02-28-2016, 10:28 AM
My take on today's game:
I do apologize if I go over material that has been done previously. However, I do have a fair bit to say.
[1] You can tell that there have been no senior games at Ikon Park for a long time. I doubt there has been a cent spent on ¾ of the ground since we were forced to move. And it looked like it. The seats were falling apart.
I find out there is some reason: we didn’t get a cent from today’s game. The AFL retain complete control.
I was amazed.
Unfortunately, it shows what we have become used to at Etihad and the MCG. It would take millions to make Ikon Park back into a true AFL venue; millions we do not have. As much as I love the place, I cannot see the ground being used more unless there is a LOT of money spent on it.
[2] The team we put out today was almost an U18 team. We had a handful of senior players. In the circumstances, we were not that bad. We have a huge way to go, but of the younger players our stood out in comparison.
[3] Football records: where were they? We had almost 20 000 people at the game today and maybe 1 in 5 had a record. This was not our responsibility, so why were there so few?
[4] The players:
I found it difficult to judge because I did not have a footy record and did not recognize all of our players, let alone any of theirs.
However, I did keep notes, and with the stats I have produced some comments:
Silvagni: This lad has a long way to go to get the pace of the game, but he appeared to have a good idea what he was doing. I was disappointed that he missed his shot at goal (but then, most of our guys did) and his kicking lacked the muscle that will improve it.
He may get a few games late I the year, perhaps, but this year will be mostly played in the VFL.
Don’t judge him yet: his body is seriously underdeveloped.
Simpson: If he ever needed a run, today was it. He was rustier than the ore found in the Pilbara. He had a very small contribution in the 1st half, but he will get better.
Buckley: Not bad, but he also really needed the run.
Harry McKay: A part of our Undiscovered Country – the future. He got his hands to the ball a fair bit and looked dangerous. He is still very young and very light, but it wouldn’t take a lot to turn his game into an impressive one. Unlike a number of his team mates, he also used the ball effectively.
I liked what I saw.
Boekhorst: Very disappointing. He did some really nice things and had a huge run at one point, but his kicking was excremental. He really needs to lift to be a part of our future on that effort.
Jed Lamb: Didn’t do much. His tackling was good, and his defensive efforts were good, but he just didn’t get the ball.
I noted that he spent most of his time in the midfield, but he is going to spend a lot of VFL time unless he starts being more proactive.
Jones: To quote the 3rd Indiana Jones film, “Wo ist Jones?” He appeared to try, but our players would not kick it to him even when he had great position. He had minimal effect.
Docherty: Very rusty, but did a good negative job. With the amount of ball their mids were getting, their small forwards should have had a picnic. They barely had a sniff. But Doc had only 6 possessions for his half of the game.
Rowe: My God! Rowe was brilliant in the air, both punching and marking and he generally beat his man hands down. But his kicking! He dropped 2 of the easiest marks I’ve ever seen and his kicking was deplorable. He seemed to want his kicks intercepted or out on the full.
Tutt: Tutt wasn’t bad – he was just Tutt. He appears to be working on his game still and he tries but his issues are well known. He will get senior games. That says a lot about the state of our list.
Weitering: Jacob Weitering will play in Round 1. He will hold his own. He looked like he belonged. He is not yet up to the pace of the game, but he took some very nice marks and did not lose a 1 on 1 contest. He did lose his man sometimes, which lead to a couple of Essendon goals, but he is going to frustrate opposition fans and thrill ours and soon.
Whiley: Whiley had a shocker. Tried to do too much too often and got caught. Not the contributor of last week.
However, he did do a fair bit of 3rd man up stuff and did it well. He also tackled very well. But he just didn’t get the ball enough.
Clem Smith: Not a senior player yet, but he looked better than last year. He almost took mark of the day, but couldn’t hold on. He looked stronger and fitter, but still gets lost and doesn’t get enough ball.
Cunningham: Will take time on today’s effort. Struggled to get a kick, even though he was in the action a fair bit.
Charlie Curnow: A different role this week, in the midfield and defence. Not bad. Looks like he’ll have a future.
Matthew Dick: Didn’t get much of a run and was OK.
Graham: Nick was one of our best, and our only mid to get the ball regularly. He’ll be much better with Cripps and Murphy around him, but he stood up in the midfield and looks to be on his way back from his injury. A good chance to see round 1.
Everitt: He spent time in defence and had a pretty quiet day.
Andrew Phillips: I don’t remember seeing Phillips before. There is something to work with there. He doesn’t have a lot of idea about a number of things, but he can seriously jump. He doesn’t direct his taps enough yet: he got his hand to the ball only to see Essendon get the centre break. He made a target and he isn’t that slow. He needs a good ruck coach and a LOT of game time.
Ed Curnow: Lots of defensive stuff, but relatively quiet. Loved his long bomb.
Daniel Gorringe: I was hoping to see him play forward a bit, but he did a fair bit of ruck work and wasn’t bad in that department. He is pretty lean, so the Essendon guys tried to ragdoll him, but that didn’t work.
Ciaran Byrne: Stay fit, please! He looked good. He moved well and made good decisions. His kicking was decent and he clearly thrashed his opponents in 1 on 1 contests. Round 1 if he is fit enough.
Jamo: Good while he was on.
Casboult: Took a couple of really strong marks, but wasn’t a big contributor.
Tuohy: Strong in defence and running up the ground. One of our best easily.
Andrew Gallucci: Some nice things, but depends on outsprinting guys too much. He needs to change direction and look for team mates more. Still, he showed he could get it and kick a goal.
