jnrmac

Did well by the club retiring AFTER the draft....

4 players going up to spoil. So they practice this now? How Melbourne. No wonder we are good at doing it in games.

How is it that 99% of posters here knew that Fritsch was solely a forward about 15 matches before our brains trust worked it out?

Weiderman, Maloney, Trengrove,....we have a long history of such things

This is the most obvious factor that seems to be glossed over regularly. A shiny new coaching panel that need to gel immediately if we are to do well. We won 5 games last year. 3 by less than a goal. This was more than fitness and Goodwin has said that players were questioning game plan etc. We have the talent and yes it needs to be on the park but a 0-5 start will see the club face a huge backlash from supporters, staff, players etc who will question everything that is being done. This is the fine line we now tread. Goodwin will be under the pump and how he changes/matures will largely define our year.

Good stuff many thanks

I am in the camp that says this almost never happens. It's largely an inate trait Altho I did see him being quite aggressive in a training clip so hope springs eternal.

Comprehensive response. This is where game plan comes into it. Richmond were complete t/over merchants until they developed a plan that the players believed in. They didn't suddenly develop elite skills but the game plan took pressure off the player with ball in hand. Players running to the right space, for example make the kickers job a lot easier . Running to space allows the kicker to put the ball in front of the leading player rather than trying to pinpoint a pass under pressure. Open fwd lines also make it easier for fwds to run into space. A large amt of this stuff is coaching which is why I blame Goodwin for the appalling year we just had. Sure we had injuries but players were hopeless with ball in had and our fwd structure was terrible. He admitted as much himself when he said that we didn't focus n the basics but tried to introduce "nuance" to the game plan.

Sign up for a Kayo trial you get 14 days free....

1. May 2. Gawn 3. Petracca 4. Langdon 5. Fritsch 6. Oliver 7. Lever 8. TMac 9. Harmes 10. Viney

The problem with this is that when he's in a chain and he is responsible for stuffing up that chain the effect is well, a chain reaction. The ball is turned over, efforts are wasted, frustration is built and player buy-in to the the team ethos is eroded. Similarly when shots at goal are frittered away it is a cascading affect - bad for us, good for the opposition Role players are great if they can play their role. Not do 6 or 7 things out of 10.

Maybe because he refused to run a time trial because it was too hot.... The lack of leadership at our club was unbelievable as evidenced by announcing the youngest AFL captain in history. It was a cluster888k of the highest order that we are still emerging from.

Moloney looking on in disgust,..

And C Data had the Bulldogs at 15 in 2019, 2nd this year.

Because we're so good at doing that

Pretty sure its so you can tell how the ball spins in the air....

This is all that is required. Good teams are full of role players. They key is knowing what that role is and getting buy in. We have enough talent. We may be a bit short on game breakers but Goodwin has admitted that players lost faith in the plan and weren't playing for each other. They were confused and hence got caught betwixt and between with ball in hand. He said they didn't work enough on the basics and tried to add too many layers of complexity and nuance which all fits (except if you are a happy clapper who screeches 'injuries!' at every turn) Hopefully 2020 is a lot clearer - my question mark remains over the whole new shiny coaching panel. They need to get their act together very quickly. We can't afford for them to be out of synch - and find that we are 0 and 5

They don't need his help for that...

Shame its not a beauty contest

Serve's them right

Sure Cam

How about we wait to see whether the pre-season s 'interrupted'?

80 games over 8 seasons. I liked his best footy but lets not call it a real career. He was fringe at best

I think you have to say our recruiting team is doing a great job. They are open, easy to deal with, give a little here get a little there, innovative, occasionally smart and ahead of the curve and ultimately get who they want. You set out your plan, you look at what you have to sell in terms of picks and players and you go after what you want. By and large we get the job done. Sometimes we give away more on the surface (a la Hogan) but we as supporters dont always know the facts behind the trades. We generally end up in a better position than before we started. Other clubs deal with us because we don't play games, are genuine and commercial. Compare that the Dumbdoro at Essendon* who would drive me insane as a supporter. Whether we pick the right players is another question that will play out over a few years but I think you have to give the recruiting guys a high mark for achieving what they set out to do. * check this out Hawthorn also selected former Essendon swingman Michael Hartley in the pre-season draft after the Bombers refused to delist him. The 26-year-old had a one-year offer from Essendon on the table but delisted himself to join the Hawks. What a goose Dumbdoro is

This is so blindingly obvious but the happy clappers keep saying it was only injuries..... no system, no clue with ball in hand. Roll on 2020