Round #6 - Slaps and Sledges

[LostDoggy]

Mark Robinson gave Hill a slap in "The Tackle" article he write.

8. Josh Hill's response

Was critical of is effort against the Dockers, but Hill last night was much improved in the back half. Not in order or importance, he poleaxed Scott Pendlebury in a tackle, backed back into a pack chasing a high ball and and put himself between ball and opponent to make the tap which led to Lindsay Gilbee's goal near three-quarter time. He made a few errors, but his one per cent count was way up.

[LostDoggy]

Slap - Markovic. That spoil on Dawes in the opening minutes of the game typifies his game.

Slap - Sherman. Our only player that runs hard both ways. Kicking the goals that Cooney, Griff, Boyd and Cross shoudl be, but ain't.

Sledge - Midfield. No point having 3 guys go for the same ball, only to have no options once it's won. Really unintelligent stuff.

Sledge - Our skills. It was only 3 years ago when we were the most skillful side in the comp, now we butcher way too many disposals. What's happened???

[Desipura]

Messers Lake & Cross need to have a read of this point.

Cross does not have pace so he has to dive on the ball otherwise he has no hope of getting it in a 50/50 contest.

[Maddog37]

Cross does not have pace so he has to dive on the ball otherwise he has no hope of getting it in a 50/50 contest.

If that is the case then he is a liability. Once you lose your feet you are out of the contest.

Slaps. Marko and Jones. AFL level players with plenty of up side.

Murphy. Great effort over 4 qtrs./


Sledges. players falling over in the contest.

Hill for dropping his head in marking contests as a result of hearing footsteps. Demorilises the whole team and makes the opposition walk taller.

[Ghost Dog]

He played like he didn't care which is embarrassing on his behalf.



I didn't even know he was playing until I saw him very late in the piece.

I can't see him as a part of the solution.

Clearly an issue there. Perhaps personal or I already mentioned, perhaps he felt hard on himself owing to the article in the HUN.
His body language, slumped shoulders, flopping his arms around kind of overshadowed the fact that he did indeed do a few good things and was probably just as average asone or two of our top shelf players. He invites the criticism through his body language / being slightly laconic and a few minor things are not the worst offences in the world, but more importantly indicate a lack of resolve that opponents will exploit.

[wimberga]

I just don't see why he needs to be singled out. Cooney for one looks just as disinterested as him at times.

Well I was just making reference to what I saw and obviously, what others saw. Maybe people didnt comment on cooney because he has credits in the bank, maybe they saw the game from a different angle, maybe some people just dont like hill's style. There is an endless list of why people mentioned hill and not others.

From where i sat, he looked the most disinterested player on the ground and that is something that should not happen at AFL level. In specific reference to Cooney, I wouldn't feel the same need to single him out as I did hill because I have a belief he is carrying an injury, and again, where i was sitting and what i saw of his game, i thought he was OK.

I would be the first to excuse Hill if there was a realistic reason for his poor performance.

Back on topic

Slap - Murphy, having a great season so far and is really a cool head with the ball. Agree with others that his great skills could be of benefit on the receiving end of kick ins as im not sure he is one we really need kicking in if we are just going the long bomb

Slap and sledge: Jones, impressed and showed a lot of ability and there was one passage where he ran about 60m and pressured about 4 opponents in the process. no turnover was caused but really showed a willingness from a big man. Still needs work but saw something i really liked

Apologies to will and sherman

Sledge - Hills game - enoughs been said already
Sledge - Umpire. Must admit i thought for the most part the game was well umpired in the conditions, however what the hell was that decision against will when obrien jumped up his back with no chance of getting the ball? really strange decision

[bresker]

Darcy on 'One week at a time' just gave Josh Hill a slap. Collingwood player set shot for goal, and Hill's standing on the mark. Or rather, strolling off the mark with one hand waving pathetically in the air.

Oh dear.

[AndrewP6]

Darcy on 'One week at a time' just gave Josh Hill a slap. Collingwood player set shot for goal, and Hill's standing on the mark. Or rather, strolling off the mark with one hand waving pathetically in the air.

Oh dear.

Slap or sledge?

[LostDoggy]

Obviously you didn't watch it live. There's a difference between having a poor game and not having a go.

I think people criticising Grant this week must have been watching the game on the television.

After he received such criticism last week, I took my eyes of the ball last night to watch how he was approaching the game.

His work ethic was very good. There's massive room for improvement, but he definitely wasn't one of our worst. There is a big difference between looking disinterested and having your hands on your hips while you suck in air because you've just busted your gut on an unrewarded eighty metre sprint. His games against Essendon, Gold Coast and Brisbane were also team orientated. I think he's earning his place so far.


SLAPS:

We're playing our youth

Wallis, Jones, Grant, Ward, Markovic, Roughead and Liberatore. Ross Lyon would kill to have talent like that on his list. Games into them now will reap rewards at a time when Griffen and Cooney are still at their best. We've got a lot to look forward to.


SLEDGE

Reality

So often it's reality that ruins our fun. Truth is, at this point in time Collingwood are easily four or five goals better than us. Take out Hall, Hudson, Higgins, Hargrave, Wood and Giansiracusa and the gap between the two teams is twice that at least. Two of our best three players have returned to the game significantly underdone. That hurts as well.

Yeah, the talent we still had on the park should have used the ball better, but ultimately we finished about where I expected us too. That's not to say that I'm writing us off. It'll be quite novel for the Bulldogs to peak in September instead of August or July.

[bresker]

Slap or sledge?

Sorry, sledge.

Though he deserves a slapped cheek & a spell on the naughty step

[ratsmac]

Hill deserves another go. He has been good this year. He was terrible against the pies but he was not alone. It wasn't Hill's fault that the best team in the competition kicked eight goals in the last quarter. It was a team effort that caused that.