On 20/05/2024 at 12:09, DeeSpencer said:

Brown. And it was appalling. 

No idea why he wasn’t playing 80% wing with Langdon out, because it’s now clear as day he can’t get a kick in our forward line. Adds little to nothing defensively and is afraid of kicking goals.

He was worth preserving with for a while as a forward/wing but with McAdam in forward we can try others through the flanks and some wing minutes 

Would rather give Kolt a block of games, even Hunter has a bit more go but sounds like he's struggling for form at Casey. Laurie, no thanks. Sestan? Who else could come in?

  On 20/05/2024 at 12:05, Dr. Gonzo said:

He's been extremely vanilla, no impact whatsoever. Took too long after taking a mark on 50 yesterday when his opponent went to ground, could've played on quickly and passed to Fritsch(?) in the pocket. Instead went back then kicked a nothing kick to the top of the square which was easily defended.

Not saying he doesn't have room for improvement but if he was a demon from day one people wouldn't be so cold on him atm. Ie. People will cut Sparrow slack for a down game, but don't give Billings any leeway 

  On 20/05/2024 at 12:22, DemonWA said:

Not saying he doesn't have room for improvement but if he was a demon from day one people wouldn't be so cold on him atm. Ie. People will cut Sparrow slack for a down game, but don't give Billings any leeway 

If he was a Demon from day one with the way his career has gone he'd probably be in the Watts/Johnstone/Sylvia conversations! 

I just want to see that little bit more from Jack. A few more targets hit, a goal here and there etc. 

Edited May 20, 2024May 20 by layzie

  On 20/05/2024 at 10:08, beelzebub said:

I really want to accept that as cause rationale...   but for mine it fails a very basic test... Reality.   By this im suggesting we a [censored] poor at starting games...   We still dont have a purposeful functional forward setup.  We rely far too heavily on defence.  We seem incapable of change within games once found out and wanting.

Given our reliance on defence ...  we're now [censored]

What the hell are you doing on Demonland then @beelzebub?

  On 20/05/2024 at 22:56, Queanbeyan Demon said:

What the hell are you doing on Demonland then @beelzebub?

He only posts when things are on a downer, after we won the flag he hardly posted in 2022 and prior to that bagged the club continually. 

  On 20/05/2024 at 22:56, Queanbeyan Demon said:

What the hell are you doing on Demonland then @beelzebub?

A very good question....🤷🤷🤷

Time for another sabbatical perhaps 🤔🤔🤔

Ok, it's day 2 post the loss and I have worked through the various stages of footy grief for the embarrassing display. Look, whether you paint it as a loss against a plucky Eagles outfit (they were impressive, and I expected them to be tricky), or a very disappointing performance by us (it was - and it highlighted continuing worrying trends - like our midfield collectively being in a funk, losing the i50 count - the inability to stick tackles), it's done now. 

We have bounced back before and I expect we will again. I am not sure we have properly addressed the midfield issue yet but I have to have faith that the FD is aware - and have a plan (please).

Lever out is tough, but we can and should make amends against the Saints, then build towards some momentum against Freo and the Pies (we'll need to be pretty sharp by then). 

So here I am, disappointment aside, putting faith in the boys that they'll also want to restore their credentials and pride.

  On 21/05/2024 at 01:01, Red But Mostly Blue said:

Ok, it's day 2 post the loss and I have worked through the various stages of footy grief for the embarrassing display. Look, whether you paint it as a loss against a plucky Eagles outfit (they were impressive, and I expected them to be tricky), or a very disappointing performance by us (it was - and it highlighted continuing worrying trends - like our midfield collectively being in a funk, losing the i50 count - the inability to stick tackles), it's done now. 

We have bounced back before and I expect we will again. I am not sure we have properly addressed the midfield issue yet but I have to have faith that the FD is aware - and have a plan (please).

Lever out is tough, but we can and should make amends against the Saints, then build towards some momentum against Freo and the Pies (we'll need to be pretty sharp by then). 

So here I am, disappointment aside, putting faith in the boys that they'll also want to restore their credentials and pride.

I am just hoping we turn up for KB, need to do it for Gus! 😤

Just watched Goody's presser. What a contrast with Chris Scott!! First question was about MFC but he straight away turned it into complimenting West Coast.

At least he showed that he's taking the loss very seriously

Edited May 21, 2024May 21 by Ollie fan

  On 20/05/2024 at 04:05, leave it to deever said:

I agree mostly .

