Round 14 Recap: Men vs Boys

You can't really ask for more than that.

When it was 3 goals to 1...possession in the first 3 minutes it was clear this wasn't going to be a competitive game. Well, that was fairly clear when the fixture was announced, but any doubts quickly vanished. It became a question of margin, individual performances and avoiding injuries. In all 3 categories it was a great day out.

We had a rather indifferent second quarter, probably due to the fact that the players didn't really know how much intensity they needed. But after the break, they came out with all guns blazing. The Gold Coast were kept to 1 goal in the second half (from the 'bald billionaire').

It's hard to single out any one player when everything worked so smoothly. Personally, I thought Masten had a very good game, but all the midfielder racked it up. NicNat's ruck work, in particular a couple of taps for S.Selwood, were simply sublime. Newman came on in the 3rd for the Gaffer and was very impressive with 2.2 with 12 disposals and 5 marks.

So in the end a 126 demolition meant that we rise from 4th to 3rd. It really was important we got a 100+ margin because both the Bombers and Swans made the most of their games against inferior opponents.

 Next week we face the resurgent Roos in Tasmania before two massive games against the Swans and the Crows.

Round 14 Preview: Zzzzzzzz...but Important!

Forgive me for not being super-excited about the upcoming game against the Suns, but there just isn't anything interesting or even in contention in this one. The Suns haven't won a game, there's no history between the clubs, I don't like their guernseys etc.

I do, however, like Guy McKenna. I was fortunate to (co-incidentally) attend his final ever match against Melbourne at Subi many years ago. We got placards reading 'Thanks Bluey' or something to that effect. We got thrashed, but there was a wonderful montage at the end of the game (or 3 quarter time) dedicated to the legend. What was the point of telling you that? Well, it takes up space for one and also, he's awesome.

Blogging of awesome, last Saturday I was in the Claremont vicinity in a car when I saw a man out of the corner of my eye, driving, he had a beard. I believe he was no other than a certain Josh Kennedy, some of you might remember him from our forward line...Anyway I stared at him for a few seconds and I think I may have freaked him out. If it wasn't him than that poor chap would've been especially freaked out by the gawking. I'm sure the real JJK reads this blog, so drop me a line if that was you Josh. Cheers.

The game is important though. As I alluded to in my recap of last week's agonising loss, we are on the brink of being outside the 4. With the Pies guaranteed to win, Essendon playing the Dogs and the Swans the GWS, a slip up here could be the end of a top 2 chance. It may seem a bit of a reactionary comment but based on my predictions we face a real fight in trying to lockup top 4, let alone the highly valuable top 2 spot.

There is one change to our team with Swift losing his place to debutante Murray Newman. I don’t know much about Newman, except that he’s been in decent form. Also, although his hair isn’t great and he does have a Swift-like moustache, he still surpasses Tom in the follicle stakes.

West Coast Eagles

B: Beau Waters, Darren Glass, Patrick McGinnity

HB: Shannon Hurn, Eric Mackenzie, Mitch Brown

C: Andrew Gaff, Matthew Priddis, Brad Sheppard

HF: Josh Hill, Quinten Lynch, Chris Masten

F: Nic Naitanui, Jack Darling, Daniel Kerr

Foll: Dean Cox, Scott Selwood, Luke Shuey

I/C: Matthew Rosa, Ashton Hams, Jacob Brennan, Murray Newman

Emg: Sam Butler, Thomas Swift, Koby Stevens

In: Murray Newman

Out: Thomas Swift

Gold Coast Suns

B: Alex Sexton, Matthew Warnock, Taylor Hine

HB: Sam Iles, Steven May, Trent McKenzie

C: Matt Shaw, Karmichael Hunt, Harley Bennell

HF: Jared Brennan, Charlie Dixon, Liam Patrick

F: Daniel Stanley, Sam Day, Brandon Matera

Foll: Tom Hickey, Josh Caddy, Gary Ablett

I/C: Zac Smith, Jarrod Harbrow, Joel Wilkinson, Kyal Horsley

Emg: Jeremy Taylor, Aaron Hall, Andrew McQualter

In: Jarrod Harbrow, Charlie Dixon, Matt Shaw, Steven May

Out: Luke Russell (Hamstring), Rory Thompson (Ankle), Michael Rischitelli (Hamstring), Seb Tape (Knee)

We really need a decent win here. By decent I mean percentage boosting, especially as I expect most of the other top 4 aspirants to well and truly increase their percentage this weekend. A 75 point victory would be nice.

C'mon Eagles! 

----

In other news, both Lycett and Butler have resigned for another 2 years. Lycett still has a lot of development to undergo, but with a nickname like ‘Big Lychee’ I can’t help but think he has a promising future. The Butler, as I’ve said on numerous occasions, is a very solid and experienced backman.

Lecras has said he has a chance of returning for finals but it still seems very 'pie in the sky' stuff. He would need a perfect recovery from here and still it would be a risky decision.

