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Possibly one of the worst matches to be facing when we're trying to bounce back from back to back losses. Werribee have shown they can be up there with the strongest teams again, and travelling up there will be a monster trip for us. Hopefully the boys take their frustrations from last week and take it out on Werribee, but I'm not confident of a win. I don't dare ask for more than a competitive effort.
It is free Entry to Avalon Airport Oval
Werribee win by 28 points.
Frankston played reasonably well and we got glimpses of what their best footy can look like. But inaccurate kicking, poor forward entries, being smashed at the centre bounce, and being caught on turnover killed us. It's frustrating because we get glimpses of what this team could be capable of but we don't string it together long enough to get the results against the better sides.
Beating Brisbane in two weeks is a non-negotiable if we're to have a chance at finals. An 11-7 record is minimum for playing finals this year, so we need to be knocking over some of the teams above us otherwise it's a mid-ladder finish at best.
Frankstjn’s inability in front of goal cost them any chance of beating or contesting with Werribee today.
Only once this year has Frankston kicked more goals than points. I doubt Werribbe can win a flag playing that style of football. High possesion, chipping it around, switching play slowly and going the long way home at every opportunity - kept Frankston in the game yesterday.
Really starting to like Lochy Reidy as a player. Still a work in progress and improving every game but boy, has he got some class. Will end up a top midfielder at this level.
Agreed Bearsman on Reidy.....is still a bit inclined to over-use the footy, but shows some real footy nous, Is definitely getting better with experience.
A few takeaways from yesterday. We are still very poor going inside 50. Jackson Kornberg is doing a great job at melding these boys into a cohesive unit, but I believe has got the tactics wrong when it comes to how we move inside 50.....long bombs down the guts may work at Kinetic on the long skinny ground, but it's not sustainable on wide grounds like Chirnside Park. And to be honest, Noah Gown while being a big unit, isn't big enough or strong enough to take a bunch of contested marks. We are so often forced into hurried snaps at goal, and so we're inaccurate. I believe we would rank last in the competition on short passes inside 50. We need the blokes coming forward to lower their eyes and find targets. Werribee hurt us with it on a number of occasions. We were obliterated at clearances too.....just way too slow to react, and positioning in the centre way too offensive given how quick Werribee were to clear. Murphy and Quirk? Not sure what those two blokes were doing yesterday, but it wasn't winning contested footy.
On a positive note, how good is Tyson Milne? He is rapidly turning into a premier rebound defender, and I have a feeling we won't get to keep him for too long. Matt Nelson shows some real promise and I think is going to become a really good footballer.
We are being badly hurt by lack of depth in the list. Nobody's fault, this is an exceptionally good list build given where we were at going into summer. With some crucial injuries we just don't have the talent/experience to replace guys like Roberts, Grey, Campbell-Farrell, Smith, Coe, Sharp etc. As it is we drop off pretty significantly after our best 20. Hopefully we keep the group together long enough to see the kids develop. With a full list available I think we would have toppled Werribee, but that's footy eh.
Things are rapidly going south for finals hopes, which is a real shame. There is so much to like about this side, but injuries have really made life hard. It's defnitely a positive that while we're enduring a very tough month with three losses, at least we're not doing the bad old Dolphins thing and getting blown away. 29 points to a flag contender on their deck is no disgrace.
One last thing - Noah Gown gave his best effort for us yesterday, but his treatment from the umpires was frankly disgraceful. Nathan Cooper was all over him like a rash and clearly holding or chopping his arms on a number of occasions and he got nothing. I found that mind boggling given how quick all umpires were to ping our blokes for even the slightest contact. Umpiring in general left a lot to be desired, including two awful blunders from one of the goal umpires.
I think if Frankston manage to get 9-9 this season it will be a success. Only in 2001, 2006 and 2008 have the Dolphs won 50% or better across a full season in the new VFL, so while I'd love to see them in the final 10 and will be pumped if they make it, just missing out and winning nine games would still be a great step in the right direction IMO.
9-9 would certainly be a passing grade in my book. Wasn't aware we've only had three seasons with a 50-50 or better win rate. 9 wins should see us comfortably in the middle table. What's most important in my opinion is:
- Ensuring we don't get blown away in any remaining losses. If we have a few close losses with a 9-9 record, it makes a strong case that we're not far off being a finals side.
- Keeping the momuntum going into 2025. This side has a lot of potential but is hampered by injuries. George Grey won't be back for another month or so, which is a significant blow. But if we can keep the bulk of this team together and hopefully snag a few good recruits for next year, I'll be optimistic for 2025. The off-season and our player retention is going to reveal a lot about whether we're going places.