Practice Match #4 - Collingwood vs North Ballarat at OPO

[stui magpie]

[MagpieBat]

Definitely.

[MagpieBat]

Okay, first opportunity I've had to write up/polish off some thoughts, sitting down with a nice warm Milo...

- Elliott: He's back, alright. Scarcely looked like he'd missed a beat, let alone so much actual football. Played high HFF, at times getting almost up to a back pocket with his running and work rate, while still getting in behind the enemy half back lines at key moments. Ran well, touched (mostly) clean, disposed well, tackled hard, marked strongly. Oh, and booted 5 goals. Played "about 65%" game time according to the club, so the only possible excuse to leave him down here another week is to see him run out an 80% game. Straight swap for Mayne.

- Blair: I made mention during the scoring that I worked out who #54 was in the 2nd term, on account of only just noticing him at that point. I wasn't joking. Fair dinkum, he was the Invisible Man in the opening term, when you might have expected him to be into it from the word go as a senior player who might have been smarting from being dropped. Admittedly, he did play noticeably more forward in the first half, but still, with the amount of ball we were getting to that end of the ground, you might have been forgiven for thinking he would be more involved out of the gate. Production noticeably lifted, along with tackling, as he scored some more time in the guts. Can't pick him on that outing, but the bitter cynic in me says that they will...

- Scharenberg: What North Ballarat entries that were not being closed off by the pressure from the mids in the opening stanza and a bit, The Berg was either picking off with intercept marks or helping kill in other ways. Disposal so classy and, as always, his decisions were never rushed. Unfortunately, he took a knock before half time and was benched seemingly out of caution. Hopefully he's cleared right for next week, because he just needs as much football as he can play.

- Aish: Hmm, not bad, but not good either. Played predominately as a wingman and considering the standard of the opposition, I was expecting more of an impact from such a talented and semi-proven player, again given the number of attacking thrusts we were able to generate. Disposal was hit and miss. Don't think you could criticize him for work rate, but impact on the contest was a bit lacking. Suspect he stays here for the time being and with Wells and De Goey set to return at this level with a view to returning to the AFL in the not-too-distant future, he'll want to get a wriggle on...

- Dunn: Once again, acquitted himself well as the recognised key defender and de facto leader of the defensive group. Voice like a gunnery sergeant and his raking right peg set up a number of forward plays. Has fitted into our group and system very well. Spent a fair bit of time on Andrew Hooper, North Ballarat's only genuinely dangerous forward, and got exposed a couple of times of nimbleness and speed, but Hooper does that to most VFL defenders. Otherwise, a performance from Dunn worthy of senior consideration. And if we want to shake things up forward of the ball by swinging Reid up there, then Dunn is not a bad choice, certainly in the organising and leadership stakes.

- Brown: Spent the bulk of his time in the guts and got his fair share of the pill. Kicked a couple of goals, including one blind turn out of a forward stoppage, while the other was a reasonably classy snap in space. Got fair dinkum coat hangered at one point but bounced right back up again to set up a free-wheeling Elliott who dobbed it from 55. Tracking nicely.

- Keeffe: Played almost exclusively CHF again, with the relief ruck duties mostly being picked up by Lynch and McCathy. Again, not really a presence or a factor. This pre-season block is about his second or third attempt at becoming a forward in his time at the club and once again, I'm just not seeing it. Not a physical player and doesn't clunk contested marks. I will give him credit for his work rate and ability to find a few receives up the ground, but it's just not enough, especially against opponents well below high height range. They will persist with him in this role, but I can't help feeling as if they were seduced by his listing in the Record...

- Thomas: Had his moments, including a crumber's goal with a clean touch breaking back at a million miles an hour, and found his share of the pill. Didn't disgrace himself, but wouldn't say he dispelled the doubts on his long term chances of staying on the list either. To this untrained eye, he looked like he ran this one out a bit better, which I guess is pleasing. Perhaps he benefited from the extra support from Wills and Brown in the engine room, along with a mature body in Blair. Hold fire for the moment...

- Daicos: Predominately forward with some time on a wing. Picked up a tidy amount of received ball and was pretty classy and smart with it. Highlights were a nice contested mark in the opening term and pure class snap crumber's goal in the third. The crumb was created after Blair muffed his chance at doing the same in that passage of play (got the right position but fumbled and was too slow to recover). At the time, I dared to think/hope for a fleeting moment that Josh would go over to Blair and say 'that's how you do it'. Sadly not. Like Brown, developing nicely and I reckon we'll see him on the MCG at some point this year.

