When I said Long was poor , I meant in the context of an AFL player in his 5th season. If he was a VFL player I’d have said he was average.
And I thought Zerk was disappointing today. Limited impact, few intercept marks and on a much easier opponent than Hartley.
Lots of people saying how good Francis was. I’m surprised. Had minimal impact, forward positioning was pretty terrible and touched it 10 times. One goal literally came from his man leaving him alone in the goal square.
What on earth made everyone so excited? One or two lovely touches on a low impact day?
Francis was good without being awesome.
Begley was very good I think. Particularly when he ran into the centre and after the ball ups around the packs. He would deliver an effective disposal to advantage & tackle & retackle on every occasion. His kicking was typically very good & he snags some good goals from difficult spots under pressure.
He rarely if ever gets beaten one on one and often competes well against two oppositions players to help us keep the ball bottles up.
I liked his game a lot .
McNeice was very very good across half back with incept marking especially in 3rd & 4th
I’m a huge Francis fan but unfortunately I have to agree. He played his role but little more as he ran out of steam. A long way from the dominant Francis we know.
It was easy being an Essendon forward in the first half… less so later.
That Mozzi goal was like Tippa’s a few years ago in the VFL…walking past defenders.
Did he sell any candy?
You know, from chocolates to boiled lollies?
Draper and Begley the best by far.
Cameos from Francis, McNiece, and Houlahan during the game.
Impressive VFL players are helping us immensely in my opinion.
What’s the go with Aylett btw? Is he injured?
I’m not saying we need to rush him into the seniors next week but McNiece was clearly BOG in my opinion.
No he ran to close to the mark. He might have been mouthing off as well, but he definitely got pinged 50 meters for getting too close.
Begley as a full time midfielder is super exciting. He has everything you want in a midfielder.
VFL players:
Danny spent most of his time on the wing/back and provided many leads. Did the hard work too - tackling and in and under. Good game
HepA - not sure if he is quite right. He definitely wasn’t up to his usual standard. Solid game tho
VFL Brown and VFL McKenna - playing their role and do good stuff, solid contributions and willing to fly the flag. McKenna in particular doesn’t mind reminding people of his solid physique.
Berry/Nino - were a bit out of sorts, especially in 3rd qtr but settled again in 4th.
Sibbald is proving quite the handyman. Forward/back and a go in ruck. Improving every game.
Special mention to debutant- Dylan Landt - impressive debut, really hope he keeps it up, very nice work.
AFL players:
Moz was cramping big time in the last qtr. Really goes hard at it but is stuffed after it. It’s going to be fun year watching him develop his tank. His skills and footy sense are already evident.
Sammy - brilliant, love his work and his attitude to smaller players who attempt to take him on.
Big boy - going nicely, will be ready when he gets the call up
Zerk - got a bit of a lesson today. Was outbodied on a number of occasions. He will be better for it.
Franga - really needs to be up in the seniors and left there.
Gown - got murdered by the Umps
Benny - very good today (BOG)
Everyone else - played their role, did kinda what they are meant to do.
ANZAC ceremony at the start was excellent- low key and just right.
Not sure why Connellan didn’t make the cut today!
Pick six.
Really that’s it.
Talented project player is what he plays like at the moment. Does a few thing that make you go “woh” but looks a fair way off afl standard taken over four quarters
Definitely sounded that way. One of those that is a star in the VFL but that’s probably his ceiling
Thought of the exact same thing… I want someone to edit the two bits of footage so they play side-by-side, as though it is a sign of things to come…even if it isn’t.
I really only got to watch one quarter closely live (toddlers make it hard work!) but his intercept marking was impressive and not something I’d noticed before at either level. Has safe hands. Also looked physically very strong, though I didn’t get to see him up close very often last year.
It was a good performance. Though we aren’t exactly hard up for small defenders at the moment.
Great work from Draper there as well.
