Analysis 2023 Preseason Games
- Thread starter wogitalia
- Start date
Richmond vs Melbourne
General - Watched 3 quarters. Pretty strong dominance from the Demons, looked like a top 4 side against a bottom 10 side to be honest, just imposed their will around the entire ground and played to their style. Tigers were much better in the third when they evened up the contest. Definitely more of a structural battle than physical contest, pretty soft game overall.
Tigers - They wouldn't be happy and would be hoping it's not a sign of things to come, the Prestia injury just salt in the wound, pec issues are rarely good news so fingers crossed for him. Their issues from last year remained, the midfield has issues moving the ball and the forwards apply very little pressure at ground level, it's going to be very hard to carry Lynch, Riewoldt, Martin, Cotchin and Bolton in the same forward line if things don't change, Lynch was probably the best of that bunch on pressure acts which is not a good sign! Definitely an interesting development to watch, need the midfield supply to be a lot better to advantage them if it's going to work and given they clearly didn't recruit for that I'm not sure where it comes from.
Vlastuin - Solid across half back, nothing to suggest serious improvement this year, ultimately too many guys sharing, imo.
Grimes/Broad/Balta - KP roles as you'd expect.
Prestia - Pec injury, was looking good before it also, can easily be a 6 month injury if it's bad so hopefully not.
Martin - Playing forward, he looks decent but very little midfield so would expect last year's scoring is pretty accurate to what we'd expect. Durability has become an issue also.
Baker - Playing HB today, too many roles, was really good though and expect he sticks there for now.
Cotchin - Playing forward again, pretty ineffectual, be interesting to see how long the role lasts because if he's not getting the ball he also wasn't putting much ground level pressure on.
M. Rioli - Ordinary game for him, not enough pressure which is his main AFL skill.
Taranto - Exactly what you'd expect from him really, role good, only gets better if Prestia is out, hatchet was out but the Tigers forwards did a pretty good job of halving a lot of rushed kicks, ratio felt generous which is a good sign if he's going to be in CD good books this year. Ultimately the lower level required of forwards is well within his range and he can be a top 5 forward. His disposal will ruin multiple games but the ones where he goes like this and just bombs long to a contest he'll score well. Easy choice who presents a good value keeper option.
Short - I have no idea what his role was, he was forward at times, back at times, mid at times, almost would say he was playing the "Baker" role for them. He's not relevant until he goes back to half back.
Rioli - He was really good but another victim of too many chefs. He's not going to intercept mark and he shares kick-ins and rebound too much. Will be good but not great.
Lynch/Riewoldt - Roles as expected. Lynch was solid for his first hitout.
Soldo - Clear 2nd ruck, be interesting to see if they go with it in the real stuff, only exacerbates the pressure issue if they do.
Hopper - His ratio was utterly unexpected by me, I thought he was alright but he neither seemed as contested as he graded or as effective to the eye. If he's going to rely on that kind of ratio he'll fail utterly as a pick because that's an anomaly to his career and he doesn't have the skill to pull it off consistently! Role was great, Prestia injury only helps him also. Basically he did nothing to change any opinions out there today, I'd say he performed pretty much as you'd expect scoring wise for the season. Anything above that would be a win and anything below it hurts. He's a strong cash cow option to me, whether he's a great pick will probably depend more on others, if the rookies produce fieldable scores then the extra 200k to use elsewhere should win, if the rookies fail then his extra scoring reliability will trump it. I think he's a good option that shouldn't really swing things either way.
Nank - I thought he was pretty good against elite competition. He'll give a contest but I don't see the upside to be much more than he already is.
Dow - Fell into a great role with the Prestia injury, had started as their M4 anyway but moved to M3 after that. He played pretty well but not relevant at his price.
Bolton - Played primarily HF, shifted to take a lot more CBA after Prestia's injury, was pretty ineffective throughout the game, definitely wasn't going to risk breaking a fingernail in a preseason game today. Hard to see where the extra points come from for him as the new recruits should make his role worse.
McIntosh - Wing role, stock standard.
Cumberland - Small forward, was decent but didn't finish well.
Clarke - Played wing, he was decent. Think he's too expensive with job security issues given a few of their outs but he had a decent role and played alright, not setting the world alight but against weaker sides he may find more space.
