1. Midfield match ups demonstrated issues with our midfield depth – With Newcombe and Oliver going head-to-head (not sure it was a tag as much as an old-fashioned contest) and Worpel taking Petracca, this left Ward and Hustwaite matching up on Pickett and Rivers. Whilst the midfield clearances didn’t look to be particularly important in direct scoring opportunities, they did provide for territory advantage, however it was in the defensive/offensive transition that they had a bigger impact, most obviously in the first half. The capacity for Pickett to burst from stoppage or as the outlet from the contest was a key factor in Melbourne’s ability to dominate the inside 50 count in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell recognised this at half-time by subbing Hustwaite sending Maginness to Petracca, moving Worpel across to Pickett/Rivers but more significantly bringing Moore into the rotation trying to match their breakaway speed. The lack of a midfielder with breakaway speed is one of the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.
2. Sticking/making tackles – With 44 tackles for the game (season average 63.6), we looked to be playing bruise free footy let alone knowing what the stats were for effective tackles. Without the pressure on the ball carrier, the defenders were facing an uphill battle with the opposition able to provide clean entries to their forwards, the issue for them being that their delivery was poor. Think back to how many times we faced the overlap run which forced the defenders to come forward in an attempt to disrupt their ball movement.
3. Scoring opportunities from wide angles is not a sustainable method to win – Again, for the first three quarters, all too often, our scoring opportunities were from spots with angles tighter than 45 degrees and I’m guessing a probability of less than 50% irrespective of how reliable the goal kickers are. Being able to generate scoring chances where the player’s shoulders are square to the goal face was shown up in the last quarter.
4. Unforced errors were running rife – There appeared to be a Bermuda Triangle operating across the defensive end of the centre square kicking to the Punt Rd goals where Worpel in the clear coming out of D50 literally handballed to no one where Ward earlier had missed a short centring pass in the same part of the ground.
5. Kick outs/exiting defensive 50 still no answers but some actions – Again, our capacity to exit the D50 from kick outs was an issue with Gawn being able to take strong contested marks regularly. At least this week, the option to the open side was tried a little more regularly and not just with the open side runner tactic. Would it be too simplistic on occasions to have Meek go to the open side and see what the opposition ruck man does, given many sides prefer to keep their tall marking forward behind the ball, in case we win possession?
Observations:
• Battle on the run kicking inside F50 is still a watch. He is looking a little like Worpel – when he looks at the 30-40m option his execution is better than 40+m. KE 62%
• Jiath’s closing speed in the back half is important providing extra coverage, particularly in marking contests. His execution by foot is still a work in progress.
• Meek’s work in the ruck contests shouldn’t be overlooked in terms of not allowing Gawn to give his mids silver service. No doubt around the ground, Gawn had his measure.
• Connor Macdonald hasn’t quite returned from injury as well as he played before his time out of the game.
• B. Macdonald started as sub again, but with Impey out next week, he may well get a starting spot. Having said that he does provide more flexibility as the sub option.
• Again, Weddle’s impact on the scoreboard has more often come when he has played behind the ball rather than starting as a forward.
• Hardwick’s ability to play as a defender is still an ace up the sleeve of the coaches.
• A couple of times when we had inside 50 opportunities when Chol was off the ground, it highlighted the need to get another marking option in the F50 notwithstanding how well Gunston has played as a roving tall option.
• Hustwaite as a ruck option around the ground wasn’t as effective as Nash in that role.
• The “neutral” observers on Watson may focus on his celebrations, how he goes into contests, but don’t appear to look at his defensive work rate. Interesting this week, he wasn’t put into the centre square.
• TOG % - Bottom 4 (leaving out subs): Breust 53%, Ward 72% C. Macdonald 74% Worpel 76%. (Maginness highest at 97% - first time I can recall not being a defender.)
3rd Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Moore (10/2 all 2nd half)
4th Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Ward
Meek 19/0 Chol 5/0
Note: Based on rucks CBA’s - there were 11 CBAs in the first half which means Hustwaite was in for 72% of them. 13 CBA’s in 2nd half – Moore 77%.
