Rd 8 vs Collingwood Magpies @ MCG - Match Thread

[Daisi]

I thought the mids had the best game of their season. Parker was back in form and it seemed to inspire the others- There was a lot to like about our performance today- and a lot to dislike- namely, goal kicking and delivery into the F50.

Some of those goals seemed very gettable today- was the wind too much? I don't know- but if we'd had our goal kicking boots on we could have really given them a scare...

Anyway- lots to like and build on- and let's make this a year where we can see the development of some of our still very young players, into skilled professional footballers..

[mcs]

I thought the mids had the best game of their season. Parker was back in form and it seemed to inspire the others- There was a lot to like about our performance today- and a lot to dislike- namely, goal kicking and delivery into the F50.

Some of those goals seemed very gettable today- was the wind too much? I don't know- but if we'd had our goal kicking boots on we could have really given them a scare...

Anyway- lots to like and build on- and let's make this a year where we can see the development of some of our still very young players, into skilled professional footballers..

Was a tiny bit of wind but really not much. Certainly not enough to be missing so many straightforward ones like we did.

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[waswan]

Many were very easy ones too. Don't mind missing them if they are tough shots. But so many were eminently kickable - was a tiny bit of breeze but not much and not much rain during the match. No excuses for easy misses so often.

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Paps and Hayward kicked the only 2 set shots from memory, ironically the harsest 2 shots

Never been the bloke to turn his back when his team lines up, but here i am, not confident on anyone in front of goal

[liz]

I’m not going to get too upset about that. I get we need to start winning games soon and the goal kicking was poor; but that’s exactly the style of play we’ve been seeking.

More than goal kicking, that kick forward of centre killed us, but when it’s some of our better kicks in Blakey, Campbell and Logan committing the turnover I’m not sure what to do.

Some plaudits: our midfield worked well as a collective, and Parker and Gulden in particular were relentless. Our defence held up very well, till a couple of errors late. And Fox was just unreal. The mix of Mills when in midfield and Clarke when back did the job on Daicos.

A couple of others: I’ve said before McLean has limitations but he must be a joy to coach given his endeavour. And Campbell did a very good job on McCreery. I also thought McInerney’s first half was highly encouraging - and that effort in the last quarter to go back with the flight excellent.

That's pretty much my sentiments. I kinda expected a shellacking so was quite encouraged by the performance. I'm not expecting a return to the GF this year, and we have our work cut out even to make finals now. So, for me, it's about looking for steps forward.

I thought they had a real plan to combat Collingwood's style, and for three quarters of the ground and three quarters of the game, they executed well. The midfield, as a group, was really fun to watch as they moved the ball. Intensity was high right across the board.

But yes, the delivery forward needs some work. The structure of the forward line needs some work. The goal kicking definitely needs some work. And we do seem to have an issue running out games, suggesting fitness isn't at the level of other clubs. But I suspect there's not a lot that can be done about this for season 2023. That might be a focus for whoever designs the off-season fitness programme.

[Daisi]

Thanks for responding Mel- so just bad goal kicking-

Agree with Liz. I think we were spoilt last year- we had lots of luck and reached the grand final, probably way before expected. I'm looking forward to seeing some of our younger players mature into really great AFL stars this year. It will be fun to watch, as some of it was today.

[goods53]

This is a game we could have & should have WON except for terrible kicking eg Heeney 3 getable shots, 1 goal from our most experienced forwards between them Franklin,Heeney & Papley , why do we continually kick the ball high into a pack in the forward line thinking Buddy can mark a ball over his head NOTE a) he needs to be leading out OR b) one on one with an opposition if he cant mark it he is good at contesting a loose ball

[AB Swannie]

I feel like we are in between at the moment with our confidence and composure. We’ve lost our youthful freedom but are not experienced enough yet to execute with a cool head. I think it will click again at some point this season but it may happen too late.

[MattW]

Admirable effort, but goalkicking cruelled any chance we had of winning the game. The year is quickly sliding away.

Gulden was absolutely outstanding. Best on, easily. Parker, McLean just behind him. Lloyd, Clarke and Florent were good. Campbell continues to kick very well and be one of the bright spots of the year.

Warner had 27 disposals over the first three quarters and 1 in the last.

Franklin made a lot of mistakes and his confidence looks well down. Heeney and Hayward look like they'll miss every set shot they take.

