Pre-match Discussion: Round 4 V Bombers @SCG

[ugg]

Anything to Sinclair being named as an emergency ahead of McLean? Is Hickey in any doubt?

[Maltopia]

Going back a couple more years, there's hardly a player left in both sides. That's what tends to happen when players retire or get traded and rebuilds are needed.

That brings back the memories and is the team I used to know... players no longer with us due to retirement and trades - Tippet, Hanners, Richards, Grundy, Smith, Jetta, Rohan, Bird, Goodes (not seen but mentioned as subbed out), Towers, Jack, Shaw, Pike, Laidler and AJ in the coaching box, That is 15 players, wow, and that doesn't include McVeigh who wasn't playing on the day or others like Zak Jones, Brandon Jack, Daniel Robinson, Aliir Aliir, etc.

[aardvark]

I wonder if Rowbottom failed a fitness test again and so they left him out or they just decided not to bring him in given its a winning team?

If he has bone bruising of the knee he will probably be a few more weeks yet. I can take quite a while to clear up.

- - - Updated - - -

Anything to Sinclair being named as an emergency ahead of McLean? Is Hickey in any doubt?

Could be Reid maybe?

[NeonBible]

I wonder if Rowbottom failed a fitness test again and so they left him out or they just decided not to bring him in given its a winning team?

Must be a nasty injury. Though im certain they would be thrilled with how the team is travelling, they would never leave a deserving player out of the team and deprive him of that chance to do what he loves

[KTigers]

Always great to hear from umpire bosses Hardwick & Clarkson letting their employees know which aspects of opposing teams games
they should be keeping an eye on.

[dejavoodoo44]

All twelve AFL site pundits tipped us to win and our current sports bet price is $1.19. Which I suppose should give a feeling of confidence. Although last week, those same twelve all tipped Richmond and their price was an even shorter $1.17. Speaking of which, I think Richmond started that week at around $1.45: so, an awful lot of money was lost backing them in. Possibly a bit of the ensuing online angst directed at us, was wallet inspired?

[KTigers]

All twelve AFL site pundits tipped us to win and our current sports bet price is $1.19. Which I suppose should give a feeling of confidence. Although last week, those same twelve all tipped Richmond and their price was an even shorter $1.17. Speaking of which, I think Richmond started that week at around $1.45: so, an awful lot of money was lost backing them in. Possibly a bit of the ensuing online angst directed at us, was wallet inspired?

$1.19 seems a bit short to me. $1.35 is more like it. We don't tend to roll over the Bombers. I'm doing my patriotic duty and getting
on Adam Scott at $60 to win the Masters. If I win I'll buy one of those 8 bedroom houses in Geelong and let Chris Scott, his barber,
Tom Hawkins and Tom's dad stay there for free. After all, all Chris wants is "a level playing field". It's the least I can do.
And then there is the great meeting at Randwick on Saturday. Lots of investment opportunities.

[graemed]

Not sure if anyone has any feelings about how the weather may affect our style of play, as compared to previous weeks. Personally, I feel that with the pressure that Essendon are certain to bring and the wet conditions either directly through rain or indirectly through the ground moisture, indicate that our short passing game and run through the corridor must be affected. Formerly, because the ball will be more difficult to control both from the player kicking and the player marking. Secondly, as we all know from the past the centre wicket area at the SCG is diabolical in the wet, players losing their footing and just staying upright can cause real concern and you'll recall seeing a number of players treading cautiously rather than running with confidence. Dane slipping at a critical time in a Hawthorn game comes to mind.
That being said the Bombers have a younger team than we do and quite a few that have never played at our home, so in that respect at least we may have an advantage. What worries me most is Franklin running around in slippery conditions, lots of ground balls in our forward half with three talls and the distinct possibility of Stringer getting loose with the ball hard to mark or spoil conclusively, he has hurt us in the past and his talent and speed to contests may be telling in a close game.
I know this is the least positive take possible but we have had such a huge build up that I'm still glass half empty at this stage.

[SwanSand]

How do we measure kicking accuracy in general play? And kicking accuracy under pressure? Do we have better kickers than the rest of the competition?
I am sure most AFL listed players would have to be able to kick to an open player 30-40 m away but what about the difficult kicks that some of our players are executing. Are they better at doing so than the rest of the competition?
Marking on the other hand is a lot more studied concept I guess with contested and uncontested marks.

