30 minutes ago, Lord Travis said:

Kick the bloody ball!

He's my favourite player and is blossoming into a star at a rapid rate, but [censored] me dead he needs to learn to take ownership and kick the ball sometimes. On one occasion today the ball came out of a stoppage and he wound up with it on the outside of the pack heading into our 50. He could've either run with it all the way inside 50 and had a shot at goal, or kick the ball into the paddock infant of Jeffy. He instead turned around, handball the ball 5 metres backwards to Viney who literally had an opponent hanging off him and was getting up off the ground from stoppage. Obviously it got turned over and they went straight down the other end to score. It was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen a footy player make. His immediate instinct when he gets it is to handball to someone else, which is fine when you're in a pack and looking to clear it etc. But he still needs to learn he is allowed to kick it when he has 50 metres of free space with a forward leading at him! He'll get there with time... just frustrating to watch at times as he's actually a really good kick and needs to have more confidence in his own abilities.

Today was a train wreck. The fact we only lost by 35 is a miracle. After the first 10 minutes we were absolutely belted and deserved to lose by 70-80 points. We've now got 3 weeks to get our mojo back and start being competitive around the ball and on the scoreboard. We've been mostly poor for nearly two months now, and other than the Port Adelaide win we have limped over the line or lost.

I would suggest Clayton have a look at Jobe Watson a couple of years ago when he used handball very constructively and opened the game up many many times. The coaches should be encouraging him to kick . Wasn't that the reason he was sent back to Casey last year. Do not get me wrong, he could finish up as one of our greats. He is only 19 !!

Viney seems to be just getting the ball in close and going nowhere. You do not score much from wrestling the ball on the ground. When we are running and spreading (like GWS today) we are a really good side right across the board.

9 minutes ago, praha said:

Today wouldn't have matter if we dealt with North like we were supposed to. Ultimately if we miss it'll be losses like that we look back on, like losing to Carlton last year, Saints twice, and so on and so on. We have found ourselves in touch with the 8 for most of the past 2 seasons yet have faltered badly when it matters. If anyone tries to find "improvement" in a team that finishes mid table two years in a row, I'll neck myself.

Reality is last year we were not ready for finals

We are still developing but should be playing finals, but loses to Nth twice, freo & hawks may impact in our chances playing finals..

 

Main problem is fairly obvious. We lack players of the highest class. Our on-ballers are good, but not really good. Have we a single player in the most talented 30 - or 40 - in the competition? No. I have hopes for Petracca - but he lacks mongrel and isn't fit enough. We need to make some hard  decisions about players, and forget the obsession with in-and-under scrubbers. We have too many already.

The umpiring nearly sent me postal.

We are playing with no confidence at the moment.

We are only good in decent weather-the team, not the supporters that is.

i didn't really expect us to make top four and now I'm hoping we make the 8.

I'm waiting for the " Relax, we got this!"

 

1 hour ago, Dee tention said:

Completely out coached 2nd half of the season. Game plan stinks of late and they have been worked out. Haha

Commentators saying the good teams have worked the Giants out pre-match. We obviously hav'nt. 35 points flattering. 12 scoring shots to 27. More like a 12 goal loss...

Games against North and the Giants are potentially scarring to this group. We are dreadful with the wind. A propose we play games at Etihad.

Sheeit imaging our Mob in suburban footy, even the worst z grade team would towel us up given we have no idea how to play on windswept ovals. Too spoon fed ! IMO

I have a sinking feeling that im gonna be spending a whole lot more time reading the Trade and Draft thread over the next few weeks. Until today i had not bothered, but i cant see a way out of our stinking form. Today was essentially the best team we could have mustered and we were pantsed. Yeah, GWS has a great list and are still one of 2 flag favorites (both come from Sydney ofc), but a lot of that list wasnt even on the park today. GWS full strength and that would have been a much greater loss.  If that was us actually trying then we are in for more pain in the last 3 rounds.

Again.

 

Just now, Fat Tony said:

It was a costly mistake (again) not starting TMac as a loose man into the wind IMO. 

Goody is still learning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of us have been calling other clubs pretenders (GUilty as well) but today I saw a genuine flag contender missing 3  top forwards beat a dead set pretender.

I think Im starting to understand why so many canned Jw in the past. Garlett was off today but I've noticed there is no in between with him. When he's off he is really off to the point of one or two touches.Petracca needs to lift for sure.

