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Re: Practise Match - Geelong Cats v Western Bulldogs
I went and had a look today. Some good signs and some bad signs, but another good hit-out and solid preparation heading into round one.
The Good:
* We are much harder at the ball, and our tackling has improved a hell of a lot. We also aren't putting up with any crap from the opposition, which was great to see for the third week running. We've certainly got a harder edge in this respect.
Libba was terrific. He just doesn't waste the ball by foot or hand. He positions himself better than anyone else in contests and must have alot of core strength. He's such a smart player.
Boyd was very good again. Some really good handballs in close to release players into space. Looks set for another huge year.
Cross was pretty good. Not sure playing him on a wing is a smart idea though, because he doesn't have the pace required. As a result, if the ball spills out into space, his opponent wins. This often gets exploited, but aside from that, Cross was very good. Used the ball well.
Picken was tough and won the ball. Much better playing in that midfield, drifting forward. He did miss a few targets by foot/bombed away a little though.
Lake's progress is really encouraging. He had a good battle with Hawkins in the first half. He's still getting beaten on the lead at times, but it can be hard to stop given the way Geelong move the ball. He competed well, killed a lot of balls, took some marks and used the ball really well.
Hargrave was close to best on the ground for us. Defended well and ran hard to create. Used the ball well. He looks really fit and is set fora big year.
Roughead was very good. Thought it was a complete game from him today. He helped out the defence a few times with some great spoils, he took some big marks and kicked one or two. He gets the nod for round one.
Cordy was again impressive. He almost took 3 or 4 good marks, so he's not 'far away' from having a greater impact on a game. He's still very mobile, and he's certainly embracing the physical side of the game a LOT more. Kicked a really good goal, and is just competing well.
Skinner was super lively when he came on. He gave us a bit of everything; pace, defensive pressure, marking ability, ground ability, but he also made a few errors -- such as going for the spectacular mark. He's got a ridiculous leap on him though. Only came on in the last quarter, but I really think he should play round one. He's exciting and at times makes the difficult look easy. In a congested area, he picked the blal up with one hand, dodged a tackle, weaved around another opposition player and then released a good ball to a running player. It was a great peice of play. There's a lot more to his game than just 'flying for marks' now.
Griffen was superb, Grant was good when he came on in the second half, Minson did well, Howard had a good second half (first half average). Markovic and Wood had solid games, whilst Dickson showed more today than he had previously. The only thing with Dickson, is that he lacks fitness. He looked buggered and couldn't offer repeat efforts a lot of the time. He does have footy smarts, skill and aggression though.
The Bad:
* Our skill level is a worry. Some basic errors. Our delivery into the forward half is most concerning, we give the ball far too much air and a lot of the time they are just 'bombs' hoping that somebody is going to mark it. Geelong, on the other hand, always looked to pass the ball to a player and put it to their advantage. We rarely did this, even though we had a lot of the play.
* Our defensive press looked really, really poor at times today. Players were occupying space, but all Geelong did was run in a wave, take the space, and handball to a free player. That quickly eliminated any sort of 'press' we had, and it opened up the play for Geelong. They did this numerous times. I can see us suffering HEAVY defeats if we don't fix this up.
Wallis was the worst on the ground when he came on. His skill level was BEYOND disgraceful. I don't use those words lightly -- it was simply dreadful. It didn't matter if they were simple 20m passes under no pressure or not -- he couldn't hit a target. He cost us at least 2 or 3 goals, and it changed the momentum of the game. Many supporters (both Bulldogs and Geelong) commented on how bad his disposal by foot was. I don't think he even hit one target?
Howard just doesn't take enough responsibility. He always looks to give off the ball to a player that sometimes is in a worse position than he is. His first half really lacked conviction too -- his tackling was ordinary, his pressure was sub standard. HOWEVER, in the second half, he played much better. Used the ball well by foot, pressured, smothered, and looked more comfortable. Still not sure where we will play him, but the second half restored some faith.
Addison does a lot of good things, but he does a lot of stupid things. His disposal is bad. Why was he taking the kick ins? Insanity. He also loses sight of the ball in flight at times, which is costly. He did compete well though, and won a lot of contests based on effort and desperateness alone. Kind of a frustrating player -- makes you cheer one moment where he shows great courage and competitiveness to win a ball, and cringe the next when he misses a target from 10m away under no pressure.
Jones was disappointing, he's really not a full forward. Needs to be played at CHF. He was caught standing and waiting for balls, which isn't how he plays. He needs to play like Riewoldt; run hard, run fast, and run repeatedly to burn off the opposition. He gets a bit lost at FF, and finds himself competing with 2 opposition players.
Higgins. Not sure what we're going to do with him. He offers nothing. His skill level is non-existant, he's slow both in a physical and mental sense, and his defensive game as we know lacks. He always seems to be jogging around, offering little to no intensity. He'll play round one but he certainly doesn't deserve to IMO.
