Umpiring our game is very tough.

There were some poor decisions that went against us yesterday but in other matches this year I've seen us get an equally beneficial ride.

Umpiring is not something we can control so I don't worry about.

I think it was very telling that Frawley had Buddy so well covered that he had to start staging for frees.

The more I think about it, the more I reckon the rain was one of the major reasons on the day.

And yes, yes, of course it's no excuse. If we want to be taken seriously as a football team we have to win on the soggy days as well as the dry ones... But had we been able to use pace, I reckon our forwards, particularly guys like Jurrah, Wonna and Watts would have been able to work back towards goal a bit better, and we might have been just that little bit more dangerous in that last quarter, where we actually looked pretty good despite the scoreboard.

It was a good day for the thinking footy fan. The weather couldn't have showed our weaknesses any more clearly. At least one or two of them. It's all about the contested ball, clearances from stoppages all over the ground. And it wasn't disheartening either. We HAVE those players there in Scully, McKenzie and Trengove... with Gys in the wings. They're just not big enough or well drilled enough... and just plain not old enough. No shame at all, especially considering we were still in it up until time on in the last. In fact I'd back those three names over the period of their careers to come to match the Hawks in the middle.

A lot to like about last weekend. Certainly beats round 1.

Now just one or two more wins for the year would be a lovely springboard. Preferably the last one at the G in round 22... A BIG win to get the supporters, and AFL fans everywhere excited about us for 2011.

The worst is over.

Edited August 16, 201015 yr by Dappa Dan

My word Tricky, you are testy this morning, have a bad night?

Careful, your ignorance is showing.

Best cover that up.

You thought there disposal was good. I oved JR's kick to Garland which ended up directly in the hands off a hawks player on our half backline. Kick only had to travel 20 metres and JR screwed it BIG TIME! Col Garland did it twice out of defence too. Bartram, members side, kick directly to opposition.

SO what ignorence are you referring to Keyser?

!

1 - Losing Davey in the second quarter. Double-whammy of losing his run and foot skills and the restriction it placed on our rotations. There wasn't a lot left in the tanks of the guys at the end.

2 - Under-sized midfield. Scully, Trengove and McKenzie are scrawny kids compared to Mitchell, Sewell and Burgoyne. Without Moloney in the guts we lost a lot of strength and it was far too easy for them to clear the ball from stoppages, despite Jamar's good work in the ruck

3 - Poor kicking. Too many kicks missed the target or floated up in the air. A few also went sideways/backwards for a switch when there was no switch on and it sapped our momentum and drive (and in one case, gave Ellis a goal).

There were still positives: Jurrah and Wonaeamirri in the first half, Sylvia, Bruce on Hodge, Frawley on Franklin, Rivers on Roughead, the backline in general really. But in the end we were never going to win with so few inside 50s, and that stemmed from the midfield smashing and the lack of drive we had.

Oh, and the umpiring was as bad as could be. Surprising, actually, I rated Rosebury and McInerny before today. But the deliberate out of bounds and the deliberate rushed behind decisions were atrocious, and there was little consistency with throws, pushes in the back and holding the man.

i agree with all your points but...i would say our under-siezed mids meant the ball spent a lot of time in the hawks forward line...and to the credit of our backs was able to defend-defend...but under the conditions it resulted in bad kicking at times...

You thought there disposal was good. I oved JR's kick to Garland which ended up directly in the hands off a hawks player on our half backline. Kick only had to travel 20 metres and JR screwed it BIG TIME! Col Garland did it twice out of defence too. Bartram, members side, kick directly to opposition.

SO what ignorence are you referring to Keyser?

!

I believe he may be referring to you not understanding the difference between Disposal and Disposal Efficiency stats. I would never rely on stats alone (nor would any FD) however it's worth noting the facts rather than purely on our memory of the frustrating mistakes that we are most likely to recall.

FWIW, i incorrectly posted that he was 4th highest in DE% - this is not the case, however he was bang on the AVG, so I believe my point still stands; it would be ridiculous to single him out in such a negative way given the game he played and how much of the ball he won in those conditions.

It still amazes me anyone is allowed to take to the field who can't hit a team mate on the chest over 30-40 m. It just ought to be a given at afl level !!!! clearly it's not . Can't blame the ball as everyones using same one, some can kick some can't, bloody frustrating.

The rain deprived us of our clean feet , dry hands and run. We need to develop an ugly winning game as well as the nice pacey one.

Was Dunn wearing the right stops ?

I saw Dunn, Aussie and Liam fight it one out to balls that came straight to them. This is money for jam for backmen. Aussi and Liam didnt lead or take front position on these occasions seemingly happy to try to create a loose ball.

While you would back Aussie and Liam to win one out on the ground, the first thing to do(in my mind) would be to get out on the lead. It happened so much I thought it was a strategy. Almost every time it happened the ball was cleared.Dunn got a free early but the rest came bounding back inevitably to the half back line.

The second reason we lost in my view was because PJ (whom I had been supporting) really showed how inept he is with conditions that dont suit him.

To contrast that was the fact that if we could have left jamar at FF we may have snatched it. While not being as dominant in the ruck as normal(but still ok) he was good, real good at FF. A pity there's not 2 real rucks.

Third reason: NO Moloney Davey and dare I say, Miller. To have been able to bring in Miller who leads and leads again, in hindsight could have got us over the line.

Bartram kicks that goal in the last quarter, we would've gone on to win that game. That's my opinion anyway as we had some nice run for a 10 minute period there.

It might have papered over a few cracks as the forward line was pretty non existent for the most part. But what an upside. No doubt, Hawks had more of the stoppage ball but our defence held them up well. We didn't get our A grade running game going, yet still had the more exciting passages of play through the day.

We turned the ball over & the umpires turned it over for us, thanks! But we still we very close and the 21 point margin flattered as they were never any better than a 2 goal lead.

And who would that be? Name names.

You're asking the wrong person Nasher. I was just suggesting a possible answer to your question to 45.

What I will say is from where I sat yesterday there were alot of upset fans at the umpiring whereby alleged incorrect decisions were made - where it appeared to nullify momentum a number of times throughout the game. Like I've since stated, that's footy. It goes both ways throughout a season and you roll with the punches.

I think that if you took Brad Sewell out of their side yesterday, and gave us a fit Moloney, then that result is reversed. To me that was just about the difference in the game.

i agree with all your points but...i would say our under-siezed mids meant the ball spent a lot of time in the hawks forward line...and to the credit of our backs was able to defend-defend...but under the conditions it resulted in bad kicking at times...

Certainly the backline deserves a heap of credit for their efforts. Given the amount of time the ball spent down there you could have excused a bigger score from Hawthorn.

At half time Graeme Bond on 3AW said Hawthorn had had 77-odd disposals in their forward half in the second quarter, whereas we'd had 13 in ours.

The second reason we lost in my view was because PJ (whom I had been supporting) really showed how inept he is with conditions that dont suit him.

He was poor. Very poor. The man just can't take a mark. Spilled a sitter on his chest (yes, it was wet, but the other 43 blokes managed to adapt), still doesn't use his body like he should, and of course kicked 40 metres across the defensive 50 to a Hawk.