NAB CUP 2: PORT ADELAIDE

[stuie 7,374]

Having watched the replay I thought I'd pass on a coupla quick obs...

-Tackling. Wow. A million times better than anything I've seen from MFC in the last 5 years.

-Magner looked in great nick. Fought for his own ball, disposal was a little off but it was VERY swirly and he didn't have senior blokes to kick to.

-Sellar's hands were great before fatigue and heat took a bit of a toll. Maybe now that he's a bit fitter he may clunk a few more regularly.

-Jetta looks to be the real surprise packet this year. Showed some great stuff. Evans a possibility too.

-Sylvia is a worry, just seems a bit directionless out there.

-Rucks are our biggest worry this year. They're not terrible, but at this stage they look like not giving us much.

-It got messy as it wore on, but we DO look more organised. A bit more movement off the ball and more give and go's than I've seen for a while, need to keep them going for 4 qtrs though.

These are just thoughts from the PA game so they may not form a line heading into the season, but take from it what you will.

[stuie 7,374]

I agree... and I for one am looking forward to seeing he and Viney going head to head in round 1.

And maybe side by side in 2015 or so....

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

May I just say boys and girls I am super impressed with Dean Kent so far. Especially for where we selected him.

Albeit with some exceptions, going into the game I think most people thought the line up yesterday was our 'second string' team.

Following the game, I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few of them have just put themselves into contention for round one.

And Kent would have to be one of those. Davey, Sellar, Jetta, Magner too.

All good signs to emerge from a game in which I wasn't really expecting much at all.

[P-man 13,366]

They are all on the AFL free App

Thanks but they don't have DE%. Someone mentioned Jetta had 90% so am wondering where they found that.

[Clark_Kent 315]

Very happy with the tackling and ball movement. Still not super polished but there is definetly a lot of that 'P' word in a lot of the younger guys.

[Je Roos Salem 661]

Me and my brother drove up from Melbourne to see the game.

I thought the crowd was great and the atmosphere was really lovely, food stalls all along the fence and the Port supporters weren't too bad.

The sun was quite unbearable (my shoulder got badly burnt) so it must've been hard for the players, in fact they used an ice truck to keep cool during the breaks.

Magner was a stand out (and was played on the ball where he belongs), and as a whole our team's tackling pressure and work rate were good. Just a few defensive problems, especially in the last quarter. Sellar was fantastic and Hogan was good early. Davis looked good in defence. Davey kicked 3 and laid a fantastic tackle in the first half, as well as some nice disposal. Kent, Terlich and Taggert were also very pleasing. I was a bit sceptical about us resting so many players but it was great to watch in the end, I was very glad we got over the line. Our midfield looked very strong, we were probably just undersized in defence. Good to see a lot of other Dees supporters there too.

It felt like a great playing surface that I enjoyed kicking with my brother on during the weekend. It's a great place and the trip was definitely worth it

[bing181 9,328]

Thanks but they don't have DE%. Someone mentioned Jetta had 90% so am wondering where they found that.

http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/nab-cup/2013/2/port-v-melb

Click on Full-Time Stats (half way down page, in the middle), and then Advanced Stats.

There for every game, NAB plus Home and Away, and updates live during the game.

[P-man 13,366]

http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/nab-cup/2013/2/port-v-melb

Click on Full-Time Stats (half way down page, in the middle), and then Advanced Stats.

There for every game, NAB plus Home and Away, and updates live during the game.

Cheers mate, much appreciated. Can't recall those Advanced Stats being there before. Good stuff.

[dazzledavey36 55,315]

And maybe side by side in 2015 or so....

People need to get outside and smell the roses instead of dreaming of a romantic tag team being Viney and Wines. just because they are best mates doesn't mean wines is destined to play for the melbourne football club. Besides why would he come to us after having the chance to take him in the first place. Wines to me seems like a loyal person and i can see him being a 10 year player for port. Will be a gun player but jeez its not gunna happen just ask brendan fevola and chris newman.

[stuie 7,374]

People need to get outside and smell the roses instead of dreaming of a romantic tag team being Viney and Wines. just because they are best mates doesn't mean wines is destined to play for the melbourne football club. Besides why would he come to us after having the chance to take him in the first place. Wines to me seems like a loyal person and i can see him being a 10 year player for port. Will be a gun player but jeez its not gunna happen just ask brendan fevola and chris newman.

Was a firmly tongue in cheek post buddy. So much finger waiving going on here lately...

[bandicoot 1,395]

There were at least 15 players running around for Melbourne who wouldn't be in the best 22. Saying that, fringe players like seller, jetta, magner, gillies and kent all showed that they can potentially cement thier spot.

Slightly disappointed that tynan and Taggert didn't show more on the day and that Fitzgerald still has a long way to go.

Sylvia was probably asking himself "wtf am I doing playing in the middle of nowhere in 30 degree weather". He played exactly the way he was thinking.

Davey tried hard but seems to go missing too often.

Overall, it's encouraging that our true seconds side managed to rustle up a win.

Their tenacity got them over the line. There are however some obvious concerns: skill errors, poor decisions and not being able to control possession. Lets just hope that these errors are confined to our seconds side.

