2024 - What's Working So Far?

[comrade]

There?s been plenty of negativity heaped on us (some of it deserved) but it?s not all bad!

What are your bright spots at this point?

Mine has to be the penny dropping for Westy. I really feel like he?s going to be in the mix for AA over the next 2-3 years as a half forward.

[bulldogtragic]

Playing plenty of kids
Nearly the second highest percentage
Improved goal kicking overall
Next rung doing well (Darcy, West, Garcia etc)
Old dogs still having a little left, Jones & Doc
Better MC selections than previously
Shots across the bow of senior players and getting some good results, see Dale
Marra signing
Two rising star nominations with Sanders one to come

[Happy Days]

I’m not sure exactly what we did to change this but it feels like with the possible exception of the air going out of the balloon against Essendon we haven’t had anyone kick a run of goals on us in a while.

[Axe Man]

I’m not sure exactly what we did to change this but it feels like with the possible exception of the air going out of the balloon against Essendon we haven’t had anyone kick a run of goals on us in a while.

Melbourne kicked 5 in a row in a short period from late in the first quarter to early in the second which was frustrating as it felt like we had been on top early.

As you say Essendon was the only other instance so hopefully we can continue to prevent the run ons against some of the better teams we have coming up.

[bornadog]

The best thing so far this year has been the inclusion of players based on form rather than reputation. Either you adapt or dropped, just look at Dale, he really took it on and is in AA form.

I have also liked the blooding of young players, and again, if they don't perform, then they go back to VFL to work on it eg Sanders on his defensive side.

Agree with OP, West is really making the small forward role work, instead of sooking (not that he does), and saying he wants the mid role. He has embraced the role.

[Sedat]

Starting to develop a turnover game and not relying solely on contested possessions/clearance dominance to score

Starting to develop an intercept marking game in D50

Sam Darcy....nuff said

[SquirrelGrip]

I like how Bevo has more support around him. Matt Egan is a good addition.

We've realised doing the same thing over and again is going to get the same results, so we blooding new players, rewarding form, and acknowledging reputation matters little.

Treloar is having his best season so far with us. I have historically questioned his defensive side, but I was super impressed with his game against the Tigers.

And I like how we are trying Richards in the middle.

I feel for Rory Lobb who has done little wrong, but Sam Darcy just deserves to be there.

[1eyedog]

Conceding less goals from D50 entries than the last two seasons is a plus.

[MrMahatma]

Ed in the guts.
Getting good exp into JOD, Gags.
Darcy… damn boi!

[mighty_west]

Playing the likes of Garcia and Gallagher and giving them midfield time along with Ed who looks like he's a natural mid the way he's moved from that rebounding defender, which can make him a more damaging player, we've lost Libba for however long we don't know, but our midfield hasn't missed a beat but looks to be evolving into something more sustainable and damaging.

The accuracy for goals, both Naughton and Bont seem to have benefited from Brad Johnno's goal kicking master classes, hopefully Marra follows suit soon, but just watching Naughty, he seems more focused and looks to be watching and concentrating on where he wants to kick the ball, it's working.

Sam Darcy, what a pleasure to watch him grow into something special.

Blooding a few of the kids, this is what the good teams do, at the expense of highly rated experienced senior players either out of form or having to go back and work on their game in the VFL, obviously you can't play too many at once otherwise you'll probably end up bottoming out which is what you don't want to improve a winning culture around the club, give them a sniff and if good enough hold their spot, would like to see Busslinger in the side at some stage too.

[SonofScray]

Darcy and Gallagher's inclusions and responsibilities.

That's it.

[comrade]

Thought it was time to revisit this with a month to go.

I picked Westy as my bright spot a few months back and he?s continued to impress.

What?s working now? Balance!

I?m stoked we?re finally balanced across the field.

A genuine 2nd ruck option in Darcy.

We suddenly have an intercept game in the back half.

Our midfield mix feels right with the inclusion of Richards, very few out the front goals being kicked.

The forward line has a good blend of talls and pressure smalls. I would like better conversion and efficiency but I?d still prefer to be a side that piles on scoring shots and kicks 7.18 than 10 straight. A big big score feels close.

This side might not win a flag but it has a chance of doing some real damage if we make it to September. I haven?t truly felt that way since 2021.

