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Post Match Discussion - Round 2


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I had to leave the room five minutes into the last quarter because i thought my head would explode.  

It's rare for any team even the best ones not to have ebbs and flows in the game.  You just can't keep your foot on the throat of an opponent for 120 minutes which is why playing tempo footy is so important to stifle their run on.  We are obviously having trouble with that.  In the second quarter against Geelong and in the third against Brisbane our lack of spread from the contest was seriously concerning, but not surprising. We lack genuine foot speed, that's why you see Garlett and Hogan pushing up the ground.  We're getting nothing off half-back atm.  Hunt had his back being worked on again last night and I can't remember him run and carry at all last night.  Having Lewis and Vince both in the team together doesn't help as clearly this makes us slower still.

Like others I think it's time we bring in Frost - he's the most likely match up for Brown who roams up the ground and his pace is required.   I also think its time to bring back Kent.  I dropped off him after some soft efforts last year, but I think his speed is required.

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7 hours ago, jnrmac said:

EVERY team thinks they can beat Melbourne if they pressure us. We fold way too easily.

We will never be a good side until we can stop that.

I’ve seen enough under Goodwin to know that most teams fear us. Yes, we have lapses in games and have a few run-ons against us, but we push to the very end, keep coming and are rarely out of it. I lost count of how many comebacks we staged last year. Already this season, we’ve responded well from almost 5 goals down to the Cats, and we stepped up a gear when headed last night - in difficult conditions.

This current mob do not fold or capitulate in the manner of years gone by. Opposing teams know they haven’t got us until the final siren sounds.

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9 hours ago, GCDee said:

I really do not understand some of our supporter base and how negative they can be... 

An interstate win, by 4 goals against a team choc full of talent. 

Yes it's frustrating we gave up 7 goal lead, but AFL footy is a game of momentum brissy got on a run and played very well for the 3rd and half of the 4th. 

Not to mention we have some star players in putrid form (hunt, jetta & lever) and 2 of our top 10 players out. 

We cannot and will not win every game by 10 goals. 

Great grinding win on the road and excited about the roos next week! 

My God. 

A team choc full of talent. Is that the same AFL Lions team that surrendered meekly to a second rate Saints team? 

No wonder we fail to achieve greatness. Being satisfied by a win against the worst teams provides the platform for being satisfied with a loss against a good team. 

I thought we had left that mindset behind us. 

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First half wasn't the greatest football, but I'm sure Goodwin would have loved how miserly we were, and we looked in complete control.

But at one time or another, we just always allow our opposition to get on a big run. I don't have the answers, and I'm sure the coaches are pulling their hair out trying to find the solution.

However, it was a good rally at the end when they had all the momentum. Oliver and friends providing the grunt in the middle and Garlett and Hogan with match winning performances.

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9 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

We shouldn't overlook the fact that we've improved immensely when playing on the road.  5 years ago we would be lucky to kick 6 goals when we played interstate.

Now, in the last 12 months, we've secured wins in Adelaide, Perth and now Brisbane, three places where we have struggled mightily in the past.  

It's the sign of an improving side and that we are learning to win anywhere we play.

What an utterly irrelevant point.

Improved immensely on the road?

We are at completely different stages of development as clubs. 

We won on the road yesterday and lost at home last week to a depleted Geelong? What on earth does it have to do with our single quarter meltdowns?

In this case the second half of the third and first half of the fourth. 42 points against the wooden spooners. 37 points against Geelong last week. 30-odd points against the Saints in JLT 2.

And last year, 8 times we conceded 30 points or more in a single quarter.

How do supporters keep overlooking this? 

You sure are happy-go-lucky talking up a win on the road against the wooden spooners of last year.

Unbelievable, the positives posters try to churn out.

Edited by stevethemanjordan
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Vince isn't getting enough credit for the job he did on Zorko in holding him to a handful of possessions in the first half.  When Zorko got off the leash the Lions got back into the game and their midfielders started kicking goals - they kickd 7 of their 10 goals. 

