When we get all this noise from the experts and the experts on here I always remember what Blight said at the start of the season.

Looks like he was pretty right to me.

It's relevant to the discussion on Goody, the players and their mental weaknesses as some like to call.

It's all "fugazi"...

Too many pushed expectations too soon, we are so close but not quite there. We may well make finals but we're a way off yet and despite wanting us to be contenders we're just not ready.

I'm comfortable with where we're at, yes I would like to see us in the top 4 giving it a shake but key injuries along with the list profile made it highly unlikely.

This is why we're not quite there yet...I know many won't want to hear it.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/03/06/dees-will-struggle-to-make-the-eight-again-blight/

Edited August 16, 20186 yr by rjay

I wonder how many teams have missed finals after being 4th on the ladder three weeks prior. 

We are lucky Saints and Crows have been disgustingly underwhelming this season. If they hadn't have been, the Media would be riding the Demons even harder.

We have a list that should be pushing for top 4, yet here we are wondering if we will even play finals.

Goody needs his team to make finals, or the noise next season around his job is going to get very loud.

1 hour ago, 3Dee said:

Derm just said on 360 that sometimes Goody gets a bit funky in the coaches box when he should roll 6 - 6 - 6.

Derm served it up our group!  Like him or not....the successful clubs think we are weak in big games and are there for the taking.  They are spot on!  I hate to hear this but it’s the truth.

2 hours ago, demonstone said:

There appears to be a fascination among the media and wider public with Melbourne and its finals chances.

Does this mean that we are relevant again?  Are they scared of what we will become and are getting a few cheap punches in now?

There's no more fascination than we Dees have !!

35 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

I wonder how many teams have missed finals after being 4th on the ladder three weeks prior. 

With a percentage of about 130% ...

Weather we like to admit it or not, we’ve had a pretty big target on our backs all year. Many people like Derm have been waiting to see us arrive so it’s little wonder they say things like this when we don’t.

Wallace is a Num Skull! ? 

Edited August 16, 20186 yr by Dee tention

1 hour ago, Demon17 said:

This stat is a week old and not his own work. It does not address goodwins key premise either. Media commentators only survive on oxygen and attention or they risk irrelevacy. 

I've only got 2 words for you Terry- 

Rodney grinter.

Wallet doesn’t survive on oxygen: sounds more like helium 

8 minutes ago, Ron Burgundy said:

With a percentage of about 130% ...

F Me.

If that happens...

I...

we..

all of us...

are gonna be in a bad, bad, very bad way.  Frightening to think of.  I can effing well face anything but that will destroy me.

1 hour ago, TGR said:

First, Wallet watches every game of AFL football every week, and has every right to put his light on things.  He was one of the first last year to rule-out Adelaide early in 2018 when they were red-hot.  Roosy for memory, was one of the first to rate Richmond in 2017.

Second, I actually agree with Goody, in that the 17 games within a kick speaks volumes.  Wallet and Lyon (8 by default) is average commentary in my view.  I won't be slitting my wrists unlike the simpletons, if we don't make it.

 

For those clowns here that raise Rod Grinter, just shows you how empty and inept some 'contributors' are here.  The Fraser Annings of Demonland.

Grinter's Irish too..........to be sure,  to be sure......

wallace is an idiot but unfortunately he's right that it's on the coach as the pattern has been continuing for three years

goodwin can't stop our players choking when the opportunity presents itself, but the fact that it has been happening for three years is the biggest concern

i'm not the coach's biggest fan, but the fact remains that we have regularly won contested ball, i50s, shots on, and so on and so forth - in terms of the basic metrics of modern football we seem to be doing the right thing, as goodwin says - he says 17 times out of 20 we've been within a kick when the siren blows; it's actually only 15 - so it shows that in some respects his message of how to do the basics to be in games is working

but at the same time we've given up runs of easy goals for the oppo and our players have then definitely fought tooth and nail to get in the position to win games - or been in front, a la geelong when the siren blows - but the common feature in all our losses is a run-on of goals from the oppo that we can't stop and then a panic within the playing ranks and an inability to stem the flow

