4 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

it's the complete lack of form of the "better" players that we are lamenting.

If we were saying that a, b and c almost got the team across the line etc then it would be better.

Make no mistake this season has been abysmal.

No doubt, it’s been a shocker! Huge disappointment.

But having so many substandard players out there has an impact on the roles,  performances and confidence of the other players around them. It might sound like I’m giving them out, and I don’t want to. The skills of a number of our ‘better’ players must improve, but their mistakes are amplified right now because there’s no cover coming from the other players. 

Plus there’s what we know about the preseason which also massively impacts form and confidence.

Strangely I’m finding myself quite circumspect about this season, I’ll wait to grab my pitchfork until the second half of the season when we have players and conditioning back.

 

 

34 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

The selection of Spargo was mind blowing.

I like the guy but his skills this year have been abysmal.

Spargo is a joke of a footballer, avoids contact at all costs and is slower than gawn

Garlett had the look of a player who knew that due to injuries his spot is secure.

13 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

No it’s not. You can’t forgive lack of effort and intensity no matter who’s playing.

I never buy the comment that players aren’t giving effort (with a few very rare exceptions).

No one will ever convince me that players are running out to play a game of AFL half assed..

Been a pretty lame season.

Elephant in the room, the two co captains.

If one was at Hawthorn he'd probably be playing seconds, the other is a true battler, but has lost a bit.

We have two AA players who show the way and are the real leaders nearly every week.

Time for some tough love and restructure IMO

 

 

 

1 minute ago, watchtheeyes said:

I never buy the comment that players aren’t giving effort (with a few very rare exceptions).

No one will ever convince me that players are running out to play a game of AFL half assed..

Well then appearances must be very deceiving. For 3 quarters GWS brushes us aside far too easily. Pathetic really

Come on. At least 6 of our injured would get a game at any other club. That’s more than a quarter of the team, all A Graders, not playing. Chop a leg off a racehorse and see how it goes.

 

This is not about one loss but a litany of mistakes that will consign us to more years of misery. Who is accountable for;

1. Recruiting and trading the farm on Lever when everyone knew he had acl problem. An out and out disaster;

2. Recruiting May when the whole industry know he has discipline issues;

3. Recruiting Pruess so we can play him in the reserves every week;

4. Extending Goodwin contract for effectively 4 years after his Essendon involvement and with little demonstrated experience

5. Recruiting Kolodjashnij with known concussion;

6. Continuing to play Garlett when he wouldn’t even get a game in Hawthorn reserves

7 Recruiting players with names such as Sparrow; Jordon; Nietshke; Spargo; Petty; Baker; McKenna; Johnstone. Yet Geelong perennial winners pick Tim Kelly with 24. There more than luck about it.

8. How can we be the only club with sub standard facilities and split administration yet GC and GWS have state of the art.

i really had some hope after Roos/Jackson but it was a fraud. The place is a house of cards. You can take losing but you need some hope and joy. Even when we were seriously bad we had Flower; Jako; Farmer; Jurrah. Now it just sterile boring football. One goal for a half is unwatchable.

Lots of teams have injuries. We are not alone. Yes we have a lot of injuries, but this entire season has shown us to be unprepared both physically and game plan wise. We are getting outcoached and have been figured out. 

3 minutes ago, Deesprate said:

This is not about one loss but a litany of mistakes that will consign us to more years of misery. Who is accountable for;

1. Recruiting and trading the farm on Lever when everyone knew he had acl problem. An out and out disaster;

2. Recruiting May when the whole industry know he has discipline issues;

3. Recruiting Pruess so we can play him in the reserves every week;

4. Extending Goodwin contract for effectively 4 years after his Essendon involvement and with little demonstrated experience

5. Recruiting Kolodjashnij with known concussion;

6. Continuing to play Garlett when he wouldn’t even get a game in Hawthorn reserves

7 Recruiting players with names such as Sparrow; Jordon; Nietshke; Spargo; Petty; Baker; McKenna; Johnstone. Yet Geelong perennial winners pick Tim Kelly with 24. There more than luck about it.

8. How can we be the only club with sub standard facilities and split administration yet GC and GWS have state of the art.

i really had some hope after Roos/Jackson but it was a fraud. The place is a house of cards. You can take losing but you need some hope and joy. Even when we were seriously bad we had Flower; Jako; Farmer; Jurrah. Now it just sterile boring football. One goal for a half is unwatchable.

7- so true, they might all be kids but none have shown anything

Fair dinkum our skills are atrocious. Surely it's time to forget about the whole lower the eyes going into 50 thing, because we simply cannot kick. Have a quick look and if Hunt isn't on a clear lead bomb it long and throw Preuss in the goal square. Hunt's up and about, Baker showed he's up to it at ground level and Lockhart similar. We need to get the ball to ground and at the moment our i50s are just being picked off because of our poor kicking/decision making.