We tried to stop that momentum by putting eight players in defence.  And it didn't really work - eventually, we stemmed the flow (thankfully) but it happened when Hodge was off the ground in the last and their inexperienced backline faltered.

There is a lot to like about our game and there a few seemingly entrenched flaws in how we play/respond and I'm delighted we won.  But I support @Clint Bizkit comment above: The result is almost irrelevant, it's about seeing the team play a certain way and creating habits that will lead to sustained success.

We need to find solutions to our lapse's and now transparent game plan because we won't always be as lucky as last night nor will we have that sustained success of regularly winning..

Edited by Lucifer's Hero
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We are definitely 1 quality mid short - can’t wait for Viney to return. Bugg and Harmes are depth at best. Bugg’s skills are atrocious- that easy missed goal was shocking and if he had nailed it would have iced the game earlier. The commentators on TV bemoaned our lack of spread. Come on down Billy Stretch. I am also left wondering how good a game day coach Goodwin is. His tactic of loading the backline leaves us vulnerable to rebounds from the forward line.

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8 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

What an utterly irrelevant point.

Improved immensely on the road?

We are at completely different stages of development as clubs. 

We won on the road yesterday and lost at home last week to a depleted Geelong? What on earth does it have to do with our single quarter meltdowns?

In this case the second half of the third and first half of the fourth. 42 points against the wooden spooners. 37 points against Geelong last week. 30-odd points against the Saints in JLT 2.

And last year, 8 times we conceded 30 points or more in a single quarter.

How do supporters keep overlooking this? 

You sure are happy-go-lucky talking up a win on the road against the wooden spooners of last year.

Unbelievable, the positives posters try to churn out.

I thought my point was simple - we play better on the road than we have in the past (hell, we even found it difficult during the Daniher years at times), and it's good to see.  That's fact.

You're right - it has nothing to do with our meltdowns, but my post wasn't in relation to that at all.  I've discussed it elsewhere in great length.

If you took a moment to stop looking at yourself in the mirror and reminding yourself that you're better than everyone else, you might have realised that.  Shuffle along, Steve. 

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My take on our inability to ‘crush’ teams is that it will come and maybe only 3 or so times a year. Reason being, the game and how defensive set ups are resolved this days even compared to 3 years ago don’t allow for blow outs - which is great from a competitive competition point of view. It’s not like the late 00’s and early 01’s of GEELONG and hawthorn. And unfortunately when gcfc and GWS were blooding their youth - we had no development. I would have assumed GWS would have annihilated Collingwood based purely on paper - was not to happen. So it’s not just us... it’s every team - and I think supporter expectations (and maybe success starved Melbourne ones) are out of wack with the reality of the game these days. 

Edited by Danelska
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11 hours ago, iv'a worn smith said:

For God's sake. We came off just over a 6 day break, had to travel after playing a tough game last week. We won ffs. Enjoy and think of next week. Geez there's some plonkers on here

And it was extremely humid. After the game it looked like the players had played in the rain. 

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19 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Vince isn't getting enough credit for the job he did on Zorko in holding him to a handful of possessions in the first half.  When Zorko got off the leash the Lions got back into the game and their midfielders started kicking goals - they kickd 7 of their 10 goals. 

We tried to stop that momentum by putting eight players in defence.  And it didn't really work - eventually, we stemmed the flow (thankfully) but it happened when Hodge was off the ground in the last and their inexperienced backline faltered.

There is a lot to like about our game and there a few seemingly entrenched flaws in how we play/respond and I'm delighted we won.  But I support @Clint Bizkit comment above: The result is almost irrelevant, it's about seeing the team play a certain way and creating habits that will lead to sustained success.

We need to find solutions to our lapse's and now transparent game plan because we won't always be as lucky as last night nor will we have that sustained success of regularly winning..

Spot on Re Vince.

One of the things that really helped stem the flow was kicking a few goals the other way and getting some scoreboard pressure back on them.  Had we nailed a few of those shots on goal we had in the third and put a bigger break on them, I feel they would have folded and shut up shop much earlier.  Like you, I am disappointed we let them back in it, but really impressed with the way we withstood the onslaught, fought it out and came away winners.  Garlett was great for us yesterday.

