Quick Thoughts - Pies vs Suns
General - Well this one was ugly. One team bullied the other in all the ways fans wouldn't want to see. Genuinely looked like a professional side playing against an amateur side in structures and strategy. Wasn't a lot of intensity in it but what there was pretty much all came from the one direction.
Pies - It's going to be a long week and it really should be for Buckley. In every way this was a loss that reflected very poorly on the coach. Perhaps the biggest problem for Buckley though wasn't even on the field. When the Pies draw 24,000 fans in perfect conditions and there is a Gold Coast chant going around the ground for the last 15 minutes you know you're a dead man walking. They had no structure in the forward half neither with the ball nor without, their ball movement was tragic. Their pressure rate was poor. Just hard to give Buckley a pass on this one, those are all the areas that come from the head of the snake...
Mihocek - Special mention to him, basically everything good they did in the forward half was him. He's just a really high effort player, I love him as a neutral for how hard he works, imagine he's one of the Pie fans favourites.
Grundy - Ratio was incredible and I'll take it but his impact felt so minimal and is even worse when you consider he's playing against the Suns VFL CHB... I say it every week but I'd just love to know if it's Grundy or Buckley that has him hitting every ball to the same damn place over and over again, especially when your midfield is so incredibly weak, I mean I know that Thomas being in there is Buckley, but this is some Horse level inspiration of taking by far your biggest strength and nullifying it for the opposition. Grundy really impacted things the 4 or so times he took it out of the ruck, that should have happened 15 times in this game, he's skillful, he's agile and he's the better ruckman against about 15 of the other teams...
Daicos - Played midfield, played well.
Sidey - Scored well in the end, role not ideal as he got pushed back to the HF flank with De Goey back but he was roaming high and wide and I feel pretty safe with the idea of picking him up in the next couple of weeks. Durability is the bigger concern for me. Upside that if Buckley is fired the interim coach is going to put his 2nd best midfielder in the midfield trying to win games to win the job.
Pendles - Solid as ever, really hard for him right now as the only midfielder who needs attention and a ruckman providing a disadvantage at the the stoppages.
Crisp - Stuck in defense all game, the way this game went that was a bad thing, as harsh as I am on the Pies they had it forward a fair bit but they provided no defense once the Suns won the ball and pushed forward so the defenders had no chance to even win it back.
Thomas - Ok Bucks, I don't get this joke but you should probably end it...
McCreery - Shout out to him, he was basically their entire F50 pressure rating, he just chases relentlessly, he's not got a lot of talent with the ball but he works really hard and that stands out like a sore thumb right now at the Pies.
Murphy - Thought he was really solid, took an exceptional mark that exemplified courage and a couple more that were pretty damn good as well, the lack of tackles is a concern though. Ultimately role was very good and if he's the guy getting dropped to send a message then Bucks needs to go. Think he's a very solid option next week.
Maynard - He wasn't bad considering the game plan.
Poulter - I thought he was solid, good wing role and did some good things, like Murphy the tackle count is the main concern as that's definitely a message path Buckley could go down.
Keane - Thought he was really solid also, biggest problem for him is how bad Moore was forward.
De Goey - Role was good early then stuck deep forward later, Buckley seems to be walking that perfect tight rope of playing him just enough midfield to crush his rhythm up forward and then playing him forward just enough to take away any momentum he gets in the midfield. He's basically unsettling his most dynamic player on purpose, pick one of them (midfield for mine) and unleash him but this flip flop crap has to go, it's the one thing he's clearly not good at.
Macrae - Yeah... he was bad and it would be a real shock if he plays next week, didn't tackle, was way too slow with the ball and made some bad mistakes. He's playing out of position and he looks really uncomfortable, either play him in the guts (I mean Thomas, really?) or play him in the 2s, you're just killing him with this role.
Moore - Well if I've seen a player send a stronger "get me the **** out of here" message to a coach I can't remember it. Clearly wants the easy position down back because his effort level was just disgusting to watch, literally moping on the field. Browny put it very nicely when he said "he's lacking enthusiasm", I'll be more blunt, he dogged them, he was pathetic. NO effort, no work rate, constantly outbodied in every marking contest be it Farrar, Greenwood, Ballard or Powell, he got bullied in marking contests, this is a guy I've seen outbody the very best forwards in the game and make them look silly being pushed around by back pockets. He was the personification of everything wrong with the Pies.
Suns - "Bigger", stronger, faster, cleaner, harder, smarter and all that jazz. They moved the ball with ease. They pressure the Pies all day, they tackled better, they kicked better, they defended well. Just smoked them in every way. I think for the first time in this club's history I genuinely think they're headed in the right direction and are a dangerous side.
Ellis - Everywhere, just kept working up and back on his wing, tackled well. Just a complete game from him.
Miller - Time to look at him as a genuine premium. He tackles relentlessly, he wins clearances and contested ball, he mostly uses it well and he spreads very hard. Been a stud this year.
Greenwood - Speaking of studs. What a pickup he's been. He monstered the Pies.
Bowes - Strong game, nothing special here, just used it well and worked to space to get it. Lloydesque.
Corbett - The Suns version of Mihocek. Works so hard presenting and just draws the ball towards him over and over again. He played a blinder.
Collins - He'll get rejected again like last year but once again I reckon he should be the AA FB right now. I don't know what more he can really do because he was the best KPD last year and didn't get close but just a fantastic anchor of their defense that is becoming pretty damn good.
Markov - Solid but not spectacular, few too many poor disposals held him back.
Flanders - Really solid game by him if anyone got him, role still not ideal though.
Farrar - The good: He played a really strong game. The bad: his fantasy score. Pantsed Moore in the first quarter and then floated around on smaller forwards, one a couple of huge one on one contests in space to save goals, used the ball very neatly. Was unlucky that he was on the pine for both the periods that the ball was living in the Pies forward half in the game and thus lost a lot of scoring chances but he played a really solid game and I'd be surprised if he isn't there for a few more games at a minimum and he looks a great long term option for the Suns. Those guys who win one on ones, can play tall or small and use the ball at an elite level and can run and carry tend to stick around for some reason!
