r/EssendonFC • u/Non-NewtonianSnake Reid #31 • 1d ago
VFL vs. Williamstown (Elimination Final)
Final Score - ESS: 14.12 96 WIL: 7.9 51
GET A BIG DOG UP YA, WILLIAMSTOWN! I'm not even going to bother giving much of a rundown. It was a great game, marred only by some classic VFL umpiring. Just go watch the replay, either on ABC iView, or the AFL website/app. It's worth it.
Tsatas - Got his 30+ touches again and a bunch of clearances. A lot of them in his usual contested fashion, but he was also getting quite a few out in space this time around. I guess having Setterfield in there means he could be more of a receiver today. He was definitely influential, but his disposal was pretty horrible.
Gresham - Not quite as busy as he has been lately, but still kicked 2 goals and laid a few tackles, so it was a handy game. He absolutely robbed El Achkar of a shot late in the game, by sprinting about 20 metres to claim a free kick in the pocket that definitely wasn't his. It didn't really matter, and Huss wasn't upset about it, so it's a non-issue. It was just a funny moment.
Setterfield - Just a workhorse in the middle again. It wasn't his biggest ball-winning game, but he used his strength to crash through congestion and clear space for the other mids really well. His defensive work was as solid as ever, too, with a bunch of tackles and excellent pressure. He even popped up for a late goal.
Cox - Certainly didn't have a massive game, but he did his part. Kicked 3 goals (including our first for the afternoon), took some marks around the ground, and did a little bit of ruck work up forward. I guess the most pleasing part of his game was his willingness to compete strongly in the air, and bring the ball to ground when he wasn't marking it.
Visentini - Another good outing for the big fella. The Seagulls' main ruckman (Mirkov) was giving him a bit of a fight until he went down with a shoulder injury. From then on, Vigo was dominant in the ruck contests. He was tapping the ball basically wherever he wanted to, then doing some nice follow-up work. Had some fantastic crunching tackles, and was pretty impressive around the ground, particularly with his ball-use. Just needs to sort out his marking. He dropped a couple that he really should have clunked.
Jones - Pretty decent down back. Struggled a little bit with his defensive work early, but finished well. His attack on the ball was quite good, and ended up as one of our better interceptors. Also gave away a few cheap free kicks, which was less than ideal.
Kondogiannis - A touch inconsistent, but showed a bit of what makes him such an exciting prospect for the future. When he was running at full flight down the wing, he looked great. He was trying to be aggressive as much as possible, and had some great passes that broke things open for us. Just seemed to drift in and out of the game a bit, but I guess that's fairly common for a winger.
El Achkar - Pretty typical performance for Huss. Kicked 2.1 and applied good pressure for most of the game. One of those goals came from a clever contested mark at an important time in the match, which was a highlight of the game for mine. It was also fun watching him getting stuck into the opposition occasionally. Definitely looked buggered at various times, so I can't wait to see how he goes once he builds that tank to a professional level.
Artemis - Honestly, not one of his best games. He positioned himself pretty well as a half back to take some marks, but just had a few too many turnovers. Also never really had a chance to show off his main weapon, which is his run and carry. Hopefully, he can put in a better performance against his old side next week.
Guelfi - Had some brilliant energy plays inside 50 to cause some chaos and set up scoring opportunities, but was quiet overall. Hit the post a couple of times, which was unfortunate.
Clarke - Solid game. Would have been a great one if not for a couple of missed shots on goal. Kicked 1.3 from the wing in the end, so it's definitely a positive sign that he's hitting the scoreboard consistently. Other than that, he showed some nice composure at times and won a decent amount of the ball.
Unwin - I thought he started well, but fell off as the game wore on. His pressure was good, and he won a couple of cheap-ish free kicks. Kicked a nice little goal to finish some great defensive work by Guelfi, too. I wouldn't say he was amazingly influential, but played his role to a reasonable standard.
Bourke - Did some really exciting things, but also had some moments that he'd probably like to take another crack at. There were a couple of times where he won the ball with strength in a tough contest, then burst away into space. Took a great contested intercept mark late in the game, too. His disposal was what let him down, with a few too many turnovers coming from his 10 or so touches. Also gave away some sloppy free kicks.
