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Video should be up tomorrow but key takes: Team doesn’t work hard enough Only way to silence history is to perform Harshest critics are within the club Rich were 8-6 last year and flogged by STK, they changed and evolved. Need to buy in defensively In the review they’ve seen the damning footage that would’ve been shown on On The Couch. Game review was brutal this week Need to prove ourselves v Freo this week Never seen Goodwin react like he did, was angry, frustrated and brutal. Unfortunately on that show it’s all about Jack and Richmond, however what Jordan said was good to hear, a bit of tough love by the sound of it this week

Poor bloke. Nothing he said would be good enough for most, so I'm not surprised by the reaction. But he got asked the question and he answered it honestly. Can't ask much more than that.

I don't get why people who think words are meaningless etc pay attention to the footy press during the week. I don't necessarily disagree but if you're just gonna say "actions not words" etc you may as well just shut off outside gameday other than to get injury reports

It has now become theatre. A player wins the ball, gets tackled with no prior, is driven to the ground, is unable to release the ball due to the bodies piled on from the stack on the mill, an opposition player holds up one hand as evidence that he is tackling with the other, all the players (but not the umpires) understand that it is time for a whistle and a ball up as the ball is trapped. Instead, the umpires (who have no feel for the game and cannot read the players' understanding) watch and wait while the players are standing around so that they can, with a grand gesture of bending forward and spreading their arms, penalise the poor bugger at the bottom of the pack. Pure theatre and a pox on the game. When the ball is trapped between players the game should stop and restart. To those who believe that this approach would detract from the game, I urge you to attend an ammos game or watch replays from the 80s and 90s. The current practice of letting play go on until everyone has had a touch of the ball just so that a free kick can be plucked out is a disgrace and ruins the spectacle and the contest. Our game is so much better than this and deserves to be freed from this ugly period. J'accuse!

And still don't some don't get it. Blame the symptom and don't understand the cause. See the tip of the ice berg and not what is under the water. A back line of Rance, Scarlett, Hardeman, Silvagni, Jetta and McLeod would not stop us being scored on heavily when: opposition players are allowed rebound from their defensive half so quickly because of non existent forward half pressure (making it all but impossible for any mids etc to get back and block holes) we make horrendous turnovers at our half forward line and going inside 50 (hello Brayshaw x 3) which given we are sweeping forward allow the ball to ping back the other way, often straight up the corridor we make horrendous turnovers in our back half, gifting opposition goals - hello Lewis and TMac our players don't gut run to put pressure on opposition players, allowing them to tic tac up the ground and kick the ball into their inside 50 under no pressure whatsoever we employ the most aggressive forward press/zone in the league that to work requires a team NOT having the four issues above

Dec played on Cox a couple of years ago and dominated him (but that was before Cox was good) He definitely has been able to play well on the taller players. Im trying to stay out of all the talks of him being a possible inclusion because we think it’s a real possibility and I’m just hoping he gets the gig. My excitement is already building, I’m trying to keep a lid on it so I don’t get disappointed if they don’t play him but he really deserves a shot and I think is the clubs best choice to fill the Lever void right now.

Would need about 230 inside 50s.

Talk Talk Talk Yawn Yawn Yawn

when the 2nd and 3rd guy pile in on top of the pinned player it should definitely be in the back (or just a ball up) clubs know they can milk a free and just pile in. it's not a good look for the game and crowds hate the unfairness of it pulling the ball in when you are already on the ground is a totally different matter on this question of scrimmages the umpires just let it go too far and it gets pretty physical and dangerous. They should intervene much more quickly as they used to and just ball it up before it gets too heated and congested. common sense really and how the game used to be umpired

It's all on the midfielders and half forwards. The pressure applied once the ball turns over is non-existent. Around stoppages it is fine, but once it clears the contest it is too easy for opposition players to get it inside forward 50. Collingwood game and last Sunday were perfect examples. Not enough pace or gut running in the midfield.

Agreed. It’s been obvious for a while. Watch the Tigers (live) and you will see the constant run and second efforts. All Dees need to lift. All. Well except Maxy

I think people might be overestimating the motivating powers of ‘pain’ and ‘hurt’. Look to Adelaide this season to see how a hurt club performs... then cast your mind back to Geelong, Hawthorn, Bulldogs and Tigers and recall that they they were motivated by positivity and unity in their successful years.

A lot of people complaining about talk on a talk-show...

Sounds like he ticked off the talking points from the media department at 100% efficiency.

