waynewussell

Who will lead us out of the darkness? I think it will be the younger group! They will then inspire the older group and lift them up to their former heights. McVee will return and add speed, athleticism and good disposal to the backline. Windsor will benefit from the run and run and run! Jefferson will return to the spot he won in round one. He will surprise everyone by kicking two or three a game! Tholstrup will be that cheeky, annoying half forward with confidence in his own abilities. Lindsay will resume being our 'find' of the year! Fullarton will prove a handy cameo player. Culley will improve our mid-field with strength on the inside, pressure acts and good disposal! Sestan will get a run and surprise everyone with his laser kicking skills! Langford will continue on his merry way! The biggest surprise of all... Verrall will step up to the plate with impressive disposal and ball handling skills to go with effective ruck work! It is written!

Selected next week on ‘effort’ May Salem Petracca Gawn Oliver Bowey McDonald Fritsch Pickett This is not to say they were successful, just that their attempt to compete and drive the team forward was consistent and recognizable

I now agree with those who suggested that the 2x straight sets exodus from the finals has had a psychological effect. This team are playing scared. Scared that if they make the finals they will lose again. Scared and scarred! I want to see the fumbling, bumbling blokes dropped. If a player misses a shot on goal that came at a crucial time, immediate ‘bench’.

The football equivalent to saying, “They’re eating the dogs!”

It’s not about expecting Jefferson to fix everything, it’s about giving him a chance to take two or three marks inside 50, because that alone would be a major improvement on what we are seeing. I’d give him the chance!

The effort was ok for three quarters, but then the fragile nature of our method was exposed. Belief is low. Execution is disgustingly, Cohesion is ugly at times. I don’t care what position on the ladder we occupy. I care about performing up to the standard we set ourselves. If we are having fourth quarter fade outs… fix it!

So many players faded out! JVR & Petty must go back to Casey. Rivers is close to the same! That means Jefferson and Adams come in. Turner was just ok. Fritsch slightly improved. I agree about Sharp, not getting enough of it, Lindsay comes back for him. Chandler giving his all. What else can we do about forward line? Well, at least McDonald can still take a mark! What else can we do about midfield? Max is hitting it indiscriminately, getting picked of 50% of the time. What happened to the deft palms? Time to give Tom Campbell a look in. It doesn’t matter if we are somehow slower (we can’t get much slower) We just need an honest contest in the centre square, Tom will give that. I wouldn’t drop Max… just use him forward more (we need a different look up forward)and let him refresh on the bench. I know Petracca hit the scoreboard, but he needs to play 80% of his time on the ball. He is one who still has explosive speed and body strength, Lever and McVee come back to improve the backline.

Sparrow is shadowing Holmes, how many has he got?

I share the frustration of late goals!!!! JVR is now better in the ruck than as a MARKING forward a few clever contributions by Melksham Turner, hold that mark!

I have my favourites too, they tend to be players that consistently get 30+ possessions, win B&F's, Norm Smiths, Coaches Awards and Premierships!

Kynan's issue is poor disposal. If he fixes that, he's in!

Bowey Langdon Langford Sharp Chandler Oliver

I agree with those who have criticized our flat-footed, chip-it-around tactic. In pre-season training, the emphasis was on short kicks and changing angles coming out of defence, but at SPEED! There was lots of movement to provide the ball carrier with options. Everyone was moving! This is not what we are seeing on game day! To put it simply, the players aren't executing the plan.

Very good games tonight by Harmes and Baker (until injured).

6. Chandler 5. Oliver 4. Lindsay 3. Salem 2. Bowey 1. Henderson

It can turn around quickly! In round 1 PA lost by 91, in round 2 they won by 72 In round 1 Geelong won by 78, in round 2 they lost by 7 to St Kilda (who lost by 63 in round 1) In round 1 WC lost by 87, in round 2 they lost by three goals to the Premiers away from home!

It's not often that we are as uncompetitive as we were in the second half. A lot of what happened can be fixed. We were definitely tired from last week's slog. That's no excuse for bad play, but it was a factor. need to freshen up in a hurry.

Obviously haven't recovered from hard slog in wet last week. We had to play Campbell on the bench with Max struggling! Worst games I've seen in a long, long time from Max, Langdon, Viney (he tried), McDonald & Fritsch

Lindsay was good Oliver can hold his head up Chandler's best game for a long time Struggling after that!

Two 'lucky' goals was it? Watch the game! First was a clever & clean roving the contest action, topped off by a lovely snap on the run. Second was a set shot into the wind with a greasy ball when others found it impossible to score a goal at that end. This second goal came at an extremely important time for us to maintain ascendancy. He also created a goal-square, off the turf goal when he cleverly kept the ball in on the Southern Stand pocket, swung the ball one-handed past the opposition, then quickly sent it to the goal mouth. He had other moments that were classy and effective as well. A pleasant surprise in those conditions!

I said this at the game! Our most senior umpire gets sucked in to the 'second ' free, when Petty seems to pull his opponents arm down at the end of the contest!

6. Petracca 5. Gawn 4. Salem 3. Lever 2. Lindsay 1. Bowey

Not a driving tackle, a falling tackle! Most impact on opponents shoulder which hit the ground, then Brown milked the free by kissing the turf and holding his head like he was in Dealey Plaza in 1963!

2029

Colourful language, Macca: "dysfunctional", "lumbering giants". I suppose GWS had "perfect pitch", and "nimble principals" before "crushing" us by three points on the back of "superior intelligence" and "immaculate conceptions"!