Autopsy Round 4, 2025: Positives and Negatives vs GWS

[Broken_Chairs]

He is a bit limited indeed. Don't think he can play anywhere else other than the midfield and he's not exactly outstanding at that either. I think he has something to offer if he's a rotation and can do some of the dirty work but unsure how he'll be going forward.

He's tough and plays a contested game - i think he could be a solid tagger or yeah, a solid defensive mid rotation.

 

[eaglesnutcase]

AReid- it’s officially a love affair.Work on that kicking.
Gross -See above. Just a goer!
Please play Harley as a defensive mid.He needs a bit of freedom and we have nobody coming off the back of the bounce at speed.It makes him work,makes him responsible but also gives him more freedom than an attacking mid.
-Gibney will be unstoppable !
—— stick tackles
—— seriously Duggan is only just AFL standard.
——- Cole and Hunt the same!
——-Long as much as I love you; back to WAFL
——Baker I have above all them for sheer effort and guts .butttt…..We can’t have four or five ball butchers in the same side.
——-Dewar: harder for longer . Tackle with venom not half hearted wave the arms shit!
——- Hall? Please mate; cloze to the contest not sitting back coralling.Your position is iffy so you need to smash into the contest and tackle with; here’s that word again ; Venom!!!!!
BW if you have runout of puff don’t keep going back to the well; swap out!!
Maric was ok but a bit soft !
Greco sounds like the man to take over from Cole!
TK,Hough etc there is no sin in kicking 15-20m to Harley.He kept presenting for a short pass and got ignored!
If Harley is free anywhere KICK IT TO HIM!!!
He was working into the contest and kept getting ignored.HOUGH it’s often you!
Move quicker and lower the eyes!
Some nice green shoots.
Look out; Harley just may be back!!!

 

[Goroyals22]

Duggo

Seriously what chance do the young guys have when they have two absolutely pathetic leaders in Allen and Duggan putting in such little effort…

No wonder barass got the sheets when he wasn’t voted captain over those two muppets

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Well maybe he watched one of our captains do this to start the game and went ill follow his lead ::::

In a 2019 interview Barrass admitted that it's hard to find motivation after winning a flag.

I honestly think this is true for a lot of your so called senior players. They've been not giving a shit and enjoying the financial gravy train for a long time

The sooner the old generation (Yeo and McGovern excepted) are phased out of our team, the better.

 

[Broken_Chairs]

In a 2019 interview Barrass admitted that it's hard to find motivation after winning a flag.

I honestly think this is true for a lot of your so called senior players. They've been not giving a shit and enjoying the financial gravy train for a long time

The sooner the old generation (Yeo and McGovern excepted) are phased out of our team, the better.

Yeo & Gov are still putting in exceptional effort (when fit). They're the old boys you want to keep around.

 

[Bacchus]

Compare the pair

Brayden Ainsworth
Debut vs GWS (away)
15 touches
8 tackles
7 contested possessions
65% game time

Tom Gross
Debut vs GWS (away)
17 touches
1 tackle
7 contested possessions
70% game time

No comparison between the two apart from some partially similar irrelevant stats that you have quoted.

Gross is going to be a player, Ainsworth wasn’t. That’s the important stat.

 

[twce13]

JustI like Hall.

If he slots that running goal we'd be praising him. Would turn a solid game into a good game.

Not flashy but does his job IMO. Another 11CP's this week, 3rd most on the ground behind Baker and Tom Green. Let's not forget he's also still only 19 and playing inside midfield.

Happy to have him developing at AFL level, lots of upside. Once these Kent's all hit 50 games, it'll click.

Agree we need to keep pumping games into him.. and gross, dewar etc, get these guys to 50+ games and our fortunes begin to change.

I have no issue with what hall can provide the team, he is clearly talented in a stoppage situation and can should aim to be something akin to libba.

However, the issue with him atm is his two way running. Have to agree with the commentary that his opponent running of him too easily was noticable on the TV. Perhaps his tank needs work, but suspect this is why he was dropped two weeks ago. Still I would persist.

 

[KERRPOW]

Have we got rose coloured glasses on as a couple kids played?

