02-10-2019, 09:35 AM
2019 looks like being another long season, for all the improvement we displayed today. 
I hate losing to these buggers.
[1] We do appear to have made some significant improvements from last year, but we still lack midfield talent, fitness and strength.
[2] We still do not make the most of ruck hit outs.
[3] Breann Moody is beginning to really annoy me.
[4] Our present team structure struggles when we don't the get the ball forward.
[5] Bree Davey is a shadow of what she was before her knee reco.
[6] I really hate that nobody has the stats for the AFLW.
OK. Before I address these points, I do have some good things to report.
[1] Maddy Prespakis is going to be a very good player for us.
[2] With our big names generally down, the lesser lights put in well.
The Players:
Sarah Hosking and Jess Hosking were reasonable without being dominant. Both had consideranble time outside the centre square and probably ended up with low teens for possessions. We really need these girls to be getting close to 20. But neither has done that yet.
Kerryn Harrington was very good for most of the game. She was excellent.
Nick Stevens didn’t have a good day and looks to be down on form and confidence. She has stagnated somewhat since she has come to us and really didn’t have much impact at all.
Gabby Pound was quite good and did some very nice things.
Bree Davey is struggling to have an impact. She showed her class a couple of times, but considering what she can do, she was well down.
To be honest, I am not expecting a big year from Bree: Darcy Vescio struggled last year after having a poor preparation due to injury and it looks like Davey is following in her footsteps. She isn’t fit enough to play much time in the midfield.
Lauren Brazzale was OK, but definitely not as effective as last week.
Georgia Gee has improved. She has worked on her body strength and just doesn’t get moved away from the ball as easily. Mind you, she could still do with an extra 10 Kg of muscle. She showed some nice things and her kicking looked quite fluent. She has some way to go, but there was enough to get interested in today’s game.
Maddy Prespakis wasn’t dominant for all of her 20+ possessions, but she made some nice centre clearances. Her kicking and decision making were really good; she has a great feel for the game and was probably our best player.
However, she wasn’t dominating in the middle. Hopefully that will come in time. Her other issue is that she is no speed demon. Hopefully the rest of her game will make up for that.
Tayla Harris didn’t play and we really missed her. A couple of big marks from Tayla and the result could well have been different.
Darcy Vescio had another quiet game, but playing so near goal, she is only going to dominate if we get the ball near her enough and we didn’t. I would like to see Darcy leading more, but we also have to be able to hit targets and we have some way to go to be able to manage that consistently. The other thing is that Darcy is rarely managing to be one out against opponents. When we were dominating from the centre (early in the 3rd quarter), our forwards had some room and scored quickly. Darcy showed her class with a really great snap.
Kirby Bentley did OK but did not dominate. Maybe 10 possessions?
Alison Downie started like a house on fire but tired. She was brilliant in the ruck early and did some nice things around the ground. But the possessions dried up after half time and her opponents got on top.
Still, she is going considerably better than she did last year.
Nat Plane was excellent and was easily one of our best. In the past she couldn’t get the ball enough, but she did much better in that respect and her kicking and marking has improved a lot.
Breann Moody: she is an enigma and she is really irritating at the moment. She has so much athleticism, but she isn’t using it. Her feel for the game just isn’t there. She didn’t spend a lot of time in the ruck and Adelaide got 3 goals when she was there. She didn’t take a mark, contested or otherwise. She kicked a nice goal and showed flashes of brilliance, but she just doesn’t know what she is doing. I wonder what her stamina is like, as she gives up the chase far too easily and she lets her opponent run off her far too easily. She is fumbling, not holding her marks and make poor decisions.
I was really frustrated as she was one of our better players last year. However, she is really down at the moment and lack of football background is really showing. I really want to see her attack the ball and any opponent who may have it.
Katie Loynes didn’t have a great game, but she gives her all. How she doesn’t get more frees will always be a mystery to me.
Chloe Dalton was good today. Her run and carry was nice, she did some nice moves to break tackles and her kicking wasn’t bad at all. Not a dominant game, but one that showed real promise.
Jayde van Dyke also had a pretty good game. Her pace was nice to see. The way she read the game was excellent. In fact, until the Crows started pin point passing late in the game, the way our defence structured up as really good.
Shae Audley didn’t have a great game. She was OK, but struggled late in the game. Early on she was pretty decent.
Amelia Mullane was much better this week, in defence and on the ball. She was pretty effective and one of our better players.
Jess Edwards had another shut down role. She was very good in the first half, but she struggled after half time. A learning experience.
Rhiannon Watt came in for Tayla Harris and showed a bit. She wasn’t sighted after about half way through the 3rd quarter, but she showed some good things before that. Her mobility for a tall was excellent and her ball handling was good. However, she struggled in the ruck: she is willowy and mobile and the taller Crows pushed her around too easily. However, when we were good, she often had a hand in what we did.
