Rating our players vrs Cats

[Moods]

To be honest we got closer than I expected and the heart we showed as a team was very comforting. I was bitterly disappointed to lose because I think with a full team we're better than the Cats. However down there with Sinclair missing is a big ask. Some players were enormous and some went missing completely. This is how I saw it.

The Top 7.

Marshall - 9.5/10. What a star. Heart of a lion and almost won the game singlehandedly for us.
Steele - 9/10. Easily our best mid. Never stopped trying and won some crucial clearances in the last quarter to give us a sniff
King - 8/10. Tried really hard. Always looked dangerous. Hands were good tonight and he appeared to be involved in lots of goals.
Henry - 8/10. Great first up game for the saints. Was in everything and provided real spark. Look fwd to watching him this year.
Bonner - 7/10. Great disposal, especially in 1st quarter. Had 28 possessions but I think he kicked in a lot.
Membrey - 7/10. Didn't get it a lot but was clean and dangerous with ball in hand. 3 goals a great effort
Wilkie 7/10. Solid as usual. Kept Cameron to a manageable night and provided the counteracts and intercepts

The Contributors

Cordy - 6.5/10. Had the toughest job on the ground on Hawkins. Hawk didn't kick well, but his one goal meant we were always in the game.
Owens - 6/10. Came good in 2nd half. Needs to finish his work. His aggression around the ball is invaluable. Needs to learn how to find it a bit more consistently.
Battle - 6/10. Solid game, nothing special.
Byrnes. 6/10 Runs hard. Needs to improve disposal and will become important link player
Windhager - 6/10. Quiet first half but when moved onto the ball had an impact and won some important contested possession.
Wood - 6/10 Did some nice things but would like him tyo kick the goal when he gets the opportunity.
Wilson - 6/10. As expected looked a bit overwhelmed especially at the start. Finished with 2 goals and showed enough to get us up and about
Stocker 5/10 - Not sure what to make of Stocker's game. Did some really nice things and I guess I like the fact that he never takes a backward step. Can trust his disposal. Nedes to get it more though.

The Not so Good

Crouch - 2/10 Poor night from a bloke who is an experienced head in the middle. Nil impact
Higgins - 3/10. Tries really hard and was involved in a couple of goals. the spoil in the goal square to create a goal was fantastic. Overall though was messy and missing from 20 in front in the first was unforgiveable. Will struggle to keep his spot when everyone available
Wanganeen - 3/10. Defended poorly and seemed to be in two minds. Dempsey kicked a couple of his goals on him and he was completely out positioned. Couple of classic Nas passes but overall we needed more from him
Sharman 3/10. Is not a defenders arsehole. Looked lost and doesn't have the intensity to play defence. For mine is a one trick pony, which
admittedly when on is a pretty good trick. His ground work is poor. Kicked an important goal in the last otherwise would have been graded lower.
Hill - 2/10 Had a shocker. Zero impact, defensive work was poor, especially at the start
Ross - 2/10 had a shocker. Barely noticed him and he may be lucky to hold his spot depending on injuries and players returning.
Pou - 2/10 For mine the most overated player on our list. Is nauseating listening to commentators talking about what a great year he had last year and what a special talent he is blah blah blah.. Anyone who follows the club knows he was gifted games last year. I'm leaning more twds the position that he won't make it. I say that because he just doesn't have the energy or intensity or want to compete. Tbh, I think he's a bit timid and he's definitely not the sort of player we want at Centre bounces. Has no idea what to do with the ball when he gets it under pressure and when the whips were cracking in the last quarter, save a goal he scored he wasn't to be seen when other players who had had quiet nights were throwing their bodies in at the contest. I'm not convinced and I hope I'm wrong.
Collard - (sub) stupid decision to have him as sub. Geelong are always massive and on a ground that's so condensed not surprising that he barely registered a disposal in his first game. Whilst I'm not a wrap for Jones, if he was fit he should have been picked as the sub.

[skeptic]

I wildly disagree with you on NWM and Owens.

Switch those two around although I would have had NWH closer to a 7-8 but otherwise I think this is a fantastic summary

[The Fireman]

Good post moods
Especially concerning pou

[Moods]

I wildly disagree with you on NWM and Owens.

Switch those two around although I would have had NWH closer to a 7-8 but otherwise I think this is a fantastic summary

Ha. Just checked the stats. NWM had 25. I'm staggered, but happy to be wrong. I did think he was outpositioned a couple of times though but yeah, probably marked him too low in hindsight.

As for Owens, a contentious score from me I admit. I noticed in the clinches his aggression often clears the ball in our favour without him registering a stat. I think we'd all like to see him do a bit more though and certainly his finishing work is a massive area of improvement.

[Otiman]

Thought Bonner was a bit overrated. Struggled a bit like Dougal under pressure.

NWM was BOG for mine. We were exposed without Webster.

[Moods]

Thought Bonner was a bit overrated. Struggled a bit like Dougal under pressure.

NWM was BOG for mine. We were exposed without Webster.

I agree on your last sentence, which surprised me a little. Didn't think we'd miss him so much, but we needed his hard edge and desperation and bigger body.

Sounds a little racist (which is unintended) but maybe I was getting Bonner and NWM mixed up a couple of times?

[The Fireman]

Thought Bonner was a bit overrated. Struggled a bit like Dougal under pressure.

NWM was BOG for mine. We were exposed without Webster.

