Just an observation here....

 

Three of the top ten moments this week game from the Dees v Ess.  So may speak of 'putrid' football.  It was not pretty that is for sure, but it is interesting that  three were chosen.

1 hour ago, Bells said:

Just an observation here....

 

Three of the top ten moments this week game from the Dees v Ess.  So may speak of 'putrid' football.  It was not pretty that is for sure, but it is interesting that  three were chosen.

It's the win the AFL wanted. 

15 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Fantasia, Langford, Merrett and Kommer were all National Draft picks.

Devil is in the detail ...

 

10 hours ago, jnrmac said:

'Leaders' such as Lumumba, Dawes, Garland and even Dunn have been a bitter disappointment in those roles. We don't have leaders who can demand the ball and change the course of a game a la Selwood, Hodge. Granted these guys are genuinely elite players but when we go missing like Saturday there is no-one to drag the players together and bang heads.

Yes, getting rid of Jnr was a mistake on a number of levels but even before that we had Yze, White, Robbo, Green and Bruce who weren't leaders bootlaces. Neitz was but they have been few and far between at the Dees, sadly.  

Actually Viney can often do that but he had a shocker on the weekend.

Jnr you just hit the nail on my head!

Has anyone seen the massive media build up to the Essendon game this weekend on channel 7.

Edited April 5, 20169 yr by Devil is in the Detail

26 minutes ago, Devil is in the Detail said:

Has anyone seen the massive media build up to the Essendon game this weekend on channel 7.

Not over here, it's all about the Derby.

9 hours ago, dee-luded said:

Dawes i think mostly because of his chronic injuries hands legs.   We seen his best rarely I think.   But its nearly time to bring thru the next few.  Pedro will have to be the bull whilst Frost,  & maybe one of the Kings,  as they are more mature in years at least.   Weide will come thru,  but when he does we should expect he'll need to go back to Casey for further development.   I think we'll need Pedro for 2017.   Insurance.

We shouldn't expect too much too soon from him.  (the weide)  Expectations slow development,  when they're not ready for it.

 

Looking thru the list  its difficult to find spots for the off season.  some will be unlucky this year.

I am struggling to decipher your post but if you are saying that we have to wait for the Weid and the Kings to come through as leaders before we see leadership on the ground then we are in real trouble. Not sure who you are referring to in Pedro. We can't afford to wait for another generation of leaders to come through.

22 hours ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

One aspect of this game that I found interesting was the ease with which they dominated us in the centre.  They were reading Gawn's taps, smothering our clearance players and easily taking the ball away.  You'd almost think they had a guy who was heavily involved in building and coaching our centre square work the last few years over there.  While I was surprised Jamar didn't play, he clearly had a big influence on the tactics they used to beat us there. 

 

I think the bigger issue was the laziness of players who refused to run to cover space/players on the outside. Every 50/50 we struggled to clear the ball or would have to with a hurried kick. On their side, they had players free all day for the release handball. One, two downfield they went and they were in space every time.

Never more obvious (or frustrating) than with scores level in the last quarter and they'd kicked precisely one goal in a row. How frustrating was it seeing that the team had already given up?

I haven't had any desire to reflect on the loss, which is a direct result of how flat i felt/feel about it. But for what its worth here are some random thoughts:

• Suggestions that the loss is as bad as 186 or for that matter some forensic investigation investigation by PJ is warranted is tosh
• That said there is no getting away from the fact that for a range of reasons it was a very, very bad loss. One reason is that it undid so much of the positive energy that had built up over the last few months and allowed the media jackals to launch into us again
• The loss exposed how fragile any confidence is from fans
• A mate suggested to me that apart from anything else it might have cost us 2k members which is about $400k in revenue. I reckon he's probably right
• I lauded Roos last week but he deserves a wack this week:

1. After making a point of saying before the first round they were focused on picking only fit players they seemingly picked an underdone Brayshaw (though that's confusing - after all he dominated in the VFL and racked up 30 plus possessions) and a 'tired' Oliver
2. Such was the importance of getting a win they had to have as many hardened players in as possible, which meant they simply had to pick Dunn
3. Roos noted they were preparing for the bombers best. Well their best involves Daniher being up and about. If truth be told if Daniher could kick they would have won by 5 goals. As many have suggested they should have picked Frost and sat him on Daniher, He has both the height and tank to go with him. We might have won the game had they selected Frost
4. The team should have been rabid at the opening bounce and ensured they gave the bombers no sniff. They weren't. of course the player bear some responsibility here but so do the coaches
5. God knows why they didn't 'put a defensive forward on McDonald-Tipungwuti, such was his influence. He got a ridiculous amount of easy ball
6. We were out coached. Woosha came up with a possession heavy game plan that flummoxed us and neither the players or coaches adequately responded

• As 45HG says players refused to run to cover space/players on the outside and were lazy. Unforgivable
• Much of the commentary about Hogan is way over the top. That said he needs to address his body language. i'm sure he will.
• The game exposed one of our biggest weaknesses - how slow we are
• I'm sick of us not winning such games.

