titan_uranus

Again last night we only used four players at centre bounce (outside the rucks) - Pickett, Trac, Oliver, Viney. Since quarter time against Gold Coast it feels like we’ve completely abandoned our bye week plan to change it up and instead have doubled down by adding absolutely no one new into the mix. I assume part of the strategy is the waning late-season fitness of Langford, Lindsay and Windsor, but zero centre bounces, each week, plus no Rivers, plus not bringing in Laurie or Woewodin or Culley or anyone else new just to try, is to me not the right strategy. Going all in on the same four each week is how we ended up in this hole.

Remember how you denied that you started the “Media Madness” thread to highlight an anti-MFC conspiracy? You did. It’s almost all you post about now. For the record, at the time of the Curnow free it was 8-3 free kicks in the fourth. Never 11-0. Both decisions were poor IMO but relying on umpires in a close game against Carlton’s seconds is on us, not the umpires.

I don’t think there’s any realistic world in which he gets sacked before Guerra and Smith have started, whether we like it or not. That aside, I think (aside from your gratuitous drive by on JVR) your post is fair. We can’t just sit behind the “we’re changing how we play and change takes time” rhetoric. We’re still losing games the same way, and losing them to bad sides to boot. 5 of our 12 losses this year have been to the bottom 8. I’d argue all 5 have been our worst 5 games, too (maybe the GC thrashing is up there). Losing to the top 9 is one thing, and had we had a middling season of beating weaker sides but not being able to match it with better ones, I’d cop the “change takes time” thing a touch more. I’d obviously like to see some better evidence of a new, workable, efficient gameplan which appears to be capable of driving us to a flag, of course. But to have a muddled team consistently losing to bottom 8 sides, the same way most times too (slow start, more scoring shots, more inside 50s, inaccuracy), and finishing the year with 6-8 wins only, with the best run with injuries we’ve had in years, is unacceptable.

I think the truth is somewhere in between. Part of the reason we continued to have poor entries inside 50 as the game went on will no doubt be because of the pressure of being behind. We play from behind most weeks. We’re something like 6-12 in first quarters. We keep starting slow and forcing ourselves to “hurry up” and get going. I’m sure it’s contributing to the sloppiness. But as you say, ultimately this was a game lost in the same way as almost all of them. Struggling against Carlton’s VFL side (whose AFL side is no good to begin with) is all the proof we need that the rest of the game wasn’t good enough either.

That’s what I meant - built to fail given where the game has gone.

Yep: Petty hasn’t played defence for 15 weeks. Does he do it next week? Or does Adams get a go? Can’t keep playing Tholstrup. As much as we need to be playing kids, he’s undeserving of his spot. Tomorrow ought to be an audition for his spot (and Sharp’s too IMO).

We’re entitled to say he needs more time. We’re also entitled to say it doesn’t exactly look promising right now. Let’s hope a big pre-season and more maturity/experience spark him. Right now, I think we simply have to give his spot to someone else.

I don’t care how impactful the umpiring was. This result was utterly predictable and represents everything that is wrong with us. More inside 50s. More scoring shots. Far closer to our first choice side than them. Yet a slow start, wasted chances, inaccuracy all combine, and we lose a close one. To a side devoid of confidence and going no better than us. I’m sick of the “it’s all Goodwin” vs “it’s not Goodwin at all” stuff. If you hold either view, you’re wrong. It’s a whole of club problem. Goodwin’s clearly struggling - when the same mistakes occur each week from the same players, it’s unfathomable to suggest that isn’t even in part on the coach. But similarly, to isolate Goodwin from the rest of the club is nonsensical. We have a list full of players who cannot deal with pressure (physical but more so mental). We have players who don’t appear able to fix longstanding and obvious mistakes. And we, most of all, have a list that has been built to fail. Far too many players who do not possess AFL level skill, or cannot demonstrate it due to a lack of physique or intensity.

Carlton are decent enough starters. We are not. If they get an early jump on us, and they get their hopes up, I’ll be a bit concerned. Would love to see us start well.

I'm only slightly less grumpy about seeing Sharp back than I would have been about seeing Spargo back. So I guess that's a win. Howes unlucky but TMac didn't deserve to be dropped to make room for him. I suppose we just won't see Laurie or Billings again this year, or ever.

That's Essendon's lowest home game crowd, excluding the COVID years, since 2016, the year they had players sit out due to WADA bans, and they went 3-19 that year. But everyone knows now, particularly over the last few weeks with the focus on the timeslot, that Thursday nights aren't for crowds, and they aren't for the fans of the sides who are playing that game. They are primarily for TV, and casual viewers who can't deal with a night without football. Hopefully tonight, next week's awful Hawthorn v Carlton, and Round 23's Essendon v St Kilda, will see not just awful crowds, but awful ratings. In the last 1-2 months of the season, there just aren't enough good games to have a Thursday night game, given the restrictions on 5-day breaks and getting sides into the timeslot. Run Thursday nights to halfway through the season, at most. Otherwise the AFL will continue to kill the goose which laid the golden egg, and everyone loses.

