Adam The God

I reckon we'll end up doing both if this continues.

I reckon it's a systems thing. Our system makes things tougher for our entire team. When our pressure drops below a certain point our defenders cop it. When our mids and backs fail to deliver the ball to the advantage of forwards, our forwards look hopeless. It's as I said in the post match thread, there's too much that can go wrong with Goodwin's system and it makes players look worse than they are IMO. I'm happy with our defence as a unit. I don't think we missed Nev tonight. Lockhart showed some good flashes in the first half and then faded as the team was overawed. Sure, our defenders panicked, but I think because our midfield was so sloppy and our they put in so little effort, our defence was made to look much worse. In terms of mechanisms for generating scores, I think Goodwin has one game. It's quick decisive ball movement from one end of the ground to the other. We've also developed an ability to go a bit slower when held up. But our biggest problem, which everyone bangs on about, is our inability to capitalise on the hit outs and use this to generate scores. It used to be that if you won the clearance, you'd get a chance at a score. But then somewhere either in 2011 or post 2011, teams like Geelong decided you could win games by giving up the clearance, provided it was a pressured clearance. I think the likes of Geelong and even Hawthorn, have reverted to the clearance concession because they know they don't have the cattle to win contested possession from centre clearance, but we do, and Goodwin hasn't devised a system that will enable us to capitalise on this. It's a massive inditement on him. The very good backmen in the comp still look ordinary when there's little midfield pressure and they're exposed. Oscar isn't great, but he's slowly improving.

I reckon members might be more inclined to start giving to a Clarkson fund...

I think it's safe to say we're already looking, mate. But agree with the rest of your post though.

And they played that slow tall in front of Weideman and Jackson also played forward. Utterly gobsmacked by that. This was of course complimented by Fritsch, the guy whose lack of toughness wouldn't stop my cat. And then the commentators were wondering why our forwardline weren't laying tackles. And playing Sparrow in the midfield for most of the night. I... it's very hard to understand.

I reckon there's too much that can go wrong with our system and too much that needs to go right for it to click consistently within game. We're very easy to coach against. Crowd our mids at stoppage so that either there's a stoppage or it spills out for a clearance the other way. At best, we get a rushed kicked out of the stoppage. Exhibit A, last week, exhibit B, this week. If our mids fail to defend, we get slaughtered. If our mids fail to capitalise on Gawn's dominance, we get slaughtered. If teams get the ball on the outside against us, we get slaughtered. Yes, we've improve our defensive running (notwithstanding tonight's performance), but the formula to beat us is so simple. If you bring stoppage pressure and ensure you're set up behind the ball, you completely leave us without answers. Our contested style is made redundant and we end up giving it back to them. If we lose next game, I reckon Goodwin's done.

I was at 186. It was embarrassing. The score wasn't as bad today, but after half time, I said to my wife, 'I can't help myself, I need to turn this back on, but I don't know why'. And then continued to watch and cringe my way through the rest of the match with an utterly hollow feeling. The club can't keep doing this to its supporters, otherwise there'll be none left.

The tackling efforts tonight, particularly by our forwards and mostly by our mids, has been the worst I can recall. Maybe similar to the prelim, but that was mostly a case of us not having the ball. We've had the ball a bit in this game, but as soon as we give it up they run through us.

Hibbo's tried. Langdon runs hard. Lockhart was good in the first half. The rest...? They've been utterly atrocious.

Haven't looked to do it all night. Complete lack of work rate the entire game. The most hollow I've felt since the West Coast game. Thank goodness I've got Demonland for my mental health.

I don't think anyone's been good in the midfield tonight. I'm a massive Clayton fan, but I can't remember him fumbling as much in a single game before. Still, look at the midfield as a whole. They've been a hot mess tonight, including our captain.

Petracca back to shocking kicking. Hasn't hit a ball properly all night.

Max is playing an absolute shocker.

We are so soft. Have we laid more than one tackle? I remember Brayshaw's in the first quarter.

Game over, season over. Looks like a 10 goal defeat at this point. Lever's exit was shocking. First, a sloppy kick, then another kick that goes straight to the advantage of a Port back.

