bing181

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.

I don't believe we misjudged where the list is at, quite the reverse - thus the extensive trades to get into the pointy end of the draft over the past couple of seasons.

You're just showing your ignorance. Do some reading. It's widely known that AFL coaches do NOT have a major say in recruiting, for obvious reasons. There's a great Chris Scott interview out there somewhere where he confirms as much. (Also not limited to AFL, in fact in some sports the head coach has minimal to zero input into recruiting.)

Sporting teams rise and fall. Who would've thunk.

Perhaps. But if that's the case, it should be so that we can get some games into Adams, or even Howes.

Goodwin doesn't make the draft selections, he's but one amongst a number who have input, the call mainly comes from Taylor (National Recruiting Manager).

Funny how when Lever was dropped Howes took his role.