 

[Cuzz09]

Have we got rose coloured glasses on as a couple kids played?

clearly.

But what else can we do?

 

[OldBlueEagle]

Very confused about ruck rules. Briggs would not even look at the ball, wait for Bailey to jump and stick arm and block his jump at ball. Even at boundary thro ins he would almost turn his back to boundary line. Surely that is a free?

 

[King LeBron]

The pick 3 for Baker talk is getting old. If Bo Allan was picked up earlier, it's likely we'd be having Murphy Reid running around for us right now. Pick 3 for Baker and Murphy Reid would have shut everyone up.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Don't quiet understand the enthusiasm with Hall?

Yes he works hard but if he's a piece in our future midfield then I'd be worried.

Very limited player

Agree, generally, but his best strength is our biggest weakness eg winning the loose/ground ball.

If he keeps collecting the footy at stoppages and giving it to the guys we actually want kicking the thing, he could build a nice little extractor role for himself.

I was very low on him coming into this year, particularly on some of his defensive efforts for an alleged tough nut, but I really don’t think he’s done anything wrong this year, along with doing quite a lot of good. Deserves a month uninterrupted to make his case and grow into the role.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Very confused about ruck rules. Briggs would not even look at the ball, wait for Bailey to jump and stick arm and block his jump at ball. Even at boundary thro ins he would almost turn his back to boundary line. Surely that is a free?

You can charge across the line and block the oppo ruckman however you want, as long you touch the footy before it hits the deck.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

The pick 3 for Baker talk is getting old. If Bo Allan was picked up earlier, it's likely we'd be having Murphy Reid running around for us right now. Pick 3 for Baker and Murphy Reid would have shut everyone up.

Pick 3 for Baker and two years of Murphy Reid would be fine until the trade request hits.

 

[Grahame]

Just to remind the doomsayers:

The Giants won by 81pts. Roughly 69 of those came in just 25-30 mins*. Meaning they only gained 12pts over us in the remaining 90? mins.

Not too bad for a very inexperienced team and coach against a top outfit.

* Q1 27m (23pt difference) to Q2 06m (53); and then Q4 6m (50) to Q4 20m (89).
(NB: Rough estimates from the Time Line.)

 

[WCEswift]

I dont get the hall bashing, hes a contest to contest mid that gets the ball out, he spent most of the day chasing TKs oppo because we all know TK didnt.

I'm not taking any Brock slander he was our only tall defender and used the ball so well as soon as theres another tall then def then we can assess, Ill fist fight anyone who says he cant play. Im 206 cm and weigh 2 ginbeys, pick your poison.

Cole has got to go, bring in Grego

 

[RanaNaved]

Really need to work on fundamentals and tackling.

Super impressed with Archer, not many teenagers could rag-doll Taylor (once) and Buckley (twice). Him and Shanahan will make for an imposing duo

 

[Dylan82]

Forward half gameplan... And yet the opposition half backs get to roam up the ground, playing without an opponent all day.



The midfield, whilst beaten, for the most fared somewhat better than could have been expected. Halfway through the third quarter West Coast were ahead in both contested possessions and inside 50s.

Yet the team were outscored 11 goals to 2 from stoppage as GWS were allowed to play their half backs as additional midfielders whose attacking runs forward were never tracked.

Uncontested possessions were -118; the 4th worst differential of that statistic for West Coast in the last 15 years.


With so many players running unopposed through the middle, the GWS forwards were able to get super-aggressive ahead of the ball without worrying about the potential risk of turnover, creating an outnumber in their favour almost every time they went forward.

The Giants had 19 shots on goal that originated from possession sources inside their own defensive half.


It's not like this was a surprise tactic from GWS either - it pretty much is their identity.

Those half back accumulators should have been shut down to the highest degree possible. Instead they were able to do as they pleased whilst Eagles' forwards stayed in their position, applying pressure towards the ball that was soon extinguished by the release of the man who had run off them.

Hopefully, A.McQualter goes through the tapes, sees the above issue undermining his desired gameplan, and puts something in place to ensure greater accountability and prevent so many loose opposition numbers from impacting higher up the ground.

