Sir Why You Little

2 hours ago, Fork 'em said:

He doesn't have to do more.
Just needs to kick straight.
And that goes for the rest of them too.
We squandered those 2 finals with atrocious kicking.

Sure he does 

he has to improve his kicking action so the ball leaves his foot with more accuracy. 

Well said Tracc. 2 wasted years, he knows it 

Team Standards must improve across the Board, Tracc must improve his Goal Kicking, he knows it. 
 

2 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

Having just watched Petracca's interview this mention of Bontempelli brings to mind a couple of Trac's comments about the need for leaders to let the rest of the team play their role instead of the leader trying to do everything in crucial moments.

Having also just re-watched the 2021 3rd qtr highlights posted here the other day, my mind also goes to that moment of total shellshock in the Bulldogs clearance group. Bontempelli is a tremendous player and was probably their best player on that day, too, but his captaincy fell short when it came to steadying the team and the crucial few players at those clearances who desperately need to have their focus brought back.

I also think Toby Greene is overrated as a leader, mostly because I still think he is a *head just well covered by media love.

So... hmm, aside from that I guess I agree on at least the top three.

Pretty much agree there, although i think Greene is becoming a very important Captain. 
The Dogs lost to West Coast at home last year with a Finals Berth up for grabs 

Totally unforgivable in my opinion. 
Bont is a great player, but not the Number 1 Captain 

Did he get another touch in The GF after Harmesy intercepted? I cannot recall him having any influence at all

The Bont went missing last year. There are far better leaders than him

8 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Do you seriously believe that Goody made decisions which he knew might not be in our best interest? And this was due to stubbornness? Why would he do that? Serious question. 

My serious Reply got deleted 

No idea why. I went for a swim, must have been a good punch on

3 hours ago, Macca said:

In September, the pressure is immense and when the ball is rushed forward under pressure, you need big bodied forwards who can compete, take a grab and bring the ball to ground

Look at Ben Brown's role in the 2021 GF.  He continually worked his way to the front position even though he knew he wasn't going to take a mark every time.  He played the percentages and played a mighty role for his team

In the Carlton game I'd have gone with T-Mac (but deep forward)  and tried someone like Tomlinson at CHF (Turner could have taken Tomlinson's spot down back)

And no Schache at all as Tomlinson, Turner or T-Mac can cover for 15% of ruck time

However, It's important to note that I'm using hindsight as my friend and that's not keeping it real

How many times do i have to say it. 
TMac was INJURED and no matter where you put him on the ground, We were a man down. 
Schache is a solid unit who could have competed, but was denied completely. 
TMac did nothing 2 weeks in a row (8 Quarters). I am not blaming him, but he couldn’t compete.
Goodwin being stubborn again cost us a huge amount 

Watch both Games again. Tom was nowhere near fit enough 

8 minutes ago, Macca said:

Ok but as far back as can be remembered, we go in with at least 2 KPF's (and sometimes with the 2nd ruck deep forward)

To only go with a player like Schache who is yet to prove himself as a KPF is going to leave us short (no pun intended)

Have you got another KPF to combine with Schache? 

Need 2, not 1

Schache should have played instead of TMac. 1 for 1

TMac was unable to combine with anyone 

1 hour ago, Macca said:

Sure, but who are the other 2 experienced key forwards that we could have picked?

Brown & Petty were both out injured and JVR was suspended

Come up with 2 names, Wyl

You can't just talk about the problem without offering up alternates

I'll help you out though, we had no other experienced KPF's so we would have had to play 2 novice KF's

Give us 2 names

 

Schache should have played. 
at least he could move and compete. 
For him to be a fresh player in the 2nd half and not be rotated once was unforgivable in my opinion 

25 minutes ago, Macca said:

I can see why they took a chance on T-Mac but we probably needed to play some sort of other big-bodied key forward as well

But if that other KPF was needed to play in front, put his body on the line and take the punishment, I'm not sure it would have been Schache

We could have thrown Tomlinson forward and brought Turner into the 22 (in the backline)

I'm a big believer in having 2 KPF's who can do the hard yards (especially in finals)

Even Collingwood were prepared to bring in a big body like Frampton even though he's a fairly ordinary footballer

But big bodied forwards require match-ups and attention.  If you don't play them close they can take grabs and become more than nuisance value

And if they can take the front position and bring the ball to ground, the smalls can capitalise

3rd & 4th forwards such as Fritsch & Smith can't be expected to play that sort of role.  They haven't got the body strength to carry out such a task

Unfit Players get shown up very quickly in September and TMac was way off Match Fit, he was a liability. For him to be selected 2 weeks running….

You cannot defend that. I have lost a lot of Faith in Goodwin because of it. 
 

On 09/02/2024 at 16:41, Macca said:

No it's not that

We took a chance on T-Mac and it didn't work.  We had no other KPF's other than Schache and as a KPF, Schache has done virtually nothing

So even a banged up T-Mac is better than Schache

TMac was a complete non event against The Filth. His Back was shot.

