Mel Bourne

Would have loved to have been there, but I spent the night looking after my elderly mum after having a fall. I see this “point” being made often after games. It’s a thoughtless and entitled line of supposed-reasoning that needs to die in a ditch. Your criticisms aren’t more valid because you were fortunate enough to go to the game. Nor are you better-placed to assess the team’s performance, unless you watched the broadcast as well.

Saints have a two player bench. If we don’t win this game it is time for some serious discussions at the club.

Pickett continues to be useful as Anne Frank’s drum kit.

I’ve been lectured fairly solidly by some here for calling out Pickett’s performances these past couple of months. Obviously he’s got a whole half of football to make amends, but if this form continues tonight, those lecturers can stick their stat sheets where the sun don’t shine.

Why try when you’ve got four more years in the bag?

Oh but his stats! (it’s not just you)

I’d say his good moments have been negated by his bad ones, which equals “good” in it’s most generous definition.

His two kicks from a standing-start straight to Saints defenders were “great”?

Bowey’s disposals have been uncharacteristically rubbish thus far.

Welcome to the game Trac. Please, do stick around.

What in the actual f$&@ is with our ridiculous close-handballs under pressure? Worst offender is - as ever - Brodie Grundy. Puts zero thought into his give-offs.

Stupid over-hand-balling is really becoming this team’s trademark

Yes, that was frustrating as all hell. But you don’t blame an individual for “costing us the game” because that particular individual made an error in the dying minutes of the match. Games are won or lost over four quarters of football.

By “stuck”, I mean how many of those have been wrapping players up in tight contests resulting in a ball-up? Yes, those are certainly not without their importance, but those kinds of tackles are just the basic requirements of the game. I’m not overly moved by this statistic when compared to his others. His game yesterday was a slight improvement on his recent form, but 1.2 is nothing worth getting excited about from a key small forward, who we all got terribly excited about his signing for four more years. Look, I really want him to do well. Love the kid when he’s on. And they hype from the footy media has definitely been a hinderance when it comes to how we view him as a player. But you can’t deny that he is in a slump, and one many of us here have noticed. I still back him, but he needs to find something better than what he’s currently giving us. Maybe some of that will be solved by giving him space in our otherwise stupidly-congested forward 50.

I’m struggling to see how his occasional shirking of hard-ball-gets, poor positioning at contests and ridiculously-selfish leaps for glory translate as “doing his job”. I see it more as him doing the bare minimum. His tackle count is the most impressive stat out of all of those, and yes, it does indicate effort. But stats are deceiving. How many of those tackles have stuck? How many have resulted in a free kick? The problems do indeed lie elsewhere (and yesterday, practically everywhere) but his form is definitely one of the ingredients in the current soup of mediocrity we’ve been dishing up of late.

Sorry, are we supposed to be impressed by these stats? He may be holding his spot in this side, but compare him to the league and not his also-struggling team members, and you get a much more accurate depiction of where he’s at. No, he won’t get dropped. Simply not an option. But if you’re trying to make the case that we should be impressed with his recent form, you’ll understand if I politely tell you to make it somewhere else.

He broke new ground in the last quarter. Went for the fly before the camera had even caught up with him. It’s embarrassing to watch.

I’m not sure if I’d label it “class and poise” as much as I would “opportunistic”. The “opportunity” being that Trac and Lever decided - for god knows what reason - not to stand the mark and allow him to play on.

My history of posts would tell you I’m neither believer nor denier. I simply care very little for withdrawn battles of conjecture. I don’t like seeing this site descend to personal grudges/snipes against other posters. Feel vindicated as much as you need to, but are the many “told you so” posts really that necessary?

Why would you put someone so hell-bent on making the highlights package instead of playing the actual game into the midfield?

Did I say it wasn’t? I’m just sick to death of the “Loading Wars”.

Dude really, this is so tedious.

Not even the most optimistic, supportive poster on this site can deny how putrid the team was today. I will calm down eventually but right now I am disgusted. Pickett, Harmes and ANB need to all make room for different players next week, and I don’t give a [censored] which players those are.

Let it go.

Grundy constantly dishes off poorly thought-through handballs to players in danger. Something I’ve noticed all season.