Jjrogan

Agree. Not as confident as last week but for every match winner they still have, we probably have two. A lot of their players are noticeably down on confidence. Worst case scenario here is they kick accurately early on, get their tails up and get some score board pressure. 'We are not as bad as you think'

We are 13th on scores against from turnover. 10th on scores from turnover. Netted, we are 10th overall on differential. The top 8 in both stats is pretty much the top 8, but really that shouldnt be too much of a surprise. Most scores come from turnovers and if youre in the top 8 logic says youll have the better percentage and therefore be most likely in the better half for turnover stats. As for game plan, i agree with you there is a clear shift in our game plan, you may not like what you are seeing or agree with it, but if you cant see we are trying to switch more especially in the back half what games are you watching? Salem is 3rd in the league for marks! That's not nature thats nuture. I also agree with the consensus we need some better penetrating kicks. Pies have 4 of the top 30. Adelaide have Dawson and elite kicks forward of centre. Brisbane have Zorko and the Luggage. We have.... Melksham, who is quietly the best in the AFL (with both feet) and Bowey, just. I reckon Lindsay and Langford are above average for now but may nudge elite. However, Windsor and Pickett are below average and ill bet my bottom dollar they will remain so. You can count on one hand players that significantly improve their kicking after they are drafted. Pickett however can create scoring opportunities from nothing so ill take the bad with the good every day of the week if he's in the middle. I know I harp on it elsewhere but our biggest issue by far and part of the reason our game plan has looked so ordinary this year is because we have generational low output from our key forwards. The worst this century. Its not just the delivery as others find a way to get marks inside 50. If we had the output of even bang average kpf forward in our team, say Peter Wright and Mabior Chol we would be contending for the 8. But end of the day thats not enough, to win a flag we need a few more elite kicks. Sad thing is I think both Oliver and Petracca are having decent seasons apart from their kicking, which in Petraccas case will mean revert, so i dont really know how we're going to solve this puzzle.

! Cue up the Can we talk about Tom Sparrow thread.

Judd seems to me playing with a bit less confidence and a loss of step this year. Maybe there's a niggle thats holding him back but his kick to Fritta was a good reminder how good he can be if he backs himself to look for the tougher option. He saw that one so late in the ball drop but still nailed it.

Very interesting selection week with Petty. We look so much quicker and mobile without JVR and Petty in the same forward line.

Fristch, Pickett and Melksham are all in the top 60 players in the league for marks inside 50 per game. Petty is 110 Jvr is 140 Im not suggesting for one minute our delivery is good, but this is where the biggest underperformance has been by a long way. Fwiw Turner was in the top 25 or so before Simom says he is a defender. We need a KPF who can reliably clunk a few.

What uninspiring selection, (though Sharp is a blessing) What exactly to look forward to this week? Win well - big talent gap should be thunping these guys. Some of the younger players play well, some dont Win small - lucky to win, will get easily beaten by the better teams. None of the younger players play well. Lose - Meltdown. Hardly anyone plays well [Insert here] is underperforming and needs to be traded. Not to say I dont want to win, but surely we need to use the next 8 weeks to learn something about our list, positional and roles if you are "rebuilding" Spose I should wait for gametime and die of shock when May or Turner goes to FF, given their KPFs are worse than ours. No excuse not to put up 16 goals+ if the weather is fine.

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"

Wow. A fresh look. New roles. North scrambling a little in the coaches box. Players and supporters excited at something different. Wont happen.

This week yes, but If there's minimal change to the forward line, i am hopeful but not expecting a major change to our results over the rest of the season. Still, North may be without 5 of their best 10 players. For a bottom 3 team. This should just be a matter of stopping Sheezel and Curtis and winning by 6 to 8 goals or we are not a serious contender for a long long time.

If jvr and petty cant put up even 'average' forward numbers against North and some of the weaker teams in the next month, its time for some honest truths. Average numbers would be 4 marks a game and 3 scoring shots. That's the bare minimum to make it as a kpf. If not for Melksham's elite forward work we would have lost the last 2 weeks by 6 goals +.

Yep, because Jeremy Cameron would dominate at CHB. Just because he is having a great season behind the ball doesnt mean you dont even try him ahead of the ball. But Simon says its a better process to watch us lose the same way every week with the same deficiencies.

I want both at the club next year. I get it, we're losing so we want to blame our senior players. If we off load them cheaply, you can expect a decade in the wilderness. Nothing surer. Trac's numbers are better this year than last if you want to believe it or not. His player rating is still above Neale, Daicos, Dawson... player ratings are severely impacted by missed shots at goals and if he had kicked straight he would be in the top 10 midfielders. (Will he ever again?) Im sure the usual, 'he isnt having an impact' is brought up, but objectively he is, his score involvements are still top 15 in the league. As for Clarry, he's had a different role this year with less game time, but he still is a top 15 midfielder for contested possessions and pressure acts. He is 100 percent having a go and is very aware of his limitations by foot and trying not to get the cheap handball receives like last year. Adding to the midfield this year has been Pickett who has been AA phenomenal. Yes, today they had their colours lowered but overall this season they are not the problem. Our biggest gap to competition in 2025 has been our goal kicking (generationally bad) and inability to take marks inside 50 per entry. That's because we set up poorly (press too high up) and have massively substandard kpfs who continue to get a forward role with 2 or less scoring shots a week. Petty amd JVR have has 16 marks inside 50 in 23 games between them all year. Neither one of them are in the top 110 players. That's not all delivery. That' s a total lack of afl level forward nous.

