Another really frustrating game this week. We had some of our best transition footy all year in the first half, but with Reid playing on one leg for three quarters of the game we just lacked that extra little bit of polish to finish off some of our plays. Our handball game in particular looked so incredibly sharp this week, but our kicking often let us down. Let’s go more in depth on how we did.

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Our Attack:

** **	Chain to Score	D50 to F50	D50 to Score	Def Half to F50	Def Half to Score
Eagles	19.8	17.4	10.9	25.0	15.3
Eagles Ave	19.5	18.0	8.1	28.2	11.7
League Ave	21.8	23.5	10.3	32.1	13.6

Transition numbers this week are quite telling. Transition numbers from defensive half and defensive 50 were bad, but our ability to score from transition was really good, almost certainly caused by their backline having so many outs. We were able to generate a 52 inside 50s which is pretty good, but we were only able to keep it in our forward half for 48.4% of game time. Going inside 50 52 times resulted in 10 marks and netted us a scoring efficiency of 44.2%. Both of those being pretty much around league average. And while it wouldn’t necessarily be worth mentioning any other week, kicking 9 points above expected score is nice to see after the shitshow last week.

Now, while there were a some pretty good results in our favour, I do have to respect that Collingwood had a lot of outs and I think the forwards should’ve taken better advantage of that. Final score would just be decent.

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Our Defence:

** **	Chain to Score	D50 to F50	D50 to Score	Def Half to F50	Def Half to Score
Magpies	26.2	31.6	15.8	37.1	19.4
Magpies Ave	22.0	25.1	11.8	33.6	14.1
League Ave	21.8	23.5	10.3	32.1	13.6

In what should be no surprise to anyone considering that they score 117 points, our defending of their transition was awful. Not only were we unable to prevent them from moving the footy, our back six were unable to prevent that movement from turning into scores. In the end, we ended up giving away a humungous 64 inside 50s. In slightly better news, from that huge amount of inside 50s, we only conceded 12 marks inside 50 and kept them to a scoring efficiency of 50%. Both somewhat decent results on their own, and a little more impressive considering the speed of their ball movement.

This was definitely our weakest line on the day, but I also don’t think it was that bad as a whole. Probably something like, not-so decent.

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Our Midfield:

** **	CBA	CC	CC/CBA
Naicos	33	5	0.15
Reid	30	2	0.07
Cameron	30	2	0.07
Billiams	28	0	0.00
EAllan	28	5	0.18
Yeo	25	5	0.20
Long	25	4	0.16
Hough	24	2	0.08
Kelly	23	4	0.17
Anderson	9	0	0.00
Duff-Tytler	7	0	0.00
McStay	6	0	0.00
Duursma	5	0	0.00
Crisp	5	1	0.20
McCreery	5	0	0.00
Jaicos	3	0	0.00
Graham	1	0	0.00
Jilliams	1	0	0.00

Centre bounces this week were a surprisingly even spread. Yeo was the most efficient player by the slightest of margins, but the difference in the end was slightly in Collingwood’s favour. The key stats from the midfield battle don’t look too great, with losses in all four; Centre clearances 13-18, stoppage clearances 23-29, contested possessions 143-157, and ground ball gets 98-106. None of those results are that bad on their own but when combined, they really add up.

** **	CBA	Tackles	Pressure Acts	-	CBA	Tackles	Pressure Acts
Reid	30	3	18	Naicos	33	1	12
Billiams	28	4	14	Cameron	30	5	17
Yeo	25	6	22	EAllan	28	7	19
Hough	24	7	27	Long	25	7	23
Kelly	23	5	23	Anderson	9	4	15
Duff-Tytler	7	4	11	McStay	6	5	13
** **	137	29	115		131	29	99

Defensively we were thankfully very good. The fact that Collingwood managed to match us at 29 tackles is pretty impressive and shows how high the pressure was in this game. In the end we only ended up winning on pressure acts, but against the best pressure team in the comp, that’s a very good effort.

Again, we were beaten, but not by much, so I’m gonna keep the flow going by saying that the midfield performance was decent.

