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Posted
44 minutes ago, Hell Bent said:

I'm surprised how calm I am after that result. The effort was there from 90% of the team for the whole match. We smashed them in the clearances, but we failed to score and capitalise, whilst they scored with ease. 

I realise we are underdone due to post season surgeries and the shorter preseason that is foreign to us but I'm not sure how much we can use that as an excuse. Clarrie had arguably the most debilitating of surgeries and he was back to his best last night,  Viney too was looking more like what we expect of him. 

It's clearly the game plan that is the issue here. At one stage we had 32 inside 50s without a goal,  while they had 4 goals from 4 entries. 

Has any team in the history of the game had 25 more inside 50s and lost by 80 points? 

Game plan needs a royal commission this week.

This is how I feel. Even at the beginning of last sesason, our best season in over a decade, we were conceding massive run ons to the opposition every week, particularly goals out the back. We made some adjustments and started winning more often than not.

As soon as we stop leaking goals and we will fix this quickly all the pressure goes onto the opposition when we are constantly banging it into our 50m. We do AVD and someone else in the forward 50m who can kick a goal but also create constant pressure this used to be ANB but he is not playing good footy.

We will turn it around this week.  

  • Like 3

Posted

Anyone that believes ANB playing half-forward long-term is crazy. 

I've hated him playing there since day one just like I hated Tyson on a wing.

He simply does not offer anywhere close to what is required for the modern-day half forward. 

  • Like 2
Posted
29 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Sure we had numerous i50 and lost by 13 goals but that isn't the major worry for me. 

What is most frightening is we had 100 tackles but lost by 13 goals.  Let that sink in...

Its not often a team has 100 tackles and loses, let alone be thrashed.  Especially when you also easily win the hitouts, clearances and be not far behind on contested possessions.   

Those things are the very essence of 'our brand'.  What is frightening is that we executed 'our brand' very well and we won on nearly every one of its criteria yet we lose by 13 goals.  If 'our brand', the 'Melbourne Way' is failing that badly, i just don't know where we go.  Its hard to see how 100 tackles can be improved upon. 

After last year's Hawthorn game PJ said the players trashed our brand.  Last night they didn't; they executed it quite well.  It wasn't lack of effort, nor 'drinking bathwater'.  Something deeper and much more insidious is at play.

It must be really demoralising for the players to know they did pretty much what the coaches ask of them re 'our brand' and have that result.  The coaches have some serious thinking to do.

If we win inside 50's and get over 100 tackles we just about always win.

The fact they kicked a goal just about every time they went inside 50m, took the pressure right off them and put in squarely on us despite the stats that are usually barometres for us indicating we should have won.

Stop leaking goals and the pressure switches to the opposition. We will make some adjustments down back and it will turn for us very quickly.

  • Like 3
Posted

Scott has swallowed his pride and reinvented Geelong's forward-line. They're now a very dangerous outfit. 

Let's hope Goodwin possesses the same level of maturity and realises certain cattle he is playing just simply don't cut it. 

  • Like 2

Posted
8 minutes ago, Wrecker45 said:

 

We will turn it around this week ??

Fixed it ;)

Posted
50 minutes ago, praha said:

I want to believe you. The Hawks game broke me last year and to be honest, ever since that loss I have been very indifferent about this team and its potential. I went to the ANZAV Eve game for the spectacle, after that though I didn't attend or watch a match again until after we had won 3 in a row. And even then my interest had waned. The finals were fun.

2012-2017 absolutely burnt me out. Last week I saw as just a loss, "win some lose some", but losses like last night...they bring back this weird sensation where I actually stop caring. I used to care so much after losses like this when we weren't even close to finals. But now that we're in the running, I am completely indifferent. 

I doubt many are like me but if you wanted to know how some of us felf after that match...well, it essentially ruined football for me. Last night I laughed more than anything and shook my head, whereas two years ago I'd have been throwing my cigarettes at the screen. After they kicked 4 goals from 4 inside 50s in the third, I put on Monsters Inc for a giggle and fell asleep before the final siren. 

My point is that losses like the Hawthorn game, and last night. After everything we've been through as a fanbase, for some of us it's actually made us realise how much of a waste of energy football is. To be honest it's been a wake up call for me. I hope some of you can end up like me tbh. Feeling indifferent and not caring so much makes the losses much easier to deal with.

This sums up how I feel these days and those years have definitely given me a better perspective on life priorities. Having said the taste of finals pulled me back in a little and I got sucked into that craving for success. Thankfully last night has put me right back in my place. I've slept off that diabolical loss a lot easier than I would have in the past.


Posted
Just now, stevethemanjordan said:

Scott has swallowed his pride and reinvented Geelong's forward-line. They're now a very dangerous outfit. 