• vs geelong in rd 1, where we had the opportunity to win what i thought was a pretty closely fought game and fluffed it
• vs hawthorn in rd 4, where it looks like the team gave up - worst loss for the year for mine for that reason alone
• vs richmond in rd 5, where i thought we gave our all and then dishearteningly got stream-rolled by the reigning premier in the last 
• vs pies in rd 12, where we didn't give a whimper and allowed them to completely control play from the square to their forward line
• vs port in rd 14, where we absolutely dominated but could not score in a pretty poorly-skilled, poorly-maggoted match-up
• vs saints in rd 15, where we played appalling football after the first 15 minutes until the last 15 minutes of the game and lost by 2
• vs geelong in rd 18, where we absolutely, categorically 100% choked under the pressure under lights at kardinia park
• vs sydney in rd 21, where again when the pressure was on to perform, the players choked and failed to execute the finishing skills 

it's exactly what affected us the last two seasons and now we're at the end of the third and the common trait of run-on then panic hasn't changed

the perceived wisdom is that goodwin was effectively coaching in roos' final year, which means we're now ending the third year of his tenure and we've shown that we can play but that we lack mental strength and tactical ability to adjust under pressure - and it's cost us every year

people forget the appalling display against carlton and then disintegration against geelong the week after in 2016 - that was nearly as bad as last year

to be honest, missing this year is expected based upon previous performances

goodwin will be under HUGE pressure in 2019

We've not yet eliminated the 20-minute nap from our game.

We got a glimpse of what it looks like, during that extraordinary surge of form early-mid season.

Maybe that surge came from a kind of perfect storm of factors peaking together. On the one hand physically we had match-fitness but not yet the tiredness of a long season, and mentally we were settled to the task but not yet losing concentration.

Over the season, young bodies and minds got worn out and a few veterans have clearly been feeling the pinch too.

Snatch that all-important one more win, and the pre-finals bye could prove to be massively important.

3 hours ago, TGR said:

First, Wallet watches every game of AFL football every week, and has every right to put his light on things.  He was one of the first last year to rule-out Adelaide early in 2018 when they were red-hot.  Roosy for memory, was one of the first to rate Richmond in 2017.

 

Wallace is a flogga.
No surprises that you love him.
Birds of a feather and all that.

Edited August 16, 20186 yr by Fork 'em

Blood hell, another expert putting our team down.  Personally, I'm finding all this pessimism and negatively surrounding the MFC absolutely nauseating of late.  

To be honest, I find the media coverage of teams, fickle and mentally week in it's self.  One or two good wins and they talk up teams as 'legitimate premiership contenders', lose one or two and all of a sudden the team has these huge fundemental flaws that have been exposed.   Hardwick and Bucks were cannon fodder for the last three or four years and now all of a sudden they are the role models for how every struggling coach/team needs to turn things around.  I think Goodwin is absolutely right about the fugazi.  

On the topic of mental fatigue, I'm pretty much in a place where I just want the next two weeks to be over from a footy perspective and either we fizzle and miss again or preferably we dig deep pull out a win or two and STICK IT RIGHT UP THEM and charge into finals with an opertunity to wreak some havoc. I'm glad the team has Goodwin as coach and believe we have a good opertunity to win both games.  

Proud of the team regardless and with the developing players we have in Oliver, Brayshaw, Harms, Freitch etc, I'm and confident we are building in the right direction.  You only have to hear the way some of the improved players like ANB and Brawshaw talk of the confidence the get from Goodwin as a coach to know he is having the right sort of impact and whilst the coach has that sort of impression and suport of the playing group.  The next step is really up to the players to take the games by the scruff of the neck, believe and get the job done - there is only so much a coach can do.

Edited August 16, 20186 yr by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

So many angry people here, when Wallace has simply pointed out the obvious.

 

We choke against the top sides, and are found out when a team applies constant physical pressure.
We are the definition of a front-running side.

 

We have two chances to turn that around, and I cant see us winning either game based on what I have seen thus far.

7 hours ago, rjay said:

When we get all this noise from the experts and the experts on here I always remember what Blight said at the start of the season.

Looks like he was pretty right to me.

It's relevant to the discussion on Goody, the players and their mental weaknesses as some like to call.

It's all "fugazi"...

Too many pushed expectations too soon, we are so close but not quite there. We may well make finals but we're a way off yet and despite wanting us to be contenders we're just not ready.

I'm comfortable with where we're at, yes I would like to see us in the top 4 giving it a shake but key injuries along with the list profile made it highly unlikely.

This is why we're not quite there yet...I know many won't want to hear it.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/03/06/dees-will-struggle-to-make-the-eight-again-blight/

This is defeatist and imo part of the problem. I highly doubt Goodwin thinks the expectations are irrational. Making finals is completely in line with where the team should be at this point. Yes we're not "there" as far as being a top side yet. But undoubtedly we should be playing finals.

I really hope the approach at the club isn't, "Well we're just not there yet. Next year it is!"