Young - Base priced DEF, I'd bet good money he's just place holding for Tarrant (who I have no idea how long is out?) but he played well all things considered. I saw nothing to suggest this isn't in line with his scoring profile, ratio makes it look good for SC but he doesn't really seek the ball at all. Given job security issues and scoring potential issues, I'd say he's a pass right now in a strong field.
Green - He seemed to come on after Prestia was hurt, suggesting not best 22 right now, especially with a few names out. What he did was decent but did very little.
General - Watched 3 quarters. Pretty strong dominance from the Demons, looked like a top 4 side against a bottom 10 side to be honest, just imposed their will around the entire ground and played to their style. Tigers were much better in the third when they evened up the contest. Definitely more of a structural battle than physical contest, pretty soft game overall.
Tigers - They wouldn't be happy and would be hoping it's not a sign of things to come, the Prestia injury just salt in the wound, pec issues are rarely good news so fingers crossed for him. Their issues from last year remained, the midfield has issues moving the ball and the forwards apply very little pressure at ground level, it's going to be very hard to carry Lynch, Riewoldt, Martin, Cotchin and Bolton in the same forward line if things don't change, Lynch was probably the best of that bunch on pressure acts which is not a good sign! Definitely an interesting development to watch, need the midfield supply to be a lot better to advantage them if it's going to work and given they clearly didn't recruit for that I'm not sure where it comes from.
Vlastuin - Solid across half back, nothing to suggest serious improvement this year, ultimately too many guys sharing, imo.
Grimes/Broad/Balta - KP roles as you'd expect.
Prestia - Pec injury, was looking good before it also, can easily be a 6 month injury if it's bad so hopefully not.
Martin - Playing forward, he looks decent but very little midfield so would expect last year's scoring is pretty accurate to what we'd expect. Durability has become an issue also.
Baker - Playing HB today, too many roles, was really good though and expect he sticks there for now.
Cotchin - Playing forward again, pretty ineffectual, be interesting to see how long the role lasts because if he's not getting the ball he also wasn't putting much ground level pressure on.
M. Rioli - Ordinary game for him, not enough pressure which is his main AFL skill.
Taranto - Exactly what you'd expect from him really, role good, only gets better if Prestia is out, hatchet was out but the Tigers forwards did a pretty good job of halving a lot of rushed kicks, ratio felt generous which is a good sign if he's going to be in CD good books this year. Ultimately the lower level required of forwards is well within his range and he can be a top 5 forward. His disposal will ruin multiple games but the ones where he goes like this and just bombs long to a contest he'll score well. Easy choice who presents a good value keeper option.
Short - I have no idea what his role was, he was forward at times, back at times, mid at times, almost would say he was playing the "Baker" role for them. He's not relevant until he goes back to half back.
Rioli - He was really good but another victim of too many chefs. He's not going to intercept mark and he shares kick-ins and rebound too much. Will be good but not great.
Lynch/Riewoldt - Roles as expected. Lynch was solid for his first hitout.
Soldo - Clear 2nd ruck, be interesting to see if they go with it in the real stuff, only exacerbates the pressure issue if they do.
Hopper - His ratio was utterly unexpected by me, I thought he was alright but he neither seemed as contested as he graded or as effective to the eye. If he's going to rely on that kind of ratio he'll fail utterly as a pick because that's an anomaly to his career and he doesn't have the skill to pull it off consistently! Role was great, Prestia injury only helps him also. Basically he did nothing to change any opinions out there today, I'd say he performed pretty much as you'd expect scoring wise for the season. Anything above that would be a win and anything below it hurts. He's a strong cash cow option to me, whether he's a great pick will probably depend more on others, if the rookies produce fieldable scores then the extra 200k to use elsewhere should win, if the rookies fail then his extra scoring reliability will trump it. I think he's a good option that shouldn't really swing things either way.
Nank - I thought he was pretty good against elite competition. He'll give a contest but I don't see the upside to be much more than he already is.
Dow - Fell into a great role with the Prestia injury, had started as their M4 anyway but moved to M3 after that. He played pretty well but not relevant at his price.
Bolton - Played primarily HF, shifted to take a lot more CBA after Prestia's injury, was pretty ineffective throughout the game, definitely wasn't going to risk breaking a fingernail in a preseason game today. Hard to see where the extra points come from for him as the new recruits should make his role worse.
