Observations

[plugger66]

A little excited after last nights game and some of these observations will be found out to be incorrect but i will have a go anyway.

Rooy. A running machine freak that the likes of has never been seen from a tall forward in the AFL before. He blows up but then still goes again. Hurly, who is a very good young player, blew up but couldnt go again

Lenny. Looked about 40 years of age by half time. Came back after the break as a 25 year old and set up the win with a huge second half.

Billings. Shows the class that we have lacked in young picks for years. Will have some shockers but is all class.

Webster. Now he excites me. Fast, very fast. Doesnt go to ground and a great kick. Perfect backman in todays footy.

Dunstan. Hard at it. Lacks the pace of some others but good inside.

Steven. Getting closer to his best. Skills and decision making is now A grade and baring injury will be classed as top 10 mid by the seasons end.

The whole backline. Stood up. Delaney and Bruce were good. Bruce needs to be good if he is to keep that hair cut. Dempster was solid. Jimmys best game for the year. Geary played in the proper spot for him. He aint a midfielder.

Curren. Was excellent. Is now starting to get the ball whilst tagging.

Hickey. Down night but I think he is very good when the ball is lose. Thats a great skill for a ruckman.

Stanley. Not going to say he may have arrived. yes i am. He may have arrived. Played exactly where he should play. 70% forward. 30% in the ruck. Not sure where it leaves Longer or hickey though as surely only one can play.

Eli. A bit slow for my liking but goes in hard for a little guy. its rest time for him though.

Joey. great second hal and with Lenny were the two that changed the game.

Scheider. Good, actually very good even game. Was consistant for the who game. Needs to stay injury free. we need his class. Also another LTI would mean retirement.

Nwenes. Very good game. easily coulld have got votes. Kicks nicely. Touch of class. just a little pace worry.

Ray. Was good all night. As always an excellent mark for his height.

Saunders. Was ok but maybe lacks polish of some of the younger guys. Hard at it though and good pace.

CJ. Have we nearly the last of him? Did ok but I refuse to look at stats but my eyes tell me he butchered some vital ball. Safe the next couple but needs some good ones especially with Sandy doing well.

Ross. Probably unfair to comment.


It was a great win from a side that i picked to clearly be bottom 4. We still may finish there but the future is really promising. I do wonder what the issue with the club was last year to be so bad for the whole of the season. One last one.

Richo. Seems to have brought great confidence to the group and their shut down work is back to 2009 standard. Obviously a lot different player profile but if we can be a good lock down team then we ca build on the rest.

[fingers]

hard to argue with that

[Old Mate]

Fair assessment plugger. I think Saunders game a little understated. He was very good in close. Tackled hard and forced a couple of ball ups when he was 1v2 and at one stage 1v3. Won some footy in close too. Not sure who he played on but he didn't look to lose many contests that I noticed.

[plugger66]

Fair assessment plugger. I think Saunders game a little understated. He was very good in close. Tackled hard and forced a couple of ball ups when he was 1v2 and at one stage 1v3. Won some footy in close too. Not sure who he played on but he didn't look to lose many contests that I noticed.

Could be right on saunders. harder to see the in and under players because of the numbers around the ball.

[mullet]

Gee Plugger, that is a great post, and I can actually feel your excitement.

I wasnt at the game but watching it last night, I couldnt help but notice the way we are handpassing. They are like bullets and pretty accurate.
Just looks different. For those who have iqed it or watch the replay, have a look, its one skill that has certaininly improved.

[maverick]

Webster. Now he excites me. Fast, very fast. Doesnt go to ground and a great kick. Perfect backman in todays footy.

The whole backline. Stood up. Delaney and Bruce were good. Bruce needs to be good if he is to keep that hair cut. Dempster was solid. Jimmys best game for the year. Geary played in the proper spot for him. He aint a midfielder.

Hickey. Down night but I think he is very good when the ball is lose. Thats a great skill for a ruckman.

Scheider. Good, actually very good even game. Was consistant for the who game. Needs to stay injury free. we need his class. Also another LTI would mean retireme

Nwenes. Very good game. easily coulld have got votes. Kicks nicely. Touch of class. just a little pace worry.

