Game Thread. NAB Cup Rd. 1 Swans Vs Power

[Robbo]

Barlow won't make it IMO. He just lacks urgency, I can't understand it. Just looks like he isn't trying and his performance is reflective.

I'm officially worried about DOK. He was a first round pick in the 06 super draft so naturally you expect good things from him, but he just didn't deliver much at all today.

[2005]

Barlow won't make it IMO. He just lacks urgency, I can't understand it. Just looks like he isn't trying and his performance is reflective.

I'm officially worried about DOK. He was a first round pick in the 06 super draft so naturally you expect good things from him, but he just didn't deliver much at all today.

Couldnt agree any more Robbo on Daniel OKeefe.
He is just so ordinary . Ive seen a fair bit of him & he just looks out of place.
He has hardly played I know, though when he has even played in Canberra he has given nothing. It really is concerning.
Ed Barlow in the one Im really dissapointed with. He is a frontrunner.
Doesnt work hard and is soft and I mean soft .I know AFL footy is a hard game, though Ed is soft and doesnt like it hard at all. He has gone so far backwards since his debut.

[desredandwhite]

We had a heavy loss in the first round of the preseason comp. Well bugger me.

I didn't pay full attention to the game as I was being run ragged by a delinquent 10-month-old who doesn't know the meaning of the word "fear".... but my thoughts:

- Goodes got plenty of ball, some of it in very classy fashion, however I think his disposal was relatively ordinary. Will hopefully get better as the season proper approaches.
- I think Shaw will turn out to be a pretty good pickup. Ready to play senior football straight away and looked pretty composed. Pacey, has a big kick on him.
- Barlow - needs plenty of improvement. As the commentators said, needs better awareness and decision making.
- J Dub looks a likely sort. Has flashes of brilliance, but is clear that he still needs a bit of polish at this level.
- Moore was good
- Bird was good
- Jolly looked pretty solid, and kicked a nice goal late.
- Macca is simply continuing on his stellar 2008 form
- ROK needs to recover his finishing skills, otherwise got plenty of ball and looked good (ie: same as 2008)
- I think Meredith will be a player from the little I saw of him
- Jude Bolton ran his guts out and was in everything.
- Pyke contested well for a bloke with his experience in the ruck.. however was otherwise rarely spotted, I daresay his positioning was suspect due to lack of experience.
- The rest were ordinary enough not to rate a positive or negative mention.

[kangle4]

jesse white looked a lot better up front then down back, grundy aswell.

shaw was great with the ball running off half back.

[mcs]

sounds like it was an interesting if fairly forgetful start to the year. No different to any other year then!
Good to hear most think Bird had a good game. I really do think he will kick onto the next level this year.

Also good to hear Meredith did some good things. Everything I have read about him from commentators on the game etc have said that he has everything to succeed at this level, so hopefully he will get an injury free run and show what he is made of.

I would of liked to have seen a result where we were a bit closer on the scoreboard, but that is irrelevant and as long as everyone comes through it alright (Apart from the couple of minor knocks and bruises) then I'm happy enough.

Sounds like Shaw did well on his debut as well. With the loss of Kennelly he will be critical to our team and how we play this year.

[Nico]

Hard to tell who was on for how long on the TV but......

I saw enough of Matt O'Dwyer to say.....not an inside player at all, appears only when there is a loose ball and can run onto it and although kicks a fair way, mainly kicks wildly to nothing. At best a winger.

Don't agree with 2005 on Smith.....disposal is poor and strength of his kicking is way off any level of footy.

I was hoping Barlow would show some more heart in the 2nd half but alas I was disappointed. He appears to be a lazy footballer and soft, but maybe his laziness makes it appear he is soft.

I thought Jake Orreal at boundary contests was OK but centre bounces, he has a long way to go.

Keiran Jack had a lot of the footy but as Liz said, he butcherd it. I hope someone tells him that he is allowed to have a shot for goal when on his own, unchallenged, 30 metres out. For whatever reason he tried to give it off about 3 times at least instead of having a shot.

We gifted at least 6 goals by dumb trunovers and/or overpossessing.

You would hope we can turn that sort of rubbish around by round 1, but then again some of that was perpetrated by the perennial offenders.

On the plus side it appeared most of our better players were out there for the run only. Certainly Craig Bolton and Mattner had a lot of time on the bench.

Jesse White is a certain starter in Round 1.

[swan_song]

I think its going to be a really long and excruciating season when in the first hitout of the year, our best player is a CP. Doesn't say much for the rest. And what's all that about not realising that kicking backwards in the back half is playon in the NAB...Unbelievable stupidity.
With the likes of Laidlaw, Barlow, White, Pyke, DOK, Grundy all playing, what else could have been expected...

[Jeffers1984]

Good:
- McVeigh. Guy could reach elite level by the end of the year. Don't wanna put the mozza on him though.

- Bird. Just knows what to do with the ball in traffic. He will be a brilliant inside midfielder in 2-3 years.

- Shaw. If he can kick the ball like that to a Barry Hall lead and be that accurate, i think we may well have a bargain recruit. Quick and looks very determined. Onya Rhyce! (never thought i'd ever say that).

- Grundy. I thought he stuck to it very well against Tredrea. Didn't do a great lot up forward but to me an interrupted pre season has done some good things to him.

- J-Dubb - What to do with Jesse? Back or Forward? Seems like he will be competent enough at either so we'll see what pans out this year. Should be there round 1.

Jude - Looked really good i thought. Hopefully he can keep on going strong after a solid 08.

Passable

Meredith - Limited game time but seems to be a ball magnet. A few fumbles at first but once he got stuck in was able to show some good awareness. Should play this year.

ROK - same ROK as before. Sticky hands but bloody hell he needs to convert his set shots.

Goodes - Looks fit but it was only a so-so effort today. Reckon he is up for a massive year.

Bad

Cheese - Should be called "Butter". Class he may have occasionally but even the simple things he can't do well. Just doesn't go hard enough at all. Make or break year for him.

Bucky - Thought he had a shocker. Under pressure to keep his senior spot IMO.

DOK - *shakes head. It will be a huge effort if he can break into the seniors this year.

[ROK Lobster]

Jesse White is a certain starter in Round 1.

Even if he's not in the named 22, on previous form.

[satchmopugdog]

Even if he's not in the named 22, on previous form.

Yep...nothing is going to stop him running on the ground.

[BigD]

Well, we lost as expected but there were some good signs.

Shaw was great.

McVeigh was on fire.

[Robbo]

After a dismal 2007 it looks like McVeigh is becoming the player we want him to become.

[Hilly]

Jesse White is a certain starter in Round 1.[/QUOTE]


geez we are going bad......hope he rucks and rests in the forward line, no accountability when he played on Tredrea.

[573v30]

What's happened to Barlow?

[ernie koala]

Plenty of negatives today..the worst of them.....
Barlow....soft as a babies bottom
DOK.....nothing there
Grundy.....ordinary at best
Oreal.....is tall

Then came....
O'Dwyer, Laidlaw, Smith, Meredith

I really hope I'm wrong....but the cupboard looks bare..