Earl Hood

Short memory, Robbie Grey?

6 Petracca 5 Salem 4 Gawn 3 McDonald 2 May 1 Kozzie

Holding the ball every day of the week! Pick up put out the don’t argue then spin into another tackle and handball over the line, yeah throw it in. Unbelievable.

If I was Goody I would be checking with the umpires at half time if you are allowed to tackle an opposition player who has the ball.

So now you can’t tackle. May tackles Dixon, ball knocked free and he gets a free for holding? So we are talking nano seconds in terms of whether the player incorrectly disposes or the tackler is holding the man. Gee it’s a hard game to umpire, they say but maybe that’s because the umpires make it that way!

What was that free where the port guy fell over as Tommy tackled front on? Didn’t actually connect I thought.

A number of dropping ball, holding ball decisions against us but no replays of the incidents unfortunately.

Any Dee’s supporters in the crowd? We will be battling the umpires all night I suspect.

My memory is that Corey McKiernan took an extraordinary mark that year, running with the flight of the ball into an oncoming pack. For me in terms of courage and degree of difficulty it outscored Moorecroft’s effort which is spectacular but if you get a step ladder in front of you with a high ball coming in, you can see how mere mortals might be able to do it. Where as those few spectacular marks you see where players run with the flight are something else, e.g. Jack Reiwolt’s effort this year. Jeremy Howe also took a screamer at the G some years back, running with the flight and somehow launched himself to take the ball on the shoulders of a stunned WC’s Embley.

Yes Gleeson asks what’s changed in the midfield from the first 12 rounds to the last 3? The personnel are the same but I think both Tracc and Oliver have dropped off about 20% and Gawn slightly. Is it just workrate? Perhaps we don’t bat deep enough in the midfield to match it with the better teams. We lack a centre clearance specialist it seems. I thought Yze would really give us a boost in that area this year but we have gone backwards.

Interesting stat caught my eye having a coffee this morning and looking at match review in The Hun. We had 23 shots at goal for an actual accuracy of 30% (7 goals, 13 behinds and 3 out of bounds) while the expected accuracy was 70%! The expected accuracy it seems, is based on the AFL average accuracy for where each shot at goal is taken. So average accuracy would have us kick more like 13 goals 7. That is a long way off the mark for a top team. GWS were a bit better at 40%, expected 65% I think. It’s those set shots from inside 40m and very little angle that we miss seemingly every week that do my head in. Fix that accuracy just to AFL average and we win most games.

Last week on TV I thought Weid looked good but he is playing a role similar to TMacc who is excelling in that fed roaming role up to the wing. We need a deep target for him to kick too.

From what I saw last Sunday, Weid looked good playing the high half forward/wing role. Problem is that is where TMac is killing them, especially today he was brilliant but he is commanding the ball between wing and half forward and then kicking into a forward void of Spargo, ANB and Fritsch.

Holding over for Thursday game?

I thought having Yze in this year as midfield coach would finally allow us to take full advantage of our obvious strengths, that is best ruck, Gawn delivering to AA players like Oliver and Petracca, with Viney, Harmes, and add cameos from Kozzie, Sparrow and Melksham. That in centre bounces we would learn to read Gawns taps and flick the ball around to find a mid free and running toward goal like we used to see with the Cats and Hawks great midfield groups so often. And like we managed in 2018. Instead we have got to the point where we are getting smashed most weeks at centre clearances and battling to compensate elsewhere against good sides. interested in thoughts about how to reset the midfield, especially at centre bounces. Viney is struggling, he goes out or maybe goes forward as a defensive forward, in place of Kozzie, who needs a rest or Spargo, ditto. Do we bring Brayshaw back into the midfield and LJ goes to the wing and Max does more time as ruck, less forward, assuming BB comes in as a forward target? So many ways to reshuffle but if we continued to get smashed in the centre we won’t win against good sides.

6 Salem 5 TMac 4 Gawn 3 May 2 Fritsch 1 Langdon

Had our chances in the last 5 minutes but stuffed up the forward entries. Hunt had three brain fades in a row!

Difficult to see on TV but The expert comments are saying we are playing a 7 man defence giving GWS an extra around the ball when it’s being contested. We are getting belted around stoppages and thru the middle. Time to get numbers back in the middle I think. Is it Jordan playing back to make up the 7?

6 Lever 5 May 4 Oliver 3 Salem 2 Brayshaw 1 Langdon

I thought Choco had fixed our set shot yips?

Yes Mitch Brown would be handy.

Poor on field leadership by the Dogs. They had done all the hard work and then take an intercept mark on the wing with 1.05 minutes on the clock and….kick up the line to a contest??? Could not believe it. Don’t you find someone sideways or backwards and work it slowly forward to soak up time?

That is an interesting observation, not presenting ahead of the ball carrier. I witnessed it , at MCG, in our bad years when we would be in contention in the very odd game and see players forward of our ball carrier run to pick up an opposition player rather than run into space for the pass. Players unwilling to take a risk for whatever reason, it happens but as a team you can’t function successfully with that mindset. Time to move on with our forward line set up. As for Weid as I have said elsewhere, he has all the attributes to be a good intercept marking backman but we never tried him there. Darcy Moore was going to be a key forward but where is he now?

Good point OD I was yelling at the TV, why were we kicking wide to the pockets consistently? In contrast to our usual game plan. By the fourth quarter I was assuming we were going wide because we had zero confidence in our key forwards to even make a contest. All we needed was Weid and TMac for that matter to punch the ball! I cut TMac some slack as he has runs on the board and should have kicked 2 goals. So the real issue as you say a trust problem with our midfield delivering or not delivering to a key forward. It used to do my head in years ago when Watts would be leading out on his own and the mids would ignore or not see and bomb it to a contest, always wondered if it was myopic or intentional.

Interesting that Worpel for the Hawks got a week for what looked a fairly insipid so called sling tackle. Looking at yesterday’s match there were 2 or 3 sling tackles that could be deemed similar or worse! Crickets from the MRP.