rpfc

FCS, rjay... Can't let anything go through to the keeper. C&B is rightly saying that we shouldn't be so worried about players vocalising confidence because of how 'it might be taken' by the opposition. He's right - it is weak. No need to constantly harp on his form on every topic related to the bloke.

And again... The change is here. It's a little late to be forewarning... Garland has been nothing but a pro, and if Roos and co. deems him as a required player I have no qualms as I can see reasons why he would be a required player. You cannot see that and that is fine but you should stop trying to intimate that those of us who can see him getting another contract are somehow detached from, or rejecting of, reality or the issues the club faces - it demeans your argument(s) about past attitudes, talent, and skill level.

We allowed 36 points and 1 goal for a half. They had 37 Inside 50s. Trying to criticise a defender for not seeing enough footy is a bit rich - our dominant gameplan restricted how often our defenders saw the footy...

We can tweak the 'Equalisations Measures of the AFL' can we not? They were tweaked when the draft came in, they were tweaked when they set up the rule that players who refuse to come to the club that chose them will be banned from all levels of footy for 2 years. They were tweaked when they gave the northern states zones and academies. This needs to be re-tweaked. They were tweaked when FA was brought in. This needs to be re-tweaked. What is so awful about addressing issues with the 'Equalisation Measures'? 'Stop ruining the game!' Was the game ruined when the draft was brought in in the 80s? It is not a panacea for 'clubs doin' it ta themselves!1!' but it will help the league.

Not the way they played last week...

Good luck to them - no chance. And that midfield is "underperforming." In our case it "didn't exist"... If you don't get a PP based on the lack of corporeal beings I really don't think you will get one when you have those corporeal beings and they are not playing well...

Are you really trying to get me to swallow this as the sole reason we need to constantly evolve the league? Evolution is necessary - Why did the draft come in? Should we do away with it? Those are rhetorical questions because the first doesn't have a simple answer and the second would be wholly disastrous to the fabric of the game. Improvement is the mantra - and you can do that on the fixture, on FA, on the draft, on the academies. That is what we are talking about here - not blaming the poorest for their predicament but helping them out of it - for the benefit of the entire AFL.

This is not my field of expertise, but there is a significant difference in the ability for players to last for a season of footy as teenagers compared to a more seasoned body. I shouldn't have thrown the 'E' word out there but those kids are not developed footy players in mind and body. They will not last as long, in performance and application and effort, as they will in a few years time. Maybe it isn't 'tiredness' but it is footy...

I am still amazed how inert the team can be at times - Jones and Vince are looked at to do everything I would wager - when they don't, we struggle... But the structures, again, they are very unMelbourne like, strictly adhered to, never broken out of and suffocating to the opposition. Get some boldness and we are golden.

Not sure, how short is our memory, or how revised is our recent history, I guess.

The idea of doing a pre-season is to build up your endurance to be able to run out games and not fatigue during the year, the more pre-seasons you have, the more prepared your body. The young ones don't have that base that the older players do. So, I expect some of the kids to slow down and be more inconsistent in the last 7 weeks. Doesn't mean I would rest them, but that is what I expect to see.

The defensive shape of the team was just amazing. The Lions were not allowed to go through the middle and had to adopt these huge switches to Lewis Taylor who is willing but not the most creative with the footy. Players went back in their shell after HT but, again, so disciplined. Oh, and this needs to be legislatively addressed, the game needs a push in the right direction. The defensive structures and stoppage explosion is a blight at the minute.

Never would have guessed... Who would play his position? Or would you alter how the forward line functions (or doesn't function, if I can trample on a line there)?

He has rarely said anything since he came to the club, was his silence that loud in the 6 months previous to now?

Did I say he should play, or was better, or to expect anything from him? I explained why Dominating the Ruck + Good Midfielders = Clearances, whether those mids are on our team or the other team.

I hope Dawes can kick straight this week, I am not impressed by his form either but I want to win and his role is important to the team. And, that is essentially why his name is laser printed onto the whiteboard at the minute.

Clearances are won by midfielders, not ruckmen. The problem is that good midfielders simply read the taps of Gawn and Jamar when they dominate the ruck. And most of those good midfielders have not been wearing red and blue lately.

Yes, Roos has always been so wistful and vague when talking to 'journalists' - I am sure he is different with the players - they don't come out of the rooms confused and frustrated...

With the cows still nowhere in sight - I have never said it was our only problem, only the one that has the most effect on our fortunes game to game. the correlation between UPs and winning are, I believe, undeniable, and the fact that we are still 2nd worst in the league is dampening our improvement. UPs are players getting the ball in space and spread - and we don't have enough of that - and, lo and behold, the area where players are expected to do that spreading into space is the midfield. I know you are fond of the attitude issue that we must rid ourselves of but I am sorry to disappoint you - I don't reject that as an issue - I just feel that the lack of talent in our midfield is our main problem. Oddly enough that touches on skill level, leadership, and depth et al.

I sincerely hate this type of language, h_h...

What will the contracted Dawes wear? Surely, no-one else will trade for him?

Well, I am glad it is such a fait accompli. Any idea yet of the number he will wear?

That Geelong win was the best footy we have played since Bailey, and to do it at a place we have historically been abysmal at adds to that win. The poor performance that came three weeks later doesn't diminish that effort. The week before Geelong beat Port Adelaide away. The are not what they were (if they were we would not have won), but they were not same also ran easy beat like some are trying to sell. Our ability to run and spread is still sub-standard but we are now in the top half for contested footy, and while our ability to get the ball forward and score is still in the shadows of the rest of the league - it has improved from 2014. If we had beaten Essendon by 3 points and we were 5 and 9 we wouldn't be having this discussion I don't think, but we didn't kick those goals, we didn't win that game, and the argument is bent too far back after the highs of the post-Geelong "hey we can win 8 of our last 9 games! That dog has a fluffy tail!" nonsense.

Watch out for 25% improvement on last season this week then...

We are the 2nd worst in the league for UPs (195 with GC at 184) - the one rider to that is that when teams play us they don't get much more than us; our opponents average 207 which is 13 below median for the league. Inside 50s are up 3 a game but still last and 7 below median in the league.