And despite others, I too thought Salo was good. Especially considering his considerable absence.

Anb and Kozzie too although Kozzys disposal at times was substantially errant. 

But the fact we are mentioning only 3 players is very alarming 

What has happened to our midfield? Tracca look like he was wearing cement shoes trying to chase Reid. But his midfield companions were all down in form and have been for a while.

Viney is a shadow of his yesteryear form. He must be struggling with some sort of injury.

And Sparrow never really seems to step up. Plays the odd good game but rarely back to back.

And our fwd line is to be quite frank a complete shambles. Despite Fritta and Kozzie who both give at most around a combination of about four goals, we can't kick winning scores.

We have kicked 100 points plus once this year. Petty really shouldn't be playing after only giving only one good account 

But it comes down to a case of the cupboard being empty. I read the Casey reports and we don't really seem to have much depth. Besides the fact that we are already playing a fair amount of young players already.

And I'm not just referring to our fwd line depth. We don't seem to be overflowing with mids and wingmen. 

This is the biggest concern for me. A lack of a bog bodied tall fwd or two like Hogan or Tmac of old who good boot four a game each. 

And someone to come in when Langers can't or Sparrow gets dropped.  There is no real pressure on players in terms of being relegated to the twos like a few years ago.

It used to be Sparrow was competing for his spot and players like Milkshake were also competing for a game.

All that aside you are correct in this being an incredibly close season.

This round was proof of that with all it's upsets. Being slightly off will see top teams defeated by lesser ones. So the top four is still wide open.

We have survived without a potent fwd line by having a power house of a backline. But it's just not enough when our midfield falls in a heap. Our slow starts are baffling and the coaches need to do something significant about our game prep.

All in all, unless we can fix our fwd line we are going to struggle. I'm sure our midfield will sort itself out soon . But it better hurry. Salo or Rivers in the middle will help. Or perhaps even giving Bowey a few rotations.

But I don't know about or scoring problem. Jvr has gone backwards in form to last year. Chandler has disappeared again like last year and should be dropped. But who do we replace him with?

So for me I think there are some pretty big issues that will exclude us from the top four despite the very even comp.

We are using players like Bbb who is really struggling because there is nobody else. And Bbbs been struggling for two years now. I know someone will say there have been no key forwards to recruit and maybe this is true so I guess it's nobody's fault.

As for our midfielders they really need a rocket up them. To see a young Reid show up our touted great guns was embarrassing.

We look woefully lacking in confidence and skills. There were too many unforced errors and poor decisions made often. In short some horrible panic footy. As much as I love Fritta it was not a good look to see him laughing at times. It wasn't a good look .

The players look like they have lost some passion and if they didn't fight back in the Carlton game I would be extremely worried.

But yesterday we got smashed by the third bottom team when a third top spot was on the line. We didn't want it enough. Pure and simple. No excuses. 

I know we will be playing finals but I'm sure we won't be top four. Yesterday was a must win. And we got thumped.

We have done some great recruiting but we have also lost some good players. And we have recruited some bad ones too. Also losing Gus and Smith has been a big blow.

I really think the window of flags has started to swing shut now and I can't see how we are going to stop it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I dont diasgree about our forward line capability but on paper they are not really any worse than a lot of other teams out there i.e. Collingwood, Sydney, Adelaide etc. Not everyone has a Curnow, McKay combo. 

Our problem is what happens with ball in hand. THat continues to be our vulnerability. We don't have smart ball users. Not a single one that would be considered elite. I hope Windsor develops into that. 

We need to recruit smart decision makers with skill and athleticism that can sit behind the ball, generate turnover and hurt teams. Especially now that we are focusing on improving scores from defensive half. Salem and Bowey are serviceable but are far cry from what we need. McVee might be something but it seems like we are using him as  a small defender. I wonder what he'd like as a true HB flanker. Rivers has all the traits but often makes poor decisions and is good by foot but not elite. 

Personally i'd park our investments into the forward line as there is enough youth there in development. If we can score a readymade KPF, sure go for it but our priority is ball users. Elite ball users. 

  On 19/05/2024 at 16:46, Anti-Saint said:

How Far Harley?

