Weekly Player Ratings: Round 6 Relief

[inxs88]

Thank god, thank god, thank god. We essentially played excellent football for the first 40% of the match and defended like a boxer on the ropes but well ahead on points for the last 60%. Lucky? Perhaps. Better of the umpires overall? Probably. But as the season progresses these 4 points might be our most valuable.

So the player ratings:

1. Stephenson: Missed a second goal by 10 millimetres and kicked a vital third quarter goal against the play and assisted a few others. Respectable day. 6/10

2. DeGoey: A hotchpotch of the brilliant and the frustrating especially his accuracy for goal, however he kicked "that goal and that time" in the last quarter. His second half forays into the midfield are great for his fitness and our versatility. 7/10

4. Grundy: 24 possessions, some great contested marks and 39 hit outs. Was a tad neutralised in last quarter by Bellchambers, but more due to Cox being injured. 8.5/10

7. Treloar: first half great but Guelfi seemed to quell his influence in the second half especially with Adam's rushed disposal. His last foray into goal from outside 50 metres was putrid and potentially costly despite the pressure of the moment. 6.5/10

8. Langdon: stiff to cop the Baguley free kick against him given Tom's jumper was held first and for a long period of time. Won a vital contest late amidst the odd error during the day. Serviceable. 6/10

10. Pendlebury: his best and most effective game for 2 seasons. He moved like the Scott of old, was damaging forward of centre at critical times and his disposal efficiency the very reason we won the game. Especially when compared to Dylan Shiel's butchering efforts. Inspirational. 9.5/10

11. Beams: Had 28 possessions and was good early but a bit like Treloar, was less effective in the second half and didn't seem to be visible and pivotal when the game was at its hottest. 6/10

13. Adams: 23 possessions, 8 tackles and a goal was a fair effort with no silly inboard kicks on the "45" to the opposition. Vital cog. 7.5/10

17. C. Brown: For a young player he handled the occasion as good as can be expected. The critical contest and spearing pass out of half back, his best highlight of the day. That and his milking of the clock late when shooting for goal. His goalkicking accuracy? Well he wasn't alone today but he really needs to work on this. 6/10

18. Varcoe: 10 possessions and 6 tackles, one goal assist to Stephenson aren't enough. Shall be looking at his mobile around Wednesday next week for a call from Bux telling him he is out for the Port Adelaide game. 2/10

19. Greenwood: Only 10 possessions as a defender. To be honest I am not sure who he was on, however Levi lacks the run and carry abilities to be effective in this role. It's tag or bust. 5/10

21. Phillips: his courage and commitment was the highlight reel and most telling attributes of Tom's day today. Bux leveraged this at quarter time. 26 possessions was a solid outcome too. 7/10

22. Sidebottom: 24 possessions, his first goal since round 1 mixed with some awful disposal especially entering 50 made Steele's day a tad vanilla. 6/10

23. Roughead: kept Mitch Brown goalless and useless and won some important contests especially one late in the game that lead to DeGoey's pivotal goal. May be our most effective low draft pick swap recruit since Shane Wakelin. 6.5/10

24. Thomas: Outside the banana goal, Thomas' inability to realise he is slow paced and has no chance of evading Saad ever was a faux pas committed not just once but twice! Like Varcoe, he is a week to week prospect if he continues these middling efforts. 4/10

25. Crisp: 29 possessions and 6 tackles plus numerous thrusts out of defence were nearly exceeded by his missed kick with 2 minutes to go over the Pies player's head. Lucky Jack. 8/10

30. Moore: over 4 quarters Daniher's 4 goals made him the winner on the day. However, Darcy won some vital contests and can walk away having learned more about defending an elite forward's craft than any other games this year. 6.5/10

32. Hoskin Elliott: with zero match conditioning WHE played to about the level any fab would have hoped for. That 3rd quarter missed shot for goal was potentially costly and if kicked, would have lifted his rating. 6/10

37. Maynard: bounced back from an early hit to the ribs and hip with 19 possessions and 6 tackles. Respectable. 6.5/10

38. Howe: his marking today was enormous and curbed numerous Essendon thrusts. The only knock is his weekly exits from defence. In the first quarter today he butchered it twice to the opposition. Legacy of his bad corkie last year?? Perhaps. May cop 2 weeks for the Ridley tackle. 7.5/10

41. Mihocek: unsighted after the first quarter. I love Brodie's career trajectory however he has gone missing on the big stage a few times now, that if continued, may hurt us in September. 3/10

46. Mason: First half enormous with two goals and intimidation. That missed 3rd quarter shot for goal was awful and CAN'T happen Mason. As Bruce said, he could win us a Grand Final one day. But also he could lose us one. Injured in 4th quarter hurt us. 7/10

Summary:

We lacked 6-8 four quarter players today, but there have been many occasions us Pies fans have witnessed us being the better side only to come up short. bank the win, relax and move on to Port Adelaide Friday week.

[inxs88]

Great post

[tbaker]

Generally fair assessment, which I mostly agree with. Not sure if Greenwood warranted 3 more rating points than Varcoe.

[inxs88]