Just finished watching. My first impressions without having seen any stats or anything:
* overall I thought a bit of rust showed - a lot of players were lacking in their execution
* clearly McInerney and Blakey were good but so too was Rowbottom, more so in the first half when he was really busy and bustling. Warner was good but not dominant.
* I haven't heard a lot of love for Hickey but I thought he had yet another great game. Apart from being a good tap ruckman he keeps finding ways of getting himself involved in the game offensively and defensively around the ground.
* plenty of people have gone hard at Reid for having an ordinary game but equally I thought Tom McCartin didn't have one of his better games either - dropped a few marks, kicked out on the full, fumbled etc. Conversely Paddy looked assured. Paddy's disposal was crisp but he also had physical presence and looked more composed than he must have been when he swung at the Geelong player last year. The McCartins should be a great pairing this season.
* McAndrew looked useful in the minutes he got at the end - threw himself around and looked a bit more agile than you might expect for someone 209 cm tall. Too early to say but he might have a future. I can at least see why we signed him.
* Stephens looked improved, covered a lot of ground but also looked stronger as many people have commented.
* Wicks was serviceable in the first half with a lot of pressure and energy but disappeared in the second.
* Logan McDonald was terrific. He is going to be a great player. I'll be happy when we've signed him up - hopefully for 4 years on handsome but not outrageous money.
* Hayden McLean was also effective and could have had 5 goals if he had kicked straighter. Importantly, McLean chopped out a little bit in the ruck which will be crucial to his chances of beating Ladhams for a spot, especially since I can't see Reid playing seniors much unless we have injuries. I'm still thinking Ladhams is the frontrunner for R1 but McLean is making it a tough decision.
Not the most exciting performance overall but plenty of individual players to be excited about!
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