Richmond vs Hawks in Tassie

[Ridley]

Sorry Ridley but that assessment is far from the mark. Yes Hawks are rubbish but we moved the footy the best we have since winning the premiership back in 2020. We have tweaked the game plan to short kick from the back half and once we get to the middle our forward play gets into overdrive.

As for Castsgna he is not solely that forward pressure player. He pushes much up the ground. Almost playing like a winger. But most importantly he is still getting on the scoreboard. I could be wrong but he has kicked a couple of goals each game so far. Not sure what more you want from the bloke.

As I said we were good in the first quarter but after that thought we were pretty scrappy. Not much you can take out of that game mainly due to how poor the opposition are. They got smacked by Collingwood last week who everyone thinks will be bottom 6. It wasn’t bad; just indeterminate I think. Would like to see better foot skills though. Prestia looked great and Baker was very good as well. I like Balta back but he gives great flexibility as a swing man.

As for George, he kicked a Joe the Goose today, hit the post from an easy snap 12 metres out and didn’t make the distance from 2 set shots from around 40m. He gets involved but doesn’t hurt the opposition. I think we need to upgrade him. You obviously disagree.

 

[BillyJean17]

A win is a win but this was against a team who is in the middle of a major rebuild. We should have won by more than that

We were 50p up late 3q then swung several kids on, keep it REAL

 

[BillyJean17]

The midfield balance still intrigues me. The lack of Graham and Lambert means there's a couple of spots to rotate through. Baker looks to have taken one, and the other still looks open. Our top 5 inside mids should be Martin, Cotchin and Prestia, with then Bolton and Baker rotating through. Ross gets the first crack at the last spot?

Ross has certainly done enough , the boofhead minority that carped about his game last week were looking for a hole to crawl into this week

 

[BrisTiger24]

Thought we did enough. Ball movement ok. Contested stuff could have been better but that will come with the intensity of round 1 and beyond.

Highlights for me:
- Balta. Looked lost last week. Much better this week. Will be crucial to take heat off Jack and Lynch
- Ralphsmith. Just looks ready for regular AFL footy.
- Baker. Was a bit down last week but can see what we are trying to do with him after today
- McIntosh. Bloke doesn't stop running and presenting
- Tarrant. Much better than last week. He is crucial for Balta to play forward
- Biggie. Just a cameo but looked more assured with decent blokes around him than the VFL blokes at Geelong
- Gibcus. Still getting used to the tempo but sheesh how engaged is he for a first year key defender
- Cotch. Made a few pre season blunders but geez he looked determined.
- Shai. Along with Noah took my breath away so often with just sublime skills and class

Disappointments
- Ross. I'm a Ross fan. They played him wing again today. Would have liked to have seen more. I'm inclined to play Dow in round 1 over Ross.
- Rucks. Both Nank and Soldo seemed a bit off what they produced last week
- Broad. Anyone else think Broady is struggling a bit? Has Gibcus, Biggie, Brown and Miller breathing down his neck for a spot in the team.

 

[bpchia]

What is going on with people not liking Balta forward? Yes he’s a premier defender but we got Tarrant and Gibcus in, there’s not even a spot for Miller who I thought was looking promising.

Balta was so dangerous today…he had Sicily on him and it negated Sicily’s ability to be an attacking intercept defender. We need this against sides like Melbourne who have an attacking backline…teams attack from further back now because of the stupid rule changes…this is how we change things, Balta is still dangerous when the ball hits the ground and is also able to put on defensive pressure, which other talls can’t do like him.

And people keep bagging Castagna, it just blows my mind focusing on how many goals he kicks…have a look at how much ground he covers in a match and gets to spots that make a contest where if he wasn’t the elite athlete he is, the oppo would just waltz away with it. Who do you want playing his role, Caddy? Oppo just runs off him if he doesn’t mark it. Don’t get me wrong Caddy is a hero for the 2 flags and he’s a good backup…

I loved Hugo’s game today…gut running and can defend

 

[bpchia]

Thought we did enough. Ball movement ok. Contested stuff could have been better but that will come with the intensity of round 1 and beyond.

Highlights for me:
- Balta. Looked lost last week. Much better this week. Will be crucial to take heat off Jack and Lynch
- Ralphsmith. Just looks ready for regular AFL footy.
- Baker. Was a bit down last week but can see what we are trying to do with him after today
- McIntosh. Bloke doesn't stop running and presenting
- Tarrant. Much better than last week. He is crucial for Balta to play forward
- Biggie. Just a cameo but looked more assured with decent blokes around him than the VFL blokes at Geelong
- Gibcus. Still getting used to the tempo but sheesh how engaged is he for a first year key defender
- Cotch. Made a few pre season blunders but geez he looked determined.
- Shai. Along with Noah took my breath away so often with just sublime skills and class

Disappointments
- Ross. I'm a Ross fan. They played him wing again today. Would have liked to have seen more. I'm inclined to play Dow in round 1 over Ross.
- Rucks. Both Nank and Soldo seemed a bit off what they produced last week
- Broad. Anyone else think Broady is struggling a bit? Has Gibcus, Biggie, Brown and Miller breathing down his neck for a spot in the team.

