Dr. Gonzo

Journos are just [censored] off we're not imploding and giving them more fodder for the daily rags. So if we don't give them a story they will create one

We were clearly playing a different style, holding on to the footy more and playing the angles into the corridor. It worked. We just couldn't maintain it when the rain came and the tigers mids started to get on top. That's what I was responding to, the incorrect assertion that Goodwin refuses to change up his chaos game style (which is dumb because we haven't really played that way since the bye)

Wet weather football is traditionally long down the line. When you're only marking target is a ruckman you're gonna be in trouble. Petty was good early and faded in the 2nd half with the conditions. Preuss was terrible all round. Fritsch tried but is undersized. We had noone else up forward and fell down when the game reverted to wet weather footy. Compare that to the Tigers who had Riewoldt, Lynch, Soldo and Chol as hit up targets and then plenty of small forwards swarming at their feet.

Because Richmond are the form team of the competition who were looking for percentage on their way to a top 4 finish and we were playing with a completely makeshift forward line and half a backline and are waiting for the season to end. Did you not watch the Tigers dismantle Collingwood a couple of weeks back?

We were clearly trying to adjust our style but the post I responded to was just having a crack at Goodwin about refusing to change his chaos plan which we haven't really been doing since the bye and particularly not tonight. So I just had to wonder whether the person actually watched the game or just saw the result and started ranting about "Goody and his chaos game" Considering the fact we had our forward line missing, May and Jetta out and had resorted to having Oscar, Preuss and JKH back in the side along with Dunkley, Wagner and Baker; considering we were playing the form team in the comp who are probably going to win the flag; considering I expected to lose by 60-80 points; and considering we were attempting to play a different style of footy which was working to an extent before the rain poured down; considering the fact we got absolutely nothing from the umps for half a game if footy - considering all that yeah I was actually surprised we got to within 5 goals. No I'm not happy with the result but I also understand context. I don't just have a tantrum every time I don't get what I want because, you know, I'm an adult.

My thoughts as well mate. It sucks to lose again but I was expecting a belting tonight and the players did well early until the rain came. Goodwin is clearly changing things up too, we played a more possession based game and used the corridor more but this pretty much went out the window when it started pouring. Couldn't get a break from the umps either which cost at least 2 goals. Plus we had so many first string players out including May and TMac. Had we had a key forward target in the first half we may have kicked a couple more goals. Result sucks but it wasn't like it came out of nowhere. Richmond are likely to win their 2nd flag in 3 years and pretty unlucky not to be on a hat-trick. We're trying to get to the end of a horror season. But as usual the whingers on here will complain about any and everything they can.

Did you actually watch the game tonight?

Imagine we had a forward line!

That's true, my comment was more addressing the allegation that he sacrificed 2 defenders for this tactic which was untrue. He sacrificed 2 forwards.

He also played under Craig for a large chunk of his career under the "Crow-bots" so not just all out attacking philosophy through is whole career

He never sacrificed two defensive players, those players were two extra defenders who played off the back of the centre square. We haven't been able to do it this year due to the 6/6/6 rule. If it was two defenders we would just keep doing it .

Of course our depth is poor we had to rebuild the entire list from scratch starting in 2014. How long should it take to build a list that has enough depth that it can comfortably cover so many injuries particularly to key players and ensure we continue to win games and push for finals? Goodwin may oversee list management, I don't know but I would've thought that is mainly the role of the list manager. We've got holes in the gameplan that need to be worked on over summer but the injuries certainly haven't helped. It's not one or the other, it's both. Last year people like King were saying "match them on the inside and you can beat them on the outside". That still applies it's just that last year we were smashing teams on the inside and kicking scores going forward so it didn't matter. Some games we struggled to score or had the press too high and we got exposed. That was tweaked and we performed far better in the second half of the season. For me this year has just been a "what can go wrong will go wrong" year. I'm keeping my powder til next year to see how the team and coaches respond particularly with a (hopefully) healthy list. If we continue with an unaltered gameplan we will be doomed to fail but I don't think that will be the case. It has been evident over the past 6 or so weeks we have tried to change things a little we just haven't had the personnel to do so successfully.

It also requires marking forward targets and crumbing small forwards both of which we have a dearth of

Projection

So not the gameplan or the coach?

If we're offering big money to Keath we might as well just pack up shop and be done with it

Definitely Nuff

So when the Hawks win it's because Al Clarkson has a plan and sticks to it but when the Demons lose its because Goodwin is too stubborn to change?

Yet they somehow went on to make a Prelim the year after it was apparently an issue? Maybe it is but it would be weird considering they had the best year the club has had in over a decade following it Perhaps it's Occam's razor? We've had injuries and the coach is learning and needs to rejig his gameplan

Nah mate didn't you know? Every poor coaching performance is now Neeld MkII. The supporters are scarred and project their suffering onto the players and coaches who weren't even born when they started their descent into footballing misery.

Agreed, which is why blaming Goodwin is ridiculous. Maybe he will be a failed coach but we don't know based on this year given all of the above.

ie if Carlton pony up enough money he'll go there for a couple of years

We've been trying to do that more over recent weeks but when you're forward line is bereft of marking targets because they're all injured it makes things a bit difficult. Hence the turnovers.

Did he get the warning from the ump?

But they didn't kick straighter. You could use the same argument to say we would've beaten west coast the week before if we kicked straighter. But we didn't and neither did st.kilda. The fact is we were ahead with 10 minutes to go. That's not to say the team played well or to pat them on the back for getting close. But it is acknowledging that the game was up for grabs and not a 100 point demolition that most on here are treating it as. I don't really understand why, was that the game that blew your fuse? This weekend we will probably lose to the Tigers by minimum 40 points but it wouldn't surprise me to see that blowout even more. Are the same people going to jump on here after that game and regurgitate the same bile about the club ad nauseum? We get it, this year has sucked but are you expecting any different from the rest of the year at this point? I already made up my mind that this year was a dumpster fire when we first lost to the Saints at the G but definitely by the time we lost to Brisbane. What does another loss prove? I will judge the team and club on next year's performances now, the rest of this year is just a write off waiting for the preseason to start.