This weeks NAB Challenge against Carlton

[Mug Punter]

A decent win and some good signs there

Some random points
* Buddy looks fit and healthy and ready to go
* Upgrade Papley now, what gem in the rookie draft emerging already, he looks very aggressive and composed and knows how to find the footy, there is our small forward for mine and I reckon he could be a bolter for Round 1
* Hewett should be an automatic selection this year, he looks composed and very much an AFL senior footballer
* Heeney has been very impressive all pre-season for mine and looks set to fire
* Likewise Mills looks very impressive and will be right to go round 1
* Rose really impressed me tonight, I haven't bought into his hype but he showed a bit tonight to suggest he'll play a good 12-15 games this year

Now, the negatives
* I just do not rate Zak Jones, poor disposal and he seems slow
* Likewise Nankervis offers us very little
* Cannot believe the commentators gave Newman a wrap, I though he was appalling, terrible disposal and nowhere near AFL standard
* Not sure about Talia, I'd much prefer him on the edges of the squad than looking like he will be in the 22

[Ludwig]

Now, the negatives
* I just do not rate Zak Jones, poor disposal and he seems slow
* Likewise Nankervis offers us very little
* Cannot believe the commentators gave Newman a wrap, I though he was appalling, terrible disposal and nowhere near AFL standard
* Not sure about Talia, I'd much prefer him on the edges of the squad than looking like he will be in the 22

Agree with the positives. Also really liked the looks of Hewett and Papley.

But put into the context of the game where there were so many dropped marks and some poor kicking from experienced players, I thought Jones was pretty good. We know he's pretty quick and a good kick from previous games, but sure he makes his fair share of miskicks, but there are plenty on the Swans who are worse. The 'Bests' list is not be all and end all, but Jones made the bests list. Thought Newman played well for someone who has yet to play an AFL home and away game. Not sure what kind of criticism can be made about Talia; though he was solid enough.

Also good to see Lloyd getting more of the ball again. He needs to keep improving.

[aguy]

I too think jones is worthy to keep going with. He's hardly had a preseason remember so his disposal was understandably not good but he broke lines regularly coming off half back and we need that

[Foreign Legion]

A decent win and some good signs there

Some random points
* Buddy looks fit and healthy and ready to go
* Upgrade Papley now, what gem in the rookie draft emerging already, he looks very aggressive and composed and knows how to find the footy, there is our small forward for mine and I reckon he could be a bolter for Round 1
* Hewett should be an automatic selection this year, he looks composed and very much an AFL senior footballer
* Heeney has been very impressive all pre-season for mine and looks set to fire
* Likewise Mills looks very impressive and will be right to go round 1
* Rose really impressed me tonight, I haven't bought into his hype but he showed a bit tonight to suggest he'll play a good 12-15 games this year

Now, the negatives
* I just do not rate Zak Jones, poor disposal and he seems slow
* Likewise Nankervis offers us very little
* Cannot believe the commentators gave Newman a wrap, I though he was appalling, terrible disposal and nowhere near AFL standard
* Not sure about Talia, I'd much prefer him on the edges of the squad than looking like he will be in the 22

Admittedly I did not see the last qtr as I have a 6 year old and needed to get home but I thought that Jones was OK. Not great, he gets it a lot and seems pretty quick but did turn it over a few times. I think that he has an interrupted pre season but I really don't think you can call him slow.

Newman (who I gave a thumbs up to at the start of this thread) seems pretty good to me. He is a good kick (which we lack in the back half now) and seems pretty focused. Not sure he deserves a round 1 - especially if Ted comes back but he is a handy depth player if Rampe or Smith get injured.

Papley is very busy - I would be a little worried if I was McGlynn.

[Reggi]

Way home from the game

Sinclair was good we struggled when he went off
Jones was fantastic the difference in our backline when he and Grundy were off was huge. Smart player tough, gave us run. Made some mistakes they all do

Newman was good and improved as the game went on, early he was caught out by the pace
Mills an Heeney were good Heeney was running freely

Talia needs to lift his intensity

Scrappy but good to see Horse give lots of young guys a run

[Mug Punter]

Well I am in an absolute minority with my view of Newman

All I will say is that he seems totally one-sided and if his disposal is like that in a regular season game he will get crucified in here. Hope I'm completely wrong though, you'd have to say him and Papley are looking good to get upgraded but I'd think Papley is way ahead in terms of getting a run, he looks really good and I agree that Benny McGlynn should be worries

[Levii3]

The thing with talia is that it takes longer for KPDs to adapt to new structures and develop chemistry to add to the positives Tom Mitchell solid game, Towers attacked the ball better and Hannebery was amazing showed why he's in the leadership group.

Negative
Tippett and Sinclair had good games but didn't hit the scoreboard

[jono2707]

We looked a hell of a lot better when Sinclair was on the field. He's been impressive so far so I hope that bodes well for the season proper.

[wolftone57]

I thought we performed in an underwhelming fashion tonight. There were some patches which were very good but there were too many times when we got caught out with an overlap. I know how Bolton was doing this as his old side do it to us every time. We play a zone and don't actually man up giving them plenty of time to get passes off. If we continue to do this good sides will spank us and a few ordinary ones will get wins too. There were quite a few positives, we won is the first. But the young players were very good.

Papley, Newman & Hewett were really good. Rose was only a bit player. We need to think about our side for the first game. If Teddy is not up to it then the others can cover. Talia was not too bad and managed to manage the monster (Casboult).