Thought Broady was fine…the better the oppo the better he plays.

Making any calls like “we’ll struggle against the top sides and beat bad sides” based on a practice match is way premature IMO…practice matches just don’t mean much, you can’t read too much into it

 

[Redford]

Thought we did enough. Ball movement ok. Contested stuff could have been better but that will come with the intensity of round 1 and beyond.

Highlights for me:
- Balta. Looked lost last week. Much better this week. Will be crucial to take heat off Jack and Lynch
- Ralphsmith. Just looks ready for regular AFL footy.
- Baker. Was a bit down last week but can see what we are trying to do with him after today
- McIntosh. Bloke doesn't stop running and presenting
- Tarrant. Much better than last week. He is crucial for Balta to play forward
- Biggie. Just a cameo but looked more assured with decent blokes around him than the VFL blokes at Geelong
- Gibcus. Still getting used to the tempo but sheesh how engaged is he for a first year key defender
- Cotch. Made a few pre season blunders but geez he looked determined.
- Shai. Along with Noah took my breath away so often with just sublime skills and class

Disappointments
- Ross. I'm a Ross fan. They played him wing again today. Would have liked to have seen more. I'm inclined to play Dow in round 1 over Ross.
- Rucks. Both Nank and Soldo seemed a bit off what they produced last week
- Broad. Anyone else think Broady is struggling a bit? Has Gibcus, Biggie, Brown and Miller breathing down his neck for a spot in the team.

According to BJ17 before you, in relation to Ross you are a “boofhead” though BrisVegas !

 

[Smoking Aces]

As I said we were good in the first quarter but after that thought we were pretty scrappy. Not much you can take out of that game mainly due to how poor the opposition are. They got smacked by Collingwood last week who everyone thinks will be bottom 6. It wasn’t bad; just indeterminate I think. Would like to see better foot skills though. Prestia looked great and Baker was very good as well. I like Balta back but he gives great flexibility as a swing man.

As for George, he kicked a Joe the Goose today, hit the post from an easy snap 12 metres out and didn’t make the distance from 2 set shots from around 40m. He gets involved but doesn’t hurt the opposition. I think we need to upgrade him. You obviously disagree.

The last preseason game players always go into self preservation mode knowing Round 1 is just around the corner. Especially for our blokes who most have been to the top of the mountain and have nothing to prove in these type of games. I expect us to step it up 10 fold in two weeks time.

As for Castsgna I think he gets a rough ride. Not the easiest position to play especially if what the coaches expect from him. Yes he is not perfect but he does a lot of things that don’t get registered on the stats sheet.

 

[bpchia]

Why does Ross kick the ball so high even for short passes…he put Lynch in a hospital situation and luckily he wasn’t hurt…can’t he kick a little bullet pass? That makes me remember Dusty’s sublime pass to was it Lynch?

 

[bpchia]

The last preseason game players always go into self preservation mode knowing Round 1 is just around the corner. Especially for our blokes who most have been to the top of the mountain and have nothing to prove in these type of games. I expect us to step it up 10 fold in two weeks time.

As for Castsgna I think he gets a rough ride. Not the easiest position to play especially if what the coaches expect from him. Yes he is not perfect but he does a lot of things that don’t get registered on the stats sheet.

Yes Smoking! Castagna gets a rough ride…why do people think they know better than Dimma? Especially off one camera angle where you can’t see what he’s doing

 

[Smoking Aces]

Thought we did enough. Ball movement ok. Contested stuff could have been better but that will come with the intensity of round 1 and beyond.

Highlights for me:
- Balta. Looked lost last week. Much better this week. Will be crucial to take heat off Jack and Lynch
- Ralphsmith. Just looks ready for regular AFL footy.
- Baker. Was a bit down last week but can see what we are trying to do with him after today
- McIntosh. Bloke doesn't stop running and presenting
- Tarrant. Much better than last week. He is crucial for Balta to play forward
- Biggie. Just a cameo but looked more assured with decent blokes around him than the VFL blokes at Geelong
- Gibcus. Still getting used to the tempo but sheesh how engaged is he for a first year key defender
- Cotch. Made a few pre season blunders but geez he looked determined.
- Shai. Along with Noah took my breath away so often with just sublime skills and class

Disappointments
- Ross. I'm a Ross fan. They played him wing again today. Would have liked to have seen more. I'm inclined to play Dow in round 1 over Ross.
- Rucks. Both Nank and Soldo seemed a bit off what they produced last week
- Broad. Anyone else think Broady is struggling a bit? Has Gibcus, Biggie, Brown and Miller breathing down his neck for a spot in the team.

Good post but disagree on Ross. A highlight for me. Played the wing role with great success and got the footy plenty. Did as much unrewarded running as Macintosh.