McIntosh - Wing role, stock standard.
Cumberland - Small forward, was decent but didn't finish well.
Clarke - Played wing, he was decent. Think he's too expensive with job security issues given a few of their outs but he had a decent role and played alright, not setting the world alight but against weaker sides he may find more space.
Young - Base priced DEF, I'd bet good money he's just place holding for Tarrant (who I have no idea how long is out?) but he played well all things considered. I saw nothing to suggest this isn't in line with his scoring profile, ratio makes it look good for SC but he doesn't really seek the ball at all. Given job security issues and scoring potential issues, I'd say he's a pass right now in a strong field.
Green - He seemed to come on after Prestia was hurt, suggesting not best 22 right now, especially with a few names out. What he did was decent but did very little.
Demons - I think when the midfield coach asked Simon Goodwin who to play in the midfield all he answered was "Yes". I don't know if it's tactical to give nothing away, a genuine strategy or they've just got no clue but of all the sides their midfield mix literally looked like they used a random number generator to pick the combinations. Given it was the one area they didn't dominate the Tigers, perhaps Goodwin will take the hint but from a fantasy perspective it's definitely a concern for anyone considering their players!
May/Lever/Petty/Bowey - All in defense playing the roles you'd expect.
Harmes - I stopped counting very late in Q2 but he was their clear #1 midfielder to that point, which given on ability he's just about last is a source of confusion. He played pretty well but isn't relevant imo.
Petracca - On a positive, his CBA count was solid, he'd still get FWD status on the back of it though if it holds up in the regular season. This Pickett thing seems legit, at least early in the season and I can't pick Petracca on that kind of uncertainty, he already played forward far too much last year so adding an extra 5 names into their midfield mix isn't helping. Two games and he'd easily get FWD after both so I'll wait personally. Anyone who picks him has some serious stones and deserves any reward or punishment that comes with it
Grundy - It all started so well for him, kicked a couple of goals and looked effective forward for the first time in his career. Low TOG dents it and definitely played from the bench a fair bit, he looked alright but for mine there's way too much uncertainty, especially given his durability issues the last couple of years as well. He might be value but he might not.
Spargo/Brown/McDonald/ANB - Playing the forward roles you'd expect. ANB was one of the guys who got midfield rotations.
Brayshaw - Played defense primarily, did swap with Oliver a few times on ball and did push high. He played well enough but there's questions there that I want answered before picking him.
Gawn - Another huge performance, he definitely looks very fit despite the hamstring issue preseason. He didn't really do anything special, Grundy had more ruckwork per minute to my eye (by a ~65/35 split) but Gawn almost played like a HF and pushed up the ground to be a weapon. Be interesting to see if other teams let him just do what he wants like Richmond or if they try and man him up but having him marking down the line against medium defenders or position behind the ball for intercepts is not a strong strategy to negate him. There's definitely a good case for him to be the top ruck again and it definitely feels weird to take him on, that said Soldo is one of the bigger 2nd ruck mismatches (so bad around the ground) and the Tigers just looked hapless out there. He's great but the Tigers made him look even better today. That he didn't really even do anything in the ruck itself is kind of scary.
Hunter - He was great again, probably a better DT than SC play but he'll make cash this year based on how he looks.
Oliver - The main victim of the midfield musical chairs, I had 4 other players with as many or more CBA than him and while his around the ground role was better than that indicates he did spend a lot of time out of the midfield and given the kind of player he is, that's a very real concern if it continues into the real stuff. There's a real case that running him into the ground a bit last year was a part of their terrible finals series and that perhaps trying to Dusty him through the season could have merit, it's an arrogant approach of a team that thinks it's better than it is, especially given their playing style is predicated on midfield dominance into field position dominance but it's definitely a possibility. He's still great and if he'd been a bit better with his disposal he'd still score well today but there were concerns. The question is how much does preseason mean and how much will carry on into the real stuff? Melbourne have 3 very tough games on paper to start off so I'm not sure they'll be able to **** around and be precious about things but the Eagles, Bombers, Tigers, North, Suns and Hawks 6 game stretch that follows it looks like prime experiment against the dregs of the league time...
Langdon - Same old.
Laurie - He did some nice things, don't think he did anything to demand a game and feels very peripheral on that team sheet. Will probably get a few games through the year, they used him at both ends as well which makes the sub vest a real chance.