Heard it all before, the team was meant to be hurting from last year...... A hurting team would have buried Geelong, Port and the Saints.

I'd like to see the club put as much effort into pressing the right buttons to get the magic out of Jeff as they do with their box-ticking at VFL level. We've all seen him hot and cold and getting back in the team in the past hasn't been on the back of VFL form. He's also switched from being hot and cold and vice versa in the space of a game. I'd rather see him crumbing than ANB any day of the week. I'd also hate to see him lost to the habits/behaviours/journeys/narrative pulava. Whilst acknowledging my bias towards having him in the team and hoping there aren't other reasons for his omissions, I see so many occasions where he'd make something of nothing in our (occasionally dysfunctional) forward line.

I think Milkshake has been let off lightly on this forum. I think he has been imbibing the bath water since that article labelling him the best forward in the comp. His form slump has been a significant contributor to our recent woes.

Worst call I've seen. Lewis has supreme kicking and hand skills and sets us up. He is not the problem.

Agree 100%. We have been a terrible kicking side for at least a decade, more really. its killing us. No matter what style of footy is in vogue there will ALWAYS be a premium on kicking skills. It is the key reason i questioned trading Watts (not wanting to open up that argument btw - i fully understand the decision, particularly given Fritsch is just about our best kick) Look at the last quarter of the Cats and saints games. Turning the ball over costs us both games. Both games drove me spare. People remember the turnovers that result in opposition goals but the ones that break scoring chains are equally damaging and often go unremarked. But it not just the turnovers. My pet hate is players who don't have the basic footy skill of weighting or direct the ball properly to maximize a forwards chances of marking the footy. it is a key reason why we have so many fruitless inside 50 entries. Ok we kick the ball long to packs as a system but how many times on Sunday (every week really) was the ball put on top of forwards heads rather that out in front allowing them to jump forward. Hopeless

Agree Bin and that is why I have been banging on on DL for the last few years, to get rid of our ball butchers, as they start most of our troubles. We have recruited the hard body contested players , just about totally at the expense of some skillful and quick players, who can also apply defensive pressure.

Every single poster here is 100% right. Everyone is calling for team balance. This includes a small crumber or two (Kent, Garlett, Spargo?) and a hard running mid to help with the spread from stoppages (Stretch?). Nobody claims these players themselves are the answer or saviors , but that they will help get the balance right and give us what weve been lacking the last few weeks. So if the match committee can not see the obvious this Thursday night, that every supporter can see, and we end up losing to Freo.... it might be pitchfork time.

It’s easy in such a loss to forget how immense Maxxy was - one of the most complete games I’ve seen from a ruckman in my nearly 60 years of watching footy. I also love watching Fritsch - the silkiest player we have had since dear old Tulip.

I feel relieved in a way that Goody got angry, I think he’s been giving them a bit of free reign, I reckon they’ll definitely defend this week! Also good pickup in his presser on Sunday, as he said with a smile, we’ll see some changes defensively. What’s Freo paying to score under 50?! ? But yes talk is cheap, we want results, I’m now excited for the first time this week for this weekends game. Am I drinking the clubs bath water, again?

Finals since 2015 - 24, 20, 34, 35, 34 and 25 touches. Seems to find it alright.

I ran a half marathon in Darwin then re-hydrated on tequila shots afterwards. Backed it up the following weekend doing a biathlon and a pub crawl after. What’s wrong with the kids of today?

Wonder if he had a flutter on a Saints win?

Of course we do so long as we kick the 36.

They are developing Baker. They are doing it the right way for a first year player. They are developing him in the reserves until such time as he demands to be picked on a regular basis. That's development. For me, I'm preferring a bloke that's played 300+ games and 4 premierships, at this stage of our (the Club's) development. Sure, he has lost a yard of pace, but I can tolerate that if he's adding value in other areas. When that consistently drops off, then we reassess where our development is at, and either move Jordan on and replace him with someone that's got a similar resume (but 2-3 years younger), or if have developed further as a club, THEN we can look at adding the finishing touches to a Baker, et al.

One of the few players who consistently covers a lot of ground with his two way running. He actually was very poor this weekend, so may actually get dropped, but generally he is one of the hardest game day runners, so he fits into the defensive mindset we are trying to get to. I wish his skills matched his endeavour.

With Oscar, a returning Lever, a developing Petty, Frost and Keilty and the shorter pinch hitting Smith, we are ok for key backs.

