Positives from tonight's two games?

[RollsRoyce]

(And Dubstep Dookie, the Alice Springs reference was to the debilitating effects of the climate and travel, not the ground itself. )

Huh? I think you've got the wrong man RR 

Yep, sorry about that DD. I was actually responding to Tigers Alive 
Smokey, I've just got this competitive animal in me, particularly when it comes to FILTH like Carlton and Collingwood, whereby even if we were to play them at tiddlywinks I would want to slit their throats (figuratively speaking).
I think it largely goes back to the significant roles they both played in consigning our once great club to the scrap heap courtesy of the '82 Grand Final and the 80's trade wars respectively. As such, it just sickens me to see us put in anything but our very best effort against them in any form of the game ever. 

[Smokey]

Yep, I'll give you that one.   

[gerkin greg]

Welcome to OER Gerks whoops Red
 

fail again MCMLOLZ whoops flog

[the claw]

for so many reasons we went with the right squad of players.
simply put we did not expect to win. what i did expect was 22 plus yr olds to at least make decent decisions  and use the ball wall.

think about it every newbie played gave a glimpse of some sort. even brad miller did a few nice things with body work and kicked a goal. considering the ball only got down there a few times.

the real criticism for me is the same olds most of whom have done nothing in their careers been around long enough and needing to show they deserve a spot.
how poor was white and edwards. king was ordinary thursfield defended well but failed again to give any run. did dan connors get a contested ball. nahas is bloody 23 and all we got in  mickey mouse games was more of the substandard same.
people say oh well its only a nab cup game but my view is if these more senior players cant perform at this level how the hell can they perform when its for real.most of those copping criticism are of an age where they should be stepping up yet its not happening.regardless of who you run out with there is such a thing as pride in performance.

[Stripes]

for so many reasons we went with the right squad of players.
simply put we did not expect to win. what i did expect was 22 plus yr olds to at least make decent decisions  and use the ball wall.

think about it every newbie played gave a glimpse of some sort. even brad miller did a few nice things with body work and kicked a goal. considering the ball only got down there a few times.

the real criticism for me is the same olds most of whom have done nothing in their careers been around long enough and needing to show they deserve a spot.
how poor was white and edwards. king was ordinary thursfield defended well but failed again to give any run. did dan connors get a contested ball. nahas is bloody 23 and all we got in  mickey mouse games was more of the substandard same.
people say oh well its only a nab cup game but my view is if these more senior players cant perform at this level how the hell can they perform when its for real.most of those copping criticism are of an age where they should be stepping up yet its not happening.regardless of who you run out with there is such a thing as pride in performance.

Those players you mentioned were included for a reason. I would suggest Dimma knows of there deficencies and was testing them out. If you didn't play you would be feeling pretty good about yourself with the company you were keeping.

I think you're a bit harsh on Thursty - he was a stalwart in defence and did feed the ball out quickly by foot and hand. I was actually impressed by what he offered.

Nahas, Rance, King and even White were disappointing for mine. Connors played his role off the wing well.

The coaches used the game as a test to see who would join the others in fitting in the team. I think they went a fair way to achieving their goal.

Stripes

[Stripes]

Just out of interest - those that were missing you can make a fairly strong team with...


FB:  Farmer        Gourdis            ???

HB:  Newman     McGuane         Deledio

C:    Martin        Jackson           Grigg

Foll: Graham      Cotchin            Foley

HF:  Houli           Post               ???

FF:  Griffiths        Riewoldt        ???

Int:  ???        ???          ???         Hislop


I'm sure I've left some out too!  

Just goes to show it really was a seconds team we fielded on Saturday Night. I would suggest the only guaranteed inclusions from the NAB squad would be Astbury, Morton, Tuck, King and perhaps Moore and Thursfield (Gourdis hasn't come on apparently from the coaches ). I will go out on a limb and say Derickx may take the second ruck spot over Post.

So the team would then look like this -


FB:  Farmer/Thursfield       McGuane           Moore

HB:  Newman     Astbury         Deledio

C:    Martin        Jackson           Grigg

Foll: Graham      Cotchin            Foley

HF:  Houli           Derickx/Post              Morton

FF:  Griffiths        Riewoldt        King

Int:          ???          ???         Sub: Tuck

The last two interchange positions may go to White  , Taylor, Conca, Contin, McDonald, Webberley or Nason. My preference would be Conca, Contin and/or Taylor but we're still a bit light on there imho. Thursfields inclusion over Farmer may occur due to the increased probability that the majority of teams will play an extra ruck/tall in attack this year though Batchelor may claim that spot going on his form from the game.