I hate losing to these buggers.[1] We do appear to have made some significant improvements from last year, but we still lack midfield talent, fitness and strength.
[2] We still do not make the most of ruck hit outs.
[3] Breann Moody is beginning to really annoy me.
[4] Our present team structure struggles when we don't the get the ball forward.
[5] Bree Davey is a shadow of what she was before her knee reco.
[6] I really hate that nobody has the stats for the AFLW.
OK. Before I address these points, I do have some good things to report.
[1] Maddy Prespakis is going to be a very good player for us.
[2] With our big names generally down, the lesser lights put in well.
The Players:
Sarah Hosking and Jess Hosking were reasonable without being dominant. Both had consideranble time outside the centre square and probably ended up with low teens for possessions. We really need these girls to be getting close to 20. But neither has done that yet.
Kerryn Harrington was very good for most of the game. She was excellent.
Nick Stevens didn’t have a good day and looks to be down on form and confidence. She has stagnated somewhat since she has come to us and really didn’t have much impact at all.
Gabby Pound was quite good and did some very nice things.
Bree Davey is struggling to have an impact. She showed her class a couple of times, but considering what she can do, she was well down.
To be honest, I am not expecting a big year from Bree: Darcy Vescio struggled last year after having a poor preparation due to injury and it looks like Davey is following in her footsteps. She isn’t fit enough to play much time in the midfield.
Lauren Brazzale was OK, but definitely not as effective as last week.
Georgia Gee has improved. She has worked on her body strength and just doesn’t get moved away from the ball as easily. Mind you, she could still do with an extra 10 Kg of muscle. She showed some nice things and her kicking looked quite fluent. She has some way to go, but there was enough to get interested in today’s game.
Maddy Prespakis wasn’t dominant for all of her 20+ possessions, but she made some nice centre clearances. Her kicking and decision making were really good; she has a great feel for the game and was probably our best player.
However, she wasn’t dominating in the middle. Hopefully that will come in time. Her other issue is that she is no speed demon. Hopefully the rest of her game will make up for that.
Tayla Harris didn’t play and we really missed her. A couple of big marks from Tayla and the result could well have been different.
Darcy Vescio had another quiet game, but playing so near goal, she is only going to dominate if we get the ball near her enough and we didn’t. I would like to see Darcy leading more, but we also have to be able to hit targets and we have some way to go to be able to manage that consistently. The other thing is that Darcy is rarely managing to be one out against opponents. When we were dominating from the centre (early in the 3rd quarter), our forwards had some room and scored quickly. Darcy showed her class with a really great snap.
Kirby Bentley did OK but did not dominate. Maybe 10 possessions?
Alison Downie started like a house on fire but tired. She was brilliant in the ruck early and did some nice things around the ground. But the possessions dried up after half time and her opponents got on top.
Still, she is going considerably better than she did last year.
Nat Plane was excellent and was easily one of our best. In the past she couldn’t get the ball enough, but she did much better in that respect and her kicking and marking has improved a lot.
Breann Moody: she is an enigma and she is really irritating at the moment. She has so much athleticism, but she isn’t using it. Her feel for the game just isn’t there. She didn’t spend a lot of time in the ruck and Adelaide got 3 goals when she was there. She didn’t take a mark, contested or otherwise. She kicked a nice goal and showed flashes of brilliance, but she just doesn’t know what she is doing. I wonder what her stamina is like, as she gives up the chase far too easily and she lets her opponent run off her far too easily. She is fumbling, not holding her marks and make poor decisions.
I was really frustrated as she was one of our better players last year. However, she is really down at the moment and lack of football background is really showing. I really want to see her attack the ball and any opponent who may have it.
Katie Loynes didn’t have a great game, but she gives her all. How she doesn’t get more frees will always be a mystery to me.
Chloe Dalton was good today. Her run and carry was nice, she did some nice moves to break tackles and her kicking wasn’t bad at all. Not a dominant game, but one that showed real promise.
Jayde van Dyke also had a pretty good game. Her pace was nice to see. The way she read the game was excellent. In fact, until the Crows started pin point passing late in the game, the way our defence structured up as really good.
Shae Audley didn’t have a great game. She was OK, but struggled late in the game. Early on she was pretty decent.
Amelia Mullane was much better this week, in defence and on the ball. She was pretty effective and one of our better players.
Jess Edwards had another shut down role. She was very good in the first half, but she struggled after half time. A learning experience.
Rhiannon Watt came in for Tayla Harris and showed a bit. She wasn’t sighted after about half way through the 3rd quarter, but she showed some good things before that. Her mobility for a tall was excellent and her ball handling was good. However, she struggled in the ruck: she is willowy and mobile and the taller Crows pushed her around too easily. However, when we were good, she often had a hand in what we did.
Live Long and Prosper!