WB Game Day V Richmond R7 2021

[Mantis]

The replay re-affirms that Crozier needs a spell.. isn’t effecting contests in the air and his kicking is poor at best.

Stef Martin looks every bit a 35yo war horse... not great signs when it’s rd7.

[Ozza]

The replay re-affirms that Crozier needs a spell.. isn’t effecting contests in the air and his kicking is poor at best.

Stef Martin looks every bit a 35yo war horse... not great signs when it’s rd7.

I would have said it 5 times during the match, that Stef was really struggling against Nank, and giving us nothing in that third quarter in particular.

Agree on Croze too....would be the one that makes way for Buku if its up to me.

[bulldogtragic]

Was Croz almost always long kick down the line to a contest? From what I’ve seen this year he seems a lot more ‘hammer’ than ‘scalpel’.

[Mantis]

Just to top Zaine’s night off we have him go up in a boundary line ball throw in (why?) against Lynch, Lynch takes front spot, collects the ball after Zaine almost falls over, handballs it to Bolton and it’s game over.

[bulldogtragic]

Just to top Zaine’s night off we have him go up in a boundary line ball throw in (why?) against Lynch, Lynch takes front spot, collects the ball after Zaine almost falls over, handballs it to Bolton and it’s game over.

Is it his fault or the MC?

Having a year off has given me the benefit of fresh eyes. I’m lost for words on him, and I’ve been a fan since watching as a 16yo. But if last Friday is a reflection on where he is at, it’s time to play Young and see exactly what we have. At a minimum, I’d expect Young to rush the goal that went through at shin level in the last.

[Mantis]

Is it his fault or the MC?

In terms of the contest or his form?

For the contest - in the proceeding bit of play Martin is about 60m from goal as the ball goes I50 where Bolton goes for a hanger and the ball spills out of bounds.

Martin must go off, he was labouring in the play previously so must have. Keath goes back to the square to guard no one and is in no men’s land when Bolton kicks the goal so Zaine is left to the ruck contest and it goes pear shaped.

In terms of MC I can’t answer that. Young is clearly on the nose because it’s hard to see on form how Zaine is front of him, but it’s Bevo’s call and it’s his ass on the line if he makes the wrong call. He’s clearly doing a great job given our performances, but there’s some strange decisions being made... well strange to me anyway.

[bornadog]

Thanks for the analyses Mantis.

Based on your comments, Lippa should be dropped as should Cordy.

[Mantis]

Thanks for the analyses Mantis.

Based on your comments, Lippa should be dropped as should Cordy.

He was poor... I'm not sure how many CB's Lippa attended for the night, but he didn't attend anymore after the Graham goal when he lost the contest in the centre and then his man kicked the goal at the next piece of play... he has some poor moments when moved to other roles for the remainder of the match too.

Without looking all that closely you would look at his game and think he was serviceable given he had 23 touches, but not much came of his touches and he had lots of poor moments when around the ball.

He's clearly too good for the VFL given he excels when he plays there, but I'm not sure what role he plays for us given the deficiencies in his game... which come to the fore against the good teams.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

He was poor... I'm not sure how many CB's Lippa attended for the night, but he didn't attend anymore after the Graham goal when he lost the contest in the centre and then his man kicked the goal at the next piece of play... he has some poor moments when moved to other roles for the remainder of the match too.

Without looking all that closely you would look at his game and think he was serviceable given he had 23 touches, but not much came of his touches and he had lots of poor moments when around the ball.

He's clearly too good for the VFL given he excels when he plays there, but I'm not sure what role he plays for us given the deficiencies in his game... which come to the fore against the good teams.

I'm a bit worried about Lippa.

As you said, clearly too good for VFL. Head and shoulders above it. But he's really struggling to transition into becoming a good AFL player. That CB v Graham was poor and I remember saying "Why is Lipinski in the middle!?" and I get with Dunkley out he may need to take his turn, but his game isn't good enough for that. He was swiftly taken out after that but it was costly.

The last quarter contest v Balta on the wing when Keath did all the hard work was bad too and it really highlighted how slow he is.

At AFL level, if you're not able to win your own ball consistently you need a bit of speed and skill. Lippa has the skill but his lack of ball winning ability coupled with his lack of pace means he's often found out.

[Mofra]

I would have said it 5 times during the match, that Stef was really struggling against Nank, and giving us nothing in that third quarter in particular.

Agree on Croze too....would be the one that makes way for Buku if its up to me.

He was fit all pre-season to help English and Sweet, and had played a handful of games already. For mine he's already paid off.
If he was to be rested every 2-3 weeks it wouldn't be a concern one bit - Sweet has shown he can compete.

[Happy Days]

He was fit all pre-season to help English and Sweet, and had played a handful of games already. For mine he's already paid off.
If he was to be rested every 2-3 weeks it wouldn't be a concern one bit - Sweet has shown he can compete.

Plus he was required to shoulder a far heavier burden, which was fully not part of the plan. Stef’s been pretty solid and it’s not like Nank is a complete spud or anything.

[Mantis]

He was fit all pre-season to help English and Sweet, and had played a handful of games already. For mine he's already paid off.
If he was to be rested every 2-3 weeks it wouldn't be a concern one bit - Sweet has shown he can compete.

But has he?

He played one game against a team which didn't have a recognised ruckman and was only on the ground 63% of the time. Sure he did well when he was on, but it really was a free ride.

I would like to see him have a run against a more competent opponent before we think he is capable of filling the role.

[1eyedog]

But has he?

He played one game against a team which didn't have a recognised ruckman and was only on the ground 63% of the time. Sure he did well when he was on, but it really was a free ride.

I would like to see him have a run against a more competent opponent before we think he is capable of filling the role.

I actually thought he had very little impact outside of ruck contests. Eight touches and two marks for the game tells the story.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

But has he?

He played one game against a team which didn't have a recognised ruckman and was only on the ground 63% of the time. Sure he did well when he was on, but it really was a free ride.

I would like to see him have a run against a more competent opponent before we think he is capable of filling the role.

I'm also pretty sure during that game he had the second lowest time spent on ground. Not sure if that is referencing his fitness capabilities at present, but if not then it indicates that the club didn't want to expose him too much to other roles outside of specific scenarios.

Edit: Third lowest, with 64% time on ground, behind an injured Bailey Williams and his replacement Cavarra.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

The key with resting Martin and playing Sweet is timing.

It shouldn't be done against quality opposition teams.

We can do it against North (Goldstein is good but North aren't), Gold Coast, Essendon, Hawthorn, and maybe Collingwood (Grundy is good, Pies are struggling).

We need to manage Stef, especially heading into finals.

If Sweet can play 4-5 games it gives us a much better idea of where he's at and if he's worth keeping.