02-19-2022, 09:38 AM
It was so much more enjoyable at the football this weekend! Alas, it was also a harbinger of things to come: I'm finding much harder working out who is who these days, and my glasses are not making enough of a difference. I won't be able to watch the football live for much longer.
But this wasn't about me. This was the girls coming home to play. You could see just how much it meant to the girls, before, during and afterwards.
[1] Moody is a long way from her best. To be honest, I don't think she'll get a lot better this year. Being sick and the restrictions on training mean that it will be next year before Moody is back to her athletic best.
That said, Moody had a good game. She kicked two good goals and took a couple of strong marks near to goal. Her ground work was good.
However, she did not dominate the ruck like she usually does, and had only one huge pound forward. The St Kilda ruck, Rhi Watt, had the better of her at the tapouts. That is never likely to occur again.
On the other hand, it did give Jess Good more time in the ruck and she did well. She competed well and also provided a marking target forward. She has a long way to go, but there is quite a bit to work with. her kicking is not a strength, but she did manage an excellent goal.
[2] We still miss a real key forward to kick the ball to. We moved the ball well today and ran a lot harder and, generally, more effectively, but there was never a straight line to goal. That said, we really did crate some opportunities. Darcy Vescio had her best game for the year.
[3] Mimi Hill is a real winner. She's been playing in the midfield and has provided something we've lacked there this year: real pace. Mimi was excellent again, and her kicking isn't that bad.
[4] We did have a real pace advantage over St Kilda today. Not just Hill, but Georgie Gee and Keely Sherar really stood out. Sherar's kicking is pretty dodgy, but she has a lot going for her otherwise. To see her just burn her opponents off and create forward chances was lovely. Maddy Guerin, Daisy Walker and Courtney Jones also showed excellent run.
[5] A worrying sign is that the Saints got the ball out of the middle better than we did. However, they rarely got the ball past Mua or Kezz. Our taller defenders really stood up today. Mua was brilliant, totally thrashing Greiser. Tilly Lucas-Rodd is playing a hell of a lot better for St Kilda than she ever played for us.
Maddy P was good, but not as outstanding as she can be. She looks to be carrying and injury. However, she still reads the play just so well and still got 20 possessions.
[6] Elise O'Dea and Jess dal Pos are really struggling. O'Dea has a big body and goes a lot of grunt work, but she is struggling to get the ball. Dal Pos appears to be past it. She really struggled to make an impact again and was probably our least effective player on the day. We cannot afford to play both of them, to be honest. O'Dea is useful because of her leadership, her versatility and her strength on the inside. You can justify a spot on that. I can't justify Dal Pos when we have other options fit and available. This is probably Dal Pos's best game statistically, and she did have a good tackle count, but her kicks missed targets and she was usually behind her opponent. if this is as good as she gets, then she is not a long term prospect.
[7] Nat Plane has not had a great year, but she did have a really solid game today. The same could be said for Gab Pound. Both did good things when it really counted and hit targets more often, something that we've been struggling with from defence.
[8] It was also good today to see the way we out-tackled the Saints. We got goals because of the pace and tenacity of our players. But a special mention to Abbie McKay, who may be only getting 14 - 16 possessions, but who really put her body on the line when it counted. When someone had to step up, she really put her foot forward.
[9] Lucy McEvoy and Grace Egan also look a long way from their best, but we are better with them playing.
But this wasn't about me. This was the girls coming home to play. You could see just how much it meant to the girls, before, during and afterwards.
[1] Moody is a long way from her best. To be honest, I don't think she'll get a lot better this year. Being sick and the restrictions on training mean that it will be next year before Moody is back to her athletic best.
That said, Moody had a good game. She kicked two good goals and took a couple of strong marks near to goal. Her ground work was good.
However, she did not dominate the ruck like she usually does, and had only one huge pound forward. The St Kilda ruck, Rhi Watt, had the better of her at the tapouts. That is never likely to occur again.
On the other hand, it did give Jess Good more time in the ruck and she did well. She competed well and also provided a marking target forward. She has a long way to go, but there is quite a bit to work with. her kicking is not a strength, but she did manage an excellent goal.
[2] We still miss a real key forward to kick the ball to. We moved the ball well today and ran a lot harder and, generally, more effectively, but there was never a straight line to goal. That said, we really did crate some opportunities. Darcy Vescio had her best game for the year.
[3] Mimi Hill is a real winner. She's been playing in the midfield and has provided something we've lacked there this year: real pace. Mimi was excellent again, and her kicking isn't that bad.
[4] We did have a real pace advantage over St Kilda today. Not just Hill, but Georgie Gee and Keely Sherar really stood out. Sherar's kicking is pretty dodgy, but she has a lot going for her otherwise. To see her just burn her opponents off and create forward chances was lovely. Maddy Guerin, Daisy Walker and Courtney Jones also showed excellent run.
[5] A worrying sign is that the Saints got the ball out of the middle better than we did. However, they rarely got the ball past Mua or Kezz. Our taller defenders really stood up today. Mua was brilliant, totally thrashing Greiser. Tilly Lucas-Rodd is playing a hell of a lot better for St Kilda than she ever played for us.
Maddy P was good, but not as outstanding as she can be. She looks to be carrying and injury. However, she still reads the play just so well and still got 20 possessions.
[6] Elise O'Dea and Jess dal Pos are really struggling. O'Dea has a big body and goes a lot of grunt work, but she is struggling to get the ball. Dal Pos appears to be past it. She really struggled to make an impact again and was probably our least effective player on the day. We cannot afford to play both of them, to be honest. O'Dea is useful because of her leadership, her versatility and her strength on the inside. You can justify a spot on that. I can't justify Dal Pos when we have other options fit and available. This is probably Dal Pos's best game statistically, and she did have a good tackle count, but her kicks missed targets and she was usually behind her opponent. if this is as good as she gets, then she is not a long term prospect.
[7] Nat Plane has not had a great year, but she did have a really solid game today. The same could be said for Gab Pound. Both did good things when it really counted and hit targets more often, something that we've been struggling with from defence.
[8] It was also good today to see the way we out-tackled the Saints. We got goals because of the pace and tenacity of our players. But a special mention to Abbie McKay, who may be only getting 14 - 16 possessions, but who really put her body on the line when it counted. When someone had to step up, she really put her foot forward.
[9] Lucy McEvoy and Grace Egan also look a long way from their best, but we are better with them playing.
Live Long and Prosper!