Re: Intra-club match
Well, I just returned from the intraclub and here is MY view - hope it gives you an idea
1st Quarter
Black Goals: Foley, Bowden, Richardson, Hughes
White Goals: Putt, White and Number 11 who wasnt Bowden!
Black team looked stronger on paper with Richo and Brown and Lids but players swapped teams each quarter so take no notice
Richo was the star of the first quarter - strong marking (at least 4 or 5), lots of running, not great disposal - just a continuation of last year without a break. Lids was the cleanest player and the classiest. Bowden played up forward and was a nuisance. White was on Cuz - both got possessions - i am really warming to White - he showed a lot of team spirit - envouraging people well after the ball was gone - and his pace can be electrifying - but Cuz did get some hard balls - good contest - Cuz's disposal was excellent and his pass to Putt from 40m on his chest just made me smile
Vickery looked good early - is good at ground level - and has the best side baulk for a big man i have seen for a while - ruck work was fair
Raines had a great first quarter - lots of possesions, great run and speed out of defense - looked like his old self and is right back - had no fitness problems and looked terrific and has lost no pace
Schulz played well at CHB and provided surprising run for a bigger guy
Foley was giving great drive and playing more of an attacking role though he did get caught after a great chase by Moore who showed terrific pace.
JON's first attack on the ball was an attempted mark which he dropped when alone - not a great start and he looked like he hadnt improved as the game went on - sadly ordinary
I was surprised to see Polak out there - wore a helmet - looked very fit, made some good leads to space but dropped a couple that hit his hands and was falling to ground a bit - didnt look totally out of place which surprised me
Tucky was hard at it as usual and his disposal hasnt changed
2nd Quarter
Black Goals: Reiwoldt 2, Delidio, Nahas, Moreton
White Goals: None
As I said, quite a few players changed teams at 1/4 time.
On a real positive, Post was terrific - very good hands, terrific build, good run - took a couple of very strong marks
Delidio was also excellent - looked classes above his opposition, with his pace, good ball skills and strong marking up forward, and even went into packs hard - looked really mature
JON - one touch - another awful disposal
Vickery - again showed strong hands up forward
Nahas - another to impress - took a super courageous mark running back into a pack, likes a goal, makes good space, is quick and clever with the ball - i think he will fit right into our forward structure (Sadly at the expense of Edwards I suspect)
Foley was again a monotonous possession winner and used his pace to break up packs
Cousins was on King in the seond quarter and was good again - not outstanding but good - he played almost two full quarters and was ok - though one passage of play where he was in a pack in the centre and got the hard ball, spun, dodged and weaved clear and then a great pass down forward had even me excited. I was super pleased that he played two quarters and showed a glimpse - he did not star but he showed enough to make people smile
Interestingly Moreton played on a wing at times - didnt get a lot of possessions but still managed to drift forward for a goal
Pattison was getting a few touches but his disposal was poor - i was going to can him and then i actually saw him rise above the pack to take a mark on his chest - it was a ripper - he had a nice sit but its the first time i have seen him get anywhere like that elevation (still didnt mark it above his head but you cant have everything!)
3rd Quarter
Black Goals: Reiwoldt, Moreton
White Goals: Putt, Connors, Gilligan and Post
Quite a few of the senior players rested (Richo, Brown, Simmonds to name a few) and a lot of unknown fill ins stepped in
Post continued to play well and took another excellent pack mark
Vickery was getting some nice taps in the ruck and for a big guy, is a beautiful mover with some more sidestepping around people
Big Brown was competitive - didnt get a lot of the ball but he is good overhead and reasonable on the ground for such a big lump - I have gone from being pessimistic about our ruck stocks to a bit more positive after the performances of Vickery, Graham, Putt and Brown - and of course Patto
Polak will play again - i was amazed at his third quarter - marks started to stick, his movement was great and he stayed on his feet - it might take weeks or months but he will be back
McMahon - his normal running game off half back - we know what to expect
Connors still tries the falshy stuff - got caught once but kicked a nice long goal - looks fitter than last year which is a good sign
Nahas was excellent again - a terrific chase and tackle - he is very quick
Reiwoldt was our best young forward in the quarter - ran all over the forward line presenting himself, good hands and excellent kicking for goal
Thompson - got a bit of the ball, a couple of nice tackles, just not sure if his speed is up to it - havent decided !
