Match discussion thread - Nth Melb practice match

[meher baba]

It's been a quarter and a half of garbage from us. We missed umpteen chances in the second half of the second quarter and then the Roos stormed back in the third. Still, it's going to be hard for the Roos to score any more goals, so we just need to convert a couple of chances in the fourth and we'll win the game. As if it matters.

King has been disappointing since the first quarter. He hasn't positioned himself very well, and he's been undisciplined to boot.

[shrodes]

Dougall getting a bath now

[saintbob]

Dougall getting a bath now

He’s NFG

[shrodes]

Sharman deserves a spot

[shrodes]

Dougs hammy. Few backline decisions being made for us

[Life Long Saint]

Sharman deserves a spot

He's a certainty for round 1. Finished last season strongly and has carried into the pre-season.
King, Membrey, and Sharman will be the tall forwards.

[saintbob]

Why do we constantly have 2 or 3 flying for the ball, while their an opponents are waiting down.
It’s not f***** under 12’s footy FFS!!!

[shrodes]

Henry class finish

[The_Dud]

If anyone didn’t see it. AFL absolutely going to make an example of that (as they should), just so dumb by Jimmy, in a zero stakes preseason game no less

Only just saw this, he’ll get 4 weeks, same as that Port bloke last week.

Howard looks like he might be out a while too.

[magnifisaint]

If anyone didn’t see it. AFL absolutely going to make an example of that (as they should), just so dumb by Jimmy, in a zero stakes preseason game no less

Only just saw this, he’ll get 4 weeks, same as that Port bloke last week.

Howard looks like he might be out a while too.

Give someone else a go.

[skeptic]

Yep. Stinker.

Rough little patch of time for the backline which has been a strength for a while.

Webster suspended
Howard to miss pbly a month or so
Sinclair and Battle are touch and go
Clark (may be more of a mid but won’t start on a flank)

Wilkie, Cordy, Stocker
NWM, Battle, Bonnar/Sinclair (middle)

Maybe Arie maybe a chance as starting sub?

Pbly the best you can hope for at this stage

[WellardSaint]

I'm not sure how to take this.
It's a preseason game, shouldn't read too much into it, and the strong wind let them feel complacent when they were kicking with it.

But...are they mentally switched on? Norf took it far more seriously against the wind, worked smarter than us.

Hopefully in Rd 1, the coaches will fix their attitudes

[B.M]

More

It was late

He left the ground

[saintbob]

I think 29 scoring shots to 15 tells the story, just couldn’t finish our work in front of goals. Higgins 0.4 was the worst offender.

[CURLY]

Dougall getting a bath now

Fair to say most of Larkeys goals were gift frees not by Howard.

[SaintWiki]

Such a damn shame about losing Dougal and Webster from our backline for the first part of the season - they have worked together for years and are considered one of the best back-lines in the comp.

[Yorkeys]

I think Higgins is no certainty for R1 or more than 10 games this year.

[Zed]

On a positive note, the fact we butchered the 2nd half will have RTB crawling all over that 2nd half vision to try and make sure we don’t repeat that against the cats.

If Sam PP got 4 weeks , then Jimmy gets 6 . Head high bumping with feet off the ground , is exactly what they want to stamp out. We aren’t a big club who can pressure a suspension down from 6 to 3 weeks - he will feel the full force - and for the good of the game , probably needs to get 6.

Sorely missing small forwards today. A real concern for season moving forward. Gresham would have easily had 2-3 goals at the feet of the talls today - there were plenty of crumbs to be had. Henry has to play as a small forward until Butler returns. Collard is still 12 months and 10 kilos away. Higgins plays like an undersized key forward - not crumbing forward. Garcia close but not quite ready either.

Crouch hopefully ready for R1 - Seb will be important until we get all our mids back.
Sounds like Sinclair being set for R2.
All eyes on Jones and Dow to add some experience into the midfield

Battle adds stability down back, but Cordy will be a downgrade on Dougal - although probably a better match for Hawkins than Dougal.

