jnrmac

Wow some ppl have too much time in their hands, But its funny!

Good first post, welcome to the nuthouse. It doesn't seem to be an issue for a lot of teams until August. Maybe because we are coming from so far back and are relatively young... I remember yrs ago when Adelaide won back to back flags. Blight famously trained them with really heavy loads in July and tapered them in August. Neal craig was the fitness adviser. They had a crap August because the players were exhausted but stormed home to win the flag both years. Charlie Walsh the cycling coach also introduced a heavy cycling regimine. Both of these coaches were from an AIS background (and carried rumours of supplement use) Daniher tried to copy it in around 2002 from memory. So there would be some history at AFL level as to what is the optimum training loads. We have seen teams win a pre-season comp (Carlton) and then win the spoon so the timing is pretty important. The Swans were also notoriously slow starters to the season but steamed home at the pointy end. You would think there are enough elite coaches around to know the best methods but by the same token there must also be a lot of group think. Follow what last year's premier did kind of thing. I have no idea but you could be on to something..

So what will happen if we get beaten by 10 goals against the dogs?

Ha ha its Collingwood. I thnk the club has turned their backs on the players but Eddie is worried about the team sanction for having two players test positive..............

My bias is showing! I actually struggled to think of a player for us who does it week in week out. And frankly that is an indictment.

In the GC game we got out a 32pt lead by early 2nd quarter and then saw GC beat us for nearly 2 qrts before we pulled away. It was a good win but with solid lapses in our effort as noted by the coach. In the Richmond game we put in a good effort for most of the game. IN the game against GWS we left the ground just before half time and never returned. Against Adelaide our effort was good for the whole game I thought. Against Freo we gave effort for about half a game Against the Swans it was appalling. Ditto the Hawks. So yes we have seen glimpses of it but the Adelaide game is what I want to see more of. Solid 4 qtr effort and if we lose then we lose. But from what I have seen we still have a massively soft underbelly and too many senior players go missing when needed. That is mental and all about desire and intent. So I largely agree with your post but give them way less slack than you do because effort is something they can and should bring every minute of every week. Not when they feel like it. And if players like Brayshaw and Vineyt can do it week in week out that is a real indictment on our senior players.

This is the crux of it for me. Brayshaw has desire, intent and effort. He is putting some of his teammates to shame. And frankly they deserve to be highlighted for it. If we had a team of Brayshaws we would be saying 'at least they are having a crack'. The spotlight should be well and truly on the senior players like Howe who has had 8 kicks, 3 marks and 2 tackles in the past 2 weeks. Its appalling.

You are all missing the point. Its the basics. tackling running, effort, pressure etc etc. We fail miserably. That is not talent. Its intent effort and desire. We see it in glimpses but mostly we lack on field leadership. We also lack players who can get the pill 30 times a match. Haven't had one this year. Last one to do it consistently was Junior. That's the thing with players like Barlow - they know how toget he pill.

Team bonding at Casey Fields

I wonder how much of the dog's success is based on their tiny injury list..... Just sayin....

Gold coast have it worse than us. 10 of their best I reckon including Gazza.

Obviously they know that Tird likes travelling toEurope,,,

Jones is under an unbelievable amount of pressure every time gets the pill. There is no relief for him.

Let me make the writing big for you. It says it all really That you don't know why we got Dawes in the first place and then go and criticise why we got him.

Then I take it you think it was a good idea that we threw two young kids to the wolves as joint Captains? Name for me the leaders we had at our club at that point, Mr Revisionist, and then name for me the long list of big bodied premiership players that were queuing to join melbourne. Then we might see who is slow on the uptake.

I'd like to see some 30+ possessions at Senior AFL level!!!! We haven't had ONE this year. When was the last time we had someone that could rack up 30 stats with regularity? Junior? (its not the be all and end all but we are currently 18th in disposals). We need someone to get the pill.

You are kidding if you think that. They lost their Coach, Captain and CEO and the club was in turmoil. Everyone had them pencilled in for botton 2. Its a great comparison. Stop making excuses. What stands out for them is they have desire, attitude and passion. Its shameful that we don't have it.

This is pathetic. He is not above criticism. And as for every team making finals in 10 yrs that is a very low benchmark. Suggest you aim a bit higher.

Wow. Aren't we entitled to effort? That's the major point in this thread. Not where players are in their development but how can we after all this time go out and not put in, not do the basics? BASIC FOOTBALL. The basics take endeavour, desire, effort and intent. Tackling, shepherding, running to space, picking up your man, getting back to the goal line to kill a ball through the goals (this alone has cost us 3 goals in two weeks) Why don't we have these basics and why don't we have the desire, intent, effort etc. I get we don't hav eth skill of a lot of sides but what I am talking about isn't skill based. Its mental. And we are failing badly. Thats the only sense of entitlement I have. What are you talking about?

Why? Legitimate question asked in the OP.

Really?? The MFC is 18th for kicks, handballs, disposals. I don't see a lot of padding for stats there.

No-one had the Saints and the Dogs above the bottom two on the ladder in 2015. The dogs were in a world of pain losing their captain, CEO and Coach. The club was fractured. The Saints list was rogered. Ye the dogs and Saints both play with passion, pride, effort and persistence. Essendon throughout the whole drug saga have played unbelievably well. Other clubs don't fall in the abyss that we fall into. The effort rarely drops off to our standard and they all have players who get the pill 30 times a match. WHERE ARE OUR PLAYERS THAT DO THIS WEEK IN WEEK OUT???? We have not had one player, not one get 30 possessions so far this year. Why not? We are ranked; 18th for kicks 18th for handballs 18th for pts per game I don't have the stats for uncontested possessions but that is a fair indication of running. We don't run anywhere near hard enough, I watch closely when we don't have the ball and its easy to see who can't be arzzed to pick up an opponent or run to help out. We keep doing the same stuff and getting the same result. SOmething has to give,

Kent's was pretty much off the bone. I heard Salem was a 'regular' strain but not 100% sure.

If you read the OP its about how a rookie coach and his team created a plan to counteract possibly the best team in the comp, Freo. Yep we were playing the bset 3 teams in the comp and what did we do? There is no way the hawks were going to let us play 'our' game plan and it was clear after the 1st quarter we were under fire. At the risk of repeating the OP we have been beaten on the 11 previous occasions in the same style - thrashings. With the same players killing us. I ask you again what did we do? I think the answer is SFA. If you have a better one let us all know.

Really? Did you try really hard to think why we would want a big bodied premiership player when we had Grimes and Trengive as Captains. And once you have answered that question please list the other premiership players that were queuing to com eto melbourne during that period. There's a good boy now...