I’ve been guilty of assuming the jumper colours at training indicate selection. But I suspect this is the answer. Today, we saw photos of the following: Blue - Gawn, Langdon, Oliver, Turner, Fritsch, Trac, Laurie, Bowey, Brown, Windsor White - Gawn, Trac, Rivers, Woewodin (albeit these four were white vests over blue jumpers), Campbell, Laurie, Mentha, Billings, TMac So Laurie clearly in both blue and white. All told, tells us little I would have thought.

I wonder whether we can get away with just May and Howes for Lever and Sparrow. Play Howes where Rivers has been, play Rivers where Sparrow has been. Avoids us having to drop Windsor or Lindsay (who maybe need a spell, but otherwise I just want to see them keep playing and learning), and avoids a Spargo/Laurie inclusion.

Can you find me a single post, let alone a “conga line”, of people telling us what a great job Goodwin’s doing?

So that’s May for Lever, surely. Someone for Sparrow, and then the Petty question to be resolved.

I honestly could not be more happy with his season to date. He’s everything I’d dreamed we see, and more. Can’t wait to see what he can do off a full pre-season.

So is Goody only responsible for the unsuccessful picks, and JT responsible for just the successful ones?

As always, it goes both ways. There are plenty who “resent” anyone who thinks Goodwin should coach in 2026. Or who disagree with the argument that we should have won multiple flags. I argued earlier in this thread that the gap between the top 6 finishes we had in 2022-23 and top 4 finishes isn’t as huge as people on here now argue. For that I got called a “Goody acolyte”. I never said a word about my view on whether Goodwin is going well right now or not. Why is it that anyone who isn’t flatly negative is taken to “put up with the same deficiencies” just because they turn up each week? The nuance is gone. It seems you either have to be outright positive about everything, or outright negative about everything. Post anything that isn’t fully negative and you’re a “happy clapper”.

Grundy’s been good for the last 6 weeks. But AA selection comes from a season, not half. TDK was going great for the first 6 weeks but has fallen off a cliff. Xerri and Jackson are the only rucks other than Gawn who have had good form for the whole season, and IMO Gawn’s got both covered. Jackson being in a winning/finals side helps him a lot though.

Like I others I fully expect Spargo to get Sparrow’s spot. But I don’t want it to happen. I’d prefer Laurie, Culley or even Billings gets a turn, or even Howes in and Rivers up the field more. I just don’t see a world where Spargo meaningfully contributes to any successful 2026 season we have.

Does Petty come back? If so, for who? We gain nothing IMO by dropping Jeffo now. Personally, I’d leave Petty out. Who gets dropped for May? I suspect it’ll be TMac but it probably should be Lever. The story that will generate may well dissuade us. Does Howes get in? If so, for Sparrow? If not, for who? And who then gets Sparrow’s spot? I’d love to see us either reward Billings or give Laurie or Culley a shot, but I’m fully expecting Spargo or Sharp to come back, and I’m not really excited by that.

We were always on a hiding to nothing this week. A loss would have obviously been disastrous but a win leads to what we’ve seen already - “it was only North”, “nothing to be excited about” etc. Of course, all week we had people saying we’d lose, the $4.20 on North was stupid, we’d struggle to win again all year, so there must be a fair number of people who, whether they admit it or not, must have been pleasantly surprised today. Feels like Lindsay and Windsor are limping to the line. I want them playing each week if possible but if they can’t impact due to fitness, there’s no point. Langford though - no such concerns. What a gem. I found it super interesting that the only players to get centre bounces today were the rucks, Pickett, Trac, Clarry and Viney. It feels like after the disaster of the GC first quarter we’ve given up on trying much, if anything, new in there. We just have to persevere with JVR and Jeffo now. They have to keep playing together and learning to work together. Chopping and changing gets us nowhere. And on Xerri I reckon it’s a suspension for sure, but the standard 3 weeks off the table and not more. It was careless but those elevating it to a Gaff/Hall act are way off IMO.

Who does Adams replace? TMac/May, or Lever? I'm a bit worried about Howes being in the same camp as Laurie - too good for VFL, but not quite good enough for AFL. But unlike others, every time he goes back to Casey he seems to step up and play well.

I know he's not the future but is there any more Billings can do to get a recall? Best part about watching Casey for the rest of the year is watching Kentfield to see if he can keep this upward trajectory going.