Positives from last night..

[Hallalj#3]

I feel there were a number a positves last night. Thought our Midfield depth was the shinning light of the night with a number of players going through there more then i thought we had, making it a tough call for the coaches come round 1.

Really liked Simpkins abilty to get his fist on the ball. Thought Wilkes would be a our Full Back going into round 1 but after last night Simpkin looks to be the best option atm.

Siposs showed really clean hands at the stoppages looks to be an option on the wing great size could be Embley like if where lucky.

Cripps. Not a Forward as ross wanted him to be last yr. Defiently a half back was compossed, skills were good has great pace thought he was a standout of all the first and second yr players.

Ledger, His see ball get ball mentallity is a major positive, kicks on both sides of body which is a great start needs to show a little bit more composure then i'm sure his skills we'll improve once he improves that aspect his game.

All in all looks like the younger guys have accepted the challenge from the coaches and the more exprerienced players to step up which means from my point of view team selection will be a lot more deficult
come round 1 then once thought..

[QuestionOfAccuracy]

Really liked Simpkins abilty to get his fist on the ball. Thought Wilkes would be a our Full Back going into round 1 but after last night Simpkin looks to be the best option atm.

Simpkin was really good, but you can't compare him to Wilkes last night. Geelong virtually had no recognisable forwards for Simpkin to shutdown, plus in the Sydney game the ball was getting through the zone so easily and quickly.

[SMS]

Siposs was incredible. Seriously he is ready top step up!! Stanley showed me he can kick the ball!! If he can step up we win the flag its that simple.
How good and quick was Saad and Milera???


I didnt think Siposs could be THAT good. Saad, Milera, Stanley, Ledger, Ross, Siposs, Simpkin all should play a lot this year which would mean GREAT things.

The cons were Schnieder - stil thinks he can do what he likes. He can do special things but his lazy approach i dont know ...

If thiose above mentioned continue in that fashion we are lkooking very good.

[defacto]

Siposs was incredible. Seriously he is ready top step up!! Stanley showed me he can kick the ball!! If he can step up we win the flag its that simple.
How good and quick was Saad and Milera???


I didnt think Siposs could be THAT good. Saad, Milera, Stanley, Ledger, Ross, Siposs, Simpkin all should play a lot this year which would mean GREAT things.

The cons were Schnieder - stil thinks he can do what he likes. He can do special things but his lazy approach i dont know ...

If thiose above mentioned continue in that fashion we are lkooking very good.

i didnt think siposs was the great but i agree he was stepped up even more from last year. i also agree about Saad, Milera, Stanley, Ledger, Ross, Siposs, Simpkin. there are some really encouraging signs. add to that steven and mcevoy and our club is in great shape. cripps is also going great.

the only problem we have is that we really have 1 last shot at the flag with roo, hayes, milne, fisher, kozi at the club. beyond that our spine is ageing and we need to rebuild.

if we can get saad firing like milne. if we can get ledger, stanley, simpkin, siposs to really step up and demand a spot all year then i think we will have a real crack at the flag. the perfect mix of young and old.

[groupie1]

Simpkin stood out for me; composed, technical... the next Max Hudghton, and should be picked over Blake and Wilkes. Looking forward to a Gwilt, Simpkin, Fisher feed from defense, as opposed to a Dawson, Blake, Glibert one. Ledger was obviously impressive. But the glimpses shown by Stanley, Milera and Siposs should not be underestimated. A youngster who shows he can play might only do it in tiny patches; experience gets them that consistency. So, for me, Cripps, Ledger, Simpkin and Saad clearly come in and put pressure on Gram, Blake, Ray and Polo... best case, Stanley and Siposs and Milera also come in with pressure on Jones and Armitage and possibly Gilbert (positionally non-specific). Add guys with skills and subtract guys with less skill = marginal improvements. Enough marginal improvement = potential ladder climb.

[yipper]

For me, I reckon opposition analysts would have been reporting back on our clearance work. We dominated clearances in both games with very impressive performances from young midfielders like Ledger, Ross, Armo ( 2nd game) - some of the ruckwork from McEvoy down to Ross was fantastic. Also a very strong emphasis on moving the ball quickly preferably by foot - they are playing to a different dynamic now. They looked very quick in both games - sure they made a lot of errors in game 1, but settled nicely in game 2 and used the pill a lot better. We also had speed and run coming out of defense with Cripps looking much more assured running off half back. I think with Hayes getting better as he gets more matches under his belt and the inclusion of Dal and Joey into that midfield group - look out. It was quite a promising start.

