CHF

Due to a serious illness in my family I will be unable to continue these threads. I wish the Dees all the very best and I am sure the Bathwater Express will rumble into the Finals and to ultimate success. CHF

13-3-1 17 rounds played…..13 wins....and a draw????….. 54 points in the premiership bank and Still on top after a Bulldogs loss. 5 Rounds to go in the home and away season. Had a shocker and it was only worth 2 points, if that. Round 18 - 1 (Us) vs. 2 (Them) Earlier than expected but I predict a strong win for us. Apologies for the short version. A few things have come up at home that have made it difficult to give time to this. I hope to be able to give proper versions in Rounds to come

I will relax and have lunch with a bottle of fine champagne followed by a nanna nap and a late afternoon spa visit and massage. In the evening dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant with some more champagne and some wines. I will do exactly the same thing if we win except that I will have a smile on my face.

Round 18 will be interesting to watch unfold with regard to ladder positions. We play on Saturday evening against the Hawks at the same time as the Dogs play the Suns away at Metricon. The way the Suns are playing at the moment, you never know, the Dogs might just stumble. All the games that could have an effect on the top 8 mostly take place before our game with the Cats playing the Dockers on Thursday night in Perth. Not a game that the Cats can afford to take lightly with Dockers at home and playing week in week out for a place in the 8. Friday night, Tigers Vs Lions at the G. Lions gathering injuries and the Tigers just about on the last roll of the dice to remain competitive for the 8. And before our game on Saturday the Giants play the Swans on Mars. Giants playing to keep pushing for the 8 and the Swans looking better and better each week in a push for the top 4. This game should finish just as we are beginning. Saints, Port play just after us so by the end of business Saturday we will have a clear idea of the state of play. Sunday’s games will have an impact on the lower reaches of the 8 and on the race for the wooden spoon.

Who are “all these people “ ?

The Roos win not only dropped WC into the 8 pressure cooker but also put a bit of pressure on the very bottom of the ladder in the race for the wooden spoon. that means there is interest all the way from top to bottom.

The West Coast result has made things interesting for the last two spots in the 8. I would say that the top 6 are pretty much assured of finishing in the 8 barring some major problem or Covid intervention. The way I see it is that there are 6 teams trying yo get into the two spots.

