Quick Thoughts - Eagles vs Pies
General - Not a fun game to watch. One team applying not much pressure and the other applying even less, a lot of waxing across half back and cheap touches, two teams basically afraid to take chances, just ugly.
Eagles - They were the better side, their pressure, while not good, was certainly a lot better than the Pies who were pathetic. Were asleep in the first and got jumped as a result but adjusted nicely at quarter time and really weren't threatened from that point onward. Take the points and move on given their injuries.
Duggan - Just waxing, to be fair his SC feels kind of generous given how minimal his impact was but he did have a lot of MG so that probably explains a lot of it. Off HB and loving life with the Pies basically standing around watching the chips fly around.
Redden - Thought his ratio was kind of rough, for mine he was the pick of the midfielders and the guy who really put the physicality into the contest for the Eagles and turned the game their way.
Gaff - 35+ touches and pretty much no impact but you can't question the workrate to constantly be open and creating an option for his teammates. The Pies certainly could have used a few guys running a quarter as hard as he does.
Witherden - Big debut for him, took almost, if not, all the kick-ins and was excellent with his ball use. Probably more importantly he was good defensively and won the contests he was involved in, however few they were.
Allen - Just dominated the game, serious talent.
McGovern - I reckon the Pies forwards wish they could get delivery like he had from the Pies midfielders.
Darling - Was big today, was the main forward who pushed the Pies down and away alongside Allen.
Kelly - Well held by Greenwood. Going to be very interesting to see what comes of his bump, went for the old fashioned hip part of a hip and shoulder but he left the ground, bumped and knocked De Goey out for the game, going his way is the commentators didn't harp on about it so he might slide away from any scrutiny, for mine it was purely incidental contact but that hasn't really mattered in recent times when a guy gets injured as a result of it. Be stupid if he gets done for it but stupid is the MRP modus operandi...
Naitanui - Just so much better in the ruck contests, especially after quarter time. The difference between the tap work of the two ruckman couldn't be more chalk and cheese and NicNat even poached a couple of Grundy's for a bit more salt.
Pies - Pretty embarrassing effort, 39 tackles for a game is sad but they had I believe 16 of them at quarter time and they had 17 of them in the last quarter... so they managed something around 6 tackles across two quarters. No composure with the ball under minimal pressure, no structure, no passion, just nothing. First quarter they converted well before the Eagles showed up but from the point where the Eagles adjusted they had not a single answer.
Crisp - Had his hatchet out but can't fault his efforts, one of about 3 Pies who could walk off with his head up when it comes to efforts.
Grundy - The power of a good quarter in SC because he went home at quarter time. He showed some fight, actually hit a couple of packs, laid a few good tackles in the first quarter and then if he got above a job for the rest of the game I didn't see it. Looked like he spent every petrol ticket he had in the first quarter because he was thrashed from then on and just failed to run out the game. His tapwork is somehow getting worse, he hits to the exact same spot every single time. Not sure what's happened to him to be honest but he's a shadow of the player from 2019.
Pendles - Had a bit of a mare, seemed to game the SC scoring system but just wasn't good tonight.
Maynard - Got to run the defense after Howe went down and turned it back into 2020 Maynard.
Greenwood - Did a pretty good job on Kelly.
Sidebottom - Amazing ratio, he was really ordinary tonight, seemed to get amazing CP grading because I barely noticed him in a contest. Seemed to be playing more off half back tonight but that may just be a symptom of them letting the Eagles waltz to that end for most of the night.
Moore - Played forward and was excellent in the first and last quarters, didn't sniff it in the 2nd or 3rd when the Pies were out there playing flag football and pretending to be witches hats. His I50 kicking was a highlight.
Mihocek - Alongside Moore and Crisp he could hold his head high, in an impossible role in a team who refused to kick to his advantage he just kept presenting and working his butt off.
Mayne - What a mare. His ability to stop all semblance of ball movement tonight was actually incredible, just not in a good way.
McCreery - He scored pretty well again given his role is terrible. Like his work without the ball more than his work with it as far as why he'll keep playing but that's a tough role to score consistently in, especially in a team that doesn't move the ball well and kicks it inside 50 even worse.
Cameron - I don't get it... he must have just about rucked more than Grundy tonight, especially when the game was being lost. Pies playing two rucks just seems weird, Grundy seems to take it as an excuse to give a half effort.
Macrae - Some of the things he did were so eerily like his half-brother! He was solid but nothing spectacular, as a F/M and cheap he's going to be hard to say no to if he can put together a couple more like that and there's definitely potential there. Role was solid but really hard to judge with De Goey out, who started mid, so early. His I50 kicking was the highlight of his game, like the Pies haven't been able to train it out of him to try and hit up a target or kick to the forwards advantage because he actually kicked to them, shocking I know!
Daicos - Poor guy breaks out playing midfield and his reward is to end up stuck forward the next season...
Keane - He was solid mostly given how outmatched they were and the sheer weight of unpressured supply. Howe injury should give him a run at it and the way the Pies (don't) move the ball he can score well occasionally I reckon.
Howe - Hamstring injury after going off to get the knee taped, hamstring seems like a great outcome given how he landed.
De Goey - Copped a Kelly hip to the face which split him open proper. Can only assume they must have genuine concerns of the shards of the broken nose causing significant damage because a sore nose wouldn't normally be the reason to get subbed. Brutal result for anyone who picked him.