POSTGAME: Rd 21 vs Collingwood

[dees189227 12,368]

The review will be interesting when the players go through it

[Dr. Gonzo 24,140]

Pathetic, selfish game from Gawn inside 50.

At halftime they had 18 inside 50s for 8 goals 2!!

Brown had a mare of a patch in the 3rd quarter.

Small forwards were largely ineffectual.

Collingwoods system matches up extremely well with ours.

This one stings I [censored] HATE losing to that mob! Chances are we play them again in September and I'm not looking forward to it....

[dazzledavey36 54,220]

3 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

Agree. Even when we ran out, there booing was so loud. 

My first thought. Barely heard any cheers.

3 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Nah, they are flat track bullies. Very quiet until they gained momentum in the third.

We do need to be more loud though, but I think at moments we were. Specially in the 4th, trying to rally the boys to a victory.

Personally I thought they were quiet loud majority of the night. 

And to be frankly honest, we're not s club that makes big noise.

[Melb16 491]

So disappointing. We have no one to blame but ourselves. You could see we were going to get overrun a mile off. When was the last close game we’ve won?

We just look like deer in the headlights when the pressure goes up.

[The heart beats true 18,107]

Just now, Sydney_Demon said:

Are  you serious? Don't worry about the mocking. It's character building and who cares how Collingwood supporters behave? Pretty much what you'd expect. 

Easy to say from Sydney 

[layzie 33,742]

Seriously can we just can the crap about how we should have been 8 goals up and put it to bed and trying to bend that into a positive. The fact is that we didn't and haven't on numerous occasions this year. 

Our game for 100 years has always been about execution, you either take chances or you don't. There's no column on the ladder for missed goals but good intention.

[kev martin 9,761]

Long bombs, need to change it up and do some stab-like kicks.

Too many handballs to players under pressure, need to use handballs to make space and/or break lines.

A few too many times we went for the same ball, getting in the way of each other way and leaving an easy out for the pie.

Need to really work on teamwork and helping each other.

Stop the selfish acts.

Some players need to stay in the game, and others need take it on when it is their time.

We have had some terrible second halves this year. Hoping this is our last one. 

Do they get ahead of themselves?

We become the dope that is roped.

We need to move the ball with better angle and have a pressure game for the 4 quarters and across the entire field.  

[leucopogon 1,519]

6 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Didn't we all say that after Queen's Birthday?

They're setting records for smallest margins across 4, 5, 6, 7 consecutive wins.

Their percentage is 106%.

They are living on a knife's edge. Games decided by less than two goals are not determined solely by skill, they necessarily involve luck.

Couldn't agree more on this. Prior to tonight we'd played six consecutive games at different venues, in four different States/Territories. It's an unbelievably ridiculous fixture, for a reigning premier to boot.

No side should spend five straight weeks without a (genuine) home game.

(PS: not suggesting this is why we lost, given they were on consecutive six-day breaks and we had the extra day's break going into this game).

We are crap at the MCG give me an away game any day of the week, seems to galvanize the team 

[Sydney_Demon 1,175]

3 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

Fork you fool.
We lost the game to poor kicking.

 

Yes, we did. Not because someone smiled inappropriately. 

[DeelightfulPlay 2,543]

3 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Nah, they are flat track bullies. Very quiet until they gained momentum in the third.

We do need to be more loud though, but I think at moments we were. Specially in the 4th, trying to rally the boys to a victory.

Agreed.  Decided this game to cheer every time Collingwood supporters booed.  Barely a quiet moment.

Lost the game and my voice!  Excruciating in that final quarter...

[The heart beats true 18,107]

1 minute ago, dees189227 said:

The review will be interesting when the players go through it

Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be the fitness guy. 7 games lost where we’ve been completely over run and looked limp after half time.

He’s got it very, very wrong.

[leucopogon 1,519]

2 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be the fitness guy. 7 games lost where we’ve been completely over run and looked limp after half time.

He’s got it very, very wrong.

Yep, whatever it is that he's "Selwyning", clearly the players aren't buying ît.

I'll see myself out.

[Sydney_Demon 1,175]

1 minute ago, The heart beats true said:

Easy to say from Sydney 

Fair enough. I was born in Melbourne and did catch the train home in my teens regularly, and that was in the mid-70s when we used to get thrashed nearly every week. In my defence I was unlucky enough to visit family and catch both the Fremantle and Sydney losses earlier this year so I have some  credibility. And I went to the QB game against Collingwood loss at the SCG but I didn't catch the train though. 

[Dr. Gonzo 24,140]

1 hour ago, SPC said:

Petty, May, Lever just a mile off tonight 

Their forward line played us to perfection. Kept a player back deep (usually Elliot) so we didn't have May or Lever sitting back there as an anchor unopposed. They have no key forward but all of them are dangerous and they use them all so you have to man up on them, so Lever and Petty found it hard to go 3rd up and intercept. Elliot, Mihocek, De Goey, Johnson (never heard of him!) - they made us accountable.

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

1 hour ago, Demon Jack said:

A complete reverse of last weeks superb defensive performance against the Dockers and a reversion to the dumb, fast shootout football that saw us last in near identical circumstances to the Bulldogs a fortnight ago.

Hibbo and ANB both had absolute mares tonight and we're still seriously struggling with our conversion rate inside 50. We scored from 24 of our 65 inside 50's while Collingwood took their chances and finished with a conversion rate above 50% (21 scores from 41 entries).

Good teams will not afford us that luxury. Plain and simple. It’s not back 6 defence that is the issue, It’s pressure at the source and our poor inside 50 pressure.

tonight in our f50 pies hB and midfielders would setup attacking side of the contest before we even delivered inside 50. They would then spread hard the moment they win the ball and burn our Small forwards. It’s Incredibly risky, incredibly arrogant but it’s their one trick and they are very good at it.
 