[Wrote for Luck]

the names of the players we were tracking Friday night in my opinion exceeded expectations!
Siposs, Ledger, Cripps, Simpkin, Saad, Milera, and even Ross who I wasn't expecting too much from.
happy days if these guys can light the flame and take games on!

[Dave McNamara]

For me, ( 2nd game) - some of the ruckwork from McEvoy down to Ross was fantastic.

Hi Yipper, several posters have again expressed some concern re this area of Ben's game on Friday night. You are the first to be positive about his ruck work. Given this, could you elaborate a bit further? (I haven't seen the game/s.) Thanks.

[yipper]

Game 1 vs Swannies - we won clearances however the big mac struggled in the ruck, Game 2 vs Geelong he did very well and he was able to find Ross a couple of times with some beautiful tapwork. One in particular comes to mind where he used his body to keep his opponent out and tapped with his left hand over his shoulder to the running Seb Ross - landed in his hands as he was running clear, it was perfect tapwork. The big Mac improved as the night went on - he will continue his very steady improvement no worries. Ex - cat Cam Mooney mentioned to my son in the commentary box that he thought McEvoy will become an elite ruckman sooner rather than later.

[saintbrat]

Game 1 vs Swannies - we won clearances however the big mac struggled in the ruck, Game 2 vs Geelong he did very well and he was able to find Ross a couple of times with some beautiful tapwork. One in particular comes to mind where he used his body to keep his opponent out and tapped with his left hand over his shoulder to the running Seb Ross - landed in his hands as he was running clear, it was perfect tapwork. The big Mac improved as the night went on - he will continue his very steady improvement no worries. Ex - cat Cam Mooney mentioned to my son in the commentary box that he thought McEvoy will become an elite ruckman sooner rather than later.

despite him being a cat I may come to like Mooney's comments- honest as a player, Not trying to make a 'statement' like some ( Llyod)

found this article commenting onthe newbies over the teams

ST KILDA

Terry Milera: Looks set to continue the success story of mature-aged recruits, with the 23-year-old from Port Adelaide looking set for senior football.

Sebastian Ross: Loved his attack on the ball or anyone around it. Think the Saints might have found one with this former Horsham lad.

Beau Wilkes: Is no star but showed signs of being able to do jobs at both ends. Consistency will be the key.

Jack Newnes: Didn’t get a lot of it but looked capable when he did and is a long kick.

Ahmed Saad: One of the most exciting debutants over the weekend. A clever and clean player who is red-hot around goals but also capable of playing up the ground.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/h ... 6282310108

[Dave McNamara]

Game 1 vs Swannies - we won clearances however the big mac struggled in the ruck, Game 2 vs Geelong he did very well and he was able to find Ross a couple of times with some beautiful tapwork. One in particular comes to mind where he used his body to keep his opponent out and tapped with his left hand over his shoulder to the running Seb Ross - landed in his hands as he was running clear, it was perfect tapwork. The big Mac improved as the night went on - he will continue his very steady improvement no worries. Ex - cat Cam Mooney mentioned to my son in the commentary box that he thought McEvoy will become an elite ruckman sooner rather than later.

Many thanks for that Yipper.



PS: Was your son in the box as a prize-winner guest, or as part of the broadcast team?

[fingers]

Siposs impressed me with his decision making and his smarts - made a couple of really good runs to the right spot even in traffic. Reading it well.

[Teflon]

Siposs impressed me with his decision making and his smarts - made a couple of really good runs to the right spot even in traffic. Reading it well.

No doubting his decision making and execution are class.... Now he just need to be involved more and he becomes really dangerous

[yipper]

[ Many thanks for that Yipper.



PS: Was your son in the box as a prize-winner guest, or as part of the broadcast team?

Son was working for AFL Live - he is a sports broadcaster by trade. He was calling the games with Cam Mooney doing special comments.

[saintly]

Siposs impressed me with his decision making and his smarts - made a couple of really good runs to the right spot even in traffic. Reading it well.

No doubting his decision making and execution are class.... Now he just need to be involved more and he becomes really dangerous

sipposs impressed me also. i just saw the replay last night and was most impressed by the team, quick, skillfull. looking forward to seeing milera, sipposs, saad, ross, and ledger much more.