Round 9 Preview: Eagles v Bulldogs

Greetings all.

Another week, another opportunity to consolidate our place in the top 8. This week we face the Dogs, an inconsistent yet highly polished side.

Form may suggest otherwise, but I think we face a stern test on Sunday. Although Cooney, aka the worm, is out, they still have plenty of quality midfielders; Boyd, Cross and Libba Jnr.

Barry is listed as an emergency...remember him? That guy that played in that GF when he should have been suspended? The one that KO'd Staker. I know I do. But to be honest who didn't feel like KO'ing Staker? He was useless. Nearly as useless as the guy we got in return for him; Mr Dalziell.. 

Anyway, I wonder if Hall might come in as a late change. 

Hall or no Hall, they piled on the goals last week, with Gilbee kicking 6. I know it was against Richmond but they are still a dangerous side.

In terms of our side, the two late derby withdrawals, Kerr and Embley, are both named. The Gaffer and Sheppard are out. Though I imagine there's a chance Kerr and Embley may still miss this one. 

Regardless, play like we did last week and we probably win. I honestly believe that we can roll with pretty much any team.

I'm sure my confidence will be shattered at some stage, possibly Today. More probably next week when we face Team Eddie and his debaucherous Magpies.

Mis. Eagle

Round 8 Recap: The Redemption Tour Continues; Eagles Defeat Dockers

Savour the moment, friends. It was a memorable win Sunday, not only because it was Freo, but because of the manner in which we achieved victory.

Prior to the bounce I had a general feeling of unease. It was hard to be confident considering recent history. Events prior to the bounce increased my anxiety exponentially. When Embley was ruled out, I stiffened slightly, but Kerr's omission left me in a state of despair. No Norm Smith Medalist, no (Near) Brownlow Medalist. I admit, I thought it gave the Dockers the edge. It was a 50-50 game before those changes, but the quality and experience of those two left a gaping hole. Though I'm a believer in Gaff, Shephard's inclusion did little to ease my fear.

Surprisingly, we dominated from the first bounce and never looked back. It suggests to me that the 2011 version of the Eagles team has (finally) adopted a 'team' mentality. If one man is unfit the next in line must step in and do his job. It's such a vast improvement from the last few seasons where we seemed unstructured and for the most part in disarray.

No doubt this mostly stems from a highly successful game plan developed around the notion of forward pressure. But the fact that we are now implementing it for nearly entire matches is so impressive.

Moreover, we just aren't seeing the constant turnovers and inefficient kicking of last year. Admittedly, there were a couple of costly ones yesterday. I seem to recall S. Selwood and Masten turning the ball over. Overall though, we were sharp.

As far as individual performances go, Darling is a Champion. It's rather amusing that with all of the Gold Coast's picks they failed to get the best prospect in the draft. His contested marking and kicking are great, but it's his pace and pressure which continue to amaze. I thought Naitanui had another very good game yesterday, whilst Cox assumed a forward role for much of the first half. All over though, most players outplayed their opponents.

I think the game was probably the best moment of the Post-Juddas era. Freo are a quality side and we easily dispensed with them. We're 7th on the ladder now and I think we can make the finals. Of course, it's contingent on our ability to continue to play high pressure football. With that caveat, a quick glance at the fixtures reveal 12 winnable games remaining. I think I ruled out Geelong and Collingwood, but the gulf between those 2 and the rest is such that we are right in the midst of finals contention.

Next up Bulldogs at home. They're an interesting proposition; not the force of previous seasons but still exuding talent and class. I hope Kerr and Embley will return, yet time will tell.

Until next time.

Misanthropic Eagle

PS May that timer above count up for eternity. 

Round 8 Preview: The Derby Part 1

The first derby of the season arrives at a critical point in our season. For us, although a vastly improved side, we have still only split our first 6 games. This one is massive. Bragging rights are cool, but its our finals aspirations which are greatly improved with the 4 points here.

For them, well I don't really care about the purple malaise. Not worthy of a mention really. Win a premiership, hell make a GF and then I'll refer to them with some measure of deference. They are parasites, living on the morsels of protein that falls from our beaks as we chew on our evening rodent.

Of late we have allowed them that protein and smiled. Little did we know that they were slowly stealing our goddamn way of life...
Strange metaphors aside, we have only won 1 of the last ten.

But does that even matter? It matters to me, because they act like they have just won a premiership; running around naked, washing their genitals in the derby cup etc.

But as Darren Glass suggests, it's not really a psychological problem (the genital washing is though):

I think over the last couple of years they've clearly been a better side and we're hoping things will be different this year," Glass said. "It's probably our best chance in a while.

