Bombers Go Down In The West

ESSENDON 3.3 7.6 12.8 14.10 (94)
WEST COAST 3.4 6.6 11.8 15.10 (100)

ESSENDON: Stanton 4, Davey 2, Lucas 2, Lovett-Murray, Watson, Monfries, Hille, McVeigh, Peverill,
WEST COAST: Hansen 5, Hunter 2, Lynch 2, Embley 2, La Cras, Kennedy, Cox, Wirrpanda

Match Snippets from swoodley

We lost by a goal after a couple of 50m penalties in the last quarter, the last one gifted them the winning goal.

Some impressions in dot point:

1. Hille and Laycock were heaps and heaps better tonight at both the centre bounces and boundary throw ins. I would hazard a guess that they spent a bit of time on boundary throw in tactics at training this week as they both worked really hard to get front position, They both contested very well at the centre bounces also.

2. Stanton can definitely become a goal kicking midfielder. He got 3 or 4 tonight and his kicking at goal was very impressive both from set shots and on the run.

3. Houli will become out standout midfielder…his work at the centre bounce in the first half was superb and he got quite a few clearances.

4. Jobe’s skills are fast catching up with his brain (which I consider to be one of the best at the club). His decision making and willingness to take on the opposition tonight was fantastic.

5. CJ could definitely become a backman…he did a very good job tonight even though he had a few goals kicked by his opponent. That appeared to me to be more a result of the precision delivery from the eagles midfield as distinct from him being out of position.

6. Lloyd and Fletch both only played the first half. Lloydy looked quite sharp and although hedidn’t have his goal kicking boots on, he was kicking through the ball with his old confidence. Fletch wasn’t taking the kick ins (I only saw him do it once)

7. The tactic at kick ins seems to be to wait until an option appears up the middle. I noticed on several occasions that options in the pockets were ignored ans the ball not kicked until a corridor option opened up. Rama and Nash were kicking in.

8. The game plan was put under a lot of pressure by the eagles and there were a number of hiccups (as I expected) but the players perservered and it was pretty good to watch. The eagles certainly made us pay on a few occasions but the willingness of the players to back themselves and support their mates resulted in a number of our turnovers being recovered due to our own pressure.

9. Alwyn is f****** quick

10. JJ, Pears and Bellchamber didn’t get any game time in the first half, JJ started after half time as did Pears (I think). I don’t think Bellchambers came on until the last quarter and looked abit out of his depth. Knights seemed keen to experiment a bit as he had Pears playing at CHB on Hansen in the 3rd quarter and Hansen was way too strong for him. I think Pears would have learned quite abit tonight.

11. Scotty had a quiet night in terms of possessions and goals but a lot of this was due to the shocking delivery he was given. One area where we fell down more as the game progressed was the quality of the delivery inside our 50. As the players got tired, they resorted on several occasions to just kicking long and hoping one of our forwards would get it. As a result, the eagles backs were able to get easy possession and counter attack.

12. Although it seemed obvious to me that the players were getting tired, they just kept on committing to each and every contest. There were a few times where I thought we were in danger of getting overrun but each time the players steeled themselves for another effort. I didn’t see any players cramping which was testament to their fitness and I assume good management of the interchange.

Posted 7 March 08 in Match Review News