NAB Challenge Week 3: Sydney v Essendon

[liz]

I am probably about to echo what's already been said.

Very scrappy game. Don't think the Swans were swtiched on mentally for most of the night. Second quarter was the best. The work rate seemed pretty good but there was a lot of fumbling.

Goodes presented much better than in the previous two games, which has to be a positive. But I don't think I can remember him dropping so many marks in front of his body. White drifted in and out, did some excellent stuff and muffed a few chances too. Converted a sensational shot at goal from about 40 metres out on a pretty tight angle, and on one occasion judged the ball well, used his body in the contest and created an easy goal for Jetta.

B1 and ROK did what you'd expect them to do in a practice game. Were generally too strong for the young Bombers midfield, never really stretched themselves, but were effective. Actually, Jude was probably a bit better than that. He had another pretty good game.

Kennedy easily the stand-out in the first half, and had a decent second half too. Won a lot of ball and used it pretty well too. Can't actually recall a duff disposal from him tonight.

Seaby was clean and efficient, Mumford more bullocking. Both had decent games.

I thought Jetta had a good game all round. Tended to drift in an out a bit but he made decisions quickly - ie whether to go for a gallop or to pass off quickly - and in the main they were good decisions.

B2 was also good - and got better as the game went on.

Hanners I thought was OK - I'm not quite on the same page as ORB on him. He got limited game time and probably made the most of the time he had. I think he's certainly in the running for a round 1 spot but don't think he has it quite sown up yet, especially with Kennedy impressing as he did.

Pyke played mostly in defence and while he's still got some way to go, he really impressed me with his closing speed. We know he is quick but he showed tonight he can get to speed quickly. He made a few spoils simply because he was able to close so quickly, and also looked reasonably confident in his kicking.

Most of the rest were OK - did some good stuff, stuffed other things up. Don't think Malceski played at all in the second half.

[rojo]

Barlow - impressive actually (for barlow) .. in and around a lot and some nice long passes into the forward 50.
Smith - very solid, some good skills but didn't stand out.

(I also missed Grundy who didn't play!!)

Thanks AZ. That's encouraging news. Any...slight...possibility of being in contention for rd 1 if he followed it up next week?

[alison.z]

they persisted with him last year when he wasn't playing well so you'd have to say he's definitely in contention ...

all spots will depend on next week's game ... it's doubtful anyone who doesn't play next week will play round 1 (with the exception of Bradshaw and possibly McVeigh) so it's the youngsters (Rohan, Jetta, Hanners) and the fringe players' (Kennedy, McGlynn, Bevan, Barlow, O'Dwyer) chances!!

[Old Royboy]

I didn?t go out to Rooty Hill tonight expecting scintillating skills ? it was 31 out here with maximum humidity, so it was a given that the players and the ball were going to be covered in perspiration from the first bounce. I certainly was not disappointed there.
The first half was pretty high pressure stuff for a practice match. ? and the baby bombers were totally unable to cope. The score of 7-5 to 1-4 should have been more like twelve goals to zip. Goodes dropped at least half a dozen marks within goal range that he would normally have swallowed. Essendon should have had none, except that LRT presented them with the sort of gold plated super clanger that only he is capable of.
The heat caused a plethoria of misdirected handballs and shocking handling errors from normally skilled players of both sides. Bad to watch, but understandable. What there was to like was the pressure from our boys, so the Bombers problems were compounded by poor disposal under pressure as well.
Swans first half goals came from a terrific 40 metre snap by Kennedy, a free to B1 from 25 metres, Jack into an open goal after a fast break (fed by Goodes), a crumbed goal by Bluey Rowan after another easy dropped mark, Mocca White after a Mc Glynn handball , Goodes after finally hanging on to a pass from Moore and another I can?t remember from B1.
After half time the Swans intensity dropped off when a few of the hard heads were given a breather, so the Bombers, with good assistance from the umpires got all the centre clearances and the first four goals of the quarter. The Bombers goals came from a 50 metre penalty conceded by Pyke, sloppy marking by the defence (free man 30 m out), Pyke and LRT outpointed in a marking contest and I think Shaw beaten pointless by a brilliant effort by Essendon 11. It was 10 minutes before the Swans got the ball into their forward 50. Our boys finally got one back on the fast break when Mocca ran his man under the ball and gave Jetta the goal. Jetta followed up by accepting (after initially fumbling) a handball from Gilchrist and bombing one from about 45. Our last goal came again on the fast break when the kick came in to Seaby?s advantage.
The highlight of the third quarter was the belated introduction of Hanners into the game. He announced himself by drilling one to Bevan in heavy traffic (Bevo kicked a point), and there after knocked up getting the pill and doing reasonably good things with it.
Mocca White finally hit his straps in the last quarter, he accepted a pass from Hanners and bombed the goal from outside 50 and wide out. Then he outmarked his man one on one and took off for the open goal. Good stuff! Moore fed Hanners with the sort of intelligent pass he is capable of for another and the Cheese finished off the scoring with an unexpected crumbing goal after Currie dropped a mark on the lead. The umps then gifted the Bombers a couple of junk time goals, but basically our guys with a mix on the field similar to Essendon had dominated the final quarter. Four of our blokes had showered and dressed before the game was over.
I thought Bolton and Kirk were terrific in the first half. It wasn?t pretty. Our hard heads taught the young Bombers a thing or two in the first half ? hope they don?t heed the lesson. McGlynn is a goer, but I?ve a feeling that our team cannot afford him and Bevan in the same side. LRT and Goodes had shockers. Jetta struggled early, but blossomed once he got space later in the game. Early on he tried to hand the ball off instead of taking off himself. Pyke did a reasonable job in defence, and this is an experiment worth persevering with. He?s big and closes very fast when his man is on the lead. We found out tonight that he has a booming kick on the run too. Jesse White is looking terrific, mistimed his leads early but got it right later on. If King Tut (the mummy!) learns to direct his taps better to advantage he will kill them. Seaby took a few good grabs and rucked well . Good game from Bulldog Moore tonight, holding his own very nicely. Mattner and Esky disappeared after half time, they were walking around in street clothes and did not appear to be injured (cross fingers) . Tadhg showed customary dash. Kennedy impressive. Jack was very busy and disposal improved. Rowan played exclusively up forward, had a bad case of the dropsies (not alone there). Got one nice goal and could easily have had another, touched off the boot. O?Keefe appeared to be pacing himself a bit. Shaw was rusty at first, got better and appeared to get through the game OK. I really want Dan Currie to shine, but just did not happen.

