Wiseblood

Yet you stay silent with his constant attacks on other posters. Hypocrite.

Hogan and Hibberd are obviously very good additions to the side. It sounds like Hibberd played the majority of the Casey game so he'll be ready to go which is fantastic for us!

Is this the sort of stuff we are sinking to at the moment? This place is far easier to read after a win.

If this is the worst of our problems at the minute, then we're going alright.

We need to look forward, not back. Chip isn't in our future.

I voted no - I felt we should be 3-1 at this stage, with the only loss I chalked down as being to the Cats. I knew we could roll the Saints and I believed we had the Blues and Dockers well and truly covered. I wouldn't say I'm disappointed to be 2-2 and in the 8 at this stage, but I'm not all that happy either.

I wonder if he's any relation to our old mate 'Curry and Beer'...

Not sure who they'll trade, but you would think at least two of Hodge, Burgoyne and Gibson will call it quits at the end of the year. Their list as a whole is looking light on for talent, especially in the key position areas, and after this year they will see even more experience disappear from the list. I don't feel sorry for them in the slightest, but it was inevitable that they would take a fall after 4 flags.

So, going by stats alone and without a report from those who were there, you would suggest that Trengove, Kennedy and Brayshaw haven't done themselves any harm. It's also good to see Corey Maynard progressing nicely as well, although I doubt he'll come into calculations. Pedersen clearly did well also, but will he get a gig with Hogan set to come back as well? I still think Hibberd gets another week at Casey, even though I would love to see him play next weekend.

So what? You still didn't answer his question about how he can improve it.

Really, Rusty? I would have thought it was rather clear that I was being sarcastic. Get your sarcasm meter fixed.

1. - No, it isn't the issue. 2. - There hasn't been nearly enough of it. 3. - Laughable. I discuss topics in depth all the time, so don't go the low blow when you know it isn't true.

Considering that, throughout this thread and others, we have so many poor kicks, poor decision makers and poor leaders, a coach in the gun and a few young forwards who can't get near it - how come we're 2-2 and, if things went our way (kicking for goal, for example), we could be 4-0? Do we actually have any good players, good decision makers, good leaders etc or is our whole list outside of Oliver just putrid? I'd love to see a little positivity because, at the minute, we seem to be talking down about or side so much that I'm surprised we're not 0-4.

I fully agree mate. If he continues the way he is going then he'll strugged to get another contract, or at best get one more year on the list. The only reason I want you to eat humble pie is simply because it means Bernie just had a slow start and his contributions became far more positive as the season progresses. That would be great for not only himself but for the team as a whole as well. Not trying to be spiteful.

Today's game will tell us a little more about how they are tracking. I'd love Hibberd to play next week but you get the feeling that they won't rush him back in too early, especially with the Tigers mid and small forwards causing havoc for the opposition at the moment. We don't want Hibberd blowing up half way through the third term. There are spots up for grabs, though, and hopefully there are more than a few at Casey who put their hands up this afternoon.

Oscar McDonald wouldn't have spoiled it - he would have marked it. We win.

I'll back Bernie to improve from here. He will know that he needs to get better and we all know what he is capable of. I always chuckle when I see @dazzledavey36 go for one of these types of threads. He wears his heart on his sleeve and, as VP said above, he's had to eat his fair share of humble pie over the journey (which he has been more than happy to do). For Bernie's and the clubs sake, I hope he forces dazzle to eat yet another slice.

Of course it still needs some work, it doesn't mean that it isn't functioning well. We've had over 60 shots on goal in the last two weeks without our best forward. To me, that says that what we have in place is sound AND it works. We just need to tighten the screws a little.

I was just yanking your chain. I thought you would see that. Bottom line - you are far, far too quick to judge. One poor term and he needs the heat on him. We need to judge him by the season, not by one result. There is zero heat on him at this point as it's clear his game plan works and the team are behind it. It doesn't help when an AA ruckman goes down in his first year in charge. I'll give him time, you judge him early as much as you like. It won't make you right.

Cheers.

If we had a 'soft underbelly', which are your two favourite words, then we wouldn't have fought back to almost snatch the game. We wouldn't have fought back and rolled the Saints, or toughed it out and found a way to win against Carlton. We had one bad quarter, and I would agree with anyone who said that we need to fix that up. But this soft underbelly business is wrong.

It happens after every loss. Most discuss it in the right thread but others, like picket, have to start their own thread as they believe their views are more important than others and are therefore worthy of their own thread. You also get the threads, normally 2-3, that single out players as well. It's as regular as clockwork.

It's all Goodwin's fault, though. Soft underbelly, leadership, catering, the colour of the water bottles. Spotlight on Goodwin, SWYL. He's to blame for it all.

We were well on top going into the third quarter. There was no need to change. Freo got on a roll and, from the coaches box, that can be hard to stop. The onus in that regard lands with the players - they would have been instructed as to what to go in these situations and they failed to implement it. When we got the chance to reset we came out and almost snatched the game, and this included a variety of changes (eg. Petracca into the middle) that helped us get momentum back. I don't know what else you want Goodwin to do in that situation. And it is rubbish, SWYL, but talking to you in these situations is pointless. You get an idea in your head and you run with it for weeks on end in any thread you can get your hands on.

Rubbish, and you know it. Stop trying to drum up some negativity towards a coach who has been in the job for 4 games.