Howard_Grimes

Yeh, I know not everyone will agree. I just think Trac can bounce again, especially with a change of coach. He is completely solid off-field. Clarry STILL isn't. Trac is elite in his prep, lives a professional athletes life, has a partner, is settled etc etc. Clayton is a lost boy and it shows on the field. The way he lives his life directly translates to how he plays imv. Completely erratic, too loose, doesn't bother thinking through situations with ball in hand. We've been covering the cracks for a long time with Goody's boring talk about it all. Connectedness etc. . But I've known for sometime that not all is well between players. And it's shown throughout the year at various stages. It's as if people forget that two of our prime movers wanted out less than 12 months ago. I think it was fanciful thinking that we were magically going to recover as a group from that. Whether people like it or not, that's a big issue that can have a lasting effect emotionally. And with the scrutiny and media pressure put on elite athletes in this day and age, it's naturally going to become ANOTHER negative factor that will impact performance at some level along the way. We've been trying to bandaid things for way too long. And this is the result of that dodgy patchwork. A quarter like that. You'll get the same posters blowing it off as if it's nothing. Cause that's the bubble they like to live in. But it's a big issue and something has to give now.

What on earth makes you think our fitness such a pressing issue? Is that demonland podcast? This fitness issue is the most over-talked, nonsense I've ever heard. At this level of sport, differences between the fitness levels of teams is minute. It would only be a talking point if we had a significant run of injuries and were playing more than half a side of Casey players. It is the biggest load of tripe I've heard. Our fitness is fine. It's skill execution, decision making, players levels of motivation, a mentally fatigued group and coaching that are THE reasons. The 'we don't look fit enough' talk is due to the above. Nothing to do with actual player fitness.

For the picks that they'd net us, it'd be possible for sure. I still want Trac to stay and I still think under a new coach and another season post his injury he could bounce hard. I don't think the same for Oliver and I genuinely think that there's still tension between players due to Oliver's mishaps over the journey. Which is part of why we're a disconnected group and a group that seem to play for themselves. We are carrying Oliver and it's weighing the club down in more than one way.

He wants to come back yeh but the likelihood of it being us is extremely low. Unless we the club are willing to part with more than some supporters would like.

I have a contact who works at a big network station and works with the partner of someone inside the club. And I can say that earlier in the year when things weren't looking great, Buckley was someone that we had a word to, sounding out his interest. I get tidbits but I can also say that Buckley has pulled out of the Tassie gig if it were to get off the ground. As far as the Goody situation goes right now, no idea. Obviously the club will be looking at the potential financial loss of having another year next year where membership drops, attendance to games is poor, the potential of players wanting out at end of year etc etc vs the payout that comes with sacking him. My hope is that we part ways with him, bring in someone like Buckley with some strong line coaches. It's the only way I see our current core having a spike. You don't have quarters like yesterday with a club that isn't fractured. We are fractured, regardless of what the blindly positive posters think.

The last quarter simply is a by-product of all the little festerings that have gone on at this club over the last 12-18 months. Nothing more and nothing less. A completely unorganised group of senior players who are simply not connected. No matter what people say. They play for themselves. And that's part of why you get these enormous inconsistencies within games. A coach who just cannot inspire and has zapped all the fun out of footy. The players feel it, we feel it. No vibe to our games, to the crowd, just vanilla. That Oliver moment where he could have finished the game off was one of the most amazing but also hardly surprising pieces of play I've seen. How can someone who has previously been so elite in an area of his game, equally have perhaps the worst composure of any best 22 player across the league? Like, is that Melbourne to a T or what? Oliver's inability to think in moments like that is just unbelievable. So dumb. It's wild. Goody and Oliver to go end of year. Bring Buckley in, a few strong line coaches and watch the team transform.

No if that last quarter is not down to the fact that we've been loading, I don't know what is! Help me out here @binman

Hahaha. Yeh, we've been loading though so it's alllll good.

Not watching, how has Duursma looked? And Kalani?

Whilst we're on the 'loading' or 'fitness issue', I have a question for those who think it is a strong contributor.. Given the myriad of post-round analysis television and talk-back radio shows within the sport, please tell me why these contributing factors aren't talked about in the same vein as they are on demonland? Genuine question? Like, seriously? What are your answers?

One would think that if 'loading' played such a significant role and determined certain results throughout a home and away campaign, we'd be hearing a whole lot about all clubs. Not just ours. So no, it's not about a narrative that I hold. If it were a 50/50 split of who it affected, do you think I'd say boo? The reason I bite back is because it seems to be about us almost entirely every time. (save the 1% that you've noted). And it's spoken about conveniently when we spike after a shock loss A LOT!

A huh, my bad. I should have specified that 99% of the time it's about how it affects us.

I'm sorry... The discussion is never about how other clubs fare against us based on their 'training block' or where they're at in their 'loading cycle'. Never. It has always been about how it has affected our performance be it an unexpected loss or a spike against a better side.

A great point that INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, never gets talked about on demonland?! I wonder why.. Doesn't fit the narrative!

There are a bunch of us not on the pod who have only been saying this for the last 3-4 years...