Toast #186 Nic Naitanui (2009 - 2023)

Remove this Banner Ad

Nic Naitanui's Round 6 v Western Bulldogs

Q3
12:25 – is subbed into the match and comes on to loud applause.
12:13 – punches the ball from a contest in the back 50.
10:28 – competes in the ruck for the first time this year. Wins the centre ruck contest straight down to Kerr who is tackled straight away.
9:26 – Centre bounce ruck contest. Belts the ball 20m forward to a running Shuey who is caught high but slips under the tackle and shorts the ball to LeCras.
8:25 – big fist in a Dogs kick out.
8:20 – perfect palm down to Priddis from a boundary throw-in.
6:33 – wins centre bounce again.
6:28 – umpire pings him for being over the ball once it hits the ground.
5:22 – picks up loose ball and releases Gaff into the centre of the ground. Gaff takes a handful of bounces and hits Cox 20m out from goal.
4:23 – centre bounce recalled. Naitanui wins comprehensive tap to a running Selwood.
4:10 – is beaten by Minson but likely just the throw-in conspiring against him.
3:22 – wins a tap down to the front of a boundary throw-in which is grabbed by Masten. Not a hitout to advantage technically.
3:11 – wins a tap down to the front of a boundary throw-in which Gaff fumbles. Again good but not a HO to advantage.
2:41 – beaten by superior position to Minson in a forward pocket throw-in.
2:29 – beaten by Minson in a ball up in West Coast's forward 50.
1:34 – beaten in strength by Minson in a boundary thrown-in on the wing.
1:27 – beats Minson in a further boundary throw-in on the wing but sharked by Dogs player.

Q4
20:00 - starts in the middle. Wins the tap but it is not comprehensive and Minson smacks the ball away once it bounces.
19:29 – wins centre bounce but not to advantage.
19:00 – wins tap at bounce in Dogs forward 50. Not to advantage.
18:43 – receives free kick in back pocket for ruck infringement. Hands the ball to Hurn.
18:23 – wins boundary throw-in on wing. Not to advantage.
17:52 – boundary throw-in seemed to be missed by both ruckmen.
17:15 – wins boundary throw-in but not to advantage.
17:00 – comprehensive double tap to a full-flight Priddis on the offensive side of the wing from a ball up. Eventually results in a Cox mark and goal.
16:30 – wins the centre bounce tap. Not to advantage.
15:15 – Minson wins the boundary throw-in but to no advantage.
15:00 – another Minson win from a boundary throw-in but not comprehensive.
9:57 – wins a soft touch tap from the centre bounce which Priddis runs on to setting up a forward 50 entry.
9:05 – wins tap from ball-up. Good idea but not read properly by Priddis.
8:18 – again wins the centre tap. No advantage.
3:45 – strong lead and grab from a pinpoint Gaff kick. Quick hands off creating a scoring opportunity.
0:19 – edged illegally out of a marking contest on the wing. Receives free kick. Goes really long for a mark to Hill just before the final siren.

Summary
Naitanui still looks underdone but that is to be expected. Some of his ruckwork was glorious to watch. Particularly in the centre bounces Naitanui dominated when he came on in the 3rd quarter. He competed in 8 centre bounces and won every single one of them, some of them were comprehensive HOs to advantage. In the boundary throw-ins Minson was just as good when he could find Naitanui's body. As Minson is in great form at the moment this is no indictment on Naitanui.

Naitanui only really took the one big mark (and it was on the lead out of the forward 50). Obviously he had significantly reduced game time but one would hope that he would impact the game a bit more frequently with his aerial skills in marking contests. Hard to judge without a full game mind you.

Naitanui was involved in a couple of plays where he was instrumental. In the third he gave a great handball to a running Gaff who hit Cox lace out. In the final he took a strong mark on the lead with an immediate handball that should have resulted in a scoring opportunity. Again, need more of this but as he had limited game time there's enough to suggest he'll have an impact outside of his ruckwork.
 
