Prepare ourselves... for the t-word?

So are you saying that we should have picked better players with the picks we had the last three years or that we should have traded picks/players to get higher picks to get better talent?

Firstly any picks above 30 are a gamble really. But these picks also usually take longer to develop as they have more floors to their game. Guys like Harmes, Hunt (2013), ANB, O.Mac (2014) all mostly picks 40+ have taken time to develop and carve out a role. So I would be giving these guys some time before judging them too quickly. Of course there's always two or more low picks that don't work out, but this is the case for every club.

If you're complaining about the lack of high picks well we haven't had much to trade for them lately. Because we've played pretty well the last few years we haven't been given higher picks and the picks in the 20's we've used for trades.

Maybe a bottom four finish will do the trick for the talent you're after.

We are better than a bottom 4 finish

4 minutes ago, david_neitz_is_my_dad said:

We are better than a bottom 4 finish

 

11 minutes ago, Yung Blood said:

So are you saying that we should have picked better players with the picks we had the last three years or that we should have traded picks/players to get higher picks to get better talent?

Firstly any picks above 30 are a gamble really. But these picks also usually take longer to develop as they have more floors to their game. Guys like Harmes, Hunt (2013), ANB, O.Mac (2014) all mostly picks 40+ have taken time to develop and carve out a role. So I would be giving these guys some time before judging them too quickly. Of course there's always two or more low picks that don't work out, but this is the case for every club.

If you're complaining about the lack of high picks well we haven't had much to trade for them lately. Because we've played pretty well the last few years we haven't been given higher picks and the picks in the 20's we've used for trades.

Maybe a bottom four finish will do the trick for the talent you're after.

I understand picks are speculative the higher you go,

We traded 2 first rounders for Lever, it was way to high and left us with out a first roun pick.. and then the picks we have chosen have been one dimensional. 

We can defend it  as much as we like, but we are not well set up for how the game is evolving. But i respect your reply and and its just my opinion. 

6 minutes ago, david_neitz_is_my_dad said:

We are better than a bottom 4 finish

You would think we are but the reality is the other teams have caught up and we cant go with them, its a great competition, it might be a case of us just being the 14th best side, not the 4th worst.

I'm preparing myself for the challenge of winning the flag from eighth.

The issue we face is we drafted players for the now that includes players to fill holes in our list and players that fit our game style.  Unfortunately the game style we are playing is outdated and all of the sudden we are left with a number of players especially through the middle that aren't quick, aren't clean by foot and at the moment getting beaten on the inside and outside.

I look at our team, if I'm an opposition coach the only player on our list that you don't want delivering the ball inside our 50m arc is Salem, he is the only elite kick on our list, Jetta is a good kick as he knows his limitations and is smart, the rest have no kicking consistency what so even.

The 2019 game is about keeping to football and making the ground big for defenders by 35m kick changing direction and running hard to the fat side, we don't have the leg speed or kicking ability to play this way.  We will go Ok this weekend on the small SCG the only issues we face is Buddy, no one that will play this week can stop him, we need him to have an extremely bad day

We are a poor team and the players must take responsibility.  If their not hungry enough or angry enough by now,  then so be it.  Footy sucks as a Melbourne supporter,  false dawns are the fabric of this club.

1 hour ago, Demon3 said:

I love this Footy club and want them to do well every time they go one the ground, and i always think when they come off that they tried, win lose or draw.. and that's no different right now, i still love them, and i know the players are having a crack.

But it is time we prepare ourselves for a bottom 4 finish. there are mitigating circumstances i know, form and injuries are a real reason, it does affect some teams more than others, but we wont recover in time to make an assault on the top 8, i hope we do, but i think even the most optimistic among us will say its going to be really hard.

I watched the reserves yesterday really closely.. and without sounding like an alarmist, there were less than 2 redeeming features among that group. Harsh i know and we should give them time but if a 5ft 3 st gamer was the only reason to get a bit excited about then our problems are far more deep seated that we think.

Lever - unlucky with knee / May - Shocking start but can fight back - but our top end drafting again concerns me:

2018 - first selection - Tom Sparrow - Inside mid / pick 33 James Jordan - looks like Tom Sparrow / Pick 53 Nietsche - Knee reco / Pick 56 Marty Hore - Why did we need that sort of player? / pick 75 Toby Bedford - who knows??

2017 - pick 31 - Bayley Fritsch - nice player  / pick 37 Harrison Petty - strange selection at the time remains one now (lightning fast Jack petruccelle went next pick - currentl;y playing in premiership side) / Oscar Baker - outside winger - looks likely not a great choice 

2016 - pick 46 Mitch Hannan - Bulldogs reserves HFF player / pick 64 Dion Jonstone - Gone

Thats 3 years missing out on elite junior talent and the type of talent we need , pace on the outside.. .. and it will haunt us mark my words.. Because if we think Billy Stretch and Maynard and the wagner brothers and JKH and charlie spargo are the answers then as i say.. we should prepare ourselves.

 

 

Not sure about you but I'm always prepared for the inevitable lack of success and consistency that seems to follow the MFC.

Dubious draft picks, terrible luck with injury, prodigious talents that just never seem to reach their potential long term (Jakovich, Jurrah, .....) - it all comes with the territory. The current malaise is no great surprise to me, in fact, I probably would have been more surprised had the glimmer of hope that occurred late last season continued this year

 

Demonland week 3

3 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Demonland week 3

I imagine this means its all a bit OTT and its being to dramatic? Time will tell and if you are not at all worried about the situation then thats your right.

