1 minute ago, Jaded said:

Side note: Petracca super underwhelming

Go easy. It's not a step up to AFL level from the VFL. It's more like 3.

In the long run his game today might be better than if he came out and got 30 disposals and kicked 3 goals. He just learnt how much better he needs to get. Thats not a bad thing.

I'll back him in.

 

Thought Petracca was actually ok. If you separate deluded over expectation with the reality of a kid playing his first game, it was a fair effort.

3 minutes ago, biggestred said:

Theyve been told to put pressure on the ball carrier. It is literally their game plan. The idea being that someone else will cover the guy youve left. Of course you just end up as the piggy in the middle. Terrible defensive game plan

Three times Jetta was left alone on Riewoldt.

1 minute ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

The words passing his lips didn't set off a cosmic chain of events that caused us to lose.
However, wouldn't it be wiser to be thinking about getting over a team we haven't beaten the last 13 time we've played them rather than speculating about events 15 weeks from now? Also, wouldn't it be smarter to not give the oppo any ammunition to get up? Those comments say to me that we aren't really thinking about our number opposite and are looking forward to September based on our current output. If that were me, those comments would pizz me off! 

Again.

Jack. Can the Demons make the finals?

We're just taking it one week at a time/'IF we can keep the team consistently performing how we are, I don't think it's unrealistic'

Not sure the Saints had that article pinned up in the locker.

And honestly - I want my team to be aiming at finals and I'm not fussed if they vocalise that ambition

1 minute ago, Jaded said:

Side note: Petracca super underwhelming

This summarizes everything wrong with demonland. 

What did people seriously expect!?!?!?

Its first game, nerves and speed of the game got to him early but he ended up with 16 disposals, 5 tackles and 3 goal assists. 

5 minutes ago, Demon Disciple said:

Boo hoo, a good footy team plays good football anywhere at anytime. Interstate teams have to travel every 2nd week, yet they still manage to rise up the ladder.

Loved how all and sundry at the club (including the playing group) urge Dees fans to show up, yet they have the gaul to not turn up themselves. 

Totally agree with you but teams should have home games at their home. Seems simple eh

Interstate teams dont play away games at the oppositions home ground(derbys excepted... because its the home teams home ground too)

19 minutes ago, Nasher said:

The lads at Casey who have been struggling to get in should go in to tomorrow's game slobbering like hyenas. There are spots ripe for the picking.

They should be texting like mad now.

2 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Three times Jetta was left alone on Riewoldt.

Because tommy mac has pushed up to put pressure on someone and jetta had to cover. 

1 minute ago, biggestred said:

Because tommy mac has pushed up to put pressure on someone and jetta had to cover. 

Great strategy worked well.

4 minutes ago, biggestred said:

Theyve been told to put pressure on the ball carrier. It is literally their game plan. The idea being that someone else will cover the guy youve left. Of course you just end up as the piggy in the middle. Terrible defensive game plan

Rubbish, our best football this year clearly indicates our game plan is perfectly fine both offensively and defensively.

The real issue is why we can't execute it weekly. 

Part of that is youth (our 22 players today are a year, on average, younger than St Kilda's) and inexperience (our 22 averaged 20 games fewer per player than theirs). Part of that is also our first 6-day break for the year.

Part of it is poor coaching, poor selection, and a lot of it is a group of players who still aren't at the required AFL level of consistency yet within themselves. I thought we were improving in all these areas this year but I guess not.

Disappointing for sure but some posters on this site are very dramatic BOTH ways. 

We win and it's finals talk... we lose and it's an absolute disaster. 

Lets see how we bounce back. Hopefully some inclusions will bring some more grunt and experience and we can get a win against GC.

We are such a young side. We've seen our best and it's great. We've seen our worse and it's bad. It's all about closing that gap this year and developing our players and our side for the future.

PS 

Go Jesse

Definitely went in one tall too many. Forward pressure was non existent. Frost is just a placeholder until Weidemen's ready. They just showed the rest of the competition how to beat us, choose your fastest running side and don't bomb the ball into the forward line. We'll lose by 100 points to precise kicking teams like the Hawks with this defensive zone of ours.

6 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Oh well.  Disappointing loss but we are to expect that with this side until we mature and find that consistency.  We are just as likely to come out and roll GC next week.

One thing that this game does is show us all that we are still very much a middle of the road side who will win some and lose some.  Finals was always out of reach.

