The Writing Was/Is on the Wall

[Stretch Johnson 2,568]

I agree with many of the points in the OP but we are horribly under-done and that is currently our biggest issue.

I cannot recall another season when so many players have had surgery or get over LTIs.  It was always going to be tough to get this list primed by round 1.  If we are lucky without too many mishaps we might get there by round 8 to 12 and make a strong run to the finals.

As a result Port killed us on the transition and looked sharper than us.  They looked fitter and their touch was better.

More of a worry was a few less than committed efforts by some of our senior players.  Eyes off footy and not playing to the whistle were a couple such sins.

And Omac is simply not Afl standard.  Marty Hore has a lot of work to do and Spargo for his upside is an incredibly limited footballer.

A combination of luck and good management may produce the season we want.  But I get the feeling that this may not be our year.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Stretch Johnson

[Wiseblood 24,636]

45 minutes ago, rjay said:

It's player based 'Wise'...

We have holes in the list we haven't filled.

We are in desperate need of a class small forward and we're not sure our tall forwards will fill the bill.

 

I want to address this in two parts.

One - I think we actually made every effort to address some of our needs over the off season.  We recruited another key back in May who, alongside Lever, will keep Frost and Oscar out of the side, something many on here have wanted for a long time.

We also recruited KK to give us some further run and drive off half back and through the wings.  We also drafted Toby Bedford, a small forward for the future, and Kade Chandler, who can play a similar role. 

We've also been crying out for a second ruck, and we recruited one of those too.

Two - for the holes we haven't supposedly filled, where were the players to fill them?  They don't just grow on trees.  Of the players who either moved clubs or were potentially up for grabs, who did we not chase that we should of?  I'm sure I'll have missed someone somewhere, but I think we made a conscious effort to improve our list with the resources and players at our disposal.

I would agree that personnel is the issue, but only in the context that it relates to how poor our off season was for many of our key players.  Otherwise I still see a list brimming with talent and potential, and one that got us to within a game of a Grand Final appearance.  

[Dee1987 277]

13 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

I want to address this in two parts.

One - I think we actually made every effort to address some of our needs over the off season.  We recruited another key back in May who, alongside Lever, will keep Frost and Oscar out of the side, something many on here have wanted for a long time.

We also recruited KK to give us some further run and drive off half back and through the wings.  We also drafted Toby Bedford, a small forward for the future, and Kade Chandler, who can play a similar role. 

We've also been crying out for a second ruck, and we recruited one of those too.

Two - for the holes we haven't supposedly filled, where were the players to fill them?  They don't just grow on trees.  Of the players who either moved clubs or were potentially up for grabs, who did we not chase that we should of?  I'm sure I'll have missed someone somewhere, but I think we made a conscious effort to improve our list with the resources and players at our disposal.

I would agree that personnel is the issue, but only in the context that it relates to how poor our off season was for many of our key players.  Otherwise I still see a list brimming with talent and potential, and one that got us to within a game of a Grand Final appearance.  

Totally agree with your points, the impending addition to May to our defence and Lever I believe once the had sometime to gel will pay dived ends, Frost and Oscar are only really Insurance defenders.

im actually excited by Kolodjashnij a class ball user and decision maker which we need. Underdone players is really hurting/injuries.

If the boot was on the other foot underdone/ Injured Port players they would have lost yesterday.

[Earl Hood 5,787]

Sitting behind the goals yesterday and seeing how the ball was coming into our backline with stuff all pressure up field I am glad I wasn’t playing down back for us. Funny how your backman look like [censored] in modern footy when the team is being well and truly outplayed.  OMac is no superstar but he is serviceable and needed assistance yesterday. We do need May in for Frost at this stage. 

[nosoupforme 3,085]

5 hours ago, rjay said:

You're right 'Goody', it's no reason to overreact but that's now 4 poor games in a row.

That's a trend.

I think we can now put some things into perspective and act to fix what we can.

From my post after the JLT games...

"A lot of people wanting to put things into perspective from my readings....

...so here's my perspective.