Good Points;

Generally Newman can actually kick. There were two bad examples out of twenty odd. He will get even better as he gets used to the other players. He has in the Twos.

Hewett proved tonight just how good he is. His kicking tonight was superb. I love how he caressed that ball in the last. He also put so much effort into keeping the ball in the forward line when resting. He played really good midfield tonight. Especially as Joey was very quiet.

Papley is a hard little nut. A brazil nut I think. Boy is he great to have there. I think he will be more than ok. He isn't too bloody slow either. His tackling is super. He crumbs and burrows like an old pro. Not scared of AFL and seems very much at home.

Rose; Was a bit player compared to the other new boys.


I thought we were very loose in our contact with opponents but that is the game plan. We zone off. Bloody stupid as it doesn't bloody well work.

Hannas form was really good and a real positive as he actually kicked very well too.

The form of Joey is worrying. He got less than 20 possies again.

Tippet can't seem to get a mark. He was pretty good toward the end of last season.

I am glad we are not just hitting up Buddy or Tip anyway. Towers, Papley, Lukie & Hewett all looked pretty good taking marks in the forward 50. I'm impressed with young George, he just makes such good position. Pretty exciting really.

Lloydy was really great tonight. He had, at times, one of the hardest jobs in footy to make sure the best Carlton mids didn't get too much room. When we changed him and Harry I noticed two opponents had plenty more.

Harry has been a bit disappointing in the preseason.

Bud is going to be sensational this year. The thing is are the other experienced players going to be as good?

Parks was sensational after a quiet first quarter.

Reg has taken the responsibility of the leadership group and has made it his own. Very good Reg.


All in all we didn't bomb so much but were very loose in the zone set up. Sorry but I hate the zone set up it is old and is easily beaten. Hawks killed us because we insisted on using it. With so many ex-Hawk coaches coaching teams these days I think we might just lose that. Man on man would be better. We don't have the team for zones. Our man on man ability is so much better.

I think the only thing actually missing is the coaches taking it to the next level. The players are ready but I don't know if our coaches are. They don't seem to have any really new ideas. They have at least dropped the idea of all handball, especially backward, and bombing away but still too much ball being taken out of the midfield by opposition teams. They won the clearances tonight. We need to win those two to one against sides like Carlton. We don't change our rotations enough and we use the on side too much. Not enough manning up our opposition at centre bounces. We tend to give them the defensive side. I have been saying this for years and it is the same now. In fact I'd say that in the NAB Challenge we have used the preseason 2015 stoppage set ups. I wonder if that is a ploy.

[Ludwig]

Hewett showed that he's a lot more than just a good kick, which of course he is. He plays a physical game and tackles well. I liked the way he held his position against a bigger and tough customer in Zach Touhey, which eventually led to a goal.

[wolftone57]

A decent win and some good signs there

Some random points
* Buddy looks fit and healthy and ready to go
* Upgrade Papley now, what gem in the rookie draft emerging already, he looks very aggressive and composed and knows how to find the footy, there is our small forward for mine and I reckon he could be a bolter for Round 1
* Hewett should be an automatic selection this year, he looks composed and very much an AFL senior footballer
* Heeney has been very impressive all pre-season for mine and looks set to fire
* Likewise Mills looks very impressive and will be right to go round 1
* Rose really impressed me tonight, I haven't bought into his hype but he showed a bit tonight to suggest he'll play a good 12-15 games this year

Now, the negatives
* I just do not rate Zak Jones, poor disposal and he seems slow
* Likewise Nankervis offers us very little
* Cannot believe the commentators gave Newman a wrap, I though he was appalling, terrible disposal and nowhere near AFL standard
* Not sure about Talia, I'd much prefer him on the edges of the squad than looking like he will be in the 22

Do you actually watch the games? Newman did three terrible disposals out of plenty. Mind you we weren't giving him much to kick to and at times his disposal was absolutely wonderful. He found targets where you would think @@@@ me where did he see that?

I thought Jones sensational until he went off injured. he kicked one clanger but the rest of his play was pretty good.

I notice you don't say anything about Rampe who managed to kick three our on full.

You didn't mention Smithy who gave away two goals and looked slow and disinterested at times.

You got Hewett and Papley right but I thought Rose was a bit player. In and out of the game not consistent.

I thought Talia actually beat Casboult when he was on him.

[crackedactor]

I am the same as you wolftone, exact same summary. I thought Newman was a fair player but what I Saw tonight was very ordinary. Maybe the worst kick in the AFL? Nankervis is just a waste of money and resources, I am also worried about Kennedy, does not look 100%, In 2012 GF he kicked a goal from outside 50, now it couldn't do it from outside 30? Hewett showed a bit and so did Papley. One day Heeney and mills will get 3 and 2 votes for BOG. Jury is still out on Talia.

[MattW]

Joey is the reigning Bob Skilton Medalist, he requires faith which extends beyond a few pre-season games.

[111431]

JPK, Parker and kizza going no more than 1/2 pace - Hewett booked his spot for round 1

[troyjones2525]

I don't understand all this negative talk re: Talia like the jury is still out etc. Can someone tell me when he was beaten in a contest or kicked it out on the full or straight to the opposition from a kick in this week? Yes he didn't dominate the game but he certainly wasn't poor and showed me he is quite capable of holding down a key defensive post for not only this year but certainly in the future!