Rnd 15 vs St Kilda @ SCG

[TheBloods]

I didn't mean it disparagingly. I thought he played well, but there were several other players I would have given the edge to on merit, like Mills, Gulden, Fox and Hickey. 1 vote is meaningless for those guys, so it makes sense to give the vote to Stephens as a confidence booster. I would do that if I were in Longmire's position. Once he feels that he really belongs in the seniors, we should see more confident and consistent outings from him. His VFL performances were troubling and hard to figure, so it's good to see how well he stepped up in the Saints game.

Just looking ahead a bit and thinking Blakey, JMac, Gulden, Campbell, Stephens and HHK form an incredible group of very quick runners with great kicks, including 4 left footers. We should be a very exciting team to watch.

Well it was disparaging . He isnt a charity case , Longmire wouldnt think of him as one either . Hes a damn good player who worked his butt off , gave us constant run and link up by hands . Had the 4th most touches for us and 8 of them were contested ! More touches than any of those you mentioned . Dont chalk up what was a well deserved bit of recognition for his role in our win to a "confidence boost " Spare me.

[MattW]

My favourite Errol sequence of the match, started with him trying to lay a tackle on Steele in our left back pocket. Steele possibly should have been done for holding the ball, but eventually got a handball away. Errol then picked himself up and applied second and third efforts, that resulted in a scrambled St Kilda kick for a behind. The ensuing kick in was the one where Blakey drove it just over a Saint to find Hickey in the corridor. Hickey then quickly shuffles the ball to Reid, who then shuffles it Mills. While that's going on, you can just see Errol moving down the far wing. Mills then hits Campbell with a kick to the right edge of the forward 50. When Campbell rapidly reels around, you can now spot Errol moving down the opposite half forward flank. When Campbell's kick is in the air, Errol reaches the forward pocket, then sprints back towards the ball in flight, to fly for a pack mark. He doesn't take the mark, but Buddy roves the spill and goals. Amazing!!

Fantastic recount!

It was a pity he didn't hold on - it was a spectacular leap.

[liz]

My favourite Errol sequence of the match, started with him trying to lay a tackle on Steele in our left back pocket. Steele possibly should have been done for holding the ball, but eventually got a handball away. Errol then picked himself up and applied second and third efforts, that resulted in a scrambled St Kilda kick for a behind. The ensuing kick in was the one where Blakey drove it just over a Saint to find Hickey in the corridor. Hickey then quickly shuffles the ball to Reid, who then shuffles it Mills. While that's going on, you can just see Errol moving down the far wing. Mills then hits Campbell with a kick to the right edge of the forward 50. When Campbell rapidly reels around, you can now spot Errol moving down the opposite half forward flank. When Campbell's kick is in the air, Errol reaches the forward pocket, then sprints back towards the ball in flight, to fly for a pack mark. He doesn't take the mark, but Buddy roves the spill and goals. Amazing!!

I hadn't linked the whole sequence together in my mind, but I did chuckle when one of the commentators (Carey, I think) suggested that Buddy shouldn't be going for pack marks but, rather, staying down and crumbing and I realised the Swan who had created the contest from which Buddy crumbed the goal was the shortest guy on the team.

[Mel_C]

On a brighter note, was the sound level generated by the "game day experience" less on Saturday night than at previous games or was
I imagining it? Could "people power" actually have had an effect and they turned down the PA from 11 (out of 10) to a measly 7 or 8?

Watching on tv I didn't notice the music after each goal like previous weeks. The first time I heard it was in the last quarter and I thought it seemed like the volume was lower.

[Mel_C]

Or Mills for that matter who, as normal, was the fulcrum in midfield around which the rest worked but who is a victim of his own high standards when it comes to adjudging the best.

Gulden's game hasn't attracted the plaudits it deserves. I've watched two full replays now, and it's amazing how many of the blink-and-you'll miss-it-how-did-they-get-the-ball-moving-there? moments involved him.

Campbell was also much better value than his possession count suggests (though I'm not suggesting he was vote worthy).

It's going to be very tricky to pick a team this week (for good reasons).

I have to admit during the middle quarters I was wondering where Gulden was. Then I saw the stats and was surprised at how many possessions he had. It must have have been those blink and you miss it moments you mentioned.

For Campbell it was the opposite. Like you, I also thought he had more possessions than the stats said.

[Ludwig]

Well it was disparaging . He isnt a charity case , Longmire wouldnt think of him as one either . Hes a damn good player who worked his butt off , gave us constant run and link up by hands . Had the 4th most touches for us and 8 of them were contested ! More touches than any of those you mentioned . Dont chalk up what was a well deserved bit of recognition for his role in our win to a "confidence boost " Spare me.

