D Rev

Absolutely. The game is changing and needs fresh ideas. Bevo is notorious for being stubborn and playing favorites. Look at the absolute talent that has actively sought to leave that club over the last few years! IF we were going to look for a new coach, I would want someone young who has credentials, new ideas and has tasted victory at the highest level (ie. knows how to win). That Richmond coach looks suitable...

No word of the coach having the support of the board?

I actually think winning the flag made us get ahead of ourselves a bit. Our complacency in establishing a new & better forward structure & plan has now really come back to bite us. The 'defense and contest' approach is well and truly dead and we are being overtaken. Yes, losing Gus was awful, but every team loses senior players. We shouldn't be reliant on one bloke to hold us together. If we are, that's just another example of lazy planning. I don't think anyone could see how much Viney (in particular) as well as Clarry and Trac would drop off this season, but again, blind Freddy knew it would happen and the only way to deal with it would be to get some aggressive trades in. Similarly, every team has injury issues, but not every team is completely listless as we are.

IN: Me. I'll be there. Can't wait to get back to the 'G. We are lucky to play there while we are still playing in the AFL. There are clearly a number of issues (selection, performance, effort, playing style) going on that indicate the leadership is failing. I would like to see old leadership OUT and new leadership IN. Doesn't have to be a person, can be an approach.

I will concede that I don't have all the data and experience at the top flight, so I'd really like someone from the club to explain why Disco is getting dropped after 1 game and so many others who seemed (by all available metrics) worse keep their spot. I have nothing personal against Fritta and Petty, but they seem completely adrift. A week (or 2) in the magoos will be good for confidence, getting their hands on the pill etc. It will also let us try out Adams, Fullerton (sp?) and others (Culley). Given how poorly the team has performed this year, the supporters deserve a better understanding of what is happening.

I would send that SMS back and ask for it in English.

I'd like them to stick with JVR up forward. He's still young and learning. He has been off this season, but deserves a longer chance. I think JVR at 50% is still better than a lot of our other options at 100%. I have often thought about the option of May up forward. Would certainly be entertaining if nothing else. Fullerton (sp?) definitely deserves a go in the 1s. Fritta definitely needs a spell. Reckon Petty too, with things going the way they are, its worth finding out how Adams for Petty might work.

Can get the lads into Revolver anytime of day

Melksham is probably one of the best kicks in the team and a natural forward. I'd leave him in, he may not get many touches but he does create opportunities. Viney was absolutely woeful up forward on the weekend. I understand him not taking marks up there and they shouldn't kick it to him, but he shouldn't be there if that is the case. Similar goes for Trac, if we aren't winning it out of the middle, he shouldn't be up forward. It's a real indictment on the rest of the forwards that Trac needs to be in there at all. Having Disco back will help.

I actually thought TMac was pretty good on the weekend, apart from a couple of bad kicks. Petty was soundly beaten though. Im wondering if Nibbler has been telling him about the Barossa or Rundle Mall or any of the other SA highlights.... Fritsch really was terrible on the weekend. Particularly around the contest. He's a straight swap for Disco.

Thanks for the respectful and considered response! It's engagements like this that give you hope! Good point around the questioning of the use of talent. I feel like things haven't been the same since Trac got injured, which is when the 'rolling rebuild' started. The other thing I keep coming back to is how poor our 'elite' players have been the last 2 weeks when compared to R1. There is obviously something going on. I'm a bit believer in players being responsible to do their best, but it's the coaches role to enable that. Something is definitely not happening to get them going and it needs to change.

Look at the Cats, they never go into total rebuild mode, they just do a 'rolling rebuild' continuously. I reckon we actually started a 'rolling rebuild' after Tracs injury last year. Look at all the young players we brought in. We also drafted really well. Given that we contested well in R1, I suspect that our malaise with our core (elite) group is all above the shoulders. Get that right and we are competitive. It's an even competition and if your stars don't fire, you're done.

For mine, there are four major issues that need addressing: What happened after R1?: I cannot understand how we have gone from nearly beating the Giants to putting in absolute slop efforts. Last week we were run off our feet and this week our vaunted midfield was made to look a grade below. What has happened?! The performance of our top tier players: Following on from point 1, our top rated players were all well under standard yesterday. Gawn looked genuinely disinterested at times and some of his efforts were shockingly half hearted. Clarrie was poor, Viney was non existent, Trac tried when near it but wasnt a game winner, Fritsch shirked several contests, May was soundly beaten (and was lucky not to have 8 kicked on him). Forward Entries: Long time issue, but our decision making and skill execution going forward was atrocious. How many times did we kick to a 2-on-1, straight to the opposition or a shorter player in a marking contest? Really, really simple stuff and equally frustrating. Skills & Nous: I can't remember us fumbling the ball so badly in dry conditions, it was baffling. Similarly, players positioning themselves in the wrong spots at marking contests. So many times the ball came out of a contest and we had players nowhere near it. Our ground kicking was really poor again too; some kicks straight to the opposition and other short kicks and handballs not hitting targets. On a brighter note, I thought many of our second (Salem, Bowey, Langdon, Chandler, McDonald) and third tier players (Sharp, Henderson) were good. Also positive is that Windsor, Kozzie and Lever should all come back in - probably Turner too based on 14 marks and 5 goals. Wouldn't mind Laurie coming in for some skills, but we really need our guns firing.

We have a challenger for clickbait king!

Lies, damn lies and club doctors