rpfc

And maybe some @Nudgefor dessert??

JVR is just a kid and kids get dropped. We aren’t a teaching hospital anymore - we are in it to win it. As I have said through out the year - JVR is promising but he needs development and I just don’t think he is going to get that in the AFL. He may push out one of smith and brown and I think he will play more games but I think our best team has him outside the 22 this year.

I think @old55 was more looking at 15 wins not being enough for top 2 - and he is right.

Did school holidays start a day early?

Funny things happen down the pointy end amongst the best teams - ask the Tigers in 2018. That I can deal with, straight sets against teams that are worse than us not so much.

If we don’t make a prelim - it’s a failed year. That remains until May/Gawn retire for any season we have few injuries to stars. These expectations are the price of having this galaxy of stars.

I don’t think that is true. Last year we were banged up, we couldn’t win many second halves. Even in games we won well in our streak last year. This year in the last 6 weeks, we have nailed our press against good teams. We have won contested possession against good teams. Apart from last week, we were fine in last quarters. The gap in forward connection is structurally fixable to some degree, also trust can increase and make an impact, and simple decision making can also improve that execution in final third. I think the rest of the year will play out like this - we will get it together against some teams and smash them with our press funnelling deep entries and goals, win a ho hum 5 goal dominant game, and then we will have a couple of games where we will struggle to kick 10 goals, and we will see if our team defence can keep them to 8 goals… Never out of a game but also rarely destroying teams out of having a chance. We are a huge chance this year unless Port or Geelong click into Red Hot September. All teams have deficiencies. Ours are important, but because of team defence - it is coverable.

Well said, AF. I posited last year that our ball movement and entry into the pocket was suspicious in its protection of our defence and curtailing transition. I don’t think we are as bad as that right now which is promising, but I think that trust in our ability to cause a contest across half forward has been dealt a blow. Smith has been ignored in 1-1 hit ups since he returned, JVR is so promising but just a kid and rarely have I seen ball movement quick enough for him to get it leading at the carrier inside 65m from goal. Instead we delay for a pack, Gawn to arrive, or just pump to an out on the boundary. Will BBB make a difference? I hope so, will our eyes lower against the teams down the bottom and get us going? Will players allow themselves that extra half second, the inboard or forward hand pass? These are the things that seperate FDs.

I was more adding on to your point as opposed to accusing you of anything

It ruins conversations on this site. We have been unable to score 80 points for nearly two months and we have forward connection and execution issues but that can’t be discussed because of Demonlands ‘Fire Blanket of Conversation’ - the loading conversation. I have always agreed that aerobic capacity is built on during the season, somehow this then become a two month long theory to explain away declining performances. And that was proven erroneous last year - we were leaking out of our front half and we were then banged up later in the year. Now we start the season with the performance manager at the club saying that the bye week creates a three week period of an opportunity to what some would call ‘load’ - and that has again become the ‘reason’ for maligned performances and execution. Thursday night in Geelong cannot be explained away by fatigue. Our dominance in the contest and pressure and in the press in the first 3 qtrs could not be capitalised on by delivery into a forward line that has little presence and structure. If then the final qtr capitulation is at the lap of Griffith then fine, but review his position at the end of the year - it was that pitiful. We wanted to win that game - we went the day before, we trained on the ground. So we need to address our issues, and I am eager to discuss it.

Gawn remaining in AA form was never in the cards once Grundy was brought in. It is to add 3 years to his career and develop into a forward that can kick 35 goals a season.

Well that’s a wasted $600k… We just need to commit to what was the intention - Grundy more ruck and Gawn deep forward. Then we need to move it to Gawn’s favour and allow Brodie to play like he is comfortable playing when in the ruck. Gawn holding up the team as he slowly saunters forward from the ruck because we are bereft of faith and trust in our forwards doesn’t help. Nor does our lack of a number 1 forward to make Gawn a point of difference in the pocket. The ruck situation isn’t a problem in my eyes, we are dominating contest and ground balls against good teams and that was one of the worries of being too tall. We just aren’t making the most of our opportunities when past halfway.

