DeeSpencer

Less of the flying doormat and more the trundling crew cut

Just about the only way to avoid long high kicks inside 50 is to move the ball quickly from the back half forward or across to the fat side. To do that requires switching, run and carry or kicking up the corridor. Short kicks along the thin side flanks take more than the 15 or so seconds it takes an oppositions midfield and half forwards to transition to clogging space across half back. Salem helps, but he mostly mops up and uses it safely. Riv has been trying with various levels of success. May’s largely lost the ability to break through tackles and take the game on. Hibbo’s the same. McVee is great at getting out of trouble but otherwise has a limited attacking game. Lever is a mess. Petty barely tries to attack. Tomlinson looks like Bruce Doull in the VFL but given he only runs in straight lines he doesn’t find the same space at afl level. Eddie Langdon is/was a master of the wide but fast run, but he’s struggling to get runners to feed him and isn't picking out targets. Hunter, refuses to pull the trigger on anything that involves more risk than him behind the wheel of a car. Viney, Sparrow and Gus can get the ball moving but you don’t want them taking risky kicks too often. So it’s Tracc or bust without Clarry’s corridor charge. The half forwards have stopped leading because the ball never comes so you get a pack 60 out from goal, followed by a scrimmage then often a dump to the pack 15 out. Now, there’s still plenty of situations where the ball moves well to half forward and things break down, we are good at those too. And I’d argue some of those are by design looking for deep inside 50’s because a mark inside 30 on a good angle is probably worth 4+ expected score, a mark 45 out on a 45 degree angle is probably worth 2.5 at most. But there’s a coaching issue of forwards blocking for each other, timing leads and the half forwards playing on or dishing well timed handballs to mids on the roll by for the hit up kick. JVR takes a strong grab 60 out, flips handball to PLAYERX then hits up PLAYERY. The only answers that I can picture are Spargo to Fritsch. Which is hard if Spargo is in the 2’s. And I can’t see JVR giving the handball to begin with!

If you’re bagging Collingwood for losing 2 finals by under a kick, or ignoring Geelong playing with more quick tempo to win a flag, or ignoring Port this year then you’re just acting in bad faith. We simply have to move the ball faster, with more width, more creativity and a lot more off the ball running or we aren’t going anywhere. Apart from not beating the best sides we’re also deskilling our players. This isn’t the late Daniher or Neeld days, we have defenders who can kick and we have a mature midfield and half forwards who should be capable of hard running. Switch, kick to space, over lap run to receive, get the ball back through the corridor. There’s so much we can do to improve our ball movement that doesn’t require gun key forwards or pinpoint kicking inside 50.

FB: Hibberd May Lever HB: Rivers Petty Bowey C: Langdon Petracca Hunter HF: Woey Smith Sparrow FF: Pickett Brown Fritsch Foll: Grundy Viney Salem Int: McVee Chandler Brayshaw Gawn S: ANB In: Bowey, Brown, Woey Out: JJ, JVR, ANB Time to roll the dice with Salem and/or Rivers in the guts to give us some skill and run on ball. Similarly Woey as the 3rd wing/half forward for some more speed. Langdon some half forward too. Im hardly convinced Nibbler should be dropped but at the same time he could do with getting some touch and we can use his spot to rotate numbers through the midfield. BBB a run and JVR a rest. Unless Grundy is in need of a week off. Coaches to be ready for Petty forward, Gus or Salo back, Woey on ball if needed. But I still think our issues are far more ball movement, run and skill than height.

We’ve been so reluctant to sub either of them off as well. I thought part of the plan to get Grundy was 5 on the bench or the non injury sub meant we didn’t have to have them on the ground. Grundy’s playing 60% every week but never been subbed. If he’s only good for 60% he should be able to play it quicker then get off. We also seem to have little faith in Grundy’s fitness or positional work because he rarely plays forward and gets caught being lazy defensively in the ruck. The drop off in Max’s handballing / basic decision making with the ball is such a shame. He was always good for one silly kick a week but otherwise was a smart player at his best. Now he’s a genuine worry every time he gets the ball. Not sure what the answer is. Maybe Grundy and Gawn start deeper and play more full forward to be in position for the long bombs. I’d like to see them switch roles on the ground more often to keep teams guessing too.

This is the equivalent of saying could Melksham come in for Steven May.