[The Runner]

Disposal efficiency is a relatively dated metric, but one of the few we have access to. Any kick over 40m is marked as an efficient disposal - which is not very representative of real use.
There's a weighted metric, where kick difficulty is measured and factored in. This was the one that Adam Treloar was rated 3rd worst in the league.

To the naked eye, our kicking has improved a lot over the past 5 years with the types of players we're bringing in. We're giving up clearances (where rushed kicks occur) and winning the footy back after the contest. Then being very measured in our use. So, our degree of kick difficulty (mainly pressure and to contests) would be well down year on year.

It's very noticeable the difference in kicking options by age. Kennedy and Parker appear more willing to just get it on the boot and get it long when under pressure. Whereas Gulden and Campbell put more emphasis on kicking to a target.

[SwanSand]

Damien Hardwick has now called on the umpires to keep an eye on our short kicking distance ! This man is ridiculous. I guess he needs these distractions to keep the media off from analysing what is wrong with his team.

[dejavoodoo44]

$1.19 seems a bit short to me. $1.35 is more like it. We don't tend to roll over the Bombers. I'm doing my patriotic duty and getting
on Adam Scott at $60 to win the Masters. If I win I'll buy one of those 8 bedroom houses in Geelong and let Chris Scott, his barber,
Tom Hawkins and Tom's dad stay there for free. After all, all Chris wants is "a level playing field". It's the least I can do.
And then there is the great meeting at Randwick on Saturday. Lots of investment opportunities.

Good luck in establishing the Tigers Home For Wayward Cats.

[Goal Sneak]

Damien Hardwick has now called on the umpires to keep an eye on our short kicking distance ! This man is ridiculous. I guess he needs these distractions to keep the media off from analysing what is wrong with his team.

That is pathetic and really quite amusing. If that is the only thing he could come up with then he's really struggling. Why would you even bother mentioning this? It stinks of desperation. Yes Damien, this is our secret tactic to decimate your team in front of your home crowd, we rely on our short kicks to not be policed properly. Can't believe he figured it out so fast, damn.

[dejavoodoo44]

Not sure if anyone has any feelings about how the weather may affect our style of play, as compared to previous weeks. Personally, I feel that with the pressure that Essendon are certain to bring and the wet conditions either directly through rain or indirectly through the ground moisture, indicate that our short passing game and run through the corridor must be affected. Formerly, because the ball will be more difficult to control both from the player kicking and the player marking. Secondly, as we all know from the past the centre wicket area at the SCG is diabolical in the wet, players losing their footing and just staying upright can cause real concern and you'll recall seeing a number of players treading cautiously rather than running with confidence. Dane slipping at a critical time in a Hawthorn game comes to mind.
That being said the Bombers have a younger team than we do and quite a few that have never played at our home, so in that respect at least we may have an advantage. What worries me most is Franklin running around in slippery conditions, lots of ground balls in our forward half with three talls and the distinct possibility of Stringer getting loose with the ball hard to mark or spoil conclusively, he has hurt us in the past and his talent and speed to contests may be telling in a close game.
I know this is the least positive take possible but we have had such a huge build up that I'm still glass half empty at this stage.

Wet conditions have worried me in the past, but we handled those conditions well at the Gabba in round one. While we didn't get the predicted deluge, it had been raining for most of the week, so it was slippery. In fact, some of the excellent ball movement, in those conditions, was probably what impressed me most about the win.

Up forward, while the conditions may not suit Buddy, I think our small forwards will continue on their merry way.

[SwanSand]

I am sure the whinge about short kicking is a tactic to keep the umpires honest and prevent other teams using the same tactic against their zone defence. We outplayed them on many many parts and had a good grasp on the game plan. The important aspect was kick Mark, short long kicks to keep them guessing, spread of our midfield to prevent congestion causing turn overs that Richmond favour and then obviously our pressure.
Dimma is just being a coach trying to protect his own side against one element of the tactic.

Just looking at Essendon side, they have many tall players > 190 cm on their list. Their defence has a good group of talls. And they are zippy small in the middle. We need to cut the influence of Darcy Parish and Zach Merrett in this game. If we go up 4-0 with a 9 day break coming up, we are all the chance to go 6-0 up. Don’t want to jinx it though.