Dr. Gonzo

It seems he's doing his job defensively then but offensively he is all but unsighted and ineffective. Who have his opponents been out of interest? (Genuinely interested not trying to "catch" you)

I said it in the post match thread, but for me it is starting to seem like a structural issue rather than a workrate issue. It can't just be coincidence that we falter en masse in our workrate when we come up against the better sides. It's happened enough now where it's got to be looked at as more than just a workrate/effort issue (Haw, Coll, WCE 2018, WCE, Port and Dogs 2020)

This is true but playing devils advocate we still have about 13k members from last year who didn't join in 2020.

Our mid-small forwards are a massive issue. They are largely ineffectual 3 out of 4 games. Hannan, VDB, Pickett, Spargo and Melksham will have one game in 4 or so where they kick 2 or 3 goals, present and lay some tackles. The other 3 games they'll get 6 touches, 0 goals 0 or 1 tackle and be pretty much invisible for the whole game. Bennell has been the same when he has played. TMac is useless, can't take a mark to save himself, can't present, can't do anything at ground level he's just a massive liability. Fristch gets chances each game but often doesn't capitalise. Fair enough he's not going to average 3 goals a game but he should be kicking 3 goals a game every 2 or 3 games with the opportunities he's getting.

Honestly, I don't know. I see both sides of the argument, the players workrate not being up to scratch is what lost the game. But also it is the coaches job to move things around to give us the advantage and the best chance to win when things are going against us - otherwise he's just basically hoping for the best. On the workrate, I don't know if it's as simple as that. There have been too many instances of this occurring now in crucial games/against better sides who put the pressure on for it to be merely coincidence. Either our players go to water when they come up against a good team or one who puts the pressure on because it's all too hard or the gameplans of the better sides strangle and confuse us so effectively that it appears as though our players are slacking off or just having an "off day". Honestly I don't know which is worse.

Because we drank it?

That's the crux of the matter and the thing that sends us supporters batty

Lockhart has been OK since the Cats/Tigers games. I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon. Smith is a bust, the guy is useless. I'd rather have Tomlinson out there as bad as he has been.

Melksham should be dropped for that contested mark he shirked in the 2nd quarter if nothing else

And pace and skill

Preuss

Liabilities - TMac, Hannan, Brayshaw, Tomlinson, Pickett (though has time on his side) Vandenberg, Harmes, Lever

Petracca wtf?

Brayshaw [censored] off

Pretenders

And May

He has to hit the scoreboard when the opportunities come up. He had two chances early and muffed them both

Would probably end up at the Hawks with our other castoffs (Frawley, Scully, Frost). They love collecting former junior prodigies with unfulfilled talent due to injuries or other issues.

Dermie respectfully disagrees

That completely disregards the foot injuries he's had to deal with since 2018.

I wonder whether coaches are getting much of a chance to go and watch opposition teams play live this year. As in the OP one of the premises of the thread is that you can't really understand the modern game just from watching on TV. If coaches are being prohibited from watching their opposition live this year it may provide an opportunity for some teams/tactics/structures to slip under the radar.

This is something that did my head in for years. You'd watch Melbourne forwards just standing around stagnant I assume because they either didn't have the inclination or tank to work hard or, more likely, they were only thinking about how THEY could win the ball - if there was no clear path ahead of them to lead into they wouldn't bother because their teammate was not going to kick it to them amongst multiple opposition players. What I wanted to see was forwards and mids leading up to their kicking teammate particularly when they knew they WOULDN'T win the ball in order to create space behind them for their teammates to work in. It requires a high level of workrate, I guess it's the attacking version of "running both ways".

It's interesting, while forward half turnovers can be great as it keeps the ball in your half and hopefully catches defenses off guard allowing you to easily pick off through the zone it also means your forward line is extremely crowded generally with anywhere between 28-36 players in there. This makes it exceptionally difficult to score especially for teams like us who are not highly skilled. Back half turnovers allow you to spread the opposition defence before slingshotting as well as catching them off guard running forward meaning you can generally get over the zone quicker and have greater space in your forward line.

Yeah this is exactly what I was going to say. Being good at scoring in different situations shows that the overall gameplan in all three phases (defensive structure/pressure, ball movement and stoppages) holds up against different opposition. This is generally due to a well drilled team who also has key players with individual brilliance.

Love the enthusiasm binman but I reckon you're overestimating our ability based on 3 games against mediocre opposition. The potential is certainly there for this team to explode but until they do it against the better sides and do it consistently I think it's incorrect to compare us favourably to the Tigers who have won 2 of 3 and are challenging for a 3rd in 4.