NAB CUP 3: ST. KILDA

[stuie 7,374]

ok then, he was fantastic, hard at the ball, took some courageous marks and as a senior player he truly inspired the youngsters with his Joel Selwood-like attack on the ball.

Um...are you visually impaired? I'm not making it up for fun unfortunately.

He's 21. Get a grip mate.

[Buzzy 992]

You, of course, are completely correct.

Watts is a very ordinary footballer. A horrible pick one. Aint hindsight great ?

I wouldn't say horrible. He's still one of our most composed and efficient players with the ball, I think most people have accepted he won't be a 'great' player.

[stuie 7,374]

You, of course, are completely correct.

Watts is a very ordinary footballer. A horrible pick one. Aint hindsight great ?

There was a time, a golden age one might say, when you used to post well thought out football thoughts and analysis, but alas, that time has more than past.

[stuie 7,374]

I wouldn't say horrible. He's still one of our most composed and efficient players with the ball, I think most people have accepted he won't be a 'great' player.

I think MOST people have NOW accepted he's 21 and most AFL players don't reach their peak til around 24/25. Most also accept he played quite well as last year progressed and is showing the signs of why he was a #1 pick. By all means, pick on the underperforming over 24s, but give the kids a chance to develop before going all MFC eat their young on them.

[Biffen 12,949]

There was a time, a golden age one might say, when you used to post well thought out football thoughts and analysis, but alas, that time has more than past.

The Past has Passed us by.

Need anyone remind you Stuie that "well thought out" is not your strong suit either.

[Deecisive 1,709]

The free kick count is a worry, being second to the ball should mean we tackle but the tackle and free kick count seem to indicate that we did not catch them. players need more commitment to chase, unfortunately zone defenses often mean you are chasing. I hope we did not play a spare man in defense again, as we just end up chasing from one free player to another. Also with regard to Jamars taps were they to our players? or just tapping anywhere?

[hardtack 10,978]

Joeboy - Garland one of the worst? The stats don't back that up.

Yeah, Joeboy also rated Magner a 3, which seems to fly in the face if his stats as well.

[Buzzy 992]

The free kick count is a worry, being second to the ball should mean we tackle but the tackle and free kick count seem to indicate that we did not catch them. players need more commitment to chase, unfortunately zone defenses often mean you are chasing. I hope we did not play a spare man in defense again, as we just end up chasing from one free player to another. Also with regard to Jamars taps were they to our players? or just tapping anywhere?

It did look like most of Jamar's taps were to our advantage... but it was so fast and scrappy out there today, more often than not we wouldn't get a clear possession away and it became a 50/50 ball again..

[mjt 640]

Sick of hearing people blame the umps. They say it like theyr is a conspiracy to make the dees lose by giving frees to the other team.

The reason we get less frees is because we are always 2nd to the ball. If our players were always first to the ball those free stats would look completely different.

The umpiring today was pathetic.

[mjt 640]

Just got home from the game .

Not disastrous .

Positives: Rodan - lots of class , speed , creativity and strength

Byrnes - knows where to go; understands the fall of the ball

Nicholson - showed nothing to suggest he deserves a game ( this IS a positive )

Dunn - continued his resurgence ; easily our best player and kick

Sylvia - started to get some touches

Best : Dunn, Jones , Rodan, Sylvia , Jamar ( dominated the hit outs against no opposition )

I thought Pederson contested hard and had a pretty decent game.

[waynewussell 6,922]

I spent the afternoon trying to get an update from Matt, Scanning Demonland and watching live stats on AFL site. Frome reports here I reckon I got a better handle on it than some of the punters who claimed to have been at Casey! Ben-Her is the least likeable poster I have come across in my time here. Smug, self-serving egotist! I try to avoid s/he as much as possible. These are my positive observations after the game.

Jamar is a highly rated tap-ruckman and he is in great form.

Toumpas will blossom around the age of 21.

We started well.

Dunn impacted the game again.

Sellar could easily have come away with 3 goals against Saints, which was my benchmark for inclusion in Round 1.

We had same or slightly more inside 50's and that will translate into scoreboard when Clark and Dawes play.

We had as many possessions as opponents.

Magner is in consistently good form.

N Jones is in consistently good form.

Apart from Saints 6 goals in 12 minutes, we were highly competitive in all aspects for 80 minutes of the game.

Tackling was down, but I have seen enough of previous NAB efforts to realise that out tackling is vastly improved across the board.

Apparently kicking efficiency was down, but those jumping up and down most have never played in the conditions a wide-open, south eastern plains reserve tosses up (I note GFC have now played two in a row at Kardinia Park-home ground... I also note that Pies are at Etihad indoor stadium).

Demons got within 18 points in final qtr when teenagers Hogan and Toumpas goaled.

Apparently this is a rare game where Howe didn't take a screamer and we all know that will happen on a regular basis once the real stuff begins.

