waynewussell

Its unlikely that anyone will be dropped given the injury list. James Jordan had a solid game for Casey and is one to watch... may get a go if Lewis doesn't come up. Pruess -> IN, Kielty goes back, T Smith -> IN

6 Jones 5 Frost 4 Oliver 3 Melksham 2 Gawn 1 Salem

First up, an admission... I've never sworn at the TV screen more than I did yesterday... I reckon it is because we are such a frustrated mob in 2019... Second, yep, there were some terrible handling and disposal bloopers that players will not want to see replayed -> ever! Having said that, I thought the final minutes were fantastic! We refused to die! Hunt was great in those last 5 - 10 minutes... not just for the handball to Hore. He was one who seemed determined not to capitulate. The final thrust forward in the last 18 seconds was sensational... A surge toward victory that this club has rarely witnessed. To condemn those involved, and to complain about the chaotic nature of it, is to totally miss the point! These are exactly the moments that inject a steely resolve in the group going forward. Lets consider our opponents... GC have now played in five games that have been decided by less than a goal. Up until yesterday they had only lost one of these! They have wins over the Dockers and Carlton (two teams that look competitive after yesterdays events). They went down to WC in Perth by 23... We will be aiming to better that next week. It was slippery... it almost always is on a Gold Coast evening at this time of the year. Try handling a relatively new Sherrin after wiping it with a wet rag! And before you shoot me down on this... yes, I grew up in Brisbane and will be within 10 kilometers of Metricon this coming weekend... so I have some first hand experience! A note on Lockhart. He had 19 disposals, including 9 marks and 4 tackles. The radio station I was listening to post-game named him best Rookie in the match... Hasn't dropped away at all. Jones was very good for us in game 272. On that form he will be here in 2020, without any doubt. Wagner was good... I mention him because he cops so much! His willingness to put his body on the line is admirable. He holds his place as others go down! Ok, enough of the positivity! Brayshaw was weird! Often opted out of the contest, may have been worst offender with slippery ball. Led me to have a bet with my son that he was playing injured and would probably miss the WC game. We'll see! Billy was ordinary... takes too long to transfer ball from hands to foot... running a curve is becoming very predictable for oppo.

This 'incident' has spawned so much sanctimonious claptrap here and beyond! May made a mistake, poor choice, let his guard down. I'm not going to execute him, or even ridicule him. The club will take appropriate action... no need for me to moralise or cast stones. I reckon May will play some good footy for us when the time comes. When he does, the current 'incident' will not seem like a hanging offence!

People keep saying J Wagner is slow... if you watch the clip above of Oscar, Lewie and Wagner chasing O'Meara to the goal line you will notice that Wagner is the one who makes up considerable ground on O'Meara, leaving the others behind. Doesn't seem all that slow to me!

Jordan was impressive in JLT... of all the newbies he struck me as a good long term prospect... Saying that Petty is skinny shows your lack of knowledge!

Didn't think I would come up after Saints game but the Anzac game is bigger than football. Saw a lot to like in first quarter but then the anxiety kicked in and we stopped taking the game on. The amount of skill errors was dumbfounding. We remained rugged in the clinches and kept within striking distance until the final quarter. The thing that stood out was our lack of synergy... players are playing for themselves... no consistent link ups between mates... no chain of events. We get in each others way more than assist each other to gain a clear passage. I thought Max was excellent. Hibberd did a good job on Dusty. Melksham played out the four quarters. Salem maintained good form. Hore continues to be a good contributor down back. Smith was the only forward to stick a few good grabs... he chased hard as well. Weiderman needs a break at Casey. Hunt was all at sea. Jeff didn't give us much. I've never seen Fritsch mess up with his ball handling to that extent before today.

One thing we all agree with, we must change direction from here! I agree with a hell of a lot of what others have said, but are now contemplating what an immediate change of direction will look like. We are not likely to find relief from those exiting the injury list anytime soon, so I'm afraid we will be limited to those names that can still stand up. Here are my suggestions... I don't expect the match committee to be brave enough to try them... they remain bunkered down! Weideman to the backline in a direct swap forward with Fritsch Garlett in / Spargo out Billy in / C Wagner out Hunt to the wing T Smith in / J Wagner out Lewis plays back / Salem plays mid Jones goes back to inside mid / Brayshaw spends time at half-forward Petracca spends time in centre square Oliver instructed to kick 2/3, handball 1/3 Harmes plays mid/not tagging Dump the zoning and play 1 on 1 as soon as the oppo scores 4 unanswered goals... stay 1 0n 1 as long as it takes to right the ship!

