WB Game Day V Richmond R7 2021

[Scraggers]

Selection?

Did you miss the whole third quarter where our midfield got slaughtered? We didn't have a touch in our forward HALF for about 20 minutes. That wasn't because we selected Schache over JUH.

This is on our senior group. Richmond turned up the heat and we didn't go with them. Yes we had some players not contribute much, and that did make it harder, but the inability of Bont, Macrae, Smith and Martin to lift and go with them is what cost us big time, coupled with our defence being exposed to quick and meaningful entries to good forwards.

There is no way any of Wallis, Khamis, Garcia or JUH change that result unless they turn out to be some kind fo spiritual leader that can raise the entire side.

Did you watch the third quarter? And the fourth quarter?? Schache was brought in to pinch hit in the ruck? What did he do? How many hit outs to advantage? What did he actually contribute? He kicked one goal and did little else … you want to have a go at me, check the stats. Go back and watch the third quarter, tell me his contribution

[jeemak]

It was good to see us get punished properly for not adjusting to the pressure and not holding our structure in the third. Our midfield will get a good talking to and the team as a whole got a stark reminder of what happens when we compress the ground too much one way or the other.

Wasn't at the game so am trying to get my head around how a forward line with Schache, Bruce and Naughton can't bring the ball to ground more often on the outlet, you know, at least get it over the line to force a stoppage or something. It just didn't seem to happen.

Our blue chip midfield received a rude shock today, and like every other pressure game where a malaise has set in previously this one can be largely pinned on them. They need to be better.

And Bont. Champions kick the important ones and the really simple ones alike. Sometimes the really simple ones turn into important ones and your miss at the end of the first half made it just that little bit easier for Richmond to feel like they were right in it with a sniff. Get your shit together and start kicking the goals you should kick.

[bornadog]

Missed the game but it sounds like one of those matches where our much vaunted midfield group get slaughtered at the coalface and it exposes our lack of key defensive depth.

Our next opponent has embarrassed us in very similar ways the last couple of years - good test for our maturity next week to see if we are actually a contender this year.

Our mids were not slaughtered. In the third quarter, Tigers won most of the Centre clearances, but overall for the game CC were even, we won stoppages, overall clearances but they ended up getting on top of the CP. Martin won the Hitouts, but Nankervis was good around the ground. This is where we missed English.

5 min to go there was 5 points in it, but they were more dangerous up forward. Houli with 31 disposals from the backline, drove most of their forward run and set up their forwards.

[Scraggers]

Thought Scott was okay tonight. Not sure they're interchangeable.

Looking for a different role. Scott is an outside small; he has pace and good disposal. Wallis can’t play that game. Wallis can play as a small forward … front and centre. But importantly, he can play as an in-and-under in the guts. Giving Libba a break. A bit of what Dunkley’s role was last week.

I think we have enough “Scotts” in the team, we needed more Libbas

[comrade]

This doesn’t feel like a ‘lose the battle, but win the war’ type of loss. Insert Prestia, Dusty and Lambert in their side and put our missing blokes in ours and we still lose.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

And despite all that there was 22 points in it with so many players down, for a quarter.

You'd think it was a 10 goal loss.

The loss could have been a lot more if Lynch had of kicked straight in the first half. We were badly exposed after half time with just 2 goals to Richmond’s 9. Our forward line apart from Naughton was very poor. Dunkley was a huge loss as we missed his mental toughness in close. Similarly we lacked the marking abilities of English when players like Bruce Cordy Schache and Martin were exposed in that area.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We looked slow and flat after halftime.

Is it as simple as us being gassed, for whatever reason? We just couldn't run.

We didn't learn anything we didn't already know in that our back half is poor defensively and can be torched if our mids don't win more than their fair share.

This is why I was so gutted with Dunks injury because our clear advantage over every other side has been severely impacted.

[Vred]

Just got back form the game after sitting in the nosebleed section surrounded by Richmond supporters. Thinks to note.
1. Cordy should never get a game with us again, period. Drop him now so we have a list spot free for mid-season draft, I'm sure I could do a better job defending than him.
2. JJ, trade
3. Schache, trade
4. Scott, what the hell is your purpose on our team? I made it a mission to watch him tonight, he is beyond useless, McNeal offers WAY more than this bloke.

These 4 players should never play senior football again. West I can forgive, young, inexperienced at AFL level.

Anyway, I have just taken some painkillers and plan to sip some vodka before going to bed, thanks to the over-bearing Richmond guy yelling in my ear for 4 quarters.

FFuuckk

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This doesn’t feel like a ‘lose the battle, but win the war’ type of loss. Insert Prestia, Dusty and Lambert in their side and put our missing blokes in ours and we still lose.

Don't agree. Dunks, English and Williams out hurt us as much as Richmond's outs.
We're 6-1. Let's revisit if Carlton manage to get hold of us next week.

[soupman]

I think there's a few things to take out of that game individually.

Dale was fantastic, that first half was so good and thought he acquitted himself very well in most defensive contests he was involved in. Wasn't happy with his fresh airy to end the first half but unsure if he could have gotten to it using other means. I was very sceptical on his move to defence but he is such a pleasure to watch now.

Naughton was great. Thank god we keep ignoring the cries to move him to defence because he was our only forward that looked dangerous today. Always a threat and until a certain set shot I thought he looked much more assured when shooting today. His recovery continues to be elite.

Bruce was decent early, but that second half was atrocious. Real 2020 areas. The uncontested mark where he just ran under it was vomit inducing, and the dropped mark on the wing where he cleanly got both hands to it and we were desperate for that bail out mark was crap as well. Him playing high really showed the value of English as that marking option around the ground, we really struggled to find that 5050 mark that English provides 5-6 times a game and Bruce isn't it. Still he has had a pretty good season so I'm not gonna be too harsh on him yet.

