2010 NAB Cup Round 1 - Essendon vs WCE Match Thread

[Mrs Mercuri]

I actually thought Jetta was pretty good tonight... loved seeing big Bocky running after the footy!!

2- Dyson- was just ok, was a little slow at times tonight 6/10
4- Captain Jobe- definately our best. How he gets out some of those clearances i dont know! 9/10
6- Monfries- disappeared after 1/4 time. Needs to do more in the season proper. 4/10
7- Jetta- chased and tackled hard and kicked a couple of goals. Needs to make this a regular thing in 2010. 5/10
8 Licha- ran hard all night and chipped in with 2 goals- 7/10
9- Prismall- first quarter was fantastic but sort of slowed after that. Had 3 pretty easy misses on goal in the last quarter. Will be a beauty this year in the middle. 7/10
10- McVeigh- was ok tonight, chased and tackled hard. 6/10
11- Zaka- had the fumbles at times. 4/10
12- Welshy- didint get much of it.. was tagging someone perhaps?? 4/10
14- Lonergan- came into the game in the 2nd half. Love his attack on the footy. 5/10
16- Pears- has superstar written on his forehead. Great game again by Tayte. 8/10
20- Slattery- fumbled the ball a lot tonight. 5/10
25- Still- kicked the first goal of the game. Needs to build up his muscles at Bendigo this year. 5/10
26- Hooker- Was pretty good in defence tonight, love his attack from the back line. 7/10
29- Davey- didint see much of the footy but chased hard. Needs to win more possies this year after losing Lovett. 4/10
31- Fletch- The gadget made some uncharacteristic errors tonight, is still the master of our backline though. 5/10
32- Colyer- Nervous start to his afl career- 3/10
33- Williams- kicked 3 goals but wasnt overly outstanding. Will be better off crumbing off the big forward like Gumby, Neagle and Hille. 6/10
34- Hardingham- Nervous start in defence, made some shocking errors. 3/10
37- Reimers- had a great first quarter then disappeared. Was a little undisciplined at times. Needs to do better if he is to play in round 1. 5/10
39- Hocking- tried hard all night but at times looked a little slow- 6/10
42- Natrat- didint have much of an impact on the game, made some crucial errors as well. 4/10
43- Houli- again didint get much of it 4/10
38- Atkinson- played the 2nd half, creates lots of run. 5/10
44- TB- rucked well against the channel 7 lovechild tonight., If he develops well it would allow us to play Hille forward. 7/10
46- Bocky- tried really hard in the ruck, way too skinny for afl still but i liked what i saw in him tonight. 6/10

[rockhole]

I stayed with the telecast in the hope of getting some comment, any comment on our young blokes. All we got on the Essendon side was a fluff piece on Gadget's forehand.

Richo and Tom were good, but after half time it was a raffle to see whether Bruce or Dennis would be taking Nick home with them. And didn't you love the station break to a heart warming promo of Home and Away just as the Reimers incident was unfolding. It was not hard to pick. There were whistles blowing everywhere and the crowd yelling, but just ask the tennis fans where Home and Away rates in the eyes of the 7 director.

I don't think I can handle another season of McAvaney.

[BenDoolan]

I don't think I can handle another season of McAvaney.

Yeah, someone should shove him back in the closet.

[Gimps]

I actually thought Jetta was pretty good tonight... loved seeing big Bocky running after the footy!!