[jeemak]

The emphasis on role players playing to a structure including guys like Jacko and Williams, on top of lesser lights McNeil, Khamis, Embley, JOD, Sanders, Bramble, West, VDM, Gallagher, Garcia and Poulter has made the world of difference. They seem "safer" (a la Roarke Smith 2021) than they ever have.

Our stars playing amazing football. Jones, Bont, Treloar, Richards, Naughton, Dale and Libba (I guess) are producing weekly.

The next rung of players down from our stars in JUH (now a star) and Darcy forward, and Lobb carrying huge loads consistently.

We've not had this contribution across the board since 2021, and before that 2016 and early 2017.

Everyone just seems to be on the same page the moment. So I guess the coaches for helping it all come together and the club generally for holding the line under huge external pressure.

I've left English out of any of the above as I don't know whether he's a role player, a star, or a second rung player given his performances. To me he's the wildcard who can help pull it all together or make us fail without an around the ground contribution.

[Grantysghost]

Two words.

Lobbster Tears.

I agree with you Comrade the team with that extra tall back does look more balanced and confident.

The defence was my major concern coming into the season, have to say I wouldn't be surprised if Bevo still wanted the 4 tall forwards but clearly one of them back was the obvious answer to many of us. Think it took injuries to make it happen but I'll take it!

Role players stepping up too and feeling a part of the team.

The hard calls on stalwarts too hasn't hurt things.

[jeemak]

The defence as per my comment in the Sharp Axes thread was tenuous at best and now that it appears to be coming off we all of a sudden have the strongest bookends I've seen in my time following the club.

But the system of upfield effort and positioning makes it all so much easier for them.

[AshMac]

Appears the whole team has lifted and elevated their output.

Midfield has always been A grade but they are actually dominating teams and I can?t put my finger specifically on what has changed other than form.

Forward line - Naughton in the play a lot but out of jamarras way and jamarra scoring. Weightman back really Made a difference here and wests game has improved.

Backline is biggest improvement with Lobb and Buku. Dale and Doc both been excellent as usual

[SquirrelGrip]

Our current talls are the best I've ever seen at the club.

Prior to this group, I'd probably rated 1985 Prelim team as our best:

Forwards - Simon Beasley, Jim Sewell, Captain Groenewegen
Backs - Rick Kennedy, Peter Foster, Neil Peart
Ruck - Andrew Purser

[macca]

We have an incredible talented spine at the moment, probably much better than our 2016 year.
Backline: Lobb and Jones are tall marks and they provide a outlet on the kickout. Addition with English as well, its a wall the opposition players need to clear. Buku has now come along nicely and can take the 2nd or 3rd tall, with the help of these 2 talls now.

Fwd line: Naughton, JUH and Darcy , 3 talls who are competitive. There is still some work to be done on there forward leading patterns. I like how Naughton is leading up higher in the ground. Added Weightman's marking ability, and now West is becoming a serious threat forward with his clever reading of play at the crumb. I am going to give mentions to McNeil and VDM as they are getting to the right spots. There execution needs a bit of work but its the forward pressure that is there.

Imagine 1 more preason in this fwd line and they will be stronger, more gelled and mature. It is going to be a serious threat.


Pressure: I really liked the seeing the pressure, hunger to get to the contest and win. It has really taken up a notch in the last 3 games. Some of the tackles need to stick, but its the pressure that is causing opposition teams to make mistakes.

Richards has been incredible find to be added in the midfield. His pace and long kicking has allowed us to have good fwd entries. I heard somewhere he has the highest inside 50 count in the comp. Goal kicking mids, are so important.

We still need to improve on :
1. goal kicking
2. Disposal not clean : Coffield and VDM spilled it a few times on the weekend and they just need to get rid of it abit sooner.

After the Essedon loss, I thought our season was over. Bevo's turn around with this team has been incredible and they are playing with lots of heart and for the coach.

As a supporter , I believe we have a good chance in September. Just need to win the remaining games and teams will start to fear us.

[mighty_west]

Structure and workrate, two quality talls down back is massive especially if they intercept well and take big grabs ie May and Lever, but Lobb going back was as big a turning pojnt as Ed Richards playing on ball, two huge positional changes have made such a difference, playing mainly the two tall forwards closer to goal and not spoiling each other consistently.

