RD2 West v Eagles Game Review

[bosvit]

And Martin cant make the league team???

After watching the entire seconds game I'd be scared if any of them could make your league team .This not trying to have an argument they were shocking .

Which is a real pitty because I thought our depth had improved dramatically this year.

Was more a comment on how well he played in the last half of 2008 for us really. They played Barber up for the last few rounds, probably working out if he was a keeper or not and Martin outplayed him IMO.

[The Sleeping Giant]

All that can be said from the result is that the Eagles, as trial game form predicted, are a very average football team. They will struggle to finish above South.

[centrecirclelegend]

Westies attack on the ball was very good all day.....

not sure why Cupido wasn't thrown up forward in the last 10 minutes?

Eagles were chasing opposition most of the day

the ball came out of the Eagles forward 50 far too easy

not enough marks taken up forward

bad kicking for goal is poor finishing

I thought Jacky was good.....he needs to kick goals though!

[Mickyj]

Westies attack on the ball was very good all day.....

not sure why Cupido wasn't thrown up forward in the last 10 minutes?

Eagles were chasing opposition most of the day

the ball came out of the Eagles forward 50 far too easy

not enough marks taken up forward

bad kicking for goal is poor finishing

I thought Jacky was good.....he needs to kick goals though!

I think when the Eagles took the ball from centre it all changed .
Treeby will increase this in coming weeks .
I think with a marking target at FF eagles straightened up but he was needed down back.

[spell_check]

It's interesting however; everyone at the ground after the siren goes does not know what to do. Kind of like a reflection on what just happened. You'll see that in the last photo in the photo thread I created.

[Thiele]

Was it or did the siren get quieter as the day went on

[spell_check]

Was it or did the siren get quieter as the day went on

I think so; although it wasn't that loud to begin with. It's strange, West used to have the loudest siren of the lot.

[spell_check]

The draw means in stats terms:

West have become the first team to draw against all 8 current clubs. As well as in the past against Woodville and West Torrens they have done so.
Looking at just the current clubs:
Central need to draw against Eagles, Glenelg, Norwood and Sturt
Eagles against everyone other than Glenelg and West
Glenelg against Central
North against Eagles and Port
Norwood against Central and Eagles
Port against Eagles and North
South against Eagles
Sturt against Central and Eagles

This is the first draw Eagles have had against a team other than Glenelg, as well as away from Woodville.
This is the fifth draw in a Round 2 match
This is the fifth draw at Richmond, last time was in 1995
This is the 2nd draw with the scores on 77 points; Glenelg and South drew with 12.5 in Round 8 1997.

[BirdOfPrey]

A disapointing and unacceptable result for both clubs, Eagles fans have every right to expect their side to make a return to finals footy this season and likewise Westies fans have every right to expect to see their side gain some valuable wins and make their way off the bottom of the SANFL ladder, todays result is the opposite of both of those goals for each club and it doesnt suggest that either side has improved if they cant take away the points.

No doubt Andy Collins would be tearing what is left of his hair out at present and who knows what Ron Fuller is going to do, maybe a return to Sunday Morning 5am training might be one way of dealing with it for both sides,

What right do Eagle fans have to expect a return to finals.??
I've seen no evidence from the team or club to expect that at all, in fact I think they will finish lower than last year.
Lack of depth in ruck, midfield still off the pace and no Plan B when Passa gets injured, which is alot these last few years.

It's obvious we have no money to recruit, thus are playing a heap of kids, which is good for the future.
Which also means a number of very lean years ahead I fear, unless some drastic change occurs.

If only we were able to snear another flag or two in the last 10yrs, I think it's going to be a long wait between drinks.

[Mickyj]

Was it or did the siren get quieter as the day went on

Thiele your sound system at Richmond was low mate .I was sitting on the fence in front of the cricket club(I think it is ) and u couldnt hear it .
ozzies eagles raffle voice was drowning it out

[Mickyj]

[quote="BirdOfPrey"

What right do Eagle fans have to expect a return to finals.??
I've seen no evidence from the team or club to expect that at all, in fact I think they will finish lower than last year.
Lack of depth in ruck, midfield still off the pace and no Plan B when Passa gets injured, which is alot these last few years.

It's obvious we have no money to recruit, thus are playing a heap of kids, which is good for the future.
Which also means a number of very lean years ahead I fear, unless some drastic change occurs.

If only we were able to snear another flag or two in the last 10yrs, I think it's going to be a long wait between drinks.[/quote]

I will only correct you on one point BOP there is a plan in place for replacing Passador.But that means taking Kenny Mac from down back to become the leading FF.It almost worked against Centrals and he kicked 1.1 yesterday and then had to be rushed down back.
I am more worried about the lack of getting the ball away from centre.With Treeby coming back in that could change that.and young miles won a lot of the ruck taps yesterday with Cica taking the ball away from centre in the last term.

[BirdOfPrey]

[quote="BirdOfPrey"

What right do Eagle fans have to expect a return to finals.??
I've seen no evidence from the team or club to expect that at all, in fact I think they will finish lower than last year.
Lack of depth in ruck, midfield still off the pace and no Plan B when Passa gets injured, which is alot these last few years.

It's obvious we have no money to recruit, thus are playing a heap of kids, which is good for the future.
Which also means a number of very lean years ahead I fear, unless some drastic change occurs.

If only we were able to snear another flag or two in the last 10yrs, I think it's going to be a long wait between drinks.

