14 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

 

Newton, ANB, Watts, Kent, Tyson and Garland should not get a game next week on those efforts. Kent not as bad as the former lot but his disposal/finish is crap

And the baby goes flying out the window with the bathwater

It's between the bloody ears. 

Our best is better than last season but we're still a long way off, mentally as well. We lose to Essendon, St Kilda and dish up that tripe yesterday. I'm now far from convinced.

6 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Our best is better than last season but we're still a long way off, mentally as well. We lose to Essendon, St Kilda and dish up that tripe yesterday. I'm now far from convinced.

That's pretty much what middle of the road teams look like - capable but inconsistent. Good footy interspersed with the occasion garbage is exactly what I'd expect from teams in the 8-10 range, which is where we are.

I'm no less convinced than I have been for most of the season now.

7 minutes ago, Nasher said:

That's pretty much what middle of the road teams look like - capable but inconsistent. Good footy interspersed with the occasion garbage is exactly what I'd expect from teams in the 8-10 range, which is where we are.

I'm no less convinced than I have been for most of the season now.

That's fine if we win those games we aren't supposed to .

I think we are going in to games expecting to beat anyone but capable of losing to even the worst.

The answers are not easy to find.

The issues are are across the team.Our hand and foot skills are below par.

Watts,Salem,Oliver,Jones,Petracca,Viney,Hogan,Gawn,Tmac,Jetta,Vince , Garlett and,Stretch Are the basis of a very good side.

Hunt ,Harmes,Wagner and OMac fluctuate as young guys do.

Kent ,Dunn,Garland,MJones,Michie,Kennedy,Tyson,H,Grimes have some limitations.None of these guys can use their opposite side but there is hope for Tyson.

In order to win a final/s we will need better skills across the board. Any players with these disposal issues can only be a viable part of a good side if they tackle like machines.

The back six are totally unstable .

TMac,Jetta,Dunn,Vince,Salem and Wagner would be my pick for the Hawks.Omac and Wagner are too green in tandem.

I want to see JT back for more poise and skill.

I would like to have a look at Hulett.

I think Spencer and Gawn can operate together.

Would be good if H/ Dawes could resurrect their careers but I don't see it happening .Ditto for JG.

 

3 minutes ago, Biffen said:

That's fine if we win those games we aren't supposed to .

I think we are going in to games expecting to beat anyone but capable of losing to even the worst.

The answers are not easy to find.

The issues are are across the team.Our hand and foot skills are below par.

Watts,Salem,Oliver,Jones,Petracca,Viney,Hogan,Gawn,Tmac,Jetta,Vince , Garlett and,Stretch Are the basis of a very good side.

Hunt ,Harmes,Wagner and OMac fluctuate as young guys do.

Kent ,Dunn,Garland,MJones,Michie,Kennedy,Tyson,H,Grimes have some limitations.None of these guys can use their opposite side but there is hope for Tyson.

In order to win a final/s we will need better skills across the board. Any players with these disposal issues can only be a viable part of a good side if they tackle like machines.

The back six are totally unstable .

TMac,Jetta,Dunn,Vince,Salem and Wagner would be my pick for the Hawks.Omac and Wagner are too green in tandem.

I want to see JT back for more poise and skill.

I would like to have a look at Hulett.

I think Spencer and Gawn can operate together.

Would be good if H/ Dawes could resurrect their careers but I don't see it happening .Ditto for JG.

 

This stuck out like dogs balls yesterday. Port's kicking was far better than ours and was a major contributor to our defeat. The ball into our forward 50 was very ordinary (short, long or wrong side) compared to the delivery Port's forwards received.

30 minutes ago, Biffen said:

That's fine if we win those games we aren't supposed to .

I think we are going in to games expecting to beat anyone but capable of losing to even the worst.

The answers are not easy to find.

The issues are are across the team.Our hand and foot skills are below par.

Watts,Salem,Oliver,Jones,Petracca,Viney,Hogan,Gawn,Tmac,Jetta,Vince , Garlett and,Stretch Are the basis of a very good side.

Hunt ,Harmes,Wagner and OMac fluctuate as young guys do.

Kent ,Dunn,Garland,MJones,Michie,Kennedy,Tyson,H,Grimes have some limitations.None of these guys can use their opposite side but there is hope for Tyson.

In order to win a final/s we will need better skills across the board. Any players with these disposal issues can only be a viable part of a good side if they tackle like machines.

The back six are totally unstable .

TMac,Jetta,Dunn,Vince,Salem and Wagner would be my pick for the Hawks.Omac and Wagner are too green in tandem.

I want to see JT back for more poise and skill.

I would like to have a look at Hulett.

I think Spencer and Gawn can operate together.

Would be good if H/ Dawes could resurrect their careers but I don't see it happening .Ditto for JG.

 

That would imply he has shown something in a game? He has looked like the same player in all the games I have seen.

1 hour ago, Nasher said:

That's pretty much what middle of the road teams look like - capable but inconsistent. Good footy interspersed with the occasion garbage is exactly what I'd expect from teams in the 8-10 range, which is where we are.