This lets Buku off the chain somewhat and play with a bit more freedom in a role he is used to and not having to man up on the oppos 2nd best key forward, he's not that type of defender and never will be, it free's up Bont in the middle too, now who do they tag? Bont? Ed? Adz? Dale down back? gives the oppo coach a few more headaches.

Also noticeable against the Swans was our players just running more and covering more of the ground helping out with transition but also defensive efforts, West, VDM, McNeil, Weightman, Poulter worked as hard as anyone on field and helped create havoc which bamboozled the Swans at times.

Another big one is players finding good form, Dale after he was used as Sub which created media chaos at the time came back in and has been in AA form since that time, he was just so-so before that and the coaching staff had every right to play him as sub, The first half of the season i reckon English was also a bit so-so, up and down like the team but has also been in good touch recently which has helped, the midfield firing and now not as reliant on the Bont to win games, that's healthy for the team although will probably hurt his Brownlow chances.

Treloar is in career best form, Naughton is playing well using his run and not being relied on to kick goals, Jamarra is finding his best ever form and Bramble looks a lock in his position and is doing what we are missing with JJ being injured using his run to break the lines.

IF we hold our structures in place and continue with this workrate, who knows how far this season!

[josie]

Starting to develop a turnover game and not relying solely on contested possessions/clearance dominance to score

Starting to develop an intercept marking game in D50

Sam Darcy....nuff said

Really enjoying this thread. Agree with everything said, including Sedat?s insights.

Apart from Naughts, Lobb, Dale etc. improving ditto newbies all as noted by woofers, I also think Weightman has been tremendous since his return. His competitiveness and cleanliness in picking up the ball from ground or low and handballs off to others has been top notch.

We also seem to be less likely to have teams run through us at centre clearances, hence fewer 3 to 4 to 5 goal blitzes by opposition. Possibly a combo of:
1) Tim or Darcy neutralising some centre bounces due to better positioning
2) Richards speed
3) Recent games it seems to me more noticeable that players eg West stream forward & Adz stream back to help with contest after centre bounce
4) More structure at centre and around ground - one or max two players going for ball, others holding position in an arc to receive or tackle oppo if they have it (eg Treloar who is just pure class is I think now more of a receiving player when it is congested)
5) Adding different players at clearances, so not being as one paced or predictable

[macca]

One other thing I like to add, this year has been fabulous return from our rookies in terms of games played and player contribution:
Durey :17 games General down back and like an on field coach
Poulter: 5 games, played in last 3 weeks. He provides nice option on the wing and run hard to get into the link man. He kicked critical goals to bury Carlton and Sydney. Nice return for a wingman
McNeil: 7 games, and he has played in 6 out of last 7 weeks, all against the top teams. Kicking is still needs work but his forward pressure is there and gets to the right spots.
JOD: He was tracking nicely before injury. 11 games

If Rookies getting game, then there is pressure and contests on spots.

[Mofra]

I'm not sure it's really down to individual players.

Last season we were in the bottom 4 for transitioning the ball out of defence and getting it into the F50.
We spent all pre-season trying to get speed on the ball out of the back half, and it's taken 2/3rds of this year to get it right. We're simply executing what we've been trying to do for a few months.

[Bullies]

The changes to the coaching panel and getting in Matthew Egan to oversee and free up Bevo to concentrate on coaching.

It was always to take a little time to click especially with a new backline coach coming on board in an area where we really needed the support. I think everyone was just expecting it to work from day one.

Still a bit to do but you can see the improvement with guys like Bramble if you compare where he was at the start of the year. He now runs with confidence with the ball in hand. Earlier he had no issue getting the ball but he now backs himself with composure.

Buku as well. Still has a lot to learn with defending and awareness with his opponent but is improving each game. Such a shame we played him forward in the 2's last year and not educated him down back. It is good he now has Doc with him down back. Watch Doc during a game he is forever supporting Buku with advise.

[bornadog]

I'm not sure it's really down to individual players.

Last season we were in the bottom 4 for transitioning the ball out of defence and getting it into the F50.
We spent all pre-season trying to get speed on the ball out of the back half, and it's taken 2/3rds of this year to get it right. We're simply executing what we've been trying to do for a few months.


The changes to the coaching panel and getting in Matthew Egan to oversee and free up Bevo to concentrate on coaching.

It was always to take a little time to click especially with a new backline coach coming on board in an area where we really needed the support. I think everyone was just expecting it to work from day one.