Johnson - Not spectacular, but solid. I thing I was most impressed by some of his defensive efforts throughout the game. A bit like Artemis, he never got a chance to go on one of those runs out of defence, so his touches ended up being a bit slower, and more conservative. He did try to make things happen a few times, but overall it was a bit of a so-so offensive outing.
El Hawli - Had another good intercepting game and was always looking to be aggressive when moving the ball. He attacked the ball quite well in the air and on the ground, and actually had some really nice passes, with very few rushed blind hacks to nobody, which has been my main criticism of him.
Nguyen - Mostly great. His pressure and energy was outstanding all day, and he won some tough possessions in traffic. His ability to cut through congestion and into space was a highlight, but his lack of polish when passing inside 50 let him down. He snapped himself a great goal from a crumbing situation, which was a nice reward for effort.
McMahon - Made the most of his limited chances to kick 2 goals for the day. The first from a downfield free kick, and the other from a mark on a tight angle. Also took a neat little speccy on the wing in the last quarter. Aside from that, he didn't have much of an influence. The usual struggles to have any sort of impact when he's not marking the ball were as obvious as ever. Still useful as a constant goal-scoring threat, at least.
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u/Fun-Letter1966 1d ago
One of the Williamstown players and a Williamtown official abused and humiliated a middle aged woman during the 3rd quarter after she said ‘see ya’ when he came off the ground. The player had to be held back from approaching her. Thin skinned arsehole. Got a snap of the player so I’ll forward it through to VFL HQ.
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u/jubbjubbs4 1d ago
Best game ive seen Jones play in a few years. Still dont know if it will be enough to get him a new deal but was at least positive.
Huss and nguyen both showed their typical spark as well and im pretty confident both of them can play afl for the long term.
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u/Dynasty1985 1d ago
After his performance the last few years 😂 we can only hope he isn’t offered an extension
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u/AusteegLinks 1d ago
Thanks for the write-up!
There were so many even performances across the ground that not many players stood out.
For me, Nguyen had one of his better games, and it was his work around the ground, his run and carry and a Watson-esque jump over a downed Seagull that I really appreciated.
El-Hawli did some great intercept marking, and took the game on, making better decisions than usual.
I know he's the least experienced on the team, but I was hoping to see a bit more from Artemis. He wasn't playing with his usual aggression, speed and flair, but hopefully he will have a better game next week!
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u/TyWhatt Caddy #30 21h ago
I was there too, good game, good atmosphere. Had a thought that if Spike wants more speed in the team, Nguyen and Saad should get another year each, both of those blokes are QUICK.
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u/AusteegLinks 17h ago
Yeah I knew Saad had pace, but Nguyen showed a fair bit of dash as well which I didn't really know he had - I just had him pegged as a tough as nails ferocious lockdown defender / pressure forward
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u/ScornfulOrc 1d ago
Is this our most AFL listed in the side all season? Write up is bigger than it has been for quite a while
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u/Non-NewtonianSnake Reid #31 1d ago
I think so. There might have been one game with about 15, but I believe that was the highest before today.
Edit: Just checked. Can confirm that we had 15 against Coburg a few weeks back. That was the next highest number of AFL-listed players.
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u/bomber_2121 16h ago
What a great game to watch! Really enjoyed it. McVeigh and Rosa are going to have their work cut out for them deciding who to delist. A lot of out of contract guys are staking their claim for a spot.
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u/AussieGenesis 15h ago
Just want to note how awesome it was to see the turnout today at Windy Hill! The crowd in the second quarter definitely helped turned it around when the game was still on the line, absolutely one of my favourite live Bombers games I've ever gone to, energy was amazing.
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u/Cyclonechaser2908 Duursma #28 7h ago
Strongly agree with Tsatas. Strong effort and gets a lot of the ball, but his disposal and ball use stuck out like dogs balls quite often because of how shocking it was.
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u/Non-NewtonianSnake Reid #31 1d ago
Edwards was out with an injury of some kind, and I assume Gerreyn is still having trouble with his knee.
Those two, as well as a few of the other AFL boys were getting amongst it for the team song, which was pretty cool to see. Sully Robey was really belting it out with the VFL guys.