P-man

Great. Riccituo is commentating.

And it's a flawed point. Ablett does provide an example to follow in how he trains, prepares and applies himself. I'm yet to hear a report that suggests otherwise. He does chase, tackle, throw himself into packs. He is just as brilliant inside as he is outside. To say he doesn't do these things is to not have watched him play for the past five or so years. Is Ablett to lose leadership points because his brilliance can't be emulated? That's insane. As long as he is providing an example to follow, he is just as worthy of praise as Jones. Jones is more worthy only from the perspective that he's done it in an environment that has provided him with about a thousand reasons not to do it. I will agree on the Ablett centric style of the Suns, which the players have had to be corrected upon. But to what extent that is Ablett's fault is very much up for debate. It's very timely that this article gets written just as Ablett returns to the sidelines and the Suns are struggling at 0-2 with the new coach on board. I'm all for Jones getting greater recognition that he richly deserves, but I don't agree with the method.

Ablett is a case study in how absurdly fickle the football following public are. When the Suns were on the ascent last year prior to his injury, Gaz was being hailed from all corners on how well he has taken to the captaincy role. Since then, and moreso at the beginning of this year, he is now labelled as someone with little leadership qualities. Burke plucks out his one tackle in eight quarters while he's been taking to the field with essentially one arm as demonstration of a lack of dedication. Last season, Ablett averaged 6.1 tackles a game ranking him 14th in the league. Referencing his tackles in the first two games while injured is not just a cheapshot from Burke, it's a mindless cheapshot. It seems some people have been waiting for an opportunity to kick a champion at the first sign of weakness. That's all this really amounts to. Jones is my favourite player and I admire the bloke beyond words, but it's a silly comparison.

Would've liked to see Michie come in given what we will miss with Viney's absence, but I don't mind it. Throws it over to the guys playing at Casey to put in another solid week and really earn their spot.

The Etihad and North droughts are the most ludicrous.

Where is cowboy from hell these days? Hopefully he hasn't relaxed into a comatose state.

It will take the hiding of all hidings for the media to even raise an eyebrow. In the coverage I saw this week, Melbourne's woeful second half hardly rated a mention. The only mentions I saw were from the perspective of the Giants' impressive display. The fact they did it against Melbourne was merely a footnote. The media have become as disengaged as a lot of the fans. Ineptness is expected. The boys absolutely have to respond this week. It's at a point where I don't care if someone gets rubbed out. Statements need to be made.

I can't disagree with any of that. But looking at this week's match, there are logical reasons to be optimistic. That optimism may get shattered quickly, but it's still there. Hell, even Dawes had his best game ever for the club in this fixture last year. I just cannot see how that loss wouldn't seriously hurt them as professional athletes, especially the new guys. 14 goals ffs. They were humiliated. Has it gotten to a stage where humiliation is run of the mill? I'm expecting a strong response and I'll be absolutely filthy if there isn't one.

I understand the angst, but it is only Round 3 and we're 1-1. I'd have taken that three weeks ago. We're also going to a ground where we have recently performed well. Adelaide do look good, no doubt, but Round 1 they played an absolutely insipid North team. Round 2 they played a very ordinary Collingwood side. They are yet to show they are the real deal against a QUALITY opponent. It's a tough ask but if we can match their pressure, we'll be in the game.

There's little doubt there is an on field leadership void, at times. The "here we go again" mentality will take a while to weed out of the club. In the third quarter the Giants were hitting every target, taking every contested mark, and finishing evey goal no matter how absurd the likelihood. I sensed the players eventually figured it just wasn't their day, which is what turned 5 or 6 goals in a row into 14 in a row. It's what made Lumumba's goal against GC such a crucial act. It was an act of defiance and leadership when it looked like the worm was turning. It arrested momentum. We need more of that.

Agreed. The Bulldogs pre-season game suddenly isn't looking like such an anomaly. Dominant in the first half. Completely roll over in the second. The only difference was GWS had the quality on the field to take full advantage. All I want to see against Adelaide is a four quarter effort. If there is sustained effort then the side is good enough to be competitive.

