Disappointingly meek.

Very very disappointed with that. Embarrassing performance. I wasn’t overly confident coming into the game given our form but that was terrible.

We’ve lauded this year the past year or so and rightly so. They’ve been fantastic. The last few weeks have been poor however and today downright embarrassing. We were trounced and lucky to kick a goal.

Goldie, Hore and Hanks had a crack. The rest were awful.

The appetite for the contest is not there. We hunted like lions last year. This year we’ve been meek as lambs. I’d love to know why. We’re other problems as well but you have to have the heart for the battle.

Going back-to-back is very hard to do but our level of performance against the top teams the last month or so has been miles off. Some honest conversations required otherwise Geelong will beat us next week. Mick has his work cut out for him this week that’s for sure.

Why does the AFLW make the team play finals at that dump Ikon Park? No home hound advantage there. The finals are rigged.

Embarrassing performance. 4 scoring shots in a final. Why was the game not played at Casey? Every other team that hosted a final played at home. Why are we different? Casey is a huge advantage to us.

There are a lot of fair weather supporters on here.

Bad game today, a shocker...but they happen.

Lets see what the team brings next week.

5 minutes ago, Jack Vineys Anger Manager said:

Embarrassing performance. 4 scoring shots in a final. Why was the game not played at Casey? Every other team that hosted a final played at home. Why are we different? Casey is a huge advantage to us.

But a huge disadvantage to anyone who doesn’t live in the outer south east.

Big Melbourne finals deserve a proper ground, so I’m fine with it. We’ve moved home games to IKON and had no issues winning their last year. But it certainly highlights our lack of proper home ground in the demon heartland. 

Edited November 12, 20231 yr by DeeSpencer

9 minutes ago, wizardinoz said:

Why does the AFLW make the team play finals at that dump Ikon Park? No home hound advantage there. The finals are rigged.

 

5 minutes ago, Jack Vineys Anger Manager said:

Embarrassing performance. 4 scoring shots in a final. Why was the game not played at Casey? Every other team that hosted a final played at home. Why are we different? Casey is a huge advantage to us.

We nominated to play at Ikon so we could have plenty of supporters attend.  It's not a conspiracy against us.

However... with today's performance, it would have been nice to have the wind as an advantage to us

Today was the culmination of the poor form and bad habits many of our players have built all year.

I know I’m a broken record on a few of them but they simply weren’t improving parts of their game and it came back to haunt us.

Mick’s shuffled the magnets all year and we’ve had injuries but it’s alarming that he hasn’t found an accountable ball winning midfield and forward structure that works. 

After the awful start we got right back in the contest and had the better of the 2nd and start of 3rd but the execution was deplorable and that indicates too much doubt and not the first fortitude to fight. 

Turned it off half way through the third quarter. Adelaide, Brisbane and Roos played with much more heat than us and we couldn’t respond. Really disappointed in that performance.

DEEmoralising display…need changes similar to the board.Looked washed out.No leadership, no system.

 

1 hour ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

This is looking like a choke of epic proportions. Smashed at the contest and in contested marks. Poor decision making when we do get open. Brisbane must be laughing. Had to win the last game of the season to snatch a double chance and now look like hosting another Grand Final. 

I think that might be 5 quarters in a row now that we've been goalless. 

Brisbane finished 4th so the only way they get to host the GF is if Sydney or Geelong get through. That is extremely unlikely.

I almost don’t feel like dignifying that performance with anything! I’ve never seen us so flat and that’s saying something after last week. Couldn’t take a trick and credit to North they did everything right and finally put it all together.
 

So many dropped marks, half-hearted ground balls and lack of run. Then every small chance we mustered we butchered with poor skill execution and some absolutely shocking decisions with the footy.
 

Consecutive performances like that is new territory for us. You could feel it coming a mile off. After what turned out to be a soft draw we’ve been battling complacency and haven’t prepared well for this phase of the season. 

Next week it’s back to basics and just absolute hunger for the contest. No passengers. Some desperation from the first siren please.

Taking nothing away from the pressure and attack of the Roos.

That I would say was the worst game they have played since maybe the first few season.

What I noticed is how tired we look when moving the ball by foot.  How many of our kicks few well short of their target.  Or way wide of their target, creating a huge number of turnovers (Not Sure the stats) they put massive pressure back not he team.  game was the quick sideways movement that his a target to open up the field.   

Have we overworked the girls over the season and they have reached. their physical limits?   Roos worked much hard and often outnumbered.