You have to feel for Japan. What a comeback by Belgium. With seconds remaining and Japan having a corner, they left themselves vulnerable at the back. I realise they wanted to win the game but to leave themselves exposed to a 5 on 3 counter attack starting from the Belgian keeper is a little perplexing. Brazil too clinical for Mexico. What a tournament!!

We can score better than anyone in the league, when we are playing teams that aren't strong and disciplined defensively. Unfortunately for the last 3 weeks, we haven't played such teams. What's even more frustrating is that it's not the most difficult of instruction for an opposition coach (push back to D50, block holes/space, and wait for the ball to come to you), hence why the likes of St Kilda were able to beat us. It's frustrating at the moment because we are giving them 2 loose players in our 50 to start the congestion. I haven't been to a game for a little while, so haven't seen how we set up. We could/could we possibly; - push the wings up (instead of the HFF) to come off HB/back of the square, and the HFF come off the wings. Push all forwards back to the goal square, and stay there until the clearance is won (one way or the other). Have the HFF start working toward our 40-50m range, so that if we win the centre clearance, they have a big space to lead in to, but if we lost the clearance, we've already got more even numbers in the middle. - push all forwards (except for one of TMc or Jesse) to start 50m out, creating a big space for our key forward to own. Neither of the above may work - I'm not an AFL coach! I do coach basketball though, and the best way to beat a strong defensive team is to maintain possession, and keep flicking the ball around the 3 point line, until one of the defenders loses their structure, then you attack hard. Maybe we need to slow down, and play more possession footy around the 50-70m range, go from one side of the ground to the other. Will test our skill levels, but might just get the defenders moving out of position and creating space.

If the coaching staff are waiting for Jeffy to tear a VFL game apart on those wind swept, pocket sized grounds then they may as well move him on. Jeffy is a class player who warrants a good defender. Really can’t see what you lose by playing him.

"St Kilda gave them a lesson in work rate." We haven't played finals in 12 seasons. We couldn't lay a tackle in the first 10 minutes of the club's most important game in a decade. Record membership. Record attendance. We are being taken for a ride, folks.

Where does Craig Jennings sit in this? Supposedly he's the guru breaking down opposition gameplans. Chaplin? Richmond have a ball movement coach (Caracella). Maybe we need to start adapting our coaching panel to the modern game ie not line coaches but situational coaches.

Ironically one of my favourite Italian dishes is leek pappardelle, you know, like our leeky, sieve-like defense ahahaha.

Agree 100% with Roos Frost was brought in to play on big agile forwards and WOULD have proved vital v Cox v Dixon v Membrey. Too late now. Frost must be played for next 8 games. If his not up to it, then wave goodbye. I think he has the goods. Garlett needs to play AFL. He is not interested in VFL. Again play him or delist him at year end. He has averaged 10 disposals, 3 tackles, and 2 goals a game for the past 4 years. That is what small forwards do. And he provides the pace and crumbing we need.

I know you think it would be some sort of important statement but not only is there no chance at all that we will trade our captain, it would also be a shocking move. Trading out one of the few players who bleeds for this club, with the positive media he brings (look at how the media/public reacted to his 250th), would break both the players' spirits and create unnecessary tension, pressure and negativity around the club. We can, and should, internally challenge Jones to improve his game. Some have suggested a move to the half-back flank and that might be the right call. But trading him is just complete nonsense. I agree with the bolded line, but my concern is that we're not willing and/or not able to fix the problem. It's been evident since the start of last year but in particular manifested grossly against Geelong in Round 1. 14 weeks later and we haven't made any improvements in that area. Good post. I think a small example of the problem you've identified is the continued sight we see of too many Melbourne players going to the ball carrier and opposition players sitting off the contest waiting for the handball receive. I think if we encourage the players to be slightly less concerned with getting to the ball carrier and tackling, and more concerned with watching running patterns through our zone, we'll slow down the transition against us. The other thing we need to do is work on improving how we move the ball going forward. We're A-grade at getting the ball but at the moment the way we're trying to move it from the middle to the goals is pretty poor. IMO it starts with how we set up forward of the ball. I think all 5-6 of our forwards start at bounces too high up the ground, meaning our kicks routinely are to their heads or to a pack, and there's no one leading up at the kicker. We have Hogan and TMac in our side, two forwards who excel at leading up and taking contested marks. I'd like to see us start at the centre bounce with one of them in the goal square. If we win the clearance, and we need a quick release kick inside, one of them is then able to lead up to the ball. We also need to continue to work on our mids/half-forwards lowering their eyes, and I think we need one or two small forwards to put extra pressure on the opposition when they are trying to run through our zone coming out.