Just now, picket fence said:

I wouldnt let Viney anywhere near the midfield. His role should now be defensive Half forward/Forward Pocket and do the team things. If you cant do that then you might find yourself out of the team!

He’d probably start flying for Marks in front of Brown and T-Mac, I think he has to roll off the bench for very short bursts.

His inability to think beyond the ball is really deflating

1 hour ago, John Crow Batty said:

It puzzled me as well that those dangerous players were not manned up as I would like. 

Because its not Goodys approach, it doesnt take a Brainiac to see that unless you put a hard tag on Daniels he sets up and runs amok which he did. Bont rang rings around us last night. You know who should have been picking up Bont when he was directly involved in those last couple of goals dont you. Yep go take a look

Edited July 25, 20213 yr by picket fence

Not concerned at all by that loss. It is July lets see what happens in September. That is when it counts

Just need to do enough to finish top 4 

We are all frustrated by the officiating last night and rightly so, it's pretty inconceivable what we all witnessed. I think you could ask a dogs fan and they will admit they got it good. 

As for the team, thought our effort was there for four quarters but there are some players that are really badly out of form. Langdon - was a driving force for us on that outer wing earlier this season. Can't find it at the moment and his kicking is pox. Salem has been paid far more attention from opposition and its showing, he had no space to operate in last night. That's two of our biggest meters gained players that are really struggling at the minute. Hibberd fumble fumble fumble. We need more drive off the half back line, not against seeing Bowey debut in the coming weeks. We still have it in us to go deep into September but we badly need some players to find form next week against GC, let's use that as a springboard and get going again. 

TMac big barometer for us, need him in form. If he plays well we usually win.

We have had more shots at goal in every game this year except against Collingwood which we lost 23-25. It is pretty obvious what the major issue is. 

3 minutes ago, Fat Tony said:

We have had more shots at goal in every game this year except against Collingwood which we lost 23-25. It is pretty obvious what the major issue is. 

Nailed it 

After a 3k run after the game in 30 degree/80% humidity weather while listening to very aggressive music, I have gotten most of the aggression out. That being said, I wasn’t filthy like I was after the Collingwood and Hawthorn games.

I posted the doctored photo earlier showing my disdain for the umpiring. I think them getting every call that looked slightly likely was a big factor in getting the win. I don’t back away from that. The umpiring was lamentable.

That said if we were that better a team, shouldn’t we have won by ten goals? The answer is we aren’t, and there were areas we were weak on, areas we were good in, players who played better this week and players who need to be looked at.

Firstly, goal kicking. The issue I believe isn’t solely accuracy (though some of BBB’s early offerings could test that proposition). It seems in our current ‘slump’ that we are going through the pockets and wings a lot more and less through the corridor. That’s probably a more high percentage play for getting fifty marks but less so for kicking at goal.

My belief however is that last night, if we learn the right lessons, could be the moment we learn how to use BBB properly. As was pointed out by Richo on special comments, the bloke never stops presenting and if we give him eye level, bullet passes into the forward fifty, he is bloody deadly. That second goal was pretty much how he kicked most of his goals at North. He got in front of a smaller opponent who can’t get around his lanky frame and proceeded to panic and crash into him. The free was drawn and we got the goal. He is decent contesting for the high ball and bringing it to ground, but if we use him like that, we are wasting his talents. 

It goes without saying he needs to get his kicking boots on though. I’m hoping those last two goals have helped him shake off the yips. 

I felt Jack Viney with less of the pill was much more effective last night. He seemed to play within his limitations and thought things through than playing exclusively like a bull at a gate. The pass to Kozzie was a brilliant example of that. There was much more method there.

One area to improve on (with weather being a factor) is fumbling, and I’m looking in Choppers Harmes’ direction. On a night like that, one touch possessions are worth their weight in gold. Sadly, Harmes and ANB are deficient in this area. 

I’d add that goals from inside fifty clearances need work. I’ve noticed this for the last 7 weeks. Rarely do teams get goals against us from marks inside 50. The damage is done when we get sucked into the contest and blokes like Bontempelli, Breust or another classy ball user gets too much time and space.

I have said earlier that we shouldn’t shuffle the magnets leading into September, but I reckon that experience should be considered moving forward and that for mine means Melksham, Jones and Daw (though I’d say he stays in only for the couple of weeks till Dogga gets sufficient rest). Melksham in particular is exactly the type of ball user we need to kick into the fifty. Whatever his defensive deficiencies are, he has an uncanny ability to hit a lead going into fifty. 

If you are saying the season is shot, I recommend you arrange an appointment with your GP who will promptly prescribe a treatment of you giving yourself an uppercut on a daily basis. The Suns will stretch us, but that game is clearly winnable as is the Crows game. We are definitely a 50/50 chance against the Eagles. We win those three and top 4 is guaranteed. Our fate is in our hands. Are we good enough to take advantage of the opportunity in front of us? Time will tell.

 

Edited July 25, 20213 yr by Colin B. Flaubert

If I was a defender at Melbourne, I would be getting totally fed up with defending hard only to see our forwards miss easy shots.  It must be a real issue at times within a team.

22 minutes ago, loges said:

TMac big barometer for us, need him in form. If he plays well we usually win.

I don't think he played a particularly poor game, just didn't get a lot of opportunity.

