Some of their effort levels in particularly 2nd halves earlier in the season were astoundingly bad. stopped going - if they were doing that at this point in the year they’d get looked at for tanking.
It can also be easy to get carried away with fairly small differences in fairly big numbers. In a lot of these stats.
Eg 16 of 18 teams are within 7% of each other for pressure acts. Not much separates teams.
Can you please assume control of the football club?
How much do you not have the ball?
That certainly is a factor.
With two tantalising fixtures against GWS and Collingwood to come, Cox is confident the Bombers can bring a big challenge to the table.“There is belief in our group that our best can match it with anyone, it’s just a matter of doing it more consistently. Being a ten-out-of-ten football team is what we’re aiming for, producing those matches as much as we can,” Cox said.
“The reality is we’re in the hunt, we’re where we want to be. ‘Scotty’ does love to fire you up, he’s good at motivating you, (there’s) no doubt he’ll have something to get us going.”
Scotty has really got them up and going the past 2 weeks!
That 2nd line certainly made me raise my eyebrow. Made me think they must have been looking purely on effective kick % stats, but the author has said previously how that’s a misleading stat How defining what makes a good kick in the AFL is always up for debate - ABC News
it’s a combination of
players still think the mere act of turning around and jogging to defensive 50 is “defensive actions or pressure”
or
they still don’t know when to zone off properly.
the sydney game is the prime example for that.
redman running off papley to try and influence a contest 20 meters away, doesn’t get near it and they kick it over the top to a free papley who strolls in and i think handballs to someone inthe square.
Thatcher and i believe kelly did the same thing.
watching the matildas game last night, i’m like hey i’ve seen this style before, it’s like watching essendon.
zoned off and just allow players to kick the ball around the backline right up until they get a free/loose player and they just go straight through us.
because again itall comes back to thinking zoning a bit of grass is more important that attacking a or moving forward to meet the player, as well as just jogging around seemingly aimlessly.
Quoting Brad Scott “We’ve liked the look of Kelly on the wing”.
LOL Brad!
Yikes, there has been a lot of red flags this year with Scott. That is right up there!
My faith has been 100% in Brad until this week
Second time Baldwins been great for us, like, real great. Then ditched a week later.
I don’t think Kelly is as bad as people think he is on here, but Baldwin is a much much much better player, and younger.
I don’t mind it. There might be something we’re missing that they’re asking from him behind the scenes to get him absolutely cherry ripe.
He did this with Hobbs a bit, and it worked out fine.
Or he’s making sure we don’t make finals, which is relieving to say th3 least.
Hmmm, so the best spin to be put on BS’s team selection is that he is tanking.
I’m just pinning hopes on a late inclusion.
I dunno …
June 28th, 2023 … Brad Scott on EFC website.
"We prioritise development, and we will continue to do that through the second half of the year.”
Somewhere in that vortex is Bryan, Voss, Balders, Monty and Tex. I just hope those young Bombers hang in there.
Glad you threw Montgomerie in there as well, looked to be the general across VFL backline at times, would have liked to have seen Heppell rest/steps aside in a couple of games this year to give him a crack.
Having watched Montgomerie live this year I don’t see him making it at AFL level. He’s that awkward in between size where, if he was a yard or so quicker he’d the the type of defender you could play on small/medium sized forwards and not worry about him being beaten for pace, but at 190cm he’s too short to play key position in the AFL. Maybe he might’ve been worth a look at some point as you say, to rest Hepp or simply to replace Kelly who hasn’t been great. But to me he looks like 2023’s version of McDonagh, although if h admittedly he’s a better player than him.
Bryan - meh, he isn’t fully ready and both Draper and Phillips offer more at this stage. He has had some games and been okay but not a stand out.
Voss- unlucky at the start of the year but he hasn’t been that great on the whole. He lacks a fair bit of agility and that will be heavily exposed at AFL (in case someone doesn’t think that, go read his draft profile from back when) and it looks like the club has been working on that with him throughout the season.
Baldwin - he’s the only one I scratch my head at tbh, think he should be playing more.
Monty - I like him, don’t see it for AFL though
Tex - is not at AFL level yet and would look like Davey imo, not quite yet
If they want to leave and look for greener pastures so be it but I doubt they will. They are not forgotten about in some vortex, they are playing VFL to learn their craft and be ready for long term AFL success. Some players can come straight in and have success, others take time.
I have serious serious doubts about this blokes ability to coach.
Selections, almost every week this year have been a ■■■■■■■ mess.
We have no game plan, we cannot defend, players dont want to run, our pressure Is pathetic every single week.
There is no reason why this team cannot apply manic pressure, we are a team of midgets who should have no issue turning and sprinting.
What exactly is he doing any different to Rutten last year?
We have gone from one fraud to another.
If your player’s dont want to do the non negotiable things then drop them. Period.
Look at how Hawthorn started the year compared to how they are playing now and try and tell me its because we are young.
I could not even care if we lost more games, but the players played the right way. They just dont give a ■■■■.
Brad should be on thin ice and the same goes for his assistants.
“Chips in”