Adam The God

But we are on a football forum and I think we should acknowledge (as @Nasher often does) that each of us gets something a little different out of Demonland. Venting is certainly one of many things people get out of forums (myself included at times). If football fans aren't allowed an opinion on football players, there'd be no football media industry. People are passionate and it's my view that they should be allowed to say what they want (within reason), as long as they can stand up and have their own opinions debated.

I'm consulting on a project for the ABC about millennial mental health and the importance of talking about your mental health. Vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness and it makes other humans relate to us better. It's how I form many relationships and it's how I run productions. We all have occasionally difficult times at work. Every human does. Footy players are no different. Those that play must have a passion and love for it, but it doesn't mean each and every player wouldn't go through difficult spells with their mental health. I hope Sam has the physical and mental tools to make it, but Sam being open about his mental health should not play into this conversation IMO. Doesn't mean he'll make it, but doesn't mean he won't either.

Seriously? I thought we'd dispensed with this pathetic retort. It means nothing. What top level sport have you ever played to validate any of your opinions?

He may not want to, but it depends on whether he still loves the club.

Don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily think you need a dominant KPF to win a flag, but it certainly helps.

SOS seems to have done alright with the spine, but it's a bit like shooting fish in a barrel with all the #1 picks they've had, let alone first rounders. I'm on record as panning SOS' time at GWS for the same reasons. They had all the concessions you could hope for in order to get that club up and running and he made some good calls, but a hell of a lot of misses. The article I read when Bolton got the sack certainly brought up SOS as being under the microscope too. As should be the case. Pity Bolton got the sack though, because he was an ordinary coach and I was hoping Carlton would remain pathetic for many seasons to come. This might now hit the re-set button. Surely, they won't go with another newbie. My money's on Ratten. Carlton has the stench of the old boy's club that the MFC had about it, prior to PJ's arrival. I concur with those saying there's more to go here.

Collingwood haven't won a flag, but you could certainly argue Cox fills this need.

If the system and coaching isn't up to scratch though, as soon as you lose your better players, you struggle. I'd be examining the medical and the coaching team for our performance this year. I agree that all areas of the club should be up for review, but I reckon Taylor has nailed enough picks to say he's done a good job.

There's no way Oscar lost us that game, but it's as clear as day now, that he's not good enough. His positioning is terrible, his body strength actually seems to be getting worse and due to a perennial lack of confidence, he consistently makes the wrong decision. I backed him for a few years, but my patience ran out at the start of 2018. Clearly, the patience of the FD was exhausted around the same time, if not the season prior. Frost is an improving option and while Petty develops and May and Lever are injured, he's good support. Oscar has not improved and should no longer have a place in this side once May and Lever are back. I'd be playing May, Lever, Hore, Frost, Hibberd and Jetta back there in 2020, enabling Salem to move further up the ground with KK (if he can stay on the park).

I'm not particularly interested in reflecting on too much about the game, but I did say to my mum who I was watching with tonight, midway through the third quarter, when we were 31 points up and Sloane was out, 'we won't lose it from here, they're a man down and he's their best mid, if we do, it'll be one of the worst loses of the last decade'. Sure enough, this football club managed to deliver again what no other can. Pathetic really. When the game was there to be taken, we shirked a bunch of chest marks and blazed away and missed sodas in that last quarter that would have buried the opposition. The only real positive for me out of this game (aside from the moments of good ball movement when Adelaide switched off), is the continued form of young Oskar Baker. He shows poise under pressure, in traffic and makes the right decisions more often than not. He looks like a real find. Well done recruitment and development team, and well done, young man.

We talk about Oscar and for good reason, but I reckon Tom is on par with him. Oscar rarely manages to halve contests, let alone win them, while Tom rarely marks anything, let alone kicks goals. 10 from 11 games is a pathetic return for a player of his maturity. The delivery has been rubbish, blah, blah, blah, but he doesn't mark the bloody thing.

Why is there a thread about Jeremy Cameron? Has this come up in the media or is the OP just throwing it out there based on nothing?

