Previously known as LITD.

It wouldn't have been that hard to lay some heavy tackles on Maynard. We need to go back to basics and play hard contested footy. This bruise free football doesn't fly in the face of clubs like Cwood who are willing to put their body on the lines. Ironically it was Maynard doing the bumping and hard tackles. If this was our fightback response, I'd hate to see anything else. It's one thing on the day it happened not to remonstrate but the next game he not only gets off scott free, his hand is shaken. Not only did we get well beaten and display a litany of poor skills, poor execution, lazy and undisciplined football, we also revealed how soft we are. Surely we could have been much more aggressive and harder at the contests. We had ten players with 1 or zero tackles for the entire game. This in a game we went out of our way in the media to let everyone know that a response would be made. Enough with the big talking please. We didn't respond at all. We were well and truly beaten. Beaten in one of the most the most basic elements of the game.....tackling. When a player is down in form or skills, tackling is one area of the game they can use to show or do that they are making an effort. If they are late to the contest, one can at least lay tackles. If your struggling for a possession, you can always run, chase and tackle an opponent. It's the basic footy block to will oneself into having some sort of impact in a game. But to have a statistic like the ten players with one or zero tackles, shows that many players weren't trying to impact the game as best they could. Tackles create pressure. They make the recipients of them rush their disposal. They cause skill errors and if done properly and often enough, make players nervous. They can hurt too. They should. Not in a malicious way but enough to make a player not want to be tackled again. We claimed we would respond to the huge Freo loss. We didn't. As far as I'm concerned we failed in the most basic endeavor. We lost the tackle count. A part of the game that is entirely in our control. Some of our tackles were very good but many of them were well beaten. So it's one thing to lose the tackle count but I feel we also lost the "tackle effectiveness" count as well. To talk the team up all week about responding to our Freo last loss is all well and good. But to then come out and display a big lack of physicality like we did is a big concern. Perhaps the directive was to not get distracted by the Maynard event and play the ball and not the man. There's some reason to this. The problem is, I thought we were really soft against Freo. I don't think we tackled well. We may have tackled more but I don't think they created enough pressure on Freo players. Tackles were often broken. So I really felt the best response would be to come out against Cwood being much harder in the contest. And the most fundamental thing of all ...to lay harder tackles that would not get broken.To rush them at every opportunity and force skill errors. In short I was hopen for more aggression everywhere. Not blind wonton biffo. But hard hitting legal bumps and tackles that create fear and panic. Relentless tackling at every turn. Turned out it was the pies applying the pressure and us turning the ball over. Maynard would have been a good place to start. I mean surely we had the motivation to. Some hard tackles on him and then on all his mates as well. To show that we are a team that cares if a mate had his vocation taken from him. Rather than be distracted by the whole Maynard thing it could have been a thing to galvanize, inspire and propel. Just like an individual down in form, tackling is a great part of a team's game plan when it's down in form . It's the basic element of a team's weaponry that it can employ to lift it's performance. We may not have won with some more tackling pressure but we could at least say we gave it our all. There are some losses you can accept quite readily. The ones where players look gassed and spent. I'm pretty sure with what we saw yesterday with the stat of ten with one or zero, we can say quite confidently, we didn't give it our all. So enough with the talking and more of the tackling. Ok we don't have Maynard in the mix next game but we certainly have mediocrity. Can we please show some real fightback and start with the basics of chasing and tackling. Just more of them. Less easy to break ones. Let the opposition be the ones afraid and error prone. Let us be the hunters and not the hunted this time.

Out. Those responsible for the lack of depth in our list. Someone was asleep at the wheel.

Petty won't get dropped. Not that he shouldn't be imo. But he's got a fixed gig it seems.

I think they may have been directed to concentrate on playing the ball and not the man. Didn't work. Maybe we would have lost by more if we had gone after him. But at least as some ticker would be on display.

Well the era of dominance was always going to end sooner or later. I just thought it would be much later given the players ages. And also not to implode so much. I thought a more gradual decline. Also given our start it wouldn't happen this year. Boy was I wrong.

Troll

Go away troll.

Lost me at Langers. Funny I thought it was his worst game yet. Other choices were very good

Goody. For making me think we may even had been a chance today and making me watch the game 😀.

Apologies Layzie. I quoted the wrong post. Sorry.

Your a [censored]. You can't even read. Where did I wish someone harm. I said Id rather Maynard injured than Tracca. That was a hypothetical in not wanting Tracca injured so where is the credit for that. Grow up.

We are lost. Can you imagine players in 21 constantly gifted games. We are not strong enough both physically and mentally.

Really Layzie. If your best mate was retired from his career wouldn't you wave the flag for him. Not talking about illegal whacks but some crunching tackles by several players to at least put him off his game. Not like he didn't deserve them. And as for winning the game we didn't. So the two things are not mutually exclusive. In fact some agro would have served us well I reckon. Maynard played well. We didn't make him panic. And at the end of the day at least probably put a smile on poor Gussys dial.

Same here. That was bizarre.

Goody deserves to stay. We would have won another flag last year except for injuries and Maynard. Ok the Laurie sub was a stupid selection but it happens. We need to sack our forward coach. Make some much better recruitment calls and start dropping players who don't perform. If they don't put in, they don't play...simple. Hi Petty

Would have preferred him on the trolley rather than Tracca. There was no need for Moore to put his knee out. It was always a spoil. Just like Maynards act wasn't a footy one. That's the dirty way the pies play. About time for once we did the same. We were a good player down just like last time. It's straight out of the filth playbook. And we let it slide. Just like we nobody gave Moore a hard time.

The amount of times Oliver got into position to win the ball but then see him blindly bang it onto his boot to nobody was so frustrating and self defeating.

That's the thing... Players like Bowey Rivers Viney Salo Langers Are not impacting games like they used too.

Good report. Jvr was good for me. Did you forget Laurie? I fully understand.

I thought he'd at least be on the receiving end of one or two crunching tackles. He gave them instead. And his mate Moore pushed his knee into Tracs spleen. Way to wave the flag for Gus. Maynard not bruised even fairly isn't a great look. Especially after all the talk about a response.

Someone needs to own this ridiculous kicking at goal. We are now a club that gifts players games. Oliver with no real pre season. Petty. Laurie. Billings. But where are the replacements? What happened to us that all of a sudden we find the cupboard is bare? Darcy Moore is up there with Maynard. We have gone from top four to season absolutely done and dusted. What a huge response from us today. God forbid we just turn up. I just hope the club doesn't feed us any more dribble. Todays lack of effort says it all. Maybe in his wisdom Goody told the players not to touch Maynard in fear of the distraction. I hope so because otherwise we look weak. Don't worry lads...just wait until next week ....we will respond. Pfff.

Now that was unacceptable. Great fightback MFC. You can go to Adelaide now Petty. When will Goody drop him? Never

I know. Surely you would have thought we would respond. All we are saying by not retaltating is you can do whatever you want. Pies must think we are a pushover. I feel sorry for Gus. I would want my mates to remonstrate my forced retirement. But instead we let Moore plant his knee into Tracca back. We play like gentlemen against those who play like dogs. And it's not working for us.

Bit late Fritta.

Yep nothing wrong with our midfield.