Round 8 - Collingwood vs Geelong at Victoria Park

[mattys123]

Without looking at any stats and going off 6 hours of memory let's give this a crack;

2; Sam Dwyer; Good all game, tried hard as always, a little sloppy at times but is too good for this level.
7; Ben Kennedy; One of his better games this year I thought, used the ball really well, took them on with his pace and showed why he was taken so high in the draft.
9; Clarke; Does ok but doesn't work hard enough defensively IMO
13; Taylor Adams; Not as good as last week but was still part of a midfield that was dominant for a lot of the game. Won a lot of clearances and his ball use today for mine was cleaner than last week. Developing ok.
23; Lachie Keeffe; Did his job down back, wasn't beaten one on one much apart from one time where he slipped over and it cost us a goal, Will come in fro Brown next week.
24; Josh Thomas; Similar to Adams did well without absolutely dominating, part of a winning midfield on the day.
25; Ben Hudson; WAS HUDDO!!!! Won the ruck for mine and did a few very crucial things in the last quarter to ensure we won easily.
27; Armstrong; Best first half I've seen him play, he is a forward, he is nothing else at all at any level.
28; Ben SInclair; Looked to do his hammy again after running hard and setting up a goal. Shook his head to his friends/family as he walked up the race.
29; Broomhead; Was very good today I though, oart of that dominant midfield.
31; Ramsay; Frustrates me, has the talent to be an AFL level player but goes in and out of the game, made some shocking errors today but also did some very nice things.
33; Patty Karnezis; 6.1 to three quarter time, might need one more run to top of his game but he marked and kicked straight for those first three quarters. I'm a fan already but he's growing on me even more now.
37; Martin; BOG in the first half and did some great things in the third quarter when they were having a crack at us. Promote him for Brown please.
38; Yagmoor; Hardly noticed him really, some of his kicks were nice but doesn't have an impact on the game.
40; Paul Seedsman; Loved his game, LOVED IT. Showed his pace and skill, broke the lines and set up several goals. Didn't play the last quarter due to knee soreness apparently.
43; Adam Oxley; First game back, did well defensively but will need 3-4 more runs before showing what he's capable of.
48; Mooney; Went for a few runs but still isn't a smart footballer.

Of the VFL listed players Hellier, Allan, Ferguson and Greenhough contributed really well.

Good win for the VFL team who now push for a top 4 spot.

[rand corp]

thanks for the report

[jackcass]

Without looking at any stats and going off 6 hours of memory let's give this a crack;

2; Sam Dwyer; Good all game, tried hard as always, a little sloppy at times but is too good for this level.
7; Ben Kennedy; One of his better games this year I thought, used the ball really well, took them on with his pace and showed why he was taken so high in the draft.
9; Clarke; Does ok but doesn't work hard enough defensively IMO
13; Taylor Adams; Not as good as last week but was still part of a midfield that was dominant for a lot of the game. Won a lot of clearances and his ball use today for mine was cleaner than last week. Developing ok.
23; Lachie Keeffe; Did his job down back, wasn't beaten one on one much apart from one time where he slipped over and it cost us a goal, Will come in fro Brown next week.
24; Josh Thomas; Similar to Adams did well without absolutely dominating, part of a winning midfield on the day.
25; Ben Hudson; WAS HUDDO!!!! Won the ruck for mine and did a few very crucial things in the last quarter to ensure we won easily.
27; Armstrong; Best first half I've seen him play, he is a forward, he is nothing else at all at any level.
28; Ben SInclair; Looked to do his hammy again after running hard and setting up a goal. Shook his head to his friends/family as he walked up the race.
29; Broomhead; Was very good today I though, oart of that dominant midfield.
31; Ramsay; Frustrates me, has the talent to be an AFL level player but goes in and out of the game, made some shocking errors today but also did some very nice things.
33; Patty Karnezis; 6.1 to three quarter time, might need one more run to top of his game but he marked and kicked straight for those first three quarters. I'm a fan already but he's growing on me even more now.
37; Martin; BOG in the first half and did some great things in the third quarter when they were having a crack at us. Promote him for Brown please.
38; Yagmoor; Hardly noticed him really, some of his kicks were nice but doesn't have an impact on the game.
40; Paul Seedsman; Loved his game, LOVED IT. Showed his pace and skill, broke the lines and set up several goals. Didn't play the last quarter due to knee soreness apparently.
43; Adam Oxley; First game back, did well defensively but will need 3-4 more runs before showing what he's capable of.
48; Mooney; Went for a few runs but still isn't a smart footballer.

Of the VFL listed players Hellier, Allan, Ferguson and Greenhough contributed really well.

Good win for the VFL team who now push for a top 4 spot.

Harsh on Yagmoor. Played on Walker and did really well, made some telling spoils and intercepts.

For mine, the guys that stood out from a senior team perspective were Seedsman, Adams, Keeffe, Broomhead, Kennedy and Karnezis.