To play him a 2nd time in the same role against Carlscum was unforgivable, when we had 2 fit replacements sitting watching the game. 
 

We need Lingers and Angus on the Wings again 

In ‘21 that was our weapon, and why we controlled so much of the ball

6 hours ago, Dee Zephyr said:

I remember Round 2 down at the Cattery very well in 19. 72 inside 50s to 48 our way and we lost by 80 points 😂

Amazing that we still have the same basic problem 5 seasons on

if only we could convert those entries 

7 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Looks like the Gabba redevelopment is dead in its present form. (Costs have escalated from the original estimate of $1 billion to 2.7 billion and rising)

Haven't heard anything about Docklands being upgraded for a few years.

Money is tight to say the least

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-09/gabba-redevelopment-2032-olympics-venue-what-next/103444034

What an obscene amount of money for a Sports Venue. 
whilst Middle Class Families are struggling to eat and pay bills. 
I love sports, but it is is merely entertainment

After the Covid Fiasco, that is an obscene figure 

3 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

Have to disagree with you on the hunger.

whether or not it was unsustainable or that the playing group has dropped off or a combo of both, our pressure for near 4 quarters was simply manic and outstanding - everyone bought in and played as a team, now too much is left up to too few.

2021 was truly something else and I’m bloody glad I got to see it.

Agreed. The hunger in ‘22-‘23 was nowhere near the level of ‘21

5 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

I think the appetite for a flag in 22 wasn't as strong. A proper argument for the concept of premiership hangover if there ever was one.

Sure we were incredibly competitive but we fell away at the wrong time. In the middle of the season it became evident that the fwd tall duo of Brown and Tmac was in trouble. Also it seemed that Jackson had already checked out.

I think we got to top four by sheer talent and professionalism.

Last year was somewhat the same. When you look at all the player reviews it does seem that a significant number of players were down in form. Throw in a tough run of injuries and that's all folks.

My thoughts on the this thread were basically that a flag team will be mates for life. That the event will serve as bond for these blokes forever even outside of footy.

I just hope that they get a chance to win one more.

In both 22 and 23 we did enough work to secure finals births at home.

22 finals effort was very poor and hard to understand.

Last year we made a great effort against the Pies but we were robbed via injuries, the Maynard act and some poor use of the ball going forward.

The Blues game saw our fwd line even worse off with Jvr missing and we fluffed it in the last minute.

Despite players being down in form last year we did well enough to make finals and we came so very close. Probably the most frustrating of seasons for sure.

I hope we get to reset this year and win a flag on the hallowed turf of our home ground.

The talent of the 21 group is huge and it could have been a three year in a row flag club.

Alas I do believe that the window is closing. The club has been doing some savvy recruiting to replace players but ultimately I feel that time is running out.

The hunger and chemistry and talent of the 21 team is mostly still there. 

 

 

 

Scores don’t lie, unless you are a Croms Supporter. 
We weren’t Hungry enough on our Home Ground when it mattered. 

It’s now 2024

2 Cups have gone to other Clubs, we should have won….🏆 

The Sub Rule is pathetic. It has never even been used correctly. 
But the AFL Keep it alive 

Just a shocking organization…

12 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

You left out the obligatory “straight sets exits” bit. After all, it was you who said every single post on DL should be prefaced with that.

I am talking over a 2 year Period. Not just September 

Maybe you should broaden your horizons a little, all has not been rosy inside the walls of The MFC over a period of time, not broken, but certain things do need to change. Now i know you won’t believe that, which is irrelevant to me, but i will stand by what i say. 
We should never have lost to Carlton when Curnow was held so strongly. 

The list must get mentally tougher and demand higher standards from Teammates…

2 Cups gone, 1 of those to our mortal enemy 

This thread is all very well and good, but it doesn’t mention anything about plateauing over the last 2 years. 
By that I maintain the Gameplan stayed the same. 
Mass entries into the Forwardline with very average conversion rates, 2 wasted years imo 

We are stacked with a very talented list who did not convert well enough 

It better look different in 2024….

7 hours ago, Deestar9 said:

I’m assuming you mean BB & TMac. If so (& I’m sure this has been said ad nauseum) they are premiership players & deserve to see out their contacts & more importantly for the club to honour them. I still think the JMac decision all those years ago broke our club at the time …

All contracts should also have a performance clause in them. Yes both TMac and BBB are premiership players and will always be revered, but they are simply not Best 22 anymore

Which means in 2024 we are very lean list wise. I was hoping for more cuts after September last year

1 hour ago, defuture15 said:

Perhaps he will be cherry ripe for the last 4-6 weeks of 2024!

I wouldn’t hold my breath, but we live in hope 

59 minutes ago, IRW said:

And has been for two years.

Why has he kept playing?

Yes. Sadly it seems like a Futile exercise now. Love Benny, he was a huge part of ’21, but that is in the history books now 

Yet another reason to Hate & Despise these C….

Is this some kind of Joke?

He was a huge miss in the Carlton Final 

Yes he is Young, but he must get smarter quickly. 
he is too important….