Jjrogan

Good strategic coach. Becoming more evident by the week he has no idea about his players. Sparrow on Bont was ridiculous.

Hola . Season over. Can we have our best decision maker and kick in the midfield instead of a back pocket. See you next week!

...and back to the footy. We've been right in games where ANB has tagged recently. He's shut down a number of quality opposition midfielders. He didn't tag thru the middle in the Freo game and that was a disaster (admittedly prior to the game, I didnt think Serong, Brayshaw were all that effective but sheer weight of numbers hurt). Last week, it was Green and Callaghan who just got off the chain. Eventually ANB went in there and shut it down at the end of the last. He simply must tag Treloar, the Doggies game falls apart when AT goes quiet. He's a smokey for a Brownlow place. As for Bont, keep him in the contest can't let him get outside. He's a nightmare up forward though. So good. Um, pray maybe.

The season is not over. But this method and personnel isn't going to win us 4 games in September. We should be trying new things and looking to win with our best 22 and if you've been around footy clubs that's exactly what we will be doing.

Reminded me of dal Santo and Pendlebury from his very first touch. I just hope he has the heart for the midfield. And I mean that literally. Midfield is a different beast with the 2 way running so it would be great if he has a glimpse of it in preparation for next year.

Let's give the best kick and decision maker in the team half a game in the midfield every week so he gets a taste for 2025. Cya next week.

One half of our starting midfield are panic merchant turnover kings, statistically speaking. The quicker number 4 gets a run in there the better.

Yes. They lose inside 50s, they lose clearances. They win handballs, disposals and efficiency. This is the game to press with pressure at home and beat them at the coal face. Hogan has been awesome but May matches up very well historically when fit. Hogan is a great player to watch right now, sadly in opposition colours.

agree with this. His kicking is widely variable. Unlike others, I don't see him as a centre square player at all. Whilst he is a decent tackler, he's never going to be a contest player and doesn't have elite hands. His edge is his straight line pace, let him play to his strengths. Meanwhile our most skillful player is still kicking around a back pocket. It's been flagged by Goodwin he will move into the midfield (or at least further up the ground). Which brings us back to Oliver. This is fully on the coaching department to find him another supplementary role if others are going to rotate through. You can't be so one dimensional if you're underperforming. I still think he should spend time up forward. Defensive pressure, clean hands, evasion.

Its like a poker game where we held a jack five and kept aggressively betting and thought nah we'll catch the flop, river or the turn. It's just bad coaching plain and simple. You have to know your team and play the odds. During the week I wanted to play negative, defensive football with keepings off to frustrate the heck out of them. I wanted to watch the worst football game ever and if we lost we lost by 4 goals. So be it. Instead we rolled the dice and got what exactly what was predictable without ur two best players, a ruck man and half a dozen kids under 23. It's unrealistic to think they bring intense pressure and skills every week. It's not 2021. Freo are very good. Goodwin is a great strategic coach, the framework is elite. But he is a poor tactician. You can be both. Next week is the week to bring the best against the Giants. At home against a low inside 50s team. Bring pressure and we are a chance to claw back some needed percentage.

Fair nuff. Think it comes down the relative value of Petty then. We'd have to give up a first round for Houston regardless as a contracted player.

Two players in contracts that want to switch to each others state. If Petty left we would expect a pick 10-15. Presently, our pick this year will also be pick 10-15. Giving up Petty and R1 is essentially asking would you pay 2 x pick 10-15 for Dan Houston at prime whilst you are a finals contender. We paid a similar cost for Jake Lever. It's not far off really. Houston is older ofc but we are much further in the window.

Oh it's good in theory for sure. Who doesn't want to play that way. I just don't think it's realistic week after week with a team that is quite young, travelling and in dry conditions. Guess I'm still a bit traumatized by the flogging we got putting speed on the ball in Alice. We shall see.

Been on the McVee bandwagon since Round 2 of last year when he gave off serious Pendlebury vibes. Called for his move to the midfield every week since but since Rivers has gone there full time starting to think different. We are not as cringe worthy, cover your eyes, clanger heavy going forward in the past month. McVee probably stays HB for now but we def need to release him a bit to set up that key kick out of d50 on the rebound. Opponents know he's super effective so rarely allow him to run past getting a handball. Also when he's got the ball, certain guys need to stop running past and asking for a handball. Let the guy who can kick better than you kick it.

Play keepings off. At least for a half. Frustrate the heck out of them. Drain the clock as much as possible. High possession, high mark, low pressure game. Not only is this our best chance of nullifying their strengths, the last thing we need is a high pressure, stoppage and slog fest in the West, drop the game and then back up for a 6 day break against the Giants the following week coming off a 7 day break. We have a real chance to win the following three games if we manage this one well.

Hahah. My comment was tongue in cheek. Nothing to do with merit or privilege, it's just the vibe your honour.

He is a forward every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Needs a lower jumper number tho

In a few of their losses this year they've been beaten by a game plan of high possession, high marks football. (More than 100). I wouldn't mind us trying something similar this week. We got murdered by them on high speed turnovers last time. We've corrected it a lot, but a bit of keepings off, less stoppages might be the way to go. Interested to see what we do with ANB. Serong and Brayshaw are more accumulators than Daicos, Neale and Merrett and much less frightening. I think his two way running and blocking space will be more valuable than shutting down an individual player against Freo.

ANB has done very well in his hard tagging roles of late partly because he's one player opposition midfielders can't run off. He (or someone) must follow Zach Merrett all game. The dude is on absolute fire right now, hitting up targets from anywhere and everywhere.

The disappointing take away from that video was that we allowed the oppositions best player on the ground to be free at stoppages with the game in the balance. Egads.

Oliver has really dropped his defensive instincts this year such that his tackles per game have dropped almost 50 percent from previous year. He tackled more in his debut year. Maybe a tagging role will sharpen those up, but he needs to get back his 'hunt mode' both ball and player. Unfortunately from just watching, I think his hand injury was worse and has had a lot more impact than let on.

Put him down for All Australian next year. Sports injury management is outstanding these days. Both the physical and psychological side. So many cases of modern sportsmen who had potentially career ending injuries in their late 20s but had their careers extended, not shortened, by having 8-12 months off to freshen up. Total professional so you know he'll be er, busting a gut to get back out there.

Sparrow to Neale. Neale earns his possessions at stoppages and in and under. Need a bigger body. ANB to the Luggage. We need a runner who can keep up and close down his easy kicks. Can't let these guys get 30 each. They generate too much momentum

North have had one goalless quarter for the year and that was the first quarter in their win against WC.

Well whatever you think of stas imo I think its pretty clear what's going wrong statistically. We are getting murdered on turnovers. And that's unrelated to stoppage and clearance issues, which are secondary. 48 points this week, 61 against the pies, I think 90 against Freo. You can see it happening every week and it's cringe worthy. We are moving the ball too fast by players that suck at kicking and decision making. Rivers has to play middle for the rest of the year. He isn't elite but he's not an absolute butcher like the rest of them. Not to pile on Oliver but how ridiculous was his clearance kick from half back when he didn't even bother looking up the field when he was clear. Goodwin and Max talks about learnings. Give it a spell I reckon,it's not that hard to learn to have a look. Happening for years now. I get that he's frustrated but he's meant to be a senior player of the club. Goodwin has to take some blame. Every person watching could see Oliver being upset. Why not change it up, play him out of the goal square for 5 minutes. Maybe he kicks a goal and gets some confidence. Our midfield and structure isn't some sort of Jenga tower that's going to collapse if players are moved around but he acts like it is.