DeeSpencer

You don’t think we should take a gamble on a player on Wednesday and help turnover a list that’s got a lot of veterans that aren’t up to it? I wouldn’t want to waste the chance to have a look at a fresh player.

By the way there was a genuine intent for players to link handballs and get back towards the corridor yesterday rather than bail to the boundary from contests in the middle of the ground. So much so that we saw a comical passage of about 8 handballs whilst Gawn and someone else sat on the boundary side by themselves in the 4th quarter. There’s often evidence of the team trying to do different things if you actually look for it. The issue is it breaks down under pressure and/or fatigue.

Deadline is Tuesday before the draft on Wednesday. Who’s retiring? Brown, Melksham, McDonald, Hunter, Dunstan? Surely big Vitzmagic goes on the Long term injury list. Jefferson could have an extra 4 months in the gym rather than a string of more 4 touch games. Is our pro scout still banking cheques despite not finding a good mature age pick up since Vanders?

Highly disagree. We won the contested ball, won the tackles, won tackles inside 50, won centre clearances and lost stoppage clearances by 3 which means we probably won the clearances between the arcs and had more inside our forward 50 where we drop the ruck out and play 1 short. Distance, speed in defence numbers all look fine. Skill execution and a touch of structure (or more so structural break downs) were the problems yesterday not effort. It’s unfair to question effort.

Maybe I need to watch the replay but he laced out Fritsch/Spargo with the best inside 50 kick of the day and they spoiled each other. He also had a lovely release handball to Tracc on the wing, that’s just 2 I remember To me he wasn’t worse than the display of butchery Harmes had. Or Spargo or Chandler

He had a couple of shocking clangers, he had a couple of regulation mistakes that will happen when you have 18 touches and only 1 mark (ie very little uncontested kick mark). He had 9 tackles and some quality disposals and fought hard to halve a heap of contests. He definitely was not the problem.

Defensive half scoring is not sustainable against good teams though. What’s that number without the 3 easy wins? We lost the game when our transition defensive run dropped off in the middle to late 3rd quarter. Maybe it was time for an aggressive sub then? Or to play a 5th on baller. With sloppy execution pretty much everywhere. And with a lack of goal scoring forward efforts be they team or individual, you need a pack mark, a crumb, a laced out kick, a chase down tackle. Freo pulled a few out today and we didn’t.

The lack of run from our backline is the most mystifyingly aspect of our side. Lever used to be so good as a handballer who could go both sides and make quick decisions. May could link up. And Bowey, Salem, Rivers can all run, are very good handballers and good kicks. Maybe the mids aren’t back their quick enough, maybe our wings are too wide looking for outside ball (and slow if it’s Hunter or Gus). But there’s something really troubling about the way our backline has just lost all run over the last 2 years.

Our biggest issues are run, skills, speed and selfishness. Our defenders do no run the ball out nor attempt to hit corridor kicks. Langdon is always ready and waiting, the ball doesn’t get to him. Our mids don’t work in cohesion to receive uncontested kicks, leading in and out of zone gaps. All over the ground we are slow in transition and too defensive. Our wings drop back too far and leave their man for 45 switches. May goal keeps. The rucks drop deep out of every forward. stoppage and we never lock the ball in. Particularly up forward we have big issues with selfishness in terms of not blocking, not staying down, not passing to open team mates and in the case of Fritsch not chasing. We don’t smother. And of course our forwards don’t lead because our mids don’t kick to leads. A vicious circle. These aren’t coaching or personnel problems that can be solved over night and not with VFL players coming in. They are problems that have come from emphasising a way of playing that won a flag in 2021 and not adapting the list. Petty, Oliver and better goal kicking and I suspect we win with todays effort pretty comfortably. But we aren’t some super team that can just romp to victory. We have a lot of flawed players, including our stars.

The 8 touch game and the 9 touch game today and some of his 1 tackle efforts. ANB plays the toughest position on the ground and does his job week to week. His output with the pill depends on how he has it delivered and who he can pass to. When both of those things line up he excels. Sparrow’s crazily undervalued by Melbourne supporters who just look at disposal numbers. He’s a role player but also a very good one.

This I agree with a little more. Would love to see more shuffling of magnets. Pickett should always get a little midfield time but we desperately need his pace and pressure forward. So short stints. Lever was abused by smaller quick defenders turning him around last year. He also provides no skills and no run. So if he gets intercept marks he’s slow unlike Moore or Sicily or Stewart. Goodwin can’t change to be more like Collingwood and have Lever as a witches hat playing by himself. He’s still getting intercept chances whilst taking a man. I don’t believe he’s struggling all that much either, he’s struggling (like May) when the ball is on the deck which comes down to poor form and poor training for the backs on how to execute under pressure. It’s a huge team issue. You know who’s cool under pressure - Judd McVee. Gus also plays as an interceptor when back. We can’t have Gus and Lever both as interceptors when Gus is back. Today Gus wasn’t back so that’s different. But Hibbo was great as a tall back.

