Intra-Club Training Reports
- Thread starter NT.Thunder
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Watched the Bombers Intra club, good to have footy back!
First note, is how good is the commentary of these games, you forget how good the commentary can be after watching the "professionals" and then you see the casual just do a fantastic job of it. None of the idiotic comments, if they don't know who a player is they're honest and actually talking football!
Red vs Black, midfields were equal, it sure looked like Black had the first team forwards and Red had the first team defenders.
Notable outs to me were Kelly, Shiel, Stringer, Jones, Durham, Hurley, Langford, Walla and Zach Reid.
Game was scrappy, KP guys had no influence at all other than bringing to ground, not sure if it was more the midfields not hitting targets or the forwards not clunking, probably a bit of both.
Merrett - Started HB in Q1 and Q2, started middle Q3, didn't note it for Q4 but think he was in there. Definitely playing across half back mostly, even as a mid was basically the back of the pack floater. I don't love the role but if he does play it he's a back who could be huge. That weird one where him playing back they didn't look to get him the ball or do anything with it, just seemed to be there for the sake of it. Weird because with Kelly in they already had too many backs so to throw their best midfielder and McGrath also back is weird.
Heppell - Wing in the 1st half, went to HB more in the 2nd from what I could tell. He was prolific and looks good. We know what he is, both those roles are pretty much the same thing for him, he'll get cheapies and he wont take risks with the ball so he'll score well.
Hind - HB for the black team for the first half, was the only genuine best 22 defender, imo, that was on that side and he was the clear main man for them, unlike Merrett they looked for him at every chance. Went to the red side in the 2nd half and slowed down a fair bit as there was more sharing.
McGrath - Midfield into HB, basically switching with Merrett. Didn't really do anything of note to me, which kind of sums his career up to date, nothing bad, nothing great, just solid.
Draper - Really liked the look of him, looks in good nick. The Bombers have great ruck depth, imo, so he didn't dominate like you'd normally expect but he showed some good signs, especially around the ground.
Nick Martin (Potential SSP) - Had to be just about best on ground, playing HF in the black forward line is a great sign, apparently was excellent in their last match also, the other two main candidates were solid but he showed a lot more to me, looks very AFL ready if he does get picked up. No certainty to play though with Stringer, Shiel and Langford all out.
Parish - Really good game from him, especially early. Looks in ripping touch and had by far the clearest pure midfield role of their established guys. No dicking around in other positions, just pure mid. Firmed in my eyes as much as you can from these types of games.
Smith - HF as he's been, not a lot of impact. Think he's dusted for fantasy purposes.
Caldwell - Really good 1st half, don't think he played 2nd half. Looked really good, kicking still a bit of a question but hard at it and showed plenty. Had the most distinct midfield role for the reds in the first half.
Hobbs - Very clear midfield role, all he played from what I could tell. Grew into the game. Don't know how to take his role, normally you want to see a kid playing forward/mid, a genuine AFL role, and this feels more like giving a kid who will be a gun in a couple of years a chance at that role. Weird that if he got that role in the real stuff he's an absolute lock but it feels like a bad sign
Francis - Playing forward, actually did some nice things.
Snelling - Also forward with a bit of mid, no distinct role difference to last year.
Cutler - HB for the red team and played well, looks pretty settled in their back mix. Stole a kick-in or two from Ridley.
Cox - Played wing 1st half, was solid. Played mid 3rd quarter, nothing of note there. Rucked in the 4th and didn't do much. Same as last year basically looks likely.
Ridley - I didn't notice him in the 2nd half (wasn't watching it as closely) but was definitely the floating defender in the 1st half, red team were on top for the most part so didn't get a lot of chances but looked good. No Kelly makes that an even better sign, imo. A tick.
Laverde - Back for the reds, solid game.
Perkins - Big midfield role in first half, has added a lot of size and looks very good. They mentioned a calf niggle over the last month which is an issue big enough for me to move on but his role was great, more forward in the 2nd half. Black team and was the 3rd mid after Parish and Hobbs.
Stewart - Also KP for the red team, looked a settled group.
Wright - Forward for blacks, was alright, rucked a bit.
Bryan - I really rate him, would be targeting him hard as another club. Serious talent, just moves so well at that size and does genuinely good footy things.
Baldwin - Couple of nice things, not prominent.
Redman - Was alright, didn't stand out, didn't notice him take any kick-ins.
Lord - Good pace to him, looked a bit rushed and a little flustered but there's something to work with.
BZT - Solid game, held his feet well in the contest and wasn't beaten.
Ham - Wing/HF and some mid rotations, played well. Not really interested for fantasy.
