Intra Club Report

I was pretty anoyed last week when I found out that the Tigers were going to be playing an intra-club praccy at 10am on a Thursday as with work there wasn't much chance I could make it. Then, in my own long awaited comeback from a 9 year lay off from suburban cricket, I somehow managed to do my back. Hence a week off to recover and an appearance at the match.

Some people will think that I, along with the 2000 other fans, are a little bit crazy to go and see a practise match but as one supporter wrly remarked "No matter what happens the Tigers are going to get a win." And despite the often atrocious skills and mind numbingly dumb decisions that usually accompany a match so early in the season the Tigers undoubedly recorded a resounding W today.

From the moment Ben Cousins delivered a long pass lace out and to the advantage of a forward in a one on one position deep in the 50 metre arc the crowd could see that the champ was still a Rolls Royce. While others fumbled, miskicked and ran into trouble, Ben ran to the right spots, remained calm and delivered the ball with precision.

Just as promising was the performance of some of the youngsters. Alex Rance is sharp. He runs the lines, kicks long and will be a very attacking player. Not to mention that for a 19 year old he is a big strapping lad who looks like he belongs. If he doesn't get a run in the back line this year then he should be tried as a midfielder as he knows how to find the ball and links up well through the middle.

Jayden Post was started up forward and apart from a very strong pack mark and resulting goal was fairly quiet up forward. This could however be attributed to the fact that he was playing for the white side (the seconds) and the ball wasn't getting past the half way mark very often. His second half however was more the second half of a veteran. After moving to the backline and being placed on the earlier dominant Jack Riewoldt, Post seemed to have the ball on a string. He moves well for a big guy (and for a first year player he is quite big), has good vision and likes to run with the ball and link up with handball. On occassion his kicks were a little short or overbaked but even Brett Deledio could be accused of this.

There were also some positive signs in the forward department. Jack Riewoldt took quite a few strong marks and in truth never looked like dropping anything he could get his hands to. He also kicked very well, dobbing at least 3 goals and none of them easy. Riewoldt, for such a young bloke, is definately no wall flower and his voice could often be heard telling other players what to do. Mostly his instructions were simple, "Kick it. Kick it! Kick it to me!"

Cleve Hughes has shaved his head, looks very fit, strong and tall enough and at times he presented very well. His kicking for goal is still first class. He also provided one of the highlights of the day with a strong mark going back with the flight into a pack situation. He had eyes only for the ball. He will be more than handy if he can play 22 games this season.

Dean Putt played mostly as a forward for the seconds with brief and none to convincing stints in the ruck. Up close he looks to have added some muscle to his 202cm frame and it is impressive how quick and agile he is for a big man. He has much to work on, most notably his kicking, but he looks like he could be a very effective forward as he is a very good runner, has good skills, moves to the right spots and can take a contested mark. He will only improve as a forward but I would only be persisting with him as a forward option as his rucking leaves a lot to be desired.

As far as the small forwards go Robin Nahas was the best. He showed some good courage taking a mark running back with the flight. He kicked at least one, tackled and showed some good pace in the midfield at one stage. Alroy Gilligan was super agile and elusive but definately lacks confidence at this stage to really take the game on and he does prefer the game once the ball has hit the ground. He is however a natural tackler and he regulalry brought bigger oponents to the ground when it seemed he had no right to. Mitch Morton, although he showed some good signs and did some nice things was a little disapointing. He wasted the ball a little bit today and for someone with his skill and ability this shouldn't be happening.

In the ruck department Troy Simmonds still stands out as the most complete option we have. In the short time he was on the ground he rucked well and picked up his usual possessions around the ground. Angus Graham continues to baffle. He looks quick enough. Has a good leap. Is a massive unit and he manages to get his hands on the ball in marking contests however he is just not quite there in everything he does. He was beaten in the ruck and dropped too many takeable marks although his link up play around the ground does look to have improved.

Tyrone Vickery was impressive. He keeps his eyes on the ball at the tap out and won a few clearances himself just through superior judgement. He also fought hard when the ball was at ground level and was able to win some contested footy and provide service for outside players. He took a good grab and never shirked the contest. With a couple of summers in the gym he should prove to be a handy player.