I agree on your last sentence, which surprised me a little. Didn't think we'd miss him so much, but we needed his hard edge and desperation and bigger body.



Sounds a little racist (which is unintended) but maybe I was getting Bonner and NWM mixed up a couple of times?

what a shame you even need to have to consider that the world’s f****** going crazy

[Moods]

Thought Bonner was a bit overrated. Struggled a bit like Dougal under pressure.

NWM was BOG for mine. We were exposed without Webster.

I agree on your last sentence, which surprised me a little. Didn't think we'd miss him so much, but we needed his hard edge and desperation and bigger body.



Sounds a little racist (which is unintended) but maybe I was getting Bonner and NWM mixed up a couple of times?

what a shame you even need to have to consider that the world’s f****** going crazy

Agree. If I said that I got Steele and Cordy mixed up no one would even blink

[Vortex]

Thought Bonner was a bit overrated.

Wasn't 100% clean but crickey...666 MGs for his first outing is a good start.

Can thread the long risky kick with accuracy so hopefully that becomes a feature as it solves a hell of a lot of problems with trying to drive attack out off the backline.

[WellardSaint]

Agree on Pou being overrated.
Commentators saying he had an 'outstanding' year

'Serviceable' maybe, 'average' (not in a bad way) making up the numbers.
For a first yr player, he ran a lot, did a handful of things, but was just another player

[Otiman]

At some point in a career, potential means nothing. Philippou is fast approaching that point but is not there yet.

[Otiman]

Thought Bonner was a bit overrated.

Wasn't 100% clean but crickey...666 MGs for his first outing is a good start.

Can thread the long risky kick with accuracy so hopefully that becomes a feature as it solves a hell of a lot of problems with trying to drive attack out off the backline.

I didn't say he was terrible, but was not as good as his praccy match games, and did show some signs of cracking under pressure.

I will say he didn't have much to kick to, that goes a long way to making a guy like him look good.

[Scollop]

Thought Bonner was a bit overrated. Struggled a bit like Dougal under pressure.

NWM was BOG for mine. We were exposed without Webster.

I agree on your last sentence, which surprised me a little. Didn't think we'd miss him so much, but we needed his hard edge and desperation and bigger body.



Sounds a little racist (which is unintended) but maybe I was getting Bonner and NWM mixed up a couple of times?

what a shame you even need to have to consider that the world’s f****** going crazy

Agree. If I said that I got Steele and Cordy mixed up no one would even blink

I understand your problem.

Your prejudice is deeply ingrained. Is that what you're saying . You're trying to not point to the colour of their skin even though you're pointing to the colour of their skin. Maybe you should change your handle to "Tool".

Do all freckle faced redheads look alike? No... of course not. Do all Asians look alike? No...that's discriminatory and Yes... it's being being racist.

Here's a thought. Perhaps look a little more closely at their faces or their running style or their jumper numbers...or get a new pair of glasses

Otherwise...really good opening post and thanks for the player ratings

[Moods]

Fair enough Scollop. You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m hoping this thread doesn’t become about that comment.

My main point is that I’m prepared to concede after watching the game once that I’ve rated NWM too harshly and probably rated Bonner too highly.

[The_Dud]

Surprised with the high rating for Steele, I think it may have something to do with being the best of a piss-poor midfield.

If that was a 9/10 tonight, then 2 years ago he would have been pulling out 15/10 every second week. I think we forget how good he was when he was nearly winning Brownlows.

[perfectionist]

NWM should be on a wing. He is too easily moved off the ball in a backline contest. Bonner looks OK - can take a mark and is a very good kick. His passes were low and hard. But he too is light for a backman. Our back six seem skinny compared to the top sides. Howard only makes that worse, and he fumbles and can't take a contested mark. Until and unless we find a top full back we will be nowhere. It's the not-so-hidden secret of a premiership team. Had we had one in 2009 or 2010 things would have been different. Melbourne got who we should have got in 2019 and "hey presto" they won a flag in 2021.

[Moods]

Surprised with the high rating for Steele, I think it may have something to do with being the best of a piss-poor midfield.

If that was a 9/10 tonight, then 2 years ago he would have been pulling out 15/10 every second week. I think we forget how good he was when he was nearly winning Brownlows.

You’re probably right. Tbh, when I went through the stats properly AFTER doing the ratings, I thought 25 possessions is really just a standard Steele game. To the naked eye I felt he was the only one contributing in there, but you’re right, he’s definitely played better games

[Moods]

NWM should be on a wing. He is too easily moved off the ball in a backline contest. Bonner looks OK - can take a mark and is a very good kick. His passes were low and hard. But he too is light for a backman. Our back six seem skinny compared to the top sides. Howard only makes that worse, and he fumbles and can't take a contested mark. Until and unless we find a top full back we will be nowhere. It's the not-so-hidden secret of a premiership team. Had we had one in 2009 or 2010 things would have been different. Melbourne got who we should have got in 2019 and "hey presto" they won a flag in 2021.

To me the wing is one of the hardest positions on the ground to play. You need to be supremely fit to push deep back to defend and run forward to kick goals. You also need to be adept at reading the play to assess when to go into the contest and when to hold back.

I agree he got pushed off the ball a lot last night which may have clouded my judgement to the good things he did

[B.M]

In that marking contest, he was just bumped at the right time, as he was in the air. Good bit of body work by opponent.

Wanganeen Milera is outstanding of HB imo