I will only correct you on one point BOP there is a plan in place for replacing Passador.But that means taking Kenny Mac from down back to become the leading FF.It almost worked against Centrals and he kicked 1.1 yesterday and then had to be rushed down back.
I am more worried about the lack of getting the ball away from centre.With Treeby coming back in that could change that.and young miles won a lot of the ruck taps yesterday with Cica taking the ball away from centre in the last term.[/quote]

True about Kenny Mac, but we only have one of him. Find a new FF or a new CHB.
Lets be honest, Passa will be lucky to play half a season and hes not getting any younger.everyone could see this except the club.
I think leave Kenny at CHB and find a goalkicker. Even if we had the best FF in the comp, if we can't get him the ball (midfield) what's the point.

[Aerie]

It really was a terrible game of footy. Westies played an AFL style of footy - lots of handball - and the overuse of the handball combined with their lack of skills allowed the Eagles to stay in the game. What Westies did do well was run and run in numbers. They usually had that one extra player there in support to get out of trouble.

The Eagles kicking for goal was terrible, but the most disappointing thing was the poor tackling. It was a soft effort.

The bright light for the Eagles was that 3 minute period in the 3rd quarter. I thought McGregor and Broadbent controlled the half back line well. Allmond was impressive all day - first time I've seen him play and he's going to be a real plus for the Eagles side. McKenzie was good. Best player I thought for the Eagles though was Zac Hier at Full Back.

Cupido was just about West's best player as well I thought at Full Back for them. Salter doesn't have a lot of strings to his bow, besides body strength, and Cupido is a lot stronger than Salter.

[am Bays]

There was more than one of us calling for Cupido to FF and Willits into defence, would be interesting to see the outcome but I am not expecting to see that move on the field in the near future.

expect a big WE TOLD YOU SO, if that occurs from the GLenelg FC - and a casual enquiry given that what we've said all along is true whether Ryan would like to come home???

[Mickyj]

It really was a terrible game of footy. Westies played an AFL style of footy - lots of handball - and the overuse of the handball combined with their lack of skills allowed the Eagles to stay in the game. What Westies did do well was run and run in numbers. They usually had that one extra player there in support to get out of trouble.

The Eagles kicking for goal was terrible, but the most disappointing thing was the poor tackling. It was a soft effort.

The bright light for the Eagles was that 3 minute period in the 3rd quarter. I thought McGregor and Broadbent controlled the half back line well. Allmond was impressive all day - first time I've seen him play and he's going to be a real plus for the Eagles side. McKenzie was good. Best player I thought for the Eagles though was Zac Hier at Full Back.

Cupido was just about West's best player as well I thought at Full Back for them. Salter doesn't have a lot of strings to his bow, besides body strength, and Cupido is a lot stronger than Salter.

Some of Ron's biggest concerns must be PACE,Midfield Depth,lack of goal kicking potential (without passador or a large key forward ).
But he has some highlights just sitting in the two's awaiting the call up,Staple,Dawson,Daveron .Plus with the experience of Westbrook,Symonds coming back that must be of some comfort.
CHB Kenny Mac at present but one Stuart Hill looks like he is being groomed to step into that roll.

cheers

[eaglesfan]

Disgraceful effort by the Eagles yesterday, back to the terrible form of the first half of last season.

[redandblack]

Perhaps you Eagles fans might reflect on the game and give West some credit for a vast improvement from last year.

The style of game West are playing is starting to produce results and they'll only get better each week as the new players settle in.

A few thoughts;

I saw Grocke's game against Central and thought he was very good. Ferguson pretty well blanketed him yesterday.

Allmond looks like a very good player; I was impressed with his game.

Caruso, easily the smallest player in the SANFL, took a great contested pack mark in front of goals. His quick hands during the game looked impressive and he'll be a very good player for the Bloods.

I thought Shirley was very good for the Eagles. Cicolella was generally very quiet, but got some important clearances in the latter part of the game.

McKenzie was easily B.O.G. last year at Thebarton and he's a very, very good player, but I thought he wasn't damaging at all yesterday, along with Powell.

Hier was impressive and the Eagles used Broadbent coming out of defence.

West would have plenty of cause for optimism. They probably should have 2 wins from 2 games so far, except for a lack of experience at vital times. They've added a fair measure of skill, with Schmidt, Hartlett and Caruso, and plenty of hardness with Davies and a revitalised Ezard.

[Mickyj]

Perhaps you Eagles fans might reflect on the game and give West some credit for a vast improvement from last year.

yep can not argue with that
A very quick running game.But if you can get the ball and go direct you will beat West something the eagles almost did but couldn't kick straight.
Also Wests game was all played on the outer wing many times the Eagles cleared down the members wing.

But west are a very fast and improved team from last year.
The rematch in a few weeks may be an interesting match.

cheers

[wedgetail]

West certainly improved on previous years. Eagles still lacking system going forward and our onball division is still not getting enough touches. Where is the new breed to back up Macca and Cicca ?- they continue to have to lift the side onball whereas they should be the cream on the cake. Cicca has lost pace and can't be expected to do what he used to. Lucky to escape with a draw IMHO.

[Columbo]

Strange feeling after a draw, its hard to decide if you should be happy because your side didn't lose or annoyed because they didn't win..or both, hearing both club songs were played at the end was strange too!!

As for the game, one that got away for both sides, but looking at it from an Eagle eyed view disappointing not to get the win but bad kicking is bad football and as others have said a 5 or 6 minute patch of good quality footy just isnt gonna cut it. The form of the younger brigade especially Allmond, Miles and Lane is encouraging, the effort from all the players is there but the finishing just isn't...yet, hopefully it is soon otherwise it could be too late. Treeby was solid in the reserves and should be pushing for league selection this week which will certainaly ease the load a bit in the midfield which is probably where things fell down a bit yesterday.

Think West were the better side for most of the day and wonder how much better they could get during the season if they can cut out the overuse of the ball, seemed to handball way to much yesterday and it came unstuck a bit too often, seemed to be a similar story in the reserves, wouldn't be at all surprised to see them cause a few upsets during the season.