On 12/07/2020 at 05:27, DubDee said:

If we had of beaten the bombers we would be only out of the 8 on percentage

If Tomlinson’s kick was straight, we would have beaten Geelong and been well placed to get into the 8 if and when that game against the Bombers ever gets played.

  On 11/07/2020 at 23:39, Jaded said:

It was so frustrating and lucky Gawn was having a good marking day. 
I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps Tmac going down meant Gawn was our only marking option down the line as clearly they were playing Weid deep to isolate his opponent. 
 

My issue is that for 10 years we have had the same simplistic repetitive kick out strategy. Surely someone can come up with some different options to move the ball out of full back. 

Agree 100%, how hard can it be to come up with  5-6 kick out strategies!

Oliver kicking more = just a far better result outcome every time he does

keep kicking it please Clarry 

  On 12/07/2020 at 02:56, Lord Nev said:

Actually, to Goody's credit, the move to have Salem take some kick outs with May providing an extra target proved an important late move IMO.

Yep.  And even May up forward for a short stint.  I would seriously consider attempting to blood Tomlinson as a backman that runs off his man to eventually (fairly big W.I.P. and would take some time & effort) replace May.

May's a solid 'on the shoulder' one on one backman dont get me wrong.  But this bloke has mauling / brute forward written all over him.  Will make others stand tall around and his opponents will be hearing footsteps.  Not so great with ball in hand down back and pretty predictable/ average kick from the square.  He is somewhat wasted in a key back role.

May never happen (pun intended) but i'd love to see it trialled for a 3 to 4 week stint (at least) before sending him back if its a flop.  Possibly an option later this season if season / Brown doesn't work out.

  On 11/07/2020 at 13:10, binman said:

Just a game for Oscar.

But in all seriousness agree with your comment about looking like he belonged about his game and playing his role.

On the former, i though this it was impressive he played with such confidence having come back from been dropped. Perhaps good coaching from Goody in terms of messaging, or perhaps he has been working on that aspect of his game. Mots likely both.

That confidence showed on that play that set up the Harley to Weed goal. Hard to see on TV (the tight shots really annoy me) but he must have come well off his man and ran hard to provide an attacking option (and it was great that he was used).

The other bit of play i thought showed his confidence was his mark on the line in the last. I was sure he was going to hit it through for point, but instead elected to mark it. Small thing but a good decision as it made it harder for the Suns to set up a zone.

On his Omac's kicking, in addition to his general efficiency and reliability what i really like is that he is accurate over distance and can kick it 50 plus metres and the ball travels quickly though the air.

He did that on that kick to Harley and combined with the fact it was kicked to  advantage it allowed to Harley to win the contest even though he dropped the mark. Compare him to Oliver (and a number of others) who can kick 50 but it floats and is easily defended. 

On a related note i would rather Omac take the kick outs than May.

 

I think playing some footy in the twos right now would be a massive help for some key position players. They have some space to operate in and plenty more opportunities one on one with the 14 a side (or whatever they’re playing). For people like Weed and OMac I really think this would work wonders for specific skills.

The Suns were always my second team since starting and I’ve always rated Mays kicking as excellent. Been a bit hit and miss so far but I’m still backing him in.

If OMac keeps improving YOY in time he might take this role (kicking in) as well. I still see him as young (in key position years) and a confidence player. I’d hate to see him drop his head with a shank kick as I worry he takes things more to heart than someone like a May. Right now he’s a neat kick and that will do me.

Talia/Astbury/Tarrant/Frawley/Barrass are the players I hope he models his game on. If he gets on the end of a few rebounds or attacking chains that’s great but I’m not concerned if he doesn’t.

I had confidence in everything he was doing yesterday. Looked like a seasoned pro.

Well done to the young lad 

 

To me watching the game and reading a lot of the posts on here we have a side that is at last coming together with the opportunity to get some continuity of playing. Still more improvement to come but can't underestimate the postponement of the Essendon game. You could even see the difference between the first and second half.