CJ. Have we nearly the last of him? Did ok but I refuse to look at stats but my eyes tell me he butchered some vital ball. Safe the next couple but needs some good ones especially with Sandy doing well.

It was a great win from a side that i picked to clearly be bottom 4. We still may finish there but the future is really promising. I do wonder what the issue with the club was last year to be so bad for the whole of the season. One last one.

Richo. Seems to have brought great confidence to the group and their shut down work is back to 2009 standard. Obviously a lot different player profile but if we can be a good lock down team then we ca build on the rest.

Agree on Webster, he looks a perfect modern day defender, exceptional closing speed, good defender, great long kick, very fast

Delaney and Bruce were excellent, just need to tidy up disposal, that's where confidence in games played will come

Also agree on Hickey, love his work in close, little touches, handballs out of congestion, rucks don't work that well in close like that…

Schneider is quality, we have missed his decision making and ball use.

Not sold on Newnes, for me makes poor decisions when he has the ball, kicks long floaters and handballs to teammates under pressure, hopefully he learns from it as he wins the ball well

I think Weller is the natural replacement for Jones, for the right development of the team his spot needs to go by round 11...

[Old Mate]

Just on Ross. I've been a massive fan and have believed he has the talent to be a genuine A grader with his ball winning ability very good. But last night, admittedly from the small sample I saw, pace is really going to be an issue. The interchange cap and lesser stoppages won't do him any favours. His overall movement and running patterns looked awful. No spread whatsoever. I hope I'm wrong and he makes it but I'm starting to get concerned that he will be caught in between a VFL and AFL player. Prove me wrong Seb.

[Toy Saint]

Excellent summary Plugger, is this our most exciting performance since about 2009?

I mean, when was the last time we were entitled to get this excited?

[bigcarl]

Good work Plugger.

Agree on Bruce's haircut

[happy feet]

Thanks P66.

[70s sainter]

Excellent summary Plugger, is this our most exciting performance since about 2009?

I mean, when was the last time we were entitled to get this excited?

I'd say the finals series of 2010 but agree it was the best win in 3 years since 2011 that I can remember .

[BigMart]

Webster is very good with the footy... But defensively was opened up by Stanton in the last. Found himself the wrong side of him a few times and lost him. But his run and carry off HB was exciting!

Saunders has a clear defensive role across HF, with CJ to stifle opposition run of HB

Hickey struggled to impact and was very slow. His effort 10 seconds before the final siren was one he needs to learn from. Maintain that he lacks physical presence for a Ruckman, 1 mark (uncontested). I believe with Stanley who is a mobile Ruckman, we need a crash and bash to partner him. Hickey is like an outside midfielder, a Ruckman should play more inside IMO.

The kids were all impressive
Dunstan, Newnes, Webster, Saunders, Billings, Bruce, Templeton, Curran.... Al. Contributed and helped our guns
Which is why we won.

On Ross
He got 2 or three uncontested possessions last night... Meaning he won some outside ball

[plugger66]

Nearly positive but of course the negatives first. We played a possible top 6 side and we beat them fair and square. Yep there are laways negatives but how about some positives first BM. Let the Hickey thing go for gods sake. I truely believe you are the only person on here who would rather Hickey fail to be proved right. Most if not all others who have a negative opinion of a player would love to be proved wrong.

[gringo]

Webster is very good with the footy... But defensively was opened up by Stanton in the last. Found himself the wrong side of him a few times and lost him. But his run and carry off HB was exciting!

Saunders has a clear defensive role across HF, with CJ to stifle opposition run of HB

Hickey struggled to impact and was very slow. His effort 10 seconds before the final siren was one he needs to learn from. Maintain that he lacks physical presence for a Ruckman, 1 mark (uncontested). I believe with Stanley who is a mobile Ruckman, we need a crash and bash to partner him. Hickey is like an outside midfielder, a Ruckman should play more inside IMO.

The kids were all impressive
Dunstan, Newnes, Webster, Saunders, Billings, Bruce, Templeton, Curran.... Al. Contributed and helped our guns
Which is why we won.

