Round 9 - Casey vs Collingwood at Casey Fields

[Dave The Man]

[John Wren]

[MOTR]

[MOTR]

[MOTR]

[Big T]

[John Wren]

[John Wren]

[Pies4shaw]

"Grundyless and Adamsless"

[John Wren]

[Dave The Man]

[MagpieBat]

[MagpieBat]

My player reviews...

7. Ben Kennedy
Was reasonable for the first three quarters, but stood up big time in the last. Chased, tackled, harassed, won the contested footy. Was seemingly everywhere in that final quarter! Put his hand up for next week. One thing which was really pleasing to see is that he has tidied up his disposal by foot, which seems an odd thing to say on a wet and miserable day, where polish was in short supply. I mean that he wasn’t spraying them, as has been his habit in the seniors. So that's something.

20. Ben Reid
The Chosen One finally returned! I could not believe my eyes! Livestock will be sacrificed in his name, anything to keep him on the park!

Seriously though, he did almost as well as you could expect in the conditions. Had Alex Georgiou as his minder. Competed well, covered a bit of territory, took a few very nice marks (including a one-hander, in the wet, if you don't mind) and kicked 2 goals, including the opening goal in the first minute of the game.

Really, it was just about survival for Ben. Was rotated two or three times per quarter and was ‘subbed’ at the halfway mark of the last quarter. That was pre-planned though, so fear not. I get the sense that Reid will need at least another run at this level before being considered for the seniors.

25. Ben Hudson
One word to describe his game - HUGE! Had Fitzpatrick and Thomas for opponents, Fitzpatrick in particular and solely after half time. Rucked maybe 75-80% of the game, with Greenhough offering the occasional chop-out. Stood tall and played his heart out all day but was particularly influential in the final quarter. For mine, Huddo was our best and arguably BoG.

Fantastic game, Huddo. Enjoy the next 7 days to rest. After a lion-hearted performance like that on a heavy track, you’ll need them…

27. Tony Armstrong
A rather inconspicuous game from him. Kicked a goal in the first term, but other than that, did nothing much really. Conditions really didn't suit him, as the game became a rolling stop-start fest. They’re playing him forward now, which is an upgrade on playing him off half-back, such is his ineffectiveness in that position. Still gives away too much space to his opponent, though…

29. Timothy Broomhead
Other than a quiet third quarter, a very good game from him, especially in the last, when we needed our youth to stand up. Was one of our classiest users in difficult conditions (but then, he always is one of our classiest users of the ball at this level). If he didn't book himself a debut next week against the Dogs, he came damn close! I just hope he doesn’t get the green vest…

31. Jackson Ramsay
Good game. Didn't get as much of the ball as other half back flankers in this side, but used it pretty well in the conditions. Another who stood up in the last. Went back with the flight to attempt a gutsy grab a couple of times. I’ve said it before, but I’m a fan of this kid, and given our plethora of half backs, I’ll be interested to see if the club persists with him beyond this year. Could be an upgrade on Sinclair as a small defender…

37. Kyle Martin
Same old story with Kyle - copped the hard tag (which was a particularly negative and nasty tag from Michael Evans), yet still won plenty of ball and kicked a couple of goals. Laid some great tackles as well and worked hard all day.

Gave away a very silly free in the last, at a critical time when the Scorpions were making a challenge, and quite frankly, I hope Tapping tears into him for it. That is just stupidity. Yes, his parasite was getting into his head, but you just have to grind through it.

38. Peter Yagmoor
Another solid outing from Peter, on balance. Did some very good defensive things in the final quarter when they came at us. Again, though, not consistent across four quarters. Is he doing enough to be worth persisting with for another (fourth) year?

43. Adam Oxley
Was MUCH better than two weeks ago. Did his best Nick Maxwell impersonation, minus the questionable kicking, playing primarily as the loose man in defence, but also drifted forward at times. I was sure it was Ox who kicked that goal, but, whatever...

With Langdon entrenched in the senior side and Scharenberg on the horizon, it will be interesting to see where Oxley fits longer term. A left-field suggestion, but I'd be interested to see if he could be crafted into a forward...

46. Jonathon Marsh
Had the job on Casey's primary key forward, Tim Smith. Acquitted himself reasonably well. Whenever he got the ball, I almost covered my eyes. Even by his less-than-stellar standards, and taking the conditions into account, his kicking was shocking; he unloaded some truly God-awful mungs. Kept his man to 1 goal, which in conditions not conducive for talls, is probably not that big an achievement, but he competed well all day.

48. Caolan Mooney
Has been attributed a goal in the final term (which I didn't see him kick and was convinced it was Oxley), and bobbed up here and there, but otherwise, was unremarkable.
From our VFL boys...

- Suckling was a BEAST in the middle and at the stoppages. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why we got him. Sat the first quarter out, before being ‘subbed in’ after quarter time.

- Lachie Ferguson, once again, bobbed up when we needed him to do something team-lifting or just brilliant. One of my favourites at this level.

- Greenhough provided able support to Huddo in the ruck. Again, I can't quite believe just how big he is! He's like a mini-Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters!

- Hellier played his best game of the year. Showed real leadership when it mattered. Laid some bruising tackles and bustled in all day at the stoppages.

- Tim Allan competed pretty well all day in trying conditions, but came alight and had a HUGE last quarter, kicking two of our goals. Even copped a head knock and a gash to the head for his troubles.

- Ryan Pendlebury played across half back. Has his brother's name, but not his skill. Competed well enough though.

Casey Fields is Waverley Park, without the potential or the charm. No, scratch that, it is just a f-cking hole! Didn't even play our song, either when they ran out or when we won, while the Casey song was blasted out at full bore. Seriously, just bulldoze it and move the Scorpions back to the old Springvale Reserve. At least that place has an intimacy to it...

[woody-woody]

Thanks MB. Your reviews are always highly anticipated.

Tapping seems to have built a strong VFL core and great spirit between the VFL & AFL boys. As an avid VFL watcher how far can the side go this year do you think?

Also, love hearing about the development of Broomhead. I'm hopeful we'll see him get the Bulldogs game and assuming all ok then a real test against the Hawks. No idea who is left out, although resting a few blokes against the Bullies is an option. It's tough for the selectors which can only be a good thing.

[MagpieBat]