Coughlan had a good third quarter with plenty of possessions - another who might have pace probelms though
Noticed Gilligan for the first time - a very nice mover, hard to catch, great side step and good eye for goal - certainly has potential
McGuane was very solid in defence and adds that aggression we need down there
Putt looked ok - moves well, played mostly up forward and did present as an option
4th Quarter
Black Goals: Hughes
White Goals: Collins
A tighter last quarter with defenses on top
Cleve Hughes - what can I say about this guy - one minute i am ready to give up on him - he was most disappointing - didnt even look as though he was competing hard - next minute i have to write that he took a super tough pack mark and a 60m goal - he can do it - he just doesnt do it often enough
All the new recruits on show looked pretty good - though Thompson is a slight worry on the pace side
Post was moved to CHB and completely blanketed Reiwoldt - in fact for a first year recruit he was a bigger body than Reiwoldt, matched him for pace, was terrific over head and provided good run out of defense and even into the forward line - can you tell I am gushing - I knew very little about this guy but he has me more excited than anyone else we have picked up - if he doesnt play senior footy at some stage this year I will give up
Putt continued being a good option up forward and is a good mover for his size but still might be a little way off
Polo dominated the last quarter with a heap of possessions
King was excellent running the ball out of the backline again and again (though he did do one where he ran around in circles four times).
Rance was good and provided run out of the backline - he has pretty good pace but to me he is kind of in between - not really a half back flanker but i am not sure he is big enough for CHB - and i suspect Post will go straight past him this year - i still live in hope though
Big Brown again did some nice things - another strong mark and feed off to a running player - he certainly isnt hopeless though i suspect he could be fitter (he tried to jump a little fence at the end of the game and nearly killed himself!)
I think Vickery, Brown and even Putt (though he may be more of a forward) will take over the third option from Graham, who didnt do much - and one may even take over the second option from Patto (who was ok) - but it does give us a hint of depth
Overall Goals
Black Goals: Hughes 2, Moreton 2, Reiwoldt 2, Foley, Bowden, Richardson, Delidio, Nahas
White Goals: Putt 2, White Connors, Gilligan, Post and Number 11 who wasnt Bowden!
Overall
I am as excited as I have ever been
I think you will all be pleasantly surprised by the quality of our recruiting this year (especially the young guys) and I have no doubt our depth is much improved
Cuz will help and he is already playing a half a game well
Nahas looked like the perfect little forward - tough, couragous, quick and a goal kicker - just what we needed
Richo, Lids and Reiwoldt all looked very good early
Simmo will get help from the young big guys who all seem good marks and have a bit of flexibility to their games (Big Brown my not be that flexible lol but he has good hands and moved ok)
and young Post - well, he is going to be a star and is pretty close to senior footy given his physique and ability - he was terrific and the most impressive debut i have seen from a young recruit in a long, long time
I am excited
on the down side, JON was awful and Hughes (though he did kick two goals) had patches where he was apathetic and he needs to find more consistency to save his career. Sylvester isnt an AFL defender - too slow off the mark.
But I came away smiling.
I got there pretty early - and saw Kane Johnson and David Gourdis run their guts out for an hour with 200m sprints and chasing footies - both looked very fit and Gourdis actually kicked pretty well - though he wasnt under any pressure
Pettifer was also there running - he looked terrific in the upper body but he is a long way off - was favouring his leg and it looked a little atrophied to me - muscle loss was noticeable so he has a lot of work to do - good luck to him
Hope that was useful - any questions - just ask
I took a couple of pics - if they work out, i shall post them if i can
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