The major take away from the game yesterday was our lack of structure going forward. There's still no plan or clear way forward other than bombing it long, even now the lack of targets excuse is gone. So many times we'd have the ball under little to no pressure through the middle, have time to look around and assess our option, then bomb it to a big pack for no apparent reason. It was dumb and only became worse as the game went on. A 60 vs 46 inside 50 count should never result in a 5 goal loss.
The starting point was a good showing from Lobb against a clearly underdone Grundy. He split the contest and provided plenty of run around the ground which was promising. I'd rule Jones out of ever being an AFL standard ruckman, doesn't contribute around the ground and was monstered by Grundy.
Brayshaw stepped up big time in the middle to lead the clearance domination for Freo. I'm hoping for big things from him in Neale's absence. The big surprise though was Darcy Tucker and his efforts to win the footy. He laid 13 tackles and worked as hard as anyone on the ground. He won the footy and disposed of it carefully.
Cerra looked big and strong but wasn't played through the middle where I think he should be. He roamed half back when on the ground and looked a class above without getting a tonne of the footy. I'd like to see him on a wing by Rd 1.
Our defense will certainly benefit from the new kick in rules with both Wilson and Ryan looking dangerous from their kick outs. I much prefer them loping out of the square and delivering +60m to the wing than the previous system of chipping to a pocket then crossing back and forth across goal with no target to kick to.
I didn't like the way we flooded back though, not picking up opponents or attacking the man with the footy. At one point there was a single pie running through half forward to about 25m from goal with 6 freo defenders running towards goal in front of him against one other pie in the goal square. Instead of a couple of players going to meet the Pie with the ball, they all sprinted towards goal allowing him to easily wander in and slot it from 25m without pressure. I'm not sure if all 6 of those players are at fault or there's a clear instruction from the coaches there but it was plain dumb.
Up forward Cox was easily the standout and looked to provide a good marking target as well as good skills when the ball was brought to ground. He is just a natural footballer and while a lot of people are on the Tabs bandwagon, I've firmly been on Cox as the man to join Hogan and Lobb up forward. There are knocks to his speed and kicking but I reckon he's quicker than Tabs as well as gaining an edge in his ability to read the play/situation and begin to move first. His shots at goal are also looking far more fluid and relaxed as he spends more time in the forward 50m. Based on yesterday, he has a key post sewn up and at just 20 years old, a lot of improvement left in him. I'm excited.
On the other side of the spectrum, I'm putting a line through Matera as an AFL player. He has everything to play for, his career is clearly on the line but he struggles to get near the footy or know what to do with it. Bailey Banfield who seems to have been moved to the cursed half forward position that has seen Crowley, Barlow and DeBoer disintegrate looked far more dangerous, even as an aerial threat. I'd love to see Schultz get a gig next week up forward to push for Rd 1 based on what I've seen and heard of him.
All in all it wasn't what I wanted to see from the side structurally but there were some individual positives to be taken from the game. Hopefully there will be improvements in team structure next week but I hold little hope if we didn't implement anything yesterday.
