For the ever optimistic the season may still be alive but for realists it finished against Brisbane and definitely against Port.

The pity of course is that like last year it comes so early in a year when we are desperate for diversion.

Normally my mind would now turn to a second team which in recent years has been GWS but they seem to have lost that flair.

So what can we salvage out of this mess so the club goes into 2021 with some impetus.

For me it's the development of Weideman and Fritsch along with our crop from the 2019 draft.

Not much faith in Smith but I'm prepared to see if he has a spot..... probably in the backline.

Happy to rest Gawn if that improves his longevity. Plenty of options for relief ruck.

And of course for the sake of our sanity and Goodwin's well being some variation in our style of play from time to time.

Any other suggestions?

Win as many games as we can.

Anything else will be a bonus in this festering ****pile of a season.

1 minute ago, ding said:

Win as many games as we can.

Anything else will be a bonus in this festering ****pile of a season.

Realistically we will win between 2 and 5. At least winning five gives us some satisfaction re trading our first Round pick.

Just saw that Norf have put the cue in the rack by dropping Polec and Brown.

It's your anything else that interests me....

Get more games into Jackson Pickett sparrow and rivers.

 

Get Harley right

 

Develop a plan b c d e etc

 

Spend less time on hell and back videos and more time on basic skills

Win every game and finish 12-5.  We’ve played all the top teams now (5 of the top 6) so we can win the rest. All the remaining games are winnable (spoken like Matt Burgan). 
 

But given last nights game, we could lose every game and be 3-14.  It was that pathetic.  

9 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Win every game and finish 12-5.

Ah ...optimism.

Were you a Collingwood supporter in a previous life

Focus on winning to develop that culture.  But also play players to their strengths on the field not to fill holes created by other weaknesses.

By moving a player from their dominant position we unbalance the team, impede their development and create doubt and reduce confidence.   Some argue its good for their development but often it has the opposite effect in the long term.

If there is a hole, bring in a player (new) and develop them to do that role.  

Also work out what players we can keep and what need to be moved on.

Start by dropping TMac, focus on developing the Weid/Jackson forward setup, get games into Pickett so those wild shots on the run start going through the big uprights, win as many games as we can. With building form and confidence we'll go on a run through the finals from 8th place and lose the GF to West Coast in Perth by 89 points. The game will not be reviewed.

10 minutes ago, Darkhorse72 said:

If there is a hole, bring in a player (new) and develop them to do that role.  

Also work out what players we can keep and what need to be moved on.

Agree... a priority is to see if we can cover Jetta.

Those who will be moved on are a little easier..the Wagners, Neitschke, KK (needs to be paid out), Bradtke and maybe Hunt.

Best team on the park each week.  Win as many as we can.  No favourites - out of form, no game.  Work on midfield process.  More options when things aren’t working.  

Last night was terrible, but hopefully it was a slip and not a new standard.  

Hopefully Goodwin will fight for his job 

There is only one way he will keep it long term...

Fat lady is warming up her voice but if we win the next couple of games that we would be expected to win then we are back in the hunt with a game in hand. At best we can scrape into the finals, but we're not in the premiership conversation until we sort out basic issues within the team which include attitude, disposal, and a total lack of composure.

I'm not upset that we tried the 3 tall forward line but Tom's mobility has dropped to nothing and we can't play him on the back of "I remember when he was good in 2018". He's now depth behind Weid and Jackson, and if we're to persist with the 3 tall model I'd be keener to give Brown a go over him.

There's still plenty of games to be played, last thing we want to do is pack it in and gift North a top pick.

1 hour ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Realistically we will win between 2 and 5. At least winning five gives us some satisfaction re trading our first Round pick.

Just saw that Norf have put the cue in the rack by dropping Polec and Brown.

It's your anything else that interests me....

OK

Brayshaw in the guts for the majority of the remaining games. See if its just a slump, or his Brownlow high was an aberration just like our team. Decide = Trade/keep

More games for Sparrow, and Jordon. Need to see if they are good enough to survive the cut.

Continue rotations with Harley... pointless now burning him out for no real gain.

There are probably more but after yesterday my GAF is broken.

 

 

I'd say we continue to play our absolute best side and we approach every game as winnable.  That is the culture we want to set, so we need to go with.

One thing I'd like to see them do more of is make sure players are earning their spots.  If they aren't, then they need a spell and earn their way back, although that is a little difficult without proper reserves games at the minute.

