Zaka must have had his bed anti personnel deodorant on because no-one from the Suns seemed to go near him. He accordingly racked up the possessions and used then well. BOG by a country mile.
This game seed to be the opposite of our usual modus operandi. Normally we are behind in the forward 50 count but are pretty efficient in converting our chances. Last night seemed to be the opposite with a lot of kicks just dumped into the forward 50 expecting Jo or Cale to pull down a speccy.
Liked the way we bottled them up in the second half and kept the ball in out forward line. Just failed to make the most of the opportunities that this gave us.
I don’t know what it is, but the team seems tired and is not playing with the zest and vigor it displayed up until the Saints game. Tippa flashed in and out but seemed to go missing for periods of time.
Love it when the ball is in the hands of McGrath, Zaka, McGrath, BBB. I’m on the edge of my seat when Heppell has it. Sometimes, something fantastic, sometimes …disappointing.
LAV seems just a shade off the required level. Is strong and seems to have a great side step. Just his awareness doesn’t seem to be where in needs to be. But still just the way at times he seems to be able to beat an opponent makers you wonder.
That first qtr junk time free that happens 40x in every game and not a free kept them in it, we were running away with the game and should have been a 60 point belting but umpires are ■■■■■■■ pathetic, i know i’ve said this before, but you can never say it enough that they are so ■■■■■■■ horrendous it’s a ■■■■■■■ joke, 8 free kicks to 1.
I know people are saying not enough love for Tippa, but IMHO there is not enough love for Kelly.
I know he is old, I know he is past it etc etc.
But boy I really hope he stays around the club to teach the younger guys how to use their bodies, and their brains. It’s the little things. We all get old but some people get smarter.
It’s not always about getting the ball (hello Tippa who does so much without the ball.)
In the second quarter with about two minutes to go ball goes to boundary with Kelly, TBell I think, and a suns player. Ball hit back in play, Kelly goes towards it, all the time looking to see who is around him, then you think he is going for the ball, and he steps back away from the ball, leaves it there and shepherds his man. Two of our players appear from nowhere (at this stage I am watching in TV) and get the ball.
At the game it happened right in front of us, and I thought it was a textbook example of really smart play.
It’s that footy nous that someone like him could really impart to our younger players.
I love watching players who when they lose their edge a little through age, just get smarter.
With Lav, I feel like he can be a bit greedier with shooting at goal.
I just feel that he has given off multiple handballs inside 50, to teammates, who have simply been unable to make the distance with a snap around the body.
That team is basically the team we go forward with next year.
Kelly will be out, and maybe Bird will be out, Fanta and Langford in , Francis, Mutch and Ridley can fight over the few remaining spots.
I hope we have potential improvement in the midfield. It has really let us down this year. I didnt expect that.
There was one marking contest when Stewart flew and may chopped one arm and another guy held the other. Have no idea how it was let go and would likely have resulted in a goal
Since his return he has had a couple of shots but missed. It will come as he gets back his confidence. All the tools are there, will be a ripping player if he can remain injury free and get a good run of games.
Finally watched this - it was tough going. Some random observations:
That was barely an AFL standard game. Mostly caused by the way that Gold Coast set up behind the ball, but we need to be better at playing teams who ‘park the bus’ the way that they did. Accurate goal kicking would help.
That first quarter from Begley was probably the best I’ve seen from a debutante, ever?
Zaka and Bags were great. The best two on the ground imo. Heppell was very good in the second half. Goddard and Parish were good.
Putting aside Begley’s start, McGrath’s move into the middle was the highlight of the game for me. He was everywhere in the third. I know we need him to play on the quicker small forwards down back but I would love to see him play out the year at least doing extended stints in the guts. Next year is a no-brainer.
Laverde built into the game nicely. He still looks raw but you can see the talent there. With Green gone, he plays out the season.
Stewart takes one grab marks and we win that by a lot more.
Bird had a stinker. Jobe comes straight back in for him. I would also bring in Langford for Myers but doubt that will happen.
This game should be the benchmark for Zach when being tagged. He did not have a heap of it but still impacted the contest well. His tackling was immense.
I was pretty underwhelmed by our performance. We got the win but still can’t hit the side of a barn particularly if that barn has goal posts in front. I thought GC were insipid and we only won by 30ish points.
We’d have to play vastly better than that to win a final.
