I'm not so concerned about the result - Round 1 can be overrated because of the focus on it and both Grand Final sides lost their Round 1 games last year.

What was concerning was the way we lost, especially having a middle of the road interstate team run rings around us on our home deck (after the Lions did the same thing in JLT 2).

Once again our defensive transition was found out - I know it was only JLT but in both those games and today we were so easy to counter attack against from half back. Chain upon chain of easy uncontested possessions. They have all been like the St Kilda game last year where Goody was furious with our defensive work ethic. After that game we seemed to fix it but it has been back on display in 2019 so far.

What was the cause for this? Attitude or fitness? I almost would prefer it to be an attitude thing as that can be fixed up - but it looked more of a physical fitness thing and that's more concerning as it does take time for that to turn around. Our guys just looked like they were running in quick sand for most of the day. We looked terribly underdone (no doubt due to the number of post-season surgeries) and in an even competition with a modern game that relies on pressure you just won't beat many sides when you are giving away a significant difference in fitness levels. How long does it take to get up to speed after a difficult pre-season? Hopefully not too long!

We broke even in contested ball and clearances so we were not disgraced in these areas, but we were far from the rabid contested side of last year. We clearly have the personnel so I'm not too concerned about this but it obviously needs to get better.

Edited March 23, 20196 yr by Scoop Junior

Not trying to be dramatic but will be pretty happy just to make the 8 this year given the predictable slow start we are going to have.  My hope is that we can be the bulldogs of 2016 and finish strongly. Way too many injured and under done players in the lead up to round 1. Could they have been better managed? Jones, Melksham and Viney had been in rehab for a ridiculous amount of time. AVB and KK have reinjured themselves. JSmith playing out JLT injured. Max and some others didnt look fresh. Misson is leaving later this year so good time for some fresh ideas

Edited March 23, 20196 yr by Demons1858

Melksham played out the game well but at 3/4 time he was in trouble.  He was flat on the ground attended to by a number of staff (looked like medico/physio types) for quite a while.  Got up and joined the group only when the siren to get ready for play sounded. 

Coupled with him giving off a couple of shots for goal from what were for him easy kicking range/angles I am concerned about his recovery from injury.  The 3/4 time attention may have just been cramp but will be interesting how he pulls up this week.

Edited March 23, 20196 yr by Lucifer's Hero

41 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

So what is the excuse? If the game plan hasn't changed much, why are we struggling? We made minimal changes player wise so it's not as if we had massive turnover there. 

I don't buy the lack of pace train of thought either, as it wasn't a massive issue for most of 2018.

So what was it? Fitness? A totally off day? A little bit of arrogance? Or all of the above? 

While I acknowledge there is lots at play here, I do thing the 6-6-6 rule has had a small, negative impact on the side as a whole. But of course, it's only a small part. 

The only way 6-6-6 could have negatively affected us was if the 15x out of 24 we won the centre clearance, it rebounded back out so quickly that our defenders were still 6 on 6.  

1 hour ago, praha said:

Mate how long have you been supporting our club for lol There was more poor decision making in 1 minute of any Bailey-era coached team than there was in the whole game today.

I have been an MFC supporter for as long as i can remember, and i am about to turn 51.

If you consider the start of my post, it probably makes more sense... "I have never witnessed first-hand". First hand meaning "In person"

No way was i wasting my time travelling to Melbourne to watch us play when Bailey was in charge. That would have been self-harm of the highest order.

Today was very very bad after the first 15 mins.

5 hours ago, Redleg said:

And here is the post I have been waiting to see.

For those on here who think pace is not a problem, you are just so wrong.

The other thing that hurts us is our decision making. We kick to packs and then don't have a loose man at the outside. We kick to player who have two on them. We kick to players who are behind their man.

We still lack disposal skill. Look at Port's kick outs, they find a man, we never did. 

Given we were out of form and possibly not as fit as others, the arrogance of playing Viney and Jones underdone and maybe injured, was simply breathtaking. We played 2 short today.

Mate, we played more than 2 short but agree that Jones and Viney were poor. Reckon Viney will be better for the run but Jones I think he is nearly done albeit been a great player for this club. Even under done you don't gift 2/3 goals to he opposition from baby mistakes.

Your other point on pace is fine but if you win the ball and kick to YOUR own team mates it makes us look quick. Today we looked slow because we bombed and never gave any one up the ground a chance with our shocking disposal skills.

6 hours ago, BAMF said:

No way do we have that luxury.

We are playing some depth players who should not be getting a game because they are either too young and should be at Casey or they are simply not good enough.

Thank god we recruited May because I never want to see Frost and OMac in the same team ever again.

yes we can....

32 minutes ago, Scoop Junior said:

I'm not so concerned about the result - Round 1 can be overrated because of the focus on it and both Grand Final sides lost their Round 1 games last year.

What was concerning was the way we lost, especially having a middle of the road interstate team run rings around us on our home deck (after the Lions did the same thing in JLT 2).