Suggesting we will finish bottom 4 is the most ridiculous reaction to the first few rounds I've heard so far. Make a cup of tea and relax, we are not that bad. 

1 minute ago, Smokey said:

Suggesting we will finish bottom 4 is the most ridiculous reaction to the first few rounds I've heard so far. Make a cup of tea and relax, we are not that bad. 

Its really not, and all you can go on is the first 3 rounds, yours is a typical we will get better and it will click response.

So dont tell me to relax, i am relaxed because i have accepted it, you should have a cup of tea and take a minute to properly assess the situation, then you wont be so flippant. 

8 minutes ago, Smokey said:

Suggesting we will finish bottom 4 is the most ridiculous reaction to the first few rounds I've heard so far. Make a cup of tea and relax, we are not that bad. 

Your faith in a season that's better than bottom four is based on what exactly ? 

I think there's some good points here. Not going to go into full recruiting bashing mode but it does looks like we went real hard on contested animals. I don't doubt for a second that they knew we couldn't have a team full of these and were doing everything they could to balance it out with some speed and outside class, you need a little luck when recruiting players. 

However it is worth asking these few minor questions, could we have benefited from one of these types that would have come cheaply? Did we absolutely have to get a promising ruckman to sit in the reserves? Could someone like Aaron Hall have been a good calculated risk? I'm not going to pretend I know the answers to these questions but after 3 weeks seeing what we've seen with the same repeating issues I think people are well within their rights to ask them. 

Just now, Demon3 said:

Its really not, and all you can go on is the first 3 rounds, yours is a typical we will get better and it will click response.

So dont tell me to relax, i am relaxed because i have accepted it, you should have a cup of tea and take a minute to properly assess the situation, then you wont be so flippant. 

Well that's your opinion of of course you are entitled to it. My lack of hysteria on DL is not an indication I haven't fully assessed our situation. 

We are not a bottom 4 team. Agree we look shambolic right now, but teams don't just go from a prelim to a guaranteed bottom 4 finish after 3 rounds the following year. You opinion may have more potency with me if we had more data to go off right now, but the fact remains we are only up to round 4 and clearly have plenty of ability as a playing group. We just need to get going. Happy to reopen this dialogue with you at round 10. 

16 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Demonland week 3

That suggests panic..etc.

I'm not panicked one iota. I just accept currently we're absolutely putrid.

Your colourful vid does though represent quite well our current game plan. Was that your intent ?

X factor that hits the scoreboard last one was Jurrah, why didn't we chase some of this talent Cameron, Wingard,  etc . Wingard will be a star under Clarkson. Where are our goals coming from TMac can't get near it. Weiderman developing , Melk inconsistent, Trac poor set shot, Garlett finished.

 

9 minutes ago, Smokey said:

relax, we are not that bad. 

We are though, excruciatingly so.

The worst football Ive seen us play, with the talent we have on paper, post Roos coming on board.

 

10 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Your faith in a season that's better than bottom four is based on what exactly ? 

Our list. While there are agreed flaws in its makeup, especially around outside runners. The fact remains we have one of the best midfield's on paper in the comp, a fantastic looking backline when all players are available and a serviceable make up of forwards which managed plenty of high scores without Hogan last year. 

If I were to base our seasons potential on current form then yes, I would predict a bottom 4 finish. But that's a really simplistic view I refuse to take. Form can change, it's really simple stuff. Do I think we have a premiership winning team? Probably not. But saying we are going to finish bottom four is a stretch right now. 

Edited April 8, 20196 yr by Smokey

5 minutes ago, Smokey said:

Well that's your opinion of of course you are entitled to it. My lack of hysteria on DL is not an indication I haven't fully assessed our situation. 

We are not a bottom 4 team. Agree we look shambolic right now, but teams don't just go from a prelim to a guaranteed bottom 4 finish after 3 rounds the following year. You opinion may have more potency with me if we had more data to go off right now, but the fact remains we are only up to round 4 and clearly have plenty of ability as a playing group. We just need to get going. Happy to reopen this dialogue with you at round 10. 

fair enough and thanks for the balanced reply. I hope im wrong, trust me.

I agree we will certainly miss finals.  probably end up with around 8 wins which could be bottom 4 who knows.

it is not based on losing the first 3 games, it is the manner of how we are losing.  it will take weeks to turn this ship around. The bombers were putrid on Friday night and still beat us.

having said that I still believe we can make an assault on a flag in the next 3 years.  But footy is a brutal game, go into a season 10% off, 10 players injured, 7-8 players not match fit and you are screwed

12 minutes ago, Smokey said:

Suggesting we will finish bottom 4 is the most ridiculous reaction to the first few rounds I've heard so far. Make a cup of tea and relax, we are not that bad. 

Rated the best list by CD at start of year.  I do not think CD get it so wrong, However we a very poor team ATM with some serious character realignment required.  Goodwin and his staff have to get it back on track, it’s now urgent!  The club will suffer at the turnstiles very quickly.

2 minutes ago, DubDee said:

I agree we will certainly miss finals.  probably end up with around 8 wins which could be bottom 4 who knows.

it is not based on losing the first 3 games, it is the manner of how we are losing.  it will take weeks to turn this ship around. The bombers were putrid on Friday night and still beat us.

having said that I still believe we can make an assault on a flag in the next 3 years.  But footy is a brutal game, go into a season 10% off, 10 players injured, 7-8 players not match fit and you are screwed

I would like a dollar for every time a DL member said we will be right for a tilt at the flag in 3 years.  I think that’s part of the problem here. We should be demanding success NOW