Nic Naitanui's Round 7 v Brisbane

Q1
19:57 – wins CBH (centre bounce HO) against Leuenberger but sharked by Rockliff.
19:33 – wins ball-in on centre wing. Ball goes to Rosa.
18:08 – Leuenberger wins this CBH by the smallest margin. Naitanui's palm is almost on the ball.
15:44 – Naitanui beats Leuenberger in a marking contest on the wing. Umpire adjudges he pushed Leuenberger – soft free.
12:30 – Naitanui wins CBH to himself – HO to advantage? Kicks ball to half forward flank.
12:13 – puts pressure on Rockliff which sees him drop the mark. Rockliff recovers though.
11:50 – wins a great tap down from a ball up on Eagles 50m line. Goes straight to LeCras who kicks poorly for goal.
10:53 – accidentally runs under the ball allowing Leuenberger a free tap at it from a boundary throw-in. Rain causes his tap to be incidental though.
10:43 – good palm down from a ball-up to Priddis but because of the moisture it slips off his chest.
10:16 – Leuenberger goes to lengths to initiate contact and distract Naitanui. Hard to tell who go the HO but certainly wasn't effective.
9:04 – massive tap in the CBH to Naitanui. Shuey almost runs on to the ball but spoiled by a Lion.
4:17 – great play from Hurn running through the centre. Massive 55m kick to Naitanui who holds the ball for about a second and it is paid a mark. Kicks from the top of the goal square and goals.
2:50 – perfect palm down to Priddis from the CBH. Shanks a kick along the ground. Probably consider it a HO to advantage.
2:25 – double handed palm down to Shuey. Can't control it because Raines is hanging off him.
1:59 – incidental tap to Naitanui but effective, unfortunately Wellingham overruns the ball. Naitanui follows up and kicks along the ground.
1:43 – no effective knock-out to either Naitanui or Leuenberger but Naitanui recovers the ball while laying on the ground and manufactures a 25m handball going West Coast's way on the wing.
1:10 – gets a handball under Raines' legs but too smart for Rosa who couldn't handle the slippery ball on the ground.

Q2
19:57 – wins a great palm down to Wellingham in the CBH. Again this is so close but Wellingham can't control it.
19:42 – probably just wins the HO from a throw-in on the wing. It has no impact either way.
19:26 – push out paid against Naitanui for a further throw-in on the wing. Possibly there as Leuenberger had no capacity to get to the drop of the ball. However, Naitanui wasn't the only one pushing.
18:31 – Leuenberger wins the HO in the Lions forward pocket. Nothing results.
18:22 – good tap to Schofield from Naitanui. Unfortunately Schofield is too busy watching his player and so it bounces off his back.
18:11 – fantastic tap to Priddis from a ball-in on Brisbane's forward flank.
17:31 – disputable who won the tap from a ball-in in Brisbane's forward pocket.
17:20 – a Brisbane player tries to shepherd Naitanui off the ruck contest. Umpire doesn't see it but Naitanui gets to the contest anyway. Hard to tell who won the tap.
16:21 – competes in a marking contest on the back flank. Fisted away from him by one of the Lions in the pack.
13:04 – massive fist out of the CBH by Naitanui. Goes about 25m. Cleared by Brisbane backs.
12:40 – shuffles out a little handball from a ball-up that was cut away from by the cameras.
12:27 – ball goes over Naitanui but no effective HO to either ruckman from a ball-in.
12:00 – wins tap down from ball-in. Ricochets off a foot and away from the contest.
11:23 – subtle tap in the CBH. Probably not a HO to advantage as it bounces before Priddis picks up but causes a comprehensive clearance to West Coast.
10:56 – handballs out of a contest but not really effective.
10:40 – Leuenberger pushes Naitanui from a ball-in on West Coast's forward flank. Fairly lightly but umpire picks up on it and pays Naitanui the free. Kicks about 30m to the 50m line. The kick is good but Kennedy is well spoiled by Merrett.
10:26 – Naitanui whacks it about 30m inside 50m. Ball eventually trickles over the line.
10:20 – free kick given to Adcock before the ball reaches the two ruckmen.
9:20 – another big tap by Naitanui over Leuenberger. Just clears a Brisbane player on the wing but another runs on to it behind him.
6:23 – for a rare occasion Leuenberger beats Naitanui in the CBH. However, Naitanui crumbs and sets up Priddis with a great little shuffle handball. Priddis bursts out of the centre but takes a split second too long and is caught by Lester.
5:42 – outbodies Leuenberger in a marking contest on the wing but drops the slippery ball.
5:32 – taps down in front from a ball-in on the wing but Wellingham overruns the ball.
3:08 – Shuey overkicks Naitanui who is playing as a forward. Clarke marks.