[dum dee dum 44]

I just watched the replay and my observations are.

- Ollie Wines can't kick, much prefer Toumpass and Viney at this stage.

- Spencer beat Redden. This was important as we won a lot of the stoppages. At the start of the third quarter Lobbe went into the ruck, beat Spencer convincingly, they won the stoppages and kicked three goals. Pederson was hopeless in the ruck.

- I thought Gillies was good down back and unlike Davis you can trust him when he gets the ball, he is a touch slow so they will have to give him the right match up.

- Jetta was great. He is a tackling machine and played with a lot of freedom to create run from defence. I haven't seen him do that at the much higher AFL standard but hopefully as he gets confidence he will.

- Kent was great. His play on the boundary line to dodge then centre the ball to Hogan who should have got a free before Sellar snapped the goal was very classy.

- Hogan's (I think it was Hogan)(maybe I just wanted it to be Hogan)intercept of a centering pass in the 4th qtr to keep his feet pick up the ball and kick to Davey who goaled was fantastic play. Also in the 3rd he came out and split the pack, picked up the ball and dished off a handpass that was also good. He didn't do much else but those two things were enough to give a glimpse that he will be very good.

[Bobby McKenzie 2,385]

http://www.afl.com.au/ladder/nab-cup-ladder

LOL, last year's grand finallists occupy the bottom 2

Shows the importance of the NAB Cup don't you think?

[Bobby McKenzie 2,385]

Having watched the replay I thought I'd pass on a coupla quick obs...

-Tackling. Wow. A million times better than anything I've seen from MFC in the last 5 years.

-Magner looked in great nick. Fought for his own ball, disposal was a little off but it was VERY swirly and he didn't have senior blokes to kick to.

-Sellar's hands were great before fatigue and heat took a bit of a toll. Maybe now that he's a bit fitter he may clunk a few more regularly.

-Jetta looks to be the real surprise packet this year. Showed some great stuff. Evans a possibility too.

-Sylvia is a worry, just seems a bit directionless out there.

-Rucks are our biggest worry this year. They're not terrible, but at this stage they look like not giving us much.

-It got messy as it wore on, but we DO look more organised. A bit more movement off the ball and more give and go's than I've seen for a while, need to keep them going for 4 qtrs though.

These are just thoughts from the PA game so they may not form a line heading into the season, but take from it what you will.

Is big Max a chance to resume by mid season? Fit, he could be the answer and give Sandi a bit of height opposition.

[Elwood 3184 1,337]

Damn ... had we kept our 25 point lead we could have been close to the eight by the end of the game.

It's actually a very good point and worth noting for when the premiership season starts.

These things don't matter all that much in the NAB Cup but really ... we had a 25 point lead and were well on top halfway through the final quarter. We have to learn when we have a game by the scruff of the neck to go in for the kill. To have added another 2 or 3 goals to our lead would have lifted us about 4 places. It means nothing in this comp but these things are important when the real thing starts.

[brunoc 3]

Was fairly pleased with how we played.

My run down on each player:

M.Jones - Played the whole game in the middle and thought he was very good. Excellent hands in close, nice pace and spreads well from the contest.

Magner - Got plenty of first possession in the stoppages but let himself down with poor disposal by hand and foot.

Gillies - Seemed to be a bit of a general down back, used the ball well under pressure.

Taggert - Very good first quarter. A couple of nicely weighted kicks to advantage and just looked comfortable out there. Went missing after quarter time though.

Tynan - Looked a bit shaky with ball in hand. Had one nice bit of play where he came off a wing at a centre bounce, scooped up the ball, shrugged an oncoming tackle, and delivered a pin point 40 metre pass to a leading forward.

Davey - Is a pleasure when he has the ball in his hands, just needs to get more of it.

J Macdonald - Virtually turned the ball over every time he got it, will be concerning if he got many games this year.

Strauss - One of our best. Not many long raking kicks from him but was good defensively and didn't waste a possession. Looked very self assured. Dunn might be a bit nervous.

Sylvia - An ordinary game from Col. Gave away a couple of silly 'over the shoulder' free kicks and just lacked intensity around the contest. Could be a surprise round 1 omission.

Sellar - Nice for him to get a bag of 5. Held his marks against some weak opposition, should be in front of Pederson for the Fwd/Ruck position.

Couch - Didn't notice him much.

Kent - Surprised at how agile he looked out there. Burned his opponent off a few times and delivered some nice passes. With his physique and booming left foot he could be something special.

Jetta - BOG. Has flair and toughness.

Tapscott - A couple of nice contested marks and some crunching tackles. If he can stay fit he will easily be part of out best 22.

Davis - Was just ok, kicking not up to scratch.

Terlich - Was very reliable in defence. Uses it well and doesn't shirk a contest.

Evans - Just an average game. Ball drop when kicking looks kind of awkward.

Nicholson - Played last quarter only. Needs to think more when he has the ball instead of just running around like a headless chook.

Barry - Struggled to find the ball and made poor decisions when he got it. Not ready.

Hogan - Barely sighted.

Spencer - Competed well and gave the midfielders first use with some quality hitouts.

Fitzpatrick - Nope.