WE lost this game in the clearances (we were smashed) and also our ineffective disposal. Our ability to handball to a player under even more pressure never ceases to astound me.

As mentioned after the Norf game we are not quite there yet but are on our way. So many players rushed back in after injuries have struggled.

We can play great footy at times but there is a mindset problem as well.

Our lack of pressure and tackling today and last week reveal that we are not committed to playing finals. Our standards are too low and we are happy at times to take our foot off the pedal. GWS tackling showed they want to win.

We kind of just turned up for 6 minutes. We also need more depth to our list so non performers can be dropped and players coming back after injury can build form. Viney is so up and down and Jones may be getting too old which really xposes our midfield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, Demon77 said:

I'm waiting for the " Relax, we got this!"

 

The next poster that says this can the mods please ban for 12 months. 

 

40 minutes ago, Lord Travis said:

Kick the bloody ball!

He's my favourite player and is blossoming into a star at a rapid rate, but [censored] me dead he needs to learn to take ownership and kick the ball sometimes. On one occasion today the ball came out of a stoppage and he wound up with it on the outside of the pack heading into our 50. He could've either run with it all the way inside 50 and had a shot at goal, or kick the ball into the paddock infant of Jeffy. He instead turned around, handball the ball 5 metres backwards to Viney who literally had an opponent hanging off him and was getting up off the ground from stoppage. Obviously it got turned over and they went straight down the other end to score. It was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen a footy player make. His immediate instinct when he gets it is to handball to someone else, which is fine when you're in a pack and looking to clear it etc. But he still needs to learn he is allowed to kick it when he has 50 metres of free space with a forward leading at him! He'll get there with time... just frustrating to watch at times as he's actually a really good kick and needs to have more confidence in his own abilities.

Today was a train wreck. The fact we only lost by 35 is a miracle. After the first 10 minutes we were absolutely belted and deserved to lose by 70-80 points. We've now got 3 weeks to get our mojo back and start being competitive around the ball and on the scoreboard. We've been mostly poor for nearly two months now, and other than the Port Adelaide win we have limped over the line or lost.

I was at the game today LT and the incident referred to unfolded in front of me. It wasn't Oliver's fault. Down field there were two on ones in the GWS favour. And this happened time and again today. We often find ourselves with the ball and have no options in front of us. 

Why???

Our 'run and spread' and workrate has collapsed which is why we look slow. We do have speed - but players are not working hard enough - either leaving the contest too late or too early. 

Jessie's absence is huge for us. Even if he's not kicking goals himself, he makes the forward line a lot more functional than it was today. Watts isn't in a great patch of form, but I would hate to be operating as a forward for Melbourne at the moment. 

 

We actually outscored them after quarter time: 7 goals 2 behinds to six goals seven....

Somehow the result was predictable given our results again against out of form clubs. They were plagued with poor form, injuries and overall inertia for a couple of months until they played us with zest and hardness  just like North did last week. 

I'm just gonna say this. If we are going to be a side that uses handball relentlessly, can we please learn the art of executing a proper handball? Would that be even slightly too much to ask? 

Its getting trite seeing possible attacks snuffed out because of an errant finger flick to someone's shoelaces.

Maybe we are tanking...........

 

 

 

*Shrug.

Everything has gone to crap the last two weeks, is it just me, or did I see some of our players running up and down in the one spot in the last? 

Fair enough if the constant handballing is part of our game plan, but some of our decision making by hand seems like , here you have it,  I can't be bothered with it.

Are our players cooked?

Edited August 5, 20178 yr by Demon77

 