Rivers - Played mostly half back, another who got midfield rotations. Don't think it sticks in the real stuff though.
Sparrow - Another with heavy midfield minutes that probably aren't there in the real season. He played well though and is a good little player.
Pickett - Played a good midfield role again, I'm not sure it sticks and he's definitely not as good as Petracca but if they see it as an important part of his development they may persist anyway. He played well but reckon this is around where his ceiling is for average which isn't enough to make him relevant in any real way.
Chandler - He was solid, bad role but he played it well except for his finishing. Kick straight and he probably scores about 70, such is the life of a small forward. I'd say he's the one in the team even after Fritsch right now but it's tight. They only used 23 and I'd say he's ahead of Laurie who would go out for Fritsch but he's the next on the drop line.
McVee - I mean he played well but that score is hard to want in the team. I just really struggle to see how he's not the first name out when Salem is fit, which could be round 1 for all we know. If I knew Salem was out for 8 weeks then McVee makes sense but I think there's better options from a JS and scoring potential point of view. Would be a shock if there's not 7 or 8 other rookie options that are as good or better than him, imo. What he did was quality though and they've got another really decent player there.
And that will be the last one unless Kayo get their **** together and put the Dockers vs Port game up but given they do this a few times a year where they break the recording and then just hide it, I'm not very optimistic it will happen.
May/Lever/Petty/Bowey - All in defense playing the roles you'd expect.
Harmes - I stopped counting very late in Q2 but he was their clear #1 midfielder to that point, which given on ability he's just about last is a source of confusion. He played pretty well but isn't relevant imo.
Petracca - On a positive, his CBA count was solid, he'd still get FWD status on the back of it though if it holds up in the regular season. This Pickett thing seems legit, at least early in the season and I can't pick Petracca on that kind of uncertainty, he already played forward far too much last year so adding an extra 5 names into their midfield mix isn't helping. Two games and he'd easily get FWD after both so I'll wait personally. Anyone who picks him has some serious stones and deserves any reward or punishment that comes with it
Grundy - It all started so well for him, kicked a couple of goals and looked effective forward for the first time in his career. Low TOG dents it and definitely played from the bench a fair bit, he looked alright but for mine there's way too much uncertainty, especially given his durability issues the last couple of years as well. He might be value but he might not.
Spargo/Brown/McDonald/ANB - Playing the forward roles you'd expect. ANB was one of the guys who got midfield rotations.
Brayshaw - Played defense primarily, did swap with Oliver a few times on ball and did push high. He played well enough but there's questions there that I want answered before picking him.
Gawn - Another huge performance, he definitely looks very fit despite the hamstring issue preseason. He didn't really do anything special, Grundy had more ruckwork per minute to my eye (by a ~65/35 split) but Gawn almost played like a HF and pushed up the ground to be a weapon. Be interesting to see if other teams let him just do what he wants like Richmond or if they try and man him up but having him marking down the line against medium defenders or position behind the ball for intercepts is not a strong strategy to negate him. There's definitely a good case for him to be the top ruck again and it definitely feels weird to take him on, that said Soldo is one of the bigger 2nd ruck mismatches (so bad around the ground) and the Tigers just looked hapless out there. He's great but the Tigers made him look even better today. That he didn't really even do anything in the ruck itself is kind of scary.
Hunter - He was great again, probably a better DT than SC play but he'll make cash this year based on how he looks.
Oliver - The main victim of the midfield musical chairs, I had 4 other players with as many or more CBA than him and while his around the ground role was better than that indicates he did spend a lot of time out of the midfield and given the kind of player he is, that's a very real concern if it continues into the real stuff. There's a real case that running him into the ground a bit last year was a part of their terrible finals series and that perhaps trying to Dusty him through the season could have merit, it's an arrogant approach of a team that thinks it's better than it is, especially given their playing style is predicated on midfield dominance into field position dominance but it's definitely a possibility. He's still great and if he'd been a bit better with his disposal he'd still score well today but there were concerns. The question is how much does preseason mean and how much will carry on into the real stuff? Melbourne have 3 very tough games on paper to start off so I'm not sure they'll be able to **** around and be precious about things but the Eagles, Bombers, Tigers, North, Suns and Hawks 6 game stretch that follows it looks like prime experiment against the dregs of the league time...
