VFL Round 17

[Pies2016]

Final scores - Blues 20.13 (133 ) defeat Pies 7.8 ( 50 )
Pretty much more of the same in the last quarter until Carlton took their foot of the throat half way through the last. Just so many unforced errors and bad decision making. Very few positives out of the day. Bytel was easily our best player and Jaith improved and continued trying as the game wore on. Smit has some serious tools for a big man and Parker will benefit immensely from his pre season with the club. Cox battled on for the entire game and considering his opponent and the time he’s been out of the game, he was serviceable.
The Blues knocked up 150 more possessions over the game and it looked that way, particularly after half time. The challenge was always going to be holding our own across the middle and that how it played out. Finishing our season earlier and than starting our pre season earlier as a result, might be the best thing for the club. We really struggle to put four quarters together and an early start to next year is probably the perfect platform we need to play out four quarters at both levels of the competition.

[Big T]

Thanks Pies. Surely Bytel plays next week- has been our best for a while now.

[Jen2310]

Thanks Pies. Surely Bytel plays next week- has been our best for a while now.

Racks it up for sure. Went at 41% efficiency. Not that these coaches seem to care about that.

[Jen2310]

Tough game.
With so many losses, I reckon some of these players have lost confidence.

Only 8 listers too, doesn't help. Carlton had around 12 I think.

I thought this was gonna be the one we snap our losing streak, and while there was some good signs early, it was the third quarter that got smashed.

A few comments:

Josh Eyre back in defence where he belongs. Just looks a natural behind the ball. Took some nice marks too.

Good first game back from injury from Parker.
Smit, played really good, and you can see the future there. Did well up forward. Will pair with Steene nicely next year.


Bytel racked it up, but used it poorly going at 41%

I thought Fin was our best mid, while only had 21, but he was more damaging with less possessions.
His ball use going inside 50 was excellent. Its clearly something he has cleaned up this year.

[Jezza]

FT = Carlton 20.13.133 defeated Collingwood 7.8.50

Goals: Smit 2, Mulvogue 2, Mahoney 2, Macrae 1.
Disposals: Bytel 31, Mahoney 22, Macrae 21, Parker 18, Lane 18, Jiath 18, Wilson 16, Longmire 15, Kennedy 15.
AF Points: Bytel 116, Macrae 86, Mahoney 79, Kennedy 79, Parker 70, Jiath 69, Cox 64, Smit 62, Schreiber 61.

[Jezza]

Clearances: Bytel 9, Smit 3, Macrae 3, Longmire 3, DeMattia 3.
Tackles: Macrae 6, Kennedy 5, MacDonald 4, Longmire 4, Bytel 4.
Marks: Schreiber 6, Kennedy 5, Bytel 5, Parker 4, Jiath 4.

[think better]

I didn't watch too much of the game but I really liked the way Smit moves and contests. He looked very comfortable up forward too which is just about a must for a ruck these days.

Macrae just has to get a run in the AFL side and leave him in. Let's see what he can do over a period of time.

[LaurieHolden]

With Cox returning, mid-season draftee Iliro Smit spent much more time forward than he has across his first five games in Pies colours, with the move working with immediate effect.
The 200cm tall kicked the opening goal of the game - his first in the black and white - and provided a strong presence in attack for his side.
He had a second early in the second term to continue his hot start of the game, while he took a strong contested mark in defensive fifty to showcase his versatility.
Only 19 years old and less than two months into life as an AFL footballer, Smit is showing significant progression each week.

https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/1 ... pies-blues

[Pies2016]

What needs to be considered, is that of the nine Collingwood listed players who played, only four had uninterrupted seasons ( Frampton, Jaith, MacRae and Bytel ) All others had missed significant chunks or weren’t even at the club for the pre season. I posted this earlier about being competitive until half time and then falling away badly. There were only three players who continued to find the ball after half time. They were Bytel, Jaith and to a lesser extent, Macrae, all of whom had completed full pre seasons and have remained injury free to date.
So when you see players like Parker, Eyre and Smit all look good and win their positions in the first half but then fade, it’s totally understandable why they go missing after the main break. Cox had missed the last several weeks, Smit and Parker weren’t even at the club in the pre season and Eyre missed three months with hamstring surgery. These young blokes ( and others ) just need to commit themselves to a P B preseason in the knowledge that the opportunity to play seniors in 2025 is very real.
Just on MacRae, they need to persevere with him because he is easily the best player out of Bytel, Sullivan and ( possibly ) Long. He’s the best ball user, quickest decision maker and would have the most upside ( subject to commitment ) He’s a goal kicker too. Ultimately, he still may not make it, despite his best efforts but in a club that is about to become short on midfielders very quickly, I’d look to continue to invest in Fin ahead of the others mentioned, for at least another season.

[Dark Beanie]

Agree on Macrae but feel he is still a bit too timid (for want of a better word), can be pushed off the ball too easily on occasion.

Team cohesion and continuity has been an issue all season.

Players in and out of the team (injuries, promotion AFL) doesn't help.

There is also the balancing act of giving players like Christian and Younger Q the opportunity to play in the Pies VFL and see what they can offer.

Not to knock Lane and Glover as they are new to the captaincy gig but Pies are missing some leadership on the field.
Tardrew (backline) & Hustwaite (midfield/forward) plus Neville Jetta have left a bit of a void. If you had been to any matches in the past when Jetta played you could always see & hear him coaching & directing other players.