West is very frustrating. Does he know that he is the smallest guy out there? Two things he loves doing are trying to power his way through tackles and flying for marks. They are the last two things he should be trying to do. Hunter is a very good example of someone who recognizes he doesn't have the size to burst through tackles and instead tries to use momentum to evade them. West is playing like he is still up against the smaller VFL footballers. Happy to give him another go, he has earnt it and has talent, but not sure he has the pod that guys like McNeill and Scott have for that pacy forward that works up and down the ground.

Schache had a bad night, although tbf he copped shithouse delivery (if any) all night. Way too many of our entries were popped over the top of our forwards to a waiting Grimes or Astbury. Still Schache just struggles to get involved and unlike say Bruce he isn't good enough to rely on a couple of pack marks or physical efforts to compensate for that. For Schache to make it he needs to regularly get involved and amass 6+ score involvements a game. Atm he is lucky to get that many touches. Had some bad moments tonight (the 3 metre turnover kick a lowlight) but I do think it was difficult for him to keep touch. Not too worried though as lets face it, there is no way he gets a game when English returns and JUH will pass him by round 8.

Quite liked Woods game. Was good in the contest and actually pretty constructive with the ball. Probably needed him to be able to come across and help with Lynch and Riewoldt more, but our backline always felt under seige in the second half so not sure if that was his fault or he was just one of the guys trying to hold it all together.

Cordy was poor, but we knew that would be the case. He just can't take on a decent key forward one on one, and especially wit some of the delivery they got. Unfortunately there isn't anybody else on the list thats better. Gardner maybe, but only marginal, and Young I'm very not sold on. This is more of a list management thing, no matter which of these young talls play that role we are going to be discussing their inadequacies.

JJ. Whos' struggled to get going more this year, JJ or North? I love him but he has offered us very little this year. I think Vandermeer takes his spot and instantly contributes more. JJ just struggles to get involved when he isn't behind the ball and he is nowhere near pushing out any of our rebounding defenders. Maybe send him back to the VFL for 3 weeks and see if we can build his confidence back up. When he is on his running creates space but lately it seems like he is incapable of finding it.

Bailey Smith has had a weird season. Was god like against Collingwood and since then has been very inconsistent. I thought he was decent aroudn the ground tonight but really struggled inside the contest, and his handballing again is a very apparent weakness.

Lastly Bont had a poor game. So many poorly executed kicks, the one at the end where he kicked it to the Richmond bloke was terrible. And please can he start kicking those regulation set shots again, they are so important and he just regularly throw them away like they mean nothing.

[comrade]

As much as I don’t like Cordy in the side, how did we allow Lynch so many one on one contests? I can’t remember him getting one last week, yet we served them up on a platter. Our lack of plan B in the 3rd was a real disappointment but maybe we were keeping our powder dry?

[bornadog]

Wasn't at the game so am trying to get my head around how a forward line with Schache, Bruce and Naughton can't bring the ball to ground more often on the outlet, you know, at least get it over the line to force a stoppage or something. It just didn't seem to happen.

The delivery into the forward line was the worst it has been this year, other than a brilliant pass by Hunter, and a another pass to Naughton when he made a great lead.

Bruce and Schache were not always in the forward line at the same time.

[josie]

It is almost like young West was trying to hard. Will be fascinating to see how Bevo responds. Cordy & Schache & JJ - just so ineffective. I was so hoping Schache would show some real intensity tonight. Might have been his last chance in RWB.

Felt we went into our shell a bit when Tigers started getting in top - not making leads. Felt we lacked a bit of leadership tonight. No doubt Bont will learn from this.

And who was on Houli? Felt he was given too much freedom & cut us to pieces.

[soupman]

Did you watch the third quarter? And the fourth quarter?? Schache was brought in to pinch hit in the ruck? What did he do? How many hit outs to advantage? What did he actually contribute? He kicked one goal and did little else … you want to have a go at me, check the stats. Go back and watch the third quarter, tell me his contribution

Schache was bad. I'm fine with that. Who could we have brought in that would have been better? Schache has performed well in that role in the VFL. If we are going to keep him on the list (believe me half my posts on here have been about retaining guys we don't actually want to play) then you play him when his exact role becomes vacant.

He was hardly alone in the third quarter, and considering basically all our stars that weren't furiously kicking the ball out of defence were doing nothing then I'm not sure it's fair to single out our third tall forward/second ruck as a major factor.

[jazzadogs]

The loss could have been a lot more if Lynch had of kicked straight in the first half. We were badly exposed after half time with just 2 goals to Richmond’s 9. Our forward line apart from Naughton was very poor. Dunkley was a huge loss as we missed his mental toughness in close. Similarly we lacked the marking abilities of English when players like Bruce Cordy Schache and Martin were exposed in that area.

The loss could have been exactly the same if Lynch had kicked his and we had kicked ours (Bont, Hannan, West misses).

Dunkley's loss has once again shown us that he is the only midfielder (maybe Libba) who gives a toss about defending. Tigers had scored 3 in a row and killed us out of the middle and we still didn't go man-on-man, letting Bolton run around on his own - to nobody's shock he got the clearance and they went forward again.

Selection didn't kill us, our complete lack of desire to defend as a midfield group killed us. Swapping Cordy for Young, West for Cavarra, Schache for JUH is just shuffling deckchairs (although the ship is still a long way from sinking). Our ability to wrestle back control.