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Stuart McKenzie's avatar

It was an incredible day, and I deeply regret not being there – the problem with living in Perth I guess! The enormous feeling of pride was inescapable and at times the emotions overwhelming. It was also impossible not to be struck by just how fortunate we are to support our club and the extraordinary successes and unforgettable memories we’ve been gifted. My only comment about the celebrations was to perhaps have had some recognition of the pre 1961 period, which was a time of extreme struggle (it wasn’t until John Peck goaled after the siren in 1960 that we recorded our first win at Victoria Park) and some of the key figures at the time including Col Austen, our first Brownlow Medalist, Bob McCaskill and Jack Hale. We’ve been blessed with remarkable success over the past 64 years, but we should never forget the tough times and the figures that sustained our club during those years.

I’d also like to thank all the HI crew for helping to make such a memorable occasion even more memorable. It was quite nostalgic to reflect on the HI’s memories (and to learn about the wide age group of the HI crew). While it’s a labour of love no doubt, the effort is greatly appreciated and the passion for our club comes through loud and clear.

As for the game itself, goal kicking early was again an issue and the opportunity to gain an early lead of note was again lost. This improved as the game went on and hopefully it’s just a passing fad, but this will be costly against better opposition.

Poor turnovers were again an issue, though these seemed to be more confined to a few this week (Sicily and Morrison most notably), rather than the broad spread of blooper makers over the two previous games. I heard Sam say that Sic hasn’t lost his kicking talent, and we get the point, but these past three weeks have been an issue, so much so that he’s become a liability with ball in hand.

Not sure what the ball movement numbers will say this week, but we took 21 marks inside 50 and conceded 13, which suggests something is going ok. As the game progressed, it was terrific to see Jarman return to something like his best – he is a key part of our ball movement form defence. It may be coincidence, but as Mick notes, his best game for the year coincided with Hardwick returning to the backline. Interestingly, it was also Ginnivan’s best game for the year, again perhaps related to Hardwick going back. Hardwick’s real value as a forward was earlier in the season when we were playing just the one tall forward and he played as something of a ‘second tall’ but with Gunston now a permanent forward, that role Hardwick played is now largely redundant. It also just feels safer when he’s down back.

Perhaps I’m imagining it, but it seemed that several times we over committed to the marking contest and were outnumbered when the ball hit the ground, especially in the first half. Unless he’s a lock to mark or spoil, would much prefer to see Jarman and CJ stay down.

The running power of some of our boys was again apparent – Ward’s last quarter was outstanding, Maginness’s second half was excellent, after a number of howlers in the first half Morrison had a good back end of the game, Massimo had a four quarter performance and CJ ran the game out strongly. All are players noted for their high-end endurance capabilities.

Is there any concern that a few players have carried a big load so far this season and that this run of congested games, followed by an extremely tough block of five games, may run out of gas? Here, I’m thinking of Meeky, Jai and Barass (who is maybe surprisingly, yet to miss a game) in particular, but also mindful of the load that Jarman, Sicily, Hardwick, Dylan Moore and Watson have carried. In the coming weeks, do we need to adopt a squad mentality and think about giving some of these boys a rest and playing Frosty, Big Ned, Jai Serong, Bailey McDonald and Sam Butler for example?

Hopefully, my concern about this week's game is misplaced, but Melbourne is strong around the ball, which is where we are most vulnerable and it's very hard to get a read on our form over these past two weeks.

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Mick Cowan's avatar

What was learnt:

1. Impey’s 2025 role compared to 2024 – With Amon and Scrimshaw out, forcing Hardwick back to his traditional role, this released Impey to provide the run-off half back which is the role we were used to see him play in 2024. This reflects how his role has changed this year with the move of Hardwick forward, Impey has taken over the main defensive lockdown role which perhaps has been underappreciated thus far. Like Amon, Impey looks to run goal to goal compared to a couple of his fellow defenders who often run wing to wing. Being able to break the defensive wall of the opposition is a key part of the run & gun style of play that was the trademark of 2024 and been seen less often this year.

2. Exiting defensive 50 – an issue that has been on the agenda for 12 months is still an issue again highlighted by the absence of Amon and Sicily’s current case of the kicking yips. Being able to find an outlet marking target at half back is a missing piece of the puzzle, hence when we look to go to the open side to a one-on-one option has such an impact on our ball movement. One thing for sure is kicking to Moore as an exit option isn’t a bankable option.