On Ross
He got 2 or three uncontested possessions last night... Meaning he won some outside ball

Hickey looked a street ahead of of where Longer was last week. Longer might be the next gardiner but right now Hickey is playing good footy. He actually has his timing in the ruck right ATM. Plenty of his taps went where he wanted them to. Paddy Rider is one of the hyped rucks and he beat him in hit outs and added an extra contributor around the ground. Hickey was good again admit it. Nick nat had better stop playing like a mid then too, they should see if they can swap him with Sean Hampson.

[damienc]

I think your analysis is spot on. There was a lot to get excited about. I wonder whether this was a watershed moment for us and we will look back at the win in years to come as the turning point for the club. Not so much that we won but the way we went about it. The Bombers were missing some good players but make no mistake they are a class act and last night we showed signs that we can be as well. I really like what the coach is able to get from the group- young and old. Plenty of people on the forum are waxing lyrically about the young brigade. Farren Ray is having his best season and this was a guy we were ready to trade away. So glad we didn't. Looking forward to seeing Acres make his debut. I think he is a class act like Billings and Dunstan. Weller was BOG for Sandy yesterday. We might win some more and get thrashed a few times but it is definitely going to be an interesting year.

[joffaboy]

Really disappointed that this great positive thread is going to be jacked by the tiresome, done to death Hickey bashing meme.

FGS BigMart give it a rest. Hickey didn't dominate but play a significant role last night. Was roundly critisised in qtr 2 for dropping off Ryder and allowing him to mark uncontested (even though he was probably in the goal square as part of the defensive structure). Praised in Qtr 3 for getting away from Ryder and making position for marking.

Just get of his flipping back BM. It is boring that you constantly bag Hickey. You are clearly wrong and you just wreck every thread you post with this crap.

Good thread P66.

EVERYBODY, DONT LIKE BIGMART WRECK ANOTHER THREAD WITH HIS CARPING AND BAGGING. LETS KEEP THIS ON ON TOPIC.

[BigMart]

Have I not mentioned the positives

The more you make me look bad though I suppose.... Was that analysis unfair on Hickey.

Longer was opposed to Jacobs... A 203 cm 103kg monster... Averages 28HOs per game
Ryder is a mobile 197cm Ruckman ... Big leap but wins far less as shown by averaging 13 HOs per game

In a losing side, the output of longer was fairly similar

I don't want Hickey to fail, I do think he will end up back up to Longer by Seasons end. That's my opinion.

[gringo]

Have I not mentioned the positives

The more you make me look bad though I suppose.... Was that analysis unfair on Hickey.

Longer was opposed to Jacobs... A 203 cm 103kg monster... Averages 28HOs per game
Ryder is a mobile 197cm Ruckman ... Big leap but wins far less as shown by averaging 13 HOs per game

In a losing side, the output of longer was fairly similar

I don't want Hickey to fail, I do think he will end up back up to Longer by Seasons end. That's my opinion.

Fair enough but he's a fair way back right now.

[BigMart]

The just let me have MY f****** OPINION on Tom

Without ridiculing it. Just let it go yourself!!!!!

After the GWS game where he played well, you bought it into every thread. Now against Ess where he got 1 kick... Not allowed to mention it.

I don't rate him highly

Is that not allowed... Do I have to..... But it's not just that, it was the recruiting of two Ruckman.

I am very happy with the team, the coach, the players.... And the DEVELOPMENT

[fingers]

Just on Ross. I've been a massive fan and have believed he has the talent to be a genuine A grader with his ball winning ability very good. But last night, admittedly from the small sample I saw, pace is really going to be an issue. The interchange cap and lesser stoppages won't do him any favours. His overall movement and running patterns looked awful. No spread whatsoever. I hope I'm wrong and he makes it but I'm starting to get concerned that he will be caught in between a VFL and AFL player. Prove me wrong Seb.

There was a moment where he was spent in the chase....he'd only been on for a few minutes which was a worry. I didn't see the efforts leading up to it so maybe he was genuinely out of gas.

[plugger66]

The just let me have MY f****** OPINION on Tom

Without ridiculing it. Just let it go yourself!!!!!

After the GWS game where he played well, you bought it into every thread. Now against Ess where he got 1 kick... Not allowed to mention it.

