I hate reading predictions of easy wins on this site. Can't remember a game I have been to where I felt assured that we would take care of business, too many times I have been let down. 

Without dissecting the game in detail, I do wish we had a player like Travis Boak or Callum Ward. Leaders, hard, ruthless. Jones and Viney are great, but we need more. 

Feel flat tonight. Hoping we make finals but expecting we won't (just my fear)

3 minutes ago, Diamond said:

Gawn needs a long rest to get over his injuries

Looks like he will getting plenty, about 10 weeks of it.

3 hours ago, dee-tox said:

Notice a couple of posters potting Jones. Not deserved.  Too easy a target. Other so-called leaders like McDonald, Vince and Gawn were awful.

Vince has been pretty poor all year, bar the Crows game in Adelaide. I'd seriously be considering whether we should extend his contract

Well, you can forget about Adelaide having much to play for tomorrow. Cats are smashing Giants by about 40 points, sealing Adelaide as the minor premiers.

They can drop tomorrow's game and it won't affect their position at all. Whether they want to go into finals with two consecutive losses, on the other hand...

Mark Neeld gets to experience finals before us. faaaark

23 minutes ago, Nasher said:

Just on Port, I wouldn't be lording them as the all conquering mental superheroes of the comp. The only team currently in the 8 they've beaten this year are Sydney, and that was during the opening 6 rounds when the Swans thought they were still on holidays. That includes losing to Essendon by 70 and Adelaide by 81. They will wet the bed come finals.

I'm not, and you're right, they will get found out. Merely pointing out that a team like Port Adelaide (like Sydney against Carlton today) regularly put away the opposition they should. Tonight is turning into a massacre for the Suns.

I don't rate Port generally and agree they'll get found out in finals, but I admire their very consistent ability to win the games they should -- and not "just" win, but really go for the jugular and smash their opponents. Even Lewis lamented that we missed such an opportunity last week when we inexplicably put the cue in the rack. We let slip a 40-50 point win and a chance to cement our place in finals (regardless of results tomorrow).

Edited August 26, 20178 yr by SaberFang

Goodwin did a good presser. I agree that we need to improve a hell of alot to be a good finals side. I hope luck falls our way and we make it, but on the last few weeks of form we will be out of the race pretty quickly eitherway. 

Well at least 1 melbourne player seems to be hurting and I bet he really is. 

The co-captain, who did all he could to save the Demons' ship from going down and condemning them to a nervous 24 hours to see if they'd hold onto the top eight, was shattered. 

He emerged from a rub down frustrated, annoyed, and determined to make sure the 16-point loss counted for something if they got the chance to play on. 

"I feel sick in the stomach to think that quite possibly tomorrow night the year is done," Jones told AFL.com.au. 

"The difficult thing to swallow now is it's not in our control any more.

"How do you put that into the words? It's a waiting game to see what the results are tomorrow, whether our season continues.

"It's an uncomfortable situation, but it is what it is. You can't think about that now."

It's so frustrating to not grab hold of our own destiny in terms of being able to control what we could today – win, and we're in," he said. 

"Now, we're in the lap of the Gods.

14 minutes ago, Nasher said:

Or we're just a middle of the road side.

Yes.

We're also an inconsistent middle of the road side, which is what seems to frustrate people here the most.

Helped along today by a really poor first quarter (for whatever reason) coupled with some structural imbalances that they were able to exploit, in particular having two big talls who were able to play/float forward, and losing Hogan which left us improvising up forward. We had 8 more I50's, but still lost by three goals - but when the two H's, Hannon and Harmes manage just 10 kicks, 1 mark, and 1 goal between them ... it was never going to work.

2 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

Well at least 1 melbourne player seems to be hurting and I bet he really is. 

The co-captain, who did all he could to save the Demons' ship from going down and condemning them to a nervous 24 hours to see if they'd hold onto the top eight, was shattered. 

He emerged from a rub down frustrated, annoyed, and determined to make sure the 16-point loss counted for something if they got the chance to play on. 

"I feel sick in the stomach to think that quite possibly tomorrow night the year is done," Jones told AFL.com.au. 

"The difficult thing to swallow now is it's not in our control any more.

"How do you put that into the words? It's a waiting game to see what the results are tomorrow, whether our season continues.

"It's an uncomfortable situation, but it is what it is. You can't think about that now."