Ive been calling for Turner up forward for 20 weeks, since the Richmond game last year. But what we're doing instead is also fun to watch.

Soo.. dont try it. Gotcha. Carry on, then.

Dont be ridiculous. Turner has shown repeatedly this year he a better footballer than his opponent and is saving the game, if not saving humanity, by playing down back. He knows how to win a contested mark and is quick on his feet and reflexes. Our football department is very, very savvy and know exactly what they are doing playing him down back as we have multiple great young forwards that fulfil their role perfectly week in week out.

Time to go, Goody. No Time to change, Goody. Yes.

The 2 things id like to see this week and the rest of the season. The bloke in the 2s who is averaging 24 touches, 6 tackles and 1 goal (in a winning record side) getting a chance to play in the seniors for real. This notion is he isnt this or that is absolute bollocks. He deserves a chance to pick up some game time (played 2 full games in 2 and a half years?!?) and get some confidence. Turner or May forward. I may be one of the few (maybe only supporter) that actually think our mids are not the biggest problem this year. Yes they hack it but they always have. Yes its a bit worse than 'normal', but reversion to a more efficient mean will happen. Our kicking for goal has cost us 1-2 wins, but really we have the league worst kpf fowards have cost us another 2-3 wins. They have absolutely zero idea how and when to lead. IMelksham was given the fwd 50 and he had 11 shots at goal. Fritsch has had 18 in 5 weeks. Pickets had games of 9 and 6. Petty and JVr as old school contest down the line forwards are our problem. Neither one of them has had more than 2 shots at goals in the last 7 games. Its not all delivery, they are just not the answer. Its time to confirm or reject this hypothesis by trying SOMETHING NEW.

Excited for Jeffo to be given a run but he must have shots on goal. Just giving a contest is not enough. Its not like we have an elite small unit. Forget about accuracy for a second. Harrison Petty in 33 games as a forward has had a shockingly low 41 shots at goal. 1.25 per game. To give some context, Mason Cox averages 1.4 over his 'career'. I fully appreciate the 'our mids are hacks' (they are) and the 'we dont nove it quick enough' (we do) but this really isnt a satisfactory output. Blinkers.

No doubt our ball movement this year has been a positive. (Ranked 2nd). However, the stat is a means to an end. It needs to be finished off with marks inside 50. Yesterday a 34 year old showed what forward craft is. Leading up, doubling back, getting free kicks. Apart from brief glimpses from Fritta this year, thats about it. And yet we persist with the same players who are clearly lacking as natural forwards. Meanwhile, Goodwin has now boxed Turner, who actually knows how to play in front, lead aggressively. run hook leads, take a contested mark etc as a backman. You can find a backman any old day. Its time for a fresh pair of eyes or a more fluid mindset.

I get the sense Goodwin's message and attitude in press conferences is the same as his coaching style and message to the players. To say you were proud of the comeback is a total cop out. He continually fails to address or identify the problem which is why the problem isnt being solved. Namely, we are by far the easiest team to prepare for. Predictable structure and personnel, predictable strengths and weaknesses. We cant mark inside 50 (which is the games most important stat) and we cant defend on turnover, both of which are squarely on him after 50 games of this nonsense.

Some honesty with the situation would be appreciated. "Ive been trying the same things now for 2 years and its not working, it may be time to change things up"

This is an easy one. For those played 9 games. JV is the competitions worst midfielder for disposals per turnover (3.8), and 2nd worst for disposals per clanger (behind the Chosen One). He's been top 20 for this category for 3 years. Head scratcher when he comes back into the side and he starts in the centre square. Fwiw the best in this category are Pendles, Steele, Atkins.

Interestingly, Trac has had more contested possessions and tackles than his same number of games last year. He might be shirking pack marks but inside CBA hes shirking no contest. He's also still a top 30 player rating and top 20 score involvements player for a bottom 4 team. His stats are actually very similar to last year to when we were flying except we arent winning games and his clanger rate is materially higher. (Correlated). A large reason we won the 2021 finals so emphatically is he went into God mode with his disposals for a month. We need that back desperately.

I think its poor take from Hird and focussing on a weakness that really isnt there. We get more than enough clean entries, the whole issue is knowing what to do with them. Focussing on 'shape' is a rabbit hole that leads nowhere. (Even in that clip, we get a clean exit) Langford and Lindsay will be good. Please no to Windsor. Zero left foot, below average handball, doesnt win contested ball and for a guy that gets majority of his possesions uncontested his disposal is below average. This notion he is a good ball user simply doesnt show up in the stats or the eye. Like a golfer that has a good swing, can hit a huge drive but no consistent iron or short game....