Red But Mostly Blue

Looks like winning clearances is very handy! Also, it's great to see us getting those junk time goals, and not having them kicked against us!

Get ready for a 1st QTR blitz (in our favour)! I'm v̶e̶r̶y̶ m̶o̶s̶t̶l̶y̶ kind of confident. (I was a little worried about this game and probably still am but we have to have faith in these new Dees. There will be bumps along the way, but geez we've come a long way already). We're getting there, and tonight we'll expose another pretender. Go Dees!

Completely agree. Fritter is not, and should not be our #1 forward target - therefore attracting unnecessary attention. Now he won't be, and should have a lot more space!

I don't mind if we lose (obviously I want to win, and think we will/should/can/please?!?), but I think the non negotiable, given last week and how this game sets up the trajectory of the next 6 weeks (i.e. a loss has us scrapping for a top 4, or 2 games clear if we win), is that we come out BREATHING FIRE from the first bounce!!!

BBBBBB!!!

I agree with this, I'll be chuffed if he presents well, clunks a few and kicks 1 or 2. Our biggest losing margin was 17, so if he kicks 1 or 2 (being deliveries that presumably would have sailed over the heads of some of the shorter guys), we are already pretty much there - all we need is more consistent 4 qtr intensity, and the other guys to convert.

Agree. But the reality is that a big mistake was made not picking Brown last week (or making any material change to the forward structure for that matter), but he would have to admit that, and he won't, so it's easier to say... Ben's (now) ready!! BOOM! (I hope stubborn Goody is not creeping back, it looked like his better company was helping him make better decisions this year, last week was not one of them...)

...We've Ben waiting a while for a genuine goalscorer! Make it rain, Benny!! Of course, this will require better i50 delivery, which will also result in Fritter, TMac etc. being more effective.

Totally agree. Weid hasn't been in the 2s long enough to convince his teammates that he should return. He's a confidence player (maybe a little more than most), and would need to bring the house down for a few weeks in a row in the 2s before returning to the AFL. That way he comes in, leads up, clunks marks, kicks that first important goal etc., rather than coming back unsure of his value - and having the same issues that will probably result in him yoyoing between the 2s. Get his confidence/skills up - work on our delivery as well, as that has also been a major problem of late. He'll come back to a better system, he'll receive better delivery, he'll kick a bag, we'll win the flag etc.

This is one of the best posts I've read in a while and certainly after such a disappointment loss. Thanks for the great balance of positivity/learnings, because they need to go hand in hand for meaningful progress.

This is true. I am optimistic for the game against Port. At our best we can beat anyone. At our worst, we can be beaten by anyone. I guess that's probably true for most clubs, but if we're going to be a serious threat for the next 5 years, we can't be seen to be so fragile. The Hawks, Cats and Tigers in recent years were certainly not viewed that way. I appreciate we have a while to go to reach a similar peak, but to get there we have to be honest with ourselves. The boys have to fight every game, for 4 quarters, to continually build that image and trust. That's got to restart against Port. Go Dees

I love your optimism, I really do. But the reality is some of these posts (not all), really are trying to address some of the things that have not been working for quite a while. There has been a steady decline but there's this tendency to rest on our ladder position. That can't last forever. I played with the ladder predictor... With the games played this round, and the likely wins next round, if we lose to Port, depending on percentage , we could actually be 5th!! Then all of a sudden we're out of the 4 and having to scrap to get back in, against very tough opposition, with a bunch of players who still think they're number one! ... And we're dreadfully out of form/confidence.

I'm actually happy we'll lose the #1 spot this week. We're not a true #1 (ladder leaders have losses, but they don't lose to THREE bottom eight sides in just over a month. GWS struggled against the bottom two sides in the league. Plus, being #1 doesn't suit us, the boys have clearly gotten ahead of themselves. Hopefully they rediscover the hunger they had at the beginning of the season. Quick. Because time is running out. As is the ever enduring forward problem. Bring in either Brown. Anyone really, just not another midget. Not a bad time to be out of form, gives us a chance to build momentum. But that depends on the boys recognising where they're actually at (except most of our defenders), and working their backsides off to get to where we need to be. We need top 4, top 2 is going to be hard. It goes without saying that we need to turn 180 to beat Port.

Hope you've got a few drinks nearby, you'll need them.

We're being shown up by the Giants, a team beaten by the Hawks. For any one who has chosen to deny we've been on the slide for a while, here's some proof. We've found some ways to win some games, which is ok, but largely we've struggled, particularly against poor opponents, and this is yet another example. Even if we find a way to win this, these half game brain fades just give teams unnecessary look ins for games. This is embarrassing.

It's disgusting. And to cap it off, with that weasel Greene.

We're making terrible decisions. May has saved our backsides too many times already. For the few times we've made it into the forward 50, who's taking the marks? Almost like we could do with somebody tall out there! What's the gameplan here!?

It's called a "professional free", though .. (Total BS)

6 May 5 Lever 4 Gus 3 Salem 2 Hunt 1 Umps/Maxxy

Bombers fans probably still booing...

PHEW Not convincing but we did what we needed to do (the apt summary for most of our games this year) and will take the 4 points. We need to sort out our i50 very quickly. That booing was killing me!

Peptides have kicked in. Come on - let's crush these flogs!

A mark inside 50... ...Then a goal! Much easier than scrapping, we should try that a little more! ?

A few of the boys not making 40 tonight. Weird.

Calm down mate. I've watched every game. Our current forward structure was working against the other teams. Today it has looked limp. Constructive comment to say we're going to need to fix it. The Bombers are not a top 8 team. We will soon face a bunch of them..