Appreciate we were woeful but when at the game I thought Harley had run about 25m:

Watch this (are we allowed to post AFL.com footage?):

https://www.afl.com.au/video/1134588/reids-ridiculous-double-fend-on-demons-stars?videoId=1134588&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1716113616001

Boy Wonder starts at the back of the centre circle and runs to within 7m of the wing of the centre square (that's 18m folks) let alone the 20m from the back of the centre circle to within 10m of the front of the square (need the help of a mathematician here as Harley does some left-right manoeuvres  to add three more metres.

Isn't it time players distance run was handled by the Fifth Umpire as they all wear GPS units and there is the "Metres Gained" tech?

 

I always thought the maximum distance before bouncing was 15m, essentially counted as 15 steps?  

I counted Harley at 13 watching that video 

  On 20/05/2024 at 12:05, Dr. Gonzo said:

He's been extremely vanilla, no impact whatsoever. Took too long after taking a mark on 50 yesterday when his opponent went to ground, could've played on quickly and passed to Fritsch(?) in the pocket. Instead went back then kicked a nothing kick to the top of the square which was easily defended.

Turned his back on the play. Infuriating. 

Can't believe noone has blamed the loss on loading !!

  On 21/05/2024 at 06:13, Winners at last said:

Can't believe noone has blamed the loss on loading !!

You rrrrrrannng?

I was just pondering to myself on this morning’s run if we might be loading. 

Thoughts on McAdam's MFC's debut?

Whilst it was rusty, I thought he put himself in offensively dangerous positions, created options and could've had 3 goals if his 40 metre kick made the distance and that dribble at goal in the fourth quarter bounced the right way.

Kozzie definitely wanted to bring him into the game.

Something to work on.

  On 21/05/2024 at 06:59, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Thoughts on McAdam's MFC's debut?

Whilst it was rusty, I thought he put himself in offensively dangerous positions, created options and could've had 3 goals if his 40 metre kick made the distance and that dribble at goal in the fourth quarter bounced the right way.

Kozzie definitely wanted to bring him into the game.

Something to work on.

Hard to judge. He is the first indigenous player I’ve seen who was noticeably nervous. Most on the surface appear confident and self assured. Hope he can make that spot his own

That effort was weak as P one double five.

Ben Brown. Many thanks for helping our 21 campaign, but you can't cut it in the ones anymore.

Petty trade bait? Too inconsistent. Adelaide are looking. Again, many thanks for helping our 21 campaign.

Billings? Started great early in the year but dropped off and butchers it consistently. Why does Goody persist.

Come  on fellas. How about the Rev's motto? Is it forgotten? When all is said and done, more is said than done. Season not over yet so extract the digit and make me a believer again.

 

  On 21/05/2024 at 06:58, Superunknown said:

You rrrrrrannng?

I was just pondering to myself on this morning’s run if we might be loading. 

Be careful. Very triggering topic for some on here.

By the by, I'm def of the view load related fatigue was a factor in the performance.

Not an excuse for it, but a factor nonetheless.

Much the same way as I believe our woeful kicking was a factor in the performance. 

Not an excuse for it, but a factor nonetheless.

  On 21/05/2024 at 07:05, SPC said:

Hard to judge. He is the first indigenous player I’ve seen who was noticeably nervous. Most on the surface appear confident and self assured. Hope he can make that spot his own

Right??? This stood out like dog’s proverbials. He was terribly nervous and flustered and of course that’s gonna affect his game. I believe once he can get a handle on this we’ll see what he’s really capable of. 

  On 20/05/2024 at 12:22, DemonWA said:

Not saying he doesn't have room for improvement but if he was a demon from day one people wouldn't be so cold on him atm. Ie. People will cut Sparrow slack for a down game, but don't give Billings any leeway 

You tend to get leeway if you've got a history of playing at least some good games. Billings has been pretty underwhelming since round 1.

  On 21/05/2024 at 06:13, Winners at last said:

Can't believe noone has blamed the loss on loading !!

Give it a week or two. June is when we may as well not turn up because every loss has a perfectly valid explanation that everyone should understand.

  On 21/05/2024 at 06:59, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Thoughts on McAdam's MFC's debut?

Whilst it was rusty, I thought he put himself in offensively dangerous positions, created options and could've had 3 goals if his 40 metre kick made the distance and that dribble at goal in the fourth quarter bounced the right way.

Kozzie definitely wanted to bring him into the game.

Something to work on.

Leads to the ball, that's something. Needs a few games.