Worst quarter of the year so far, but is 2-2 acceptable?

[Sir Why You Little 34,437]

37 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Rubbish, and you know it.  Stop trying to drum up some negativity towards a coach who has been in the job for 4 games.  

It's not rubbish and stop talking like you are the all seeing one who owns this site. 

The team fell apart for a complete quarter yesterday. Dead. 

and where was any remedy

The Soft Underbelly is still there

Goodwin is in the chair. 

He has been at the Club for 3 years

learning all the ropes. He is not the usual newbie. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Sir Why You Little

[Wiseblood 24,636]

Just now, Sir Why You Little said:

It's not rubbish and stop talking like you are the all seeing one who owns this site. 

The team fell apart for a complete quarter yesterday. Dead. 

and where was any remedy

The Soft Underbelly is still there

Goodwin is in the chair. 

We were well on top going into the third quarter.  There was no need to change.  Freo got on a roll and, from the coaches box, that can be hard to stop.  The onus in that regard lands with the players - they would have been instructed as to what to go in these situations and they failed to implement it.  When we got the chance to reset we came out and almost snatched the game, and this included a variety of changes (eg. Petracca into the middle) that helped us get momentum back.

I don't know what else you want Goodwin to do in that situation.  

And it is rubbish, SWYL, but talking to you in these situations is pointless.  You get an idea in your head and you run with it for weeks on end in any thread you can get your hands on.

[Sir Why You Little 34,437]

1 minute ago, Wiseblood said:

We were well on top going into the third quarter.  There was no need to change.  Freo got on a roll and, from the coaches box, that can be hard to stop.  The onus in that regard lands with the players - they would have been instructed as to what to go in these situations and they failed to implement it.  When we got the chance to reset we came out and almost snatched the game, and this included a variety of changes (eg. Petracca into the middle) that helped us get momentum back.

I don't know what else you want Goodwin to do in that situation.  

And it is rubbish, SWYL, but talking to you in these situations is pointless.  You get an idea in your head and you run with it for weeks on end in any thread you can get your hands on.

If course there are things that can be done once the Shockers got in a roll. 

Where was any leadership?

the Vibey Captaincy has been a total fail so far. 

Where was Jones for 7-8 unanswered goals?

you can bag me out. But it is unwarranteded because we have all seen soft roll iver before. Momentum swings of 5 even 10 minutes happen, but when they last a full quarter our leadership is failng again. 

It had nothing to do with the players out either. Our midfield got Cocky at Half time and let their guard down. 

It is the job of the senior coach to make sure that attitude is in check. 

[Wiseblood 24,636]

Just now, Sir Why You Little said:

If course there are things that can be done once the Shockers got in a roll. 

Where was any leadership?

the Vibey Captaincy has been a total fail so far. 

Where was Jones for 7-8 unanswered goals?

you can bag me out. But it is unwarranteded because we have all seen soft roll iver before. Momentum swings of 5 even 10 minutes happen, but when they last a full quarter our leadership is failng again. 

It had nothing to do with the players out either. Our midfield got Cocky at Half time and let their guard down. 

It is the job of the senior coach to make sure that attitude is in check. 

If we had a 'soft underbelly', which are your two favourite words, then we wouldn't have fought back to almost snatch the game.  We wouldn't have fought back and rolled the Saints, or toughed it out and found a way to win against Carlton.

We had one bad quarter, and I would agree with anyone who said that we need to fix that up.  But this soft underbelly business is wrong.

[Sir Why You Little 34,437]

1 minute ago, Wiseblood said:

If we had a 'soft underbelly', which are your two favourite words, then we wouldn't have fought back to almost snatch the game.  We wouldn't have fought back and rolled the Saints, or toughed it out and found a way to win against Carlton.

We had one bad quarter, and I would agree with anyone who said that we need to fix that up.  But this soft underbelly business is wrong.

No it is not. Clubs smell it on us

As soon as we are firm favourites to win. 

Arrogance takes over. To completely roll over in the 3rd Quarter is inexcusable CONSIDERING how we came back in the last.

The talent is there. 

The attitude still stinks

losing games like yesterday costs Memberships and September possibilities

[rpfc 27,449]

I am disappointed about the 3rd quarter - just as I was disappointed about Hogan and Lewis being the difference against Geelong.

I am satisfied with our start to the year in a league that is now so even but that erodes with quarters like yesterday.

It's all about the next quarter, the next week, for me.

Sure you have shown me intensity and confidence against this side, do it again for 30 mins...do it again next week.

The group is young but they have an abundance of everything except relevant excuses.

30 mins like the one we endured yesterday should not be happening.

[Dr. Gonzo 22,414]

3 hours ago, Unleash Hell said:

I reckon I could pick out so many missed opportunities yesterday that cost us the game. The late goals in the 2nd qtr, the missed goals of Harmes and Watts (although I 'don't consider that Watt''s fault) in the 3rd and the complete lack of composure at critical times in the last.. Harmes and Weeds misses in the last put additional pressure on, and this one was a real heartbreaker which we Demons aren't used to because we are just used to losing.

