34 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

Oliver - Mr. turnover king  

May - Good but slack (when Hooker marked)

I find these two comments very unfair.

Oliver's ability to win the ball was crucial and he provided some great run through the midfield. I don't think he should be judged based on a couple of skill errors. He was clearly our best midfielder tonight.

I find the criticism of May bewildering. He was absolutely unstoppable in defence and he won almost every one-on-one contest. He was best on ground, in my opinion.

Edited June 26, 20213 yr by Hopeful Demon

8 minutes ago, Hopeful Demon said:

I find these two comments very unfair.

Oliver's ability to win the ball was crucial and he provided some great run through the midfield. I don't think he should be judged based on a couple of skill errors. He was clearly our best midfielder tonight.

I find the criticism of May bewildering. He was absolutely unstoppable in defence and he won almost every one-on-one contest. He was best on ground, in my opinion.

Yeah potentially I'm harsh on May. That goal where Hooker kicked almost turned the game on its head though. It was a clutch moment that sticks in my mind.

Oliver I thought was poor all night. He found plenty of the ball but didn't do much with them. And he refused to take the first option and cost us maybe 2-3 goals based on his turnovers alone. I noticed it a lot tonight. 

1 hour ago, Hopeful Demon said:

He still nailed set shots at crucial times, though. Without him we wouldn't have won the game.

Pretty much. Big time player.

4 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Anb - starting to decline …. May be dropped … must do better

He had shocker earlier in the year, can't remember who it was against and then came out and had a blinder the following week, he should bounce back this week

7 hours ago, Dr.D said:

Yeah potentially I'm harsh on May. That goal where Hooker kicked almost turned the game on its head though. It was a clutch moment that sticks in my mind.

Oliver I thought was poor all night. He found plenty of the ball but didn't do much with them. And he refused to take the first option and cost us maybe 2-3 goals based on his turnovers alone. I noticed it a lot tonight. 

Sure, but that hole he led into was open for 30 seconds and not one of our players filled it. That was the problem. Forwards are allowed to push off defenders and May usually does very well and did for 99% of the night. That mark was a team fail, not Mays

10 hours ago, binman said:

Jeez nev, i thought I liked to argue....

No you don't...

 

;)

11 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

How many were Gawn's? How many did Essendon have?

Hitouts to advantage:

1. Gawn 10
2. Jackson 6
3. Draper 3
4. Wright 3
5. Everyone else 0

Centre clearances:

1. Oliver 3
2. Merrett 3
3. Gawn 2
4. Draper 2
5. Harmes 2
6. Parish 2
7. Langford 2
8. Everyone else 1 or 0

3 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Hitouts to advantage:

1. Gawn 10
2. Jackson 6
3. Draper 3
4. Wright 3
5. Everyone else 0

Centre clearances:

1. Oliver 3
2. Merrett 3
3. Gawn 2
4. Draper 2
5. Harmes 2
6. Parish 2
7. Langford 2
8. Everyone else 1 or 0

Thanks mate, appreciate that! I have a strong feeling not many of those were in the centre, wish we had that stat.

Something definitely doesn't seem to be quite firing in the middle for us. I personally think Gawn isn't able to get as much elevation as usual at the moment which means he's not getting as many of those amazing taps to one of our mids as he usually would.

10 hours ago, Dr.D said:

Yeah potentially I'm harsh on May. That goal where Hooker kicked almost turned the game on its head though. It was a clutch moment that sticks in my mind.

Oliver I thought was poor all night. He found plenty of the ball but didn't do much with them. And he refused to take the first option and cost us maybe 2-3 goals based on his turnovers alone. I noticed it a lot tonight. 

Oliver was our best midfielder, l can’t believe the criticism he gets from a lot of our supporters 

He’s a contested beast and always  puts himself where a lot of players would fear to tread and will occasionally turn the ball over

Another 34 possies in the heat of battle

3 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Thanks mate, appreciate that! I have a strong feeling not many of those were in the centre, wish we had that stat.

Something definitely doesn't seem to be quite firing in the middle for us. I personally think Gawn isn't able to get as much elevation as usual at the moment which means he's not getting as many of those amazing taps to one of our mids as he usually would.

We're 15th for average centre clearance differential, at -1.4. Only Gold Coast, Carlton and Hawthorn are worse.

But what I can't find is our average scores conceded from clearances and/or centre clearances. Because I'm relatively sure that stat will be strong in our favour.

For example, we're miles in front on average intercept possession differential, at +7.6. Geelong's second at +4.4, Brisbane third at +2.8. So we might be giving up more centre clearances but we know we also win it back a hell of a lot more than our opponents.