More generally, Martin, Mooney, Thomas were all good.

Pendles and Suckling were a late withdrawal and Sinclair injured early.

Greenhough has an enormous leap, needs to do more around the ground.

Hudo is an absolute legend.

As I said earlier, fantastic crowd.

JW on the bench instead of doing his normal stats work, clearly they've finally worked out he can't count.

Early thoughts after just getting home from the G.

[jackcass]

Oh, and good to see the Ox back.

[mattys123]

Yeah sorry Jackass was harsh on Yagz, forgot that he played on walker and did really well on him.

As a defender Yagmoor is better than Armstrong, yet as an attacking option Armstrong is better than Yagmoor.

combine the two and you might have an AFL level player lol.

[Dave The Man]

Taylor Adams (33 disposals) was tough in the clinches, while Kyle Martin continues to push his case for being elevated to the senior list with 29 disposals, 15 marks, nine inside 50s and two goals.

Patrick Karnezis also drilled six goals as he continues to push towards his senior Collingwood debut.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-05-24/s ... ts-hand-up

[jackcass]

Yeah sorry Jackass was harsh on Yagz, forgot that he played on walker and did really well on him.

As a defender Yagmoor is better than Armstrong, yet as an attacking option Armstrong is better than Yagmoor.

combine the two and you might have an AFL level player lol.

No worries, I forgot to mention Dwyer.

Armstrong is an enigma. Can't believe the space he gives opposition players, almost like he's got an allergy. Doesn't matter if he's playing forward or in defense, needs to be more accountable. Won't get senior opportunities until he addresses that whereas I could see Yagmoor playing as a lock down defender in the seniors and doing okay.

[Pies4shaw]

Just a "community service" post - MB put this up in the VFL radio thread:

Okay, here are my player reviews...

2. Sam Dwyer
A good game, on balance. Was a little sloppy and unclean with the ball at times, but dangerous by foot at others. Didn't do his chances of a senior recall any harm at all. Got the chair off for playing his 100th game. Congratulations Sammy! Hope you don't play too many more at this level, though...

7. Ben Kennedy
Really liked his game. Just kept getting the ball! Used his pace to burn off chasing opponents and ball use was very good. Kicked a goal after some very good crumbing work of his own in the forward line. Took a really good mark going back with the flight. Those who were there who might have come into the game with doubts on his AFL viability would have been reassured by the performance he put in. Another who put his hand up.

9. Martin Clarke
Another unremarkable game from Marty. Didn't do anything wrong or, for that matter, pleasingly remarkable outside of kicking a goal that the rest of the team put hard work into creating. Again, this is not the standard of football you expect or demand from a player with his experience. Just running down the clock until list lodgement time. A shame.

13. Taylor Adams
Another strong game from the kid. Was probably our best clearance player for the day, but had a weakened Cats midfield to contend with, while having a strong Pies one to help him out. The one thing I noticed with him was his kicking: it looked much cleaner than at any time at either level this year. Looks and acts like he is hungry to get back in the seniors.

He might have a little wait ahead of him, though. May have ended up with a report for scuffle that saw a Geelong player come from the ground bleeding. Not what a young player who has already been suspended once this year would want (or need) when putting his hand up for the AFL...

23. Lachlan Keeffe
Bounced back remarkably well from his arse-whipping last week. Had the job on the returning Shane Kersten, as well as stints on the resting Andrew Banjanin, especially after Kersten was put on ice after 3QT. Held Kersten to 2 goals and Banjanin to 1 and instrumental in generating rebound thrusts from the back half. Kicking, when he had it, was back to its clean and occasionally damaging self.

The injuries to Nathan Brown and Jack Frost make him almost certain of a recall to the seniors, which is good for Keeffey, not so good for our VFL side. Just hope Riddle and Marsh are ready after the bye...

24. Josh Thomas
Liked his game. Was part of a strong centre square contingent. Won plenty of ball and, more importantly, used it rather well, which has been a weakness of his. I personally think we need him back in the seniors to give us extra inside grunt, and his game on Saturday will certainly have him in contention.

25. Ben Hudson
I say it every week, but I'll say it again: Huddo was Huddo. Towelled up Banjanin and provided excellent service to an inside grunt-chocked midfield. The famous mouth was on-song again as well, a drive-by spray at Hollmer when he shanked a shot on goal the most obvious.

27. Tony Armstrong
Kicked two goals in the first quarter, including one which was as close to textbook crumbing as you can get, before being switched back to defence after quarter time. Reverted back to doing precious little and executing inoffensive kicks as a defender. Had one truly stupid awful moment when he got in Martin's way as he was going for the ball and the two boys went crashing down. Resulted in a goal to the Cats.

I concur with Matt: if he is to make it, it will be as a small forward. Won't come into contention until he learns not to give the opposition 20 metres of space, though.

