2 hours ago, Redleg said:

I spoke somewhere about being surprised at our selections .

Smith in instead of Keilty  surprises me again. 

Another surprise is playing ANB for the whole game with Casey on saturday and resting Sparrow and then picking ANB. Unless injured which I don't believe he is, why not play Sparrow for some of the game last Saturday and keep ANB fresher, with say half the game. 

Anyone think Lockhart has come in to play in the backline?  We will need small defenders vs Richmonds fleet of small forwards.   Jetta out doesnt help (although he was struggling).

6 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Just play Man on Man FFS.

our "gameplan" does not work.  at least man on man will give us a chance and I won't be screaming as Frost etc run off their man constantly

Footy isn't that hard is it??? we win it in the middle and can't do jack [censored] else?

Agree... it's not that hard. There's always going to be different takes on it but the fundamentals remain constant and it's the fundamentals we stink at.

Goodwin needs to bin his current ideas as to a style/plan and reinvent our game inline with the fundamentals. Unless he does he'll remain Simon Badloss.

Here's hoping he changes...or its an eternity in the wilderness....again.

24 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

This is how tonight will go:

• We will come out firing after the horrors of last week
• We will win a lot of clearances as we will have lots of players going for the same ball at the contest
• Richmond will set up well outside the contest not over-committing players to the ball and wait for us to fumble or turn the ball over
• Our fierce attack on the contest early will see us get the ball inside the forward 50 a lot but Weideman and McDonald (who will lead too early) won't hold their marks and our small forwards will be out of position when the ball hits the ground allowing Richmond to walk the ball out of their backline and transition up the ground with ease
• While we focus on Richmond's twin towers it will be their fleet of small and quick forwards who will cut us up and expose our lack of speed
• Gawn will battle hard in the ruck but not having Preuss to support him will limit his effectiveness as the kick-behind-play ruckman in defence that we need
• Melksham will bob up for a couple of opportunistic goals but he will again totally freak out with any sort of set shot, Petracca the same
• In the end, we will have the endeavour but not the structure, fitness, skill or the personnel to compete for four quarters

Melbourne by 37 points.

Looking forward to you quoting this in the post-game thread.

(i.e. I agree with you).

My biggest hopes for tonight are that we see significantly better forward pressure (in that regard, I hope the additions of Garlett and possibly Lockhart to the forward line help) and two-way running (ANB and Stretch, if nothing else, should at least be able to run and chase all night).

I wouldn't mind seeing a relaxing of the forward press, too, but baby steps.

8 minutes ago, hemingway said:

Nothing is wrong. Maintaining the faith somehow always provides hope.  

Often it's all we have, but it is fundamental to our existence.   

Certainly a key requirement to follow the Red and Blue over a lifetime. 

Cheers Ernie.

You sound a bit like Andy Dufresne if you mind me sayin

Decided not to go. Still have that foul taste from Saturday.

Would love to see us come out firing, but I just cant see it happening.

Id be surprised if we get within 7-8 goals of them.

Gonna be a long year.

3 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

Well that hasn't even been close to being an issue with the crowds we have attracted over the last few seasons.

No doubt tonight will be a little bit down on previous years, but it's not as if only 40,000 are turning up.  I'd say we will still get around 70,000.

Hope so. The pregame tribute is excellent and very humbling. 

6 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Looking forward to you quoting this in the post-game thread.

(i.e. I agree with you).

My biggest hopes for tonight are that we see significantly better forward pressure (in that regard, I hope the additions of Garlett and possibly Lockhart to the forward line help) and two-way running (ANB and Stretch, if nothing else, should at least be able to run and chase all night).

I wouldn't mind seeing a relaxing of the forward press, too, but baby steps.

This to me is partly where we get our whole game WRONG. This fwd pressure BS. It's closing the gate after horses have bolted.

Again..a fundamental of the game is EFFECTIVE delivery to the forwards and afterwards kicking a score.

We worry too much about ad-hoc entries...keeping it there...and somehow scoring. Others have plans and skills.

If there was ever any evidence of snake-oil chicanery I've not seen it.

We lose by design.

 

 

Unfortunately ESPN footy tips doesn’t let you choose a winning margin of 101+ points which is what Richmond should win by

44 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Any and all you can find

Lagavulin and iniquity for me

We should try Jayden Hunt on the wing.  We are desperate for some spark and speed in the midfield.   Hes obviously not a natural mid but something must be tried.

Something Goodwin did post bye last year was put a 'backstop' in opp fwd 50 running back to the square when opp attacked.  It would be a handy play tonight.

Keeping our defensive zone behind their fwds would also be handy to slow/stop their attacking run. 

Play man to man in the midfield when opp take possession in our fwd 50 will help stop their spread wide.

Not hard for players to implement these but need coaches to change the method just a bit and instruct players accordingly.

