BW511

The last few weeks have shown if it isn't Salem, it's no one. Pretty simple task for the opposition to lean on him and stop our game in it's tracks.

This would be at the heart of a lot of supporter frustration.

I agree, if he is to remain in the side it should be 80-20 forward split. At least he could create some carnage in forward contests - which none of our KPF are known for. I can't help feeling there is a bit of politics involved in this. It's a big and long investment for a pressure forward, the club would look a little silly if that were the case.

Could well be. Although I think the way we are setting up and defending is making it very hard for a team to blow us out of the water, our games aren't high scoring affairs and that is by design. We got within 4 points, but we were comfortably beaten all night. I understand that we have eliminated the blowouts, however we've lost 3 of the past 6 games and escaped with a draw in another, the margin doesn't change the result

The confidence thing was referring to the midfield, I think whilst they are flat from probable loads, they are not creating play like they were. Oliver is back to getting lots of the ball which is amounting to not as much as it was early season, Trac is well down and trying too hard to make up for it. Langdon isn't hitting up the simple targets he was earlier in the year. Max seems to be in a world of his own with his ruckwork and decision making - his sporadic thumping of the ball seem like hail mary's

Agree with the discussion @A F, but it needs to click soon for us to keep 2021 alive. The thing that could be our undoing is that even if we are in games and the system is holding up, the losses are creating pressure on our mental resilience. We have a long, long history of being fragile between the ears and you can see that in the way a few guys are playing. They have retreated into their shells and any confidence that we established between rounds 1-13 has been completely erased. Goal kicking accuracy is a big problem, it's always been a problem. I can't see this changing as we are attacking in the most defensive way possible, through the pockets. It may be possible to have 1 or 2 really good goal kicking days, but because we create a lot of low percentage shots we are more likely to falter. The midfield group is not even close to being in sync and I strongly oppose the idea of deliberately giving up centre clearances and relying on Lever, May and Petty controlling the air to stem the tide. I think it's a high risk tactic when the team most likely to be waiting in the GF has Hawkins, Cameron and Rohan. Those 3 will comfortably halve contests, at the very minimum, in a final.

After a couple of days, I'm still not happy with how Bont, McCrae and Daniel were handled. There is a good chance all 3 of them are All-Australian this year and they were allowed to do as they please. (Not to mention Libba and Naughton, who would both be right in the mix also) If Libba has been identified as the one that starts all their chains, surely Daniel is next in line. He's not big, he's not overly fast, he's just got a very good football brain and his execution, particularly on a greasy night, was an absolute master class.

It’s a very hard position to play and an even smaller chance of prying the few good ones out of their current setups Daniels from GWS, Rozee at Power, Sexton from Suns, Cripps from West Coast and obviously Papley and Heeney at the Swans are all high quality Half Forwards, but none of that lot are easy to get hold of.

Would want a half forward flanker who has played that position at a high level too, not another mid that we try and rebrand. Elite finishing skills are a must and we still lack a couple between the centre square and our goalsquare.

I reckon Weid was dropped for doing more than Jacko currently is

He’d probably start flying for Marks in front of Brown and T-Mac, I think he has to roll off the bench for very short bursts. His inability to think beyond the ball is really deflating

I am subscribing to the training load theory, we are in a definite slump form wise, but our blokes all look like they can barely break into a canter. The younger guys should have been in a constant 4-6 week rotation in my view. Use their youthful exuberance for impact. Rivers, Jacko, Jordon and Kossie look absolutely spent, while Sparrow sits and watches on each week. We also employ a very taxing game plan.

With the current form line, I think we are a 5-8 team. Other teams have timed their run and have key players in form at the right time. I love Oliver and his work around the contest but his 35 touches a week isn’t winning us games. He needs a partner in crime that will turn up every week and help. Trac had plenty of the ball but he is so far off being influential, would rather we target a full time mid and rotate him in from HFF. We lack depth and quality in the middle, still. As a direct comparison, Bont never looks like he gets out of a stride and does the simple things very well. He’s the best in the game right now, can do it all. Longer term, we are looking ok but there’s still a very heavy reliance on 4-5 players and we have been incredibly fortunate that they have played almost all games.

In a year where there is very little between the top sides, we are trending the wrong way at the wrong time of year. There’s also been criticism of Burgess before that his teams come out firing and fade, I fear that may be us. We don’t have the fight in us or the intelligence onfield to stem the flow. We continue to go head to head with teams in the middle and get slaughtered. Bont will get 3 votes, McCrae had 38, Libba 27, Daniel 34. If you let those guys get the footy, you just won’t win. Our bottom 6 are not good enough for a flag, particularly when we’ll out of form

ANB, Harmes, T-Mac, Hibbo, Rivers, Jacko, Jordon, Spargo could all be justified. If we want to get fair dinkum, there needs to be changes made. You can’t keep failing to contribute and hold your place. Most players have had enough chances over the last 5-6 weeks.