9thBourne

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Pos	Club	C	P	W	L	D	F	A	%	Form	Next	Pts
1	ADELAdelaide Crows	No Change	18	13	4	1	2011	1467	137.1	WWWWD	PORT	54
2	GWSGWS Giants	Up	19	12	5	2	1836	1592	115.3	DLLWW	WB	52
3	GEELGeelong Cats	Down	19	12	6	1	1881	1634	115.1	WWLWL	RICH	50
4	RICHRichmond	No Change	18	12	6	0	1556	1408	110.5	WLWWW	HAW	48
5	PORTPort Adelaide	No Change	18	11	7	0	1793	1371	130.8	LWWLW	ADEL	44
6	SYDSydney Swans	No Change	19	11	8	0	1729	1475	117.2	WWWLW	FRE	44
7	ESSEssendon	Up	19	10	9	0	1858	1732	107.3	WWWLW	ADEL	40
8	WCEWest Coast Eagles	No Change	18	10	8	0	1609	1520	105.9	WLWLW	STK	40
9	MELBMelbourne	Down	19	10	9	0	1752	1672	104.8	WLWLL	STK	40
10	WBWestern Bulldogs	Down	18	10	8	0	1528	1524	100.3	LLWWW	BL	40
11	STKSt Kilda	No Change	18	9	9	0	1542	1595	96.7	WWLLL	WCE	36
12	HAWHawthorn	No Change	18	8	9	1	1515	1706	88.8	WDLWW	RICH	34
13	COLLCollingwood	No Change	18	7	10	1	1604	1655	96.9	LLWWD	NMFC	30
14	FREFremantle	No Change	18	7	11	0	1335	1688	79.1	LWLLL	GCFC	28
15	GCFCGold Coast Suns	No Change	18	6	12	0	1528	1854	82.4	WLLLL	FRE	24
16	NMFCNorth Melbourne	No Change	18	5	13	0	1629	1831	89	LLLLW	COLL	20
17	CARLCarlton	No Change	19	5	14	0	1377	1730	79.6	LLLLL	WCE	20
18	BLBrisbane Lions	No Change	18	4	14	0	1476	2105	70.1	WLLWL	WB	16

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Edited August 5, 20178 yr by ding

What pizzes me off is that players get the ball and hand pass INTO the congestion, rather than away from it.  can't tell you how many times they did this today.  they were bullied and rushed.  They didn't support each other inside or outside the contest.

3 lucky goals and the Giants got their tails up.  We just jogged.They kicked another 5 and we were done.

we have been figured out.  If you get the ball over the wave coming off our hb line at the bounce, we are outnumbered and turned around.  If means our defensive structures are pressured and we cough up goals.

can we learn to stick a tackle, please??

And just like that we are 10th. Great work Melbourne. Taking disappointment to new levels!

13 minutes ago, Demon77 said:

Everything has gone to crap the last two weeks, is it just me, or did I see some of our players running up and down in the one spot in the last? 

Fair enough if the constant handballing is part of our game plan, but some of our decision making by hand seems like , here you have it,  I can't be bothered with it.

Are our players cooked?

Yes and yes, sadly

2 minutes ago, buck_nekkid said:

What pizzes me off is that players get the ball and hand pass INTO the congestion, rather than away from it.  can't tell you how many times they did this today.  they were bullied and rushed.  They didn't support each other inside or outside the contest.

3 lucky goals and the Giants got their tails up.  We just jogged.They kicked another 5 and we were done.

we have been figured out.  If you get the ball over the wave coming off our hb line at the bounce, we are outnumbered and turned around.  If means our defensive structures are pressured and we cough up goals.

can we learn to stick a tackle, please??

3 of the arsiest goals I've seen in about 5 minutes .

When the Scully goal happened I knew it wasn't our day.

99 times out of 100 that never happens.

Then the umps started plucking.

17 minutes ago, ding said:

Maybe we are tanking...........

 

 

 

*Shrug.

Must be! We really just didnt want to finish 4th and play Adelaide in Adelaide..good thinking Ding!

Well guys, say hello to 10th

The other factor to remember is that we are still overall just about the youngest team - average age - games played and goals scored.

As Roos pointed out after our fade-out last year, the team is still mostly composed of boys and very young men. They look nackered, example, Hunt, Petracca, and too many have just come back from serious injury: Gawn, Jones, Viney, Watts, Salem, Smith, Hogan etc etc

There is a time for every season, ours has yet to come...

Bulldogs and Essendon found a way to get the job done, something we couldn't do last week. One friggen goal and we would've got it done last week, we're behind he 8 ball now and it's all our doing. 

Just got home from Manuka.  Bitterly cold, bitterly disappointed!

We were 'flat' today .......... young team / back end of a very tough season perhaps?

Lack of intensity around the contest, lack of spread, lack of pressure on the oppo ball carrier.  We played like the Melbourne of a couple of years ago.  Far too much circular 'self preservation' handball leading to inevitable turnovers, indiscriminate kicking into the forward 50 (often because of no viable options presenting), a multitude of elimentary skill errors and opportunities missed, slow and indecisive ball movement.

Contenders or pretenders?  Based on today's effort, definitely the latter.

If we can somehow regain our confidence, flair and dare we might still make it, but not in the impactful way I was thinking mid season.  Yep, I'm 'flat' as well!