Just a reminder that Essendon have our first pick in the draft …

2 minutes ago, Dannyz said:

This is the flattest I’ve felt by a defeat since 2019 and that’s not because it was our worst performance (Freo away at Alice far worse) but because you just know it was the end of an era for some. 

Important we don’t react afterone game, however, Goody has had this whole pre season to work on our shape moving forward and how we deliver into the forward half. It’s as bad as it ever was. The best sides (hawthorn, gws, Collingwood) link up with chain running, overlap and handball precision which creates space for the forwards to work and options for the midfielders to kick to. The outcome is you have your forwards split, and your smalls get to the fall. 
Right now, all teams have worked out if you let us have the forward half territory we happen to enjoy, it makes us easier to break when you transition back the other way. 
 

And so now it’s important we do something different. We cannot continue to keep drawing blood from this stone. The stone is completely dry. 
 

Over to you Goody - we know you can motivate but can you coach, can you innovate, can you teach these guys to see the field a differently? 

My heart says no. 

Reckon we saw more last week in terms of stretching the ground and better delivery inside f50, today was a big step back to old habits of just bombing it in. Really lacked Windsor and his run in transition, large parts of that 3rd quarter where we transitioned quickly but turned it over or allowed them to get numbers back by handballing to ground or just not hitting the teammate in the open 

We've won 2 of our last 11 games and 5 of our last 17.

Relax guys 

We won the inside 50’s

She’ll be right 

1 minute ago, mandeelorian said:

Just a reminder that Essendon have our first pick in the draft …

Lindsay is a 200 gamer, that's the least of our worries

Can we please at least do a Hawthorn rebuild?

1 minute ago, mandeelorian said:

Just a reminder that Essendon have our first pick in the draft …

Not ideal but as other poster referenced, XL looks the goods so not too fussed here

Should have played Langford, we got totally pumped in the centre.

Just now, DubDee said:

Relax guys 

We won the inside 50’s

She’ll be right 

Goody loves territory.

Scoreboard not so much.

Honestly, I don't mind it. 

Nice and early in the season to have this kind of wake up call. 

Those of us here who can see the forest for the trees have known this was coming for a while.

We have been treading water as a club for two years. We've had some leadership turnover, but not enough.

We were unable to attract any top up talent following a flag, and our stars and leaders are questionable characters with questionable motivations. Those that are on the level (Lever) just aren't very good players. We lost our best leader and best human in the offseason (ANB). 

We've been unable to attract any solid 50-150 game players that have genuine scope to become A graders, despite having a crack at plenty.

I have said it before - but in the period of time Tim Lamb has oversees this list, it gets worse every year. I mean honestly...what does it say when Henderson is drafted one week and playing AFL the next? I like him but When Spargo has barely run for 2 years and then gets a call up right away? 

He has systematically undone a masterful list build overseen by Josh Mahoney and Todd Viney. I yearn for the days when you could take our FD at its word. I think Richardson is a perennial loser (sorry) and in Jones we have first timer, even if he is a beloved club legend, coaching the most important part of the team. 

Either this sparks some change, or it starts a year of significant failure.

We needed it either way. 

Never thought I would say this but:

The most frustrating thing to me was the way we get a mark on the defensive side,  wait, wait a while longer then kick it backwards   Makes my blood boil 

Goodwin fluked a flag

5 minutes ago, Go Ds said:

Have we? I think we were closer to a flag come 2023 finals than in 2022 and then last year was a disaster. Today was dreadful after a solid effort last week. So currently a regression of ONE year?!!!

So in terms of how close to a flag we were, I'll agree that 2023 was better than 2022.  But I still see regression - 2022 we were heavily injury struck going into finals, and I still believe if we'd had a fit team we would've gone deeper than we did.

We both agree last year was terrible, so if we want to find some middle ground we can say we plateaued slightly 2022/3 then started the decline - and let me be clear I don't think it's a decline of the quality of our players, I think it's a decline in the quality of our tactics.  Last year our gameplan looked dated, and the first two games of this year have seen a lot of the old hammer it long to a contest.  The GWS game was played in ugly weather which meant this was much more effective, but under the roof in clear conditions I think is more representative.  I'd love to be proved wrong, but I reckon we're going to see some more hidings this year.

