Match review vs the cats

Football Discussion Dustin Fletcher Hangar
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Great effort today, you have to be happy with that under the circumstances. As I said in the match thread a lot of the younger guys get brushed aside or fall off tackles but that is to be expected given their slight frames.

Zerrett and Zaka outstanding again today. Cooney much improved also. Darc and Tippa continue to light it up, Tippa is a certainty for the main list next season. Leuny is exceeding my expectations, will be great when T-Bell is back and they can rotate through the F50.

Forward line a shambles without Joe firing resulted in a lack of confidence going forward as the game went on. Also ran out of legs in the end.

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A lot to like about that. Was awesome to meet up with Ivan, redbull and windy Dill at the game

Seriously, we were all over them all day, expect for the scoreboard.

Some notes:

  • Zaha has developed a Stanton-like tank, just with more pace and skills. Looks awesome.
  • Parish just continuely runs to the right spot, and is the real deal.
  • Fanta can seriously play. Is our next Zaharakis type outside runner. Really works hard.
  • Tippa is awesome. No if or buts about it, he is a true success story.
  • we only kicked 6 goals, yet we were in the contest till late in the game. Defence held up well.
  • Dea will play for us long term.
  • We really need another marking target. Mckernan or Grimley must play next week.
  • A true small forward would be nice, and I’d expect to see Eades playing soon.

Impressive game, all things considered

64

Loved Tippa’s game.
The kids were great, and so was Zaka.
Put Gleeson on the wing for a while - 4 games minimum.
Gwilt put in a good showing, held it together down there for most of the game.
Our young mids are exciting.
farkcarlton

65
I think there was a lot to like about that game. A lot of effort, and some really good passages of play. Our forward line needs a lot of work. And if Jerret was dropped for his last game, Daniher should be dropped for that one. No good running into a pocket with two or three players on you and calling for the ball. And IMHO his second efforts aren't good enough. Very frustrating to watch.
I agree about JD, but; I bet he won't be. What I liked apart from all the errors, they were still running even though they must have been tiring and had a go. That's all we can ask for at this stage. Geelong's inaccurate kicking in front of goal kept us in it. The score flattered us.
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DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THIS TEAM CONSISTENTLY MAKES IT THIS HARD FOR THEMSELVES TO KICK GOALS. IT IS SO ■■■■■■■ FRUSTRATING 3 YEARS NOW.

ALSO, GOING IN 1 RUCKMAN PLUS -1 RUCKMAN AMBROSE IS LOSING US MANY GOALS CAN WE STOP, AGAIN, 3 YEARS NOW.

Are you for real?

Is your finger stuck on the repeat button???
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Just remember, there are no green and red vests this year.

Laverde’s injury before half time really hurt our rotations, and ability to run out the game.

Browns broken nose? didn’t help towards the end.

Good effort. Forward line is still a non-entity. How we can win the clearances by that much, and not win the game is quite an effort.

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They’re not very good.

We’ll win several games this year.

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reckon gleeson is flying under the radar a bit

feel he’s been given a bit of freedom to move up the ground a bit and use his skills and pace, and its paying off

not only that but he’s more confident to back into packs and attempt to be the 3rd man up at a contest and kill a ball

tracking well imo

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Another positive article from Foxfooty.

IT WAS only fitting that in the inaugural country game, Essendon and Geelong produced a contest that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a yellowing oval somewhere in the bush.

It was a match inspired by the theme — a battle with more heart, effort and grit than there was purity of ball movement or a strict playbook.

But in the epic struggle we learned a lot about Essendon. They didn’t come away with the four points, but that’s not what should matter to them in 2016. Instead there was something much more important for fans to be proud of.

They’re simply not as bad as many thought theywould be.

Against a side full of stars, Essendon’s ragtag group of top-ups, outcasts and those that remained through all of the pain weren’t just competing with Geelong but outworking them.

The Bombers are going to be dangerous 2016 when the pendulum of their risk-reward style swings towards the latter.

But what has to please their coaches and fans is the effort. It’s as if the Stand Up campaign, intended to persuade members of the red and black army to sign up as members, has penetrated the playing group as well.

It was a stark contrast to Friday night’s clash in the west where Richmond looked thoroughly outmatched on skill and effortby West Coast.

On paper, the Dons and Cats should have seen a similar disparity — but it looked as if the Bombers just care too much to let that happen.

At halftime the Bombers had 21 clearances to the Cats’ 12 with 50 more disposals and 15 extra marks. Even at the final siren when Geelong had ran away with the contest, Essendon still led the clearance count 42 to 23.

Everyone’s pick for the wooden spoon against a midfield including Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood - It didn’t seem to make sense.

It was a dour day at the MCG but that didn’t explain why almost every player in the hoops, with the exception of Dangerfield, appeared to have been inflicted with fumble-itis.

The Bombers used their speed to their advantage against a Geelong side that still feels like it has too many talls.

Their ball movement was at times stellar and at other times amateurish, but to claim the points late in the game the Cats were forced to produce their best. For most of the day they couldn’t.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has developed a cult following. Picture: AAP Image/Tracey NearmyAnthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has developed a cult following. Picture: AAP Image/Tracey NearmySource: AAP
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti continued to prove deserving of his cult status. Every time he got the ball the ever-present roar from the Essendon cheer squad grew louder.

