praha

It's been 2 games. Relax. We need the yearly Hawthorn flogging to get us on track it seems. I am so utterly sick of getting belted by them. Really getting sick of it.

Our midfield was disgraceful yesterday. No pressure at ALL! What was the inside 50s differential? Hardly our backlines fault. Our midfield continues to dig a grave for us in games. Without a tall forward to kick goals, out midfield needs to step up to counter that, so that our lack of goals isn't countered by the oppositions goals. To do that, we need to stop inside 50s, which would in turn take pressure off our backline. Our midfield let us down miraculously yesterday,

I always thought Healy hated the Dees. I guess his commentary performance today was a chance of pace.

You're all expecting the world from a team that just isn't that good yet. It's all hype to help grow a brand. We are still a good 12-24 months off being a good team. Until then, we will be team's like Hawthorn little [censored].

The thing is, the midfield is crap and is getting mauled, so the opposition gets the inside 50s, putting extra pressure on the backline. Grimes is there, but he has no one to pass to within an effective range or in a good position. The gameplan out of the backline is based on maintaining possession until you get a run out, which is very, very basic. Most clubs do it. But the midfielders don't present well enough, and so we find out half-forwards leading up into the back flank, and we're losing in the air so it just goes back into the forward line. Grimes is just not being provided with a clean passive possession out of the backline, because no one is presenting. And how kick-ins are a joke. Everyone is scared to present out of fear of error. That displays lack of leadership.

There is no room for two of the exact same type of player in our team. It's either Rivers or JMac. One of them had to go. Hard truth.

From 1996? Definitely. How current home jumper is by far the best for a while.

I'm just not confident. We can beat them, but I think this team will take 3-4 weeks to start getting some good, consistent football going. People are expecting us to jump out of the blocks. I'd much prefer a slow start leading into building momentum. I'm confident we'll lose tomorrow. Hope I'm wrong.

I think we're in for a loss this week. I don't have a good feeling at all.

Depends how we go. We have a good draw with lots of MCG home games early on, so our on-field performance will determine. If we win 60%+, we're a real chance.

If there was a Message Board Quote Of The Year award, you'd win it. I'm stealing that.

The Gold Coast would absolutely jump on this. A merger doesn't have to be initiated out of desperation. It can be a worthwhile investment. I think the AFL would love the idea of the Gold Coast having a Melbourne fan base (like Brisbane and Sydney do), especially if they struggle for the first 10 years or so (which they might) to create a strong fanbase (something the Lions are still trying to do in a city that loves sport more than Sydney does), even after 3 flags. I am still confident that the Roos will move North (pun not intended).

I thought Bail provided good run at times. Thought he did a great job.

He does OK. I think people undermine his performance because they expect so much. If he was pick 10, he'd be going along just fine.

Not really. I think a tall, skinny athlete is more prone to injury than a player like Viney.

It was very, very obvious that the umpire didn't blow his whistle until he noticed the Sydney player on the ground. He obviously saw the contact initially, but didn't think anything of it until the Sydney player appeared hurt. Poor decision by the umpire. Everyone around me was livid.

Was in the AFL Members. Can't remember the MCC and Punt Road goal end being so jam packed before. The fans in those areas were loud and red. Was great to watch when we kicked a goal. The excitement levels just aren't the same in AFL Members.

They are essentially saying that if you have the potential to make a decision of disposal, you can make the decision not to continue playing. They know this is impossible, and they have adjusted it as so, so as to counter the stops in play caused by a saturation of re-interpretation. The AFL is essentially "fine-tuning" the game to make it more attractive to international audiences, including foreigners in Australia (students etc.). In that instance a fairly trivial matter didn't actually cause stoppage in play, because the Melbourne player inadvertently played on, meaning the play never stops. Once the fear and anger associated with the change subsides (which is purely human nature -- with evolution and progression naturally comes fear), no one will notice it anymore and accept it as a bona fide rule of the game. I don't really mind it. I'd rather see more old-school stuff not causing a stoppage in play, as it would now with a free-kick and not generous advantage.

The efficiency was down across the board because of superb pressure from both sides. The fact we kept Sydney from scoring for a whole minute in that last stanza was quite impressive -- they had about 4 or 5 chances for a snap, and one of our players was right there to stop it. Absolutely spewing they got a kick off. But the pressure was amazing all-round. I think it's a little hasty to get on the back of a player who read the play so well and contributed where need. He might not have hit a target effectively, but most players at the jitters today.

Point taken on both points. That said, you're speaking like as if he has had years to prove himself as a kicker. There are much worse kicks in the league than Grimes, and much worse that get all kinds of accolades. His "poor" kicking is not the end of the world. I'm sure he will improve. How old is he ffs? Same goes for Watts. Now, if we're talking about a player like Jamar, or Green, or Davey, or Sylvia, I could understand, but this thread is really just a vent for people that want the absolute world, and more, from a bunch of young adults that are already trying their guts out to be the best. Considering everything else he does on the field and the way in which he contributes to the team's progression and success, I'm sure we can bypass his in-progress kicking quality, as bad as it may be. My OP stands.

It was great pressure on both team's behalf. I don't think that cost us the win. Sydney's pressure did. And vice-versa. Was great game all round imo.

Sydney was not a better team than us today. Consider they kicked 3-4 goals that were instigated by free-kicks 1-2 possessions ahead of the kick at goal. We made a lot of immature, silly mistakes, most of which were punished with free-kicks against, particularly in the first half. We got to the ball more than Sydney, and we were a lot harder at it and better in the air. We just didn't capitalise. There was nothing wrong with our structure today, and everything wrong with our maturity as a team. That will come.

Welcome to Demonland - Home of the perfectionist

Not only that, but it was an insipid kick from someone that was clearly afraid of being tackled - he crapped himself, hence the horrendous kick that was 200 meters in the air. Cost us a goal.

You're thinking too much. Of course it's spin. Look at the NFL website. Hell, the NBA site is major spin. It's part of the game. It's great for the casual supporter.