28. Ben Sinclair
Second game back and was out of commission with another hamstring tear after only a quarter. Wasn't that influential when he was on the ground, in any event. Best bit of play was where he scooped up a loose ball and streamed through the middle of the ground to set up Karnezis' best mark and goal of the day.

29. Timothy Broomhead
I described his game last week as "rough", a bit less of a glowing review than Matty's. Put in a much better game. Disposal was back to its damaging self, particularly at range setting up forward entries, but he also won his share of ball and continues to be a very slippery customer in traffic. Kicked 2 goals in the final quarter, 1 of which I mistakenly identified as being kicked by Ben Moloney (sorry about that! ) Well on the path to a debut.

31. Jackson Ramsay
A solid effort, without being remarkable. Did some really nice things but also let himself down on several occasions as well with errant disposal and positioning. Our abundance of back flanker types will put him in some bother so far as debuting or keeping his place on the list go.

33. Patrick Karnezis
Wow! What a game! Kicked 6 goals almost without blemish (just the 1 behind), but more than that, presented very well as a key target and dragged down some strong contested marks. Had all of Kolodjashnij, Sully and Hamling taking turns on him. Only real mistake was coughing up an absolute soda of a mark in front of his face, the ball slipping through his fingers like a bar of soap.

When he doesn't mark, though, he generally brings the ball to ground well, such as for Armstrong's first crumbing goal. Went quiet in the last but has well and truly put his hand up, and with the state league game bye weekend falling the same week as the senior side faces a lowly St Kilda, he might just have enough fitness under his belt to play seniors against a bottom 4 opponent.

Needs to be played as an extra tall forward, though, not a key focal point. Would work best as an complement to Cloke, Reid and White. Right now however, I would pull the trigger.

37. Kyle Martin
You know this bloke has had a bloody good game when a fan like me is saying he wasn't as influential as he usually is, yet others like Mattys123 (and the stat sheet) say otherwise. 29 disposals, 15 marks, 9 inside 50s and 2 goals don't lie. All the more remarkable when you consider that he apparently had the flu during the week. One of his goals was just the spark we needed to get us going early when the Cats started the game on top of us.

Picked up a fair amount of ball across half back and covered a lot of ground. Had a couple of taggers (as usual) throughout the day, one of which was their captain, Dominic Gleeson. Is more than good enough to play as a forward rotating into the middle next week if picked.

38. Peter Yagmoor
Another good defensive game from Yagmoor. Had Josh Walker, a very strange matchup from Tapping, even accounting for our lack of tall backs. Walker did his best to exploit the height and weight disadvantage Peter had by dragging him back to the goal square, where got exposed a few times. Still, he went about his task well enough, even had the audacity to peel off and spoil a couple of times deep in defence as well.

Let loose a couple of kicks into the corridor which were just scintillating to watch in setting up attacks. Needs to keep this current rum of production up to get another year, but I wouldn't be opposed.

40. Paul Seedsman
Had his best game on the comeback trail yet. His line-breaking run and carry were back, his kicking just absolutely lethal. Even took a hard hit and got back to his feet, which earned the applause of the crowd. Is the antidote we need to address our woeful forward delivery in the seniors.

Might be waiting a little while longer, though, after copping a knock to the knee late in the game. The state league bye helps us here, though, so he might be alright for the match after that, at either level.

43. Adam Oxley
First game back, but had little-to-no impact. Understandable perhaps, given his long layoff, but I was hoping for a little bit more from him. This state league bye will stall his momentum, which just plain sucks.

48. Caolan Mooney
Kicked 2 goals and looked more threatening when able to get the ball in space. Went for one of his streaming runs down the Turner Street wing, where he sold some candy just before loading up for home, but missed badly. A reasonable game, playing primarily in defence.

From the VFL list...

- I really like Greenhough's game. Is playing that 'Leigh Brown' role, provided Huddo with some very good relief in the ruck. He's a big boy too, a real manchild! Wasn't named in the original team, which is curious...

- Allan kicked 2 goals and presented well as a makeshift key forward. Gave Karnezis some relief as a viable 2nd key forward. Almost got his head knocked clean off in one ground level contest!

- Moloney played really well both as an inside mid and as linkman who also pushed forward a bit.

- Hellier didn't have as much to do this time, with all of Adams/Thomas/Kennedy/Martin/Moloney performing the hard inside duties, but played a serviceable game. I like how he was the one who made Sam Dwyer's milestone banner all by himself at home. A nice touch and a sign of respect from our VFL captain to a VFL boy made good.

- Ferguson continues to be a dangerous small forward and offered some very handy outside zip when playing in the middle. Beats me why he couldn't crack the state squad, has been playing some very good football to date.

[MagpieBat]

Just a "community service" post - MB put this up in the VFL radio thread:

And that, children, is why you should never post a long review in the early morning...

Good catch, P4S. And thank you...

[Pies4shaw]

You're welcome, MB. Wouldn't have wanted to see all that work get lost!