Y’all think you had it bad yesterday? I went into an eatery at the airport after the match and there was a bunch of Essendon players there. Yep, just me and the boys 🙄 But the worst part? They were so nice; Parish, Duursma and Sam Durham in particular.

They made it hard for me to hate Essendon.

It was short-lived of course. I was seated next to two Essendon fans on the plane and before it even started taxiing the hate came flooding back at the speed of light.

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by Ghostwriter

4 hours ago, RedBlueandTrue said:

This is exactly the type of hiccup that happens with younger teams and doesn't change my perspective on where we're likely at - middle bracket team who will compete on the edge of finals but will still lose to teams of lesser form and will occassionally be completely blown away when another side really clicks on the day and we don't.

At least someone gets it.

3 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

Y’all think you had it bad yesterday? I went into an eatery at the airport after the match and there was a bunch of Essendon players there. Yep, just me and the boys 🙄 But the worst part? They were so nice; Parish, Duursma and Sam Durham in particular.

They made it hard for me to hate Essendon.

It was short-lived of course. I was seated next to two Essendon fans on the plane and before it even started taxiing the hate came flooding back at the speed of light.

Spoken to any of our team since the loss? They got any insight on what happened or anything?

I’m still cut by the loss. I don’t think the bombers are bad, I thought we would bring some heat though and I’m super disappointed. We are better than that.

Just now, GawnOfTheDead said:

Spoken to any of our team since the loss? They got any insight on what happened or anything?

I’m still cut by the loss. I don’t think the bombers are bad, I thought we would bring some heat though and I’m super disappointed. We are better than that.

I spoke with some of our boys at the airport. But the very last thing I’d talk about is what happened in a loss like that. If ever I did, it’d be the last time I’d be welcome to join them, and rightly so.

Salo was the only one and that was because he brought it up. And even then there were no insights, just obvious disappointment and frustration. He was straggling behind the others with a very prominent limp and was a sad sight. He must’ve needed to vent a little.

2 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

I spoke with some of our boys at the airport. But the very last thing I’d talk about is what happened in a loss like that. If ever I did, it’d be the last time I’d be welcome to join them, and rightly so.

Salo was the only one and that was because he brought it up. And even then there were no insights, just obvious disappointment and frustration. He was straggling behind the others with a very prominent limp and was a sad sight. He must’ve needed to vent a little.

Yep, totally fair.

I doubt anyone walked away happy, which is good though.

Can’t forget the loss, got to use it as fuel not to let it happen again.

He looked sore, hopefully nothing too serious but it looked like bone. Probably won’t know for a few days.

Our defence needs some new nlood

3 hours ago, Demon_spurs said:

I had a feeling of doom yesterday when I saw them running out in that awful jumper. Just felt really wrong

Can we add this jumper to the 'pajamas' ...

Never play in again.... hideous thing.

4 hours ago, Dee Vinci said:

We showed the odd glimpse of good footy but for very much of the game it was like one v wooden Spooner's.

Our first quarter was horrendous and a very good team would have sealed it there and then.

Occasional moments of fightback that actually kept us in it but ultimately we kept reverting to our first quarter form.

It was embarrassing and hard to watch.

Like a car crash one didn't want to see it but hard to look away.

The fumbling and things like just kicking it straight to the opposition was horrendous and strange. The high handballs that just kept causing turnovers...my goodness.

How can a team play like we have been suddenly deteriorate so fast?

I felt sorry for Jake in his 250 th to get injured so early which probably impacted his whole game. Probably should have subbed him off.

I was so looking fwd to seeing he and Fritta both firing in our fwd line but they did zippo.

But in truth these two for the last few years are both either on or off. Four goals or none. Both of them.

None of our fwds did well.

Jvr probably needs to go into the twos not just for form but discipline as well. How is Jeffo going,?

This is the first time I've really called him out but mainly because of his opening salvo of six goals one. Wow. Then hey presto nothing to see here for the next four games . He's now averaging maybe 1.3 goals a game.

I genuinely thought he'd finally turned it all around. Still time but he'd want to get going asap.

Max was one of our best but he only took one mark for the entire game which is very unusual for him.