Langdon - Same old.
Laurie - He did some nice things, don't think he did anything to demand a game and feels very peripheral on that team sheet. Will probably get a few games through the year, they used him at both ends as well which makes the sub vest a real chance.
Rivers - Played mostly half back, another who got midfield rotations. Don't think it sticks in the real stuff though.
Sparrow - Another with heavy midfield minutes that probably aren't there in the real season. He played well though and is a good little player.
Pickett - Played a good midfield role again, I'm not sure it sticks and he's definitely not as good as Petracca but if they see it as an important part of his development they may persist anyway. He played well but reckon this is around where his ceiling is for average which isn't enough to make him relevant in any real way.
Chandler - He was solid, bad role but he played it well except for his finishing. Kick straight and he probably scores about 70, such is the life of a small forward. I'd say he's the one in the team even after Fritsch right now but it's tight. They only used 23 and I'd say he's ahead of Laurie who would go out for Fritsch but he's the next on the drop line.
McVee - I mean he played well but that score is hard to want in the team. I just really struggle to see how he's not the first name out when Salem is fit, which could be round 1 for all we know. If I knew Salem was out for 8 weeks then McVee makes sense but I think there's better options from a JS and scoring potential point of view. Would be a shock if there's not 7 or 8 other rookie options that are as good or better than him, imo. What he did was quality though and they've got another really decent player there.
And that will be the last one unless Kayo get their **** together and put the Dockers vs Port game up but given they do this a few times a year where they break the recording and then just hide it, I'm not very optimistic it will happen.
Thanks for all the pre season reviews @wogitalia. Invaluable resource for SCS members.
@wogitalia - can you confirm McVee played on Dusty most of the game? Only caught snippets of the game after 1/4 time & he had that role early on - great experience for him to play on Dusty,
Whilst he didn’t light up the stat sheet I think he handled himself decently v Dusty from what I saw which should give a solid chance of playing round 1 … hopefully 😂
Love your player reviews of each preseason game, such a valuable resource for us here 👍👍👍
Whilst he didn’t light up the stat sheet I think he handled himself decently v Dusty from what I saw which should give a solid chance of playing round 1 … hopefully 😂
Love your player reviews of each preseason game, such a valuable resource for us here 👍👍👍
He had him at times, don't think it was a genuine one on one follow him every where matchup, he appointed himself well. Think he's in the team until Salem is good and then he's a very obvious out, whether that's round 1 is probably the question, if he's there round one he'll have to outplay Rivers or Bowey to stay in which is a big ask, those two have a lot more runs on the board to bank on.
Haha, I'm getting slack in my old age
Definitely watch first, I don't look at scores or read this thread before watching to try and ensure I write what I saw instead of watching for what others saw, the most interesting ones for me are when I see something and then others saw different things, questioning yourself is very important in this caper!
Definitely looks like a potentially very interesting season, loving there are so many rookie options at very wild price ranges that could shift the structure of teams a lot depending on who each coach chooses. Also a few very viable mid price options but none of the Coniglio/Brodie locks that were in every single side. Hopefully it means that the end of season teams are a lot more varied also.
Definitely watch first, I don't look at scores or read this thread before watching to try and ensure I write what I saw instead of watching for what others saw, the most interesting ones for me are when I see something and then others saw different things, questioning yourself is very important in this caper!
Definitely looks like a potentially very interesting season, loving there are so many rookie options at very wild price ranges that could shift the structure of teams a lot depending on who each coach chooses. Also a few very viable mid price options but none of the Coniglio/Brodie locks that were in every single side. Hopefully it means that the end of season teams are a lot more varied also.
Amazing game from Goal-den! 😉
Admittedly he won’t be racking up 45 possessions (including 17 contested) and kicking 3 goals every week.
No Mills in that game. Can we trust Horse? How much midfield time will he get in the real stuff?
I remember picking Luke Parker in his breakout year when he played with the Swans.
Worth the risk and see how things go (in my opinion).
Admittedly he won’t be racking up 45 possessions (including 17 contested) and kicking 3 goals every week.
No Mills in that game. Can we trust Horse? How much midfield time will he get in the real stuff?
I remember picking Luke Parker in his breakout year when he played with the Swans.
Worth the risk and see how things go (in my opinion).