Nibbler was good. Sparrow made a huge difference to our midfield defensive run and had great aerial efforts. McDonald actually competed well for a fair bit and got stuck deep forward dragging a key Freo tall out of play at times. I’m not at all convinced Schache would’ve been better than Tom, it’s Schache! Dunstan’s injured. Laurie isn’t consistent at VFL, how does that deserve a promotion. Howes isn’t ready, he should be, but he’s not, really inconsistent contests and drifts though games. Turner, maybe, but Hibbo was fantastic today. Disco’s close but he’s hardly smashed the door down. The only selection issue today was Harmes for JJ and JJ hardly impressed when subbed on. I suspect one was going to be sub no matter. There’s no evidence JVR is significantly tiring, he covered plenty of ground today. Same goes for McVee who was very solid defensively and didn’t get turned around by Freddy at any stage.

Correct. Yze played all 3 areas as a player, he can surely offer up new ideas. Similarly if Chappy can do such great work with our key backs he must have tips for our key forwards. And I think our backline needs a rev up to play with more run and attack Plus with the cap rising I’d really like to add someone from a different club who can bring new ideas and shed light on tactics to beat us. Something more than last years change of Mark Williams taking on goal kicking.

Yes, but Bowser stayed in once Hunt was healthy. I suspect McVee comes under pressure purely as Gus might have to go back if they stick with Hunter. And I think Chandler is now under the pump. Otherwise is there doubt on this side being our first picked? FB: Hibberd May Bowey? HB: Rivers Lever Salem C; Langdon Petracca Hunter HF: Spargo Petty ANB FF: Pickett JVR Fritsch Foll: Gawn Oliver Viney Int: Grundy Sparrow Gus Q?: McVee, Chandler, JJ?

I suspect so too but the result is the same. A gamble of early trades that have been successful but can’t always work.

Recontracting of assistants is done by August I believe so you might actually have to make calls on moving anyone on sooner rather than later. Not saying we should be doing that though. Otherwise unless there’s some drastic mid season game plan or personnel shifts that completely change the side I’d say any improvements were down to sustained excellence over years and the players, not short term decisions. If Yze and Chaplin are going to be senior coaches they need to know more than one area of the ground. If they can’t be flexible they won’t make it in the top jobs.

Really? Best 22’s are never entirely settled and we bought in Bowser only weeks from finals in 2021 for instance. But I’d suggest at this stage we’re happy with the 2 talls and Hibbo down back. We’re happy with Petty and JVR up forward we just need Petty healthy and to ride some bumps with JVR. What to do with Gus and I suspect whether we need an extra mid rather than one of the small forwards might be questions we’re yet to answer but I don’t think it’s that unsettled.

We could win the flag and I’d still think 3-5 years is about the appropriate length of time for most assistants. Even if you just shuffle the jobs.

We’re paying for the list decisions made in order to win the flag and the list inaction the last 2 years. Tomlinson was a panic job post 2019 to get a wing. BBB a desperation move to win a flag, it worked, but it really hurts now! Recontracting T Mc. Trading up in the mess of the 2020 draft and taking Laurie now seems a costly mistake. Then we took lost our quickest players in Baker, Hunt and Bedford and our only prime age key forward in Weid. Gawn has to play more forward which clearly isn’t his go. Grundy at times might out perform Jackson but he isn’t bringing the same mobility as a forward that let us play Ben Brown in the same side. How are we meant to play a more attacking run and carry plan if our midfield and backline have only got slower by getting Hunter and sticking with Brayshaw? Our defenders still refuse to run the ball out through the fat side or corridor and I can’t believe that’s all coaching. If it is a fresh backline assistant would help. A tall defender who trusts their ability to run and kick and a genuinely speedy small defender would open things up. As would an on baller who gut runs to receive to take the load of Clarry. Not to mention one who can kick!

The coach sets the menu but it’s up to the assistants to get every group of players to execute. If you don’t think Yze didn’t make a huge difference to our midfield in 2021 then I don’t know what more I can say. Or Leppa at Richmond and Collingwood or Bevo and Adam Simpson at Hawthorn under Clarko It’s not 1975 any more, it takes a team of coaches and part of that is fresh experts who know how implement different ideas.

Apart from when we swapped in Yze and he deck chaired our midfield to sharing the ball far more and won a flag. Assistant coaches get the time to work with groups of players more specifically. And they bring ideas to collaborate with the head coach. The greatest coaches have always had incredible staff supporting them. Ignoring that is stupid.

Taj in WAFL Colts: 22.7 disposals, 5.1 marks, 4.7 tackles Smith in Coates league: 20.6 disposals, 3.6 marks, 4.6 tackles Not sure about the output difference. I’d expect Kynan to be on our list from what I saw in preseason but I wouldn’t be committing to what at this stage is an inconsistent smaller mid.

And team work, still little to know blocking for Gawn or anyone else.

And the one Fritsch lead up sees him and Spargo collide and the one JVR hit up sees Harmes get in his way.

When Tomlinson, Brown and Schache are your 3 highest afl listed disposal winners you’re in trouble. Certainly looks like the thinnest midfield Casey have played for a while