Re Weid, gets a pass due to his couple of goals and contested marks, but must hold his ground stronger in the contest. He's never going to get a free for those nudges in the back from defenders.There was only one occasion where I thought, that could have been a free there. If he can do this he will become much more valuable. The top defenders are very subtle with this tactic and only the really obvious get paid.

  On 12/07/2020 at 06:11, Rusty Nails said:

Yep.  And even May up forward for a short stint.  I would seriously consider attempting to blood Tomlinson as a backman that runs off his man to eventually (fairly big W.I.P. and would take some time & effort) replace May.

May's a solid 'on the shoulder' one on one backman dont get me wrong.  But this bloke has mauling / brute forward written all over him.  Will make others stand tall around and his opponents will be hearing footsteps.  Not so great with ball in hand down back and pretty predictable/ average kick from the square.  He is somewhat wasted in a key back role.

May never happen (pun intended) but i'd love to see it trialled for a 3 to 4 week stint (at least) before sending him back if its a flop.  Possibly an option later this season if season / Brown doesn't work out.

Disagree mate. I think he's become the glue and leadership that holds that backline together, and his kicking efficiency is number 1 at MFC. The whole reason we got rid of Frost was to make the backline more safe and predictable, so to move the main linchpin now would be a bad move IMO.

Not sure we should be pointing the finger at him for being predictable out of the square, would think that's a strategy down from the coaches box.

Put Tomlinson and Lever together and it's a completely different mix than May and Lever.

Edited July 12, 20204 yr by Lord Nev

  On 11/07/2020 at 23:07, Nasher said:

I reckon Hannan is interesting. Since coming in he’s played very low possession games - 7, 10, and 8 disposals, but it in each game he gets involved in one or two crucial score involvements. I can’t help but feel there will come a game where he doesn’t manage those couple of critical involvements and he will seem like a complete passenger.

I think he still needs to get more of the ball before I’m comfortable with fully relying on him as a flanker.

Over the shut down revisited the big wins from 2018. Rarely gets big possession numbers but gee he has some important moments.

  On 12/07/2020 at 02:42, buck_nekkid said:

I really liked the way Langdon kept his width and provided a channel/option all night.

Sadly, the excellent and isolated space that Tomlinson created out there on the flanks at critical moments was ignored by May at kick-ins, opting instead to '...kick to Gawn no matter what...', and we were very lucky that against the Suns that Maxxy was able to mark almost unhindered.

From these marks, Maxxy then had to create the play by foot or handpass, an additional load in congestion that was unnecessary, whereas Tomlinson had a blank canvas to goal that a smart Demon could escape into down the field for an open i50 avenue.

Gawn is highly reliable, of course and thank Heaven he is the bloke he is - and put in a great Captain's game to prove it to us all - going for his marks under some duress on many occasions.

May, on occasion as an alternative, could draw and then dummy the opposition towards Gawn but kick it to the Flank/Wing/Tomlinson/opposite side for a freedom run or pass upfield. A little two-eyed evaluation from May in this regard would add heaps to our ball progression as we have the smarts up forward to enact the transfer. 

  On 12/07/2020 at 06:24, loges said:

Over the shut down revisited the big wins from 2018. Rarely gets big possession numbers but gee he has some important moments.

Absolutely! None more than this one, which still makes the hair on my neck stand up:

 

  On 12/07/2020 at 02:32, picket fence said:

Weeds should NEVER have been out of that side, But Goody knows best right!?? Im not sure but if Nev was on Rankine for the most then he was beaten. i LOVE nev but he appears to be slowing down.

Jetta wasn’t even on screen for Rankine’s first 2 goals. Lockhart was on him for the first. Wasn’t clear for the second, maybe Lever. 
He was on him for the third obviously, as well as his late missed point. The other late shot was from a poor free kick (from memory).

I think the Jetta criticism is a bit overblown. Far from his best game but he wasn’t our worst.

O'Mac has to stay in, be done with Smith.  Just locks down his man and allows Lever to be third man in.

He is gonna do some things that fustrate but so do our mids.

