BW511

My takeaways from today and the last few weeks; We are not a united club this year. There’s a selfishness that’s crept back in and everyone is playing to protect their spot. Problem is no one is actually pulling it off. Whilst we won a flag in 2021 on the back of defence, it’s a very, very taxing style of play. Everyone bemoans our lack of front and centre and the struggles of our small forwards but they are being asked to do too much. It’s simply not sustainable for multiple games and seasons. You need 100% commitment to make this work and teams can only do it for so long. Maybe the generational talent we supposedly hold is not as great as we think. Gawn, Trac and Clarry are all very good but there are flaws in their games that hurt us. If other teams are bringing huge effort to beat us, it’s a nice feather in the cap but we eventually have to counter it. Last one to end the rant, our game plan is so bloody ordinary to watch. I can’t imagine how frustrating it is for the players. We have sucked the enjoyment out of the game in the name of percentages. I really hope the optimists among Demonland are onto something because I am not convinced we have the list to be a threat this year.

Not sure the King brothers last too long with the ball sat on their head all day

True. He would suit us well getting up the ground

I think there’s only three forwards in the game that would be useful to us, Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene and Rankine. Not sure anyone else has the tricks to work in our stifling setup. *on the assumption we still have Kozzie and Fritta

Great post, succinct and timely! I don’t agree entirely but can appreciate your view. We’ve played 10 games so far and of those we’ve been woeful, serviceable and brilliant. I think we currently operate with far to big a gap between our best and our worst. Our best can match anyone but our best is only fleeting so far in 2023 The way the AFL is being run is causing mass chaos, they are in no man’s land. Are they an entertainment industry, a professional sporting industry or a legal industry. No one knows and I’d wager the amount of people that are genuine fans is dwindling.

I’d be tempted to risk it all for a bit more experimentation over the next few weeks. We have a lot of players out of form and a side that is miles off being cohesive. Oliver out gives us that chance. Can we give Pickett an extended run in the middle to get him into the game more consistently. He’s very much a burst player but he’s not doing the basics and needs a reset. Maybe Laurie comes in to cover his HFF/FP role. I know it’s robbing Peter to pay Paul, as they say, but he’s not kicking goals or tackling at the moment. Riv is in great form at the moment, reward him with some time on the ball. Confidence is a wonderful thing. He’s the only player on our list going better than last year. Is there an opportunity to roll Salem through the middle and see if his skills can help our forward entries - he looks fitter than he has been in years. Do we throw Jordon in for 4 weeks straight and just let him play rather than this ridiculous sub role he gets stuck with. Coming into a game in the 3rd or 4th quarter is never going to improve your game. Could potentially make me look stupid but is there an option to use Grundy as a pinch hitting XL mid in certain parts of the ground (centre square forward) Just bulldoze his way through a stoppage and roll forward. He’s pretty solid with his follow up at ground level

Massive news. The coaching merry go round in full swing again this year! I don’t like him one bit but will begrudgingly have Tom Lynch, thanks

I think Powell Pepper is similar to a Zorko. They are antagonists but if someone were to go after them physically, they are not pivotal to their team and the game rolls on around them.

I mentioned a few weeks back that if you go after our leaders we are vulnerable. Port did exactly that. Belt up Max and sit someone on Viney. It’s happened before and it will happen again

It’s absolutely absurd that it can be awarded against us on the night and then the MRP ban him post match. AFL is becoming a parody of itself

Is it too late to call up the great man?

The more I think about the way we play, the less I think we maximise our list. Sitting the ball on the head of Max/Grundy/T-Mac/JVR/BBB is not conducive to anything other than injuries over the long term. Likewise, playing the boundary gives our smalls the least amount of room to work in and basically lessens their chance of being effective. ANB, Kozzie, Chin, Spargs are all being asked to do their job in the worst possible circumstances, similarly all the talls The’ve all given it a go over an extended period of time but the novelty surely wears off

All those sides have a mix of inside/out. We have a mix of inside or further inside. JHF is going to be such a damaging player and with Butters & Rozee around him, they have a very good midfield for the next 5 years

Interestingly, I think JVR was amongst a small few that genuinely wanted to impact the contest. Yes, he gave a way a couple of frees but he wanted to be involved.

We may have 2 of the better mids in the comp and 2 of the better rucks but for all their brilliance there are serious flaws in their respective games. Teams used to beat us by bringing big mids in to match Clarry at the drop, now they bank on smaller, skilful types to just run away from us. We lack that balance that Collingwood, Brisbane and Port have around the ball. Trac almost won us the game single handedly but gee, he fumbles and shanks kicks a lot too. He’s like Dangerfield in his way to impact a contest and then completely undo his hard work. In contrast, Butters had a night to remember but he made almost every possession count, same for Rozee. This wasn’t a one off performance from them, they’ve been doing it for weeks. The game has adapted in a short time to counter our 2021 method and I think we might have hung on a little too long.

Can’t expect to win games of footy with 15-20 minutes at this level, especially as we start playing better sides. I hope there are a few blokes feeling guilty for some appalling efforts. We lack a bit of appetite for the contest and have an air of arrogance about us at the moment. Not sure we are where we hope to be at this stage of the year, particularly from a gameplay and cohesion standpoint

Regardless of what happens tonight, the side is not united like we were in 2021. We’ve gone back to being a team of individuals and it’s painful to watch. I’m not convinced that winning post clearance is a method we should adopt (thanks Yze) as we don’t have the footskills going back the other way when we play the top teams

There’s a real hesitation that creeps over the team when teams bring proper heat. We’ve got midfield ‘bulls’ being torched by 75kg whippets, 100kg+ ruckman getting knocked around by flankers and the aerial presence of an emu

Is Hunter the only bloke in the league who takes a handball receive on the chest. He’s the most scared bloke in the AFL

This game is a shining example of why we need quick and skilful mids. Trac, Clarry and Viney would all be 5-10kg heavier than their opposition

Looks a gun

As mentioned earlier in the thread by others, not sure Salem/Rivers/Bowza/McVee in a position really alters the opposition setup. If it’s gaming Hinkley, it’s pretty half hearted

Really hope the 2023 version of Salem is channeling his 2021 form. Was rushed in last year and the whole team paid for it

4 interstate games out of the remaining 14 rounds (13 games) Of which 3 are Adelaide, Sydney and Tassie (short flights) Good result

Real hard one to get a proper read on. He’s under a great deal of pressure coaching and with the allegations weighing on him. Part of me wonders if he expected to turn things around quicker than he has. Doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that would take a step backwards to go forward