we need to panic, NO.

Do we need to improve, YES.

Possible forward set up for next week:

Jurrah Green Wonaeamirri

Sylvia Dunn Petterd

Edited February 22, 201015 yr by Roost It

I thought Frawley was pretty good last night. He looks in for a big year.

Cale Morton we really need to see more from. I accept its pretty hard when his body is still growing, so that he is perpetually built like a twig, but he's played 40 games and I'd expect a better showing from him when the season commences.

Maric looked much better, even if he did shank his shot at goal. Not convinced he'll make it, but at least the effort seems to be there and he's building the parts of his game he needs to complement the skills he has.

That delivery to Miller was top notch.

One thing I noticed missing from last night's game was the intensity. Whilst understandable for such an early preseason game, it's one thing I'd definitely be focusing on next week.

There was little of the ferocious tackling that we saw in the WCE game when jimmy announced he was ill last season, for instance.

Scully looked a few steps ahead.

I saw one time when he got caught holding the ball because he knew it was the wrong time to give it off the Sylvia, and held it, waiting for another player to stream past. That player never came and he was crunched.

Good signs from him though.

Agree on Frawley, he's the perfect build and has the perfect explosive pace required in his position. Here's hoping he has a full season, uninjured. He'll leave a big hole if he is not present.

Liked Morton's game and at 192cm "!"(ref: foxtel) may be a key forward for us. Hard to match up on with his agility up forward in my opinion. ie. Bob Murphy (dogs).

Agree with Scully too, 'that player' was James McDonald, from the frame by frame I saw (cheers IQ), he was flat footed and wasn't as quick thinking as Scully who was ready to dish off with a laser handball.

The intensity wasn't there and the midfield were comfortably beaten which was disappointing.

If the boys are all on the straight line, and they're not deviating off that line (as Moloney put it Pres. night), I expect to see more intense tackling and harrassing around stoppages or when the ball is in dispute. Being the first game of the season (NAB Cup style), and the fact that it's February with a young & underdeveloped team, I'm prepared to sweep this one under the carpet, albeit with caution.

I'll get worried if we perform like this in the real season, not in some glorified practice match.

So will I. Glorified Practice match? Tell that to the supporters of the clubs that won over the last 2 weeks. After the Kangaroos win, Daniel Pratt said this:

"We've got a really young list so it's probably just more important to worry about what we're doing right now," Pratt said.

"Brad has come in. He is new to the gig as well. It's been really exciting what we've seen so far, but I think a young team getting ahead ofthemselves is just looking for disaster.

"We'll just worry about playing Freo this week and then we've got Port in Round 1 and we'll just keep working towards that."

That's the difference between winning and losing a "glorified practice match" I suppose, but an interesting contrast nonetheless.

Edited February 22, 201015 yr by iv'a worn smith

i jst thought some of the senior boys just werent good enough.

The senior guys weren't good enough for the past 3 years. That's the problem. None of our senior guys play or are good enough to play key areas. ie elite first touch midfielders who create the play or a KPP. We've got no senior players in key positions to influence games.

Bruce is a flanker. Shown to be a good shut down player.

Green a good flanker. Never been a good midfielder.

Jmac a tagger. Tagger.

Rivers third tall.

Moloney. A role playing midfielder. 4-5 option mid for any other team.

Miller. Miller.

Davey. Flanker. Needs a handball receive.

That puts on a lot of pressure on the youngsters to pick up the slack. That's where we are. Until the youngsters fill those key areas, we will be below 500.

Scully, Trengove, Grimes, Watts give hope but we need a few more in that secondary lot Morton, Blease, Strauss, Jurrah, Gysbert, Tapscott and/or left field Mckenzie, Bennell, Gawn to jump up to fill those roles and be influential leaders/players on the ground.

Edited February 22, 201015 yr by jacey

One good delivery amongst a few bad ones. And he was caught without disposing of it a couple of times.

Still unconvinced.

As am I, but I'm willing to give him time.

He's 19 and has played 12 games (I think) - not ready to give up in him just yet.

I think it's also possible that a lot of people under-rate Freo more than they should have.

Scully, Trengove, Grimes, Watts give hope but we need a few more in that secondary lot Morton, Blease, Strauss, Jurrah, Gysbert, Tapscott and/or left field Mckenzie, Bennell to jump up to fill those roles.

Might I add we need stronger leadership too. We need someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. I mean during the game, not just mid-week meetings. To be able to lead by example on the field when the game might be slipping, and to drag the others along by inspiring them to improve their output. Communicate to them in a practical sense that it's "game on!"