Phillips - Gave a good contest in the ruck. Stock standard game for him.
Guelfi - Think he only played the first half. Was alright but nothing special.
McDonagh - Great left boot on him, good size, in the black team and took some kick-ins. Hard to see where he fits in, especially if Merrett, McGrath and Heppell are floating back and with Cutler, Redman and Hind also there. Would think the defensive skills of Redman are more important than a great left foot. Should score well if he can break in though. May be a downgrade target if a couple of injuries were to hit.
Brand - Thought he did a couple of nice things, a couple of years off still I think.
Wanganeen - Really nice flashes, thought Graham was better but believe they've got two spots so could be a chance.
Fejo - Great pace and movement, didn't get a lot of it but what he got stood out. Like Wanganeen I thought Graham was clearly better.
First note, is how good is the commentary of these games, you forget how good the commentary can be after watching the "professionals" and then you see the casual just do a fantastic job of it. None of the idiotic comments, if they don't know who a player is they're honest and actually talking football!
Red vs Black, midfields were equal, it sure looked like Black had the first team forwards and Red had the first team defenders.
Notable outs to me were Kelly, Shiel, Stringer, Jones, Durham, Hurley, Langford, Walla and Zach Reid.
Game was scrappy, KP guys had no influence at all other than bringing to ground, not sure if it was more the midfields not hitting targets or the forwards not clunking, probably a bit of both.
Merrett - Started HB in Q1 and Q2, started middle Q3, didn't note it for Q4 but think he was in there. Definitely playing across half back mostly, even as a mid was basically the back of the pack floater. I don't love the role but if he does play it he's a back who could be huge. That weird one where him playing back they didn't look to get him the ball or do anything with it, just seemed to be there for the sake of it. Weird because with Kelly in they already had too many backs so to throw their best midfielder and McGrath also back is weird.
Heppell - Wing in the 1st half, went to HB more in the 2nd from what I could tell. He was prolific and looks good. We know what he is, both those roles are pretty much the same thing for him, he'll get cheapies and he wont take risks with the ball so he'll score well.
Hind - HB for the black team for the first half, was the only genuine best 22 defender, imo, that was on that side and he was the clear main man for them, unlike Merrett they looked for him at every chance. Went to the red side in the 2nd half and slowed down a fair bit as there was more sharing.
McGrath - Midfield into HB, basically switching with Merrett. Didn't really do anything of note to me, which kind of sums his career up to date, nothing bad, nothing great, just solid.
Draper - Really liked the look of him, looks in good nick. The Bombers have great ruck depth, imo, so he didn't dominate like you'd normally expect but he showed some good signs, especially around the ground.
Nick Martin (Potential SSP) - Had to be just about best on ground, playing HF in the black forward line is a great sign, apparently was excellent in their last match also, the other two main candidates were solid but he showed a lot more to me, looks very AFL ready if he does get picked up. No certainty to play though with Stringer, Shiel and Langford all out.
Parish - Really good game from him, especially early. Looks in ripping touch and had by far the clearest pure midfield role of their established guys. No dicking around in other positions, just pure mid. Firmed in my eyes as much as you can from these types of games.
Smith - HF as he's been, not a lot of impact. Think he's dusted for fantasy purposes.
Caldwell - Really good 1st half, don't think he played 2nd half. Looked really good, kicking still a bit of a question but hard at it and showed plenty. Had the most distinct midfield role for the reds in the first half.
Hobbs - Very clear midfield role, all he played from what I could tell. Grew into the game. Don't know how to take his role, normally you want to see a kid playing forward/mid, a genuine AFL role, and this feels more like giving a kid who will be a gun in a couple of years a chance at that role. Weird that if he got that role in the real stuff he's an absolute lock but it feels like a bad sign
Francis - Playing forward, actually did some nice things.
Snelling - Also forward with a bit of mid, no distinct role difference to last year.
Cutler - HB for the red team and played well, looks pretty settled in their back mix. Stole a kick-in or two from Ridley.
Cox - Played wing 1st half, was solid. Played mid 3rd quarter, nothing of note there. Rucked in the 4th and didn't do much. Same as last year basically looks likely.
Ridley - I didn't notice him in the 2nd half (wasn't watching it as closely) but was definitely the floating defender in the 1st half, red team were on top for the most part so didn't get a lot of chances but looked good. No Kelly makes that an even better sign, imo. A tick.
Laverde - Back for the reds, solid game.
Perkins - Big midfield role in first half, has added a lot of size and looks very good. They mentioned a calf niggle over the last month which is an issue big enough for me to move on but his role was great, more forward in the 2nd half. Black team and was the 3rd mid after Parish and Hobbs.