By the way, Salem continues to show us why he'll never make it as a midfielder. So soft.

That was the softest, most fumbly, disorganised, pathetic display since West Coast. Gawn, Viney, Fritsch, Hannan all limply attempting tackles. Petracca, Viney and Oliver fumbling the entire time. Forward entries shocking. Viney's kick to Petracca was horrendous. Jay Lockhart the only bloke who can hold his head high after that display.

Something else I just learned from Before the Bounce (a great little show btw), Plapp is our forward coach. Slow to the party, Adam. And it sounds like Tom is going to play up the ground from listening to Plapp there. Really like Ben's focus and analysis on stats too. He's an impressive fella and so is the programme. Likes it.

I'm feeling much calmer about this game than I was about last week's. We either win tonight or it's no finals IMO, so that fatalistic attitude of mine funnily enough makes me more confident. Sparrow says he's going to be a midfield rotation and a pressure half forward. Interesting that they feel we need that extra pressure forward and big body, ala Vanders across half forward. I wonder if that actually foreshadows us going with three talls in the forwardline at once?

Positionally I'd describe him as a utility, but I think that's a compliment rather than a statement that he doesn't have elite traits. He's surprised me in his ability to compete in the air despite his size and inexperience. I can't say for certain what the internal coaching philosophy is like, but I really liked reading that Richo had said RE: Weideman that his only KPI was just to get to as many contests as possible. As a coach myself, I find that to be a particularly strong philosophy and enables young players, particularly KPP players scope for confidence and improvement. If Sam knows the base level is getting to contests and attempting to mark or bring the ball to ground, if he achieves this relatively simple KPI, he feels like he belongs at the level. Then if he can start to clunk some marks, as he has done, it only builds further confidence. He just needs to get his kicking boots back on this week. As for Jackson, given the philosophy with Weideman, I think something similar, in terms of low level KPIs, would help his confidence too. Maybe it's because he hasn't been under the spotlight in the same way as Weideman (yet), but Luke exudes more confidence than Sam does. But I think very often this can be about the mental scarring a player has been through. What I like about the seeming coaching of our two young talls this year is that we're not expecting the world, we're expecting competitiveness, which should be base KPI at AFL level. That will go a long way to enabling Jackson (and Weideman) to settle at AFL level, particularly when forward craft can be overcomplicated in this day and age. Jackson has that spacial awareness and quick decision making that could make him elite given his size (a bit Jack Watts actually). I don't want to go too early on this, but I always liked how Roughead played at Hawthorn in the shadow of Buddy. He would bring in the players around him and contribute when it was his turn to go. Jackson hasn't demonstrated he can find the ball on a lead inside the forwardline just yet, but if he can start to do this, he will be a weapon. The more I think about the changes to the team, the more I'm convinced that we won't go with three permanent talls in our forwardline. We'll rotate them between wing and the ruck, and even midfield potentially. I could see Tom or Luke playing midfield minutes given their tanks.

We may only go with 2 talls in the forwardline though, mate. We're only guessing that three talls will play forward at once. I think it's much more likely McDonald and Jackson will rotate through the wing and the ruck. Given McDonald's tank, I'd be trying him as a back up ruckman when not playing on the wing or forward. We might just be able to maintain forward 50 cohesion if we're sensible. The three talls also provide us with more marking outlets from defence, which is handy. Being less predictable to the opposition would be welcome. Let's see how it goes.

If a security guard can [censored] some people and for it to spread massively from that, then it doesn't take much for widespread community transmission. I think the AFL will be on to this and will already be thinking WA and/or NT. The WA Government is about to lose its appeal in the High Court RE money hungry Fatty, so I reckon that'll open the doors for the AFL too.

I hadn't heard about this, but I'd expect nothing less from the Costello press. It's becoming an increasingly sensationalist outfit.

Interesting stat that, isn't it? Jackson really does have a high ceiling and some elite attributes. They did see him playing midfield eventually, so maybe they're going to try it this week? And play McDonald and Weideman as the two talls?

As they should. The rest of us have to stay indoors and do the right thing. Because they are AFL footballers they've got the privilege of doing what they love in a strange time. If they blow it, they deserve consequence.