I don't accept the "we're just not ready yet" to simply play finals excuse, because it bypasses criticism and blankets KPIs. They are ready. The mental hurdle for them imo is actually believing -- knowing -- that.

I'm not an expert. I just have high expectations because, believe it or not with all of my negativity, I genuinely believe in the team. And I think a lot here do. And it annoys me when people say we're not ready for finals. We are, and we should be. No team in the history of the game takes this long to be "ready" for finals. It's unheard of. 

How do you overcome a mental hurdle without...actually overcoming it? You can only learn to overcome it by actually overcoming it. It's not like mathematics. No one gifts you a solution or a process for you to decipher. You need to take ownership yourself and find a way to do it. You're ready when you want to be.

Experience doesn't dictate readiness. You can either hit the jackpot like Geelong or Hawthorn did in the 2000s, or you can take ownership of your opportunities and hit them off the park.

Seriously, saying "they're not ready yet" is the Demonland equivalent of Nathan Jones walking off the ground with his head down. Which is basically the symbol of the club for the past decade. It's a loser mentality.

Edited August 16, 20186 yr by praha

8 hours ago, MSFebey said:

Dermie was trying very hard not to say we are soft, made for awkward viewing really. Well get there eventually 

Yeah he was, but tbh I think the point he wanted to make was that no one, players or coaches, grab the game by the scruff of the neck and drag it with them over the line, hence his calls for sometimes make it 1v1 all over the ground and challenge each player to beat his opponent. Dermie said we have the talent for that to be effective and I agree.

Dunstall also made the point now is the time for the coach to stop deflecting the heat from the media away from the team and challenge them, front on, here it is. Take it if you want it.

46 minutes ago, praha said:

Experience doesn't dictate readiness

No, but it does dictate consistency - and that's where we're falling down, both across games and within games.

For the moment.

Fugazi

Be nice if the players did something in one of the next two for Goody. He’s been supportive and covering for them all year.

I don’t know how he held it together after the StKilda game.

 

1 hour ago, praha said:

Yes we're not "there" as far as being a top side yet.

That's the point...

1 hour ago, praha said:

The mental hurdle for them imo is actually believing -- knowing -- that.

 

1 hour ago, praha said:

Experience doesn't dictate readiness.

 

58 minutes ago, bing181 said:

No, but it does dictate consistency - and that's where we're falling down, both across games and within games.

For the moment.

Well said 'bing'...

Some rosy coloured glasses being worn around here.. ?‍♂️

Wallace is right, our record against top 8 sides is glaring and we need to quickly rectify that starting this weekend and also next. We win these next 2 games and the confidence to beat any side will definitely filter amongst the playing group.

Interesting watching people's opinion change to now "I don't care if we dont make it." That's the soft underbelly attitude that has held this club back for decades. Show some ticker, be ruthless and don't accept mediocrity. This club should have made finals in 2017, we choked. They have just 2 games left to overcome this hurdle, the season has been frustrating and has this group "learnt from R23 last year.".

If we don't make finals this year it's a massive failure as we would not have taken a scalp, not even a half decent scalp let alone a big scalp. No finals and there is massive pressure on Goodwin entering his last year, which is a problem we don't want or need. Win next 2 and confidence will be up, then sky is the limit.

I have the faith we can go all the way, anyone that doesnt is just making up excuses for them. I agree with Dunstall/Wallace, Goodwin needs to stop the spin and start delivering, stop being stubborn and create his own opportunities by changing things up during game time. I was always shaky v a rebounding underdog Sydney but am very confident we will beat WCE. Go Dees.

11 minutes ago, MSFebey said:

Interesting watching people's opinion change to now "I don't care if we dont make it." That's the soft underbelly attitude that has held this club back for decades. Show some ticker, be ruthless and don't accept mediocrity. This club should have made finals in 2017, we choked. They have just 2 games left to overcome this hurdle, the season has been frustrating and has this group "learnt from R23 last year.".

If we don't make finals this year it's a massive failure as we would not have taken a scalp, not even a half decent scalp let alone a big scalp. No finals and there is massive pressure on Goodwin entering his last year, which is a problem we don't want or need. Win next 2 and confidence will be up, then sky is the limit.

I have the faith we can go all the way, anyone that doesnt is just making up excuses for them. I agree with Dunstall/Wallace, Goodwin needs to stop the spin and start delivering, stop being stubborn and create his own opportunities by changing things up during game time. I was always shaky v a rebounding underdog Sydney but am very confident we will beat WCE. Go Dees.

I hope making the finals isn't just thw goal. That the playing say we achieved our goal & then go out.