I'm no less convinced than I have been for most of the season now.

Someone on Demonland said yesterday (was it bing?) that the Bulldogs were 5-5 last year too. If we keep tracking as is we'll win our 10 or so games. If we build on our start to the season, I think we'll make finals. I think the latter is unlikely, but our draw is tougher in the second half. I think as long as we bring manic pressure, we can beat any opposition on our day. 

52 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

This stuck out like dogs balls yesterday. Port's kicking was far better than ours and was a major contributor to our defeat. The ball into our forward 50 was very ordinary (short, long or wrong side) compared to the delivery Port's forwards received.

I thought our kicking was a lot better in the first 10 minutes yesterday and then seemed to deteriorate, in line with our player's work rate.

If we work hard, it means our players with ball in hand have simpler targets to hit.

1 hour ago, Nasher said:

That's pretty much what middle of the road teams look like - capable but inconsistent. Good footy interspersed with the occasion garbage is exactly what I'd expect from teams in the 8-10 range, which is where we are.

I'm no less convinced than I have been for most of the season now.

I think the trouble is that after the next 3-4 weeks, we could very well be quite a distance from 8-10 range...

This year strikes me as Roos just getting games into the kids and soaking up the flat week every 2-3 games as "failures at the selection table."

We are very inconsistent but it does form a pattern. We were mediocre against GWS and Essendon, then up for the following 3 weeks (North, Coll, Rich), then down against the Saints, then up against the Suns, mediocre for the Dogs, up for Lions, down for Port. 

There's a pattern of inconsistency that's perfectly common with younger teams. Teams like Hawthorn can carry one or two kids because the senior players will compensate for any deficiencies; we simply can't do this because our players don't have enough experiences to make up for others being flat. 

Nonetheless, we really should be doing a better job rotating players through the 2's and giving them a rest every 2-3 games, but I understand Roos' reluctance to pull the trigger when the team is demolishing the opposition by 60+ points every few weeks. Probably sends a bad message to a developing team.

People have to understand the difference between positive, realistic, negative, constructive....

I think some of our players are in that make or break zone. They may be young but they are playing with the big boys now and some of them don't exhibit big boy footy.

We've had the likes of them before, Gysberts, Blease, Strauss, Tappy etc...

The current group include Harmes, Kent, Stretch, Hunt, Kennedy, ANB and I think there is another group Newton, Michie that are really VFL players now, they've had their shot at 2 clubs.

Whenever I've doubted Kent before on this forum I've had comments like "He's our most important player", "He puts on forward pressure" etc. etc. etc.....

Kent is to date a very lazy footballer who no doubt has some skill but doesn't exhibit enough at the moment and this is apart from the fact that he misses too many easy goals. I thought his game yesterday was better than some of his others this year, many think it was his worst. They have poor memories.

Omac is a kid, he does some nice things but he's not hard enough to play big boys footy yet or maybe ever...the one comment I always here about Weideman that I like is how he attacks the ball hard so I'm looking forward to seeing him when he gets his chance. Omac doesn't attack the ball hard, he's still at u18 level...he's not hungry enough and may never be, we wait and see.

Probably not all his fault in a defence, 3 of them lucky to have played 20 games between them...add Garland, I don't know what's happened to Col but he is an absolute liability at the moment.

I include the selectors in the "We're Kidding Ourselves" group, Tyson shouldn't have played yesterday, Kennedy injured himself pre game, Trengove is streets ahead of most of our list and needs to be out there now. Love the Roos BS about us waiting for him to put his hand up lol....

Positives, we are a better team and we have some legitimate future champions at the club, this is the difference to where we were a few years back. 

Hogan, Petracca and Oliver you can build a team around.

I doubted Salem as to me he wasn't living up to expectations but had a legit excuse so giving him the benefit of the doubt, he has a lot of class of that there's no doubt.  I would hope to see him and Brayshaw as really good players at the club...probably A graders without being the absolute champions the other 3 should become.

With the rest we will get some winners and some losers.

18 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

There is no doubt we are improving but some of many of these supporters haven seen a premiership for 20....30....40.. and yes fifty years.

I don't understand your logic. 

What's this 20, 30, 40 you refer to ?

No-one has seen one for over 50 years (if they've seen one at all).

Someone explain to me please how the [censored] some clubs manage to have one [censored] season and bounce back like Carlton, and I'm still waiting for us to beat a real opposition after 10 years. 

It is just depressing to see Carlton doing so well. Their list isn't even that good! 

Just now, ProDee said:

I don't understand your logic. 

What's this 20, 30, 40 you refer to ?

No-one has seen one for over 50 years (if they've seen one at all).

Yes, no one has seen a flag for 50 years but some supporters have been waiting that long and some have been waiting for only 20. The former are probably more frustrated was the point I wanted to make.

18 hours ago, billy2803 said:

- pick players that are 100% right to fulfil their role

There are two things that can go wrong with that. a) you pick players who aren't 100% right. b) the players you pick are right, but don't fulfil their role.