After having two weeks to bed down a centre square system against teams that don’t have quality midfielders now, this game certainly gave an insight into the depth of the midfield at the moment. Notable that only 5 players were in the CBAs – season low.
Issue for the week:
The Suns are high scoring team this season particularly against teams that have been known for their defensive pressure, so being able to pressure their midfield and impede quality inside 50’s will assist our defenders in conditions that will be difficult. Defensively, we rank 3rd on points against, so our back half has held up its end of the bargain thus far.
Thanks Mick, your weekly post is an eagerly anticipated highlight and always enjoyed. The first three quarters were in large part a copy of what had transpired in the preceding two matches and to a lesser extent, the Geelong game. The same problems were there: transitioning from defence, retaining the ball in our front half and repeated blooper mistakes. I suspect that if we play the way we've played for the majority of the past three weeks, it will be very challenging to beat one of our next five opponents.
Yes, our midfield depth was exposed, and we can expect Jai to be tagged in the coming weeks. The absence of Day, and the different dimension he offers, was very noticeable on Saturday. I don't understand why Connor McDonald is never used as a midfield option, particularly as Jai has shown that he's a more than capable forward. As a junior and in his few games with Box Hill, he has been an exceptional ball winning midfielder, and he seems to be an ideal player to have as part of the midfield rotations.
The other point you make regarding lack of midfield speed is so true and was apparent at times on the weekend. Even our outside midfielders on the wing are not quick - Morrison and D'Ambrosio have great endurance, but neither has breakaway speed, which makes Impey's absence this week a real loss. This begs the question as to why Weddle isn't worth a few minutes here and there as part of an overall midfield rotation.
With so much of the midfield load being shouldered by Jai and Worpel, there must be a concern that one or both will become worn out, which only heightens the need for additional midfield options. Similarly with Meek, which is perhaps why it may be worth considering Ramsden for this game on Thursday against Witts. You'd think that player management over the next month in general will be a major issue.
It was disappointing to see Sicily, Ginnivan and Watson spending quite a bit of effort whingeing at the umpires (whatever happened to the dissent rule??). I don't want to show my age, but that's not the team we want to be, and in Sicily's case, it's just poor leadership and setting the wrong example. Similarly, why, when he's won a holding the ball free kick, does Sicily carry on like he did on Saturday and the previous week when he won the free against Maurice Rioli. The only thing that can come of that is a free kick reversal.
From an individual player point of view, the form over the past fortnight of CJ, Ginnivan and D'Ambrosio has been a major positive and Sicily appeared to have sorted out his marking on Saturday and his disposal did improve as the game went on.
The next five weeks could well be season defining and will go a long way to determining just where we really sit in the comp, which comes with trepidation and excitement at the same time.
Mick, thank you once again for your weekly analysis ... and I'm curious, do you actually take notes whilst watching the match or do you write your article after just observing the whole game?
I make some brief notes via my phone (Notes app). Then sleep on the game before doing the write up thinking what was important at the time & for the result along with what may be of interest to others.
Thanks Mick, unless you’re travelling up north, I guess you won’t be going to Waverley this week to watch our boys train … hopefully by going up early to acclimatise to the warmer weather and trying things a bit differently than last year, the boys can at the very least, put in a much better performance against the Suns 🤞… we will just wait and see how many times in the media this week that the Dylan Moore “bring your mouthguard to training” comment gets a mention!!!
What was learnt:
1. Midfield match ups demonstrated issues with our midfield depth – With Newcombe and Oliver going head-to-head (not sure it was a tag as much as an old-fashioned contest) and Worpel taking Petracca, this left Ward and Hustwaite matching up on Pickett and Rivers. Whilst the midfield clearances didn’t look to be particularly important in direct scoring opportunities, they did provide for territory advantage, however it was in the defensive/offensive transition that they had a bigger impact, most obviously in the first half. The capacity for Pickett to burst from stoppage or as the outlet from the contest was a key factor in Melbourne’s ability to dominate the inside 50 count in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell recognised this at half-time by subbing Hustwaite sending Maginness to Petracca, moving Worpel across to Pickett/Rivers but more significantly bringing Moore into the rotation trying to match their breakaway speed. The lack of a midfielder with breakaway speed is one of the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.