2- Dyson- was just ok, was a little slow at times tonight 6/10 - Fair to say I like him, but was no better than average 5/10
4- Captain Jobe- definately our best. How he gets out some of those clearances i dont know! 9/10 - Ditto
6- Monfries- disappeared after 1/4 time. Needs to do more in the season proper. 4/10 - Ditto
7- Jetta- chased and tackled hard and kicked a couple of goals. Needs to make this a regular thing in 2010. 5/10 - Still didnt do enough, but needs more opportunity around the ball
8 Licha- ran hard all night and chipped in with 2 goals- 7/10 - Another that went missing after half time, but think he spent a bit of time on the bench - 6.5/10
9- Prismall- first quarter was fantastic but sort of slowed after that. Had 3 pretty easy misses on goal in the last quarter. Will be a beauty this year in the middle. 7/10 - Agreed
10- McVeigh- was ok tonight, chased and tackled hard. 6/10 - Good hit-out for him, good to seeing him exhausted at the end. 5.5/10
11- Zaka- had the fumbles at times. 4/10 - Did sweet FA 3.5/10
12- Welshy- didint get much of it.. was tagging someone perhaps?? 4/10 - Sweet FA, and loved his comment at half time "we'll run the game out easy.." 4/10
14- Lonergan- came into the game in the 2nd half. Love his attack on the footy. 5/10 - Went in hard every time, just lacked support when he did 6/10
16- Pears- has superstar written on his forehead. Great game again by Tayte. 8/10 - Played well, but still plenty of improvement to come 7/10
20- Slattery- fumbled the ball a lot tonight. 5/10 - Will only ever be a 'stopper' 4/10
25- Still- kicked the first goal of the game. Needs to build up his muscles at Bendigo this year. 5/10 - Too skinny, but will improve with a bit of confidence 4.5/10
26- Hooker- Was pretty good in defence tonight, love his attack from the back line. 7/10 - Ditto
29- Davey- didint see much of the footy but chased hard. Needs to win more possies this year after losing Lovett. 4/10 - Ditto, did SFA
31- Fletch- The gadget made some uncharacteristic errors tonight, is still the master of our backline though. 5/10 - Ditto
32- Colyer- Nervous start to his afl career- 3/10 - F****** woeful. Fair enough, first game, but he was shit. Another Rhys Magin in the making, TOO SMALL!
33- Williams- kicked 3 goals but wasnt overly outstanding. Will be better off crumbing off the big forward like Gumby, Neagle and Hille. 6/10 - Did well with the opportunity he had..
34- Hardingham- Nervous start in defence, made some shocking errors. 3/10 - Won't be playing in the seniors for a while, no good. 2/10
37- Reimers- had a great first quarter then disappeared. Was a little undisciplined at times. Needs to do better if he is to play in round 1. 5/10 - Ditto
39- Hocking- tried hard all night but at times looked a little slow- 6/10 - Ditto
42- Natrat- didint have much of an impact on the game, made some crucial errors as well. 4/10 - Will improve, spent a fair bit of time on the bench 4/10
43- Houli- again didint get much of it 4/10 - Did ok, but think he's lost confidence
38- Atkinson- played the 2nd half, creates lots of run. 5/10 - Spent bugger all time on the ground, but still like the way he backs himself..
44- TB- rucked well against the channel 7 lovechild tonight., If he develops well it would allow us to play Hille forward. 7/10 - Hasn't got it for mine, still a fair way off. Back-up ruck at best 5.5/10
46- Bocky- tried really hard in the ruck, way too skinny for afl still but i liked what i saw in him tonight. 6/10 - 6 out of 10? He looked like a turtle that is stuck on it's back. Too skinny, looks like a hunchback.. 3/10

[5Alive]

Well I would love to comment but have to wait till 2am when channel 7 QLD actually put it on.......thats it Im moving to Melbs

[dodgey]

At least we don't have to go to shit creek for our next match

Princes Park v Freo/Melb

When ???

[F111]

Any injuries reported?

Still to consider:
Ryder
Hille
Gumby
Neagle
Dempsey
Hurley.

Considering our rucks tonight and our lack of real forward targets, could/should we have expected anything better than what we saw?

Last night was a bit of a shakedown I thought...fumbles, unsure handling and some inaccuracy. Early days.

[swoodley]

OK..so I'm home from the game and have logged on to see what you all thought.

Obviously being at the game i was able to see the whole field and so I believe I had a greater overall view for the following comments.

These are very objective (imo) as I wasn't too worried about the result.

1. Knights coached poorly....we had limited talls and so he decided to play none of them up forward...terrible decision as once the eagles clogged up our run halfway through the second quarter, we looked and acted like we had no idea how to get the ball inside our forward 50. Did we really need all of Fletch, Pears, Hooker and NLM in the backline? Just one of those four at CHF would have given us a marking option for the players downfield to kick to.

2. Bellchambers is a big unit and looked quite good around the ground. He certainly has a future at this level.

3. We still make "stupid" errors.....kicking across the ground to low percentage options in the backline...3 of the eagles first 5-6 goals were a direct result of poor decision making follwed by poor execution. Also the 50m penalty against Slattery was unforgiveable...which part of giving the ball back on the full doesn't he understand...Reimers needs to start concentrating on playing the ball and less on playing the man.

4. Communication...I lost count of the number of times I saw an eagles player completely unmarked inside their forward 50. Several times this resulted in goals and a fair bit of finger pointing by players as to who was supposed to be minding who....this was a major worry.

5. Leadership (or lack of)...didn't see a lot of it out there once things started going pear shaped.

6. Natanui...obviously I didn't hear the call of the game and several of you have referred to the reactions of the commentators with regards to him. All I can say is that (imo) he will be THE dominant player in the competition in the next few years. He is an absolute freak and will only get better.

7. Still...will be better for the experience as his decision making was McPhee-esque at times

8. Hardingham...made a number of rookie mistakes but he was hard at it when others were less so....I liked the look of him

9. Atkinson...point of the night ...the only player who tried to take the game on after 1/2 time....he deserved a goal for his effort.

All in all, I wasn't too disappointed though I thought that out third quarter effort was pathetic...however, i know that it is early in Februaru and we still have Hille, Ryder, Stanton, Hurley, Neagle, Gumbleton etc to come into the team. A win would have been nice (as I don't get to see us win over here too often) but thw worst thing about the loss will be the shit i cop at golf tomorrow morning

[Gimps]

Most people have forgotten someone.. yes, we desperately lacked talls. And missed the run of Dempsey off Half Back.

But, the forgottan man is Brent Stanton. Another year older/mature, I expect a fair bit from him this year. He runs all day, and gets plenty of it. Just needs to improve his defensive skills, hope he worked on that over the summer.