Once again our defensive transition was found out - I know it was only JLT but in both those games and today we were so easy to counter attack against from half back. Chain upon chain of easy uncontested possessions. They have all been like the St Kilda game last year where Goody was furious with our defensive work ethic. After that game we seemed to fix it but it has been back on display in 2019 so far.

What was the cause for this? Attitude or fitness? I almost would prefer it to be an attitude thing as that can be fixed up - but it looked more of a physical fitness thing and that's more concerning as it does take time for that to turn around. Our guys just looked like they were running in quick sand for most of the day. We looked terribly underdone (no doubt due to the number of post-season surgeries) and in an even competition with a modern game that relies on pressure you just won't beat many sides when you are giving away a significant difference in fitness levels. How long does it take to get up to speed after a difficult pre-season? Hopefully not too long!

We broke even in contested ball and clearances so we were not disgraced in these areas, but we were far from the rabid contested side of last year. We clearly have the personnel so I'm not too concerned about this but it obviously needs to get better.

Good post. 

I think it is fitness. We looked absolutely gassed after the first quarter.  Funnily enough so did wet toast. Collingwood and tigers also ran out of gas.

Three of the prelim finalists beaten by teams who either didn't play finals or in rge cat's case went out first round. And tigers were very scrappy against a crap team. No coincidence. The impact od tge combination of a longer previous season and shorter pre season has never been greater given rhe aerobuc and physical dem aands of afl football.

The other issue is how many shitt kicks we have. A huge issue. Particularly when combined with poor decision making. It was ironic to watch wattsy nailing both simple and difficult kicks with ease, being cool under pressure and making good decisions.

Edited March 23, 20196 yr by binman

7 minutes ago, binman said:

Good post. 

I think it is fitness. We looked absolutely gassed after the first quarter.  Funnily enough so did wet toast. Collingwood and tigers also ran out of gas.

Three of the prelim finalists beaten by teams who either didn't play finals or in rge cat's case went out first round. And tigers were very scrappy against a crap team. No coincidence. The impact od tge combination of a longer previous season and shorter pre season has never been greater given rhe aerobuc and physical dem aands of afl football.

The other issue is how many shitt kicks we have. A huge issue. Particularly when combined with poor decision making. It was ironic to watch wattsy nailing both simple and difficult kicks with ease, being cool under pressure and making good decisions.

Watts was always very very good in this regard. I was wondering what it was going to feel like seeing him play well against us. I just couldnt begrudge him his moment somehow. I found I could  only wish him well... but Im also Im happy we have Fritsch in the longer term. 

Eagles also looked underdone against the Lions. I’m not sure how interrupted their pre-season was, but it was obviously shorter like ours, but you would normally expect them to beat Brisbane. Like us, they started like a house on fire before the cracks started to appear.

 

6 hours ago, Lord Travis said:

Not a bad comment, though Trac plays far less midfield time than Beamer did. Hopefully Trac fires up and wins a BnF like Beamer did at some point. It’s so frustrating to see a player of his talent be uninvolved for 95% of the match.

Would a run in the 2's help LT?

Oh, Melbourne, my Melbourne. You promise so much, but deliver so little. Disappointing day, especially when you have to hear those Portdelade supporters singing that awful song. If there is a wall to be built, I propose there should be one across the Vic/SA border, to keep them out. On the serious side, someone mentioned the reason why Jones dropped that mark was because he looked to see who was in the goal square. He need not have bothered, because Watts had already sprinted down there. I was disappointed by Tommy Mac kicking it to Jones in the first place. He took a mark and should have pretended to be having a shot at goal (he is a forward!) to give time for his team mates to get down there, because Watts was the only one there. Instead he had a brain freeze, played on and passed it to Jones. It was all downhill from there. Watts played well, Melbourne did not, dang it. Also disappointed to see poor Marty Hore standing next to that big galoot Westoff. Hore was smaller and less experienced. Westoff was damaging. Needed May to be on him. I cannot say anymore, too disappointed. I am even disappointed I had to overuse the word disappointed.

I had work until 10pm so I didn’t check the scores so I could watch the recording of the game when I got home.

Really didn’t like the signs at 3/4 time so I check the scores..... yeah I’m not watching the last quarter.

Disappoting start to the year boys. Let’s see what happens from here.

7 hours ago, McQueen said:

I spent $600 to come and watch this [censored]. 

And I'm here from France to watch my one and only game for the year. What a disappointment!

Hey boys we know we’ve had a dodgy pre season, I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a [censored] start to the season with 4 or 5 loses before we kick into gear and come home strong. It’s gonna be a rough few weeks.

Well still no clearer after the return train to Wangaratta. Several fans on board all too disappointed to talk about it with any consistency. Plenty of passion from the supporters to get there but I don't think many will be rushing down again. Fair dinkum this sort of performance will cost the club supporters and members. The players showed some passion at times but usually an individual after individual effort.

the forwards backs and defenders all gathered as groups but what did they talk about as they all played loose with seemingly little understanding of their teammates or their opponents.