Edited April 24, 20195 yr by Lucifer's Hero

27 minutes ago, SFebes said:

Been giving the Glenlivet a good nudge recently OD.

No been quite restrained lately SF. It is not as though we have been defeated unexpectedly.

25 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Looking forward to you quoting this in the post-game thread.

Yet another post of the year nomination?

48 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

This is how tonight will go:

• We will come out firing after the horrors of last week
• We will win a lot of clearances as we will have lots of players going for the same ball at the contest
• Richmond will set up well outside the contest not over-committing players to the ball and wait for us to fumble or turn the ball over
• Our fierce attack on the contest early will see us get the ball inside the forward 50 a lot but Weideman and McDonald (who will lead too early) won't hold their marks and our small forwards will be out of position when the ball hits the ground allowing Richmond to walk the ball out of their backline and transition up the ground with ease
• While we focus on Richmond's twin towers it will be their fleet of small and quick forwards who will cut us up and expose our lack of speed
• Gawn will battle hard in the ruck but not having Preuss to support him will limit his effectiveness as the kick-behind-play ruckman in defence that we need
• Melksham will bob up for a couple of opportunistic goals but he will again totally freak out with any sort of set shot, Petracca the same
• In the end, we will have the endeavour but not the structure, fitness, skill or the personnel to compete for four quarters

Melbourne by 37 points.

You mean Jeffy?

If we get a result like that after stinking it up like that CB I'll be throwing my own private party! 

35 minutes ago, Petraccattack said:

Anyone think Lockhart has come in to play in the backline?  We will need small defenders vs Richmonds fleet of small forwards.   Jetta out doesnt help (although he was struggling).

If he isn't he should be Petracc.  Played alot of junior footy there and pretty well apparently.

20 minutes ago, Petraccattack said:

We should try Jayden Hunt on the wing.  We are desperate for some spark and speed in the midfield.   Hes obviously not a natural mid but something must be tried.

Yup.  Wld like to see him spending time between there and HF.

52 minutes ago, GCDee said:

Find it strange that Richmond are only making the one change coming off a 4 day break... 

Richmond could play 10 players and we would still somehow lose!

48 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Another surprise is playing ANB for the whole game with Casey on saturday and resting Sparrow and then picking ANB. Unless injured which I don't believe he is, why not play Sparrow for some of the game last Saturday and keep ANB fresher, with say half the game. 

If our issues thus far are partly fitness and a lack of training and matchday conditioning due to interrupted preseasons, it stands that more gametime and full matches would be beneficial, no?

WTF,

We are in from $3 into $2.60 in the past few hours. Either the tiges have someone decent as a late out that insiders know about or there are people who hate their money and wish to donate to betting agencies, instead of buying Anzac badges!

I'm hoping Richmond backed us to win for their end of season footy trip!

4 minutes ago, praha said:

If our issues thus far are partly fitness and a lack of training and matchday conditioning due to interrupted preseasons, it stands that more gametime and full matches would be beneficial, no?

Then why would Garlett, Stretch etc be taken off at half time?

I just cant see how we win, Richmond are better than any side we have played. We play the MCG like total dog [censored], none of our players are in form.

39 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

This to me is partly where we get our whole game WRONG. This fwd pressure BS. It's closing the gate after horses have bolted.

Again..a fundamental of the game is EFFECTIVE delivery to the forwards and afterwards kicking a score.

We worry too much about ad-hoc entries...keeping it there...and somehow scoring. Others have plans and skills.

If there was ever any evidence of snake-oil chicanery I've not seen it.

We lose by design.

 

 

Actually, historical analysis tells us that 50+ inside 50s tends equate to a win where the opposition has less. Once you hit that mark it's a sweet spot. Our great game has always been highly anecdotal however, and greatly open to interpretation. Structurally you need coherence defensively, and in transition, but once the ball is in your forward 50, ideally you want to keep it there or keep it rebounding back to pile pressure on the defenders. The best attacking teams tend to be the ones with fast and chaotic transition. Our problem is that while we were good at this last year, teams are equally if not more potent in it when against us. 

Forward pressure is good and eventually we will start scoring more. However, it is our short entries across half forward, a lack of defensive prowess from our midfielders, and a dysfunctional backline that is really what's killing us atm. 

Law if averages tells us you should have a shot on goal every 2-3 inside 50s. Our problem is that we go in twice, don't score, the opponent goes to the other end quickly and scores. Everything resets and we are back at square one. That third entry isn't happening because we are either giving up, breaking down structurally, understating the opponent, or a combination. 

Edited April 24, 20195 yr by praha

6 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Then why would Garlett, Stretch etc be taken off at half time?

You tell me, Simon.

4 minutes ago, praha said:

You tell me, Simon.

I will leave that to you Roosy.