With a few players terribly out of form - Gus, Salem, Harmes, Tom Mac are the main examples - do we drop them and give others a run and send the right message?  Or do they continue to play them in the hope their form turns?  

Throwing the positions around sounds good on paper, and might work for a couple, but it's not going to change a whole lot right now.  I say we push harder to make players earn their spots, and put the best 22 on the park that we can muster every week.

Tank for draft picks

Pert calling Clarko every week.

 

Just now, Wiseblood said:

I'd say we continue to play our absolute best side and we approach every game as winnable.  That is the culture we want to set, so we need to go with.

That got us nowhere in the second half of 2019. Need to plan for 2021. If it gets you a win .. great. Would you play Corey/Josh Wagner for example in place of Jetta rather than one of the 2018 draftees. Same goes for playing Hunt.

No one's saying throw the positions around for the sake of it. We are committed to Tomlinson and Langdon. Time to play them and see if we can model a strategy around them.

Playing the best team by default means in the short term following the gameplan that has got us nowhere for the last 3-4 years.

As the Dragon Queen used to say....Time to break the wheel...

Just now, Diamond_Jim said:

That got us nowhere in the second half of 2019. Need to plan for 2021.

We can't plan for 2021 just yet.  We aren't Adelaide.

Alright, last night was horrible and I'm still trying to get the taste out of my mouth, but we aren't that far down the path just yet.  Roll Adelaide (which we should do and is no real cause for celebration) and we're 4-5.  Again, I'm not suggesting we are finals bound by any stretch, but I don't think we should be focusing on next year purely off the back of last night.

Lose to Adelaide in 5 days and it would be hard to argue with though.

Another moment to hope the players don't have the attitude of some supporters, I guess.

We're less than halfway into the season, with a game in hand, and we're two games out of the eight

Yet to play the entire bottom four, but have played the entire top four (and obviously don't have to play anyone twice)

The Port game was a debacle, but if anyone needs reminding what a haywire and volatile season this is, aside from needing their head checked they can take a quick look at the Bulldogs, West Coast or Collingwood.

Our next two games are against the bottom two teams.  They are must win games but they are 'should win' games too.  Then Collingwood for what is likely the proverbial 8-point game.

Speaking of 8-point games, we are still to play all of Collingwood, Western Sydney, Bulldogs, Bombers and Saints.

For all the misery yesterday, if you think that was the best we can deliver you're just being melodramatic.

Destiny in our own hands.  Far, far too early to write off the season, even if it wasn't a weird one.

Last night was appalling but if you're writing the rest of the season off now, aren't you just "accepting mediocrity"?

We're 3-5. It's not exactly a launching pad for finals, but the 5 losses are to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th.

In a season where we play everyone once, we have plenty of games to come against sides not currently in the 8 with few to come against sides that are consistently good (indeed, St Kilda is the highest-ranked side left on our fixture).

That doesn't mean wins will come automatically and if we play like we did last night, we'll be 3-7. But if we get back the run and aggression we showed in Rounds 6-8, we can and should beat both Adelaide and North and level out at 5-5. From there, a 4-3 record may be enough to make finals.

I’d like, in order:

1. A vaccine

2. Consistent, competitive effort from the MFC

3. Essendon to lose the next 8

3 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

Last night was appalling but if you're writing the rest of the season off now, aren't you just "accepting mediocrity"?

No I'm looking for the medium term

This year is a write off. The Geelong loss killed any momentum. The Brisbane and Port losses merely confirmed it. A  win against North and Adelaide will merely paper the cracks.

Mindlessly swimming against the current is what the last how many years has been. The current gameplan is continual "mediocrity" as you term it if not worse.

Break the Wheel !

(seriously though... Goodwin has to re -invent this team and the sooner we accept it the better. The alternative is a new coach and another questionable rebuild.)

8 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

 

Just saw that Norf have put the cue in the rack by dropping Polec and Brown.

 

Brown will come back in next week and kick 8 against us.

Hate to be in the trenches with a lot of you 

3 minutes ago, Pennant St Dee said:

Hate to be in the trenches with a lot of you 

Interesting analogy

Most could see very little from the trenches despite their unquestionable loyalty and bravery.

(Did you know that the outbreak of WW1 can be traced back to Waterloo? Irrelevant but fascinating.)