But yes, in summation, it's early days. Throw Hille, Ryder, Hurley, and to a lessor extent; Neagle into our spine.. we'll be a very different team. Until they are on the park, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves either way. Still won't include Gumbleton in this until he gets out there and shows something.

[dom_105]

At least we don't have to go to shit creek for our next match

Princes Park v Freo/Melb

When ???

Week after next I would assume.

[Western Red]

Thanks Swoods nice write up!

[robrulz5]

What we showed tonight is that our best form this year will be pretty good and our worst is going to be downright horrible. It is going to be very frustrating at times this year until we become more consistent.

I think in the end we lost the match instead of West Coast winning it, the countless errors and unaccountability was shocking but not unexpected. As for Natinui he did a few good things but he didn't have much to compete against.

[boncer34]

As for Natinui he did a few good things but he didn't have much to compete against.

Exactly right Rob, the carry on by the commentators was a joke last night. Put him against Hille, Ryder and hell even Chook and all of a sudden he doesnt get to dominate like he did against Bock who while playing well is in dire need of another couple of years of muscle growth.

Excellent point on Stants to Gimps. Put Hille, Ryder, Dempsey, Hurley, Stanton and to a lesser extent Gumbleton and Neagle to provide taller targets up forward and we dont get steamrolled after putting them to the sword early.

[rockhole]

Great summary, Swoods. Good to have an on site appraisal rather than the waffle we had to endure on the box

[billyduckworth]

Not overly disappointed with the result (now that it's the next day and I have calmed down a bit),
but very disappointed with...

(a) our inconsistency (we only really played well for about 20-30 minutes of the game, from half way through the first quarter until half way through the second - we have done this far too often in recent years - you can't win a game unless you play 4 quarters!!)

(b) our errors (I thought when Knights arrived he said he was going to put a lot of stress on skills but still we make SOOO many pathetic unforced errors that cost us badly)

(c) our inability to "ice the clock" (this has also been a problem for a while - conceding two goals just before half time changed the whole complexion of the match)

(d) our inability to uncover a new star (all the new recruits - Colyer, Hardingham, Bock, Still - all looked very nervous and way out of their depth; even second years like TBell still look like they have a LONG way to go!)


On the positive side, three things at least....

(a) Mark Williams, whilst he didn't set the world on fire and does not look like a "major" target up forward, did at least contribute 3 goals. If he can do that every game (66 in a season) then I will be very happy.

(b) Pears & Hooker continue to develop well in the backline

(c) Hopefully Hurley will be back for Round 1, as will Hille & Ryder! (if not, we're stuffed!)

[Ossie]

Pears is going to be a dead set champion.
Lonergan's attack on the man and on the footy was top rate.
Williams did everything we could have asked for.

The rest varied between terrible and serviceable.

[swoodley]

As for Natinui he did a few good things but he didn't have much to compete against.

Exactly right Rob, the carry on by the commentators was a joke last night. Put him against Hille, Ryder and hell even Chook and all of a sudden he doesnt get to dominate like he did against Bock who while playing well is in dire need of another couple of years of muscle growth.

Excellent point on Stants to Gimps. Put Hille, Ryder, Dempsey, Hurley, Stanton and to a lesser extent Gumbleton and Neagle to provide taller targets up forward and we dont get steamrolled after putting them to the sword early.

As I said in my earlier post, I didn't hear any of the commentary, and as a rule I hate everything to do with the eagles.

However, Natanui was brilliant....don't get caught up in who he was playing on, he rucked very well but it was his work around the ground that impressed me. He is a super athlete and his stats included 18 possessions, 4 goals (including a super goal), 21 hitouts, 7 clearances and 8 tackles. That is a superb effort for a guy who has only played a handful of games.

Quite a few people in this thread have mentioned how good Pears was...well Natanui was much better so kudos where it is due.

[j-mac31]

I didn't see too much of the game, but...

I thought we looked pretty slow through the middle. We need someone/a committee to replace Lovett's fast runs.
I'm hoping Dempsey will play at least some on the wing this year and Dyson, Winderlich and perhaps Myers and Lovett-Murray could help out here. With Williams and Monfries up forward, I don't think we should have Winders there.

We need some talls playing. Duh I guess. Still is too skinny right now. Neagle needs to bring effort every quarter, every week; hopefully Gumbleton can get onto the park and maybe Hurley their too or instead of Negale. Also having Hille and Ryder will definitely help.

[bomberdonnie]

I didn't see too much of the game, but...

I thought we looked pretty slow through the middle. We need someone/a committee to replace Lovett's fast runs.
I'm hoping Dempsey will play at least some on the wing this year and Dyson, Winderlich and perhaps Myers and Lovett-Murray could help out here. With Williams and Monfries up forward, I don't think we should have Winders there.

We need some talls playing. Duh I guess. Still is too skinny right now. Neagle needs to bring effort every quarter, every week; hopefully Gumbleton can get onto the park and maybe Hurley their too or instead of Negale. Also having Hille and Ryder will definitely help.

Neagle and Still need to go into some kind of body mass exchange agreement