You've assumed the former. All the evidence would suggest it's the latter.

9 minutes ago, Jaded said:

Someone explain to me please how the [censored] some clubs manage to have one [censored] season and bounce back like Carlton, and I'm still waiting for us to beat a real opposition after 10 years. 

It is just depressing to see Carlton doing so well. Their list isn't even that good! 

Constant regime change.

We are Afghanistan in the UN of the AFL.

Goodwins ability to stop the rot will be determined as much by his ability to deal with the media as it will his football judgement.

1 hour ago, AdamFarr said:

Someone on Demonland said yesterday (was it bing?) that the Bulldogs were 5-5 last year too. 

Not me, but I'll take it.

Go Dees.

20 hours ago, praha said:

We'll beat Hawthorn.

Should do. Most of the boys have had a nice little holiday. Good to be back at the MCG and I hope we throw everything at them.

Carlton have overtaken us. 

FFS we're the youngest side in the league and you expect us to win every week!!!!

We are 6 -7 seasons till we are a realistic chance to win a flag.

We'll play finals in the next few seasons and if everything goes well and GWS don't dominate we may win one.

Chances are we'll get close for a few years then drop back of the pace.

Just enjoy the ride 

34 minutes ago, Roost It said:

FFS we're the youngest side in the league and you expect us to win every week!!!!

We are 6 -7 seasons till we are a realistic chance to win a flag.

We'll play finals in the next few seasons and if everything goes well and GWS don't dominate we may win one.

Chances are we'll get close for a few years then drop back of the pace.

Just enjoy the ride 

Your post is so 2009.

1 hour ago, rjay said:

People have to understand the difference between positive, realistic, negative, constructive....

I think some of our players are in that make or break zone. They may be young but they are playing with the big boys now and some of them don't exhibit big boy footy.

We've had the likes of them before, Gysberts, Blease, Strauss, Tappy etc...

The current group include Harmes, Kent, Stretch, Hunt, Kennedy, ANB and I think there is another group Newton, Michie that are really VFL players now, they've had their shot at 2 clubs.

Whenever I've doubted Kent before on this forum I've had comments like "He's our most important player", "He puts on forward pressure" etc. etc. etc.....

Kent is to date a very lazy footballer who no doubt has some skill but doesn't exhibit enough at the moment and this is apart from the fact that he misses too many easy goals. I thought his game yesterday was better than some of his others this year, many think it was his worst. They have poor memories.

Omac is a kid, he does some nice things but he's not hard enough to play big boys footy yet or maybe ever...the one comment I always here about Weideman that I like is how he attacks the ball hard so I'm looking forward to seeing him when he gets his chance. Omac doesn't attack the ball hard, he's still at u18 level...he's not hungry enough and may never be, we wait and see.

Probably not all his fault in a defence, 3 of them lucky to have played 20 games between them...add Garland, I don't know what's happened to Col but he is an absolute liability at the moment.

I include the selectors in the "We're Kidding Ourselves" group, Tyson shouldn't have played yesterday, Kennedy injured himself pre game, Trengove is streets ahead of most of our list and needs to be out there now. Love the Roos BS about us waiting for him to put his hand up lol....

Positives, we are a better team and we have some legitimate future champions at the club, this is the difference to where we were a few years back. 

Hogan, Petracca and Oliver you can build a team around.

I doubted Salem as to me he wasn't living up to expectations but had a legit excuse so giving him the benefit of the doubt, he has a lot of class of that there's no doubt.  I would hope to see him and Brayshaw as really good players at the club...probably A graders without being the absolute champions the other 3 should become.

With the rest we will get some winners and some losers.

Agree on Kent and have said so many times. He has been really important for us this season when he applies pressure (Richmond and Collingwood in particular) and provides an attacking outlet as well. However, as you say, he's a lazy footballer. He plays a position in our side that at the moment is simply a role player, specifically, applying pressure across half forward. When he and the other half forwards do this, we look good, but we look horrible when blokes like him don't play their role.

I really like Salem and he hasn't had the greatest run at it, but if we could get an A grader in the 23-25 age bracket for him, I'd do the trade.

My realistic position on where we are. 

Positive: We are young, we have lots of talent coming through, we are developing the players well, our future should be bright. Our current best is good verging in very good.

Negative: We are young and inconsistent, we have players who get ahead of themselves and think the win will come. Not sure on our defensive game plan (or it may be the players cant execute it). Our worst is still bad but no longer in the depths of very bad we were in. 

Overall: Our expectation should be for 10 wins, any less than 8 from this group is a fail for mine. We gave up any potential finals birth this year during the second quarter yesterday. The future is looking OK, if the players develop to their potential then the future could be very bright. 

1 hour ago, Roost It said:

FFS we're the youngest side in the league and you expect us to win every week!!!!

We are 6 -7 seasons till we are a realistic chance to win a flag.

We'll play finals in the next few seasons and if everything goes well and GWS don't dominate we may win one.

Chances are we'll get close for a few years then drop back of the pace.

Just enjoy the ride 

Now where have I heard this before?