Let's hope Goodwin possesses the same level of maturity and realises certain cattle he is playing just simply don't cut it. 

I have a sense our good fortune last year was built upon a brand/style/plan that worked for us whilst no-one has a particularly good counter. It worked til someone figured out how to dismantle us. That was West Coast.

Now everyone essentially knows we play this pigheaded crash bang chaos footy and have no plans B

If we're not careful we'll become a week in week out turkey - shoot.

Posted
45 minutes ago, Hell Bent said:

I'm surprised how calm I am after that result. The effort was there from 90% of the team for the whole match. We smashed them in the clearances, but we failed to score and capitalise, whilst they scored with ease. 

I realise we are underdone due to post season surgeries and the shorter preseason that is foreign to us but I'm not sure how much we can use that as an excuse. Clarrie had arguably the most debilitating of surgeries and he was back to his best last night,  Viney too was looking more like what we expect of him. 

It's clearly the game plan that is the issue here. At one stage we had 32 inside 50s without a goal,  while they had 4 goals from 4 entries. 

Has any team in the history of the game had 25 more inside 50s and lost by 80 points? 

Game plan needs a royal commission this week.

Very hard to expect much of Sparrow and Lockhart given their experience at this level and stage of career, KK also underdone so prepared to forgive.

Have been very disappointed however with the likes of Hunt, Weideman, McDonald, Jetta, Petracca, (l still reckon he can play, but what is the matter?) Jones and ANB. These blokes have been well beaten by their opponents both weeks and clear passengers.

Was happier with Viney as l was beginning to wonder if the game had passed him by. Quite a positive for us if he can build on it.

Fortunately we know Oliver, Brayshaw, Gawn, Salem, Hibberd, Viney, Melk can all play.

Feel also that the opposition know if they simply nullify McDonald and Petracca up forward, other than Melk, the others have absolutely no idea how to kick a goal or apply forward pressure. Jones and ANB haven’t impacted the scoreboard yet and their opponents have so little regard for them that they elect to become offensive players.

 

 

  • Like 4

Posted

Some on here really need to look at what they wrote in similar circumstances last year. “Where are we going to find x goals from”, “we should drop x y and z to teach them a lesson”, “ we should sack the coach” etc etc. Then go back and see what Goodwin said in the press conferences after those games, I think you will find that just about everything he said they were going to do, they did. Sure there were hiccups along the way, but that’s life and that’s sport. Now watch the press conference from last night, listen carefully and you will see the same. He basically lays down the plan for you.

I’m as passionate as everyone on here, but I can see that despite that being an 80 point loss on the scoreboard, it’s not reflective of where we are overall. We were worse last week and lost by much less. Geelong were at their absolute peak efficiency last night. We were at our worst, and in areas of the ground that really matter to the scoreboard. That can turn around very quickly.

Pruess will come in next week I reckon to act as a foil for Weid and Tmac, Trac will be able to crumb rather than act at as a key position forward, May will be out injured and I imagine there would be one other change. Probs a smaller type (Spargo?) or a replacement defender, Kolo will be better for the run, Lockhart has some X factor and I reckon by round 6 we will be wondering what all the fuss was about.

Enjoy your Sunday all and I look forward to seeing you at the game next week ?

  • Like 6
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Posted
6 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Scott has swallowed his pride and reinvented Geelong's forward-line. They're now a very dangerous outfit. 

Let's hope Goodwin possesses the same level of maturity and realises certain cattle he is playing just simply don't cut it. 

Steve - I agree that our forward half needs a re-jig.  I don't think anyone can argue that. 

But, right now, what do we do? With the injuries we have, what changes can we theoretically make? Garlett is still a few weeks away, Hannan, AVB and J Smith are out for a while, Bedford and Chandler aren't ready, Spargo is horribly out of form. So we have guys like ANB and Sparrow because we have little else. 

We need changes, but for now, we can't do a whole lot about the personnel. 

  • Like 3
Posted
5 minutes ago, sisso said:

Do we know how bad May’s injury is? Please not another 4-6 weeks while we watch Hogan kicking bags for Freo

Agree that I hope it’s not a 4-6 week injury to May, he will need a run of 2-3 weeks in the team for it to gel for us.

Who cares if Hogan kicks a 100 goals or none, he doesn’t play for us so it’s irrelevant.

  • Like 4

Posted
12 minutes ago, sisso said:

Do we know how bad May’s injury is? Please not another 4-6 weeks while we watch Hogan kicking bags for Freo

Don’t think Hogan will kick bags any time soon 


Posted
19 minutes ago, —coach— said:

Thanks.

At the 5.30 mark Ben Guthrie makes some statement/questions to which Goodwin replies something like: ...yes, there are few things we will look at, Ben...  Could anyone make out what Ben said?  It would be good to know what those things are.