We're not good enough to cruise through preseason games just yet...if these games are meant to tweak the game plan and fine tune for the first game then heaven help us.

That was a dogs breakfast.

No amount of perspective can change that."

In another post earlier in the year I also said that our continued improvement will be harder this year.

We've been on a steady upward climb and logic would see us drop off a bit somewhere.

Is this the year we drop back a bit? do we miss finals?

A bit early to call but on the evidence of the last 4 games we've got work to do.

I think our list is overrated by the media and of course us fans...there are holes and I'm sure the FD know this.

We lack quality small forwards, Jeffy is the only class one we have and he's super flakey...

Spargo is not up to it yet and I don't think he has the tricks to ever be. At his size he needs them big time.

ANB can fill a role but at the moment that's what all our small forwards are trying to do...he must hit the scoreboard to hold his place.

We had Sparrow in there yesterday for his first game and at least he put some pressure on but he's not a small forward.

Hunt's been tried but he's not one either.

So our small forwards are about pressure but none bring scoreboard pressure except Jeffy at times.

Our defence..Frost, should have been delisted.

Omac...the experiment is over. Time to put development into Petty alongside May & Lever.

Hibberd hasn't been the player he was in 2017, he's drifting by and not working anywhere near hard enough.

We miss Lever big time but I think we overpaid for him, one of those draft kids running around now adding a bit of class could have been handy.

Tommy Mac worries me, he's had a good season as a forward but has been very average as of late.

History shows he had a really good season and a bit as a defender then dropped off dramatically.

Let's hope it's just an aberration and he's up and firing again soon but the trend is remarkably similar.

Is Tommy getting ahead of himself or have the opposition worked him?

A big call but maybe Tommy could do with some Casey time with his brother.

Weid is a kid and he will get a bit more time. Expect him to be up and down but he needs to work harder when down.

Trac...undecided on him. I get the feeling he will never be the player we wanted but still be a good player. Just not a great one.

It's time to deliver young Trac, no more teasing.

The mids are a good group but they are believing their own publicity.

Thanks Gary Lyon, we all know Oliver is a star but he doesn't need to drink his own bathwater and he has recently.

Time for them to grow up and also time for Max to focus on his game, he's being pushed around too easily.

You're a big boy Max and you don't need everyone to like you.

Outside run, yeah we all know that. KK may provide some if he gets back to early career form but there's no guarantee there.

Being out of the early picks in the last 2 drafts has hurt and we need to pick some more talent.

Fritsch is class but is only a fringe player at the moment so he needs to give us more this year.

A side note to yesterday...they were up and about.

Did anyone notice how many players ran to Sparrow when he kicked his first AFL goal in his first game? not enough for my liking.

We weren't up for it.

So the question remains...the writing was on the wall for yesterdays game. Is it on the wall going forward?

Will we drop off this year?

 

 

 

JLT Series we made our tweaks with the team we fielded we didn't get smashed and had a few out. Tigers and Lions were winners the 1st round. We were disappointing on the weekend for obvious reasons and coming up against the Cats away is a hard task at any time.

GEELONG, ESSENDON, SYDNEY, ST. KILDA, RICHMOND,and HAWTHORN up to round 7  IMO  we will know where we are heading  by round 7. This team is not over rated as you say. They had no control over the media hype and being put on a pedestal by the pundits. With injuries to Viney and Lever mid year 2018 and Hogan didn't help our cause for a double chance which could have helped us avoid WC in the Prelim or maybe even beat them on our merits. We are a work in progress and assuming we make the eight, which I believe we can, it will still be a good result. And once we are there, we have the experience to know what we can do. One loss in Round 1 doesn't mean we are losers. I'm sure the boys don't think they are losers. Will reset for next week.

Yesterday's game wasn't Melbourne. Who was it? That's what we would all like to know.

Like to know your response after Round 7,  RJ.

 

Edited March 24, 2019 by nosoupforme
.

[Watson11 1,881]

7 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

I want to address this in two parts.