It's so frustrating to not grab hold of our own destiny in terms of being able to control what we could today – win, and we're in," he said. 

"Now, we're in the lap of the Gods.

You can't think of that now! not sure I agree with that, he and the rest of the players should be thinking about that. They should be looking hard at what they did or did not do that contributed to this situation, so it does not happen next time we come up against any side especially one where the team think we got this before the ball is bounced.

 

Can someone explain why jack watts seemed to play the second half down back 

2 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Yes.

We're also an inconsistent middle of the road side, which is what seems to frustrate people here the most.

Helped along today by a really poor first quarter (for whatever reason) coupled with some structural imbalances that they were able to exploit, in particular having two big talls who were able to play/float forward, and losing Hogan which left us improvising up forward. We had 8 more I50's, but still lost by three goals - but when the two H's, Hannon and Harmes manage just 10 kicks, 1 mark, and 1 goal between them ... it was never going to work.

Agree on this, could not believe what I was seeing with certain match-ups at times. 

The finger pointing especially by Lewis in the second term after each Collingwood goal was evident that something was amiss big time. 

And what's with the backslapping and tapping of hands after we concede goals from our backs? 

What happened to the good old spray or rocket up someone's backside?

Are our players too precious?

Faaark!!!!

Not sure it's been mentioned but we didn't lay a tackle until the 11 minute mark of the 1st quarter, that is absolutely disgraceful for a side playing for a spot in the finals... Shows the players mind set... fkkking pathetic

24 minutes ago, Brownie said:

Mark Neeld gets to experience finals before us. faaaark

FMD....get out!

4 minutes ago, JV7 said:

Not sure it's been mentioned but we didn't lay a tackle until the 11 minute mark of the 1st quarter, that is absolutely disgraceful for a side playing for a spot in the finals... Shows the players mind set... fkkking pathetic

Lol, only about 11 times.

12 minutes ago, drdrake said:

Can someone explain why jack watts seemed to play the second half down back 

Because TMac moved forward...

I don't understand why Ben Ken isn't given a run, at least he brings hardness and intensity each week... something that not all today's players brought to the table. 

Very pleased that no one has blamed the 6 day break.

7 minutes ago, Deemented Are Go! said:

FMD....get out!

He experienced finals with Collingwood well before us anyway, so it's a moot point.

The 3 tackles in the first 20 minutes told me everything I needed to know about how much the club's success means to the group.

If we fall into the finals we are going to get seriously flogged...not sure our players could handle the increased intensity

Having said that, i do think 12 wins with this group is a monumental effort by Goodwin. We are bereft of any talent on the outside and currently have the weakest group of tall defenders I've seen during the last 30 years.

4 minutes ago, rufus said:

The 3 tackles in the first 20 minutes told me everything I needed to know about how much the club's success means to the group.

If we fall into the finals we are going to get seriously flogged...not sure our players could handle the increased intensity

Having said that, i do think 12 wins with this group is a monumental effort by Goodwin. We are bereft of any talent on the outside and currently have the weakest group of tall defenders I've seen during the last 30 years.

Really?  Do you really think for one second that success means nothing to this group?  Don't be so ridiculous.

It's fair to analyse where their heads were at from the opening bounce, as we clearly lacked the requisite intensity, but to suggest they don't want success is just plain silly.  Was it down to expectation?  Nerves?  Whatever it was, it needs to be addressed, but what you suggest is totally wrong.

 

 

Goody mentions bad habits......no shyte Sherlock!

this club are Olympic Gold medalists with bad habits.  We are officially the most untrustworthy football club in the AFL.  Essendon have more knackers than our lot.

Can someone tell me why the moronic pies supporters kept booing watts? I noticed it more in the 2nd half. Is it because of him kicking the winning goal in queens birthday or does it stem back to when he made his debut and they think he complained or sooked a bit about the treatment he copped? 

 

4 minutes ago, Soidee said:

Goody mentions bad habits......no shyte Sherlock!

this club are Olympic Gold medalists with bad habits.  We are officially the most untrustworthy football club in the AFL.  Essendon have more knackers than our lot.

3

That`s a bit unfair. Some of them grew an extra gonad recently.

I shouldn't care but if WCE win tomorrow and I see pics of this mob doing mad Monday in 2 days time I'm going to lose the plot. Hope they are all hurting like Jones.