Final Score (3 quarters)
Yellows 6.3 12.8 23.8-146
Reds 2.0 3.0 5.0-30
Goals:
Yellows: Jack 5, Lynch 4, Dusty 4, Edwards 3, Castagna 2, Graham, Ross, Ralphsmith, Nankervis, Chol
Reds: Chol 2, Miller, Naish, ?
Apart from RCD (headknock) & Rioli (rolled ankle), we got through unscathed in terms of any serious injury by the look it. So really good news there compared to other clubs with their intra-clubs.
The game was very one-sided as the score above showed. The Yellows consisted of mainly our premiership players and they were showing little sign of preseason rustiness. The class, cohesion and speed of ball movement overwhelmed the younger inexperienced Reds. When the Reds did have the ball they couldn't penetrate the Yellows' team defence and turned it over. Large periods of the match were spent in the Yellow's forward half. Like a Yellow wall across the centre/HF region.
Absent: Prestia, Astbury, Houli, Soldo, Cumberland & Stack.
Yellow team: Floss, Grimes, Dusty, Ross, Baker, Riewoldt, Cotch, Sheds, George, Short, Rioli, Lynch, Balta, Lambert, Nank, Bolton, Graham, Broad, Ralphsmith
Red team: Naish, Aarts, Caddy, RCD, Dow, Ryan, Kmac, Martyn, CCJ, Chol, Garth, Miller, Biggie, MJR, Pickett, DES, Green, Couroupis, Gallucci.
No numbers on the reds' backs made it hard to see who was who at times unless the play came near the fence on the wing. I didn't notice Colina out there for instance.
We rotated our ruck options between the teams. So Nank, CCJ, Ryan & Chol played for both sides. Nank was the no.1 ruck for the yellows.
1. Floss - Did what he always does. Intercept king.
2. Grimes - Old timer was too smart with his body positioning. Didn't get beaten once.
4. Dusty - 4 goals from midfield and gave off a few. Would have had a stack of it. Pickett now knows how Dangerfield felt on GF day
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5. Ross - Lock in for round 1. Obviously easier with the classier premiership players around him playing for the yellows but held his own winning the ball in the midfield and linking up well on transition. The latter was something missing from his game last year. Kicked a nice goal too that curled in.
6. Naish - Was matched on Baker by the look of it. Quiet and little impact compared to his opponent. Kicked a goal off the ground in the first quarter.
7. Baker - Continued on from last year. Had a heap of it rebounding off half-back and linking up through the midfield. One of the yellows' best.
8. Riewoldt - Was Jack. Smarts plus skill. Moving very well given his age. Kicked 5 by my reckoning (got a couple of cheapies out the back in the 3rd quarter).
9. Cotch - Solid game in the midfield.
10. Sheds - Played midfield and forward. Kicked 3 goals. As usual all class.
11. George - Good game. Brought his usual pressure acts. As mentioned he nailed DES in a tackle that set up a goal. All up kicked two goals.
15. Short - Left off from his 2020 form using his linking runs and long kicking.
17. Rioli - rolled his ankle and didn't play after 1/4 time by the look of it.
19. Lynch - Lead and marked well. Kicked 4 and gave off a couple of others. Teamed well with Jack.
21. Balta - Apart from giving away one dumb 50m that got "Geez Noah" from his teammates lol, used his athleticism in defence to perfection and didn't give any Red forward a look in.
22. Caddy - Looked like he was playing on the wing against Ralphsmith for a lot of the game (at least when they were on the outer wing where I could see them). Not the Reds worse but he's clearly now down the pecking order.
23. Lambert - Solid hitout in the midfield.
25. Nankervis - Typical Big Nank game.
26. RCD - I didn't see him cop the head knock at the time but he didn't played after 1/4 time. As I said during my updates he was walking the outer boundary during the 2nd quarter.
27. Dow - Solid given how badly the Reds were beaten.
29. Bolton - Silk plus plus. Played midfield and HF. Not sure how many assists he had but it would be a few.
32. Ryan - Has moved already into 2nd place in ruck stocks behind Nank. Stood out when he was switched to the Yellows in the 3rd qtr against Nank at the centre bounce rucks. The Yellows had 4 clearances in a row and Ryan got two of those himself.
33. Kmac - One of the best for the Reds.
34. Graham - Agree with taz. Easily BOG. Brought his own footy and dominated.
35. Broad - Solid in defence for the Yellows.
36. Martyn - Top 3 for the reds. He was in at the centrebounces and had a solid game. Would have liked to have seen him switch sides to see how he went with our A-graders around him.
40. CCJ - Competed well in the ruck but didn't do much else. They also tried moving him forward for the Reds as a marking target but the ball didn't get down there.
41. Chol - Mabs is hard to judge as you want and expect more. Thought his competitiveness was there which has been a criticism of Mabs. Just didn't always hold onto marks on the lead you think he should given his athleticism and leap. Still kicked 2 goals from limited opportunities to be the Reds only multiple goalkicker. He switched to the yellow for a short period and set up a goal for them from the wing and got a cheapie in the goalsquare himself.
42. Garth - Not sure why but has training reports had mentioned he's been training with the forwards and started up there for the Reds. Had no impact. Playing from behind didn't help.
45. Ralphsmith - Got his chance with the more senior yellow team. Thought his 1st qtr was very lively and he kicked a goal. Didn't have as much impact after that.
46. Miller - polyfiller as he was moved around between forward and defence for the Reds.
47. Biggie - would have got an education on leading patterns today playing full-back on Lynch.
49. MJR - Quiet. Hard for a young small forward when the ball hardly gets beyond HF and when it does it is picked off by our premiership defenders.
50. Pickett - I bet Marlion will be glad he only has to chase Dusty around in intra-club matches and not the real stuff. It's not that Marlion was slack; it's just that Dusty is too good.