- Kirby: Continuing the pattern of his pre-season, he came and went in patches. To my eyes, especially when comparing pictures then and now, he's managed to slice off a little bit more puppy fat, which is good and his little spell on the ball late is a subtle indicator that his tank is on the improve as well. The headline will be his 3 goals, all of which were class and/or crafty, but it was that little dashing run that got my attention, in particular the way he just arched his back and broke the tackle without halting. He'll do things like that, amongst others, that will make you happy that you invested the time to come and watch. Somebody give him a reward hug!

- Wills: Subbed on, as it were, at the start of the 2nd term. Still as strong as ever around the ball (bowled a Rooster over at one point, a hit that left the victim searching for the rego number of the offending vehicle once he got up). Is it just me, though, or has Rupe sliced off a little bit of bulk across his chest/shoulders? If he has and has also (evidently) managed to keep his strength, then that will help him cover the ground in the AFL better. Wasn't overly dominant in terms of possessions. Was scheduled to play "a half or so" and would have done exactly that.

- McCarthy: Goalless for what I think is the first time. Took a spell later on in the game as relief-ruck, where he got to show off his impressive leap at centre bounces. Otherwise, not too much to write home about on this one. Might have hoped for a least one goal and a couple of clunks...

- McLarty: Solid in defence again. Took a few strong marks but his highlight of the day was an impressive clunk going with the flight at CHB, which started the chain of play to set up Lynch at FF for his goal. Reasonable by foot. Quietly pleased with his game and his campaign.

- Sier: Did not play...

- Crocker: Another good step forward, noticeably improving on last week's outing, which was in turn an improvement on the week before that. Lead really well, hitting up the wings and took a few grabs. Kicking for goal was not good, which you could probably put down to the difficulty of navigating the breeze to that Batman Avenue end. Could quiet conceivably have had half a dozen and shaded Billy for the headlines. With Billy about to walk back in and Fasolo finding form, it will be interesting to see where he fits looking ahead.

- Oxley: Good game, again playing on the wing and for once not having to keep dropping back to stand against a hurricane of opposition entries. Ball use as usual very good and showed his class around the sticks with a couple of nice finishes on the receive. He's almost the perfect depth player, in that he can fill the outside/edges well enough without starring. Personally, if the wings and half back are too well stocked, I would like to see them revive their experiment from late last year of playing Ox forward. Knows where the goals are and can take a grab and with our questions about finding another avenue to the scoreboard, it's worth another try...

- Mackie: Found a reasonable amount of the ball, which was not easy for a running back when the mids were smashing their opponents. Best part was where went to ground trying to mark at HB, took it clean as a whistle on the half valley, bounced up again, broke clear and ran down the middle before going long into the 50. Let himself down with the kick though, as I think he went into two minds as to whether to take the responsibility or put it into the path of the loping Keeffe (in the end, he really accomplished neither). Nevertheless, he has a nice blend of straight line speed and a Howitzer-esque right boot on him. One to watch...

- Lynch: Played primarily forward, acting as 2nd banana to Cox in the ruck, a reversal of last week. Acquitted himself in both tasks. Took a ripper of a one-handed mark running with the flight, from which he converted. Actual ruck work was good without being outstanding. Again, factor in the opposition, but by the same token he certainly benefited from not having an octogenarian Ivan Maric beating him around. Plenty to work with, early signs encouraging...

- Cox: Operated as our primary ruck, which he won clearly (and his centre bounces his won almost effortlessly). When he was swung forward, what I noticed was that he managed to lead up to the wings/beyond wings on several occasions, which is pleasing, considering that he tends to stay closer to goal in that role. Took one nice contested clunk at FF, from which he goaled (though curiously the club have given that goal to Daicos) and fashioned a few couple of knock-ons in general play that could almost be counted as score assists. I'm still to be convinced that he's a future part of our forward structure, but signs encouraging.

[MagpieBat]

[magman29]

Great summary Batman... much appreciated by those of us in the country areas.. Cheers

[MagpieBat]

My pleasure.

[rand corp]

Thanks Magbat, excellent report

[stui magpie]

Good stuff batmod, nice read.

Not having seen any of the game, I agree that keeffe is not a forward. I don't think you can create a forward through structures, it's almost an instinctive mindet.

Cox has it, Keeffe doesn't and never will.

Good option to keep around though.

[think better]

Best Goddam report ever!

[MagpieBat]

[MagpieBat]

[MagpieBat]

[roar]

Top work, MB!

Thanks.

[MagpieBat]

Thanks for the kind appraisal, roar.

[npalm]