I went and had a look today. Some good signs and some bad signs, but another good hit-out and solid preparation heading into round one.
The Good:
* We are much harder at the ball, and our tackling has improved a hell of a lot. We also aren't putting up with any crap from the opposition, which was great to see for the third week running. We've certainly got a harder edge in this respect.
Libba was terrific. He just doesn't waste the ball by foot or hand. He positions himself better than anyone else in contests and must have alot of core strength. He's such a smart player.
Boyd was very good again. Some really good handballs in close to release players into space. Looks set for another huge year.
Cross was pretty good. Not sure playing him on a wing is a smart idea though, because he doesn't have the pace required. As a result, if the ball spills out into space, his opponent wins. This often gets exploited, but aside from that, Cross was very good. Used the ball well.
Picken was tough and won the ball. Much better playing in that midfield, drifting forward. He did miss a few targets by foot/bombed away a little though.
Lake's progress is really encouraging. He had a good battle with Hawkins in the first half. He's still getting beaten on the lead at times, but it can be hard to stop given the way Geelong move the ball. He competed well, killed a lot of balls, took some marks and used the ball really well.
Hargrave was close to best on the ground for us. Defended well and ran hard to create. Used the ball well. He looks really fit and is set fora big year.
Roughead was very good. Thought it was a complete game from him today. He helped out the defence a few times with some great spoils, he took some big marks and kicked one or two. He gets the nod for round one.
Cordy was again impressive. He almost took 3 or 4 good marks, so he's not 'far away' from having a greater impact on a game. He's still very mobile, and he's certainly embracing the physical side of the game a LOT more. Kicked a really good goal, and is just competing well.
Skinner was super lively when he came on. He gave us a bit of everything; pace, defensive pressure, marking ability, ground ability, but he also made a few errors -- such as going for the spectacular mark. He's got a ridiculous leap on him though. Only came on in the last quarter, but I really think he should play round one. He's exciting and at times makes the difficult look easy. In a congested area, he picked the blal up with one hand, dodged a tackle, weaved around another opposition player and then released a good ball to a running player. It was a great peice of play. There's a lot more to his game than just 'flying for marks' now.
Griffen was superb, Grant was good when he came on in the second half, Minson did well, Howard had a good second half (first half average). Markovic and Wood had solid games, whilst Dickson showed more today than he had previously. The only thing with Dickson, is that he lacks fitness. He looked buggered and couldn't offer repeat efforts a lot of the time. He does have footy smarts, skill and aggression though.
The Bad:
* Our skill level is a worry. Some basic errors. Our delivery into the forward half is most concerning, we give the ball far too much air and a lot of the time they are just 'bombs' hoping that somebody is going to mark it. Geelong, on the other hand, always looked to pass the ball to a player and put it to their advantage. We rarely did this, even though we had a lot of the play.
* Our defensive press looked really, really poor at times today. Players were occupying space, but all Geelong did was run in a wave, take the space, and handball to a free player. That quickly eliminated any sort of 'press' we had, and it opened up the play for Geelong. They did this numerous times. I can see us suffering HEAVY defeats if we don't fix this up.
Wallis was the worst on the ground when he came on. His skill level was BEYOND disgraceful. I don't use those words lightly -- it was simply dreadful. It didn't matter if they were simple 20m passes under no pressure or not -- he couldn't hit a target. He cost us at least 2 or 3 goals, and it changed the momentum of the game. Many supporters (both Bulldogs and Geelong) commented on how bad his disposal by foot was. I don't think he even hit one target?
Howard just doesn't take enough responsibility. He always looks to give off the ball to a player that sometimes is in a worse position than he is. His first half really lacked conviction too -- his tackling was ordinary, his pressure was sub standard. HOWEVER, in the second half, he played much better. Used the ball well by foot, pressured, smothered, and looked more comfortable. Still not sure where we will play him, but the second half restored some faith.
Addison does a lot of good things, but he does a lot of stupid things. His disposal is bad. Why was he taking the kick ins? Insanity. He also loses sight of the ball in flight at times, which is costly. He did compete well though, and won a lot of contests based on effort and desperateness alone. Kind of a frustrating player -- makes you cheer one moment where he shows great courage and competitiveness to win a ball, and cringe the next when he misses a target from 10m away under no pressure.
Jones was disappointing, he's really not a full forward. Needs to be played at CHF. He was caught standing and waiting for balls, which isn't how he plays. He needs to play like Riewoldt; run hard, run fast, and run repeatedly to burn off the opposition. He gets a bit lost at FF, and finds himself competing with 2 opposition players.
Higgins. Not sure what we're going to do with him. He offers nothing. His skill level is non-existant, he's slow both in a physical and mental sense, and his defensive game as we know lacks. He always seems to be jogging around, offering little to no intensity. He'll play round one but he certainly doesn't deserve to IMO.
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