Apparently there were no pre-season injuries to report (remember The Ox... Ben, you weren't a Demon supporter in those days... Oh damn, I used the words Ben and supporter in the same sentence!)

David Roden got his hands on it and continued his habit of scoring a goal.

Garland blanketed Milne.

Frawley played well before running into a bit of trouble (which coincided with Saints purple patch if my reading of the game is correct... funny that!)

That's plenty to be pleased with in a pre-season game. We are definitely on the improve and I think a win in round 1 is more than likely!

[P-man 13,367]

Stef Martin looking good for Brisbane, for all the masochists.

[DeeZee 7,463]

Pederson is a total dud...he better not make round 1

[Sir Why You Little 37,341]

We looked better than last year. Still a long way to go.

Rodan is going to help our midfield immensly.

Our defence still leaks.

Hogan is huge.

God it was hot standing on the wing.

We still handball to stationary players.

[waynewussell 6,922]

Its worth remembering that Stef Martin, Brent Moloney, Ricky Petterd, Gordon Gysberts, Tom Scully, Brock McClean and Cale Morton all looked good for MFC at some stage. This group suffered from various weaknesses from the following list...

* inconsistency

* poor disposal

* poor decision making

* injury prone

* Poor endurance

* inept under pressure

* invisible when team under attack

etc etc

I have no doubt that the majority of these players will continue to display one or more of these traits with their new team. I applaud any one of them that manages to turn it around like Jolly did.

[ThreeOneSix 954]

Stef Martin looking good for Brisbane, for all the masochists.

To quote Dermie " That boy has so much talent"

Martin killing it, no surprise.

[Deecisive 1,709]

Brent maloney has given away 4 frees so far in the brisbane game, umps must think he is still wearing red and blue.

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

Oh gosh, panic! Panic!!

Meltdown.

Burn your memberships everyone.

Spare me please.

[Sir Why You Little 37,341]

To quote Dermie " That boy has so much talent"

Martin killing it, no surprise.

He was never going to do it at the MFC. He had enough chances.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,110]

If we're comparing to other sides, look at what Freo are doing to the Bulldogs. 25 points isn't so bad.

[P-man 13,367]

He was never going to do it at the MFC. He had enough chances.

We gave him away for peanuts and I still believe it was premature. Who would you prefer as a second ruck option out of Pedersen and Martin? I know what my choice would be.

[diesel 420]

He was never going to do it at the MFC. He had enough chances.

More so injured last year. Has and will continue to go alright given the ruck position. I still say we kept the wrong bloke.

[Allen Jakovich 516]

Made the trip out to Casey today, some observations.

* Our structures are much improved on last year. Our zone was holding up the Saints out of the back half quite often, forcing them wide and to execute pin point passing to move the ball forward.

* Overall I thought we were just about the better side today, and the stats back that up. If it weren't for their 2nd qtr burst, it would have been a very close run thing. THeir polish when they had momentum really hurt us, yet we missed shots when we needed to score and just couldn't quite hit our targets often enough.

* Terlich looks like he has a big future. His attack on the ball and safe hands were a highlight.

* Jamar dominated the taps, unfortunately a lot of them were to Jonesy and St Kilda's Jones was sitting on him, so he was unable to clear.

* Can we please stop playing Joel Macdonald. He costs us so many goals from his mistakes, even if indirectly.

* Gee we would have been better for having Ollie WInes in the centre square today... but I'm sure the Toump will be better for the run.

* Pederson should only play if Dawes or Clark are not fit for Round 1. Sellar has earnt the right to play, pederson hasn't.

* The tackling today really let us down.. We pressured well but couldn't lay the tackles effectively.

* Davey had a poor game, let's not slaughter him in NAB3, please.

* Overall, not a fantastic effort but far better than a lot on here are giving the boys credit for. Looking forward to next week.

[dees189227 12,453]

Ok so I ventured down to Casey and watched the game.

I was up the end where we were kicking in the 1st quarter.

From what I observed our first quarter was great, We lost it in the 2nd quarter where we were terrible. Our defence was just not functioning well. We had instances where stkilda would run the ball through the middle and there were saints players just own there own lining up for goal.

We over used the handball and turned it over.

Davey is out of contract this year and unless something changes he will be gone. He still lets players get inside his head and is sucked in big time. Its easy to play on Davey. You just niggle him and he loses all focus.

But there were some good things. Jamar did well int he ruck, I reckon we just let Dunn take the kick out every time. He just goes right up the middle and clears it out. If Rodan can stay fit he will be valuable. I just cant wait for Hogan to play next year. he just competes at every contest.

It was a bloody hot day standing out there.

We did ok. 1 quarter let us down.

Hey at least we didn't get beaten by 109 points like the bulldogs did.

[DeeSpencer 26,478]

That was a 4+ goal breeze especially in the first half.

We lost it in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter not just the second. I can't believe people fall for the one bad quarter dribble.