6 Gawn 5 Jones 4 Hunt 3 Pruess 2 Oliver 1 Fritsch

6 Gawn 5 Brayshaw 4 Harmes 3 Hunt 2 Oliver 1 Lockhart

I don't care where we finish... although I'm sure we are going to break some hearts when we dispose of finals pretenders in the second half of the season! I look forward to the development of a game plan for the ages... and I look forward to the arrival of new contenders... Lockhart has three goals from 2 appearances (How many do Weids & T Mac have ?) I know we have a few players yet to appear in 2019 that will improve us considerably. I know we will unearth one or two in the weeks to come (Jordan and Bedford spring to mind). We still have an excellent core but we obviously played above ourselves in 2018. Those that thought Lewis was immediately replaceable should admit poor analysis of the list! Bernie Vince was retired too early! Those that crowed about Kent and Tyson not being AFL level are exposed for lack of judgement!

Best analysis so far! Congrats mate! This is informative and helpful!

I think the blindness comes from an expectation you have of the quintessential captain... Barassi etc... I'm not suggesting he has risen to those heights... not many have... but the blindness fails to acknowledge the unspectacular contribution. I would agree with criticism in round 1... but you need to watch the full replay and notice the improvement, the endeavour and the leadership before sinking the boot into our best player for the decade! He may be reaching the end, but it won't be on your terms! He is better than that!

Ok... ANB was better? Oscar was better? Frost was better? T Mac Was better... I could go on, but if you are going to correct me, make it a considered correction rather than blind support for the lynch mob!

There were several moments in this game where I sensed we were getting on top. Look what happened next... Dubious umpire decision... Max "blocked", Parish was held, Ooops, missed those two infringements when Bombers ran through the protected area! But we didn't miss them last week against the Cats!

You are spot on... but don't apologise for laying out for all to see... I will do an analysis of the decisions (and non-decisions) in this game to highlight how the umpires enabled the Bombers to win

Keyboard cowards announcing No 2's retirement... Was far from our worst tonight... 4 Qtr effort... Lets save the retirement talk for those that are seriously short of what we require right now... Frost, T Mc, Weids, O Mc, & ANB

Nothing but respect for Nev... the lack of umpire support for him is bordering on disrespect (I'm getting very close to using the "R" word!). Nev is a niggler... he even upsets his own team mates at training for his retarding tactics... but he is one of the best! However, if he is hit in the head from the front when about to take a well judged mark.... HE F*&*&*G DESERVES A F*^&^&G FREE!!!!

Stupid to blame Misson... Like blaming the bloke who was calling the countdown for Challenger for the disaster! TMac should go back to Casey... with Weids! Bring in T Smith and Kielty... yes, I'm prepared to wear further pain to punish under-performers. The Premiership is beyond us in 2019... We are only a week away from not being a final 8 contender. I can live with that! But I can not live with blokes who are being shown up as ordinary... getting games after demoralising losses... and I will not attend games where soft c&*%S still get rewarded with selection...

I have already acknowledged that Oscar and Frost were like witches hats... Others that disappoint are T McDonald, Weids, ANB, J Wagner... That's it... I thought all others contributed, and deserved to get 4 points

The season may be finished... but if I was an AFL coach I wouldn't mind going into a season with May, Jones, Salem, Harmes, Petracca, Viney, Lever, Brayshaw, Gawn, Oliver, Hibberd, Melksham, Hannon, Jetta, Fritsch, Garlett, Hunt, Lockhart on the list... Just have to add to it

I never once heard the commentators indicate that Melbourne received a fortunate free... I heard them question at least 8 frees to Bombers... Time to mobilise folks... bend over and take it or take action to expose this trend against us!

Look!!!! Anyone who thinks the criticism of the umpires is just scapegoat searching needs to do some simple, and documented research. The free kicks that were dubious (even to Wanka Carey!!!!) came whenever we looked like mounting a challenge... The umpires had an agenda!!! It is so @@####ing obvious!!! Do the re-watch folks... Stop searching for the players to blame and jot down the umpire number who made the decision! We have suffered from this for a long long time... and we will continue to suffer until the corruption (ok, if yo want to be kind... ineptitude, is exposed by data)

The umpires combined paralysis at paying Demon players hard earn protection = free kicks, should be exposed and researched as fondly as some so called journos spew up the Tanking headlines!!! (as if half the comp weren't doing same)

Yes, at this stage I am writing off 2019. I'm giving Goodwin and coaching group until 2020 round 1 to reorganise this clubs onfield performance