Great leadership from Max.

Viney shiwed his old agro and hardness at ball.

Vanders the same.

Trac despite some poor disposals at times is the most improved player by miles.

Weids had a reasonable game considering his absence. Great to see him taking marks down the ground.

Although still missing a key full fwd to make good of all our inside 50s and cluck a few.

Wish goody would get proactive and swap tmac and may. The latter needs to improve fitnes.

Hannan shades of old with a small bag of goals.

Lever getting better at long last.

Jetta not so.

Gus going backwards. Possible trade imo.

Tmac needs to find himself and fast. Despite injury has been a paasnger too many games.

Pickett and Bennel look exciting.

Hibberd seems his old self too.

Harmes ok but has heaps of credits in tby e bank.

Oliver just needs to work on jis silly handballing to get to an elite level.

Better game from omac for a long time.

If we can recruit another big fwd , crumber and wingman over the summer we can move up the ladder.

  On 12/07/2020 at 05:34, Elwood 3184 said:

If Tomlinson’s kick was straight, we would have beaten Geelong and been well placed to get into the 8 if and when that game against the Bombers ever gets played.

It's almost as if even though we haven't been flying, it's not that bad?

  On 11/07/2020 at 20:59, Clint Bizkit said:

I couldn’t get my head around the fact that all our kick-ins went to the same side while the other side of the ground was open for players to run into.

Bizarre coaching decision. 

When Jamar was playing the kick out tactic was exactly the same

  On 12/07/2020 at 06:26, Nasher said:

Absolutely! None more than this one, which still makes the hair on my neck stand up:

 

Still a spine-tingle, emotional moment.  Happy tears.

As much as I hate Geelong their supporters (well those in the Southern Stand that night) were pretty decent, congratulatory and wanted us to destroy the Hawks the following week.  We duly obliged.

Oh to experience winning finals again!

  On 12/07/2020 at 01:38, Lucifer's Hero said:

Can't believe the amount of criticisms of Petracca's game.  Sure he had an 'airey' in the goal square but for the rest of the game:

• 25 Disposals - Best Demon
• 14 Handballs - Best Demon
• 6 Clearances - 2nd Best Demon (Oliver 8 )
• 5 Unontested Marks - Equal Best Demon with Lever
• 15 Contested Possessions - Best Demon
• 11 Uncontested Possesions - 2nd Best Demon  (Langdon 15)
• 3 Marks i50 - Best Demon
• 5 Score Involvements - Equal 2nd Best Demon with Oliver (Bennell and Gawn 6)
• 2 goals (Equal Best with Weideman and Fritsch).

There is no count of how often he broke a tackle but it was a lot.  Rarely gets caught HTB; the ops just can't pin him down.

Stats aren't the only thing.  His was a high impact performance.  The best midfielder for mine.  And, he showed great leadership to wind down the clock before his last goal.  Settled the team.

I know people have their favourites and I also love Oliver and Viney but some folks are wearing blinkers if they can't see how good Petracca's game was.

He was impactful but you’ve left off that by foot I think he was tracking at about 35-40%. He definitely had a good game and could well end up in the Brownlow votes (watch them give the 3 to Rankine), but he butchered some golden chances and I’m sure he would acknowledge that. Ultimately he kicked the clutch goal when it counted and is definitely the player you want around the ball when the game’s in the balance. 

  On 12/07/2020 at 06:22, Lord Nev said:

Disagree mate. I think he's become the glue and leadership that holds that backline together, and his kicking efficiency is number 1 at MFC. The whole reason we got rid of Frost was to make the backline more safe and predictable, so to move the main linchpin now would be a bad move IMO.

Not sure we should be pointing the finger at him for being predictable out of the square, would think that's a strategy down from the coaches box.

Put Tomlinson and Lever together and it's a completely different mix than May and Lever.

We'll probably never see the move LN.  I reckon a decent player can cover his role  down back the question is can we find someone.  Maybe not and as you say he needs to stay.