13-3 16 rounds played…..13 wins….. 52 points in the premiership bank and back on top after a Bulldogs loss. 6 Rounds to go in the home and away season “Defence under pressure…. Midfield looking flat and devoid of ideas and imagination …… forward structure non-existent….. or at least still dysfunctional after 15 games this season. Goody thinks that is a good thing.” The above is what I wrote at the beginning of last weeks Preview & Prediction. In the game against Port with the midfield running and pressuring the defence looked back to its settled self and with the introduction of BB the forwards had a better feel. The result was a much better across the board performance. I really felt the loss against GWS as it was so far away from how we had performed earlier in the year and seemed to be the latest game in series of deteriorating performances. It was excellent to see the response of the team as a whole. And so, to Round 18 and we play the Hawthorn this Saturday at The G. Interesting to note that the last 3 teams we have played have all played Hawthorn the week before us. They lost to Essendon, beat GWS and lost to Port. We did the opposite. Not sure if that is a form line indication but I find it an interesting quirk. The facts: We are coming off a good win on the road against a top 8 team – Advantage us We have two days extra rest – Advantage us We have been vulnerable against the lower placed teams – Advantage them They are coming off a loss last week in Tassie – Advantage us 1st Vs 17th …. No excuses. Problem areas of the game for us. Performing against lower placed teams….. Week in, week out our defensive structure has done a great job. We have the right people in the right place at the right time. Not a lot to say here except that the rest of the team builds on their work, and we need them to maintain their high standards. Their link through the midfield is great. I would have liked may to kick that goal last week. This week the Hawks do not look that potent in attack and in the last few weeks have not really kicked very high scores. Moore Koschitzke and Breust are their main avenues to goal and I think we have the defence to cover them. Midfield pressure on the ball and the ball carrier from the start was excellent to see. Not sure how or who switched them on, but we need to bring that from the start of match every week. Hawthorn have a couple of very good players in the midfield but I feel they fall away dramatically after that. Mitchell and O’Meara are the main drivers with possessions and clearances and I thin we might give a role to Harmes on Mitchell. I think he does best in a pure run with role. He has the ability to win a contested situation. I would like to see his hands be a bit cleaner with less fumbles. I think we have the talent and depth to really dominate this area of the ground as long as the mids bring it right from the start. Delivery into the forwards was improved and with BB there it gives taking at least one defender, it opens up the other options for the midfielders. This is important for their confidence. McEvoy and Ceglar in the ruck for the Hawks and I think our dynamic duo have them covered in the ruck and around the ground. Now for the forwards… much better this week with the BB inclusion. Hmmmm wonder why it did not happen the week earlier….. The good; We kicked a winning score…… with a much better set up and structure. The bad; Accuracy The ugly; Selection of BBB a week later than it should have been I am encouraged by this performance, and I can see a lot of good things to build on leading up to the finals series. Brown to stay in and give the rest of the team a chance to learn a bit about him in game situations. Hawks have the third worst performing defence in the league by points scored against them. Frost playing CHB says it all about the quality of this group. A good chance to work our systems in attack and begin to settle the way we want it to work. Selection this week is a one cheese platter night and I do not expect any changes. Might be a ‘rested’ player …. Never know. Bathwater express is getting a bit momentum and the seats are filling now that we are certain to play finals. Added a turbo boost to the power plant thanks to the win last week and I think we have the fuel to carry us along very nicely. Prediction was very wrong last week, and I am very happy about that. Exact opposite of what I thought may have happened. This week I see a strong win with the team playing out the game 100%. A win with at least a 7goal margin. Go Dees!!!

There is a possibility we could play the Cats two weeks in a row.

The Geelong matches you mention could be a lot tougher than you imagine if those teams are pushing for the 8.

With 6 rounds to go in the Home and Away with us at the pointy end of the ladder I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread that looks at the impact of the results per round and speculate on the next round. At this stage we could end up anywhere between 1st and 5th. Saints and Swans did us favours this week end against the Lions and Dogs, at the end of this last round we could have sat anywhere between 1st and 5th and the result fell our way. The Pies might roll Richmond. 9 points ahead with a few to play at this time. We sit top after 17 rounds a game clear of both Dogs and Cats both of whom we play on the run home. these will be critical games. Next round the critical games in my view are, obviously, our game against the Hawks, one that we should win going away. Dockers Vs Cats in Perth? Dockers may surprise on their home turf. we can only hope. Tigers Vs Lions. Critical for both teams. Tigers to try and climb into the 8 and for the Lions to keep up top 4 aspirations. Suns Vs Dogs. pressure on the Dogs after the loss they just had. Go Suns! Saints Vs Port. Saints a big chance in this one and they need it to try and challenge for the 8. Best results next week see us 1st 2 games clear of the pack and the worst result would find us 3rd on percentage behind the Dogs and Cats ad a game clear of Lions and Power in 4th and 5th. It is going to be an interesting ride.

Forward setup looks better. I wonder if we will be smart or skillful enough to use it properly?

I am very pleased to be 12-3 on the ladder and lying second. A position I acknowledge in the very first lines of my preview. In previewing this round I have to look at our recent performances and, I my view, they have been less than acceptable performances from both the players and the coaching staff. So, from my point of view, not so very strange.