Brad Dick also has aspirations of playing finals and tomorrow he will play his first Senior game for East Fremantle, after kicking 3 goals amongst 13 possessions last week  for the reserves. If Dick is healthy then it's great news for him and us as he would provide another avenue for goals in our injury ravaged forward line. Still it's a big 'if'.

Finally, as for the ‘chuckers’ thing, I’m not going to dignify those claims with any response....except for this: yawn.

Round 13 Recap: Agony at the G

I was going to run with the title "What becomes of the Broken Hearted?" but you can't really be broken-hearted by a performance like that. The result, yes. But in the harsh light of a cool Sunday morn you have to accept that a bounce here or there and we would have prevailed. It was truly a titanic clash between two top teams.

I first must disclose that I was unable to watch the game live (heartbreaking in itself) so perhaps my reflections will be more measured and less emotion-motivated than usual.

The first few minutes matched what I feared. 3 goals to zip and we looked in danger of being blown away. But then we steadied. Then we really had a strong second quarter to grab the lead by a goal at the half. Then, we (it seemed) got blown away in the third. If I had've been watching the game live I imagine I would've been infuriated. We just couldn't match their intensity and their midfield controlled things. As I knew the final margin I was stunned to see the lead stretch out to 27 points (albeit briefly) as that would seem an insurmountable task. But again we responded extremely well. Goals from Masten and Kerr were critical.

Then, the last quarter and well...so close and yet so far. We dominated the first half of the last quarter but just couldn't seal the game. We didn't kick a goal in the final 10 minutes of the game and although the Pies only snagged 1 for the quarter it was enough.

We had chances too. Hill lined up from about 40 out with 8-9 minutes left to stretch the lead beyond a goal but he didn't score. The final few minutes, even though I knew the outcome, was agonising. Though the ball was inside our forward 50 we just couldn't get a clean shot on goal. Beams' goal with 6 minutes left turned out to be the winner. I was fairly disappointed with Waters. I know he did his usual courageous things but a couple of his efforts were just poor. He just plowed into Beams' back when the Pies didn't really look likely to score. Then back in the 3rd he marked the ball about 55 metres out and blazed away when he had time to find an option or run in and take a shot more likely to score. Also, Brennan's hurried miss late in the game was shocking. I think he's been very solid since he came into the side but he should've finished there or given the ball to a teammate.

I thought Kerr was superb throughout the game. At times it was vintage Kerr, like when he bounced off a couple of tacklers and won a clearance in the first. His goal in the 3rd, when he was evidently on the brink of exhaustion, was inspirational. He looked shattered after the game; both emotionally and physically.

Elsewhere I thought it was a very even effort. Although E-Mac had 5 kicked on him I didn't think he was terrible. Cox and NicNat probably didn't do as well as they should've, but NicNat especially was an effective focal point up forward. My big concern, our relatively inexperienced and less talented midfield, was better than I expected (excluding the third). I know Pendles was missing, but I think this game demonstrated that we have definitely improved from the corresponding match up last season. Who knows, maybe if we had a few more of our forward guns in we would've found a way to snatch the points.

Unfortunately, it means it's another loss to the Pies and another loss at the G. The third quarter was the big disappointment. You can't let that happen. We really have struggled to give complete performances of late.

We have also lost our last 3 away games (two narrowly) and 3 of our last 5 overall. In a season where this is no one truly dominant team it's a fine line between 1st and missing the top 4 altogether. We got lucky yesterday when the Roos upset the Crows which allowed us to remain 4th. But I don't think 4th is good enough. For us to be legitimate premiership contenders we need a top 2 finish. There is now little margin of error if we want to accomplish that. Next week it's the GCS (yawn), then the Roos in Tasmania and then we face the Crows in Adelaide and the (evil) Swans at Subiaco. We can win all 4. We probably need to win at least 3.

A kick away from 1st...

Finally, how annoying was Dwayne Russell's comment before the siren "You're about to hear one of the greatest sounds in the world" (that being 70 000 Pies fans cheering). Really?! I don't know about you but I would rather have Mike Tyson chew my ears off than listen to those orcs. They really are a soft bunch though aren't they? When we were on top they were blaming the umps. It doesn't surprise me though, for a club that considers games at Etihad 'away games', whenever things don't go their way they have somehow been cheated. In conclusion, yuck.

Eddie and Friends

Round 13 Preview: The Real Test

This game is the biggest test we face this season. We have a terrible record against Collingwood in recent years and an equally as bad record at the MCG. One could argue these two records are just symptomatic of the fact that for a few seasons (2008-10) we were atrocious.

Yet, the fact remains that when we faced a similar test of our credentials last season, at around the same time, we came up way short. We have improved since then and Collingwood have arguably returned to the field a little.