They must have been fatigued because a lot of their choices seemed to be affected by mental fog of sorts and the number of clangers was very noticeable.

Maybe we have played our absolute best to come from behind in previous games and worn ourselves out?maybe a rest during the week would have helped.

I don't know but that wasn't the same team that turned up in all our other games and I hope we never see it again.

The fwd line was a worry again with Petty having to go there . I'll keep saying it....now for King's sake...He's not a fwd.

Took a few good marks but is a terrible set shot. Didn't score a goal. Which is their main job description and ultimately the limits test for a good forward. Yea they have other things they can do but ultimately a good forward has a decent number of goals kicked. At least 1.5 pregame minimim.

Petty.msnshed under one per game in his almost three years there

Next week will be interesting. Will probably win because the media has not built us up.

It often seems we get ahead of ourselves and believe all the good stuff to the point of not taking it seriously and playing like we did.

Maybe it's a case of overconfidence?

But for so many of the players to fumble....miss targets...turnovers.... hospital handballs, I'd love to know why this all happened.

This should have been a comfortable win but maybe that thinking was the actual problem?

Can someone please explain to the best of their ability in point form , the reasons we lost and why we were so error riddled without much pressure?

I'd really, really like to understand and would appreciate it greatly.

Thanks.

Thanks for the endorsement old denon fan

Maybe your moniker actually is tailor made and like me cop the occasional shrapnel for being negative.

I know you accept that your rightly disappointed like myself.

I've seen one flag ( and it was glorious)in my sixty years. Ok I can't recall my first odf six but it's hard not to get negative after all this time.

it's like driving an upmarket Mercedes benz and going back to an old Mitsubishi 380. You now know what your missing each year.

I want answers. ......serious concrete ones to this weekend's tripe.

I'm not expecting to be top four but I suddenly after last week had hope of finals.

Now....not so.

Just what went wrong.

it's like we stopped ofg for a few tastings.

No seriously....it was night and day and I'm really confused.

just hoping someone gives me a non emotive point form analysis of our game and why if possible.

Much obliged.

cheers.

1 hour ago, BDA said:

you're like my wife. Telling me what i think.

don;t be such a pompous [censored]

Bet you don’t say that to her 😂

3 hours ago, Roost it far said:

I was sure we moved on from these losses. They looked flat from the beginning and once Essendon had a sniff it was all over. Move on fast, rest anyone who needs it and bat up again next week. Big test at the G, the crowd just shrank by 7500 though.

The thing is it looks obvious from the stands - low pressure, missed tackles, allowing huge numbers of uncontested marks etc

King I guess is learning about who and what he can rely on to stop these flows and reset mid-game. Leaders should be there to do that but it seems we are still lacking in that dept.

50 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Can we add this jumper to the 'pajamas' ...

Never play in again.... hideous thing.

Yes

21 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

The thing is it looks obvious from the stands - low pressure, missed tackles, allowing huge numbers of uncontested marks etc

King I guess is learning about who and what he can rely on to stop these flows and reset mid-game. Leaders should be there to do that but it seems we are still lacking in that dept.

Then you see Geelong beat WC in 2nd gear and that’s where we need to get 2. Even flat we got 19 points up and just needed to put the foot down and kick a couple more and we likely would have had them. Not to be. It’s hardly throw out the toys time.

We're going to get these kind of losses this year against some potential bottom five clubs.

We are regenerating on the run in terms of new game plan and transition of a team trying to build cohesion.

You're bound to get inconsistencies all year round.

Review it hard and move on to the next challenge.

4 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Nah got no clue.

Bombers were on, we were not. I think it could be that simple.

I also think our coaches were out coached.

You have both the coaches and players being outplayed and you’re doomed.

So perplexing after last week, I guess consistency is key.

I remember when we played the Swans at the MCG , when Roos was coaching the Swans.

Swans were a very good team- we weren’t.

We won.

We lead all game

What was Roos explanation at the presser?

One team came out to play. And the other one didn’t.

Next week, we come out to play.

3 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Yep, totally fair.

I doubt anyone walked away happy, which is good though.

Can’t forget the loss, got to use it as fuel not to let it happen again.

He looked sore, hopefully nothing too serious but it looked like bone. Probably won’t know for a few days.