Despite Tyrone's impressive performance and Andrew Browne showing some signs, the ruck is still probably our biggest weakness as there is no ready made option to take Simmonds spot if he goes down.

In the midfield however we shouldn't have any such problem. Brett Deledio looks to have picked up where he left off. He is an imposing man now and is not afraid to take the game on. Nathan Foley was busy as usual and played the game with his usual intensity. Matt White was explosive. Tommy Hislop was right in the game and puts his body on the line. Mark Coghlan found the ball and was involved in some good passages but for me, with the exclusion of Ben Cousins who is simply pure class, Shane Edwards looked the pick of the bunch. He picked up plenty of the ball, used it very well and was calm under pressure. He also looks to be have got his body up to AFL specifications and it's this pundits opinion that he will be a genuine midfielder of quality.

Of the midfielders who played little or no AFL footy last season Dean Polo and Andrew Collins looked the best. Dean Polo had a lot of minutes and a lot of the footy. He isn't overly quick but he doesn't get caught with the ball and he used it well today. Andrew Collins, in the second half when it was virtually a VFL game, had the ball on the string. He owned the corridor, picking up the ball with regularity on the half back line and delivering it into the forward 50. He has put on some size and it will be interesting to see whether he can crack an AFL spot this season with such stiff competition for places. He will undoubtedly be looking to pull off a Kelvin Moore and stake his claim in the NAB cup.

Speaking of Kelvin Moore, our back line looks like it will continue to be a boon in 2009. McGuane was very solid, Thursty looked fit and even went for a stroll at one stage. Rance as previously mentioned is damaging and he looks like a young Matthew Scarlett with a decent hair cut. Andrew Raines provided a lot of rebound and carry in the first half when the game was at its hottest and while King looked a bit rusty to begin with he took over where Raines left off once he had gone off. Unfortunately McMahon doesn't looked to have ironed out his weaknesses over the off season and it will be interesting to see how he is used this season. Especially if Raines, King and Tambling are all played in the same side.

Many of you will be wondering how JON aquitted himself and to be honest I thought he played well. He was hard at it and committed, he was quick and he used the ball fairly well. He didn't play too much of the game but he has spent much of the summer in the rehab group. It will be interesting to see how his season unfolds and where he will play most of his footy.

It would be amiss of me not to mention Richo in this write up so here it goes. Richo started on the wing and looked very fit. He has really grown as a wingman and when he gets the ball he now looks sure of himself. He took a great mark deep in the back line and in his short time on the ground he was everywhere. Ominously for opposition scouts he managed to sneak into the forward line and recieve a long switch kick from Joel Bowden from the opposite pocket. I am sure this was a set play and it will give many wingman nightmares leading up to a game with the Tigers. In ominous signs his little side kick, Nathan Brown, was silk. He to only played for a short while but he found the ball with ease and he made the ball talk. He, Richo and Ben Cousins will prove too much for many teams this year I predict.

Finally Polak. I shouldn't really say finally Polak as it is not as if we have waited too long for his return to footy. At first I didn't recognise him as he was wearing a helmet however once I had done the deductions and realised that ofcourse the player in the helmet was Polak I couldn't help but notice the way he was throwing himself into the contests. He doesn't look to have lost any size and a few of the boys would have felt their bones rattle as he through himself into contested marking situations. His hands are not as clean as they once were but he was able to take one very impressive pack mark. He is far from being a spent force and on todays performance he may even make a senior return at some stage this season.

Best: I won't list a real best as it was too much of a scratch match to judge but I was very impressed with the following: Edwards, Cousins, Rance, Post (in the back line), Raines, Deledio, Jack Riewoldt.

Injuries/injury concerns Shulz hobbled off and did not return. He appeared to have done something to his right leg. Maybe a hamstring, knee or ankle.

Tuck didn't play for long and was having some work done on one of his thighs by a trainer although it didn't appear to hamper him too much.

Connors didn't play for long and only appeared to get one touch deep in the forward line. Looks like his big summer has held him back.

Absent that I noticed: Kayne Pettifer, Trent Cotchin, Richard Tambling.