Stripes

[The Machine]

After watching the game Saturday night and reviewing the game again last night, i was pleased with the performance of our draft picks from the past two years. The one thing that stuck out for me was the field kicking by these players was a vast improvement from years gone by.

Contin was outstanding with his delivery, didn't miss a target all night. Batchelor competed well with a few great spoils and neat kicking of the half back. Derickx was the surprise packet who could be our number one ruckman by seasons end. Conca did well enough to suggest he will be a very solid player moving forward. But to me, Astbury was the standout, he just ticks all the boxes. Lock him in at CHB for the next ten years. Helbig didn't have much game time, but i loved his aggression.

One player who has received mixed reviews from the game is Rance. I firmly believe he was one of our better players all night. I watched him closely and was impressed with his improved kicking and his willingness to put his body on the line as the third man up and his spoiling was a highlight. Rance's stats for the night were pretty good also, 12 kicks (10 eff) 6 handballs (5 eff) 6 marks, 3 tackles, 7 spoils. If he can play like that all year with better players around him, i for one would be happy and i think the coaching staff would be also.

The most disappointing players for me was Nahas, he just can't seem to process the game plane when he has the ball and White, looks great but for me, he misses to many crucial targets coming out of the back line.

Great to have footy back!! 

[Fluffy Tiger]

There were some real positives most of which have been already posted.

However I will put this out there, not that I think it true, just putting it out there

We put out a second team and got thrashed and people say why didnt we put out a better team to boost membership, sponsorship etc.

What happens to membership etc if we did put out a better team and still got threashed ???

Just something to think about   

[tiga]

Don't forget everyone...we did beat Geelong by 51 points in Yea last year. So yeah, the preaseason is a huge indicator for the season ahead! 

[wayne]

There were some real positives most of which have been already posted.

However I will put this out there, not that I think it true, just putting it out there

We put out a second team and got thrashed and people say why didnt we put out a better team to boost membership, sponsorship etc.

What happens to membership etc if we did put out a better team and still got threashed ???

Just something to think about   

Good point.

I am not disappointed at all with the games on Saturday night, if anything I was pleased. The tackling and pressure was fantastic by the kids, some who have had only 3-4 months of pre-season training.

The Richmond of old would have also let a guy like Krakouer kick 5 and look a million bucks, but we kept him quiet and I loved how many times Pendlebury was nailed in a tackle.

[Judge Roughneck]

Don't forget everyone...we did beat Geelong by 51 points in Yea last year. So yeah, the preaseason is a huge indicator for the season ahead! 

Geelong left many good players out. But we still had a younger team on the day so it is a good sign for the future, one hopes.

[Hard Roar Tiger]

There were some real positives most of which have been already posted.

However I will put this out there, not that I think it true, just putting it out there

We put out a second team and got thrashed and people say why didnt we put out a better team to boost membership, sponsorship etc.

What happens to membership etc if we did put out a better team and still got threashed ???

Just something to think about   

Good point.

I am not disappointed at all with the games on Saturday night, if anything I was pleased. The tackling and pressure was fantastic by the kids, some who have had only 3-4 months of pre-season training.

The Richmond of old would have also let a guy like Krakouer kick 5 and look a million bucks, but we kept him quiet and I loved how many times Pendlebury was nailed in a tackle.

Pretty much what I thought and will just add that I think Hardwick was quite genuine when he was saying that he wanted to see who of the younger players would step up in the white hot environment of senior footy against 2 finals sides from 2010.
A low risk experiment for Hardwick and the newbies on our list.
Reckon they would've been pleasantly surprised at half time of the 1st game - feel quite sure we would've won that game with any 3 of those top 8 players who missed.

[dizza]

One positive i can think of is that the games were only half-length, so the margins weren't quite as big...

[eliminator]

Upon reflection agree with comments tackling has improved. Agree positive no serious injuries and agree with comments played a very young side which has given them very good experience

[camboon]

Even though it was poorly executued , I would suggest that the likes of white, nahas, edwards and others were directed to take the play on every chance they got.

We need to take risks to be able to break the zones and unless these guys get some practice at quickly moveing the ball on through traffic they will continue to mess it up - if that what the game plan is of course. They might do better if they take the first option instaed of  holding onto the ball until they are under pressure.

When we tried to chip it round its only a matter of time before its turned over.