2. Sticking/making tackles – With 44 tackles for the game (season average 63.6), we looked to be playing bruise free footy let alone knowing what the stats were for effective tackles. Without the pressure on the ball carrier, the defenders were facing an uphill battle with the opposition able to provide clean entries to their forwards, the issue for them being that their delivery was poor. Think back to how many times we faced the overlap run which forced the defenders to come forward in an attempt to disrupt their ball movement.
3. Scoring opportunities from wide angles is not a sustainable method to win – Again, for the first three quarters, all too often, our scoring opportunities were from spots with angles tighter than 45 degrees and I’m guessing a probability of less than 50% irrespective of how reliable the goal kickers are. Being able to generate scoring chances where the player’s shoulders are square to the goal face was shown up in the last quarter.
4. Unforced errors were running rife – There appeared to be a Bermuda Triangle operating across the defensive end of the centre square kicking to the Punt Rd goals where Worpel in the clear coming out of D50 literally handballed to no one where Ward earlier had missed a short centring pass in the same part of the ground.
5. Kick outs/exiting defensive 50 still no answers but some actions – Again, our capacity to exit the D50 from kick outs was an issue with Gawn being able to take strong contested marks regularly. At least this week, the option to the open side was tried a little more regularly and not just with the open side runner tactic. Would it be too simplistic on occasions to have Meek go to the open side and see what the opposition ruck man does, given many sides prefer to keep their tall marking forward behind the ball, in case we win possession?
Observations:
• Battle on the run kicking inside F50 is still a watch. He is looking a little like Worpel – when he looks at the 30-40m option his execution is better than 40+m. KE 62%
• Jiath’s closing speed in the back half is important providing extra coverage, particularly in marking contests. His execution by foot is still a work in progress.
• Meek’s work in the ruck contests shouldn’t be overlooked in terms of not allowing Gawn to give his mids silver service. No doubt around the ground, Gawn had his measure.
• Connor Macdonald hasn’t quite returned from injury as well as he played before his time out of the game.
• B. Macdonald started as sub again, but with Impey out next week, he may well get a starting spot. Having said that he does provide more flexibility as the sub option.
• Again, Weddle’s impact on the scoreboard has more often come when he has played behind the ball rather than starting as a forward.
• Hardwick’s ability to play as a defender is still an ace up the sleeve of the coaches.
• A couple of times when we had inside 50 opportunities when Chol was off the ground, it highlighted the need to get another marking option in the F50 notwithstanding how well Gunston has played as a roving tall option.
• Hustwaite as a ruck option around the ground wasn’t as effective as Nash in that role.
• The “neutral” observers on Watson may focus on his celebrations, how he goes into contests, but don’t appear to look at his defensive work rate. Interesting this week, he wasn’t put into the centre square.
• TOG % - Bottom 4 (leaving out subs): Breust 53%, Ward 72% C. Macdonald 74% Worpel 76%. (Maginness highest at 97% - first time I can recall not being a defender.)
• Kicking efficiency (DE): Amon 100% (100), Hardwick 90% (94), Weddle 89% (96), Sicily 85% (88), Moore 50% (67), Gunston 55% (50), Newcombe 57% (84).
Starting 4: (CBA/CC)
1st Qrt: Newcombe (20/2) Worpel (18/3) Ward (16/0)
2nd Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Hustwaite (8/1)
3rd Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Moore (10/2 all 2nd half)
4th Qrt: Newcombe Worpel Ward
Meek 19/0 Chol 5/0
Note: Based on rucks CBA’s - there were 11 CBAs in the first half which means Hustwaite was in for 72% of them. 13 CBA’s in 2nd half – Moore 77%.