Pedersen - Only remember him falling over in a ruck contest.

[Whispering_Jack 30,575]

Some random observations:

Seems to me that Hogan and Barry will both have a development year at Casey. Likewise, the two new rookies Clisby and Stark.

After just two weeks of NAB Cup, every able bodied player on the list has already had a crack at showing his wares. This has been generally pleasing but a couple aren't coming up to expectations. I don't see why we were in such a lather to get Pedersen.

I have a really good feeling about Nev Jetta and James Strauss. Would it be asking too much for these two players whose careers have been marred so much by injury to have break out years?

Our injury list might not be deep but it's hitting us in the worst areas. Needless to say, we need Clark, Trengove, Blease and Bail back on deck asap and, given the less than pleasing efforts of our ruckmen to date, Max Gawn's fortunes now that he is returning to full training will be watched closely. I hope he gets a run of some sort in the next couple of weeks, even if its at VFL level. I just can't see Spencer, Fitzpatrick or Pedersen filling in that vital back up role in the ruck. Perhaps, Sellar will find his niche there?

[Fitz Fitzpatrick 886]

Now that Hogan has had one good gane and one not so good game lets hope everyone gets off this 'hype' and lets the boy develop.

[bing181 9,328]

... we had a 25 point lead and were well on top halfway through the final quarter. We have to learn when we have a game by the scruff of the neck to go in for the kill.

Lack of leadership perhaps?? ... needed some calmer and wiser heads to steady the ship. Not to mention, some more mature bodies who could run the game out a bit better than a bunch of kids and/or older players but who have yet to complete a full AFL pre-season.

[bing181 9,328]

J Macdonald - Virtually turned the ball over every time he got it, will be concerning if he got many games this year.

Actually 73.7 disposal efficiency. On the other hand, the ones that went astray, REALLY went astray, which perhaps makes it all look worse than it is.

[stuie 7,374]

Is big Max a chance to resume by mid season? Fit, he could be the answer and give Sandi a bit of height opposition.

Hope so. But won't add much as far as ruckmen getting around the ground.

[rpfc 28,734]

Some random observations:

I don't see why we were in such a lather to get Pedersen.

I just can't see Spencer, Fitzpatrick or Pedersen filling in that vital back up role in the ruck. Perhaps, Sellar will find his niche there?

I think the fact the fact that we have so few options for the backup ruck brought about our desire to get Pedersen.

It's either him or Sellar from what I can see and Sellar is earmarked for defence, not forward - where the backup ruck will spend most of his time.

With Clark out for the time being I can see Sellar, Dawes, and Pedersen being our tall forwards for the first few rounds.

I can only say - I hope Dawes quickly gets into a groove...

[Fitz Fitzpatrick 886]

thats a pretty ordinary forward line. Hopefully howe, Byrnes, blease can benefit from the big bodies smashing packs cause i cant see too many contested marks Inside 50 out of that lot

Edited March 4, 2013 by Munga

[binman 43,717]

I watched the game last night. Some random observations:

• Like others i loved the coverage and the high shot - commentary was surprisingly good
• Our tackling was the best i have seen ever seen it
• Whilst they had more possessions (which is a worry) lots of their possessions were rushed because of real and perceived pressure. Also we diid a good job of trapping Port in our forward line with them often forced to kick laterally across the ground several times. Players very focused on zoning and taking up space eg by furiously waving arms
• Some suggestions Davey on here was quiet - i though he was fantastic. !# goals form a small forward is a perfect return. Two of the goals were from close to the boundary and in really swirling conditions were super classy. His tackling and pressure was first class and directly resulted in at least 2 goals. Terrific.
• Kent has something. Being a left footer he has the ability to create a bit of space as he did with the goal he set up for Sellar
• Hogan did not have quite the same impact as the first 2 games but geez he is going to be a gun. He is big and has good hands but the best thing is that he is a pure footballer - knows where to go, reads the play well and uses his body super well (and not just his strength - sometimes he just knows when give a little bump to create some space in front of him). Will bring fan to Casey games
• Lots of bring strong bodies meant we did wel in the clearances but more pleasingly we broke heaps of tackles and at least 4 goals were possible because we are able to break free of tackles and congestion - this was aways a huge problem in previous years (ie just getting monstered)

[Satyriconhome 10,879]

Been on one of my self imposed breaks, some observations myself

Joel Mac - one poor kick and everybody assumes he can't kick, as somebody else says 73.7 efficiency

Jetta - been saying for four years just needs an injury free run, footy smarts are in the family genes

Fitzpatrick - was playing a role, notice how Sellar was most of the time one on one, that was because Fitzy was taking his other defender away, you don't have to touch the ball to have an impact but also his smother to create the runaway goal for Sellar was outstanding

Syliva - is getting game time under his belt, I am sure the Footy Dept don't want him injured again, running at about 80% probably under instructions

Spencer - competed in the ruck, that is all that is needed, stuck to the task and a couple of good tapdowns that led to goals

Magner - was not fourth of fifth midfielder and showed what he can do

The whole defence which was a complete change from the supposedly best 22 looks composed most of the time in the conditions

I was pleased with what we saw