 

18 minutes ago, Docs Demons said:

Agree Chook. Tigers and Magpies have plenty of injuries and playing so called VFL players but they give their all and play to team structures. Thus they are still in top eight. Our mob whilst VFL players also do not put in and have no idea what to do when we get the ball. Actually same with our better AFL players. 

Worth a re-run.  We are soft as butter and came out with zero intensity, season on the line!

Edited May 26, 20196 yr by Rusty Nails

7 minutes ago, Dockett 32 said:

Been a pretty lame season.

Elephant in the room, the two co captains.

If one was at Hawthorn he'd probably be playing seconds, the other is a true battler, but has lost a bit.

We have two AA players who show the way and are the real leaders nearly every week.

Time for some tough love and restructure IMO

 

 

 

 Viney is a very average footballer at the moment. IMO he is also not a leader. I’d love to see Lever get the gig in a year or two...he is all class

1 hour ago, Deeko2 said:

• Stretch
• Baker
• Lockhart
• Fritsch 
• Garlett
• C Wagner
• J Wagner
• O Mac
• Petty
• Garlett
• Spargo
• Smith 

 

All VFL standard footballers. Some may get there but right now there is a lot of battlers above.

A good team has to carry some players and that’s where role players can shine. Usually it’s only when 3 or 4 of the above get a game.  No team however can carry a dozen fringe players like we are and can expect to compete.

Unfortunately when the heat was on today, GWS looked faster, tougher and hell of a lot more skilful than our mob. 

There cue was well and truly in the rack for the last and I take nothing from that.

Even with all the effort in the world you need some skill across the group and there is so many in that team who have minimal

We need another InFlux of talent.

Hopefully starting with Coniglio... or Whitfield.

... then the 2019 National Draft.

Letting Dean Kent go for a pack of chips was a mistake 

Tom MacDonald needs a rest, if he wasn't playing injured before today, he was today

He couldn't get a sniff before 3QT and even managed to lead on front of Hunt in Q2 who would've marked 30 out, and caused a Spoil

Umps gave us nothing all day!

It really should of been an 80 point annihilation to GWS. 

I'm losing patience with Brayshaw... What's going on with him?

Just back at The Manor - I have to confess that I pulled the pin at 3/4 time.

As most are aware, I don't mind a bit of BDSM - but that effort/game today was even too much for me.

Spargo and the Wagner’s are disgraceful footballers. Spargo offers absolutely nothing. He leads up as a forward and cannot take marks because he is 4 foot. He isn’t quick and can’t crumb and he hates tackling. I would be happy to never see him play for the club again.

 

as for the Wagners... the less said the better. Slow. Slow thinkers. Poorly skilled. I’ll leave it at that

3 minutes ago, The Swimming Dee said:

 Viney is a very average footballer at the moment. IMO he is also not a leader. I’d love to see Lever get the gig in a year or two...he is all class

Viney was our best mid today, not much competition I know but he actually played well

11 minutes ago, ProperDee said:

Come on. At least 6 of our injured would get a game at any other club. That’s more than a quarter of the team, all A Graders, not playing. Chop a leg off a racehorse and see how it goes.

 

Injuries don’t help for sure but this club capitulation cannot be swept away with an injury excuse.

Just got home from game... GC switching off would be bad football, just like our poor kicking is bad football. We played a very good final quarter... if it was the result of oppositions bad football, no apologies. Just like they capitalised on our bad footy in first three quarters. If you watch closely you'll discover that our best quarter came about because we switched to play on at all costs. This worked really well for us and we had no right trying to stop and prop up to 3 Qtr time.

Haters take a breath... we were missing half of our best 22. There were some positives!

Baker kicking two good goals, Petracca working his way into game, Max taking several great marks, Hore's continued intercepting, Frost's run out of defence, Lockharts smarts and goalkicking, J Wagner's best game for some time. I have deliberately included some of those condemned to the VFL by the bright sparks around here... they will be even better when supported by those still to return.

 

 

 

I was in despair at 3/4 time, but I have to say I the last quarter did take the edge off it. I know it’s easy to say GWS put the cue in the rack which masked the gravity of the loss etc - and in my head I know that’s true, but if the shoe was on the other foot you know we’d all be thoroughly fuming, so I’m happy to take the reverse position in this instance. 

Anyway, we have too many foot soldiers in our team - players who can all play a role in a well oiled machine, but not good enough to raise the bar when needed. It fell apart today because on top of that, the good players we do have left all decided they were all going to play like arze all at the same time, other than Gawn, who was our best player by so far that nobody else is even worth mentioning. Although Baker was definitely a real positive, he took a big step forward today.

Meh. Another loss in a wasted season. 

Listening to Goodwins press conference tells me the guy’s in lala  land. Trying to sell our form as improving. Hiding behind a few goals in the last quarter when the game was done.FMD.

7 minutes ago, Elegt said:

Letting Dean Kent go for a pack of chips was a mistake 

Good average player but seriously would not change the current disaster