You're getting upset over nothing. Just hypothetically, suppose there were 6 players that your rated roughly equal 7th BOG, thus up for a single coaches' vote: Stephens, Chad, Gulden, Mills, Hickey and Heeney. As a coach,why wouldn't you give the vote to the one who has been struggling in the VFL as a confidence booster? I think it's smart coaching and understanding your players. Remember that Stephens was only selected because JMac went out for H&S protocols, so a confidence booster makes a lot of sense for me. Why not use the vote to help a struggling player feel better about himself? I noted during the game that Stephens looked really stoked to be in the side and was really up for the game. A good coach has to find the right mix of encouragement and criticism to get the best out of players. It's not about doing anyone a favour. My comment was not about Stephens, but rather a compliment to Longmire. For all I know, Ratten gave the vote to Stephens.

[Nico]

Well it was disparaging . He isnt a charity case , Longmire wouldnt think of him as one either . Hes a damn good player who worked his butt off , gave us constant run and link up by hands . Had the 4th most touches for us and 8 of them were contested ! More touches than any of those you mentioned . Dont chalk up what was a well deserved bit of recognition for his role in our win to a "confidence boost " Spare me.

So someone offers an opinion that you don't agree with so you start throwing cut lunches from the two bob seats. Why don't you just say, I disagree.

[MattW]

I hadn't linked the whole sequence together in my mind, but I did chuckle when one of the commentators (Carey, I think) suggested that Buddy shouldn't be going for pack marks but, rather, staying down and crumbing and I realised the Swan who had created the contest from which Buddy crumbed the goal was the shortest guy on the team.

I can't listen to Carey, particularly his patronising Buddy commentary, so I mute most of our Saturday night Channel 7 games.

[TheBloods]

So someone offers an opinion that you don't agree with so you start throwing cut lunches from the two bob seats. Why don't you just say, I disagree.

i was sticking up for one of ours from a comment i thought was nasty . Ludwig explained himself , end of

[707]

I can't listen to Carey, particularly his patronising Buddy commentary, so I mute most of our Saturday night Channel 7 games.

I turn down the Channel 7 commentary so there's noise but nothing discernible to my deaf ears! I find the commentary almost nauseating. Carey I'd prefer not to hear from anyway, Darcy is a dead set moron, and BT is a clown. Almost nothing comes out of their mouths that is informative or of interest to a switched on follower of the game.

[Sandridge]

i was sticking up for one of ours from a comment i thought was nasty.

Yes, it's upsetting when our own players are subjected to nasty comments. Completely understand your desire to stick up for him.

[Sandridge]

I turn down the Channel 7 commentary so there's noise but nothing discernible to my deaf ears! I find the commentary almost nauseating. Carey I'd prefer not to hear from anyway, Darcy is a dead set moron, and BT is a clown. Almost nothing comes out of their mouths that is informative or of interest to a switched on follower of the game.

In another thread, someone posted a video of a game from the 60s or 70s at Glenferrie Oval. That clip proved 3 things.

1. The quality of player skills has improved markedly over the years
2. The standard of playing surfaces has improved markedly over the years.
3. Football TV commentary has declined terribly over the years.

[Faunac8]

i was sticking up for one of ours from a comment i thought was nasty . Ludwig explained himself , end of

This is rather bemusing there have been plenty of nasty comments posted on here about you know who by you that you didn’t have any issue voicing.
Borderline hypocritical in my opinion.
In regard to the subject in hand Stephen’s did play well and probably deserved the vote but I did like the thinking behind Ludwig’s reasoning.

[jono2707]

Coaches votes don't necessarily always correlate with the official list of best players. But can sometimes offer more insight....

[giant]

The Coaches' votes:

10 Jake Lloyd (SYD)
7 Oliver Florent (SYD)
7 Nick Blakey (SYD)
2 Tom Papley (SYD)
2 Paddy McCartin (SYD)
1 Tom McCartin (SYD)
1 Dylan Stephens (SYD)

I had the same top 3. I'm sure Longmire gave a vote to Stephens as a confidence booster. I doubt he's going to be dropped after this.

Everyone likes JMac and Longmire likes Harry, so both are a good chance to get selected, but it will tough to drop Campbell or Clarke. I can't see Fox being dropped after such a strong game. He's also a better match for Jake Stringer than Harry, if it comes down to that.

Lloyd's game was one for the ages - a brilliant performance.

And Stephens looked every inch an AFL footballer, not something I was ever convinced I'd say. He tackled hard, he went hard at the ball, went back when he had to, demanded the footy, made great decisions - it was all a delightful surprise. And a reminder for all those who have suggested we just gift him senior games that these attributes need to be earned the hard way. Good on him for showing this resilience, look forward to seeing more of it.