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Just now, jackaub said:

Any body still think Tyson and Salem for Josh kelly was a good trade

Tyson played well I thought......unless that was your point......Salem offf the boil though.

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11 hours ago, Age said:

Doesn’t sound good with hogan seemingly tweaking his groin in the last quarter. He didn’t sound too confident with it. 

I watched him come to the bench late in the last qtr.  He looked very ginger.  Was hoping he was just cramping up...

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10 hours ago, GCDee said:

I really do not understand some of our supporter base and how negative they can be ...

The gnashing of teeth on this forum is only surpassed by a complete underestimation of the calibre of any opposition.

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8 minutes ago, DemonOX said:

And it was extremely humid. After the game it looked like the players had played in the rain. 

I was sitting around at the Gabba in my scarf doing no physical activty, thinking it's stupidly hot and uncomfortable to be wearing this bloody thing like this ... and I'm acclimatised to being up here.

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I will go opposite to most peoples thinking I would keep bugg in the side and drop Vince, and bring in GUS, I would hate to lose GUS with a trade  by putting Vince in the team, bugg would play just as well as Vince as a tagga, Vince is only playing because he is Goodwins mate. On the he game in the second half when every we got the ball we would stop and slow down, when ever the lions got it they played fast, I think the side is thinking too much about teams having a comeback that they start trying to save the lead and stop running hard.

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11 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

The huge positive for me was Hogan's performance.  23 touches, 9 marks, 5 goals and a ripping chase down in the second term.  He looks fit, hungry and ready to tear the competition apart.  When he plays like this we are such a better side for it.  Long may it continue!

The thing I liked, too, was the fact that, for long periods of the game, when the ball was in Brisbane's forward half, Hoges was alone with his opponent at CHF, waiting for the quick release from our backline.  Alas, there weren't too many of those on the night.  But, I like the idea of having him one-out, at the ready to pounce.  

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32 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

I thought my point was simple - we play better on the road than we have in the past (hell, we even found it difficult during the Daniher years at times), and it's good to see.  That's fact.

You're right - it has nothing to do with our meltdowns, but my post wasn't in relation to that at all.  I've discussed it elsewhere in great length.

If you took a moment to stop looking at yourself in the mirror and reminding yourself that you're better than everyone else, you might have realised that.  Shuffle along, Steve. 

As we know Wiseblood, if you're not outraged by the result, it must mean you're pleased with it. There's no such thing as grey.

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11 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

We've been using this exact game plan since Goodwin took over.  2 off the back of the square, win the contested ball and get it forward.  Sometimes we look terrific, other times we're okay and then there are times where teams run all over us and we don't know what to do.

My only criticism of Goody at the moment is that he seems a little stubborn and unwilling to implement something else when things aren't going our way.  Teams get a sniff and go bang, piling on goal after goal.  We need to learn to get better at this and be willing to tweak things more often when we sense the momentum shifting.

Is it your understanding that with two coming off the back of square we are freeing up one or two of theirs out wide towards the wing (obviously on the square also but wing side) WB?  Or am I mistaken here.

Without being able to watch the game with behind the goals vision or on game day I have trouble seeing the whole set up picture at centre bounces in these coverages.

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Look if someone said before the match we would win by 26 points we would have said great. Yes I didn't see brisbane kicking 7 in a row to come back but a few years ago we would have capitulated and they would have run over us. 

It was great to see Hogan play so well and Jeffy do some good things. I hope they are shown the 3rd quarter and where we went wrong. 

Its 4 points a win on the road and I will take that. But gee we would want to play a lot better next week. 

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15 minutes ago, Vagg said:

The thing I liked, too, was the fact that, for long periods of the game, when the ball was in Brisbane's forward half, Hoges was alone with his opponent at CHF, waiting for the quick release from our backline.  Alas, there weren't too many of those on the night.  But, I like the idea of having him one-out, at the ready to pounce.  

I wanted Hogan pushed up around the ball, he did well early when pushing into the midfield and I thought he was wasted deep forward when we struggled getting the ball down there.

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