Address that and suddenly much of the rot will become far easier to manage.



On individuals, there was an all-too-familiar feeling, that has happened far too many times in recent years, of players showing up, but not turning up to play.

T.Kelly, on the road and opposed by the 192cm T.Green, did as he has done in the past and became a spectator rather than compete against a bigger body. 6 disposals and 0 tackles at half time aren't acceptable.

O.Allen, after his self-inflicted week of being the media villain, showed little in the way of a response that will endear supporters. No goals, 3 score involvements, and his defending opponent was the most dominant player in that area of the ground.

T.Cole didn't even touch the ball in the first half at all - indeed all he did was give away a free kick and let his direct opponent get 8 score involvements in the same period. That's comical.

There were plenty more examples, where the experienced cohort seemingly refused to dig deep when faced with the task that was required. Those three names are simply specified due to how glaring their ineptitude was when each of the lines they were in was crying out for some form of positive example to follow.


But a corner certainly appears to have been turned in terms of squad output. Increasingly, performance is being led by the youth of the side rather than the leadership, which obviously leads to serious questions about the relevance and future of those older players - if they are not providing leadership, then all they are effectively doing is preventing another young player from getting a chance to develop.

Because, with the desperate state the club is in, there are at least some of positives to see in the kids.


T.Gross looks like a natural stoppage player with genuine midfield awareness. 17 disposals, led the team in clearances, score involvements, was second for inside 50s and kicked a goal. It says much about where the club is at when an 18-year old in their first match leads the midfield. If fit, he needs to play every game now.

H.Reid showed a maturity that I was starting to think was beyond him - didn't get sucked into arguing or wrestling or playing with the crowd (not that there was any) and just got back to basics and executed the best option when in possession. You could see his confidence returning the longer the match went on. Led the team for disposals; hopefully, just playing football, and not worrying about all the other stuff, is just what he needs.

A.Reid keeps showing signs that he has potential to become a seriously good player in years to come. Reads the ball well in the air and positions himself remarkably well in one-on-one contests for a player who is currently conceding a good amount of mass and strength against his opponents. Just needs to fix up that set shot kicking.

In J.McGovern's absence, it was R.Ginbey who marshalled the defence. Ten matches ago, his selection was being questioned. Now plays on bigs and smalls and looks like a lock for the next 10 years. Had twice the number of defensive spoils as the next best in the team did, in addition to 8 intercepts and over 500 metres gained. He still hasn't even played 50 games.

Since R.Maric has moved into defence, he has led the club in disposals, rebound 50s and metres gained. Defensively, he still has a lot to learn, but his offensive potential from that position is a weapon.

C.Hall showed that the match against Brisbane was not an aberration - only L.Baker and T.Green had more contested possessions from both teams. Needs to work on his tank as opponents were able to get away from him on the spread too easily on too many occasions. With his size and strength around stoppage, there is more than enough to work with there.

S.Brock was a key in a defence that was on the receiving end of a 9 goal day from J.Hogan - yet given the circumstances and the ease of how GWS were able to get possession forward in numbers, I feel he was actually one the team's better performers on the day in his debut. Used the ball well and had a game-high 9 intercepts.

J.Williams continues to quietly do what he does. Provides a contest, takes marks, takes on the ruck when asked and kicks truly in front of goal - what else can you ask for from a forward getting junk supply? Still only 21, scored multiple goals, and doing a lot more than the wantaway captain is right now.

H.Davis had a debut off the substitute chair, but did more in his limited minutes than many of his more experienced team-mates managed across the entire game.



The beginnings of the next core group are starting to take shape, but the harvest remains years away.