As an aside, when are broadcasters going to put microphones near the press we can hear the commentary?

  • Like 3
  • Shocked 1
Posted
1 hour ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Sure we had numerous i50 and lost by 13 goals but that isn't the major worry for me. 

What is most frightening is we had 100 tackles but lost by 13 goals.  Let that sink in...

Its not often a team has 100 tackles and loses, let alone be thrashed.  Especially when you also easily win the hitouts, clearances and be not far behind on contested possessions.   

Those things are the very essence of 'our brand'.  What is frightening is that we executed 'our brand' very well and we won on nearly every one of its criteria yet we lose by 13 goals.  If 'our brand', the 'Melbourne Way' is failing that badly, i just don't know where we go.  Its hard to see how 100 tackles can be improved upon. 

After last year's Hawthorn game PJ said the players trashed our brand.  Last night they didn't; they executed it quite well.  It wasn't lack of effort, nor 'drinking bathwater'.  Something deeper and much more insidious is at play.

It must be really demoralising for the players to know they did pretty much what the coaches ask of them re 'our brand' and have that result.  The coaches have some serious thinking to do.

Good post. My worry is our game plan is purely contested footy. There's no balance. If hacking the ball forward with no structure, leading patterns or skill / efficiency is our game plan and brand then there's a reason we are getting pumped. I've been concerned about the forward 50 efficiency for over a year now. It's dumb football to put a whole heap of effort into getting the ball inside 50 only for it to come straight back out again or without a hope of hitting up a target. Our forward 50 entries are bomb and hope, that's amateurish at a professional level. Our scoring opportunities are easy to defend against and Geelong just sat behind the ball and counter attacked us last night. We conceded 14 goals from turnovers against Geelong.

The other worry is that a team like Hawthorn is moving away from a contested brand of footy and trying to utilise space and skill to setup more efficient opportunities at goal. We have drafted players that are predominantly ball winners but without much polish. We are going to keep getting found out against teams who are willing to sit back and soak up pressure and who have clean skills and speed going the other way. The games being won on the counter attack from turnovers and we don't have wings or forwards to implement that ball movement at the moment or to use the space on the ground to cut a team up and utilise easy scoring opportunities.

  • Like 5

Posted
3 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Thanks.

At the 5.30 mark Ben Guthrie makes some statement/questions to which Goodwin replies something like: ...yes, there are few things we will look at, Ben...  Could anyone make out what Ben said?  It would be good to know what those things are.

As an aside, when are broadcasters going to put microphones near the press we can hear the commentary?

Spot on Luci - I've wondered about this for years.

Much of a presser is useless because meaning is lost due to not hearing the question.

  • Like 6
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Posted
4 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Thanks.

At the 5.30 mark Ben Guthrie makes some statement/questions to which Goodwin replies something like: ...yes, there are few things we will look at, Ben...  Could anyone make out what Ben said?  It would be good to know what those things are.

As an aside, when are broadcasters going to put microphones near the press we can hear the commentary?

I wondered the same thing. Listened to it a couple of times but could not make it out. Goody sounded a bit annoyed with the question.

The other annoying thing with the presets is how bloody long it takes the AFL to post them. I was keen to hear what goody had to say and 11:40 odd, when I went to bed it still wasn't up

Posted (edited)

How Goodwin can say an 80 point loss is a step in the right direction has me stuffed.

The opposition were taking the Mickey out of us to the point where we may as well have been witches hats at GFC training, despite the wet weather.

It was a shameful and disgraceful performance.

Edited by Bring-Back-Powell
  • Love 1
Posted
31 minutes ago, —coach— said:

Our gameplan is contested footy which Meth Coke completely  pulled apart last September

When the coach makes the point that our basic skills need to improve (kicking, marking, handball...) at the Round 2 Press Conference after an 80 point loss, my first thought is “wtf have you been doing all summer??”

 

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Posted
2 hours ago, Wrecker45 said:

If we win inside 50's and get over 100 tackles we just about always win.

The fact they kicked a goal just about every time they went inside 50m, took the pressure right off them and put in squarely on us despite the stats that are usually barometres for us indicating we should have won.

Stop leaking goals and the pressure switches to the opposition. We will make some adjustments down back and it will turn for us very quickly.

The way we kick it to a pack every time we go inside 50 makes it really easy for teams to rebound with little pressure because our 50 has so much space because all our players flew for the same ball spoiling each other. Their defenders know its going to the "hot spot" and set up for the crumb every time. Those first few clean possessions allow the opposition to move the ball forward the way they want. Making us run further defensively on a team that is already full of players with interrupted pre seasons. Making it easier and easier every time.

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