One - I think we actually made every effort to address some of our needs over the off season.  We recruited another key back in May who, alongside Lever, will keep Frost and Oscar out of the side, something many on here have wanted for a long time.

We also recruited KK to give us some further run and drive off half back and through the wings.  We also drafted Toby Bedford, a small forward for the future, and Kade Chandler, who can play a similar role. 

We've also been crying out for a second ruck, and we recruited one of those too.

Two - for the holes we haven't supposedly filled, where were the players to fill them?  They don't just grow on trees.  Of the players who either moved clubs or were potentially up for grabs, who did we not chase that we should of?  I'm sure I'll have missed someone somewhere, but I think we made a conscious effort to improve our list with the resources and players at our disposal.

I would agree that personnel is the issue, but only in the context that it relates to how poor our off season was for many of our key players.  Otherwise I still see a list brimming with talent and potential, and one that got us to within a game of a Grand Final appearance.  

There is so much MFCSS overreaction going on.  I don’t see any major holes or excuses with the list.  And surgeries is an excuse.  We should have been 10 goals up by the time conditioning became a factor, and Port were always going to come home strong if it was close.  And our gameplan is fine.  It stands up in finals and big games.  It’s simply our players are not well drilled enough to carry it out properly yet.  We get sucked into the contest and leave free players on the outside, and it hurts us when teams split contested possession.  We need to fix this.

And we showed Port no respect.  The coaches went in overconfident when they didn’t pick a second ruck, went in with Hore against the 3rd Port 199cm tall (Hore is 189cm), and didn’t send Harmes to tag Rockliff.  And the overconfidence spread to the players after the first 3 goals.  Hibbard trying to drill a 50m pass to the outer wing where we were outnumbered resulted in their first goal.  Ryder against Weid from a throw in resulted in the second.  We should have been 6 or 7 goals to zip at qtr time but were 4 to 2.

For me, yesterday is the kick up the [censored] the coaches and players obviously need to get them back on track.

[chookrat 3,774]

10 minutes ago, Earl Hood said:

Sitting behind the goals yesterday and seeing how the ball was coming into our backline with stuff all pressure up field I am glad I wasn’t playing down back for us. Funny how your backman look like [censored] in modern footy when the team is being well and truly outplayed.  OMac is no superstar but he is serviceable and needed assistance yesterday. We do need May in for Frost at this stage. 

Agree with this wholly. We fell apart in the middle where our players didn't work hard enough defensively. Port had a heap more handballs and uncontested marks yet also out tackled us. Desoite being so poor in this fundamental we were in it for most of the game and only lost by 5 goals. Fix our focus and workrate in the middle of the ground and we will then start winning and be able to tweak our game. 

[My name is legion 158]

Geelong vs MFC 30th March 

187.

[rjay 23,876]

Nice to see so many with their knickers in a knot...

Let me simplify things a bit.

2 main points...

1. The writing was on the wall for the result we got yesterday, our form line was poor coming into the game. It was a bitter pill as I don't really rate Port and we should have accounted for them comfortably at home.

2. Is the writing on the wall for the season? Is this the season we take a step back? I gave what I consider to be a number of areas where we need to tidy up. Some we can fix now, but will we and are our short fallings going to hold us back.

I don't know the answer to 2 but it's worth asking the questions and not just going into the season blind...like everyone I hope we can win it this year...please...

Just a few points...

1 hour ago, deefella said:

im actually excited by Kolodjashnij a class ball user and decision maker which we need.

Me too...and we do need him but there are no guarantees he will get back on the track of being the star he looked like being at the start of his career.

1 hour ago, Wiseblood said:

We also drafted Toby Bedford, a small forward for the future,

Toby reminds me of the last small forward we just delisted. Hard at it, good tackle but doesn't get much ball and is not a goal kicker.

1 hour ago, Wiseblood said:

Otherwise I still see a list brimming with talent and potential, and one that got us to within a game of a Grand Final appearance.  

We were a mile off a GF appearance as the Prelim showed.

45 minutes ago, Watson11 said:

And our gameplan is fine.  It stands up in finals and big games.

