Engorged Onion

What's all this palava about TMAC being unhappy? FMD - some times it's a grind... he contributed with tackles in the forward 50, and took some telling marks. He's playing the big dog at the moment, when he is best suited for number 2 and 3 forward.... GWS flooded back, it's pretty hard to take marks in a pack of 5... Is there an expectation from some that he must jag 2 goals each game and dominate the forward 50?

Spin the wheel... Who's more uncomfortable with the favourites tag, the players or the supporters?

Or what? So many definitives. They've already proven that they can kick copious amounts of points and still win... yep that's right, like all good teams, we can play poorly and still win If the 'must's are about helping you relax during the game, then that's fair enough.

that's one way to skin a cat I suppose... you can only play against the opposition -banking wins where you can. seriously, there is only a marginal % that a team needs to be off (see Richmond today) that makes them winners, to losers to getting smashed... week in, week out... It's a marathon... so treat it like that.

Could you give a synopsis @Whispering_Jack?

My secret bet (not so secret now) is that no doubt someone on here will complain that he drifts in and out of games, only has single digit possessions thus we wasted our time in recruiting him...

This could probably go into the Burgess thread, but with the acknowledgement on AFL360 of Max's aerobic impact around the ground on Monday night, it led me into thinking about the impact of Burgess on the group. As dedicated fans on this site know - our 2020 campaign was curtailed (amongst many reasons) due to shorter quarters on the assumption that with Burgess on board, he would transform the players aerobically. Now the reality is this... You can work in elite sport, and not be elite in your field. I'll say it again... you can work in elite sport and not be elite in your field, I know it, as I have lived it. So if there are 17 other High Performance Managers within the AFL system, what is about Burgess's planning and frameworks that are markedly different from what the players were exposed to before (or other teams are exposed to).. And the inference is that if/when he heads to Adelaide, then they get to drink the magic Burgess Elixir... but it can't simply be Burgess's IP that no-one else has... as HPM's operate in such a small niche world, they all know one another. So, as pundits, are we legitimately seeing an aerobic difference in our players? Are we drinking some of the kool-aid? Attributing improved aerobic fitness, when it may not be there? I mean, it looks to be there... but is that due to his frameworks, or is it the age bracket of some of our players, compared to two years earlier? Any input is good input... post script I know that Burgess spent a lot of time in the EPL - their athletes historically have run more km per game than AFL - but now (I believe) we surpass them...with the high collision impacts as well (which is pretty incredible as a sport to bare witness to). However the media and coaches for many years have been recruiting 'athletes' to turn them into footballers, or acknowledging how aerobically large the game is now. My point is - surely it isn't mere exposure to working in the EPL as Burgess has (have other HPM's in the league spent time there?) - that the penny has dropped for them to add in more aerobic work (to come from a simplistic perspective). Any High Performance Managers in Demonland want to add their 20cents worth?

Hasn't the AFL (or at least individuals within) matured. I commend Gary Pert for the way the letter was written. There was no way this would have been written to the public 5 years ago... Also mods - can we please change the title of this thread to reflect the situation more accurately.

It's strange that the media have always downplayed or invalidated Oliver. From 'taking a dive' as a 19yo or preferencing Cripps, it has always astounded me the treatment that Oliver receives as a midfielder both from the umpires, and the limited recognition from the media due to his statistics. He's not a dirty player, he backs up game after game after game... It can't just be as he plays for Melbourne - because the counterpoint to that would be the adulation of Pickett.

Ohhhhhh, so Goodwin is funny.

The evidence is, that due to an individual games experience, and continuity playing together with the same players, it gives a team the greatest opportunity to replicate performance consistency, time and again throughout a season.

Absolutely I don't understand - clearly he was pushed into it by the other Freo player...

He's a natural athlete... rather than a natural in a particular position. Hence the commentary about him being a prototype for a particular role within a team.

Did you end up having a nice glow after the win? What were your thoughts on the game plan and then the execution of it? @JimmyGadson

you are relentless ?

I'm surprised someone on here - didn't mention Dean Kent and then draw a bead to Goodwin and his retention strategy.