Where was the side after the first quarter. In that quarter the team worked together and kept the ball low with short disposals. They smothered and tackledand kept close checking on opponents when they had the ball and separated when we had it. After that quarter break we disposed high and long as the game slowed down. Port quickly sized it up and played the low sort delivery until a player was in the clear when a long kick would be sent ahead of the player. We bombed to contests . We never returned to the system of the first quarter.

Max was belted and so were some of our other players. We did not support our teammates with vigour when needed ie did not respond to vigour and were intimidated most of the time. Players did not seem to communicate after each other after 1st quarter. 

I knew it was over when Jack Watts began to direct play from the backline telling players to switch and run . They ran into space while we ran into each other.

We can only improve. I want the team that played those first few finals last year back please. Send the prelim finals team away.

The loss of Lewis was greater today with the new runner rules. We were all over the shop today and didn’t appear structured at all. 

Hopefully May will bring both quality and leadership next week. 

3 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

How about that Oscar and Frost though. 

Wowwwwzeee. 

 

 

(can't be bothered going into actual analysis of the game). 

Wowzee, indeed. Pretty weak effort from you this week, Steve. First everyone else is weak for suggesting our JLT and pre season could actually mean something for the season proper, and when you're made to look like a goose, you can't even bothered to analyse the game.

6 hours ago, A F said:

Let's try and have a reasonable and level-headed discussion about where Nathan Jones is at. He could be underdone, but I'm not sure that's a great excuse. I'm on record as saying he should have hung up the boots last season and that certainly this should be his last season, but it's worrying to me that he is probably still one of our better leaders.

Jones is Richie Vandenbeg.  He's a leader, he's spent years setting the example for the kids in how to train and put in effort and he's fought a losing battle while trying to single-handedly carry the midflield.  Now, though, those young kids he set an example for have moved past him.  He's no longer the first choice in the guts and he lacks the weapons to really impact a game in any other position.  Vandenberg stepped aside as captain because he was no longer providing real value to the team.  I think Jones can still give value, but he needs to play smarter and recognise his limits.  It's also probably time he let go of the captaincy and focused on his own game to get the most out his last few years. 

As for the game today, I fully accept that the teams that do well in finals are often a bit slower starting the season and then peak in the second half.  I do wonder if we're not seeing another shift in the dominant tactics though.  For a long time it's been the hard contested ball winning sides that dominated.  Even before the AFL made their latest raft of unnecessary rule changes we were seeing a bit of a [censored] towards more pace and outside run again.  The sides that have done really well this round have all embraced that style and worked really had to outrun their opponents (kind of like the side Dean Bailey was trying to put together). 

The two big questions are firstly whether this style will continue to pay off as the teams full of hard-nuts get their act together, and secondly whether Goodwin has the tactical versatility to come up with an effective counter to this style of play. 

Only one game, however home ground, home crowd, and expectations.  The fitness side of things look very shaky and if we stink it up next week then we are playing catchup before Easter.  Slightly worried but keeping the faith.

9 hours ago, DeeZee said:

I thought we look meek.

We were brutal in our finals against Geelong and Hawthorn, and without too much outside run we simply have to win it in this area but we’re shown up by Boak and Rockliff and the harassment of Gawn.

Im still perplexed at Vineys performance, fair enough he was short of a gallop, but his intensity was really poor.

We would've retreated to meekness had Hawthorn actually taken their opportunities in front of goal. I think a lot of sugar coating has occurred with the finals series. Clarko's system predictably smothered our effectiveness for most of the night, and their spread and skill cut through our zone. But we were let off the hook and our physicality wore them down after their offensive efforts left them deflated and ripe to be overrun by our momentum.

Edited March 23, 20196 yr by John Demonic

9 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

 

Is this referring to two or three players roughing up Clarrie in the last quarter on the members side?   If so i totally agree.  No-one, I repeat no-one went in to remonstrate with the Port players.  Max just casually jogged past.  No-one went to help Clarrie get up.  Such little care for a young teammate by all players in the vicinity was really disturbing.

But by that time I wasn't surprised as there had been little backing up, running or playing for each other.  Teamwork was virtually non existent today.   Something just didn't seem right with the team. 

Yes there was that ,but also PA players were belting into Max with the body at every opportunity.

The two set shots that ANB missed in the first quarter made a difference, making it a four goal opener instead of a six goal flyer.

8 minutes ago, Demonised said:

The two set shots that ANB missed in the first quarter made a difference, making it a four goal opener instead of a six goal flyer.

Agree. Crucial misses. Momentum killers.

The hype combined with an interrupted pre-season the killers. Still think our list is a little overrated, sides like Port have as good a list on paper I feel and showed us how it’s done.. 

We are a 6-10 team again this year I feel. No way we are top 4 while guys like Hunt, Frost and ANB are around the mix.