bing181

I for one feel that the list is potentially in a much better place than it might seem. Though we're going to need some luck with injuries. If we need to find improvement from within, then it needs to come from the younger players, as they're the ones with the most unrealised potential. But many have been set back by injury: from players like McVee (only just now getting going?), Windsor (same?) to players like Kolt, Linsday, Kentfield who were never going to be overcome injuries pre/early season. Then you add AMW who was tracking well at the back end of 2024, and even Lever who should be at peak performance but whose season (and career?) is shot with foot injuries and whatnot. Similar for Harry Petty (only 25), who hasn't been himself for a couple of seasons now with one thing after the other, but was a really strong key defender for us prior to that. And have we even begun to see what Aidan Johnson can bring? His performance in the VFL last weekend is a one-off for the moment, but he's another who could perhaps step up and really fill a forward/backup ruck void. Slightly similar story for Seston, was also tracking well until injury has pretty ruled out his year. Not all the above will make it, or at least make it enough to make a difference, but there's enough there to be optimistic about without wringing our hands about not being able to bring in talent. Perhaps that's the case, but there's plenty of unrealised potential on the list as well.

Joe Daniher: Long shot, but great that the club is being active and leaving no stone unturned. Would seriously straighten us up.

Perhaps one of the reasons we have such poor delivery into the forward line is because we have such poor forwards - or forwards who aren't exactly screaming for it or who you'd back in. The players seem to do OK at hitting up Pickett.

It happens, both in life and in sport. Regression to the mean and all that. (Unless you're Geelong and the Swans, with a little help from the AFL one way or another.)

Turnovers: 5.7 37 8.2 50 There's the match. When we turned it over they punished us. When they turned it over (actually more often) we let them off the hook through (checks notes) inaccuracy.

"Their game's in pretty good order but they can't score and efficiency continues to be their biggest issue." Kane Cornes on the Dees

Delusional. If we lose this one (and a few more), the list of players to be traded/dumped will get longer. To paraphrase Bill Clinton, it's the list, stupid.

While a couple of those 8 goals are the result of some dodgy umpiring (coupled with some poor discipline), most of them are the result of us being unable to put a score on the board. 12.8 is not necessarily a winning score, but 10.10 is probably a losing one.

Not quite. We have a list that was built around one kind of footy but the game has moved on.

Not the point I'm making is it? Read the original post again.

The wheel will only turn with improvement in the list. That can come from within (e.g., more maturity and experience in the younger players) or by bringing in established players who can make a difference.

Agree with your post, but not entirely in agreement with this. Yes, we have some good/great players. But the trouble is that their work is being undone by the half-dozen who are yet to confirm themselves as AFL-capable. Success on field isn't so much about your best players, but your worst.

Yet me guess, you believe in the tooth fairy as well?

Ah, so you can have a great coach and yet the team can still be losing matches depending on the players/list. You're just saying what I'm saying. Glad to see we're in agreement.

How's mega-coach Alistair Clarkson going at North in his third year?

That's right, because no matter how good or bad the players are it comes down to the coach. Your premise is basically that next week we could put the Casey team on the field and when they lose it's Goodwin's fault.

How anyone can watch that and think it's the responsibility of the coach is beyond me.

He lost a slab of pre/early season and has been playing catch up all year. Young players need full pre-seasons or it really sets them back.

Yes, bring in players who can kick.

Windsor has looked a bit more like himself. Unfortunately, so have some of the others ... Tholstrup, Jefferson, Sharp.

Windsor has looked a bit more like himself. Unfortunately, so have some of the others ... Tholstrup, Jefferson, Sharp.

If we lose this (a good possibility for the moment ...) it'll be as much as anything because of our younger players turning the ball over. Jefferson, Tholstrup are killing momentum.

Jefferson. 0 stats. Not sure how much time he gets, with Petty waiting in the wings. Though equally true of most of our bottom 6. Tholstrup whatever whatever long term, but for the moment he just doesn't have a feel for it.

Laughable.

Nonsense. You seem to think that what they say publicly is what they say internally. The club, like all sports clubs at this level, is a commercial venture. They need to sell tickets, memberships, merchandise, sponsorships etc. etc. Do you think even clubs like Richmond or WCE are coming out at the beginning of the season saying "well, it's going to be a shot season, we'll be lucky to win even a handful of matches and will probably be fighting it out for the wooden spoon"? Of course they don't.