I do apologize if I go over material that has been done previously. However, I do have a fair bit to say.
[1] You can tell that there have been no senior games at Ikon Park for a long time. I doubt there has been a cent spent on ¾ of the ground since we were forced to move. And it looked like it. The seats were falling apart.
I find out there is some reason: we didn’t get a cent from today’s game. The AFL retain complete control.
I was amazed.
Unfortunately, it shows what we have become used to at Etihad and the MCG. It would take millions to make Ikon Park back into a true AFL venue; millions we do not have. As much as I love the place, I cannot see the ground being used more unless there is a LOT of money spent on it.
[2] The team we put out today was almost an U18 team. We had a handful of senior players. In the circumstances, we were not that bad. We have a huge way to go, but of the younger players our stood out in comparison.
[3] Football records: where were they? We had almost 20 000 people at the game today and maybe 1 in 5 had a record. This was not our responsibility, so why were there so few?
[4] The players:
I found it difficult to judge because I did not have a footy record and did not recognize all of our players, let alone any of theirs.
However, I did keep notes, and with the stats I have produced some comments:
Silvagni: This lad has a long way to go to get the pace of the game, but he appeared to have a good idea what he was doing. I was disappointed that he missed his shot at goal (but then, most of our guys did) and his kicking lacked the muscle that will improve it.
He may get a few games late I the year, perhaps, but this year will be mostly played in the VFL.
Don’t judge him yet: his body is seriously underdeveloped.
Simpson: If he ever needed a run, today was it. He was rustier than the ore found in the Pilbara. He had a very small contribution in the 1st half, but he will get better.
Buckley: Not bad, but he also really needed the run.
Harry McKay: A part of our Undiscovered Country – the future. He got his hands to the ball a fair bit and looked dangerous. He is still very young and very light, but it wouldn’t take a lot to turn his game into an impressive one. Unlike a number of his team mates, he also used the ball effectively.
I liked what I saw.
Boekhorst: Very disappointing. He did some really nice things and had a huge run at one point, but his kicking was excremental. He really needs to lift to be a part of our future on that effort.
Jed Lamb: Didn’t do much. His tackling was good, and his defensive efforts were good, but he just didn’t get the ball.
I noted that he spent most of his time in the midfield, but he is going to spend a lot of VFL time unless he starts being more proactive.
Jones: To quote the 3rd Indiana Jones film, “Wo ist Jones?” He appeared to try, but our players would not kick it to him even when he had great position. He had minimal effect.
Docherty: Very rusty, but did a good negative job. With the amount of ball their mids were getting, their small forwards should have had a picnic. They barely had a sniff. But Doc had only 6 possessions for his half of the game.
Rowe: My God! Rowe was brilliant in the air, both punching and marking and he generally beat his man hands down. But his kicking! He dropped 2 of the easiest marks I’ve ever seen and his kicking was deplorable. He seemed to want his kicks intercepted or out on the full.
Tutt: Tutt wasn’t bad – he was just Tutt. He appears to be working on his game still and he tries but his issues are well known. He will get senior games. That says a lot about the state of our list.
Weitering: Jacob Weitering will play in Round 1. He will hold his own. He looked like he belonged. He is not yet up to the pace of the game, but he took some very nice marks and did not lose a 1 on 1 contest. He did lose his man sometimes, which lead to a couple of Essendon goals, but he is going to frustrate opposition fans and thrill ours and soon.
Whiley: Whiley had a shocker. Tried to do too much too often and got caught. Not the contributor of last week.
However, he did do a fair bit of 3rd man up stuff and did it well. He also tackled very well. But he just didn’t get the ball enough.
Clem Smith: Not a senior player yet, but he looked better than last year. He almost took mark of the day, but couldn’t hold on. He looked stronger and fitter, but still gets lost and doesn’t get enough ball.
Cunningham: Will take time on today’s effort. Struggled to get a kick, even though he was in the action a fair bit.
Charlie Curnow: A different role this week, in the midfield and defence. Not bad. Looks like he’ll have a future.
Matthew Dick: Didn’t get much of a run and was OK.
Graham: Nick was one of our best, and our only mid to get the ball regularly. He’ll be much better with Cripps and Murphy around him, but he stood up in the midfield and looks to be on his way back from his injury. A good chance to see round 1.
Everitt: He spent time in defence and had a pretty quiet day.
Andrew Phillips: I don’t remember seeing Phillips before. There is something to work with there. He doesn’t have a lot of idea about a number of things, but he can seriously jump. He doesn’t direct his taps enough yet: he got his hand to the ball only to see Essendon get the centre break. He made a target and he isn’t that slow. He needs a good ruck coach and a LOT of game time.
Ed Curnow: Lots of defensive stuff, but relatively quiet. Loved his long bomb.
Daniel Gorringe: I was hoping to see him play forward a bit, but he did a fair bit of ruck work and wasn’t bad in that department. He is pretty lean, so the Essendon guys tried to ragdoll him, but that didn’t work.
Ciaran Byrne: Stay fit, please! He looked good. He moved well and made good decisions. His kicking was decent and he clearly thrashed his opponents in 1 on 1 contests. Round 1 if he is fit enough.
Jamo: Good while he was on.
Casboult: Took a couple of really strong marks, but wasn’t a big contributor.
Tuohy: Strong in defence and running up the ground. One of our best easily.
Andrew Gallucci: Some nice things, but depends on outsprinting guys too much. He needs to change direction and look for team mates more. Still, he showed he could get it and kick a goal.
Live Long and Prosper!