1 hour ago, DeeSpencer said:

He has no touch or penetration. It’s a 20-40m chip and that’s it. Sat an awful hospital kick on a team mates head in the first quarter. Handballed a shot on goal from 45 off to May further toward the boundary.

But he plays within his limits and his team mates are starting to work it out. They know to link up for a 1-2 handball or to lead up at him. 

Personally I think  we should be a bit careful playing him the full 100% tog but what I loved was him doing all he could not to get a blood rule. He really wants to be out there. 

 

Yeah nah. 

Coaches would laugh at this suggestion. Ran at 82% and his defensive running to help out in defence was first class.

You nitpick at the smallest things...

I've been a critic of one aspect of Oliver's game: lack of impact.  Well, he certainly turned that around last night!  He found space, had almost as many kicks as he did handballs (17/22), many of his kicks were sharp and went deep into the fwd line.  I don't know where to get 'metres gained' stats but I would expect it to be very high, perhaps the highest he has achieved.

It is close to his best ever game:  a very balanced game played at an exceptionally high level with significant impact.

Hope the Brownlow casting umpires take note.  He doesn't get enough love from them.

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by Lucifer's Hero

10 hours ago, Jack7 said:

It was probably Yze's call

This whole winning thing must really irk you Goodwin haters.

Talking of gaining territory, nearly all our team kicked more than they hand-balled last night which to me, says we are now playing a 'territory' game. 

This is a shift away from the frantic 'chaos' ball game.  We still have that but added a few more strings to our bow.

Another string to our game plan bow which I noted a few weeks ago:  The game plan now seems to be 'attack' (ala Tigers/Bulldgos) thru the Langdon wing for his speed and 'control' (ala Eagles/Cats) thru the Brayshaw wing for his smarts and vision.

That is not to say we didn't try and play a 'control' game before just that we appeared to not have clearly defined or clearly understood roles so it didn't work too often.  To me the Brayshaw and Langdon roles are becoming quite clear and team mates are learning how fit into those roles.

Its still early in the season but it seems we have gone from being good at a one dimensional 'chaos' game to having an effective multi dimensional 'chaos'/'control'/'territory' game.  I like it.  I like it a lot!!

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by Lucifer's Hero

38 minutes ago, pinkshark said:

So nice not to be depressed yet with our season.  

2 for 2.

Chocco's influence?

Damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t! What does Goodwin (the guy that did actually get us to a prelim before a couple of failed seasons) have to do before he gets any credit?

Good to see us on 8 points after the first 2 rounds. These are games given the opposition that in past seasons we should have won but inexplicably lost. I believe the new rule changes and style of play with less crowded forward lines suits us well this season. We generated a lot of attack and despite the poor accuracy we peppered the goals. I am a critic of Jones but so far this season whilst being adequate he is having a red hot go when last season he was just plodding along. Looks fitter and playing with far more energy and getting involved. Our defence looks solid and our attack has multiple options despite having Weed, Brown and Brown out. Kozzy’s improvement has been sensational. We have laid solid foundations to build on. 
 

72% efficiency inside 50. 39 shot from 54 entries. How amazing is that compared to the past few seasons.

Edited March 28, 20214 yr by america de cali

Wish Fritsch was able to get that ball to Oliver, who was free in the goal square, late in the game, as Oliver deserved a goal to cap off what was a serious game. I’m marking this down to check if he gets the 3 votes on Brownlow night, as he was clearly the best player on the park imo.

3 minutes ago, Cheesy D. Pun said:

This whole winning thing must really irk you Goodwin haters.

Goodwin is in his fifth year of senior coaching and has been with us since the end of 2014. He has an awesome list that has dreadfully underperformed. We should be aiming for a top 6 finish. The start to the season has been great but it is well and truly time his team stepped up 

Man I enjoyed watching that live last night. Goal kicking and skill errors were frustrating at times but echo the sentiments of other posters we just look more mature now. High balls into our backline are hardly a worry anymore,  playing team defence and ball movement excellent at times. Solid foundations for a successful season!

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by danielE288

56 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

I was disappointed to see Natalie Portman at the Roosters v Rabbitohs game on Friday and not at ours. 

Lifelong supporters jumping off the bandwagon is sad.

Jimmy Jordon with a game high 9 tackles, and 20 team disposals.

Seriously impressed with what he has produced in his 2 debut games!

21 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I've been a critic of one aspect of Oliver's game: lack of impact.  Well, he certainly turned that around last night!  He found space, had almost as many kicks as he did handballs (17/22), many of his kicks were sharp and went deep into the fwd line.  I don't know where to get 'metres gained' stats but I would expect it to be very high, perhaps the highest he has achieved.

It is close to his best ever game:  a very balanced game played at an exceptionally high level with significant impact.

Hope the Brownlow casting umpires take note.  He doesn't get enough love from them.

Metres gained is available on the AFL website (select advanced stats). He was 6th with 520m. Definitely above his usual 

20 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Yeah nah. 

Coaches would laugh at this suggestion. Ran at 82% and his defensive running to help out in defence was first class.

You nitpick at the smallest things...

Which part of it? He's a very limited kick with little penetration. That's a fact. Does he use the ball well within his limits - absolutely. I'm not knocking him, but Freo fans didn't invent the idea that he's not a good kick, they probably just overvalued it.

His tank and game running is phenomenal, I think we should just be a little careful with using him 100% though. The last midfield player to consistently play 100% was Scully who then broke down and lost his passion for the game. Just because someone can do something doesn't mean they should. We're rotating all our on ballers to spread the load, Langdon shouldn't be exempt from that.

Useless observation #422

Interesting to see the little cliques after the match, e.g.  Hunt, Langdon & Tomlinson. All ex private schoolboys. (Wonder why Salem wasn't included.) A microcosm of society perhaps?

