buck_nekkid

Gawd, 15 hrs until game time. after the results on the weekend, we need: 4 premiership points a clean bill of health otherwise my week will be totally screwed. dees by 14 points

We are missing a number of players through injury that rob Casey of some quality straight away. It was also a terrible game for the club. It takes a big list to hold a firsts and a seconds together for a full season. If you dont read too much into today, then we have a few ‘developers’, a few ’plodders’ and a few undecideds on our list. No one today really put their hand up for promotion, and a few put their hands up for getting their card stamped. Depth is a big issue, particularly in midfield, outside run and rucks. I think we have a few good backmen, and DJ looks to be OK as the Nev Jetta apprentice. There are some definite items on the shopping list for the trade and draft period.

Wow. Lockhart, Corey Wagner, Petty (especially early), The rookie (Freeman?) malchia and maybe Dion Johnson get passes. Keilty maybe in this group, but not enough impact. Nufty votes go to the rest, Garlett #1, Bugg turnover merchant, Flipper -one tackle. King rucked but beaten. Josh Wagner - nowhere near a recall. Casey boys made an effort, but the problems were team wide.

VFL commentary team better than AFL idiots on seven

Looking lazy and tired

Bugg turnover leads to their goal. JUST POOR

3rd quarter huddle should be audible from Perth. Fumbly, beaten inside and outside, running second. Not what we are used to seeing. Bugg turnovers costly. Only a few players offering anything redeeming. No one pushing for a seniors spot in round 23.

And that was worse...

Man, that was BAD

Good viewing. Lots of space for him to share his story. Good luck to him.

Thing I’m most looking forward to? People letting go of this camp thing. Honestly, if it was going to be the difference, wouldn’t the players queue up to go? What specifically would they have learned or developed on a weekend away that would change what they are doing now? Game specific composure and experiencing close game conditions aren’t found up a mountain.

Honestly, that Umpiring was shameful. I didn’t give a rats toss about the game, but the umpiring was perhaps the worst and most blatant I have ever seen. Conspiracy theorists can have a field day. That made the whole comp looked like a rigged shill game.

Good changes. Play Charlie closer to goal. Looks like we have a chance with this squad.

swear a lot less in the 24 hours after the game. I think I set a new record after the Swans game.

Given where our list is at, one or two 'A graders' shy of where we want to be, and knowing: We have seen considerable development in a number of players this year like Harmes, Salem etc. Spargo and Fritsch have had immediate impact Oscar Baker is developing at Casey, and could be an outside ball hero for us with the right development. We have some structural holes (back up ruck) that are screaming out for attention - will Bradtke be this?? How far away?? We have some players with large unfulfilled potential (Trac for example, Getting Viney on the park, Getting more from Hogan, etc etc) A few players are probably ready to be retired, or to shift back to Casey type roles Gaff looks like a good get, but do we want to join the bargain shoppers on this one? Somehow I doubt it. We make a reasonable offer regardless what North offer and stick to it. Our big get was Jake Lever last year. I don't know who else we would want that is available, and unless we are going to 'wiggle someone loose', we may have to give up more than we want to so that we can get what we want.

What really gets me is not only the discrepancy, but the where and when. Gifted frees to get them out of trouble from the back line, or even worse, cheapies one kick from goal. We will get a few 'marks as frees' (coulda paid the mark, but awarded a soft free instead), and some evener uppers on the wings. We wont be dealing with a 'Dangerwood/Dusty factor', but only crowd influence and expectation that the Eagles are #2 on the ladder. I expect them to get longer to dispose of the ball, have much bigger backs and longer necks, have the ability to handpass one handed and to make minimal illegal contact with Melbourne players. After square up, 26-14 in the frees. Costing us 3.1

If we don't make the finals, I will be bloody disappointed, and I'm sure the club will be, too. The failure will come because they haven't met 'expectation'. I will also be disappointed if we make the finals without winning any more games by a quirk of statistics or whatever. My expectation is that they should start to be a 'contender' and be able to beat all comers. We are close, but we are not there yet. I think they have shown a vast improvement this year, and the outcomes that they have achieved are well above anything I have seen from the group for a number of years. They are significantly better. I am not an apologist, I demand a lot from the group by virtue of the expectations I place on them. However, I can see the difference between failure to reach a nominal goal and the actual value of the outcomes achieved. The biggest failure will be our inability to finish off top ranked teams. This is a mixture of composure, skill and class. These three elements have not been hallmarks of Melbourne sides for a dozen years, so our essentially young group have to experience it, and learn it. If we don't find an opportunity to experience it in the last 2 games then how are we really going to learn it? This is where we will have failed - putting ourselves in situations where we could gain valuable (winning) experiences, and failing to capitalise. Once it is experienced, then it has to become a practiced habit. This is what every team on the rise has done - crack a big win, learn how to do it, and believe that they can. We have cracked an occasional win (Richmond and Hawks last year) but we have really learned nothing from it in terms of composure or skill.

B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, James Harmes ? Alex Neal-Bullen, Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw HF: Charlie Spargo, Sam Weideman, Aaron vandenBerg F: Michael Hibberd, Tom McDonald, Dom Tyson Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Christian Petracca I/C (from): Dean Kent, Jake Melksham, Mitch Hannan, Cameron Pedersen, Jay Kennedy Harris, Bayley Fritsch, Jeff Garlett, Josh Wagner In: Hibberd, Kent, Melksham, Hannan, Weideman, Wagner Out: Hogan (foot), Hunt (ankle)

A response: 1. Valuable, but there is a role to influence the actions of others as well as what you directly control. The missing part is what to focus on to drive performance, and what hinders it. 2. Ok, except this is only possible with lobotomy. A person needs to develop the skills to perform even when it is a grind, and get a job done. 3. Rubbish. You need to listen to all inputs and have a suitable strategy for determining what is realistic and valuable. If we only listen to yes men, we don’t get better. Criticism is valuable... when it is valuable. 4. Knowing when to give up and when not to is an important skill. Should Hogan have played on after he fractured his foot? Should we stick with a structure that doesn’t work, or should we change. these mantras are not always as helpful as they seem on first pass. Developing powerful cognitive skills is better than rah rah bathwater drinking. A good sports psychologist would help with this, though.

Business as usual, I’d say

I would prefer to use Weids, he can crash packs and bring the ball to ground, and will trouble defenders with his leads. Pedo has been down back as the intercept marker for most of the season, and I would think didnt do enough to show he can rotate hi/lo in the forward 50. Putting him in the square? We could keep Jesse in to do that.

Oh, so 1.15 per game, not one goal fifteen behinds... need a cup of coffee to get the brain on the rails. Still, not a great return. But he did take a key back.

Wow. Did not know this. Assume this means top 8 sides. That is putrid!

Worked well for Mitch Clark

It may be a blessing in disguise. It is a shame he is out, but it might focus the squad, change our f50 entry structure, invite others to step up, and encourage the opposition to overestimate our weakness. i hope the squad digs deep and sticks it up the Weagles.