BW511

I have 3 big concerns going into 2024 and beyond, in no particular order: 1 - We are in desperate need of skill, from HBF through to FF. There’s only 2 blokes I’d put in the elite category with field kicking, Bowza and Salem. Unfortunately, due to injury, Salem has not been fit enough to get the required space to use it. He’s spent the year dump kicking. Collingwood, Brisbane and GWS all play very attacking games based on skill. Aside from being much better to watch, it’s more natural for players and I think it would gain a lot more ‘buy in’ from a group. 2 - Burn out. I think our game plan is too physically taxing to sustain for 3-4-5 years in a row. We’ve made slight tweaks but it still revolves around an enormous amount of effort across the board. Physically and mentally, I think our guys have lacked a bit of zip all year. No doubt the effects of consecutive straight sets exits will add to this. 3 - Gameplan. We have a very defensively minded gameplan and yet it’s still extremely susceptible to being opened up. We have beaten teams that employ faster, more attacking game plans but they are still there and we aren’t. Yes, there is luck, injuries and dodgy umpiring but at the end of the day it’s bloody hard to win and even harder if you aren’t there. I think the easiest way to address these issues is much the same as everyone else. Draft mids that can kick the ball exceptionally well. Bring change to the coaching panel. Allow ourselves to take more risk, across the entire organisation. Everywhere we look, we are playing it safe.

Collingwood definitely played through Sidebottom a lot because he made Langdon look stupid. He’s a shadow of himself after being KO’d

Whenever goal kicking comes up, I think of the famous stories about Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant just shooting ridiculous amounts of balls before/after training. Our guys could fix it if they wanted to and I think after the manner of exit this year, they will be asked to. Must be infuriating for the coaches to have guys on $400k-$1m a year and we have to waste time on goal kicking

Yes from me. Would take either for a multiple year playing into coaching role. The younger/cheaper options all have limitations as well, plus more experienced/cooler heads would be handy in Finals

Miers has a few better ball users getting the ball to him. Spargo would get a lot more footy if he was used more, he is often free but we can’t/won’t pull the trigger to get it to him

If Toby Greene was on the table, I’d happily trade one of any of the above listed players. If Oscar Allen was on the table, likewise. If Tom Green was on the table, same. If Nick Larkey was on the table, sign me up. Other than that, yeh, they are untouchable.

For all those wondering why we constantly bomb the ball in long, the coaches know about the above and direct accordingly. It’s staggering that we manage to have 3 of the worst 7 disposers of the ball in our starting midfield for majority of games. Viney’s 20m kick to kill us on Friday was simply inexcusable. One elite kicking mid could transform our game. Errol Gulden, Josh Kelly, Jordan Dawson. If only they grew on trees.

Understand completely, I just don’t agree with it and think our balance and game style is not quite evolved enough yet.

I saw a video of ‘big game Zane’ last week via BigFooty. I might be alone here but what you described above seemed to forecast what I thought

I’d argue that trying to take hangers and iron out blokes is more around his desire to have an impact. I think this comes when things aren’t going right for him. As I said, it’s confidence in letting the game come to him, rather than trying to force it.

I think Kossie’s biggest weakness is he’s a confidence player. We seem to have a lot of them. The best thing he could do is stop worrying about being tough and start focusing on the footy more. Spargo has limitations but he’s well aware of them and very rarely do his mistakes hurt us like Kossie’s do

This is my pet peeve with our side. Half of our forwards are defenders first and it’s left to too few generating scores. The balance is not quite right

After last week and now, last night, I think Brisbane actually win it this year. I want GWS to do it but think Brisbane have the best mix. Walsh played like a man that really, really wanted to win. Big games demand it and he was brilliant

I’m all for a refresh on the coaching staff, we need to rejuvenate the club after a pretty somber end to the last two seasons. I’d be looking at players 3-5 years out of the game or even recently retired. Cotchin would be a great get, helped change the culture of Richmond with Dimma and played a very selfless role on field. Seems to have great character. Maybe a Jack Gunston type if he moves back to Melbourne, he’s been involved in very high end forward groups

Petty is one of the best aerial players in the game, I’d be surprised if lots of clubs don’t ask the question. If he goes, we are in strife

I’d also be asking the club to have a think about the role Jake Lever plays. He is an excellent interceptor but in the same manner as our forwards being defenders first, he’s not flash at actually defending. I don’t think there’s any reason for a captaincy change, I certainly wouldn’t be giving it to Trac.

I think the coaching staff also owe a few blokes an apology over the preseason/exit period. They may all be gone but Tommo, Laurie, Woey, Dunstan, Melk, Hibbo, Ben Brown, JJ and Spargs could all feel hard done by. They may not be the absolute best option at times but selection integrity has been a disaster. We’ve stuck with a system and group of players that have fallen short for two years straight. Ultimately, the stubbornness and system have failed that group and the club in general. I think there will be considerable movement over this off-season and we’ll find the club isn’t quite as harmonious as it should be

The strategy in our forward half is to be defensive first, it’s what I mean by stifling our players. The only player who is allowed to play as a genuine attacking forward is Fritsch and unsurprisingly, he kicks goals. The gameplan and strategy needs to loosen up to allow pure offence because the defence first version is being shown up year after year.

We need a re-think on the type of player we are drafting/recruiting. McAdam seems to be a shift in that mindset. Being combative is important and has kept us around the mark but the limitations on our playing group are overwhelming. We are exposed for height between HBF & HFF, we lack elite ball users nor do we value them, our gameplan stifles opposition but hurts us even more. Development of players seems to have come to a screeching halt beyond Judd McVee who has been absolutely phenomenal - yes, he made a couple of errors but no more than our leaders/best players do weekly. Our 3 best players, Clarry, Trac and Max have become almost ineffective. They get great stats but what the team gets from them is of far less value. Its’s just so disappointing to be here again and I hope we can address the mental side of our game and double down on ball use

Gut feel, our list is not as strong as people think. Our best 3 players let us down horribly with their skills at key moments

May 6. Rest, better luck in 2024

Being defensive keeps you in games but it doesn’t win you games

Be nice if the 2021 version of Langdon poked his head in

Not sure Petty played any more than 7?

If what you are saying is true, this is the unicorn I have been dreaming of