Hogan is a gun.  Those who, in the Hogan thread, tried to make a claim we would be okay without him are kidding themselves.

Onwards and upwards boys.  There is always next week.

That's about it Wiseblood. The only thing I'll add is that we were outthought consistently at clearances and it happens every time we play them.

Defensive structures were exposed big time by the saints ball movement. As soon as they broke even in the middle it was a procession.

In an unusual step the AFL drug testers are testing the entire team. Evidently they are looking for balls. The coaching panel is confident there will be an all clear and no balls will be detected.

We still kicked 15 goals. It's not all doom and gloom. Just gloom.

6 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

Tom MacDonald should be seriously ashamed of himself. Not a leaders bootlaces. Pathetic, insipid effort

Yes.

He was the man for Riewoldt but he kept trying to delegate to H and even Jetta.Weak as pizz.

Dunn slow and reactionary.

H flakey and missed tackles.

Paul Roos - terrible game day coach.

Petracca was fine for a first gamer. Some of his disposal was poor, but he also showed some good clean pickups at speed and help set a few up. Most importantly he laid tackles, which is more than can be said for most of his teammates.

 

ANB deserves a shot now. He's smashed it at VFL level and would at worst give us effort and get to contests. Bring him and Oliver in next week.

47 minutes ago, Maple Demon said:

Demonland, a realist. Post game thread up with a quarter to play.

Just getting ahead of myself ?

Just now, Return to Glory said:

That's about it Wiseblood. The only thing I'll add is that we were outthought consistently at clearances and it happens every time we play them.

Yes, we don't handle that well.  Plus their smaller, quicker midfield/forward types always cut us up.  They out pressured us and that allowed them to get past our high press, which is looking for that turnover, and get some easy goals.

Our smaller forwards were putrid as well.  Kent had a shocker, Garlett went missed and guys like Kennedy aren't having the same influence.  If they aren't putting that pressure on and forcing the turnover then we really struggle.

We'll be right though.  It's not all doom and gloom.  We need to understand that these games will still happen and accept it.  We know how good we can be, we just need to work on that consistency.  Hopefully most posters can see that before they come stomping in here making outrageous claims - the same posters who would have been talking us up just a few days ago.

It was obvious in the first quarter we were very sloppy with the ball even though we were in front. I was worried at quarter time and completely over it by the end of the game. Just no fight in the team.

1 minute ago, Biffen said:

Yes.

He was the man for Riewoldt but he kept trying to delegate to H and even Jetta.Weak as pizz.

Dunn slow and reactionary.

H flakey and missed tackles.

Paul Roos - terrible game day coach.

You weren't happy Biffen that Riewoldt was allowed 20 metres on his opponent throughout the game without the barest hint of a coaching move?

Not one to normally question the coaches as I don't know what they say to the players but when St.Kilda take 18 UNCONTESTED marks inside their forward 50 serious questions need to be asked. If it's not Beau Wilkes cutting us up then it's no namers like [censored] Membrey.

First Boomer now Riewoldt. I get it they're great players but not enough homework has been put into stopping them. Riewoldt ran around on his own all afternoon. They've been tearing us up for years and will continue to do so for much longer by the looks of things.

Anyone underwhelmed by Petracca only has themselves to blame. The guy is not Jesus, and was far from the worst out there. Temper your expectations.

 

Two observations:

1. Centre bounces, Max was getting his hand to the ball, but we had few clean takeaways. Saints had more.

2. We had very little of last week's fast spread or switching. I blame cramped Etihad to some - but not all - extent.

4 minutes ago, Skuit said:

Again.

Jack. Can the Demons make the finals?

We're just taking it one week at a time/'IF we can keep the team consistently performing how we are, I don't think it's unrealistic'

Not sure the Saints had that article pinned up in the locker.

And honestly - I want my team to be aiming at finals and I'm not fussed if they vocalise that ambition

How about we put at the end of that sentence 'but we are 17 weeks away from September and we have a team ahead of us we haven't beaten in nearly ten years to come up against at a venue where we have won once in 23 attempts so we are mostly aiming at getting that monkey off the back'?  If he had said that, Jack would have answered the question but would also have given an actual reflection on where we are at and where the season is at. The fact that that rider wasn't attached to that sentence says A LOT!
We should be aiming at finals yes, but the season is a marathon.