I was so frustrated last night but really, I'm not at all convinced that the Doggies are better than us. They were more efficient converting their shots but if we took our chances early it could have been a very different story. Hope we meet them again in September and put them to the sword.

31 minutes ago, Pulp Fritschon said:

Not concerned at all by that loss. It is July lets see what happens in September. That is when it counts

Just need to do enough to finish top 4 

Yeah but thats the point we still to finish top 4 which is looking perilous

41 minutes ago, picket fence said:

I wouldnt let Viney anywhere near the midfield. His role should now be defensive Half forward/Forward Pocket and do the team things. If you cant do that then you might find yourself out of the team!

Spot on. Playing on family name now. He is a seventies type, second rover who spent 90 per cent of his time in the pocket.

Edited July 25, 20213 yr by Half forward flank

Thank god for the Olympics. At least that gives you joy

1 minute ago, dees189227 said:

Thank god for the Olympics. At least that gives you joy

What a swim by the girls in the 4X100 final!!

Ben Brown looked pretty broken after those misses last night, totally lacking confidence 

I don't think he's the answer

2 minutes ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

Ben Brown looked pretty broken after those misses last night, totally lacking confidence 

I don't think he's the answer

Did you miss his last two goals!

3 hours ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Sure I'm disappointed but looking at the game in isolation there was very little between the two sides on the night. Had we been able to pick up the ball at the first attempt in the middle & inside fifty and hand it off cleanly, particularly in the first half, then we're probably looking at a different result. Again, when we're able to lock the ball in our forward half for long spells we have so little to show for it on the scoreboard and letting them out the back to score on the counter undoes it all. 

This result only looks bad when we bring our other losses into the equation and what it might mean for where we finish the home & away season. After eighteen games no side has been able to put us away and I'm still confident that we can go all the way if we can get the double chance. I'm also not keen to chop and change the side. If this is our best 23 for the game style we play then they need to find form as a collective in the next four weeks. Anyway try and enjoy your Sunday everyone. Living deep in doggie territory I've already snuck out to the shops and back before I see any red, white and blue on show. 

Agree.

These losses happen to all sides every year.

The only reason this hurts us is because of the Adelaide, Collingwood and Hawthorn results. 

1 hour ago, Clint Bizkit said:

We play boring football which doesn’t help.

Ridiculous.

Were you "bored" when we beat Richmond, the Dogs, Brisbane or Port?

Losing games does not automatically mean "boring".

If your response is "we don't score much", that's not because we play "boring" football, that's because we miss shots on goal. As has been covered in this thread, since the bye we've had more scoring shots than our opponents every game except last night which was even.

Frustrated but not panicking. Each to their own, no one likes losing and we’ve been in every game this year right until the end. Round 20 upon us and we have 4 losses and a draw, I certainly wasn’t expecting that. Fix our forward issues, start lowering our eyes again like we did early in the year and we can still do some major damage this year. Plenty to play out.

5 minutes ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

Ben Brown looked pretty broken after those misses last night, totally lacking confidence 

I don't think he's the answer

2.2 from 11 disposals, 6 marks, 2 tackles, 6 score involvements (our second highest). Neither amazing nor terrible.

Was involved all night, unlike TMac or Weid in the games he's had this year.

The missed shots killed us but they were the sole difference between an average game and a great one.

7 minutes ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

Ben Brown looked pretty broken after those misses last night, totally lacking confidence 

I don't think he's the answer

How did he look after the next 2 he kicked?

 

11 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

And for all that we were within 4 points with less than 10 minutes to go. A 2 goal game where they kocked one out of their [censored] (English) gifted another that wasn't there (Hannan) and a we let a few through our fingers (Fritsch on the goal line, Brown x2, Viney and Kozzie early, Kozzie missing Tmac on his own, the ball not sitting up for TMac with fritsch free running into goal etc etc)

Yeah we lost, not saying we deserved to win but the over reaction on here is ridiculous. It was a 50/50 game where they took a couple of chances and we missed a couple of ours. Not like the game earlier in the year where we completely outplayed them.

Looking forward to playing them in September, I'm confident we'll have their number.

Great perspective Dr. G.  It was a decent game where we fell short.  The reasons were obvious and Bontempelli is a star. When we meet them again we need to put more work into curbing him.

Hibberd?

Brayshaw?

ANB ?

Jackson. lost his mojo.

BB  emerging, players need to look for him.

Last night seemed an ego contest between the mids. Bulldogs won it with better disposal.

 

 

I am not worried one bit,  sh.....t.

At the end of 2019 I remember watching us and noticing how poor we were with the team things. In play and out of play. Eg, congratulating players, sticking up for players. It was an ugly descent into selfishness and there were rumours of a lack of harmony, cohesion amongst the playing group. It looked very badly that way one ugly night at the end of the season against the swans at the G.
 

In sport, when under pressure, or tired, you revert to bad habits. Essentially the truth comes out. In 2019 it was a lack of effort and all of the above. This year it isn’t a lack of effort, but I see the bad habits coming out again. You start to sense not everyone really gets along. These things only come out when things aren’t going well, and here they are.

 

I wonder is it a personnel thing, the way we train, the culture. I’m not sure. But it’s disheartening to see the cracks appear when the heat is applied. We undoubtedly are the weakest side in the top 4 between the ears.

 

in saying this, I could see how one game where things go our way, with goal kicking etc start to reverberate through the team and help some things trend upward for the first time in a couple of months. We are running out of time though.