praha

And he didn't get that at Carlton. Malthouse was considered great at inspiring his troops but even at Collingwood, players of Garlett's ilk fell out of form and struggled to get back into it. He was discounted at the Blues, found form at Melbourne, and has lost a bit of confidence after a solid start to the year. IMO dropping him to Casey would be the worst for him.

Our forwards in general had a bad day. Hogan, Kent, Harmes, and Garlett all didn't have the influenced we needed to them to have for us to win. If only 2 of them were "on", we'd have won. He'll bounce back.

He's having a bad month. Conditions didn't suit him, which sucks because wet weather football should suit a guy like him. He'll bounce back.

So he's 2-3 weeks away.

Good that we came out injury free, especially after the NT trip.

We should smash the Pies. No excuses.

We've actually played well against North, Bulldogs and Hawks. Our most disappointing losses have come against the Bombers, Port, and Saints. If we played those three the way we player the former trifecta, we'd be 8-3. Not sure about you folk but I'm learning a lot about this team this year. We have the cattle now. It might take another 12 months but we have the cattle.

We do okay for long periods but the goals we give away tend to be from real amateur mistakes, and from the opposition running rings. I really hate seeing one of our defenders go up to punch the ball and miss it completely, or for all of our defenders to go up while 2-3 of their players hang back and pounce when the ball falls out the back. The major problem now is definitely inexperience. Our defence is our only liability at the moment and it will cost us a finals appearance. We are no where near finals-caliber with this backline. One more season and we should get there. How depressing.

He's still part of a massive liability that is out defense. We win and lose games in the back end of the ground. Both McDonald brothers having a shocking sense of defensive awareness sometimes, and Wagner and Hunt sometimes understate the level of pressure around them, leading them to get caught. Jetta is the only level-headed defender we have and can match it with talls better than anyone else can, which says a lot. We are far from a finals teams, and that's because our defensive stocks are terrible. I really hate seeing opposition teams get goals when 5 Melbourne players go up in the same contest, or when a Melbourne player goes for a punch like a fairy and misses it completely, or when they fall to the ground and their player jumps back up and snaps at goal, or when a forward marks against 2-3 Melbourne players, or when a forward smokes 2-3 Melbourne defenders who basically bump into each other and clash heads. I get it is a work in progress, but we are winning and losing games in the defensive end of the ground. It is a long turnaround and there is more pain we have to go through, I'm afraid. Need to move on from Dunn and Garland and so Hunt, Wagner and OMac are the future. We must deal with it, and as such, must deal with another year out of the finals. Harsh reality.

We played better wet weather football then them for three quarters but for whatever reason we were petrified to kick the ball of the ground. Hawthorn started doing it in the fourth and all three of their goals in the last come from kicks off the ground, which led to passages leading into goals. I don't believe we "tired" out that quarter. We had a number of opportunities to kick goals and either messed it up or passed it up. Far too often our players look to give it off when already inside 50. Ultimately, their experience got them over the edge, and they were far more refined in that last than we were at any point in the game. We should have won that.

If losing to Hawthorn again wasn't tough enough, Carlton will be above us on the ladder tonight .

Bit harsh. We were on top for 3 quarters with some lapses in each quarter. You could see their experience taking hold.

We would've won if Kent, Harmes and Garlett did their jobs and kicked goals.

Time left?

I'm confident we can win but scared of having my heart broken. Deadset want to leave and then just check the score when I get back. I can't handle it.

I'm scared.

Capitano!

Not really his fault. They had three players lined up in the middle. Had zero options, and about a second to make a decision. Seeing Hunt,Wagner,Omac get caught though after having the ball for 5 seconds. Their defensive awareness sometimes is very poor but they've all been solid today so far.

Still playing the zone that quarter. Maybe it's just working?

I wonder if the NT factor will come up in the second half.

The nerve of Hawks supporters to boo that call.

Their smalls all hang back. Every single contest.

We're overusing it no more than Hawthorn. Our backline is just shocking and their forward line too good. We have no plan B for attacking the zone and they're masters at getting out the back.

They are toying with us.

Bruest takes on the player, drops the ball, nothing. Kicks a goal 2 seconds later.