von

Nailed it

I much prefer the minimalist approach to the match experience. I don’t want noise and things to look at shoved down my throat at every opportunity. It’s nice to sit quietly in between quarters etc.

Yes I do believe that, with all things being equal. But they weren’t equal this year. We got injured. Doesn’t disprove anything. Just that there are multiple things to look at, which no one disputed. This was never a one or the other conversation, it was an as well as. Do you think we would try and be at less than peak fitness come finals? Remember Chris Scott’s comments regarding training loads this year? He would rather miss finals trying to peak at the right time than come in with no hope. I do enjoy your insistence on getting revenge on those who thought the idea had merit though. I hope thinking you are right and I was wrong brings you the comfort you need this off season. Go dees. I look forward to more constructive conversations next season.

Given the extra two weeks we should nail our training loads next year.

We played in a semi and everyone’s [censored] off (I am not). That’s a great place to be. We were in every game and had leads in all losses except one. I will continue to argue that injuries killed us in game during our losses and hampered our fitness come the finals. you can manage a team to perfection but if they get injured it’s game over. Teams don’t use the excuse, but we are fans, not the team, and I’m using it. I don’t have to manage the players psychology/expectations etc. Our core is the elite of the elite. We were probably a Tom McDonald away from finishing first again. We have probably started to implement things in game that we will see the benefit of next year. It sounds like we will have some amount of new talent come through which is exciting. Our draw won’t be as hard next year and I’ll get to watch the [censored] fall out of Collingwood after their stupid run this year. Damn the torpedoes, bring on ‘23.

We tried lots of players. They weren’t better

Untenable? Struth

Injuries don’t really factor into prep if they aren’t soft tissue. You can just have bad luck. The difference between a good run and a bad run may be our last two years.

Agreed but I think injury has played a big part too. Can’t see how fitness falls away so badly without injury playing a part.

There can be only one answer surely. Fitness. What went wrong in that regard we may find out in time. I suspect injuries killed us. First quarter last night we looked great. Our running patterns were great in the forward half. We were proactive and lowering the eyes. Brisbane didn’t come up with the answer miraculously after 9 quarters of us belting them this year. It was obvious at the ground we had nothing in the tank in the second half

Mate, chill the [censored] out. I watch all the games and replays of the games. We looked in trouble at the end of the 2nd and we barely won a contest after that. We are obviously hobbling over the line. Soon we will find the extent of the injuries. Loading isn’t a theory but we’ll done for getting personal. Classy stuff.

I’ve not seen us looked that gassed before. We had nothing left to give.

given our second halves and the limping going on out there I think we need to be further ahead.

Brisbane look like they are prepping for Monday. No presence early. Found something in the last 5 minutes.

Injuries are the #1 factor for how well you can go throughout the year. If last year was our ceiling(for arguments sake), with the same list, how could we expect to be better this year given the difference in injuries to key personnel. We weren’t banged up this time last year. We had an incredible run. We all know the injuries we’ve had. Our continuity this year has been poor. Our stars bar Oliver have struggled to get going. How can you refuse to use injuries as a reason for why we aren’t where we were last year? It’s not the sole reason but it’s a big one. You could also say dysfunctional forward line for example, but who’s missing? Tom Mac. Why? Injuries. A few percent off this time of year can be everything. We don’t have endless depth.

Revisionist it could be argued that the pro loading community were the ones crying out for a more nuanced look at the game and our form etc. those who were allergic to it just preferred the channel 7/fox footy talking points that are overly simplistic and lack context.

I wonder whether the club sees it as flirting with form. You have to go in with a plan. The best laid plans often go astray. The plan worked last year. It’s true in life and in sport, sometimes you have to deal with unforeseen circumstances. It’s possible trying to change the plan on the run mid season would end up being worse, I’m not sure. A fitness plan would surely be set and then adhered to as best as possible. No team can cover injuries to players beyond a point whether it be quantity or key players. I saw the season as dealing with what we had as best we could. We ended up second and look like finishing top 4 in a very competitive season.

There are good excuses. We are banged up currently. We have been banged up for large parts of the year. Injuries interrupt a teams ability to work toward collective fitness levels due to interruptions to the individualised programs throughout the season which means as a group we just aren’t as fit as last year. We just haven’t had the chance to build throughout the year the same way we did last year. This affects form, fitness, psychology. All kinds of stuff. There are so many factors to consider, to just say we aren’t as fit as last year, someone must be to blame is unfair. Pressure and fitness are as linked as anything could be in the game of football, it seems obvious that pressure goes down with fitness going down.

They were, you’re right, and without the three 50s it was a four point game. Point is even though we look miles off and they smashed us, we’re really close.

It was a 4 point game without the gifts.

So because you want more flags anything less says the club is inept? Disregard all the other good clubs who also want flags and how difficult it is. How you need form, injuries etc to all go your way in periods when your list is in the right position. Geelong only won every second year in their dynasty, Richmond lost one in amongst theirs. Great sides. This league is hard. We’ve had issues this year and we are still contending. Calm down and enjoy having a side filled with stars. It’s not all about flags it’s about the journey your club takes you on. This journey is a great one. And it’s for years to go.

These people have short memories and or know nothing about football. Good on them.

It would be fitting to see the pies lose both of their finals by a goal and get bundled out in straight sets. Come on footy gods.

In game injuries and injuries generally have a strong correlation with our losses and form. It has effected our ability to have continuity and build throughout the season. This effects our ability to prepare to our potential and has made it harder to hit the peaks we did last year. We have the players and our game plan generally stacks up, as boring as many consider it to be. Some teams have come up to a higher level and put more time into our game plan etc but we haven’t had the chance to build our year the same way we did last year. We will without question look to improve and change where needed in the off season. A better functioning forward line pretty much solves everything. Injuries dictate your ability to succeed like only a few other metrics. When you have a list like ours it’s the defining metric in many ways. So I don’t believe loading was an unreasonable talking point throughout the year. Looking to win this conversation seems to mean you misunderstood it to begin with.

With the injury news coming out this morning it makes a bit more sense why we didn’t have the drive/energy you expect in a big game. Not surprised that injuries could finally put an end to this season. It’s just been a bit like that this year. Haven’t been able to get going because of it. List health is the most important stat in football after all.