Q3
19:57 – wins the CBH against Leuenberger. Priddis can't quite run on to it.
19:34 – slight win to Leuenberger from a boundary throw-in.
19:25 – sublime tap down to Selwood from a ball-up on West Coast's side of the wing.
18:57 – Naitanui taps the ball down from a throw-in. Ends up with Hutchings kicking it forward.
18:37 – Naitanui taps the ball down in front from a throw-in. No one there for either team. Ends up with Priddis.
16:10 – great tap by Naitanui in the CBH. Unfortunately Raines holds Shuey off getting to the drop of the ball.
15:05 – subtle hand by Naitanui in the CBH. Ball bounces and then comes up into the arms of Priddis who bombs inside 50.
14:27 – Leuenberger leads Naitanui to mark on the wing. Kicks long to a Brown vs Mackenzie contest.
13:32 – camera not present for this wing contest but Naitanui runs away with the ball and handballs as he is being tackled.
13:11 – gets a tap down in front of the ruck contest from a boundary throw-in in Brisbane's forward 50.
9:18 – two-on-one against him on the forward flank. Gets a hand on the floating ball causing a boundary throw-in.
7:30 – Leuenberger misjudges the CBH and Naitanui takes it straight out of the air. Spoiled by Brisbane players as he goes to kick.
7:12 – Leuenberger wins tap from boundary throw-in from the forward pocket for Brisbane. But there is no advantage for Brisbane.
7:00 – Naitanui wins the tap down from the resulting further boundary throw-in. Priddis toe-pokes it off the ground.
6:22 – receives handball on the back flank and a long handball out of trouble to Mitch Brown sets up a West Coast forward movement.
5:44 – Naitanui almost takes a big mark over Leuenberger at CHB. When the ball hits the ground he mops up and gets the handball off to Priddis.
5:12 – subtle tap by Leuenberger to a waiting Zorko. Bounces above him and Naitanui punches it into the forward pocket.
1:12 – Leuenberger gets a goal on Cox.
1:04 – tap from Naitanui down to Selwood but intercepted. Naitanui recovers the ball at ground level but knocked away from him.

Q4
19:57 – beats Leuenberger in the CBH. After bobbling around a bit sharked by Black who clears.
18:04 – Naitanui vs Leuenberger on the wing. Falls short and Scooter fists away. Leuenberger recovers to hand over to Hanley.
17:34 – sublime tap from Naitanui in the CBH to Priddis who hands Shuey who clears.
16:48 – Naitanui playing at full forward flies for a pack mark but Kennedy impedes him from marking.
16:03 – high ball from Wellingham gives Naitanui every chance to mark, even opposed to Clarke and Merrett. Naitanui soars and clunks the mark 15m out. He goes back and goals.
15:25 – both Naitanui and Leuenberger seem to nullify each others taps in the CBH.
11:24 – Naitanui with a comprehensive tap out of the CBH. Rosa and his opponent overrun the ball.
10:45 – Leuenberger seems to win this tap on the forward flank for Brisbane but it goes straight to Scooter.
10:30 – Naitanui outmuscles Leuenberger in a pack marking contest and lays a big fist into the ball on the back 50m.
10:20 – small tap from Naitanui to Wellingham in a ball up. Bounces out of Wellingham's arms under pressure.
10:07 – double-handed tap by Naitanui in a ball up opposing Leuenberger. Goes to a two-on-one against Scooter though and McGrath wins out.
7:34 – perfect tap from Naitanui in the CBH. He taps it behind himself to a running Priddis who veers around and hits Cox on the lead.
3:37 – another tap down from Naitanui in the CBH. This time to Dalziell who kicks to CHF but coughs the ball up.
2:52 – Naitanui appears to be pushed forward by Leuenberger at a throw-in but could have been playing for a free. The umpires think so and allow play to continue.
2:46 – Leuenberger wins a tap against Naitanui while the ball is on the wing.
1:35 – leads Leuenberger to a Wellingham kick but Leuenberger closes at the death and impedes his ability to mark (legally).
1:20 – great tap down from a throw-in in the forward pocket. Naitanui's HO goes to Hutchings who breaks for goal but lacks composure to kick it.
1:07 – Leuenberger breaks well for the kick in and marks on the back flank. Plays on and gets tackled by Glass. Free kick is paid against him.

Summary
Severely underrated game by Naitanui against Brisbane. Perhaps it was because the commentators kept banging on about how good Leuenberger was. But let us consider the centre-bounce HOs where they competed against each for some perspective.

