bing181

it's a full explanation. He missed too much of that critical late pre-season/early season period and has been playing catchup ever since. (also see Kolstrup and to a lesser extent Windsor and Lindsay).

Women.

It also requires you to play a condensed season beforehand (2020) with fewer matches and shorter quarters. And in particular it requires you to miss the finals in the previous season so you have a longer break and both come back fresher and sort out any lingering injuries or issues. Knocking yourself around for another month in the hardest games of the year (finals) is one of the reasons it's so difficult to back up from premierships or even reaching the GF. Coming into 2021 we had a dream run in terms of preparation compared to the teams who had played finals the previous year.

Also also FWIW, in my opinion what has happened with the players/team/club over the last few seasons is almost ALL between the ears. Even this year. We can at times play like gods and match it with the very best. And then lose to the very worst, often in the worst kind of way (e.g., inaccuracy in front of goal). We're both miles ahead of the Norths, WCE's and Essendons - and miles behind them. It's not about technique (the players can at times do exactly what's needed), it's not about coaching (we can at times dominate opposition and counter their strengths). Lack of consistency within and across games is almost always down to what's going on between the ears. As to why, and what to do about it ... I have no idea. I do wonder though whether winning the flag has become a millstone around this group's neck, that they can neither move on from it nor refind the form that lead to it. The pressure and expectation to succeed saps away at them - e.g. both Goodwin and Salem spoke a while back about "chasing the scoreboard" rather than focusing on what you're supposed to be doing. There's a lot to unpick.

I was just speaking generally - these players and their loads (and everything else) are managed to within an inch of their lives. I don't believe given the data that would be available to the fitness staff that they're sending players out to play if they're underdone - or overdone for that matter. Also FWIW, I don't believe that fitness or fatigue had a role to play in the last quarter capitulation. Not any more than it would for any last quarter, when obviously players are more fatigued. Mental fitness and fatigue (switching off) on the other hand ...

The Simon Goodwin who was in charge in 2018 when we "played a much more exciting, attacking brand of football", that Simon Goodwin?

Recovery sessions are absolutely written in blood. Do too little and you won't be ready for higher-load sessions later in the week, not to mention the next match. Do too much and it's the reverse, you'll struggle later in the week.

Sums it up. People don't' want solutions, they want gestures.

Perhaps something like "the season in totality has certainly not lived up to our expectations as a football club ... however your Board and I are committed to doing everything required to have our AFL program performing at the level we all expect" ?

The trouble for many here with the letter is that it doesn't propose remedies that align with what they're FEELING. Because in response to BIG FEELINGS people want to see BIG ACTIONS - whether or not they actually achieve anything. i.e., people want the club to perform angry disappointment. i.e. it's not what the club actually does that counts, it's the optics.

Hopefully May in for ... someone out (backline). Up forward, presumably out one of Petty or JVR, though amongst the carnage we did manage 13 goals by 3/4 time, so something was going right.

Sure, but even in the backline he'll need to hold his marks.

It's a mini 186, I could see Gawn falling on his sword at the end of the season re the captaincy. Though not sure who we have who could provide the kind of leadership we needed in that 4th quarter. We have some great warriors, not sure we have many great generals.

You think that Simon comes out of his office on a Wednesday night and posts the team sheet up on the noticeboard? Delusional. The selection process is one that happens across the FD.

"Senior on-field leadership has never been more paramount" Ross Lyon post-match (referring to AFL restrictions on sending messages out to players).

A loss like today's is multi-factorial, and not down to any single player or two. I do believe though that across the field you need a good, balanced list, and one capable of executing what they need to. Without that you're on a hiding to nothing - as we saw today.

Plus May and Lever (though not the Lever of this year ...). That's a lot of on-field leadership lost.

But they do have one player who can single-handedly swing games. Which as we saw, was enough.

Nothing to do with fitness, but if that's what you want to hang your hat on, go for it. Fitness between the ears, that's something else.

Reminds me of the 2023 semi-final loss to Carlton. We have some great blood 'n guts, die for you footballers. But what we lack are smart players, especially amongst the leaders. That St Kilda could work out what needed to be done and then execute while we couldn't speaks volumes about what's going on on-field.

A loss like that is all down to a lack of on field leadership. eg giving away a critical 666 at a time like that …

Said it a few weeks back, but Clayton Oliver ... sad to watch.

McVee half the player he has been. Howes being reminded of the difference between the VFL and AFL. On top of that, no May and Lever so basically a leaderless backline and ...

Also the sad part is when you assume that all selection decisions are made by Goodwin.

If he backs It up this week you'd think he'd be close to selection. One game is not much to go on, great or not.