Stewart - Also KP for the red team, looked a settled group.
Wright - Forward for blacks, was alright, rucked a bit.
Bryan - I really rate him, would be targeting him hard as another club. Serious talent, just moves so well at that size and does genuinely good footy things.
Baldwin - Couple of nice things, not prominent.
Redman - Was alright, didn't stand out, didn't notice him take any kick-ins.
Lord - Good pace to him, looked a bit rushed and a little flustered but there's something to work with.
BZT - Solid game, held his feet well in the contest and wasn't beaten.
Ham - Wing/HF and some mid rotations, played well. Not really interested for fantasy.
Phillips - Gave a good contest in the ruck. Stock standard game for him.
Guelfi - Think he only played the first half. Was alright but nothing special.
McDonagh - Great left boot on him, good size, in the black team and took some kick-ins. Hard to see where he fits in, especially if Merrett, McGrath and Heppell are floating back and with Cutler, Redman and Hind also there. Would think the defensive skills of Redman are more important than a great left foot. Should score well if he can break in though. May be a downgrade target if a couple of injuries were to hit.
Brand - Thought he did a couple of nice things, a couple of years off still I think.
Wanganeen - Really nice flashes, thought Graham was better but believe they've got two spots so could be a chance.
Fejo - Great pace and movement, didn't get a lot of it but what he got stood out. Like Wanganeen I thought Graham was clearly better.
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https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...s/news-story/e026c8686547e8ac32ec397148af7be5
Essendon is experimenting with playing one of its best midfielders off half back to help spread the club’s midfield riches across the field.
The Bombers unveiled the plan at their intra club’s match on Wednesday when superstar ballwinners Zach Merrett (MID, 625.7k) and Andrew McGrath (MID, 464.6k) rotated through the rebounding role.
The pair’s dynamic run and slick delivery stood out with coach Ben Rutten determined to increase the flexibility and unpredictability of the Bombers’ side in 2022.
Merrett is arguably Essendon’s most damaging and important player who could be moved to half back to help break any tag and add another slick ball user in the playmaking position.
The move helped make room for Darcy Parish and Jye Caldwell to star on Wednesday in a sign the Bombers could have one of the best midfields in the league this season.
..
Assistant coach Dale Tapping said the Bombers were considering the move for the 2022 season.
“In pre-season what most clubs do is trial these things,” Tapping said.
“Both of them are so creative with their feet and their decision-making so they really set you up offensively when they do win the ball, so if you can get some ascendancy out of centre bounce they’re a threat to the opposition."
Merrett as a d/m post round 6 would be an interesting proposition.
Essendon is experimenting with playing one of its best midfielders off half back to help spread the club’s midfield riches across the field.
The Bombers unveiled the plan at their intra club’s match on Wednesday when superstar ballwinners Zach Merrett (MID, 625.7k) and Andrew McGrath (MID, 464.6k) rotated through the rebounding role.
The pair’s dynamic run and slick delivery stood out with coach Ben Rutten determined to increase the flexibility and unpredictability of the Bombers’ side in 2022.
Merrett is arguably Essendon’s most damaging and important player who could be moved to half back to help break any tag and add another slick ball user in the playmaking position.
The move helped make room for Darcy Parish and Jye Caldwell to star on Wednesday in a sign the Bombers could have one of the best midfields in the league this season.
..
Assistant coach Dale Tapping said the Bombers were considering the move for the 2022 season.
“In pre-season what most clubs do is trial these things,” Tapping said.
“Both of them are so creative with their feet and their decision-making so they really set you up offensively when they do win the ball, so if you can get some ascendancy out of centre bounce they’re a threat to the opposition."
Merrett as a d/m post round 6 would be an interesting proposition.
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This is both a good and very bad thing.
Scoring well early then falling away if Ryder is picked will see you possibly trading him out. also could slash any chance of being DPP.
Preference is not to start him, he plays forward and achieves DPP, you assess his scoring as a fwd/ruck and whether he can match other premium forwards. If not, then you wait for Ryder to be out for the season and trade Marshall in.
Marshall as a forward/R2 could easily be a 85 player. He scored best when he was R1 for Saints.
Scoring well early then falling away if Ryder is picked will see you possibly trading him out. also could slash any chance of being DPP.
Preference is not to start him, he plays forward and achieves DPP, you assess his scoring as a fwd/ruck and whether he can match other premium forwards. If not, then you wait for Ryder to be out for the season and trade Marshall in.
Marshall as a forward/R2 could easily be a 85 player. He scored best when he was R1 for Saints.