[Kafka's Ghost]

This is a game we could have & should have WON except for terrible kicking eg Heeney 3 getable shots, 1 goal from our most experienced forwards between them Franklin,Heeney & Papley , why do we continually kick the ball high into a pack in the forward line thinking Buddy can mark a ball over his head NOTE a) he needs to be leading out OR b) one on one with an opposition if he cant mark it he is good at contesting a loose ball

I thought it wasn’t so much of that sort of entry that we blew - until late when we ran out of steam again - as kicking to the advantage of the defence instead of the forwards on several occasions, eg Warner kicks over Franklin’s head straight to Moore. Nevertheless we had 12 set shots, 9 of them within 35m, of which only two were goals. We had the opportunities, we just couldn’t take them. We don’t have the fitness of other teams though, so would likely have been overrun anyway. But we gave ourselves no chance with that kind of conversion.


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[liz]

I've just looked at the stats. They make for interesting reading. We dominate the top section of the possessions board, but - apart from the top couple - there is a swathe of Pies players dominating the metres gained column. That reflects the high possession - and yes, sometimes overpossession - game we played. A lot of the Pies' players stats were likely inflated significantly by that last quarter when we ran out of gas.

I much preferred the way Gulden was used today (and last week, though not to quite the same effect) than for the first month and a bit of the season. He showed that you can be hard, win plenty of contests etc without starting every centre bounce. I guess he took over Stephens' role today, largely running the wing, but not in any sense "outside".

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Was anyone paying attention to the defensive match-ups? I thought the whole defensive team was great at absorbing pressure and cutting off attacking forays. Their cards suffered once the midfield pressure deteriorated in that final quarter. But, specifically, does anyone know who was (predominantly) minding Hill and McCreery? Fine jobs, whoever they were.

[gloveski]

Our midfielders done a power of work for the first three quarters . We simply don’t have enough that rotate through there , hence why we are running out of legs . But Wowee our goal kicking the last few weeks has been woeful. Can’t fault the effort but we’re along way short


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[Maltopia]

Our accuracy is killing us, not just narrow losses, but for momentum change.

We can't win if we are so bad at set shots or what should be kickable goals at the top level.

A few more accuracy would have kept up the pressure and kept us in the game.

Now the positives, well we did do better in the midfield. Blakely and Fox were very good.

[RogueSwan]

I'm currently seeing/hoping this our Demon's 2019 year. (I think I got the right year [emoji849])

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[barry]

We simply aren't running out games. Fitness, or our accuracy based chip game falls down with tiredness?

[dejavoodoo44]

I've just looked at the stats. They make for interesting reading. We dominate the top section of the possessions board, but - apart from the top couple - there is a swathe of Pies players dominating the metres gained column. That reflects the high possession - and yes, sometimes overpossession - game we played. A lot of the Pies' players stats were likely inflated significantly by that last quarter when we ran out of gas.

I much preferred the way Gulden was used today (and last week, though not to quite the same effect) than for the first month and a bit of the season. He showed that you can be hard, win plenty of contests etc without starting every centre bounce. I guess he took over Stephens' role today, largely running the wing, but not in any sense "outside".

AFL - News, Fixtures, Scores & Results - AFL.com.au

Was anyone paying attention to the defensive match-ups? I thought the whole defensive team was great at absorbing pressure and cutting off attacking forays. Their cards suffered once the midfield pressure deteriorated in that final quarter. But, specifically, does anyone know who was (predominantly) minding Hill and McCreery? Fine jobs, whoever they were.

I think one of the commentators said that Campbell spent much of the game on McCreery. Whether that's accurate, I've no idea; as I really don't pay much attention to match ups. Largely because when I have, they're usually nowhere near as full-time as people think they are.

For instance, after the first match of season, I thought, "Miller was quiet today, I wonder who was on him?" So I decided to pay attention to that when watching the replay. What I noticed was that in the first quarter, seven different players lined up next to Touk Miller at ruck contests. So I gave up after that. In that replay though, I did keep an eye on defensive match-ups. What I thought during the live action was Paddy McCartin constantly on the Suns biggest forward, was actually about Paddy 65%, Tom 25% and Dane 10%. And whenever I've paid attention later in the season, it's almost always rotations, rather than strict match-ups.

And yes, loved Errol today.