In the CBH Naitanui won 15 of a possible 18 opposed to Leuenberger (Q1 19:57, 12:30, 9:04, 2:50, Q2 19:57, 11:23, Q3 19:57, 16:10, 15:05, 7:30, Q4 19:57, 17:34, 11:24, 7:34, 3:37). Two were won by Leuenberger (Q1 18:08, Q2 6:23) one of which was sharked by Naitanui (Q2 6:23). One I considered inconclusive (Q4 15:25). Needless to say when a player wins 15 of 18 HOs in the centre it is difficult to see how the other could be said to be the better ruckman. Naitanui won a couple other CBH opposing other Brisbane players.

I felt Naitanui was slightly better than Leuenberger in the around-the-ground contests as well. They both won their fair share of HOs but there were a couple from Naitanui that set up Eagles players into a lot of space.

Then there were Naitanui's two goals as a forward. His first (Q1 4:17) was West Coast's last for the quarter and the next wasn't until the 8 minute mark of the second quarter. His second was really important (Q4 16:03) it begun the momentum for West Coast that would eventually see them run out the game. Against two tall defenders he sailed over Merrett for the mark.

Having rewatched the game in depth I have no doubt Naitanui was the best ruckman on the ground. Those who claim Leuenberger was better are mistaken.
 
Owe some more game run downs but just a brief update should suffice for the moment.
Naitanui is average 130.67 champion data points for his three full games back (this would place him 2nd out of all players - only behind little Gazza).
He is averaging 23 HOs, 2.2 marks (1.7 contested), 12.7 disposals (9.2 contested), 3.5 clearances, 3.5 tackles and 1.2 goals a game.
Now bearing in mind that his stats are deflated by starting as a sub in his first game back here is how he compares for averages ATM amongst the top 20 average HOs:
- 10th for average HOs (Minson, Goldstein, Jamar, Warnock, Leuenberger, Cox, Jacobs, Clarke and Pyke ahead)
- 6th for average disposals (Cox, McEvoy, Maric, Minson and Leuenberger ahead)
- 1st for average contested disposals (McEvoy on 8.7, Minson on 8.5 and Cox on 8.2 are the closest, and then it drops off after that)
- 3rd for average clearances (only Minson and Maric ahead)
- 1st for average tackles
- 2nd for average goals (only Bellchambers ahead)
Suffice to say that despite returning from injury he is on track to have a season that may surpass 2012 (albeit he has missed a few weeks).
Probably won't make AA ruck this year (unless Goldstein drops off) but is going to be a huge influence for us in the 2nd half of the year.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Of interest, if we were to exclude Naitanui's round 6 - because he was sub and played less than 50% of the game, here is where he'd stand in the rankings:
- 10th for average HOs (26.3 HOs avg)
- 1st for average disposals (15.33 disposals avg)
- 1st for average contested disposals (10.67 contested disposals avg)
- 2nd for average clearances (4 clearances avg)
- 1st for average tackles (4.33 tackles avg)
- 1st for average goals (1.67 goals avg)
Needless to say these are ridiculous averages.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Alrighty then...what do we have here. Thread on page 2 (poor start). One player sponsor post for last year (ok, it was a dud year so all is forgiven).

kane249 the OP is missing his All Australian 2012 from the honours. Also his 2015 Brownlow and 2016 Norm Smith, but I'll let that slide for now.

The times, they are a changin'.
 
Groin Watch 2015 pre-season update:

356815-tlsgallerylandscape.jpg


Current Groin Status: Encouraging.
 
Excitement levels: Rising

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-22/nic-nats-point-to-prove

But he's feeling fit in January for the first time in years and is reaping the benefits of the Eagles' gruelling pre-season in the Perth heat.

"It's unusual, I think in previous years I've only clocked up maybe 20 or 30 hours of actual track time in the pre-season," Naitanui said.

"So I've surpassed that by a couple of hundred hours so far. It's a different feeling – it's a great feeling – and I'm looking forward to the year ahead.
Click to expand...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-22/nic-nats-point-to-prove
 
Groin Watch 2015 Final pre-season update:

Groin Status: Mostly MIA.

After Nic's "best" pre-season ever, suddenly he's a bit tight and misses every single actual pre-season game but the last one. So I got my ticket and dragged a Dockers supporting friend along so I could regale him with the prefix "Reigning Brownlow Medallist" every time Matt Priddis got a touch.

Nic was obviously in need of an actual game. He was a bit rusty, especially when attempting a mark (not sure he held any), but as this is Groin Watch (tm), I was more focused on how he moved.

In brief, he moved well. He was quick, jumped really high and displayed some good swervability (patent pending). While I'm still clearly worried about his sudden vanishing act from the earlier pre-season games, he's actually looking fine. get a little touch in his hands and he could be back for a best ever season.