12 minutes ago, godees said:

Metres gained is available on the AFL website (select advanced stats). He was 6th with 520m. Definitely above his usual 

Thanks godees.  I don't see that view of the AFL website on my android devices.  Could you post or pm to me the link please.

Well this is going to be tough now that we seemed to have found more than one way to win. Time was I could just watch the clearance and contested possession count, that was the only metric that really mattered since if we didn’t win it at the contest we had no hope of winning. Now we can intercept at half back and play a rebound game, lag off the clearance and pick off the first possessor, we can play tempo footy as well as fast movement. Most of all we don’t look slow, even against a team known for their speed. I am so sick of hearing that. 

Obviously Clarry and Trac were awesome but there is improvement coming from everywhere. Players like ANB who have historically been serious liabilities in many aspects of their game have really taken big steps this summer. I am not one to post negative stuff as a general rule but ANB has had me screaming a few times. I have always loved his running and can see why he gets a game, but he has really cleaned up his finishing this year, lets hope my praise doesn’t put the mozz on him :)

There is up and coming talent everywhere and finally they have solid senior team members to lean on and learn from so that they can develop properly without having to carry the team. Rivers, Kossie and Jackson are all great examples and we haven’t even had to blood Bowie, Laurie or Rosman. Finally our kids can develop in the 2s and really be ready when they get thrown in.

Nice to start the year with some hope, lets keep this thing going!

15 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Which part of it? He's a very limited kick with little penetration. That's a fact. Does he use the ball well within his limits - absolutely. I'm not knocking him, but Freo fans didn't invent the idea that he's not a good kick, they probably just overvalued it.

His tank and game running is phenomenal, I think we should just be a little careful with using him 100% though. The last midfield player to consistently play 100% was Scully who then broke down and lost his passion for the game. Just because someone can do something doesn't mean they should. We're rotating all our on ballers to spread the load, Langdon shouldn't be exempt from that.

Scully broke down because he horrifically broke his leg that was compared to a car accident. After that he was never the same player and that took away all of his power through his legs and running strength. 

Stupid comparison. 

Edited March 28, 20214 yr by dazzledavey36

Whilst it was a great team win and the usual suspects have been rightly praised on here for their collective contributions to the win, there isn’t IMO enough recognition for Charlie Spargo. His current form and quality of his disposals is really important for our team. Loving what you’re bringing Charlie, keep it up.

38 minutes ago, Purple77 said:

Jimmy Jordon with a game high 9 tackles, and 20 team disposals.

Seriously impressed with what he has produced in his 2 debut games!

As Jack Dyer once famously commented, he made a great debut last week and an even better one today!

44 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Which part of it? He's a very limited kick with little penetration. That's a fact. Does he use the ball well within his limits - absolutely. I'm not knocking him, but Freo fans didn't invent the idea that he's not a good kick, they probably just overvalued it.

His tank and game running is phenomenal, I think we should just be a little careful with using him 100% though. The last midfield player to consistently play 100% was Scully who then broke down and lost his passion for the game. Just because someone can do something doesn't mean they should. We're rotating all our on ballers to spread the load, Langdon shouldn't be exempt from that.

$cully didn't 'break down' - his ankle and leg got snapped in half in a really nasty injury that could not be foreseen

given the circumstances he made a decision to prioritise his family instead of his professional career which - probably due to the nasty injury - was never going to be the same again

langdon is an aerobic beast and given the shortened rotations and how effective he was with the ball yesterday playing the full game i'd trust in the coaches and fitness staff to make sure it's not damaging him physically or mentally

34 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Scully broke down because he horrifically broke his leg that was compared to a car accident. After that he was never the same player and that took away all of his power through his legs and running strength. 

Stupid comparison. 

I thought it happened late in the game in to the season. Turns out first quarter of the first round. My mistake on that one.

Yes it’s pedantic but I still think we shouldn’t over do him. My original point though was that I love how he’s keen to stay on. He doesn’t seem to tire. I’ll argue over his disposal but never his will to run.

2 hours ago, dee-tox said:

Might be a big statement, but is Spargo the best kick in the team?

Salem, May, Fritsch (field kicking only), Melksham, TMac (set shots) are generally excellent but I reckon we have a new clubhouse leader!

IMO he is the best decision maker in the team, he might not be the best kick but he is up there but his decision making is what makes his skills look even better than they are. 

23 minutes ago, In Harmes Way said:

Whilst it was a great team win and the usual suspects have been rightly praised on here for their collective contributions to the win, there isn’t IMO enough recognition for Charlie Spargo. His current form and quality of his disposals is really important for our team. Loving what you’re bringing Charlie, keep it up.

I loved it when he tackled one guy, forced the ball out, pushed through the tackle and nailed the next guy. He’s always had smarts but it was a display of aggression we haven’t seen. 

I saw Spargo was copping it in the gameday thread in the 1st half,  but the little meastro turned it around to again make some important plays with his unusually large footy brain.

Never write off the little meastro.

Edited March 28, 20214 yr by Pickett2Jackson

13 hours ago, P-man said:

Yes!! Ribbing my Saints mates noses in it! Come on you demons 

u been rubbing your nose in something the way that reads!

12 hours ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

Message to Clayton Oliver, sensational game again but please for the love of God...

Don't go the bump!

You got a Brownlow to win and my money is on you :P

My heart was seriously in my mouth for that moment, he was lucky to collect his body!

it looked like he slowed down and actually didnt tuck up and bump but more let the saints bloke sorta drive into his hip, no issue but [censored] was there.

 

the reason we got the win was our pressure we were constantly on them all the time! they very rarely had an uncontested possession where they were able to have time to use the ball well