Agree on Frawley, he's the perfect build and has the perfect explosive pace required in his position. Here's hoping he has a full season, uninjured. He'll leave a big hole if he is not present.

Liked Morton's game and at 192cm "!"(ref: foxtel) may be a key forward for us. Hard to match up on with his agility up forward in my opinion. ie. Bob Murphy (dogs).

Agree with Scully too, 'that player' was James McDonald, from the frame by frame I saw (cheers IQ), he was flat footed and wasn't as quick thinking as Scully who was ready to dish off with a laser handball.

The intensity wasn't there and the midfield were comfortably beaten which was disappointing.

If the boys are all on the straight line, and they're not deviating off that line (as Moloney put it Pres. night), I expect to see more intense tackling and harrassing around stoppages or when the ball is in dispute. Being the first game of the season (NAB Cup style), and the fact that it's February with a young & underdeveloped team, I'm prepared to sweep this one under the carpet, albeit with caution.

Interesting. I noticed late in the match Scully picked up the ball at a flat out sprint and was running out of the circle and into space when a certain Mr J McDonald ran into his path and blocked him. Result was that they both wound up being tackled and the ball was turned over. Are we going to see this theme a lot this year?

I think our season this year will be alot like Hawthorns 2006 season.

http://stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/2006.html

Look through Hawthorns performances round by round. It is genuinely how I think this year will pan out for us. Start off the year well, alot of disappointing games with big losses, and finish off the year strong ready for finals next year. Seriously, who cares about the NAB Cup.

Edited February 22, 201015 yr by Morton2Watts

Might I add we need stronger leadership too. We need someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. I mean during the game, not just mid-week meetings. To be able to lead by example on the field when the game might be slipping, and to drag the others along by inspiring them to improve their output. Communicate to them in a practical sense that it's "game on!"

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!!!!!

I think our season this year will be alot like Hawthorns 2006 season.

http://stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/2006.html

Look through Hawthorns performances round by round. It is genuinely how I think this year will pan out for us. Start off the year well, alot of disappointing games with big losses, and finish off the year strong ready for finals next year. Seriously, who cares about the NAB Cup.

You think we'll win 4 out of the first 5 matches? Have you seen our draw?

Might I add we need stronger leadership too. We need someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. I mean during the game, not just mid-week meetings. To be able to lead by example on the field when the game might be slipping, and to drag the others along by inspiring them to improve their output. Communicate to them in a practical sense that it's "game on!"

Absolutely Spot on. That is what i was thinking all the way through last nights Game. We Have no Born Leaders in our club at this stage. It is a large concern, considering the club has been Training since October 6th 2009.

On a Positive note, I Hope that Last nights performance puts a rocket fair & square up the Playing list to say "That Soft Performance should Never be Tolerated ever again" If it is, sadly this club will not survive.

To Be a Fly on the Wall at todays Recovery Meetings...

I just watched Dean Baileys AGM speech again to help me recover...it was worth it and i recommend it to all...

Might I add we need stronger leadership too. We need someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. I mean during the game, not just mid-week meetings. To be able to lead by example on the field when the game might be slipping, and to drag the others along by inspiring them to improve their output. Communicate to them in a practical sense that it's "game on!"

Spot on.

Taking the rose colour glasses off for a minute. McDonald, Bruce, Green, Miller, Davey, Moloney and Rivers show how bad we lack good on field leaders. Unfortunately most of them cannot even play consistently good games either.

The senior guys weren't good enough for the past 3 years...

Very good summation of the condition of our list, imho.

Might I add we need stronger leadership too. We need someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. I mean during the game, not just mid-week meetings. To be able to lead by example on the field when the game might be slipping, and to drag the others along by inspiring them to improve their output. Communicate to them in a practical sense that it's "game on!"

Absolutely. Which hopefully is behind some of the recruiting strategy of late: Watts over Nat for example The kind of on-field accountability, leadership and experienced presence that Freo had last night, and we haven't had for a while now.

You just have to wonder what a difference it would have made yesterday if we'd had just a Sandilands and a Pavlich. The last AA Melbourne had was the skipper, back in 2006, and then Jeff White two seasons before that.

We just don't have enough (or any?) game-changers and on-field leaders, players who can weather the storm and marshall the troops.

Another long season ahead I suspect, in spite of the rise and rise of the 'kids'.

B