I don't rate him highly

Is that not allowed... Do I have to..... But it's not just that, it was the recruiting of two Ruckman.

I am very happy with the team, the coach, the players.... And the DEVELOPMENT

Start a thread on him then. There was no need to have your biggest paragraph written about a negative and even worse Hickey. You dont even realise ghow friggin negative you are.

[joffaboy]

I think your analysis is spot on. There was a lot to get excited about. I wonder whether this was a watershed moment for us and we will look back at the win in years to come as the turning point for the club. Not so much that we won but the way we went about it. The Bombers were missing some good players but make no mistake they are a class act and last night we showed signs that we can be as well. I really like what the coach is able to get from the group- young and old. Plenty of people on the forum are waxing lyrically about the young brigade. Farren Ray is having his best season and this was a guy we were ready to trade away. So glad we didn't. Looking forward to seeing Acres make his debut. I think he is a class act like Billings and Dunstan. Weller was BOG for Sandy yesterday. We might win some more and get thrashed a few times but it is definitely going to be an interesting year.

Great post damienc. I also like the way third yearers like Jack Newnes is developing. Had a big ?? over decision making and kicking efficiency, but is reminding me more and more of a combo between Simon Black and Dal.

NOW BEFORE ANYONE MISQUOTES ME, JACK IS NOWHERE NEAR EITHER OF THOSE TWO AND HE IS NOT PLAYING AS A MID. It is just the way he moves and the way he seems to have time.

I am loving his long kicking. Like Jason Gram on a good day. Will be a huge weapon as he gets better with it to get over the press.

Saunders is another doing a marvellous job as a youngster as is Tommy Curran. Another of the rookie list I think.

12 players in the team last night with under 50 games. As they said in the broadcast 6 weren't even born when Fletcher played his first game.

Still it is a very long season and I fully expect we will all have some very disappointing experiences this season.

And we may be in for some harder times next season with a few of the older players retiring.

[joffaboy]

The just let me have MY f****** OPINION on Tom

Without ridiculing it. Just let it go yourself!!!!!

After the GWS game where he played well, you bought it into every thread. Now against Ess where he got 1 kick... Not allowed to mention it.

I don't rate him highly

Is that not allowed... Do I have to..... But it's not just that, it was the recruiting of two Ruckman.

I am very happy with the team, the coach, the players.... And the DEVELOPMENT

Here we go another positive thread jacked and wrecked by you and your self entitlement.

Go start another thread if you want to bag Hickey, you bore the s.hit out of people with your wrecking of threads.

Oh and we all know you dont rate him highly, you made that clear two years ago with your offensive insult towards him, which you have tried to justify ever since.

Please leave this thread alone and go and wreck some other thread - please

[joffaboy]

Just on Ross. I've been a massive fan and have believed he has the talent to be a genuine A grader with his ball winning ability very good. But last night, admittedly from the small sample I saw, pace is really going to be an issue. The interchange cap and lesser stoppages won't do him any favours. His overall movement and running patterns looked awful. No spread whatsoever. I hope I'm wrong and he makes it but I'm starting to get concerned that he will be caught in between a VFL and AFL player. Prove me wrong Seb.

There was a moment where he was spent in the chase....he'd only been on for a few minutes which was a worry. I didn't see the efforts leading up to it so maybe he was genuinely out of gas.

Yeah saw that and was a bit concerned, but a minute or so later, just near the end of the game, got free in the middle and presented a good target for marking and taking the gas out of the Injectors.

Body language never looks good with Seb, maybe he will take a bit longer to develop a tank. I remember opinions saying Jobe Watson would never make it as a footballer because of no tank. Could be a while before Seb Ross can run out a game

[BigMart]

Seb is poker face

He shows little or no emotion... Mr serious.

He finds the footy easily... I thought he impacted

All players are rooted after making efforts, it the ability to recover and go again that's important... Nick Roewoldt is on hands and knees in the first quarter...

Funny thing about footy
The quarters you are most rooted are the first and last, and the periods you struggle... 5-10 minute mark of the first quarter and 15-30 minute mark of the final quarter
Oxygen debt has a bit to do with it, and it's why a lot of subs are activated 5 minutes to go in the third.., that and taking advantage of tired 3q legs