...but it didn't stand up in the biggest games of the year.

52 minutes ago, Watson11 said:

For me, yesterday is the kick up the [censored] the coaches and players obviously need to get them back on track.

You don't think the Prelim was that...we can't keep waiting for a kick up the ...to get us going. If we do we will always be waiting.

56 minutes ago, nosoupforme said:

They had no control over the media hype and being put on a pedestal by the pundits

True, but the hype is there and I don't think we measure up to it. To be honest I'm not sure any team really does. I mean look at Lloyd's hyping up of the C/wood midfield. What a joke. However so many on here are ready to jump down anyones throat in the media or other posters that don't see everything just great.

1 hour ago, Wiseblood said:

but I think we made a conscious effort to improve our list with the resources and players at our disposal.

Of course we did and I'm sure you will agree that's it's still very much a work in progress. That's part the point here. I do think we overpaid for Lever though. That extra first round pick would have been handy.

1 hour ago, Earl Hood said:

Sitting behind the goals yesterday and seeing how the ball was coming into our backline with stuff all pressure up field I am glad I wasn’t playing down back for us. Funny how your backman look like [censored] in modern footy when the team is being well and truly outplayed.  OMac is no superstar but he is serviceable and needed assistance yesterday. We do need May in for Frost at this stage. 

This is so true 'Earl' but there were many times when Frost for example just didn't move to pick up an opponent...he continually found himself in no mans land and some specific times I was watching it was when the ball came in slow. He had time to make position and he just stood and watched.

Some of Oscars spooling attempts were incipit, that's what really upset me. He got a fist to the ball but it wouldn't knock...I don't know what off. Certainly it didn't concern the Port player who easily marked.

[Dirts 429]

5 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Overreaction with a lot of it.

It is Round 1 after all.

But I agree there are some warning signs and problems that still haven't been addressed.

Relax just round 1 . WCE pies crows lost Richmond won but not convincing and no Rance. 

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,150]

3 out of 4 of last year’s top 4 lost in round 1 2018.  Round 1 is a terrible indicator of future success in a season.

[DV8 2,271]

6 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

I'm not entirely sure what people want. After the game I was [censored] off. I still am.

But there's very little that can be done about the number of injuries and surgeries. I think they pretty much nailed the best available 22 yesterday given the attempt to balance picking experience and the formula that worked last year and making drastic changes. Sparrow as a late in tells me they were getting pretty desperate.

I suspect that some had surgeries that could have waited...  It was surprised for instance, that they scheduled both Oli's shoulders at the one time,  2018 preseason.

The number of scheduled end of 2018 season surgeries,  made me think at end of 2018, that we were readying ourselves for the next 3 Years.

 

So I'm suggesting, that too many supporters are only looking at 2019 season, in isolation,  instead of a window of 3+ Years.

In this mindset, impatience and despair can become problems for the club/team...   negativeness/fear of loss,  is an infectious disease, that only devours our confidence.

Edited March 24, 2019 by DV8

[deespicable me 1,427]

17 minutes ago, DV8 said:

In this mindset impatience and despair can become problems for the club/team...   negativeness/fear of loss,  is an infectious disease, that only devours our confidence.

Ommmmmm

[Beetle 4,280]

We played like rubbish and yes there are some worrying signs.

However people quickly forget Port were sitting 4th on the ladder after Round 19 last year.

They had a great hand on draft day and have recruited well...they are no joke.

[Pates 9,536]

I stopped reading at the suggestion of dropping TMac. I think serious questions need to be asked about certain players (you named a few) but dropping a bloke that kicked 50 goals in just over half a season of footy last year? Based on one H&A game in which the midfield was soundly beaten?

That said I do have this bad feeling in my gut that this year might not be all it’s cracked up to be. One of the reasons is one that you pointed to: we’ve been traveling in an upward trend for so long, most history has shown that it doesn’t keep going that way forever and most teams have a drop before they head towards a peak. I have a bad feeling that might be us this year. I feel hopeful that when we hit our straps it’ll be enough to make finals but we may find ourselves around the 6-8th mark by the end of the year with a quick exit. 