He seems to have a knack for finding open space — although on multiple occasions he seemed so surprised that he was running free that he actually stopped, looked around and kicked to a bizarre spot.

Having played just ten games in three seasons before Saturday, Orazio Fantasia made his case for a permanent spot in the side. He recorded a career-high 29 disposals, eight marks and five tackles.

Zach Merrett’s breakout season is in full effect given he also gathered 29 touches, eight tackles and eight inside 50s — with Joe Daniher kept quiet all day, Merrett was probably the Bombers’ biggest forward threat.

Darcy Parish had 25 touches, 14 of them contested, and with five clearances trailed just teammate David Zaharakis for the game-high total.

Even James Gwilt, in his 12th season, was brilliant as he equalled his career-high in marks through less than three quarters. He finished with 16 — his previous best was 13.

There is still room for improvement from these Bombers. For as much of the ball as they had they couldn’t actually impact the scoreboard, finishing with just 12 scoring shots to Geelong’s 27.

Some Cats had a horror day in front of goal — Daniel Menzel kicked 0.5 including an awful miss from just outside the goal square early in the final term and a similar one a few minutes later that didn’t trouble the scorers. Even regulation accuracy would’ve seen them win comfortably.

Essendon faded away in the fourth quarter and really, given how they played in the opening three terms, they shouldn’t have lost by as much as they did.

But an effort like they produced on Saturday will surely see them shock a few more sides in 2016.

Althought maybe it won’t be a ‘shock’ afterall.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/why-the-essendon-bombers-are-better-than-we-give-them-credit-for/news-story/4f5a26ba164607648815a982273a8dce

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reckon gleeson is flying under the radar a bit

feel he’s been given a bit of freedom to move up the ground a bit and use his skills and pace, and its paying off

not only that but he’s more confident to back into packs and attempt to be the 3rd man up at a contest and kill a ball

tracking well imo

Yep, Gleeson was very good today

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Can’t complain about the endeavour.

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Was awesome to meet up with Ivan

Was he eating “Hot Chips” ?

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Shout out to redbull, peos and windydill for a great afternoon in the Frank grey Smith. Didn’t see too much of the game though I must concede.

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Was awesome to meet up with Ivan

Was he eating “Hot Chips” ?

No, he was eating only beer from what I could see

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reckon gleeson is flying under the radar a bit

feel he’s been given a bit of freedom to move up the ground a bit and use his skills and pace, and its paying off

not only that but he’s more confident to back into packs and attempt to be the 3rd man up at a contest and kill a ball

tracking well imo

I just skimmed through the thread to see if anyone had mentioned him. I loved his game today, did a lot of the one percenters, drilled some great passes into 50 early on. He had plenty of smarts and courage out there.
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Great effort today, you have to be happy with that under the circumstances. As I said in the match thread a lot of the younger guys get brushed aside or fall off tackles but that is to be expected given their slight frames.

Zerrett and Zaka outstanding again today. Cooney much improved also. Darc and Tippa continue to light it up, Tippa is a certainty for the main list next season. Leuny is exceeding my expectations, will be great when T-Bell is back and they can rotate through the F50.

Forward line a shambles without Joe firing resulted in a lack of confidence going forward as the game went on. Also ran out of legs in the end.

Our forward line was a shambles with the 12. Its still a shambles.

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reckon gleeson is flying under the radar a bit

feel he’s been given a bit of freedom to move up the ground a bit and use his skills and pace, and its paying off

not only that but he’s more confident to back into packs and attempt to be the 3rd man up at a contest and kill a ball

tracking well imo

I just skimmed through the thread to see if anyone had mentioned him. I loved his game today, did a lot of the one percenters, drilled some great passes into 50 early on. He had plenty of smarts and courage out there.

Was definitely one of his better games for us. Becoming a very solid defender as well as a creative option.

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I see peos paid better attention than i

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Shout out to redbull, peos and windydill for a great afternoon in the Frank grey Smith. Didn't see too much of the game though I must concede.

Next time I’ll wear jeans without holes in them. And a collar. Sorry lads

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I think there was a lot to like about that game. A lot of effort, and some really good passages of play. Our forward line needs a lot of work. And if Jerret was dropped for his last game, Daniher should be dropped for that one. No good running into a pocket with two or three players on you and calling for the ball. And IMHO his second efforts aren't good enough. Very frustrating to watch.
I agree about JD, but; I bet he won't be. What I liked apart from all the errors, they were still running even though they must have been tiring and had a go. That's all we can ask for at this stage. Geelong's inaccurate kicking in front of goal kept us in it. The score flattered us.

No I agree. He is somewhat protected. And I don’t think it helps our forward line structure at all. We are far too Daniher centric. If Daniher has two players on him someone else must be free. But its as though they have been told look for Daniher above all else.
And every time he doesn’t get the ball he gestures to the umpire, which wont help him get free kicks. He needs to stop worrying about the umpire and start worrying about his second efforts.