[Primmy]

Thank you RB, I needed that.

[Reggi]

Not a really good test given the bumbers are a pretty rubbish side, but form of Kennedy, Hannebery, Jetta & Rohan sound promising. Promising form from white

NorthbankTM will be a good test for Seaby and Mumford. Sounds like TDL will have trouble breaking into the side at this stage

[dimelb]

they persisted with him last year when he wasn't playing well so you'd have to say he's definitely in contention ...

all spots will depend on next week's game ... it's doubtful anyone who doesn't play next week will play round 1 (with the exception of Bradshaw and possibly McVeigh) so it's the youngsters (Rohan, Jetta, Hanners) and the fringe players' (Kennedy, McGlynn, Bevan, Barlow, O'Dwyer) chances!!

Thinking of Blighty's 'bottom six', that must be the best fringe we've had in a while!

[satchmopugdog]

Thank you everyone for the detailed reports. I have noticed from the other NAB cup games a lot of fumbles and dropped marks that would normally be taken, in all the games. Is it the temperatures and humidity/sweat or the yellow balls that cause this? There is one photo of Jetta from the link UGG provided that shows him looking upfield and his body is assuming he has the ball from that physical memory stuff who's label I have forgotten(I daydream a bit in those professional learning seminars). However it is spilling out of his hands. You can see from the body language that the assumption is he would have handled that cleanly 99 times out of 100. Methinks there are some external things affecting the ball handling.

[rojo]

Me too. Thanks heaps for the very informative reports on the game. They are the next best thing to being there ourselves (if you can't see it on the box). I don't know how you manage to see so much going on and then actually remember it to report later! I'm so appreciative that I can even forgive you all for forgetting to report on Ed's first appearance for the season. Methinks it must have been not too memorable!

[liz]

I'm so appreciative that I can even forgive you all for forgetting to report on Ed's first appearance for the season. Methinks it must have been not too memorable!

Ed was actually pretty decent. There were a couple of times where he took far too long to make a decision and got himself in big trouble. But since it was his first game of the year, that can be excused, I guess. On the whole he looked fit, presented well across half forward and delivered with accuracy and purpose. As frequently discussed, there is a lot of competition for the last few spots in the team but he's probably given himself some kind of chance. If Bradshaw's problems linger, his chances must be increased.

[hot potato]

Thanks very much for all the reporting, I bought the papers to find something about the game, but there was bugger all.
Best to go straight to RWO.

I don't think Goodes has ever tried too hard in these games.

HP

[Pekay]

Not sure if anyone noticed it. Even though I am a dyed in the wool Bombers fan, if I see something I don't like, I'll single it out. Mark McVeigh was getting a dead set bath on Saturday night, and I'd had a few sherberts on the hill. Think it was in the last quarter, he came over to the eastern wing trying to find a kick, when I yelled out "Hey McVeigh, you've got a beard like a transvestite" which I'm sure players have heard worse, after all, they play to crowds of varying sizes every week. He heard what I said and gave me the bird!! Well, red rag to a bull, I kept on going, so while trying to tackle a Swans player, he called me out!! You'd expect better from a bloke thats played more than 200 games wouldn't you!
Anyway, that's my story from the night, still cracks me up when I think of it.

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Being up in Sydney for the A-League the next day, I decided to troop out to have a look at things. I'd like to say I had a great time. Once I got out there I did. The stadium was absolutely brilliant. I was gobsmacked as to what a great viewing ground it was. But considering there was trackwork it took over two and a half hours to get there from Newtown. I arrived at bloody quarter time, after being dropped off the bus at Doonside & pleading with 3 Essendon fans who were as equally lost for directions.

I have to say I was VERY impressed at what I saw yet again. Our ball movement and overall ball skills were streets ahead of what you'd expect from the Swans in the pre-season. Jetta once again looked brilliant with his pace & skill & Rohan looks to have cemented a spot for himself across half forward (at least from what I remember). Jessie White looked a tad sharper than he did against St Kilda. And to think he will have Bradshaw & hopefully Vespremi to take the pressure off him up forward augers well for an exciting season. Nich Smith looked a tad hesitant in the back line at times. I don't know what role they are wanting him to play there. I guess now is the time to try things out.

I'd definitely go out to Blacktown for a game again. But would organise a lift or something first. I could have flown to Adelaide in a shorter time than it took on those ever-comfortable Cityrail replacement buses from Granville.

JF

[stellation]

It's just unfortunate timing with the trackwork, JF. My grandma lives in Doonside and from Newtown to there by train is normally a pretty quick trip, but whenever there's trackwork it just becomes a massive pain.