12-3 15 rounds played…..12 wins….. 48 points in the premiership bank and dropped to second on the ladder after a not-so-forgettable loss to the Great Waste of space. Defence under pressure…. Midfield looking flat and devoid of ideas and imagination …… forward structure non-existent….. or at least still dysfunctional after 15 games this season. Goody thinks that is a good thing. It is not as if we were playing world beaters in GWS. They are a good competent side that has a number of quality players but it is not a team that we should have lost too. Rubbish first half and a better second half with no one able to take the chances on offer. Midfield could not deliver with confidence to a forward structure that would not allow them to identify proper targets. Very disappointing and worrying performance. And so, to Round 17 and we play the Port Power this Thursday night at Adelaide Oval. 2nd vs 3rd and there is every chance that if we lose this one, we could find ourselves in 5th place come Monday morning…… And who would be surprised when the much lauded coaching panel still have no idea of the best forward setup? So much for adding Yze and Choco. They looked good when we were winning but are scratching their heads at the moment. The facts: We are coming off a grinding loss – Advantage them The game is at Adelaide Oval – Advantage them We have been rubbish the last few weeks – Advantage them They are coming off a win last week against the Hawks – Advantage them Not looking good, is it? Problem areas of the game for us. Still the bloody forwards…. And now you can add the midfield that looks flat and disinterested. Defenders did their job with very little support from other sectors of the ground. Goodwin swung Hunt forward in the last to remind us why he was moved back. Running out of defence the way he does is good when there are players forward of him, so he does not have to make too many decisions. Stick him in the front half and he runs out of players to pass forward to and he has forgotten that there are four sticks at the end of the ground you can have a ping at. Go back to the structure that works for the defenders and sort out the rest of the players. A bit of midfield pressure goes a long way toward winning a game of footy as can be seen by the difference between our play in the first half as opposed to the second where we remembered to apply pressure. Made a world of difference. We are rubbish at sorting out onfield problems during the game. Our clearances in the first half were less than acceptable and yet I did not see anyone changing things onfield to sort it out. If something is not working…. Fix it then and there. Try something different. Jackson to ruck with Max roving at the center bounce as a mid…Anything….. Anything at all. It has to be better than doing SFA. Max and Luke will win the taps at the ruck contest but so what? Oh dear……. Now for the forwards……. I hate to keep picking on them every week but a score of 7-13 from 56 inside 50s with 10 marks in the 50 arc leave them open, once again, to bear the brunt of criticism. The good; Fritsch kicked a few and Tmac is in good form but not getting the ball near to goal The bad; Wow. Where to start? No forward targets…. (left over from last week) The ugly; Selection stubbornness in not giving BBB a run. Another week, another win without a recognisable structure to the forward line. We took 10marks inside our forward 50…. 10. We scored 7 goals 13. Please, please….fix this…. Brown to come in? if so, will that make it any better? Could not be any worse. (Paraphrased last week) Shaking my head here…. No idea what could fix it but then again, I am not paid the big bucks by the MFC to come up with answers to problems, and the people that are, are not providing answers. Any thoughts on the subject Yze? Choco? Goody???? You guys have been around a lot ya gotta have some idea….. (repeat from last week) Selection….. make some changes don’t just nibble the chesses and have a friendly chat about the weather and leave the team to wallow without a forward structure that they can play too. I heard a few loud clunks last week and The Bathwater Express ground to a halt as the wheels had fallen off. To be honest they did not so much ‘fall off’ more like that jumped off and ran away into the bush as they did not want to be associated with TBE. Understandable. It will take a lot to get them back on the hubs. Last week I predicted a 6 goal win….. got it wrong…. Very wrong….. I would Love to predict a win here but, after a long bull run, the bears are in ascendancy and I have to predict a loss….. not even an honourable one…. 30pts and 5th after the round. Go Dees!!! ( I still love the team but they make it so damn hard)

Is me panicking over something I have no say in going to make a difference to any of the outcomes? nah. I think I will let the people and players that are paid the big bucks decide if it is time to panic. l’m looking at you Goodwin. 15 games into the season and you still have no idea on how to structure the forwards.