After having two weeks to bed down a centre square system against teams that don’t have quality midfielders now, this game certainly gave an insight into the depth of the midfield at the moment. Notable that only 5 players were in the CBAs – season low.
Issue for the week:
The Suns are high scoring team this season particularly against teams that have been known for their defensive pressure, so being able to pressure their midfield and impede quality inside 50’s will assist our defenders in conditions that will be difficult. Defensively, we rank 3rd on points against, so our back half has held up its end of the bargain thus far.
Thanks Mick, your weekly post is an eagerly anticipated highlight and always enjoyed. The first three quarters were in large part a copy of what had transpired in the preceding two matches and to a lesser extent, the Geelong game. The same problems were there: transitioning from defence, retaining the ball in our front half and repeated blooper mistakes. I suspect that if we play the way we've played for the majority of the past three weeks, it will be very challenging to beat one of our next five opponents.
Yes, our midfield depth was exposed, and we can expect Jai to be tagged in the coming weeks. The absence of Day, and the different dimension he offers, was very noticeable on Saturday. I don't understand why Connor McDonald is never used as a midfield option, particularly as Jai has shown that he's a more than capable forward. As a junior and in his few games with Box Hill, he has been an exceptional ball winning midfielder, and he seems to be an ideal player to have as part of the midfield rotations.
The other point you make regarding lack of midfield speed is so true and was apparent at times on the weekend. Even our outside midfielders on the wing are not quick - Morrison and D'Ambrosio have great endurance, but neither has breakaway speed, which makes Impey's absence this week a real loss. This begs the question as to why Weddle isn't worth a few minutes here and there as part of an overall midfield rotation.
With so much of the midfield load being shouldered by Jai and Worpel, there must be a concern that one or both will become worn out, which only heightens the need for additional midfield options. Similarly with Meek, which is perhaps why it may be worth considering Ramsden for this game on Thursday against Witts. You'd think that player management over the next month in general will be a major issue.
It was disappointing to see Sicily, Ginnivan and Watson spending quite a bit of effort whingeing at the umpires (whatever happened to the dissent rule??). I don't want to show my age, but that's not the team we want to be, and in Sicily's case, it's just poor leadership and setting the wrong example. Similarly, why, when he's won a holding the ball free kick, does Sicily carry on like he did on Saturday and the previous week when he won the free against Maurice Rioli. The only thing that can come of that is a free kick reversal.
From an individual player point of view, the form over the past fortnight of CJ, Ginnivan and D'Ambrosio has been a major positive and Sicily appeared to have sorted out his marking on Saturday and his disposal did improve as the game went on.
The next five weeks could well be season defining and will go a long way to determining just where we really sit in the comp, which comes with trepidation and excitement at the same time.
Thanks again for your insights.
Mick, thank you once again for your weekly analysis ... and I'm curious, do you actually take notes whilst watching the match or do you write your article after just observing the whole game?
Hi Tammy
I make some brief notes via my phone (Notes app). Then sleep on the game before doing the write up thinking what was important at the time & for the result along with what may be of interest to others.
Thanks Mick, unless you’re travelling up north, I guess you won’t be going to Waverley this week to watch our boys train … hopefully by going up early to acclimatise to the warmer weather and trying things a bit differently than last year, the boys can at the very least, put in a much better performance against the Suns 🤞… we will just wait and see how many times in the media this week that the Dylan Moore “bring your mouthguard to training” comment gets a mention!!!
Outstanding analysis Mick 👌🏼
5 week rolling ladder
Rd For Agst %
5 91 81 111.82%
6 87 83 105.05%
7 90 81 111.11%
8 96 78 123.14%
9 99 76 129.66%
Coaches’ votes
5. Worpel Worpel
4. Langford Langford
3. Sicily Jiath
2. Weddle Gawn
1. Jiath Gunston
More players have now recorded votes this year (21) than last (20).