All the while, the hard work of dealing with the ossified parts has been left for a novel coach to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

 

[stallon]

Positives:
Harley at half back looked good, he looked good everywhere but he was allowed to touch the ball
Ginbey is very good
Brock I thought played ok, he had the hardest matchup in footy against Hogan with that supply
Gross played well, fitted in
Maric kept doing what hes been doing in defence
JWilliams and AReid both played well up forward and in the ruck
Duggan I thought played well

Negatives
Kelly poor
Long needs to be dropped
Cole poor
Forwards allowing GWS defenders to use the ball a bit too freely, but GWS are awesome at their ball movement so might just be GWS are that good

Im not going to get into our forwards much, a lot of it was more on the midfield.
Allen like Brock also had probably the hardest matchup in footy against Taylor, I thought he played ok despite not scoring

 

[ghostbat12]

Also centre square Clay Hall's opponent ran of him then kept on running and ended a getting the ball multiple times
Clay cant let that happen was poor needs to get in there way and stop the overlap run out of centre square

He saw Duggan do it, so he followed his role model.

 

[Dark Sharks]

If Allen "played ok" consider me Miles Davis

I don't think the bloke won a single 1v1 vs Taylor. A.Reid on the other hand won a couple, actually kicked a goal (unlike Allen), probably could've had a couple more, and is only in his what, 4th game?

Since when does the bar get lowered so much for Allen he's allowed to cruise around going goalless (2 games in a row now) because he's "doing a job" on the opposition full back?

Taylor wasn't BOG by any means, but he beat Allen in basically every single contest, that's the opposition captain mind you, took 3 contested grabs and had 9 intercept possessions.

I mean... Who do you give the chocolates to? The player who kept the opposition captain and full forward goalless with no impact, or the player who 'nullified' his opposing defender as his team went on to lose by 81pts?

 

[WCEswift]

Ok for you Brock Bashers i rewatched the ****ing game:
1st goal was on Maric, Ginbey cuts across but Hogan still takes it
2nd goal was a free from a Tom cole push, Despite Bwilliams being there to spoil
3rd On Brock on the lead out Brock despite matching Hogans jump misses the spoil, but noone was standing in the hole.
4th Brock on his ass Takes a freakishly strong mark, dare say only Hogan and treacy are marking that
5th Was the non paid mark to OA, Brock had to come out to make a contest at HFF against Cadman Leaving hogan alone I50, In this play Clay hall runs 150 meters trying to stop the play where kelly stops at the center circle.
6th Brock playing in front of Hogan, Hogan calls for it high, Brock goes to body and trips, dare say brock should have jumped in front but he'll learn, was also left one on one.
7th Was on Ginbey laser kick from Idun would have got every defender in the AFL
8th 2 Uncontested marks inside 50 Brock was split over going to which contest got done over the top.
9th Freak contested mark v Brock.

Ill give you 4 on Brock, 4 on a mix of others and 1 on no one.

 

[Bender_]

Ok for you Brock Bashers i rewatched the ****ing game:
1st goal was on Maric, Ginbey cuts across but Hogan still takes it
2nd goal was a free from a Tom cole push, Despite Bwilliams being there to spoil
3rd On Brock on the lead out Brock despite matching Hogans jump misses the spoil, but noone was standing in the hole.
4th Brock on his ass Takes a freakishly strong mark, dare say only Hogan and treacy are marking that
5th Was the non paid mark to OA, Brock had to come out to make a contest at HFF against Cadman Leaving hogan alone I50, In this play Clay hall runs 150 meters trying to stop the play where kelly stops at the center circle.
6th Brock playing in front of Hogan, Hogan calls for it high, Brock goes to body and trips, dare say brock should have jumped in front but he'll learn, was also left one on one.
7th Was on Ginbey laser kick from Idun would have got every defender in the AFL
8th 2 Uncontested marks inside 50 Brock was split over going to which contest got done over the top.
9th Freak contested mark v Brock.

Ill give you 4 on Brock, 4 on a mix of others and 1 on no one.

I don't think I've seen a negative post about Brock's game.

 

[maverick001]

I only watched the first quarter.
But regardless I don’t get why we took a first gamer in as our only key def to play on the best forward in the comp in a team that was always going to be on the end of a big touch up. Talking about feeding him to the wolves. Surely we could’ve kept Edwards in for one more week to give him a hand.
Otherwise, pleased to see the kids getting a good run and Gross sounds like he did super well

 

[WCEswift]

I don't think I've seen a negative post about Brock's game.

put your glasses on old man