Fact. They've been better than us. Probably because every team was better than us.

It all ends Sunday (?). They look vulnerable and we look ready. It won't be easy as, despite my parasite comments, they are a decent team with some great players. Sandi may nullify our dominant ruck duo. They also have a fairly solid backline which may be able to curtail our big forwards. Their forward line is nothing special, not counting the more midfield oriented Pav.

But, here's my problem, I think their midfield is superior to ours. The team news is frustrating in this regard.

West Coast
B: Shannon Hurn, Darren Glass, Ashley Smith
HB: Sam Butler, Will Schofield, Scott Selwood
C: Andrew Embley, Matthew Priddis, Matthew Rosa
HF: Luke Shuey, Josh Kennedy, Mark Nicoski
F: Mark LeCras, Quinten Lynch, Jack Darling
Foll: Dean Cox, Adam Selwood, Daniel Kerr
I/C: Chris Masten, Bradley Ebert, Nic Naitanui, Patrick McGinnity
Emg: Brad Sheppard, Gerrick Weedon, Andrew Gaff
In: Chris Masten, Patrick McGinnity
Out: Brad Sheppard, Gerrick Weedon
* Milestones: Scott Selwood - 50 games

Fremantle
B: Greg Broughton, Antoni Grover, Paul Duffield
HB: Garrick Ibbotson, Luke McPharlin, Adam McPhee
C: Matthew de Boer, Matthew Pavlich, Nathan Fyfe
HF: Stephen Hill, Michael Johnson, Jay Van Berlo
F: Hayden Ballantyne, Christopher Mayne, Kepler Bradley
Foll: Aaron Sandilands, David Mundy, Nick Lower
I/C: Ryan Crowley, Clancee Pearce, Jesse Crichton, Jack Anthony
Emg: Rhys Palmer, Jonathon Griffin, Jayden Pitt
In: Ryan Crowley, Jesse Crichton, Jack Anthony
Out: Rhys Palmer, Dylan Roberton, Jayden Pitt
New: Jack Anthony (Collingwood)

Instead of going with the Gaffer, the match committee has selected Chris Masten. I mean, if I try and put aside the fact that the 70s called and they want their porn-star back, he's been a huge disappointment. A number 4 draft pick, part of the Jud(d)as trade, he represents everything that was wrong with us in the last few seasons. Poor kicking skills, inconsistency and bad facial hair.
This inclusion honestly makes me think twice about picking the Eagles. But I think we are 2 even teams. So we can win.

Hmmm...
....Maybe
....Definitely!

Misanthropic Eagle

P.S Congrats to young Selwood on a truly invisible 50 games.

Round 7 Recap: Eagles Beat Themselves; Bombers Claim Points

Is this what it sounds like when Eagles cry?

Maybe. Fans who watched the game will have a fair idea if that is indeed the sound. It's 4 hours since the game ended and the pain and anger is beginning to subside. The pain because my antipathy towards the Bombers runs deep, the anger because we beat our selves.

We dominated most of the first half, but only found ourselves up by 2 goals. I could go through the perpetrators of the poor kicking, but it would take too long.
Predictably, Essendon played well in the 3rd quarter but actually put the score on the board.

We should have won, yet we didn't.

I can see people pointing to a fade out in the 3rd quarter, but the reality is if we had have kicked straight earlier we would have been able to hold on for the victory.

So yes, no due credit to the Bombers, for all they are due is a good royal bollocking when they come to Perth. That sounds wrong, but you get the point.

I should pay tribute to the performance early in the game by Daniel Kerr. He literally played as if somebody had threatened to kill him if he didn't get 100 disposals. Unsurprisingly, Essendon were able to clamp down on him pretty well in the second half. It was still a pleasure to see him return (albeit temporarily) to the form he displayed prior to brain snaps/injuries.
I thought Naitanui was fairly good, whereas Cox seemed to go missing through much of the game. The forwards were fairly decent, though the kicking nullifies any due praise.
Embley was either awful, or he played underneath an invisibility cloak most of the game. Debutant Weedon came on late and was unable to effect the game.

Previously on the blog I have questioned our ability to run out games. I don't know if I blame that so much here. Sure Essendon dominated the 3rd quarter. But they are a decent team. They were always going to be on top in some periods of the game. The problem was when we were dominant we did not score enough.
Whether this is a rectifiable problem remains to be seen. I generally think we have some good set shot kickers in our team.

The problem I have is we are now 3-3. I don't think it represents how well we have played. But all that really matters is the Win-Loss ratio.