The main reason I feel this will happen is that we’ve had a very interrupted preseason for key players. A common comment being said during the game was that we had the most amount of off season surgeries of any of the clubs, that has to take its toll. Oliver had serious surgery done on both of his shoulders for example!

Jones and Viney looked way underdone and were mostly unseen, although he contributed Melksham didn’t seem right passing the ball when in very clear shooting positions. We don’t have Lever (who will take time to find himself again), AvB is injured again, Lewis pulled out late, while we also got injuries to fringe players like Garlett and JKH. 

If we had an injury run that Richmond experienced in their premiership year we’d be in good shape, but so far luck is not on our side. 

We need May to be the dominant defensive force next week or we could find ourselves chasing the 8 for a while. 

[Watson11 1,881]

@rjay We got sucked into the contest for nearly all of last season.  We were just as rubbish as Saturday for long periods of lots of games.  It gets masked when we smash contested possession.  It was not realistic that we would have no games like that this season.  When we get sucked into the contest and halve contested possession the symptoms are:

1. Our tackle count is way down.  You can’t tackle players on the outside when they are 10m away.

2. The ball transitions out of our forward 50 way too easily and makes our defence look hopeless.  

3. Our intercepts are way down.  Saturday we had the lowest number of intercepts since round 1 last year.

I trust that Goody and the coaches can fix it like they did at the end of last year.  

I hope training reports this week show this issue is being worked on.

Our list is the best it’s ever been and is not the issue.  

If injuries have impacted, it is simply that players have not had enough time to work on their connection and understanding around the ball yet.

[Demon17 4,534]

16 hours ago, rjay said:

You're right 'Goody', it's no reason to overreact but that's now 4 poor games in a row.

That's a trend.

I think we can now put some things into perspective and act to fix what we can.

From my post after the JLT games...

"A lot of people wanting to put things into perspective from my readings....

...so here's my perspective.

We're not good enough to cruise through preseason games just yet...if these games are meant to tweak the game plan and fine tune for the first game then heaven help us.

That was a dogs breakfast.

No amount of perspective can change that."

In another post earlier in the year I also said that our continued improvement will be harder this year.

We've been on a steady upward climb and logic would see us drop off a bit somewhere.

Is this the year we drop back a bit? do we miss finals?

A bit early to call but on the evidence of the last 4 games we've got work to do.

I think our list is overrated by the media and of course us fans...there are holes and I'm sure the FD know this.

We lack quality small forwards, Jeffy is the only class one we have and he's super flakey...

Spargo is not up to it yet and I don't think he has the tricks to ever be. At his size he needs them big time.

ANB can fill a role but at the moment that's what all our small forwards are trying to do...he must hit the scoreboard to hold his place.

We had Sparrow in there yesterday for his first game and at least he put some pressure on but he's not a small forward.

Hunt's been tried but he's not one either.

So our small forwards are about pressure but none bring scoreboard pressure except Jeffy at times.

Our defence..Frost, should have been delisted.

Omac...the experiment is over. Time to put development into Petty alongside May & Lever.

Hibberd hasn't been the player he was in 2017, he's drifting by and not working anywhere near hard enough.

We miss Lever big time but I think we overpaid for him, one of those draft kids running around now adding a bit of class could have been handy.

Tommy Mac worries me, he's had a good season as a forward but has been very average as of late.

History shows he had a really good season and a bit as a defender then dropped off dramatically.

Let's hope it's just an aberration and he's up and firing again soon but the trend is remarkably similar.

Is Tommy getting ahead of himself or have the opposition worked him?

A big call but maybe Tommy could do with some Casey time with his brother.

Weid is a kid and he will get a bit more time. Expect him to be up and down but he needs to work harder when down.

Trac...undecided on him. I get the feeling he will never be the player we wanted but still be a good player. Just not a great one.

It's time to deliver young Trac, no more teasing.

The mids are a good group but they are believing their own publicity.