Loved Wilson’s game apart from that one glaring error. We’ve got a beauty.
Ari made lots of mistakes, but perhaps some first game nerves. The fact he was so involved in the play was promising. Not R1 ready - he just needs a bit more confidence in his marking, and a bit more coaching on decision making and he will be a very good player. I expect him to be in the selection conversation as the season unfolds.
Pou not really impacting as a mid fielder. His first half was better than last week , and he has got some nice hands , but still seems a lot less impactful than Seb - who he would be looking to replace.Where does he play R1 ? Not ready for mid , not played as a HF during practice games.

R1 will be a very evenly matched game. Need to take our chances in front of goal to have any chance of winning.

[Otiman]

After the dust has settled, my thoughts are:

The Good: King and Owens combo early looked dangerous, Byrnes has stepped up, Wilson has earned a spot in the 22 on merit alone, Garcia will be a player. Pou looked much more comfortable with the ball. Bonner backed up last weeks efforts with a similar game today. Our young midfield kept up with the opposition defensively and we didn't get smashed in clearances.

The Bad: Higgins 0.4 I'm not convinced he is worth keeping in the side. 18 missed goals at our training venue, King disappeared in the second half and couldn't get into it, injuries and suspensions.

[The Fireman]

Took the foot off pedal after half time.
Not concerned about that, but I am so glad The Club picked up Henry
I can fully understand the hype about Cooper Sharman early doors as most astute supporters did , but I struggle with the hype about pou
All in all, this is a positive work in progress

We are top four material
Would like all my negative fellow supporters respond to this

[B.M]

Last kick i50

Still an issue, barely hit a target

Goal kicking still poor - Higgins abysmal

King - Lazy - poor body language - he’s all duck no dinner

Sharman - was outstanding today

[Devilhead]

Double the amount of scoring shots

I think we are ok

[Teflon]

Interesting hit out
Wilson is a carbon copy of Sam Walsh to me. Will be a star
Shoenmakers surprised me too
Like Garcia - has traits
Higgins …I was a fan but I think we need to move past him to go next level
It’s lol every time he gets a shot on goal ….hes can’t kick, he can’t run….he flies when he shouldn’t…doesn’t crumb …
I’m hoping this year he, Webster, Ross etc start to be squeezed out by more talent think they have to if we are going to take next step
Bonner, Henry v good as well
Last kick into forward 50 still an issue…was windy but geez..
Will be interesting to see us against better opponents
Rd 2 you’ll see…

[Beno88]

Positives
Ball use was very good in the first half, moved the ball through the corridor from congestion and it worked well.
Controlled the air with good contested marking and solid contests.
Wilson, Shoenmakers and Garcia have all got plenty to offer.
Henry and Bonner are Round 1 locks - arguably our best preseason performers.
Nas is pure silk.
Owens put last week behind him and had a ripper.
Ten tackles between Marshall and Owens was tremendous from two big guys, love the pressure they create around the contest.
Byrnes played Brad Crouch's roll quite well.

Negatives
The attempt to play slow, possession footy into the wind in the third quarter was a complete failure.
No answers to North's extraction and run from the back of a stoppage/congestion.
Forward pressure was poor without Butler. Just 3 tackles inside 50. North had 10.
Goal kicking. Kept NM in it by kicking 12 consecutive behinds, 10 of which were with the wind.
Midfield is still average at best. Crouch is so important to our ability to win clearances.
Webster and Howard being unavailable for a month plus.
Defending kick ins. North repeatedly brought the ball straight in from kick-ins and would be outside D50 before we even got moving. It took until the last quarter for St Kilda to wake up to it, which is concerning given North had 14 kick ins prior to that.

Overall, encouraging preseason, but a worrying injury list. The kids look good.

[Vortex]

March 16 just around the corner. Going to be one of the more entertaining years in the club's recent history me thinks.

So many juicy sub plots.

Get your bets down.