1 minute ago, OhMyDees said:

Can we please at least do a Hawthorn rebuild?

But that requires a change in coach ... ,🤔

8 minutes ago, TRIGON said:

That would help (a lot) however there were several instances today where the forwards had made good position but it got bombed in long anyway. To me that reeks  of a poorly drilled side.

When we did kick it to leading players, it was for the most part over their heads. It happened over and over again. 
 

We move the ball too slowly.

Our forward line always looks packed. Multiple players go for the same ball.
Or nobody goes for the ball?
We ignore leading players. 
Or we can’t consistently execute our kicks to leading players. 

Same conversation for years and years and I’m so sick of it, haha 

Forward line remains dysfunctional 

Back line was sketchy as... Today

A few on the periphery exposed as no good

Petty is just hopeless 

22 minutes ago, Beetle said:

Essendon absolutely rubbing their hands together with the pick coming their way based on todays performance.
 

They will also be happy that the media blowtorch will now be on us………and deservedly so. That performance today was unacceptable. 

Flat as a tack.

North might be better than we thought, but clearly we’re worse. Just a really strange performance where no one was any good. We get better when we get May and Kozz back, plus Windsor, but it clearly won’t fix today’s problems. Can’t kick it high into a stationary forward line for the 4th year running. 

Seasons not over, it’s only round 2. Coach isn’t getting sacked so don’t waste your time on that yet. But we need to lift and soon. Max needs to learn or accept playing with a second ruck. Wasted a year with Grundy but he needs help against the big boys. 

This year is already ugly. 0-3 kiss top 4 goodbye. 0-5 kiss finals good bye. Both are likely prospects.

There was absolutely no urgency and effort today. Contrast with the saints last night. That’s how I expect us to play every week. Haven’t looked like it for 3 years.

I knew we were [censored] today when in the 1st qtr JVR led and what should have been marked bounced off his chest.

1 minute ago, Standard Deviation said:

So in terms of how close to a flag we were, I'll agree that 2023 was better than 2022.  But I still see regression - 2022 we were heavily injury struck going into finals, and I still believe if we'd had a fit team we would've gone deeper than we did.

We both agree last year was terrible, so if we want to find some middle ground we can say we plateaued slightly 2022/3 then started the decline - and let me be clear I don't think it's a decline of the quality of our players, I think it's a decline in the quality of our tactics.  Last year our gameplan looked dated, and the first two games of this year have seen a lot of the old hammer it long to a contest.  The GWS game was played in ugly weather which meant this was much more effective, but under the roof in clear conditions I think is more representative.  I'd love to be proved wrong, but I reckon we're going to see some more hidings this year.

Quoting myself here, but in particular we're looking too much to Gawn.  If they have three players there to nullify him (and there was at least one occasion where we did kick to Gawn with three on him on the wing), where are the two free that creates?  Why not drill to punish teams for doing that?

Dees have regressed by plenty since '21. Who have we managed to attract in this time? Players looking to come to Vic or the MFC disregard us completely. Fitness and disposal skills are 2nd rate. Some players must consider themselves very lucky to be getting games. Based on this form we perhaps win 6-9 games in '25............maybe !!! Recruitment team are dismally way off the mark. "Change something" Demons. Aggression for the ball is absent. 

59 minutes ago, mandeelorian said:

Just a reminder that Essendon have our first pick in the draft …

Don’t worry, we will get back a first rounder or two when one or more of Pickett, Oliver and Petracca leave. 

Edited March 23Mar 23 by John Crow Batty

Very lack lustre , non spirited performance by the Dee’s, it was like Chandler and Clarry were the only ones out there.

Not sure about Harry Sharp , hasn't impressed me at all.

That second tier after , Clarry Viney and Trac , are just too inconsistent, guys like Sparrow and Rivers just aren’t standing up.

We really miss Kozzie, May and Windsor as they give us a bit of spark.

But to lose like that to North Melbourne is pathetic and very worrying.