4 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

We're 15th for average centre clearance differential, at -1.4. Only Gold Coast, Carlton and Hawthorn are worse.

But what I can't find is our average scores conceded from clearances and/or centre clearances. Because I'm relatively sure that stat will be strong in our favour.

For example, we're miles in front on average intercept possession differential, at +7.6. Geelong's second at +4.4, Brisbane third at +2.8. So we might be giving up more centre clearances but we know we also win it back a hell of a lot more than our opponents.

Yeah, it really does become the chicken and egg thing doesn't it?

Are we not worried about centre clearances because our defence is so good at intercepting, or are we so good at intercepting because we get so much opportunity due to losing centre clearances?

Breaking even last night in that area is encouraging, although I really don't rate Essendon super highly in that area (they're 9th for team/opponent centre clearance differential), and I'm not worried if we're not smashing teams in that area, I just hope it's not a 'weakness' come September when they become more important.

Hey! This thread is titled My Three Word Player Analysis. You guys need to go to the My THREE HUNDRED Word Player Analysis thread. ?

Joe boy correct.

On 6/26/2021 at 11:16 PM, monoccular said:

Oliver - take first option  (or .. being too cleaver)

ANB - MIA

Jackson - just kick it

 

On 6/26/2021 at 11:17 PM, spirit of norm smith said:

Anb - starting to decline …. May be dropped … must do better

I was at the ground on Saturday and thought ANB was pretty good. What I saw wasn't based on his disposal numbers (13 disposals including 10 kicks) but rather, his relentless chasing which kept putting Essendon players under pressure. I think his position is safe.

I suspect if I were watching on TV I might come to a different view, but at the ground, I always see so much more of what is going on.

On 6/27/2021 at 11:14 AM, Lord Nev said:

Yeah, it really does become the chicken and egg thing doesn't it?

Are we not worried about centre clearances because our defence is so good at intercepting, or are we so good at intercepting because we get so much opportunity due to losing centre clearances?

Breaking even last night in that area is encouraging, although I really don't rate Essendon super highly in that area (they're 9th for team/opponent centre clearance differential), and I'm not worried if we're not smashing teams in that area, I just hope it's not a 'weakness' come September when they become more important.

Goody has been saying since the Geelong game that the connection between Gawn and the inside mids is an area they are continuing to work on, and would prefer not to have to build an attack from D50 via opposition sharked centre clearance.

With a 4xAA ruckman (probably 5xAA after this year), and the quality of inside mids at our disposal, we really should be better than 12th in the league for centre clearance differential at -19 overall. I reckon this, plus a 2nd KPF are the two glaring gaps at the moment between us and a flag.

Source: https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/th-melbourne-demons?advv=Y

just like to point out that hit out to advantages don't necessarily equate to successful clearances

just saying

I reckon in every single game so far ANB has kicked the ball into the legs of an oppo player at least once when an OTT handball would be the better option. I won’t mention the times he fumbles or runs over the top of the ball…..drives me crazy. My poor wife must think his name is Neal-effing-Bullen I say it so often. Our swear jar is bursting at the seams with my $2 coins.

 

21 hours ago, ProperDee said:

I reckon in every single game so far ANB has kicked the ball into the legs of an oppo player at least once when an OTT handball would be the better option. I won’t mention the times he fumbles or runs over the top of the ball…..drives me crazy. My poor wife must think his name is Neal-effing-Bullen I say it so often. Our swear jar is bursting at the seams with my $2 coins.

 

Hope you're donating the proceeds of your swear jar to the club. But don't tell ANB - it would put him in an invidious position. The more he stuffs up (in your eyes) the better for the club!

It’s entirely out of my hands LDvC.  Although I have been the main contributor to said jar for many, many years I have absolutely no idea what happens to the contents which seem to magically disappear when the jar is full. (Which reminds me….I need to go to the bank and get some more $2 coins for Saturday.)

Petracca - Good plus goals 

Salem - very solid game

Gawn - awesome last quarter

Langdon - made for MCG

Oliver - strong contest beast  

Jordon - keeps on improving

Brayshaw - the unsung hero

May - tough calm uncompromising

Harmes - missed his chances

Hibberd - overall good contribution

Hunt - won his position

Viney - will get better

Lever - a smart footballer

McDonald - not his best

Neal-Bullen- run is important

Rivers - love his energy

Sparrow - great long goal

Jackson - continues developing nicely

Fritsch - pretty poor performance

Spargo - gives his all

Petty - solid not spectacular

Pickett - back to basics