If i was a coach and depending on how the season / T-Mac / Brown works out i wouldn't want to die wondering.

  On 12/07/2020 at 07:49, Rusty Nails said:

We'll probably never see the move LN.  I reckon a decent player can cover his role  down back the question is can we find someone.  Maybe not and as you say he needs to stay.

If i was a coach and depending on how the season / T-Mac / Brown works out i wouldn't want to die wondering.

I'm a big fan of May, and I reckon he could make a great forward going by his junior years, but for me it's more an emergency option during a game than something I would actively structure and plan for, at least at this stage. I think the trio of May, Lever and OMac is a safe and solid one, Hibberd and Salem are starting to find consistent form, then we have that mix of Nev, Lockhart & Rivers who are fighting it out a bit for a spot. I'm reasonably happy with the backline, and now that Goody has finally caved and started selecting two forwards I think we might start seeing some improvement down the other end too.

  On 12/07/2020 at 07:48, Pates said:

He was impactful but you’ve left off that by foot I think he was tracking at about 35-40%. He definitely had a good game and could well end up in the Brownlow votes (watch them give the 3 to Rankine), but he butchered some golden chances and I’m sure he would acknowledge that. Ultimately he kicked the clutch goal when it counted and is definitely the player you want around the ball when the game’s in the balance. 

He butchered just about every possession bar the two goals. I love the guy, he had a skew if day, normally his delivery is precise. Even on a bad day he looks like a million dollar footballer. 

So far, Melbourne is the top-scoring side this round; one game to go.

  On 12/07/2020 at 07:59, Lord Nev said:

I'm a big fan of May, and I reckon he could make a great forward going by his junior years, but for me it's more an emergency option during a game than something I would actively structure and plan for, at least at this stage. I think the trio of May, Lever and OMac is a safe and solid one, Hibberd and Salem are starting to find consistent form, then we have that mix of Nev, Lockhart & Rivers who are fighting it out a bit for a spot. I'm reasonably happy with the backline, and now that Goody has finally caved and started selecting two forwards I think we might start seeing some improvement down the other end too.

All good points LN.   That last part also but with the run we've had up forward with KFs since Neita i'll believe we've found one when i'm seeing it.  Two would be party time!

  On 12/07/2020 at 03:23, Jaded said:

Sure. The issue wasn’t last night because it worked. But it doesn’t always work because most of the time teams have players who can cover Gawn. 
You can’t be so predictable and we’ve been doing the bomb it long down the skinny side to Gawn for 3 years now. Sometimes it works but when it doesn’t we appear to have no other options. 

I agree with you but I do think the theme last night was ‘walk before you can run’. Keeping the game simple and slower rather than the risks we’ve been taking.

Another thing to note was the Suns missed a lot of set shots whilst nailing kicks from all sorts of places. So most of our kick outs were from slow plays in to set up zones.

Also the Saints under Richo were one of the best kick out teams I believe. And we tried things against Carlton and Richmond.

It’s a watch and see.  

  On 12/07/2020 at 07:48, Pates said:

He was impactful but you’ve left off that by foot I think he was tracking at about 35-40%. He definitely had a good game and could well end up in the Brownlow votes (watch them give the 3 to Rankine), but he butchered some golden chances and I’m sure he would acknowledge that. Ultimately he kicked the clutch goal when it counted and is definitely the player you want around the ball when the game’s in the balance. 

Thanks.  I couldn't find a kicking efficiency stat. 

Yes, he probably would acknowledge that he butchered some chances.  But no-one has a perfect game.  What I liked was he didn't beat himself up over mistakes and just kept going, contest after contest.  He was one of our best which a lot of posters last night failed to acknowledge. 

Like you I wouldn't be surprised if he gets votes from coaches and or umpires.

  On 12/07/2020 at 06:26, Nasher said:

Absolutely! None more than this one, which still makes the hair on my neck stand up:

 

I don’t know what makes me more emotional about this video. 
That we were winning finals, or that we may never get to enjoy a fully packed MCG celebrating with other fans again #covidnormal