Also, last week vs the Suns, folks might’ve noticed Sharpie was wearing a black armband (he was the only one wearing one) which he kissed after kicking a goal and then pointed to the sky. His Pop passed away a couple of days before that game and they were very close. Last night he was still sad about it, understandably. It’s a reminder that these boys are human.

4 hours ago, DemonOX said:

Would we look at moving L Picket to defence as a small defensive back man who has speed and can pressure when needed. Admit he is still learning the game and slight in stature but could be worth a look. Would be a Nev Jetta type.

No chance mate.

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

We're going to get these kind of losses this year against some potential bottom five clubs.

We are regenerating on the run in terms of new game plan and transition of a team trying to build cohesion.

You're bound to get inconsistencies all year round.

Review it hard and move on to the next challenge.

I said this after the Freo game - we are not a good team.

And when the league is even enough for us to beat anyone on a sunny arvo at the G, it is certainly even enough for us to lose to anyone anywhere.

8 minutes ago, RedLegs23 said:

No chance mate.

Andy Moniz-Wakefield perhaps but Trellie will be an exciting forward and possibly a mid later on.

5 hours ago, DemonOX said:

Would we look at moving L Picket to defence as a small defensive back man who has speed and can pressure when needed. Admit he is still learning the game and slight in stature but could be worth a look. Would be a Nev Jetta type.

Terrible take, sorry. Would go against every reason we drafted him

1 hour ago, DeeZone said:

Andy Moniz-Wakefield perhaps but Trellie will be an exciting forward and possibly a mid later on.

Correctomundo !!

If you assume that Richmond, Essendon, West Coast, Carlton, Port Adelaide and North Melbourne are all going to be bottom 6-ish sides, then through the first 5 weeks, we are the only club. to have lost a game to those 6 clubs, other than those 6 clubs themselves.

5 hours ago, bing181 said:

You did not expect inconsistency at all.

Apart from the hyperbole ("likely wooden spooner" ...), inconsistency means EXACTLY what you saw yesterday. Wild swings in performance, across and within games. An inconsistent team is one that might look dominant one match or quarter and underwhelming the next, might beat a ladder-leader one week but then lose to a cellar-dweller.

What you expected was in fact the reverse, consistency, where we'd more or less perform to a similar level every time we ran out onto the park.

If you hate losing fine, but don't kid yourself about "expecting inconsistency".

You are so unbelievably sanctimonious, but you're also hypocritical.

So we're all supposed to expect losses, however bad, to however bad of an opponent, and we're all supposed to expect inconsistency, no matter how wildly good or bad it is.

And yet your first post on this postgame thread was:

On 11/04/2026 at 16:15, bing181 said:

The kind of performance most pundits predicted for us at the start of the season.

Hopefully an aberration, but doesn't augur well. And hate to say it but Essendon's young players looked a lot better than our young players.

"Doesn't augur well"? I thought we were supposed to expect inconsistency?

And then saying you "hate to say it" but Essendon's kids looked better than ours? The same kids who looked awful when they were 0-4, whilst ours helped us beat Gold Coast (plus St Kilda and Carlton)?

You're so quick to insult anyone who is disappointed by the result and yet after one bad game from our kids, and one good game from some of Essendon's, you're now arguing that their kids are better than ours?

6 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

If you assume that Richmond, Essendon, West Coast, Carlton, Port Adelaide and North Melbourne are all going to be bottom 6-ish sides, then through the first 5 weeks, we are the only club. to have lost a game to those 6 clubs, other than those 6 clubs themselves.

Sorry I’m just trying to understand your post, so we’re the first team outside of those teams beating/losing to each other, to lose to them?

Just now, BoBo said:

Sorry I’m just trying to understand your post, so we’re the first team outside of those teams beating/losing to each other, to lose to them?

Yes.

Break the competition up into those 6 clubs and the other 12 clubs.

Those 6 clubs are 1-13 against the other 12 clubs.

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

Yes.

Break the competition up into those 6 clubs and the other 12 clubs.

Those 6 clubs are 1-13 against the other 12 clubs.

Ok yep gotcha, thank you.

I mean I guess we’re unique at least, haha