Still a bit to do but you can see the improvement with guys like Bramble if you compare where he was at the start of the year. He now runs with confidence with the ball in hand. Earlier he had no issue getting the ball but he now backs himself with composure.

Buku as well. Still has a lot to learn with defending and awareness with his opponent but is improving each game. Such a shame we played him forward in the 2's last year and not educated him down back. It is good he now has Doc with him down back. Watch Doc during a game he is forever supporting Buku with advise.

These two posts have hit the nail on the head. It has taken more than half a season to get use to the new coaches and tweaking the game plan and it is really working. I really think Daniel Pratt has made the biggest difference with the backline, where we don't conceded as many goals as we did previously.

[GVGjr]

Quite a few positives from my perspective.

The back line has been very competitive and has weathered the storm with injuries to a number of players.
We've unearthed Bramble who's performing above expectations and Khamis has done better than most of us would have thought.
Duryea has been steady and Dale has been in scintillating form and then we've struck a bit of gold with Lobb making a significant contribution as a CHB. Then of course Jones doesn't get beaten too often.

From a MC perspective I think we've got a lot right and have been prepared to make the hard calls when required. Lets not discount the energy and structure that Egan and our new fitness coach has brought us.

Our midfield has done well but is prone to some poor performances and our forward line is now starting to function a lot better.

One other aspect is that we've been able to blood a few new players players this year which is laying the groundwork for the future.

[hujsh]

Something I find encouraging is there's no major change in our plans and structures from the beginning of the year. Yes some magnets have moved around as always happens but the things working for us now were things we could see starting to work earlier in the year. It's just working better with more practice and maybe a few tweaks.

[SquirrelGrip]

The defensive works of our forward talls has been immense for me. You expect West, McNeill, Cody, VDM and Garcia (when he plays) to work hard when we don't have it. But to see Marra make tackles on centre wing and smother, plus Darcy breaking tackle records for someone his size and also the longest armed smothers I've seen, we now have an awesome defensive effort to match Naughton who has always been next level for a big.

[Bullies]

Also the bottom 6 players have now come along from the ride. It is well known that a good bottom 6 in your side can take you a long way in Finals.

Players like McNeill, Poulter, Garcia, Buku, VDM are playing with renewed confidence and looking like they fit in. They are making it hard for selectors as they are performing in the roles they have been given. I didn't have McNeill on the Bingo card come Round 20 when we have a near full list to pick from.

[The bulldog tragician]

Resilience.

Last week the Swans threw everything at us in Q2. But a stream of easy goals didn’t eventuate. We hung tough and then somehow counterpunched. We have been brittle over the past few years with the Freo final loss, after leading by 40+ points a bitterly disappointing example. I’d like to think the 2024 breed could weather a storm like that far better.

[azabob]

Watching from the stands, it has been really evident that on-ground communication and adherence to structure have improved tenfold. Whether at a stoppage, in the forward 50, or in our defensive 50, we just appear more organized.

Earlier in the season, and in previous seasons, players would often point and voice commands about where to stand and where to go, but collectively, the instructions fell on deaf ears. At times, it even seemed like the players were ignoring each other.

Now, it is the complete opposite. All players understand how things should look on the field to guard space, mark players, and do whatever is necessary to execute the game plan and act accordingly.

[mighty_west]

Watching from the stands, it has been really evident that on-ground communication and adherence to structure have improved tenfold. Whether at a stoppage, in the forward 50, or in our defensive 50, we just appear more organized.

Earlier in the season, and in previous seasons, players would often point and voice commands about where to stand and where to go, but collectively, the instructions fell on deaf ears. At times, it even seemed like the players were ignoring each other.

Now, it is the complete opposite. All players understand how things should look on the field to guard space, mark players, and do whatever is necessary to execute the game plan and act accordingly.

For those of us who can't attend games, that's great to read, obviously means everyone is on the same page and all buying into the game style, no one is slacking off or playing for themselves, awesome!

[azabob]

For those of us who can't attend games, that's great to read, obviously means everyone is on the same page and all buying into the game style, no one is slacking off or playing for themselves, awesome!

Last night in the last quarter Bont was in our D50 about 35m from Melbournes goal and asked for someone to drop into a hole behind him on the boundary side and Treloar put his hand up and said yep, I’ve got it.