The style of game to be played is obvious, ND should just play them the last quarter of last sundays match before each game for the rest of the season and tell them - play like that, don't worry about losing, it no longer matters, just get the ball forward quickly and have forwards around the fall of the ball

Well I 've learned alot.

WCE dont have big marking forwards and Quinten Lynch and Ashley Hansen must be crumbing the packs.

And its also surprising that the Kangaroos game was involved crud football but dare I mention that word we played "tempo" football in the third and last quarter where we actually exhibited the skills to control the football and squeezed North out.

In Adelaide last year we were inept at executing run and carry. However with our powerful go direct style of football that obviously suits our team so well we have been flogged there and in WA for the past four years. Hmmm, lets not try anything different and keep our heads in the sand.

And its exactly the case that when you have your key breakaway players out of a team like Mclean, Pickett, Moloney and others from time to time that you cannot execute any game plan effectively.

Until we have our best side in (hard when Rivers is out for the season) we will struggle playing any sort of football game consistently.

35+ goal seasons:

Q. Lynch - 1 (06)

Ash Hansen - 0

David Neitz - 8

Russell Robertson - 5

I must have been sleeping during those years that Lynch and Hansen were dominating the air and the Eagles were getting no goals from midfield/half forwards like Judd (29 in 2006/15 in 2005), Cousins (20/24), Embley (31/24), Staker (24/13), Sampi (12/20), Phil Matera (ret/38) etc.

The style of football they play now was developed under a forward structure that was based around Phil Matera and Ashley Sampi. Matera who led their goalkicking for 5 out of 6 seasons from 2000-2005, and Sampi who kicked 85 goals between 02-05. They've only in the lasat 12 months got anything out of Lynch - last time I checked Adam Hunter was fill in FF in the 05 GF, hardly a dominant marking forward.

They play to their strengths. They didn't have marking forwards, so they developed a running game that a. suited their players and b. suited the ground they play on.

Sydney are the same - they play contested footy on a ridiculously small ground, they don't have many guys with WC style breakaway pace because its useless at the SCG. They get their runners off half back instead of out of the middle and leave the forward line open for their two key forwards (Hall and Micky O) to operate. If they tried to execute "run and carry" they'd go nowhere because they don't have the players or the space to execute it in.

Your wonderful gameplan has us losing games now at home AND on the road, I wouldn't be pointing to losses last year in WA and SA and justification for how well its working this year. We've lost three winable games in the last four weeks where we've played one quarter of footy the 2006 way. The evidence doesn't lie - the players know it, the media knows it, we know it - hopefully the coaching staff now recognise it.

35+ goal seasons:

Q. Lynch - 1 (06)

Ash Hansen - 0

David Neitz - 8

Russell Robertson - 5...

Another great post Hards.

But what's even better is your signature.

Brilliant.

Your wonderful gameplan has us losing games now at home AND on the road, I wouldn't be pointing to losses last year in WA and SA and justification for how well its working this year. We've lost three winable games in the last four weeks where we've played one quarter of footy the 2006 way. The evidence doesn't lie - the players know it, the media knows it, we know it - hopefully the coaching staff now recognise it.

Exactly!

Last year we were losing away and winning at home, this year you can put us on Mars and we'd still lose.

The injury excuse is wearing thin. It was valid when we were missing half our forward line, and midfield. Currently the only really crucial player we are missing from the side is Rivers.

As for the others...

Moloney- barely played last year and we still made the finals quite comfortably

Yze- a month ago he was playing at Sandy

Whelan- has been in shocking form this season, plus we have Bell to cover for him, unlike in the past

Bartram- he's good, but he is not a match-winner.

Pickett- not injured, rather not fit enough to make an impact at senior level.

Hey Rhino, I'd like to apologise on behalf of the players for their 2nd and 3rd quarter when they went against your run and carry and played direct attacking fast moving footy , the 2006 way.

I'm sorry that the two quarters where we played the stuff around with the handball quassi attempted run and carry were the two quarters when we kicked two goals and one goal respectively.

I'm sorry that we blew a team away that we've had constant dramas with despite coming off the worst form since 1997 by abandoning run and carry in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

I'm sorry that the 2nd and 3rd quarters contained exactly one passage of play of more than 5 consecutive handballs whereas the first and last quarters contained 8 of such passages (at least I lost count at 8, could have been more).

I'm sorry that despite still not having Rivers, Whelan, Pickett, Moloney and a still barely half fit McLean we were able to execute for two quarters the game plan that many have been calling to see since Round 1.

I'm sorry.

(more than happy to acknowledge that I sound like an [censored], but seriously, you cannot say that those middle two quarters are exactly how we shouldn't be playing - they delivered us our first win of the year, and would have delivered at least three more if that style game plan had been in place all year)

Hey Rhino, I'd like to apologise on behalf of the players for their 2nd and 3rd quarter when they went against your run and carry and played direct attacking fast moving footy , the 2006 way...

I too would like to say sorry.

I can't believe I ever questioned "runs and curry"...

...

Nah but we should've controlled the tempo more :lol: :lol: :lol:

Nah but we should've controlled the tempo more

Neitz did.

When he kicked the ball backwards forty metres which in turn resluted in a boundary throw-in just outside Adelaide's forward fifty, after Neitz originally had it 60 metres out from Melbourne's goal.

Just felt another apology was worthy.

Again, sorry for the attacking gameplan that nailed another "top four" side despite injuries/unavailability to 7+ first choice players (Pickett, Rivers, Yze, Bartram, Dunn, Miller, Whelan and Moloney) plus not having TJ for 3 quarters.

Bring back "run and carry", it worked so well.

I miss it so

Just felt another apology was worthy.

Again, sorry for the attacking gameplan that nailed another "top four" side despite injuries/unavailability to 7+ first choice players (Pickett, Rivers, Yze, Bartram, Dunn, Miller, Whelan and Moloney) plus not having TJ for 3 quarters.

Bring back "run and carry", it worked so well.

I miss it so

Don't be sorry.

We'll still win at AAMI this year, just you wait!