Post match. NAB. Pies walloped - all comments

Hiss · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Location: Geelong

Time to now focus on 2015.

BJ · Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:44 pm

When our best key defender kicks 5 goals, we are in trouble. The game is won in defence and the way your defensive set ups work. Be prepared to mow the lawns in September this year, because the pies won't be featuring at all. Ben-ken has all the tools, but doesn't yet realise it. Hope he realises soon that he can play at this level.

gurugeoff · Joined: 09 Oct 2013

1/. Isn't it possible that the Marley Williams verdict mentally flattened the entire playing list? and will continue to do so all season if he goes to prison.

2/. You need a lot of nerve and class to win one on one contests regularly in the backline. Losing Marley and Scharenberg after having cleared Heath Shaw is an absolute disaster for us.

3/. What's the harm is discussing the negatives after a loss? If it all has to be rah rah go pies all the time, then there is no point in having the forum at all, Nothing wrong with a five minute argument - we all passionate pies supporters in the end

Lazza · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

MJ23 · Joined: 28 Feb 2011 Location: Sydney

1. was the best example of bruise free footy I have seen from us in years. Even Ball was unballlike until I think pride got to him. Dont know if this was planned however have to wonder why Beams AND Adams were left out ( dont think they know how to play half contested)

2. Not sure how you could get anything out of the backlines performance. The clearances and entry's would have challenged the best backline in the league. How many games did we get smashed in contested and clearances last year like that.

3. Didn't mind Fasolo back - would like to see a bit more of that especially if he gets confident and hits targtes like we know he can.

4. Structures - didnt see any evidence of any structures. When we did hold the tiger half backs up in their run out of defense they simply hit lead up targets. And we let them !!

5. Hopefully its about what we didn't do deliberately knowing we play them early in the year or as Wallace suggested maybe they played in their boardshorts waiting to get to the goldcoast. Cause if thats our best we are in trouble.

Lazza · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

Lazza · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

Lazza · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

MJ23 · Joined: 28 Feb 2011 Location: Sydney

Agree, sort of also.
No doubt he has much to learn however from what Ive seen he is learning at a fast rate of knots. Certainly not taking as long to learn a lesson as other Rucks we have had.
In saying that I was Rapt in what happened to him in the first qtr.Great opportunity to review and understand what he has probably been warned about. It has been said that Opp clubs would play into his aggression and try and bait him. Its great its happened in the pre-season - gives him a fantastic opportunity to understand and learn from it Huddson was a ruck that got the balance right more often than not so happy with him as a mentor.

Piesnchess · piesnchess Joined: 09 Jun 2008

perthmagpie · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Yarrawonga

I think the thing to remember with praccy matches is that the intentions of the coaches can be completely different to a normal game. On Saturday it appeared we had very little interest in actually winning in the middle and at the stoppages. Three of our most dangerous small forwards did not play forward. At times the forward line was really just two or three talls. We gave Elliott and Kennedy major time in the middle because we deliberately left out Thomas, Beams and Adams. Swan, Pendles and Ball were all on half rat power. Let's face it, Buckley knows with the other half of our best clearance players in we can easily match Richmond who had their top liners in and going flat out. So we experimented with Elliott and Kennedy in the middle. We tried playing with a combination of Cloke, Reid, Lynch and White up front. We tried three talks down back. We gave Browny and Goldy some match practice. We gave Langdon, Fasolo, Ramsay and Armstrong a chance down back while, Seedy, Sinclair, Toovey and Williams were unavailable. We trialled some new combinations when kicking out.

This was a trial game and that was how it was used. What is the point of just applying the known in these games? A coach gets much more out of experimenting like this than putting in all of his A grade midfield, setting up his ideal forward line and putting in his A grade defensive backline. We had four goalkickers which reflects mainly how we played a very unusual tall forward line and left our most dangerous smalls up the ground or back in Melb. Bucks would have got a good idea of what he can use within periods of games with a combination of Cloke, Reid and White with few smalls at their feet. But he would never employ this for a whole game in the real season.

The Wang game was a perfect example. Martin, Deledio and Cotchin killed us in the middle in the first quarter. In a real game Bucks would fill the square with all our guns going flat out. But in this case he persisted with less experienced players and weaker combinations.

Stupied · Joined: 14 Mar 2013

^Excellent, well thought out, logical post. This has no place on nicks afters a loss!