Oliver started at full forward in the last quarter. I think they do throw him forward at times, but eventually you have to try and get him into his best position in the midfield. I like that he's taken a couple of contested marks recently. If he can add that to his game, he'll be able to kick a few more goals as a result when played one out in the forward line. Contested marking is what Cripps has on him at this stage, but Clarry is a much better kick.

Of course, I'm not inside the walls of the football club. All I can see is what I see on the football field and since this allegedly happened, his confidence has never seemed to be quite the same. Speculation without talking to Petracca, but there is certainly a correlation. As for Stretch, that's for all to see. He's gone into his shell over many seasons now, as he's been in and out of the side. And until this year, regularly only got one shot at it at a time. On the football field, he seems to have come back each time, weaker for it.

A lot more to it than that. As someone who is a coach, every player has different triggers. I'd argue he's had to wear quite a bit of expectation and hype. He's having a good season and his mental frailty only seems to come into it when he's taking set shots and he overthinks things. He wouldn't be the first AFL footballer to go through that.

https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/afl-matthew-lloyd-criticises-melbourne-christian-petracca-efforts-in-finals-win/0f7951fb-66f0-45cf-8730-e6a71ec3ab36 Not the greatest source, but better than nothing: Lloyd’s criticism around Petracca’s game comes following the revelation from former AFL great Brian Taylor, who revealed earlier in the year that the young forward had been identified as being selfish. “I’m led to believe that there was a video run and it was run on loop of the same player over and over again moments before they went out onto the ground – not giving a handball,” Taylor said on Triple M’s The Mid-Week Rub.

I know this is a Stretch thread, but I reckon our coaches (Goodwin?) have severely mismanaged Stretch and Petracca. Stretch has yo-yoed in and out of the side for 3 or 4 years now, while someone like ANB has had continuity and managed to get some confidence up last year. Stretch doesn't know what his game is anymore and he seems to overthink everything. Petracca has done a lot right this season, but that internal spray they gave him mid last year for not passing off in one set up has really damaged his confidence. His goal kicking wasn't great in the early part of last year, but it has got worse since the moment that selfish play of his was allegedly pulled out in front of every team mate. He tries to do too much too often and sometimes those dinky kicks inside 50 come off, but more often than not, he should be backing himself in to kick the goal. I suspect that if Goodwin had his time again, he and his team would have handled Stretch and Petracca differently. Billy won't make it now and Christian can't seem to take that next step, which is convert his multiple shots on goal into scoreboard power. He'd be a very good player if he managed that.

With our lack of defence in the forward half and in the midfield, people are kidding themselves if they think things are going to turn significantly by bringing back our 5 best defenders in Jetta, Hibberd, Salem, Lever and May. The defenders barely have chance if the rest of the team don't work hard enough.

Surely through 2008-2013 we didn't win too many quarters. Today felt like 2012 to me though, until the last quarter. I'm over it really. I had only just begun to trust this side towards the back end of last season and now they're a complete rabble.

We have a lot of frankly VFL footballers playing at either end of the ground too. Collingwood and the Bulldogs showed in recent years that injuries shouldn't matter if your system and work rate is there. We were okay in 2017 in this respect, but not only are our systems out this year, our work rate at times has been abysmal. The midfield defensive transition is still VFL grade level too. I'm in the group that says our FD needs a massive shake up, a new head of footy and I wouldn't be against turning over every assistant coach we have.

It'll just move to Kayo (Foxtel). I think you'll find the TV rights will be astronomical during the next term, bigger than this time around. If Kayo/Foxtel/Murdoch don't get them, Kayo/Foxtel are done in this territory. The AFL will know this and will maximise their deal.

I haven't heard these comments yet, but I find that to be a slightly troubling statement to so openly discuss on our official website (I presume?). Winning should always be the focus of the players, the coaches can take that attitude at some point though.

I think it exacerbates it. His biggest weakness is positioning and game sense. On a wing he'd be like a lost child.

Because it could be argued that McDonald failed to properly contest in that moment either.

This is fair. Good post as usual, mate.