rpfc

I don’t know what you’re so upset about; we won expected score again This time 85-66. See all you at the Expected Prelim and our entry into Expected Grand Final. We need to bring in some forwards. We have too many pretending to be good forwards in their prime.

So Tom Morris is calling the game and you want me to listen to him?

These changes are fine, from this we can draw a few conclusions; we want midfield production from a goer in JJ, and smarts and more box to box running from 50 to 50 in Spargo, the Tomlinson pick is for the resting ruck. They are very safe picks for a club that has to win this game. They are fine, and they will not be the reason we win or lose. How we erupt from defence when we turn it over will. How quickly we move it and whether we can get some looks in the corridor will. Whether we get it in the 50 quickly or delay and get bottled up will.

Well, yes, because they play different positions.

Well, maybe, but the ‘idea’ of that is better the ‘reality’ of that.

That’s pretty much what the FD I saying to the team… Because if they blaze away, Weitering will be BOG.

Well now we’re hexed. Now I have to do a good deed. Give my neighbour some help with his ikea kitchen or ‘try to smother’ a Collingwood supporter at woolies... I will see you guys later, gotta go up the shops.

He’s a star mate. A tough, premiership player. Literally had the norm smith until CP5 went platinum in the last 40 mins.

Bump.

The football gods will take care of this hopefully, we have a footy game to play and hopefully a career to continue in 2024 if Gus wants to keep playing.

This isn’t instruction, it’s execution but it’s the kind of execution you get when it is seemingly meaningless what you do with the footy inside 50. ’Defence first, defence first’ should be a quiet reminder, not a slogan. We essentially burnt our entries inside 50 last year to protect our mids and backs we were so banged up; long and to the pocket. I really think we are still dealing with the impact of that hubris and contempt for the game; ‘we can’t get anything near to our best with fit VFL players instead of first timers so let’s try to game the system hanging on to leads and ruining the natural instinct of creativity and boldness going past centre.’ I don’t see it being sorted out in the next three weeks and it’s so disappointing - we are the best team in my view in 2/3 of the game - defence and ‘in dispute’ - but bottom 4 offensively…

The rest is football with Micah Richards and Alan Shearer. Very funny. New.

As Gary Lineker recently said on his podcast “when I went to Barcelona I was chasing and tackling and the players stopped me at half time and said ‘what are you doing, you’re here to score goals.’ I said to myself ‘I’ll have a bit of that’ but when I came back to Spurs I had to do that nonsense again!”

I have found that with teams I coach - those that run and get into good positions and get ignored - they end up not bothering because why would you? Why would you do that extra running and effort only to get ignored? Team sports, and the roles within, are about empathy and trust - in yourselves and in others. And we talk about being ‘defence first’ too much - to the point where we do not trust ourselves to kick it to where we might advantage ourselves because it will also heighten the risk that it may disadvantage ourselves. May needs to stop yelling and screaming at mistakes, Lever needs to play on at all occasions, McVee and Rivers need to be assisted to drive us forward, Goodwin needs to stop saying the D word and we need to get it quickly to our best forwards - who are good enough to get us a winning score.

It is a wasted opportunity but the one glimmer and maybe it is for the Lions more than us but we are on the toughest side of the draw and one of Melb, Carl, or Bris will win the GF by 8 goals (Dees by 4 goals).

This high press does my head in; May and Lever won’t gamble on the counter by feet and hands but love gambling trying to get the footy 75 out. I am becoming more concerned about how we are built out of a selfish defensive system.

Hang on a second…

Yeah, First Crack isolated the stilted and stifling play off half back where we went sideways and didn’t reward blokes that got free in the middle - culprits were the backs and the wingers. This is not surprising and extremely disappointing that we seemingly didn’t use the last 6 weeks to learn new habits to win games at the risk of losing them. And now we have enabled our own demise not looking to expose and be bold. We are tight and worried and that is not the definition of a flag winning team. Can Goodwin release them? Is not this why you are on the bench like a soccer manager? Because one manager I know used to yell at his Celtic team to “pass it [censored] FORWARD!”

Not a Max issue… Wow. They both should be sharing the ruck and the sacrifice. We have a Semi Final we have to win - we are without options - can Max step up and sacrifice for the team to get to a Prelim in Brisbane? It’s a failed year if it doesn’t happen.

We must be in jail a lot the way we kick it down there… But yes, preferably he is deep on slow plays and on the wing providing hands on quick plays. The more I think about this - our forward line, the way we move the ball, I think we should refresh the assistant coaches especially if Yze is off to Richmond. We are so stale with the footy.

The rest of that water is coming fast…

Don’t ask me; ask the Footy Department. I didn’t want this trade and said as much at the time. They want to prolong Max’s career by making him progressively ruck less and become a fed who rucks. They shouldn’t have bothered. But we have to work with what we have got in 2023 and Gawn being deep may be our best chance to kick a winning score.

Mate, that is essentially what the FD wanted to do when they recruited Grundy last year. Max hasn’t shown the desire or ability to get it going. Having said that - it’s what we should do.