We play the anchorless freaks next week. They also kicked themselves out of their game against Richmond. They have won the last 176 derbies, so we should be due.

Until next time
Mis. Eagle.

Round 7 Preview: Essendon vs West Coast

The term 'statement game' is bandied about all too liberally for my liking. Yet, if ever that phrase were to be aptly employed it would be for this week's game at the Dome. We have beaten North, the Power and Melbourne. These are 3 teams, in all likelihood, that will not make the finals.
But heck, we wouldn't have even beaten these teams last year, so it's still promising.
We've narrowly lost to Sydney and Hawthorn, 2 sides which will probably be somewhere between 4th and 8th.

So here we are at 3-2.

A win on Sunday puts us at a nigh unbelievable 4-2 and truly ensconced in the top 8. Can we do it?
Essendon are a much improved team. Under Hird they have manufactured a far more even game plan which encompasses both the ability to attack and defend. It's a shame, really, because they really are an inherently unlikeable franchise. They have this arrogance about them, that even when they finish 3rd last they still make you hate them. They're so...stripey, diagonally speaking. They wear their red sash like beauty queens, only to find out that the only thing they are queens of is their own mediocrity.

Personal beliefs aside, we can win this game. Are they more talented? Well kind of. So what makes me think we can win? An unwavering belief in our team? I think we know that's not the case. But the way we have been playing is so heartening that I'm almost optimistic. It's a dangerous outlook when it comes to football, with your heart waiting to be crushed by the harsh realities of professional sport.

But from a neutral standpoint, why can't we win? Essendon can play 12 ruckmen, and our Cox will be too big and virile for them (sorry). Also, Naitanui will bob up when he's been going at it too long (sorry). Puns aside, they are an effective combo. So bring your Bellchambers, Hills, Ryders...Laycocks, Alessios, Salmons. Advantage Eagles.
Also, I'm starting to think our key forwards are too big and too strong for most defences. Essendon is no different. Lecras might not kick 12, but we have more options this year which will be sure to be too much for the young Dons` defence to handle.

If you look at the Bombers forward line, there's not too much to be anxious about. Hurley? There's a reason I traded him from my dreamteam. He's inconsistent and also prone to infrequent acts of unprovoked violence. Their small forwards may be troublesesome, but I thought that about Melbourne but it didn't eventuate.

That leads me to my greatest concern, the midfield battle.

I don't rate their midfield, but nor do I rate ours. Kerr needs to do what he did last week. Shuey, Embley, Priddis and others must win the ball and deliver it effectively to our forwards. But can they win enough clearances. I think they can. Who have the Bombers got they wil scare us. Strange head guy...um Stanton? Despite his weird head area, he's no star. How about Watson? Average at best.
It's a winnable battle, but it requires a solid effort.

Some good news in terms of selection with the debut of Gerrick Weedon. McGinnity is out with an illness, whilst Gaff has been omitted to allow him to play a full game in the WAFL. Schofield  has also returned.
It will be interesting to see Weedon. I don't know much about him, but it will be nice to see a future indigenous star wear the number 44 again.
Fletcher returns for Essendon, after recovering from old age-ism.

Essendon
B: Dustin Fletcher, Cale Hooker, Mark McVeigh
HB: David Zaharakis, Michael Hurley, Kyle Hardingham
C: Ben Howlett, Jobe Watson, Leroy Jetta
HF: David Hille, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Henry Slattery
F: Patrick Ryder, Stewart Crameri, Dyson Heppell
Foll: Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking, Jake Melksham
I/C: Sam Lonergan, Angus Monfries, Brent Stanton, Kyle Reimers
Emg: Alwyn Davey, David Myers, Michael Hibberd
In: Dustin Fletcher
Out: Michael Hibberd

West Coast
B: Sam Butler, Darren Glass, Shannon Hurn
HB: Andrew Embley, Eric Mackenzie, Scott Selwood
C: Bradley Ebert, Matthew Priddis, Matthew Rosa
HF: Luke Shuey, Josh Kennedy, Mark Nicoski
F: Mark LeCras, Quinten Lynch, Jack Darling
Foll: Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr, Adam Selwood
I/C: Will Schofield, Nic Naitanui, Ashley Smith, Gerrick Weedon
Emg: Thomas Swift, Brad Sheppard, Ashton Hams
In: Will Schofield, Gerrick Weedon
Out: Patrick McGinnity, Andrew Gaff
New: Gerrick Weedon (Clontarf College)

All things considered, it will be a close game. I see the winning margin being around 2-4 goals. It's a huge test and  one I'm really looking forward to.

Let's Go Eagles!

Misanthropic Eagle