Wiseblood

Percentage out of the 8. Plenty of time in the season to fix things in the back half and win some more games. Also plenty of time to let the season slip away, if that's how you want to look at it.

Ah Biff, we are not the quick one this morning. Clearly I was being sarcastic, hence sticking the pic of Roos under the comment.

Ah mate, I'm only being facetious. I think fixing our structures and getting the balance right is the first thing. Moving around the deck chairs won't improve it that much.

Garland dropped, backline leaks goals. It's no coincidence! And the Tigers didn't kick 20 goals against us, but I get your point. We still struggle to get the balance right.

Last time I say it - even considering dropping Bugg over the others is madness and so short sighted that I'm surprised it's coming from you.

Which is why I'm constantly annoyed at how easily people want to give him the flick. We recruit a bloke who can do all the above things, and he does them consistently, and they want him dropped.

Are you trying to tell me that you would drop Bugg over Hunt, Harmes, Wagner, Frost and others? Again - laughable. You might not rate Bugg, but thank christ you don't sit on the selection table. The bloke is becoming an integral cog in our side whether you rate him or not.

What? No, seriously.... WHAT? As I said earlier when Clint mentioned it (and retracted it) - laughable.

He's trying really hard to argue that the club he supports is a rabble. Why people try and argue that point is beyond me.

I was, actually. But that's beside the point. We aren't pathetic and we aren't a rabble. Any supporter with half a brain cell can see that.

Possibly hasn't happened since Robbo kicked 7 at Skilled Stadium. Pathetic rabble? Get a grip.

Let's not get carried away...

They've got some key injuries, but their depth is poor at the minute. No one else stepping up.

Agree with all of that. Obviously our next step as a football club is for the players to have confidence in tweaking the game plan on the fly - when it all hits the fan, who takes charge and makes those tweaks that help to plug the gaps and stop the flow? I think Hogan and Roos are both right, and that is why most supporters tonight aren't angry with the performance like we were after the Essendon game. We had problems today but we can still, clearly, see the way in which we want to play. The fruits of those labours, and the consistency, will come.

I'm not saying we haven't devised one, but if we have, we had no idea how to execute it which doesn't look flash. And this game is another great way for the players to be educated. Regardless of game plan, instruction etc, when we were challenged we went to pieces. We need to learn how to stand tall when we're challenged like we were today.

True. I agree with AF that it's worked previously (the wins are proof of that), but the point is valid that we have no plan B. When a team worked it out and were beginning to run all over us we had no idea what to do, both from the coaches box and the players. Hopefully they take that as an opportunity to learn and to put in place measures to stop this from happening in the future.

And what a gun at zoning he is. No one does it better.

I don't think it will. Clearly it's worked in the previous rounds, although you could also argue that we have still coughed up some high scores (North and Saints). I think this year they will tinker with it as we learn how to get the balance right.

That man is pretty good though. But you're right - stop Lynch and you go some way to stopping GC.

Call me crazy, but I'd play Garland forward. He would give more than Pedersen and Frost. Just a thought.

I see your point, and I'm still in a positive frame of mind about how many wins we might land, but we can't make finals unless we eradicate these games from our season. We could very easily come out this week and roll GC, then beat the Bulldogs... and then lose to Brisbane. Until we can string 3 wins together in a row and add the consistency of performance then finals will still be just out of our reach. It's a point I'd love to be proved wrong about though.

He had a good, solid game mate. Nothing more, nothing less. You can see the potential there and he'll be better for the run.

I think this sums up the game. Considering our small forwards got nowhere near it, to kick 15 goals is still a good effort and shows how far we've come in terms of our offensive game. Our defence though was an absolute shambles and I'm sure they will make an effort in the coming weeks to seriously rectify that.

Which Oliver wouldn't have helped with. That selection made no difference today.

Saints knew it too and they exploited it. Well played to them. It's a learning experience for the boys and shows how crucial it is to play your role 100% of the time. A quick team like the Saints showed us what can happen when we don't.