Oh! 100% - it makes no sense to me, it was one of the weirdest things I noticed when I first joined this forum. Do these people actually talk like this when they are discussing football at the pub? Because, that would just be weird.

I havent checked the fixture - do we get them twice this year?

He does lead to pockets. most would think the pockets are a larger degree of difficulty bloke nailed a crucial goal...from the pocket. im satisfied. ?

doubled the scoring shots doubled the scoring shots always a good indication....

Here we are 15 points up, Viney hasn't been sighted since mid way through the 2nd, Petracca feels quiet... Saints are a good team no doubt, and aside from some errors, we are 3 kicks up... happy days.

Has been right?

Clearly we see things differently and thats fine - the last I'll say in this conversation on this is as follows. Club's can put out public goals on performance as much as they want - for mine, its lovely, and it's irrelevant- all clubs are vying for the same thing ultimately in a 5 year period anyway.... so I don't use them to guide my decision making on club hope's from the marketing brochure. I disagree that we get beaten, 'consistently in exactly the same way'. I also disagree that the other points are solely 'on Goodwin'. We made the top 8, we failed to make the top 8 2 other times, by the barest of margins. Sport is about the barest of margins - I see 'barest of margins' as a mitigating factor for any team. Take Brisbane last night...Take Stephen Milne, Take Tomlinson from last year. The comparison was not about Ross or Simon, I could have easily used Damian Hardwick or Alister Clarkson or Stewie Dew...it doesn't matter - the point was - all coaches/teams, have deficiencies - including the ones that win in any given season... Ultimately, you are I are debating who's responsibility is performance - I subscribe that there are two parties in this - the information giver (coach, football department) and the information receiver (player/athlete). I don't subscribe to a binary view that the buck stops with the coach. Finally, time frame's. Mine is clearly more elastic than your's. Enjoy the game today, I hope if we win (or when we win another game throughout the season), we can have another conversation about what benefit the coach and FD have had on the team and what role they had to set up the win.

Sorry, to answer the question directly not having relevant personnel - winger (either fast with ball, or can spread, or decent disposal) no tall forwards all mids move to the ball, rather than create space. a range of poor disposals These will be the reasons we lose tonight... some of those reasons are not on Goodwin

My take is, that the players are still with him and that he is competent as a coach. I don't quite see it black and white personally as though if you don't win a premiership you're no goo as a coach. As an example, I have never enjoyed Ross Lyon, either his manner, or his style - but he is clearly a good coach - his two teams also played with deficiencies, that he was unable to rectify.... but the process of rectification that never occurred, was that due to 'his message not getting through' - or was it something else? So for me, coaching is an iterative process, some individual athletes will struggle with bringing their weaker parts of the game up to scratch (ie:...not go and retrieve ball, must guard/create space) - so who is that on, the coach or the player? If the player is given numerous chances, let's say Billy Stretch as an example, then his all around game makes it easy to dispose of him... a Jack Viney who clearly has a higher ceiling, is held on to (whilst still demonstrating similar deficiencies)...but this means the iterative process slows down, because who is is recruited who is competent at that specific skill? There are only so many players... I'd also argue that the breakdown in those same areas, are exactly the same areas that all clubs breakdown in when they lose... And all clubs, aside from Richmond have failed time and time and time and time and time again... Like you I'm anxious with having Goodwin, and the tension for me is that, if we are winning some games, and not others, as long as the loses are not blow outs, then I'd give Goodwin one more year- this is essentially, the process of creating a team with a range of optimal attributes - for me, games experience - Richmond 'popped' 3 years ago when the core of their midfield hit 130-150 games..we are one season off from that......now clearly that's not the only 'magical' thing to occur... but nonetheless it's a process of refinement of strategy athletes that can fill a demand (trading, drafting) and the players themselves, either by their own willingness, or by other means, act on the coaching departments instructions If the losses start to blow out.... he is done... not from an optics perspective... but the players clearly have no motivation to continue their football career under his stewardship. Jimmy, when you sit back and reflect on the days that we win, in your warm glow... what do you attribute those wins to?