I remember him being a 30 goal forward in arguably the worst Melbourne team we've seen. He was being shuffled around last year so it's hardly a fair sample. His set shots need work but that's the same for a lot of our players. "Stroke of genius"? Not sure I'd go that far. It all came as a result of Roos rolling the dice one week and throwing some magnets up against the whiteboard. He's been stuck there ever since. I don't disagree with your last statement, and it's only body language I'm judging it on. He's thus far played the role he's been given, but it wasn't a strong showing on the weekend. If he leaves, he'll revert to being a forward. And likely a damn good one.

I'm not convinced that Howe should remain settled in the backline. Yes he played well against GC but so did the entire team. They were given the time and space to do so. We have an absolute weapon with Howe's aerial ability. Are we really going to use it purely for the odd intercept mark off half back? That seems a criminal waste to me. The forward line has improved with the mix of talls and smalls, but the addition of Howe could take it from promising to dangerous. There seems a consensus on here that he's a defender now and that's that. Howe certainly didn't appear on the weekend to be someone who was happy playing out the year as a defender. If he does end up leaving, it's not going to be the greatest mystery in the world to figure out why.

What makes it more difficult to stomach is having to hear about how their supporters have "been through so much". I actually laugh whenever I hear it. Been through what, exactly? Having to watch their team get kicked out of the finals? How trying that must have been. So brave.

i was more confused than angry. It wasn't registering how we could just...stop playing. You could see heads going down everywhere, new guys included. I have faith that we can bounce back, however.

I'm going to enjoy watching Geelong's slide. They've put it off for a long time but it has finally arrived, and with Clark aboard the sinking ship, it will be hopefully worth the wait.

Sydney doing it comfortably against Port who are playing at home. Maybe we'll be saved from the media blowing smoke up Port's backside for a week. Will make for a nice change.

That, and as others have said, the stoppage work was awful after halftime. It was a procession. I don't know if it's partly a communication issue, but they need to sort it out quickly.

Hogan is a third year player and has already shown he is more than capable at the level. Viney is a third year player. Tyson is a fourth year player. McDonald is starting to carve himself out as one of the premier key defenders, if these guys are "learning the ropes", then so are the Giants players, and they areal good enough to play in that side. I'm not deluding myself on the where the team is at. But a lot of the building books in terms of "talent" are in place. There are still some gaps to fill, of course, but from here it is as much about cohesion as a team, belief and above all else, effort.

Yes he rightly spoke about the effort dropping away. I'd rather he left it there, or say that we are not at a stage yet as a team to let that waver, rather than these continual references to a lack of talent. You can be a competitive team, even a good team, without stars on every line. Blame the effort by all means, but give the talent thing a rest.

When you're talking raw talent we have Salem, Viney, Tyson, Jones, McDonald, Hogan, Kennedy-Harris, Vince, the list goes on. Still plenty of high draft picks in this lot. Previously Roos was also touting the inclusion of Garlett and Lumumba as adding to the talent level. This week it's back to being a talent wasteland. It's a nonsense cop out, and it's also hardly inspiring for his players to hear the coach blame a lack of talent. There's not many teams in the competition that are good enough to get by without sustained effort, so to single out a lack of talent is just a cop out in my book. Sick of hearing it.

Roos needs to pull back on the references to a "lack of talent". It's up there with Neeld's age and games experience excuses and I don't want to hear it anymore. There is enough top end talent in the squad. Just get on with it Paul.

I was staggered at the total INABILITY to win a clearance after halftime. Haven't looked at the numbers but the times we won it out of the middle were scarce. Certainly time to put the oft-repeated competition for spots to the test. The likes of Grimes and Michie have just been given an opportunity. JKH will come straight back in, and Howe's aerial ability needs to be used in the forward line. He is being underutilised.

Nah, I'm a local.

On my way home and still trying to fathom what I just witnessed. Credit to the Giants who just didn't do a thing wrong after halftime, but our boys stopped running. Not sure if it was lack if will or fitness. Really disappointing.