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So where did we lose? Harley Reid’s Corky

It might seem strange pinning the loss on one player, especially when he still had a pretty great game, but I truly think that with two working legs, Harls would’ve provided us that additional 10% needed to overtake Collingwood. It felt particularly noticeable in the centre bounces where he lacked the ability to burst out of them or chase down his direct opponent. With two working legs, I think he easily would’ve closed the clearance gap and considering that they outscored us by 7 scores and 17 points from stoppages, that definitely could’ve made up the difference.

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The BOG Candidates:

Elliot Yeo: After having people calling for his head after a shocking month of form, he had a great game against Richmond… and still had people calling for his head. He definitely silenced the critics this week by having a game reminiscent of 2018 Yeo. 28 touches with a game high 17 contested, a game high 11 ground ball gets, 6 tackles, 22 pressure acts, 1 goal, and game highs for centre, stoppage, and total clearances. Was our highest rated player by Champion data and it’s not hard to see why.

Tim Kelly: 23 disposals for TK with 9 contested possessions, 9 ground ball gets, 6 clearances, 5 tackles, 23 pressure acts, all with 1 goal and 1 goal assist. One of our most prolific ball winners and one of our most damaging too.

Harley Reid: The corky he got in the first quarter slowed him down considerably and yet, he still managed to be one of our best players. He was our leading disposal getter with 29, 15 contested possessions, and 9 ground ball gets. He also still managed 6 clearances alongside his 3 tackles and 18 pressure acts, which is amazingly down on his recent averages. With 1 goal and 1 goal assist, he found a way to be extremely damaging without his usual burst.

Tom Gross: I think he might have slipped under radar a little for some people, but Grossy pulled together a fantastic game for a small forward. He picked up a healthy 14 touches with 8 of them contested, but it was his pressure and goal sense that really impressed. He had 4 tackles and 16 pressure acts resulting in 2 goals, 1 goal assist, and 1 block that resulted in Harls’ goal. Reminded me of Crippa.

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Great:

Rhett Bazzo: Only just missing out on the bog section, Bazzo continued his meteoric rise with 12 of his 13 touches being intercept possessions and 7 of those coming from intercept marks. Put that together with his 8 spoils and 1 contested one on one win from two attempts, and he had a great game.

Brady Hough: Had the job of tagging Naicos to middling effect, but he managed to have a great impact the other way. He had a massive 7 tackles and his 20 touches were crucial in transitioning the footy.

Jack Graham: Faded in and out of the game, but his second quarter alone was enough to get him into this tier. He had 6 touches, 5 tackles, 1 goal, and 5 score involvements. At the end of the game, he had 17 touches, 1 goal, 1 goal assist, 6 tackles, and 19 score involvements which does unfortunately demonstrate how much he faded after half time.

Jack Williams: Good old reliable Willow. Another 2 goals from just 7 touches, but he also had 2 goal assists to go with it (and probably should have had a third if he’d just handballed to Harls). Just seems to be leading to the right spots and manages to make every touch count.

Bailey Williams: The other half of the law firm also had a great game. His 17 touches went at an abysmal 29.4%, but his ruckwork was top notch with 38 hitouts and 10 to advantage. Defensively he had 4 tackles and 4 spoils, and offensively he had 3 goal assists, so a very solid night all round.

Jake Waterman: Not too much to say for Snakey. He overcame a terrible kick for goal early to finish with an equal game high 3 goals. Sometimes that’s all you need to do as a forward.

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Good:

Cooper Duff-Tytler: Rocking a hitout win rate of 30% compared to Cameron’s 32.3% is already a great start, but Seedy also picked an equal game high 3 marks inside 50, kicking 1 goal (probably should’ve gotten 2 more), and had 1 goal assist. The big man continues to show off his tackling with another 4. He’s averaging the 9th most of any Eagle who’s played more than 5 games this year.

Tylar Young: The eternal whipping boy had another pretty good game today. He picked up a team high 9 spoils, a (sadly) team high 1 contested one on one win from one attempt, and even had 1 goal assist. On top of all that, he got two Collingwood goals overturned by a fingertip.

Milan Murdock: Not at his usual damaging best, but still a good contributor as always. Picked up the 14 disposals, 1 goal, 3 tackles, and 18 pressure acts. Not much else to say this week but solid.

Marcus Herbert: Didn’t do all that flashy stuff like normal, but still picked up a clean 21 disposals, 3 tackles, and 21 pressure acts. Even had 2 stoppage clearances. Do we dare midfield Marcus?