Thanks Gary Lyon, we all know Oliver is a star but he doesn't need to drink his own bathwater and he has recently.

Time for them to grow up and also time for Max to focus on his game, he's being pushed around too easily.

You're a big boy Max and you don't need everyone to like you.

Outside run, yeah we all know that. KK may provide some if he gets back to early career form but there's no guarantee there.

Being out of the early picks in the last 2 drafts has hurt and we need to pick some more talent.

Fritsch is class but is only a fringe player at the moment so he needs to give us more this year.

A side note to yesterday...they were up and about.

Did anyone notice how many players ran to Sparrow when he kicked his first AFL goal in his first game? not enough for my liking.

We weren't up for it.

So the question remains...the writing was on the wall for yesterdays game. Is it on the wall going forward?

Will we drop off this year?

 

 

 

Thanks RJay - I agree with all but the comments on Lever. I can see him being huge value , and TMac.

The scene was set for Trac also but nothing much. I fear he's a fringe/cameo player only.

[Wiseblood 24,636]

36 minutes ago, Demon17 said:

Thanks RJay - I agree with all but the comments on Lever. I can see him being huge value , and TMac.

The scene was set for Trac also but nothing much. I fear he's a fringe/cameo player only.

Trac looked unfit, but he did have off season surgery.  He strikes me as the sort of player that needs to be fully fit to hit his straps.  Anything even slightly below and he struggles.  Think back to the time he hurt his finger - prior to that he was on fire, then the injury occurred and he came back and struggled to find form for weeks.  I think Trac will be a slow burn for us this year, which is not ideal, but just the way it is.

I'd actually play him as a permanent full forward and give him the space to move around.  Get Tom up the ground a little to provide the contest, then let Trac do his thing one on one.  He'll kick a few bags.

[Moonshadow 16,128]

12 hours ago, Earl Hood said:

Sitting behind the goals yesterday and seeing how the ball was coming into our backline with stuff all pressure up field I am glad I wasn’t playing down back for us. Funny how your backman look like [censored] in modern footy when the team is being well and truly outplayed.  OMac is no superstar but he is serviceable and needed assistance yesterday. We do need May in for Frost at this stage. 

Agree Earl. IMO Omac will play most games this year. He and May are our key backs with Lever as 3rd intercept tall upon return. That's what Lever does best. I highly doubt May could've done much to stop the flow on Sat. Frost should be depth. 

Our backs were put under heaps of stress from the clumsy, slow midfield. Looking forward to seeing KK and maybe Baker adding outside speed.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Moonshadow

[Wiseblood 24,636]

4 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Agree Earl. IMO Omac will play most games this year. He and May are our key backs with Lever as 3rd intercept tall upon return. That's what Lever does best. I highly doubt May could've done much to stop the flow on Sat. Frost should be depth. 

Our backs were put under heaps of stress from the clumsy, slow midfield. Looking forward to seeing KK and maybe Baker adding outside speed.

Agree with all of that, Moonie.  Our backs were under constant pressure due to the lack of midfield pressure.

May wouldn't have stopped it, but he would have helped.

[Deesprate 1,162]

44 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Trac looked unfit, but he did have off season surgery.  He strikes me as the sort of player that needs to be fully fit to hit his straps.  Anything even slightly below and he struggles.  Think back to the time he hurt his finger - prior to that he was on fire, then the injury occurred and he came back and struggled to find form for weeks.  I think Trac will be a slow burn for us this year, which is not ideal, but just the way it is.

I'd actually play him as a permanent full forward and give him the space to move around.  Get Tom up the ground a little to provide the contest, then let Trac do his thing one on one.  He'll kick a few bags.

I just can’t buy this concept that Petracca is unfit. As an example during the off-season he trained with Dustin Martin in Bali in extreme heat. Training where he worked just as hard as Dusty. This is training beyond official sanctioned training. Petracca is fit but with minimal pre season game time players of his build lack match fitness which is different to general fitness. Reading these threads it is implied that his unfit state is linked to a lack of effort. I don’t think that is either fair or correct.