Here's hoping. One week till the real stuff.
 
Groin Watch Round 1 - The Great Depression

Well, round 1 was so bad it took me until Thursday to shake off the funk and write a match report. A 10 point loss to a team that lost its 3 best midfielders in the off season, Mitch Brown joining Emac in the wounded knee 2015 retirement home, and the prospect of Will Schofield holding down a key defensive post have filled me with naked terror for what the rest of the season holds.

Despite all this, groin watch for this week is a positive one as the groin in question looks to be in great Nic. Unfortunately I missed large chunks of the game so the info I'm going off is mostly second hand, but when Nic was on the field we looked good. His stats were ok without setting the world on fire. 15 touches (14 contested), 38 hitouts, only 2 tackles, no marks. 90DT and 92 SC. A better hitout than his previous outing in the NAB cup, and certainly building. Needs to start taking marks though. Nic comfortably beat Minson, though Minson shaded Nic on the SC score mainly thanks to laying 7 tackles. For comparison, 7 is the same number of hitouts as Lycett had :mad:

Still...things can only get better right? Except losing to Carlton at home would probably crush me for the season...On the plus side I can't make the game this week so I'll be able to turn off the TV if it's truly horrible. Here's hoping for no injuries at least.

Way to stay positive...anyone for Prozac?
 
Groin Watch round 2: Where's my match report?

In a fit of Euphoria last Friday I immediately wrote a glowing match report, which has subsequently disappeared. Or what's more likely is that given I've been travelling all week, I gave serious thought to writing a match report and then had a senior citizen moment where I just thought I did.

Either way we're playing again in two days and there's no match report for last week, so here goes nothing.

What a game. Never before has a game containing 0 marks and only one attempted mark (going from memory here) been so dominant. From the opening goal to a dominant hitout performance, along with something like 7 tackles. Much better than the previous week anyway...aside from the marking which was about the same.

Did I mention he's still not marking the ball? This clearly has nothing to do with the groin as he's moving great. That one mark he dropped he was basically hovering over someones head, held aloft by sheer awesome.

I don't recall too many actual possessions, which likely means his around the ground work is still a bit lacking, but hell...it was Carlton. Our midfield racked up surprisingly big possession numbers given the opponent. Usually Carlton (even when getting thrashed) keeps possession numbers down as they pretty much tag every midfielder with a pulse (as Matt Priddis can attest to this week).

It should be mentioned that Carlton were reduced to their third choice ruckman and 4th choice relief ruckman, given their two actual ruckmen are injured. This week against good old (and I mean old) 211 will be the real test for Nic and Scott. Getting a good result in the ruck will be vital in our efforts to dominate the first half while scoring 2.23 and then being overrun in the second half.
 
Last edited:
Groin Watch Round 3 - Nothing to see here.

If we close our eyes, cover our ears and hold our noses (this last part is most important, because I think our midfield collectively shat its pants), we can almost imagine that first quarter and a bit on Sunday didn't happen.

In this magical world, we can look at a 30 point loss against a genuine premiership contender as not so bad, and concentrate on the stats.

Marks 1!!! Yes folks, it finally happened, even if it was a grubber mark taken while falling over....it's still progress.

The ugly part is the hitouts. Old 211 totally dominated with 33, while NicNat had 20. Our collective hitouts vs the Dockers were lost 47-27. Ghastly stuff. Nic seemed to want to play body contact with Sandi rather than just leaping over his head, and I have no idea why.

But seeing as blind optimism is a feature of this column, lets massage those stats into something great. For instance, Nic had 3 times as many tackles as Sandilands and Clarke combined! He kicked 2 goals! Aaaand that's all I've got. It really wasn't a great game for Nic or anyone else in a blue and gold shirt.

Still...this week we get to play a team that's travelling even worse than us...that's got to be a positive right? Flat track bully mode, ENGAGE!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

kane249
#41 Ryan Maric (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
595
Mop
Mop
kane249
#5 Jayden Hunt (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
469
kane249
kane249
kane249
#7 Reuben Ginbey (2023 - )
Replies
2
Views
485
kane249
kane249
kane249
#8 Elijah Hewett (2023 - )
Replies
2
Views
493
kane249
kane249
kane249
#30 Harry Barnett (2023 - )
Replies
3
Views
671
Mop
Mop
kane249
#38 Jordyn Baker (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
2K
kane249
kane249
kane249
#43 Tyrell Dewar (2023 - )
Replies
1
Views
420
kane249
kane249

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top