But although I don't like to predict an Eagles loss (because I'm usually right) I honestly believe that the Pies are still the better team. Our rucks will do well against the ageing and increasingly ineffectual Jolly, but our midfields aren't in the same class. Mercifully Pendles is still out, but fatty Swan, Sidebottom, Beams and Thomas are all premium mids. We just don't have that talent. Furthermore, although  I would usually view our forward line as capable of scoring highly on pretty much anyone, the Pies have a very strong and experienced back 6. Their inclusions merely add to the solidity. From memory they essentially dominated our forward line in round 10 last year, with the ball coming out of the 50 as soon as it came in. Worryingly, our forward line doesn't have the depth it did last year. Finally, their forward line might not look all that intimidating on paper, yet it usually does enough with their midfielders fairly potent goalkickers themselves. The addition of Waters is important but the losses of A. Selwood and Schofield seem to nullify any net benefit.

Collingwood
B: Heritier O’Brien, Nathan Brown, Chris Tarrant
HB: Nick Maxwell, Ben Reid, Martin Clarke
C: Simon Buckley, Dale Thomas, Jarryd Blair
HF: Alex Fasolo, Chris Dawes, Heath Shaw
F: Dayne Beams, Travis Cloke, Tyson Goldsack
Foll: Darren Jolly, Dane Swan, Steele Sidebottom
I/C: Alan Toovey, Sharrod Wellingham, Jamie Elliott, Marley Williams
Emg: Cameron Wood, Tom Young, Kirk Ugle
In: Heath Shaw, Alan Toovey, Ben Reid
Out: Alan Didak (Adductor), Ben Sinclair (Ankle), Tom Young

West Coast Eagles
B: Beau Waters, Darren Glass, Patrick McGinnity
HB: Shannon Hurn, Eric Mackenzie, Jacob Brennan
C: Andrew Gaff, Matthew Priddis, Matthew Rosa
HF: Josh Hill, Quinten Lynch, Chris Masten
F: Nic Naitanui, Jack Darling, Daniel Kerr
Foll: Dean Cox, Scott Selwood, Luke Shuey
I/C: Mitch Brown, Brad Sheppard, Ashton Hams, Thomas Swift
Emg: Sam Butler, Koby Stevens, Lewis Stevenson
In: Beau Waters, Mitch Brown
Out: Adam Selwood (Illness), Will Schofield (Hamstring)

Perhaps I'm being a little negative but I just don't see us winning. If we do find a way though, it will be our biggest win since sometime in 2007. This is one of the few occasions in which I hope I'm wrong.

Go Eagles!

------

In other news, Josh Kennedy isn't likely to return until at least round 20. I'm starting to get the impression he's a minor setback from not playing again this season.  Just keep Cox away from him, please. On a positive note, Embley is only a few weeks away from returning. He's a hugely useful and experienced player. Finally, the headline of this article tricked me into being excited. But I would be shocked to see Lecras back in 2012, especially if it is "high risk".

Round 12 Recap: Naitanui Soars as Eagles Edge Blues

Overall, it wasn't a perfect performance but we get the 4 points and look forward, with great apprehension on my behalf, to the Pies next Saturday.

We dominated the first half and the final quarter, but a lacklustre third gave the Blues a sniff. Though, credit to the Blues because they looked gone midway through the second quarter. Our goal kicking was truly atrocious, which meant a game that could have been over at half time was still in the balance. Yet, when the game was there to be won in the last, we came up trumps. Part of that may be attributed to Carlton's heavy legs, but that's not our problem. Momentum was on their side and we managed to rest it back and claim the victory. Carlton may pout about free kicks, but they've lost 5 of their last 6 games. Here's an idea: get a forward line, a backline and some cojones. It might help. Plus, how annoying is Ratten? The ugliest cheerleader I've ever seen, that's for sure.

Save the Cheerleader, Save the Blues

The three standouts were S.Selwood, Darling and NicNat. I think the multiple key absences, especially JJK, have really enabled Darling to assert himself as a dominant forward. He came through with a brace of clutch goals in the third. His marking and goal kicking (3 goals last night) may be critical to our forward line getting a winning score. But it's his forward pressure and tackling which are fast becoming his hallmark. In fact, in a critical moment in the third, as the Blues looked to extend their small lead, Darling came from nowhere to tackle and dispossess a Carlton player in one of his 6 tackles. He has come a long way in a short time. I remember thinking he was a little bit weak when the ball was on the ground, but he really has continued to improve. An amazing prospect, indeed.

Scott Selwood had another great game against the Juddas. Although Woosha said it wasn't a hard tag, Judd was kept to a measly 10 possessions (!) whilst Selwood gathered a huge 33 disposals. Judd was visibly agitated towards the end of the game, giving away a free to Cox before the softest 50 in the history of the game. I almost felt sorry for Judd. Yeah, almost.

But the main plaudits have to go to NicNat, who probably had his best game for the club. He has had some stellar performances before, but they've mainly been confined to patches in the game (think Q4 vs Hawthorn 2009).

Last night was essentially a complete game for the big Fijian; 25 possessions (19 contested), 7 tackles and 5 marks. He probably should have had a goal or two as well, but that's being picky. He really is like having an extra guy in the midfield when he's in the ruck, as he has a propensity towards winning clearances off his own hands.

Back on top, with a top of the table clash against Collingwood next week. That will be the true test of our premiership credentials.

-----
In other news, this is ridiculous. Idiots.