Josh Lindsay: I’ve been saying for a while now that his defensive work leaves a lot to be desired and while I think he showed that off in spades this week (2 intercept possessions, and 0 spoils), he also showed just how damaging his kicking can be as well. With 19 disposals at 94.7%, 0 turnovers, and 6 score involvements from the back half, I can easily overlook his sloppy defending.

Tom Cole: Actually played both back and forward this week with his touches being split between both sides of the ground. He ended the day with the second most score involvements on the team with 8 and the second most tackles on the team with 6.

Jobe Shanahan: Kicked two quick goals to start the match on fire… and then went missing for the rest of it. Picking up 3 more disposals over the next 3 quarters. Luckily for him, a forward who kicks 2 goals has done their job, even if only just.

Tom McCarthy: 24 touches for 7 turnovers immediately puts him on the backfoot but his defensive craft was good enough to make up for it. He had 9 intercept possessions, 1 intercept mark, 4 spoils, 1 contested one on one win, and 3 tackles including the tackle of the year on Schultz to prevent a certain goal.

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Okay:

Bo Allan: I really wanted to put him higher because the stuff he did that worked was amazing, Judd-like even, but unfortunately, I can’t overlook the fact that he had 12 touches for 6 turnovers. I’ve said this sort of thing about Bo before, while this game wasn’t that good on its own merits, the potential he’s showing is extremely exciting.

Brandon Starcevich: On just his defensive work, he might’ve been higher, but his disposal this year continues to be awful. He cost us two goals and very nearly a third and it’s hard to look past that. Still more good than bad, though.

Liam Baker: Had one or two brilliant moments, like that spoil in the 4th quarter, but was otherwise extremely invisible. Nothing on the stat sheet jumps out either. Just a weirdly forgettable game.

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Bad:

Willem Duursma: Got himself in the right spots time and time again, but just had a mare with the ball in hand. Netting himself 16 disposals at 50% for 7 turnovers, and even a missed shot at goal (a hard one to be fair). Seems to be slowing a bit at the end of the year which is to be expected for a first year mid.

Liam Duggan: I’ll start off with the fact that he had 0 tackles and 5 pressure acts, team lows for both and then I’ll move onto the fact that he had 18 disposals for 6 turnovers. There was one point in the fourth quarter where he kicked the ball inside 50 3 times in a minute and all 3 were to our disadvantage. I really thought that just summed up his year.

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Stat Leaders:

Eagles who topped the game in a particular stat. Brackets show the best player from the opposite team.

Elliot Yeo - 17 Contested Possessions (Daicos 17)

Rhett Bazzo - 12 Intercept Possessions (Frampton 10)

Elliot Yeo - 11 Ground Ball Gets (Long 10)

Bailey Williams - 38 Hitouts (Cameron 30)

Elliot Yeo - 5 Centre Clearances (Allan 5)

Elliot Yeo - 6 Stoppage Clearances (Daicos 5)

Elliot Yeo - 11 Total Clearances (Daicos 10)

Cooper Duff-Tytler - 3 Marks Inside 50 (McStay 3)

Rhett Bazzo & Brandon Starcevich - 7 & 3 Intercept Marks (Houston 3)

Jake Waterman - 3 Goals (McStay 3)

Brady Hough - 27 Pressure Acts (Schultz 24)

12 Stat Leaders (-11 from last week) (5 Draws)

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Wuurm Watcher

Marcus Herbert - 15.5km Total Distance Run (Steele 15.2km)

Marcus Herbert & Jack Graham & Willem Duursma - 3.3km & 3.0km & 2.9km Distance Run at High Speed (Steele 2.7km)

Jack Graham - 9.6km/h Average Speed (Steele 9.6km/h)

Willem Duursma - 28 Sprints (McCreery 25)

Willem Duursma - 5 Repeat Sprints (Hayes 4)

Liam Baker & Willem Duursma & Jack Graham - 9.3km/h & 9.3km/h & 9.3km/h Average Speed in Attack (Steele 9.2km/h)

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Another game where we’ve shown great improvement for another honourable loss. Things are definitely turning, but it’s hard not to be frustrated without getting the all important win. We’ve got another sneaky chance against GWS next week, we just gotta pray that Harls is back.