3. Barrass demonstrated his worth – When the game was on i.e. we didn’t control the momentum in the first quarter, Barrass demonstrated his worth with his strength and marking ability. What could be overlooked in assessing his contribution to the overall impact on the game is the Tigers I50 by quarter – 16/9//6/11 (4 in the last 4 mins) as against his TOG % by quarter - 100/90/80/65. Again, he was managed within the context of the game. A thing to ponder is when he is able to spoil the ball so easily, but not effectively in that it went to a Tiger small for a goal, why doesn’t he mark it?

4. Chol’s ruck and midfield work has been underappreciated – Whilst Meek and Nankervis fought out a nil all draw, Chol was able to provide a point of difference when he went into the midfield, not only with his ruck work, but also his field kicking going inside 50 from the centre square.

5. Selection integrity has a (slight) quandary to it – With two half backs out and then a midfielder out, the ins – Jiath, Maginness and Breust – didn’t quite align on balance, especially with B. Macdonald remaining as the sub. If last week was the week for Hustwaite as the midfielder with the credits, then this week should’ve been the week for Serong to be recognised for his past 12 months. With Amon coming back next week (& possibly Scrimshaw), it will be a watch as to the balance of the team for next week.

Observations:

• Undoubtedly Jiath’s best game for a long time and when he reacts on instinctive action, he is dynamic to the game plan, however when he has time to “think”, you can see how he can become unpredictable to his teammates who must wonder when he will release the ball.

• D’Ambrosio hitting the scoreboard has been the missing part of his game as a winger. His KE in general play is still a work in progress and playing on the Warne wing, it was evident on a couple of occasions that he doesn’t always steady himself to ensure that the option is kicking to is either a viable one or he is putting the ball to their advantage.

• Taking scoring opportunities from good spots (or players in the wrong spot) – again, the issues of where shots are taken from and who takes them are keys to maximizing the scoreboard impact e.g. Meek taking a snap from congestion & Hustwaite from 45+m are not the best options, whereas D’Ambrosio from 30m and Ginnivan from 45m missing would be issues against a better side.

• For a number of players they certainly played for the celebration jumper as they will be donating their match payments to the concussion review fund.

• After ¼ time, Battle tidied up his disposal efficiency particularly by foot which allowed him to maximise his impact on the game. Whilst his disposal numbers were a career high, his ability to hit targets without creating clangers that have caught his teammates offside.

Starting 4: (CBA/CC)

1st Qrt: Newcombe (18/0) Worpel (22/1) Hustwaite (12/1)

2nd Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Ward (17/4)

3rd Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Hustwaite

4th Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Ward

Meek 18/1 Chol 6/1 Moore 8/1 Watson 3/0 Moore 2/1

Whether it was coincidence or correlation, when Watson went into the midfield in the last 5 minutes, the Tigers were able go inside F50 4-5 times. Leaving aside his size at the initial contest in the centre square, Watson’s work rate defensively didn’t look to be a feature in the transition from offence to defence.

The fact that Ward had third most CBA may indicate what the pecking order is – Mackenzie was third last week with Hustwaite having the same number as last week.

Issue for the week:

Following on from above, the new look midfield has had a couple of games to develop a synergy between themselves. With Melbourne and Gold Coast to come, where Meek will be taking on opponents that have troubled him in the past, along with midfields that are key to their respective game plans, how the midfield group perform will be crucial.

Looking at the newcomers to the CBA set up:

Hustwaite has been given the starting role with Newcombe and Worpel and has been credited with one centre clearance over the two games. He certainly has had his hands on the ball, however I do wonder if his propensity to handball as a first option impact on this stat. Against the Tigers, his disposal count was 4 kicks /15 handballs, however it didn’t seem to be unbalanced within the flow of the game. The issue that did come to light was his foot speed (the extended weather pattern hasn’t helped him in terms of bringing others back to him with the sting out of the ground) hence tackling becomes an important part of his game this week.

Ward in this game seemed to adopt a slightly different role going into the packs, feeding the clearances out, particularly to Newcombe who was lethal by foot. Ward had a good patch in the last 5 minutes of the second quarter where we scored two quick goals and his last quarter with his running capacity was important, even though the sting was out of the game.

For the Tigers, their midfield is their current strength with Nankervis, Hooper and Taranto, Worpel didn’t have has great an impact on the game and I wonder if he was the one they sat on. Newcombe’s work was outstanding – his kicking had penetration and a couple of his handballs were as good as a kick. It was interesting that Maginness wasn’t given time in the centre square when he dominated in this part of the ground at Box Hill last week.

Not a measure, but juat an indicator – Metres gained - Newcombe 537, Worpel 168, Ward 161, Hustwaite 182.

Coming up against Gawn, Petracca, Viney, Oliver, Pickett, Langford & Rivers, then Witts, Anderson, Rowell, Miller, Humprey & Flanders, we will have a better understanding as to the quality of our depth in the midfield in the coming weeks.

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