Edited April 6, 20169 yr by binman

Good reflection binman. Are you sure you didn't have any desire?

1 hour ago, H_T said:

Good reflection binman. Are you sure you didn't have any desire?

Desire to throttle someone yes. All other desires no. I hope they win this week. 

Nice even-handed comments binman. Though I still don't accept that the players were entirely lazy. I do believe we have a team of competitors now (minus a couple I won't name here) but a combination of an unflinching game-plan and being run into the ground had us beat. I thought the players looked genuinely sluggish. And I thought this before Roos brought it up post-match.

8 minutes ago, Skuit said:

 I thought the players looked genuinely sluggish. 

I agree with this. Perhaps the price of pushing for victory in the NAB games and round 1. 

1 minute ago, binman said:

I agree with this. Perhaps the price of pushing for victory in the NAB games and round 1. 

I understand we've been instructed to cease and desist in any discussions of the NAB but the bi-polar nature of Demon fandom is on full display this week. Team lacks spirit and doesn't have the desire to win? Seven days after the team demonstrated enough desire to turn around a 21 point 3-qtr time deficit and record a spirited win.

I just do not buy that we were tired from nab matches. Potentially we started too hard too early but I'd expect that to be something that affected us from mid-season onwards. Essentially we should be a month ahead of other team's fitness levels and running all over them.

Unless we had a massive week on the track getting extra legs in for this week's game against north - notwithstanding the match against the Bombers?

11 hours ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

It's the win the AFL wanted. 

me thinks it was they're (bummers) special game of the season, walk an all.    AFL smiles all round

I am still angry.

Does anyone know who was supposed to have been on McDonald-Tipungwuti because he just ran riot from what I saw and heard.

9 minutes ago, Deecisive said:

Does anyone know who was supposed to have been on McDonald-Tipungwuti because he just ran riot from what I saw and heard.

I may have read in another thread it was Kent, will need to be confirmed though. 

Edit: According to the AFL website pre game it was AVB.

Edited April 6, 20169 yr by Ethan Tremblay

33 minutes ago, 45HG said:

I just do not buy that we were tired from nab matches. Potentially we started too hard too early but I'd expect that to be something that affected us from mid-season onwards. Essentially we should be a month ahead of other team's fitness levels and running all over them.

Unless we had a massive week on the track getting extra legs in for this week's game against north - notwithstanding the match against the Bombers?

I don't believe that we were tired from the NAB either. But the new rotation caps remain an unknown quantity and it may be that we had not yet learned how to manage them on a individual and team level and tweak training loads accordingly. Eade was in the press the other day suggesting players may need a full game off every six weeks rather than be managed in game.

23 minutes ago, Skuit said:

I don't believe that we were tired from the NAB either. But the new rotation caps remain an unknown quantity and it may be that we had not yet learned how to manage them on a individual and team level and tweak training loads accordingly. Eade was in the press the other day suggesting players may need a full game off every six weeks rather than be managed in game.

Interesting.

Here is the opposition's take.

6 hours ago, binman said:

The team should have been rabid at the opening bounce and ensured they gave the bombers no sniff. They weren't. of course the player bear some responsibility here but so do the coaches 

This is what I don't get. You know you're coming up against a side with a point to prove, they're rallying their supporters pre-game and have a parade of legends coming out. Surely you want to come out and put your foot on their throat from the opening bounce so they go into their shells instantly and don't get a sniff. Snuff out their hopes in the first 10 minutes before they even have a chance to get going and then you can cruise in the 3rd/4th quarters if you're far enough ahead. 

I just don't get how professional athletes wouldn't come out with this mindset. We used to do it in under 13'some ffs.

Im still extremely angry.

12 minutes ago, biggestred said:

Im still extremely angry.

Same, it's now almost Thursday and teams will be announced and I couldn't care less. It's weird.

im sure it will change come the weekend but at the moment I'm just over this club 

9 minutes ago, The Song Formerly Known As said:

Same, it's now almost Thursday and teams will be announced and I couldn't care less. It's weird.

im sure it will change come the weekend but at the moment I'm just over this club 

Youre not off to tassie!

Lucky they have beer... might go off to the brewery sunday