The frustrating thing was it worked time after time. It’s a bit like how our defensive would choke games last year.  Teams would fall for it game after game. In time, it’ll be worked out and exposed for the flabby game plan that it is but I suspect it will take an incredibly solid defensive performance  to stop it. Not many teams capable and I thought we were one, but clearly not. 
 

 

[Fork 'em 6,983]

6 minutes ago, Sydney_Demon said:

Yes, we did. Not because someone smiled inappropriately. 

Ha, ha ... Missed again, doh.

[The heart beats true 18,107]

3 minutes ago, Sydney_Demon said:

Fair enough. I was born in Melbourne and did catch the train home in my teens regularly, and that was in the mid-70s when we used to get thrashed nearly every week. In my defence I was unlucky enough to visit family and catch both the Fremantle and Sydney losses earlier this year so I have some  credibility. And I went to the QB game against Collingwood loss at the SCG but I didn't catch the train though. 

You’re ok mate. I just wanted to get in a bit of Sydney bashing to make myself feel better on what’s otherwise been a [censored] night. 👍

Edited August 5, 2022 by The heart beats true

[Tom Dyson 1,633]

I had forgotten how feral pies fans are. 

[praha 11,228]

I am rather astounded that they keep winning games the exact same way. Like as if teams are letting them win... Goodwin was badly outcoached tonight, and Collingwood played the MCG to perfection.

The club should never allow such an extended period of time away from the MCG, ESPECIALLY not this close to the end of the year.

 

[Dr. Gonzo 24,140]

1 hour ago, Return to Glory said:

So many passages where we played without dare. Therein lies the difference. The number of times they rope-a-doped and streamed out from the back was embarrassing. 

2nd quarter the ball was in our forward line for the first 10 minutes we kicked 2 goals I think.

3rd quarter the ball was in our forward line for the first 8 minutes - no goals, they take it down and score instantly.

Our forward line is a shambles, the entries kill us, Gawn trying to kick snaps out of his [censored] instead of handing off when he can't even kick one from dead in front, Brown flopping around like a baby giraffe, small forwards nowhere near the crumb, and no space to work in. Everything is rushed instead of setting ourselves up with the best option.

[Jack7 528]

18 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

I'll leave Thailand to the deviots.

You're the drug taker which makes you the deviot!!!

[layzie 33,742]

40 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

Hang in there Layzie. I think we’ve got some things wrong this year off field, in an attempt to mirror 2021. Interesting to see how we respond for the rest of the year. 

Love your passion. I felt that one too.

I will HBT, I will hang in. Damn it's painful right now!

[Dr. Gonzo 24,140]

1 hour ago, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

Let us not forget… their last 2 goals came from dubious 50:50 frees

 

The Viney holding the ball and Petty push in the back? Both those were there. Johnson's mark earlier was a bump ball though and the other holding the ball they got in from of goal was ridiculous. Pendlebury caught red-handed in our 50 and nothing 😡

[Demon Jack 6,858]

ANB, Kozzie and Spargo

0 tackles inside 50.

😕

[Deespicable 2,717]

Ultimately the Pies were quicker and fitter and desperate in the tackles and their strong men Maynard and De Goey proved too ballistic for us in the final term.

Can we turn things around pre-finals - probably not but here's a few suggestions:

1) Obviously our fitness guy has been too soft on our egos and all season we have failed to close out games after half time like we did with Burgess - we have an eight-day break, so we have one last chance on Tuesday or Wednesday to give our guys some really solid 200m reps. But ultimately it's too late in the season to turn your fitness completely around. As a  result you have to turn to the players that are naturally fit and hence Joel Smith is in and Harmes is also in because he provides run.

2) Our tackling wasn't anywhere near as strong as the Pies - we have a big bodied player like Trac and I get that he's a pin player given a licence but he's not doing enough grunt work. As to his decision to not go forward on the members wing and handball backwards to an under pressure Olly, it was criminal and shows his lack of confidence in his own game and in his forwards. A decision on whether Trac gets his licence to do his own thing is needed. I think we have to still give it to him, but ask him to be more accountable at the same time. And he is a AA midfielder, not an AA forward. So we have to play him there and wear the consequences. Watching De Goey and Crisp charging into the packs with a full head of steam was disheartening. It's a risky policy but it kept paying off for them, whereas we just tried to handball it out of the pack and they were on to us before we had time to be precise. If Trac came charging through, I'd get out of his way I know that. Maybe he needs to take that risk at some stoppages.

3) At halftime Angus was our best player as a midfielder, but he was marked more closely in the second half and was basically ineffectual from then on. I do like him playing in the middle, but it has to be a shock tactic. We need him down back for his precise kicking. That's where he has to go. Harmes comes back into the midfield rotation because he's a worker. Yes he butchers it on occasions, but he ain't alone there.

4) Our forward set up isn't working. Both Fritter and Brown were good in patches and presented as did Gawny (who was everywhere but whose kicking was appaling) but we got nothing out of Jackson as a forward. Our third tall Melksham was brilliant in the first term but couldn't impact from then on. He's just too small for the role and can't provide the tackle pressure. Hence we have to go to Joel Smith who is an X-factor player. It's now too late in the season to try Van Rooyen, but I'd be comfortable with that as an option as well, but I think Joel Smith can provide the forward tackles and pressure better than VR.

5) Others have commented on this, but can we keep playing three small forwards in the same team. ANB's role is crucial through the middle, but I lost count of the number of times he got tackled by the Pies. Could his role go to someone else this late in the season?