[Wiseblood 24,636]

6 minutes ago, Deesprate said:

I just can’t buy this concept that Petracca is unfit. As an example during the off-season he trained with Dustin Martin in Bali in extreme heat. Training where he worked just as hard as Dusty. This is training beyond official sanctioned training. Petracca is fit but with minimal pre season game time players of his build lack match fitness which is different to general fitness. Reading these threads it is implied that his unfit state is linked to a lack of effort. I don’t think that is either fair or correct.

Maybe unfit isn't the right word.  I think match fit might be better.  He looked off the pace big time on Saturday, but so did others like Brayshaw, Oliver and Tom Mac.  They, with others, have had interrupted pre-seasons, and a shorter one at that.  It's not an excuse, just fact.

I think this little snippet from an article, prior to our scratch match with the Pies, is telling:

The Magpies' quest to go one step further than last year’s Grand Final has been buoyed by one of their shortest pre-season injury lists in recent memory.

With Nathan Buckley’s tenure as coach constantly riddled with fightful runs of injuries to key players, the Magpies will go into Friday week's practice match against the Demons with all but five players to pick from.

Melbourne, meantime, have had 12 of their best 22 had injury interrupted pre-seasons.

Clayton Oliver (both shoulders), Jack Viney (ankle), James Harmes (shoulder), Oscar McDonald (hip), Jake Melksham (ankle and hamstring), Aaron Vandenberg (shoulder), Christian Petracca (knee), Neville Jetta (shoulder), Mitch Hannan (knee), Steven May (hamsting), Nathan Jones (hamstring) and Tom McDonald (elbow) have all had injury interrupted pre-seasons

That's not to say that some if not all of those players won't be available early in the season, but clubs will always talk about the importance of numbers on the track doing the majority of the pre-season

[58er 5,593]

1 hour ago, Demon17 said:

Thanks RJay - I agree with all but the comments on Lever. I can see him being huge value , and TMac.

The scene was set for Trac also but nothing much. I fear he's a fringe/cameo player only.

Agree with RJay - no real enthusiasm for Tom (Sparrow) when first goal kicked. Refer Saints with Parker Freo with Schulz.

Team was flat definitely not up and about and when momentum shifted no one other than Salem really stood up (peghaps Melky).

Players did look almost disinterested and not enjoying their day. It was laboured and many couldn't/didn't chase.

Disturbingly not one player went and helped Maxy (Tommy where were you, anyone?) and no fight in the last quarter was disappointing. Maybe some were cooked but only 8 points.

Where was all that love fir Goody gone  between mid week on his well deserved extension and Saturday in the heat?

No Leadership glaringly obvious and no score at all in 4th quarter as a result.

Something with the players was not quite right ( other than form) they were not happ to be there and it may have been general fitness from operations but can't put my finger in it.

Crowd (from TV in Qld) was not really in game also and with nearly 40,000 which was good  considering the trains rain and heat made made for a lack lustre start to our season of hope and glory and Goody's extension.

Definitely our brand ( PJ and Perty) not on show and definitely no "esprit des Corps" evident.

Looking for a much better and much more competitive performance at Cattery which I am returning to for first time in nearly 30 years!

Go Dees

[Wiseblood 24,636]

And just to go with the above - they make mention of GWS being in the same boat at the beginning of 2018 and taking time to get rolling.

The writing has been on the wall, no doubt, but I also think it's been out of our hands.  We're doing the best with what we have.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,381]

12 hours ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

3 out of 4 of last year’s top 4 lost in round 1 2018.  Round 1 is a terrible indicator of future success in a season.

No footy department would ever publicly admit this, but I wonder if, for the first time in many seasons, we weren't preparing a team for Round 1 but for the Finals. That means accepting the possibility of missing out on early wins for a bigger prize later on. It's not without risk, of course, because you need enough wins to make the Finals, but there is also not much point in making Finals, just to make up the numbers.

So, I'm choosing this optimistic scenario, at least for this week. Makes the loss more bearable.