You blokes and gals have the right to be disappointed no one is denying that, but the reality is we really missed Gawn, Freos big bodies smashed us in the middle in that 3rd quarter.

 

For all their poor form they still have a lot of big bodied mids around the contest. This team won the minor premiership 18 months ago and rolled the reigning premiers last week, they're not as bad as people make out.

[Cheap Seats 3,300]

20 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

For all their poor form they still have a lot of big bodied mids around the contest. This team won the minor premiership 18 months ago and rolled the reigning premiers last week, they're not as bad as people make out.

No I agree Dr G.

But I think it is worth discussing, that Goodwin seems to be a very aggressive coach and in game style as well. He took the game on to the very end when some could argue he was too aggressive (and I think that is a worthwhile debate)

But like you point out we are a youngish side. I looked at the stats before the game in the Record and noticed Freo were ranked highly for clearances. And that is basically where they won the game. Their experience in and around the contest won them the game IMO.

Also Hill & Fyfe and a few others were superb on the day creating excellent opportunities and seemed to want the ball that little bit extra on the day.

I've said it in another thread but we seem to back ourselves in to win the ball at every contest and attack. That may have lost us the game, but it also gave us the chance to steal the win.

It's a tough pill to swallow but gotta back the boys is. But please cut out the dreadful mistakes asap. The reality is that we struggle against sides who counter attack or win stoppages. (Carlton, Saints, Bummers, now freo). So it is a work in progress still. Some pple like to over react and think we are top 4 side already. But truth is there is a lot of work left to do.

[Cheap Seats 3,300]

1 hour ago, rpfc said:

I am disappointed about the 3rd quarter - just as I was disappointed about Hogan and Lewis being the difference against Geelong.

I am satisfied with our start to the year in a league that is now so even but that erodes with quarters like yesterday.

It's all about the next quarter, the next week, for me.

Sure you have shown me intensity and confidence against this side, do it again for 30 mins...do it again next week.

The group is young but they have an abundance of everything except relevant excuses.

30 mins like the one we endured yesterday should not be happening.

Agree

That 3rd quarter was very interesting - missing easy opportunities to goal (which would have won us the game) and it's the first time I've seen the boys really go in to their shells and make continuous silly errors. Real leadership was missing in that 3rd quarter. No one took the game on when it was there to take on and we couldn't hold the ball long enough to stop Freo from keeping momentum.

 

[Cheap Seats 3,300]

Back on topic is 2-2 acceptable?

I'd say no. I think if we are serious finals contenders we want to be 3-1 minimum. Boys have some work to do

[Sir Why You Little 34,437]

2 minutes ago, Unleash Hell said:

Agree

That 3rd quarter was very interesting - missing easy opportunities to goal (which would have won us the game) and it's the first time I've seen the boys really go in to their shells and make continuous silly errors. Real leadership was missing in that 3rd quarter. No one took the game on when it was there to take on and we couldn't hold the ball long enough to stop Freo from keeping momentum.

 

Spot on

[titan_uranus 22,336]

On the one hand, 2-2 was on the cards with St Kilda at Etihad and Geelong in the first month. So in that respect, 2-2 is not that bad.

On the other hand, given how the games played out we should be 3-1 and could easily (yes, easily) be 4-0. So in that respect, 2-2 is not good enough.

In an even season, every win is crucial, and ultimately I'm gutted we dropped a game to an interstate side at the MCG when we led with 3 minutes to go. Could be the difference between a home final or away final, for example, or finals vs no finals at all.

[Seetrollgetttroll 89]

It's somewhat acceptable if you look at it from a who-we-versed viewpoint but when considering how the actual games themselves played out we should be 4-0.

Most people are in agreement that Melbourne, having kicked straight, win the game against Geelong. I agree. We versed Fremantle at the MCG, were in front at half time by 21 points and conceded 7 goals in the third to go into the final quarter 22 points behind, which is disappointing. 

Defeating St. Kilda by 30 odd points was a great result. Defeating Carlton, as we should have, was a decent result. Our games vs. Geelong and Fremantle for excellent despite goal-kicking / lapses in concentration. So there are positive signs

The season is just getting started, and we are a young side, so I think we'll get better as the season progresses like we did last year. As for the Gawn issue, Spencer was dominated in the hit outs against Sandilands, the best in the game at that now that Gawn's injured, but the only ruckman to have over 20 hit-outs against Sandilands this year is Patrick Ryder, who is a terrific tap ruckman himself, so that says nothing about Spencers ability as a ruckman. Spencer should at the very least be competitive against most other ruckman in the competition, and although we won't have the same dominance in that area with him as we would Gawn, with our midfielders, breaking even in the hit-outs, we should still be at an advantage over most sides in the stoppages.

Consistency is the key, and I personally see it coming together in the foreseeable future. We'll learn from the losses and end Richmonds 4 game win streak and shut their increasingly arrogant fanbase up quick fast