Lastly everything chaos thing went Roo's way, you know it hard to win when 50/50 constantly go to the opposition all day by some Devine influence.

If we make the GF, we are going to hard way round.

 

 

Was at a function during game. Won't be watching the replay in a hurry. I agree with those saying the trend was revealing itself over recent weeks. Commitment to winning the contest has been dropping away. Other top teams have been applying relentless physicality and we haven't stood up. The Womens' game has evolved. Pure skill and outside run isn't going to get the job done without inside grunt and physical attack. We are in a time warp and the window for this group has closed. Yes, harsh... but how else are you going to explain the sudden and total drop off?

Third game this year where we’ve been overawed physically by the oppo 

Worst game we've played in a long time. Kangas were very good. Even the ball was bouncing in their laps, just one of those bad days. At least the weather was nice.

53 minutes ago, Witches Hat said:

Brisbane finished 4th so the only way they get to host the GF is if Sydney or Geelong get through. That is extremely unlikely.

I think the gf is hosted by the highest finishing home side in the prelims. Or if both gf teams were away sides in the prelim, the highest finishing away side.

So if its bris v north, north would host.

If its bris v adel, bris would host.

If melb v adel, adel host.

If melb v north, north host.

 

...just realised I'm getting ahead of myself and assuming adel and melb win next week

Edited November 12, 20231 yr by HardBallGet
Mistake

43 minutes ago, Witches Hat said:

Brisbane finished 4th so the only way they get to host the GF is if Sydney or Geelong get through. That is extremely unlikely.

Hi Witches Hat. I think they would host if Adelaide made it through now as well by way of beating them in their Qualifying Final. 

BTW you weren't playing for us today were you? 

Just got back from the game and obviously pretty disappointed but not overly surprised.  I had a feeling it wasn't going to be close, either after six consecutive wins for us the law of averages would go their way and they'd win and win big, or we might get a break early and they'd start doubting themselves against one of the big three and drop their bundle.

My fear is that with our easy start to the season we got into some bad habits.  Too much Harlem Globetrotter football, flipping it around too much and it not really mattering when we did so.  So we got out of the habit of playing direct, efficient football and that's now killing us against the better teams.  We can obviously match the physical stuff, we did it so well last year, we were as hard as anyone.  But, as I said, we've gotten into the habit of beating weaker teams with our big skill advantage and not being direct and efficient.

Geelong are, in my opinion, comfortably the best of the rest.  If we play the way we did today there is a real chance we will get done.  But if we get back to how we can and should be playing, we can still win the flag.  I'd like a rematch against both the Lions and Kangas (or the Crows for that matter), and if we are on our game I would really fancy our chances.  I just worry we may not be able to fix our problems fast enough.

Edited November 12, 20231 yr by Craig T

1 goal over 4 Quarters, on a beautiful fine Day. 
A Final…..

Club is losing its edge. Too much talk and not enough Hard Work…

 

1 hour ago, wizardinoz said:

Why does the AFLW make the team play finals at that dump Ikon Park? No home hound advantage there. The finals are rigged.

That’s our first loss ever at Ikon.

We chose Ikon. The girls love playing there, even more than Casey.

And you clearly don’t watch many games if you’re calling Ikon a dump. It’s the MCG compared to many of the other grounds we’ve played at. 

The hunger has gone. Look at the performances of Zanker, Mithen, Bannnon, Pearce and McNamra. All of them are highly rated players who put in shockers. I can't  see us beating Presparkis next week.

Afl world will come at us if it’s a straight sets exit, in particular pies supporters calling us chokers etc … Concerning is when you see our club listing a Dees player Liv having 15 possession in a final which we got flogged in & before the game was even finished! Celebrating the McCallen cup why? Posting the highest % by the team why? Maybe this goes to the core of our culture?

37 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

That’s our first loss ever at Ikon.

We chose Ikon. The girls love playing there, even more than Casey.

And you clearly don’t watch many games if you’re calling Ikon a dump. It’s the MCG compared to many of the other grounds we’ve played at. 

The way we played today we could have played anywhere and would have got beaten. Having said that if I am the City of Casey I would be disappointed that after all the investment they have made in a facility for the Melbourne FC especially the AFLW program and they have elected to host a final elsewhere and turn their back on their own home ground. 

Forget all this gloom and doom ---- if that thumping doesn't motivate the girls, nothing will. I'm backing them to bounce back with three wins in a row. They have the talent and a wily coach who will address today's shortcomings. Better to have an off day now than in a grand final.