GS_1905

Interesting segment from Hoyne in SEN on atm. Short storey is that the style that won us the premiership in 21 is pretty much dead in the water and probably has been for 12+ months. Ball movement is king. Better kickers and decision makers is what will matter in the modern game. No surprises there. All pundits acknowledged we are trying to change and have some good young talent that should develop. Piled on Carlton as they are in no man’s land. Having said that the Bkies and the Dees were bottom 2 on offence profile so there’s that. I think what we do with Clarry, Trac, Sparrow and Viney will define the success of MFCs next era. They are excess to requirements in the modern game. Clearly you can’t get rid of all of them - nor should we try too but we do need to explore trades to free up salary cap space and get into the draft or trade space.

For anyone that was listening to SEN I was the one whole raised the Danger MRO issue with Gaz via sms. It was shot down quickly by Tom Morris and Whately. In the same sms I asked why Gawns / Goody story was the first one off the press with all the noise around JUH at #2 that part wasn’t addressed.

The thing for me which is most concerning is our stoppage setup when Gawny is getting beat. Surely the midfield group have set plays that setup more defensively in stoppage to try and counteract these situations. The North midfielders are talented but are still pups. We saw this against Freo and WC last year so it is something that has transpired before.

Wow Trac had a real good stinker: I actually didn’t realise how bad it was. Understand he played forward but his game was worse than Gawns rating wise.

I have an uncanning ability to mozz myself. I’ll wear it - intact I’ll celebrate it. I ain’t easy to do. I still stand by my initial comment though, he is bottom 6 material and doesn’t play the position well.

An elite kick he was never. Bowey is and always has been bottom 6. The sooner people realise that the better. Has he ever had a 20+!disposal game ? 100+ SC points? HB is the position for fantasy point galore and he has not even come close. He is holding that place for Windsor & McVee & Lindsay. After that he’ll be VFL bound or at another club.

Spoke perfectly.

We really do make it easy for Tom.

Why didn't we go after Caleb Daniel?

I dont think we can blame Chaplin just yet. perhaps its the forwards that are choosing not to lead. or the midfielders not wanting to honour the lead.

They wont come down hard on Goody yet. There's a few others in front of Goody who deserve more attention. Brad Scott and John Longmuir to name a few. Remember the later was a premiership fancy by some. Kingy this AM / last night said the era is over. I'm glad he finally got the memo, i think most knew it was over in 2024 and 25+ was about how we could reinvent ourselves to contend again. those thinking we are genuine chance this year were perhaps a bit fanciful in their expectations. Realistically we were a very slight chance to make top 4, reasonable chance to make top 8 but more likely chance to finish somewhere 9-14. The later wont surprise most pundits in the game as that is the expectation externally. It is what we do with this year that is important. Geelong were able to reinvent themselves in 2022 after several straight exits and miraculously turned it around and won a flag the same year - i think this was more exception than the norm. Hawthorn found their mojo midway through last year after being cellar dwellers for nearly half a decade and now don't look like slowing down. Same story with GWS. This is why 2024 was a waste, we could have moved past these teething problems but silly coaching and ego got in the way. There is a line though to performance. Everybody will have it slightly different including the media. I think if we go 0-5, Goody wont be around much longer.

The only way i can rationalize this is that keeping Gawn and Viney around for an extra 'twilight' year will be significant as our club transitions to a younger side. We see young sides stagnate due to lack of senior leadership, so these players will be helpful if they are not even on the park full time.

Possibly, its all about playing to your strengths. A smaller forward line will need even quicker ball movement as they thrive in space, using their speed and agility to score. Having some tall lumber in their allows a focal point for which smalls can crumb. Yesterday we didnt adjust to the Jeffo injury and were kicking it straight to an outnumber in Comben and made the guy to look like an AA CHB but even if we did, we are no good when the ball hits the deck and dont apply enough pressure when the oppo defence is trying to exit.

And Toby Bedford.

All Max has to do is what TDK, LJ do. Large run and jump. Knee into the guts and chest of Xerri. Ruck isnt that hard if you have the tool and attributes, which Max does have. I was baffled why Max stayed on the ground as much as he did.. Perhaps its just his age showing and we have to accept it.

We play percentages and dont take risk. The slingshot you refer to is predicated on moving the instant we get the turnover. This requires everyone to be on the same page, which means players get a head of the play in anticipation of uncontested ball. We try to create similar situation at stoppage when we try to exit from front. In play stoppages or when the ball is in dispute, we over commit numbers to the contest which leave very little numbers on the outside. Teams set up knowing that a) if we win the contest, their outside defenders will just close in and result in a MFC disposal under pressure or turnover; or b) If they win the contest or win the ball back, they just need to get a handball to the outside for a clean break and unpressured ball movement, which will then see our defensive press up the ground fold-in to try and win the ball back. At this point it is just a training drill. All in all, a lot needs to change and change takes time. I dont think we have the cattle with the new game plan. We have some of the parts in the young fellas we have bought in over the last 3-4 years, but we need wholesale changes in KPs over the ground. It will be interesting to see how we rebuild this side without dropping to depths of the bottom 4. But i dont think we play finals for the next couple of years at the very least.

Im glad for you. I have a stiff neck, aching lower back, throbbing headache all after sleeping 2/10ths of nothing from the elevated cortisol throughout yesterday and its only round 2. I need a different past time, this game is not for me anymore.

Its hard to determine whether Goody has put in the wrong strategy or whether the players failed to execute yesterday. We dont know what the complete strategy is yet as we have yet to see it working. Week 1 was wet footy and yesterday was a complete shambles. I do think that the errors of last year will not be repeated. We will persevere with this new gameplan and by his admission there will be some teething problems. Honestly, I can look past the skill & execution errors as players find themselves in unfamiliar situations in pressure scenarios and will often stuff up. However these are professional's and are paid as such. They are also mature players with years of experience. So i would expect that teething issues will last 3-4 games before we start to see it gel and work. The 1st milestone is what we reach Round 6 with. Right now 1-5 :0-6 beckons. Winning the next 2 will be an absolute miracle, because they are better than North. To me 2-4 is borderline and constitutes reassessment after the bye round. Anything worse i just cannot see how he stays.

It is strange. Perhaps it’s soft cap issue and we are just trying to make ends meet until we free up a bit of cash.

Firstly, Silly thread but I’lll bite as cortisol still through the roof and am in the mood for doom scrolling. Our delivery inside 50 is still problematic but it is a bit of chicken or egg situation. Forwards don’t lead because midfielders don’t kick it to them, so forwards stay deep and hence mids kick it long to the square all the time so the forwards stay there reinforcing the behaviour. Now if we they both don’t change at the same time then it’s only natural to go back to what you know is safe.

Respect is warranted 100%. You’d just hope that Goody will call a spade a spade and see his time is up and we agree to an amicable end and move on if the results don’t fall our way sooner rather than later.

This is why you’d have to pull the trigger mid season and start to get in season changes started. They’ll be tactical and unlikely to stick but it will be a start. The changes can continue in off season and will likely need a further season to ingrain. What ever way you look at it it’s 1-2 year proposition best case.

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Pre season should have had groups of 4 running at pace through the corridor against the whole team trying to get into the forward 50 at pace on repeat until it becomes instinctive. We need super fit ground ball winners that can go HB to F50. Kozzy is one, Windsor is two. Need 3-4 more.

May and Windsor will not be rushed back IMO. I doubt they will return given May was to consult a specialist late this week for next steps and Windsor was on crutches today in the rooms. I’d say both are 3-4 weeks away.