I don’t hate him, he’s just not an AFL footballer in any role but sub or defensive undersized tall any more. He hasn’t made appropriate defensive efforts or won ground balls for years and snagging a few goals in a comfortable win against out classed opposition doesn’t impress me.

Bowey and Disco probably best on. But both probably more good than great. Bowser didn’t exactly carve them up with ball use. And Disco dropped a few marks (probably could’ve had 10-15 intercepts) and occasionally made odd decisions with the ball. Woey the best mid for the first half, played exclusively wing and was quieter in the second half. Harmes ok. Dunstan in and out. Spargo had his moments but he’s trying to do too much rather than linking up. His defensive intensity was a cut above early thought. Laurie, the classy moments are great but there’s too many slow or not physical enough to get from traffic moments, played almost always forward, way too much Munro and White on ball today. Verrell competed strongly in the ruck and tackled well. But he was playing 2 shortish stints per quarter and running on fumes quickly which wasn’t a surprise. BBB - maybe? Certainly holding marks and looking more sure of foot. Can a ruck miss a week so we don’t lose mobility? Howes - can he just step up and demand selection already. He’s such a pure mover and kick. Contest work just isn’t there yet.

Tomlinson maybe, but there was nothing in Melksham’s game tonight that looked like an AFL return. Got silver service and added goals in junk time

Rough period of play for young Jed McDonald Adams. Mids and half forwards getting well beaten this quarter

Lots of bullocking at the contest and ran forward to get a chance to mark directly in front of the goals and was causal as the kick came in and got spoiled. Having a crack but looks off his best

‘And Jake Melksham will not miss’ And I’ll tell you what else he won’t do, he won’t handball to Jefferson by himself in the goal square

Most impressed with Taj so far, just plays a simple no frills midfield game. Disco’s had at least 4 intercept marks and dropped a two or three more too. BBB moving more freely, we’ll see if he keeps it going

Ahhh no. We need that type of player but he sleeps with the lights on.

If Langdon and Hunter could string together consistent weeks I wouldn’t focus on them. But at the moment they are purely outside accumulators with no damage - fed the ball by a very strong ball winning mids and half backs. If you want to nullify games and take the pace out of attack and take away scoring they’re fine. If you want to win games against good sides they’re so meh. Hunter was good tonight and is in decent form but he flat out refuses to take any risk with his kicking and ends up going super slow and butchering it. And whilst he’s started driving though some contests it’s hard to see him improving his speed or making kicks that he just isn’t taking. If Langdon can’t hold up in the contest and his ball use is a liability then what’s he bringing? He’s purely a structural player now in a team that needs more than that given our ball movement issues. We need at least one winger who actually has some ability to break in to space and take the game on with line breaking and kicking. Or some overhead ability.

Honestly the forward line worked for 3/4’s. JJ subbed off his job on Stewart was a disaster. It put Smith on to Stewart which didn’t work and simultaneously took Smith away from finding some space and the ball Midfield then gave up a few clearances to start the last, and forward line blew big chances in the worst possible way.

Welcome to the club!!! Wasn’t a hard challenge when he was a free agent last year. Don’t forget he has value, he can butcher the ball in 3 different positions! Lamb’s real challenge: - a key forward - 2 wings - a midfielder with pace - a mid/forward who can kick

Carbon copy of the Port game. Should be miles behind early. Get a lead. Butcher it with nonsense in the last quarter

Poor Grundy has a habit of refusing to kick only to give it to a worse kick. Grundy isn’t a bad kick! The instruction for him to handball has to be changed

JVR burns easy handballs, I know it’s a team wide issue but they need to fix that

He was injured THEN he went to full forward and dominated! I’m not entirely convinced just yet but he’s having a go

Probably having a break like every other side that has lost coming off the bye. Only ours was shorter!

Watch the replay and tell me how he out marks 198cm Mark Blicavs at full stretch on a ball that was well over his head. Best he could’ve done was halve it with more contact, net result the same.

Rivers called for it mostly stationary and Gus hit it out in front for Blicavs to intercept. Rivers never had a chance. Had Rivers gone harder he’s still not 200cm, the ball still would’ve been out of reach, Blicavs spoils anyway. Theres a fundamental game plan issue that players don’t move in and out of space in a coordinated effort to get the ball on the move. But if you are going to kick in to the corridor it has to be low and flat and Gus simply doesn’t have that kick.

Ahh yes Brayshaw the Butcher, it’s definitely your role in the team to hit stationary targets in the middle of the ground