Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

[ratsmac]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. Something happens to us when we play the last game of the round on Sunday evenings and its usually bad. Fridays nights however have been great..... except for round 1.

2. Macrae is too smart for a player like Devon Smith. He milked a late bump free and the 50 metre penalty bump. Both frees we 100% there but Macrae made sure the umpires saw both. Sucked in Devon.

3. Libba doesn't get beaten. He might not win every contest but neither does his opponent. He is the expert at just getting a little touch or tap that sends the ball in our favour or at least away from his opponent. Such an important player for us.

[Sedat]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. I didn't learn it....but those saying English isn't a ruckman can have a spell. And yes, next week he plays Witts (who is a monster) and he'll lose the hit outs in a big way. But we haven't had a ruckman like English, who has the potential to completely change the way we play, for a long time. How was his pick up for our first goal! The speed he has to get there and then the pick up! Marking around the ground....its been a while since we had a ruckman who does that. Extraordinary young player.

I recall even you were concerned about English after the St Kilda game. What he has done since then has been sensational, in particular the improvement in his ruck craft at stoppages which hasn't previously been evident until the last 5 weeks. It is testament to his character and to his steely resolve.

My concerns that the hidings he received from Grundy and Marshall in the first 2 rounds were sapping his confidence in his around the ground work both linking up with the mids and also aerially at both ends. Instead the opposite has happened - he destroyed Jacobs around the ground, did a number on the (undermanned) Swans, buried the Goldstein ghosts and then gave us his true coming of age performance last night. I am very happy to be wrong, and it's all credit to him.

[SonofScray]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. Our ruck situation is precarious. Coin toss stuff. High risk, high reward. I love seeing English do what he did. I hate seeing everything fall to pieces when it's not on his terms.

2. Young players flying for the footy and having a nose for goal, it's good for the soul. CODY-19 set my spirit soaring with that mark & goal. What a good lad.

3. JJ and Dutch needed to pack their long stops. Keep your feet boys!

[AshMac]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. We are genuinely amazing to watch when the conditions favour fast moving quick hands footy - i.e. When our 'Plan A' works
2. Our run and carry is much better than the bombers, we both played our game style and we dominated them
3. 3rd quarter was great but our scoring effectiveness is still a real issue

[AshMac]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

He would simply be stronger, he has a good tank, I doubt he would lose any mobility.

That'd be my concern with increased bulk - losing his mobility across the ground and his ability to influence the ball on the ground. If he could put on 10kgs and still be so effective around the ground then he is a top 3 for sure. I'm sure the strength/mobility equation is one they are trying to balance for him all the time.

That one handed scoop off the ground for our first goal, was remarkable

[Mitcha]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. I'm glad we continue to scrap goals in general play because I'm well over our inability to nail straightforward set shots. (Wally excepted).
2. The Flea brought genuine adrenaline and excitement to the group, didn't get a lot but what he got was a good sign of things to come.
3. Essendon are the most overhyped, over rated bunch of frontrunners ever with most bolstering their numbers in the last when our cue was in the rack. Interested to see how the Bomber sympathisers (Hun, Channel 7) gloss over this one.

[Remi Moses]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. Gee this sites become a Debbie Downer Can we enjoy a win and a good performance ?
There’s enough barbs thrown on here when we lose....
2. Tim English is a special talent . Can we please enjoy his progress ? He’s not Polly farmer yet, we know!
Going to be speed bumps along the way, but he’s 22 years old
3. Libba’s progressing beautifully, he’s starting to become the old Tom Liberatore again
Love the grunt and Niggle . Bailey Williams is becoming a consistent best 22 player

[KT31]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. Those that said there was no room for both Libba and Wallis in the side, were well off the mark.
2. English is so far ahead of where is age and Round one would suggest.
3.We may finally have a couple of future small forwards who are capable of hitting the score board.

[Bulldog4life]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. The flea's first mark and first goal were the best of any doggie's player I can remember....happy to be proved wrong.

2. Timmy English will be a superstar.

3. If we make the finals and can get Naughty and Dunks back. Watch out.

[Bullies]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

Not to shoot Bambi or however that works but Weightman did some very annoying things tonight along with his moments of brilliance. Someone really needs to let him know that flying for big pack grabs doesn’t always have to be his job, and kicking sideways isn’t always a bad thing. I know he “plays tall” but maybe can he not from now on.

Sick SICK first goal though, fair play.

He was a stand out for his marking at Haileybury. Why not go for it if you have the confidence. He is smart enough to know when to fly and when not to. Let him have some fun.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

3. Little things make the difference. 032803 spoil - and Lippa getting it one grab and kicking a long snap goal - that was the game tonight. We needed a moment to break up the game. I can't remember who kicked the ball to centre half forward, but it wasn't much of a kick - Vanda spoiled like his life depended on it, Lippa always catches clean, and the finish was superb. I was giving a standing ovation for Vanda, and we went from wasting a half of dominance, to getting the break we needed.

That Lippa take and goal was brilliant.
The commentators were Bomber-centric and Carey said 'how often does that happen; a team dominates, doesn't score and the ball goes up the other end for an EASY goal'.!?!

[Bulldog Joe]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

That Lippa take and goal was brilliant.
The commentators were Bomber-centric and Carey said 'how often does that happen; a team dominates, doesn't score and the ball goes up the other end for an EASY goal'.!?!

Because Essendon were so dominant they had been almost in ascendancy for about 3 minutes.

At that stage of the game we were way short of the scoreboard dominance that the game play should have produced.

But gee ....commentary is so insightful

[azabob]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

Because Essendon were so dominant they had been almost in ascendancy for about 3 minutes.

At that stage of the game we were way short of the scoreboard dominance that the game play should have produced.

But gee ....commentary is so insightful

Even during the play of the night English - Bont - Suckling - goal, Bruce still managed to talk about Grundy doing something similar the night before. Like come on, at least live in the moment...

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. From observations at the ground, I'm now not sure our historical problems capitalising on inside 50's is mainly the poor delivery. So often our forwards were all on leads that seemed to end with all of them in the same place. That doesn't seem an overly smart tactical plan, and may explain why those bringing the ball in often seem hesitant or unable to pinpoint their passes to advantage

2. As I remarked elsewhere, I am not up with the tactical plans of modern defensive setups.. but whatever it was, our guys were 100% focused all game on trying to make the setup stick. They were constantly looking around, adjusting, communicating and making sure we ALWAYS held a line across the ground that was slightly behind the Bombers, with one always a 5 or 10 metres behind them on the fat side of the ground.

3. I queried again pre game the soundness of mind of our Match Committee...I still have no idea how, but we dropped 3 attacking/forward's and replaced them with 3 defenders, and yet we did not struggle to score. Suckling played well up forward. Young was so-so, but not as exposed as Butler was last week. Crozier was Crozier, and Weightman...hit the scoreboard twice- should've been thrice.

[Dry Rot]

Re: Three things you have learned Round 7 v the Bombres.

1. The Bombers have many very ordinary players (including high draft picks), and their ladder position this year is a mystery to me

2. The only thing better than watching the Dogs pants the Bombers is watching it with aBombers fan mate

3. Playing specialist small forwards in the forward line is useful