We are but Lambs to the Taylor…

Well, what are you doing about it then. You can’t just wallow on it; sacrifice a goat to a witch doctor like I did and improve our chances!

As Griffith intimated in the chat with Andy, Binman and George - they will make sure the 3 ten day breaks are used as an opportunity to get KMs in the legs - but can we put this red herring back in the lake for a second? We lost on Thursday because we didn’t capitalise when we dominated and then got done on the break as we went searching for goals and overcommitted. So yeah, what Jaded said.

They may trade the pick if Reid is clearly No 1 and they know he won’t stick around. But GWS will be well placed too. Or pick 3 flops around those picks… Freo have to finish bottom 5 for us to be a chance IMO.

They need to commit to one forward, and one in the ruck. Sometimes we slow movement into the forward line so Max can get down there from the ruck… Slowing ball movement. In this team. They need to play their actual role and it will be much better. If you are in the ruck then set up the wall, if you are forward, then lead into the hole. But because Max and Pretty much everyone has zero faith in our forward execution - they flood him forward at all opportunities. Frankly, these two are not our concern - some of their play is a symptom of our broken forward connection and setup and lack of craft.

For Petracca and Oliver - I am pretty sure Cal Twomey or Mitch Cleary reported they are on a percentage of the cap. So as it goes Up during the decade - their salary will go up pro rata. Pretty good value on all of them I reckon.

If ESS pull off a win, they are a better team than I give them credit for.

It’s learned behaviour. And it’s why I worry for JVR’s development; if you don’t expect the extra handball in board to then get a deeper entry, or you don’t expect the lowering of eyes to hit up someone 60 out then you go where you think the ball will be. And then that’s where the ball will inevitably go. The odd occasion we give an extra hand and take the extra half second to hit up a lead may end in failure which reinforces the ‘bomb it forward’ mentality. It’s harder to see forward craft ahead of the ball on TV but when I was down for Freo, Carl, and Coll games - I was left worried about JVRs leading habits and the role he was asked to play. He’s a kid and has time but it is simply unfair to him and to our window to not get him and Fritsch a number 1 tall forward that pushes them into more comfortable roles.

We won Kings Birthday because of our defence and our press. We are a defensive first team. But being unable to score more than 70 points is unsustainable in the long run - pressure lifts, mistakes are made, talent breaks through. So we need to find some structure and trust with how we bring the ball into the forwards and how they navigate space or we make it so difficult for ourselves. Long term - Lamb needs to get us a number 1 forward next to JVR and we need some new ideas to take control of our forward line and our ball movement into the forward half. Territory isn’t enough anymore.

Not if they have strained their hamstring. @Webber - bat signal.

Here we go again… I don’t doubt that these 3 10 day breaks have been peppered with running blocks but can we put that to one side? The genesis of our issue was not that last quarter - it was our inability to construct deep and meaningful forward entries when we were winning the contest and territory. And applying amazing pressure as you note. Like last year - I am ignoring the ‘red herring’ of loading to see if there are broader issues and there are. There just are. We are really not creating good forward entries against good teams and it’s making it harder to capitalise on and score goals.

We overcommitted trying to score ourselves. But that is just a symptom. The reason why we over committed is because the players were feeling the pressure of having the ball, dominating the contests and stoppages and yet we couldn’t get good looks and kick goals. So they crab walk forward hoping to get it done and then turnover or lost contest and slingshot and we’re stuffed. When you play a press, one problem is in no way can you allow teams to get over it - it’s curtains - no one is on anyone and all the space is a funnel towards their goal.

They are not creating good chances against the best teams. It’s not simply ‘executing’ better in the 50. We don’t get it deep, and the amount of times we wait for Gawn to setup down there leads one to believe that we are bereft of ideas and forward options, especially ones we want to move the ball quickly to.