We have some good suburban footballers on the list but they don't seem to have the skills and/or fitness to cope when teams start to overun them.
They all put in and try hard but they are mostly part timers with jobs other than footy.

Need to recruit a couple of players onto the VFL list across each line - midfield, backline, forward - players that are up to VFL standard with some experience (but not too good that they get pinched on to an AFL list).

[The Black and White Lion]

I’m struggling with the VFL Pies report on the CFC website. Smit picked 2 goals including the first of the game and a second in the second quarter. With limited opportunities and most of his possessions when chopping out Cox in the ruck, I can hardly understand how the article can write that he starred.

He’s shown a few signs but star is a bit of a stretch, especially in a game where we were so well beaten through the midfield and backline.

To me this is a sign of too much optimism from the pies media team and not having your feet on the ground.

Wish the kid well but you can’t paint over the gaping chasms of our VFL performance this year. Started out really promising against Sandy, the vfl lions and the vfl blues but it’s been all downhill from the moment we got rolled by the then bottom of the ladder Northern Bullants in round 7 kicking 5 of there 7 goals after the 8minute mark of the last quarter. That’s the moment the VFL pies 2024 shut down and they haven’t rebooted since.

Struggling to find many positives for VFL coach Josh Fraser this year. Hasn’t had the cattle but then haven’t really seen a consistent game plan to use the cattle he’s got either.

[Jen2310]

Agree on Macrae but feel he is still a bit too timid (for want of a better word), can be pushed off the ball too easily on occasion.

Team cohesion and continuity has been an issue all season.

Players in and out of the team (injuries, promotion AFL) doesn't help.

There is also the balancing act of giving players like Christian and Younger Q the opportunity to play in the Pies VFL and see what they can offer.

Not to knock Lane and Glover as they are new to the captaincy gig but Pies are missing some leadership on the field.
Tardrew (backline) & Hustwaite (midfield/forward) plus Neville Jetta have left a bit of a void. If you had been to any matches in the past when Jetta played you could always see & hear him coaching & directing other players.

We have some good suburban footballers on the list but they don't seem to have the skills and/or fitness to cope when teams start to overun them.
They all put in and try hard but they are mostly part timers with jobs other than footy.

Need to recruit a couple of players onto the VFL list across each line - midfield, backline, forward - players that are up to VFL standard with some experience (but not too good that they get pinched on to an AFL list).

I agree we have lost a lot of leadership and experience with the losses of Tardrew and Hustwaite; who can't even get a game for casey these days.

Macrae - Yeah, he gets pushed off the ball a bit, which is why his #1 focus in the off season needs to be to get stronger. Needs to start being a bull. Its the only way he's gonna compete with the bigger man. Get some aggression.

I think we have found some good vfl players this season.
Mahoney
Harry Kennedy
Cooper Macdonald

Even Jedd Longmire is now coming along. Probably having his best season so far.

Glover has taken his game to a new level. Lane too.
I like what we have seen from Sparkes

[The Black and White Lion]

Yes Jen I agree with that for the most part too. Sam Glover has been the standout VFL performer all year. MacDonald has looked the next best defender. Yes Mahoney has looked good in patches streaming forward.

Not so sure on Kennedy Longmire and the others. Farrant had some moments but that’s about it. Too many plodders or kids who can run but have no skills or game sense like Ashwin.

Of the AFL listed players Parker has impressed me the most.

[Pies2016]

^^^
Just on Smit, he certainly didn’t star for the full game but he was in our best in the first half. We’re talking about a 19 year old kid who hasnt played much footy or been at the club for longer than two months but what he brought to the table in the first half was very promising. We shouldn’t have any expectation that he will run out a full game against seasoned VFL footballers anytime soon. It was only a week ago, he toiled hard against 200 AFL games player, Rhys Stanley but Stanley was always going to dominate him as the game went on. Smit comes with a decent skill set at 200cm, so there’s also a bit of polish to go with that required grunt to be a ruckman. I haven’t lost faith in Steene yet either.

Parker and Eyre are also similar in that they both won their positions in the first half but a lack of any conditioning ( both for different reasons ) meant they were beaten to the ball more often in the second half.
I try to avoid making big statements in footy but Im confident it would only take a fully committed, injury free pre season from both Parker and Jaith, to pass Noble and Markov as our starting general defenders in 2025. Noble and Markov have been really solid servants but Jaith and Parker have tools that Noble and Markov don’t. The only tools J and P are lacking right now, is the ability to run out a game at AFL level.
People need to understand that winning and developing are mutually exclusive. Obviously we aren’t winning but there’s a few there that are developing nicely but at the moment we’re just not seeing it for the four quarters.

[Jen2310]

Yes Jen I agree with that for the most part too. Sam Glover has been the standout VFL performer all year. MacDonald has looked the next best defender. Yes Mahoney has looked good in patches streaming forward.

Not so sure on Kennedy Longmire and the others. Farrant had some moments but that’s about it. Too many plodders or kids who can run but have no skills or game sense like Ashwin.

Of the AFL listed players Parker has impressed me the most.

I really like parker. Has really adapted well to being back in footy; and just to think he hasn't even had an afl pre-season yet. Which is why I think he was sub those two afl games. They might not have thought he could run out a full game at this point.
But he played well on the weekend, first game back from injury. I can see him playing a decent amount of games next year.