 

[Ridley]

The last preseason game players always go into self preservation mode knowing Round 1 is just around the corner. Especially for our blokes who most have been to the top of the mountain and have nothing to prove in these type of games. I expect us to step it up 10 fold in two weeks time.

As for Castsgna I think he gets a rough ride. Not the easiest position to play especially if what the coaches expect from him. Yes he is not perfect but he does a lot of things that don’t get registered on the stats sheet.

No doubt Smoking that Dimma puts high value on Castagna’s off ball role. That’s fair enough. I just wish he’d hurt the opposition more offensively. It didn’t hurt us today and probably won’t against weaker teams. But we will need to make the most of opportunities against good teams.

 

[Smoking Aces]

Found it hard work watching today but for the most part thought it was good.

Balta was encouraging, backline mix looked good even without Vlastuin and the prime movers are all in good nick.

Aarts is my biggest concern, don't think he is equipped to play the role he is being given at that level, I'd prefer Ralphsmith to get a run on the wing based on today's form.

A few people concerned about the minute mix and the way we backed off, but don't forget a huge part of today is also having a dress rehearsal on rotations, which are incredibly complicated and need practice, especially with a limited runner now.

I have Vlastuin coming in for Aarts.

 

[Eddie from Elwood]

Like i said. Was moved onced Soldo went off injured or else he would have remained fwd. Have another watch just to be certain

Yeah........nah, was moved about in the 2nd, 3rd and last, as was Ivie in the fist half.

 

[BrisTiger24]

According to BJ17 before you, in relation to Ross you are a “boofhead” though BrisVegas !

Not disputing I'm a boofhead. That observation is on point. Moreso than Ross observation. As I said I'm more of a Ross fan than many. But prefer him in the guts than outside. Showed that again today.

 

[BillyJean17]

Thought we did enough. Ball movement ok. Contested stuff could have been better but that will come with the intensity of round 1 and beyond.

Highlights for me:
- Balta. Looked lost last week. Much better this week. Will be crucial to take heat off Jack and Lynch
- Ralphsmith. Just looks ready for regular AFL footy.
- Baker. Was a bit down last week but can see what we are trying to do with him after today
- McIntosh. Bloke doesn't stop running and presenting
- Tarrant. Much better than last week. He is crucial for Balta to play forward
- Biggie. Just a cameo but looked more assured with decent blokes around him than the VFL blokes at Geelong
- Gibcus. Still getting used to the tempo but sheesh how engaged is he for a first year key defender
- Cotch. Made a few pre season blunders but geez he looked determined.
- Shai. Along with Noah took my breath away so often with just sublime skills and class

Disappointments
- Ross. I'm a Ross fan. They played him wing again today. Would have liked to have seen more. I'm inclined to play Dow in round 1 over Ross.
- Rucks. Both Nank and Soldo seemed a bit off what they produced last week
- Broad. Anyone else think Broady is struggling a bit? Has Gibcus, Biggie, Brown and Miller breathing down his neck for a spot in the team.

Must have been watching a diff game both Ross 21p at 85% and broard 20p at 75% very good , maybe give the sauce a rest next time

 

[BillyJean17]

Found it hard work watching today but for the most part thought it was good.

Balta was encouraging, backline mix looked good even without Vlastuin and the prime movers are all in good nick.

Aarts is my biggest concern, don't think he is equipped to play the role he is being given at that level, I'd prefer Ralphsmith to get a run on the wing based on today's form.

A few people concerned about the minute mix and the way we backed off, but don't forget a huge part of today is also having a dress rehearsal on rotations, which are incredibly complicated and need practice, especially with a limited runner now.

Don’t think you could fault aarts game today 18p 7 tackles ,,,Hugo NONE . Playing different roles no doubt but you compared them

 

[Sintiger]

I’ve seen enough of Gibcus already to say we have a future AA key back on our hands. KPPs like him generally take time but he is just about ready to step in and play.
I’m not saying he is necessarily 100% ready to play at a high level now but he is as advanced at 18 ( almost 19) as any Key position player I have seen at Tigerland for a long time, probably back to Ottens and Richo.

 

[BillyJean17]

Jack was lucky it wasn’t a 3 x 50 penalty he went on that long , he did have a point though

 

[Smoking Aces]

If I said that I'd be called an umpire lover, but it's a very good point.

I saw Edwards and Soldo at different stages have long conversations with the umpire after free kicks with no 50 paid so you can't tell me there isn't room for a reasonable discourse.

Meanwhile Riewoldt would have watched every second of the game on Thursday and still walks around doing his impression of a year 12 drama student in a Shakespearian style production of Why am I kicked out of the pub?.

The rule has definitely been relaxed after the first game. I think they have found the right balance. The umpires are more tolerant and accept a bit of feedback from the players.

Riewoldt was out of line. Got away with it twice but kept on going.

And yes you are a umpire lover.