John Crow Batty

Hibberd is playing the role that Lever should be. But currently Hibberd is keeping him out of that role.

Judd had his heyday in a juiced up WC and flanked by Cousins and Kerr, superstar midfielders in their own right at that time. Went to Carlton and had zero influence on the blues fortunes when he had to do it all on his own. Clarrie still has to stamp his greatness on the game but it will happen.

We moved up to sixth on the ladder. We are sixth on the ladder. We are sitting in 6th spot on the ladder.

Well it was Mathieson so he should be forgiven.

They must be doing something right despite serious lapses. For 50% of the quarters played thus far we only have conceded 1 goal in each. We had a lapse against Geelong where the wheels temporarily fell off but against Brisbane it was the warm fuzzy winning feeling when we got over 40 points up and the players backed off. Similar situations happened in the last two rounds of last season. We blow a quarter and end up playing losing catch up footy or we shut shop early when we have what the players perceive a match winning lead. These are two different problems. They are now clearly identified and the coaches need to act to bring in the killer instinct.

Bulldogs going from premiership hangover to skid row now.

Irksome flaws in our game still persist but at least they are being shown up now and not later in the season. There is time to fix things up. Killer instinct is an attribute sorely lacking and may cost us in the end like last season.

I would say this was Hogan’s best game so far on the back of steady improvement over the past year despite some setbacks. The things that really irked me in the past like sooky attitude, lack of pressure and wobbly skills are nearly all gone. Now an important cog in the machine and not a sideshow. Still needs work on set shots and injury concerns seem to crop up too often. But this could be his big breakout season.

Good result for us. Good to see more top sides droping points so early in the season. Soothes some of the sting from our loss to Geelong. The game against Brisbane is a must win to keep us on track.

If Hogan does miss this week then it is a good early chance to see if Weed has progressed. Surely at this stage of his career he must have something to show if he going to be any good.

I remember when camps were fun and joyous occasions.

It’s the reality TV syndrome that’s taking over reality.

Looks like Adelaide Crows have their own camp issues and Taylor Walker, he of bad hair fame is chucking another wobbly. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/walker-furious-with-crows-pre-season-camp-leak-20180327-p4z6kw.html

Don’t worry, just a minor niggle. Back this week or the next, if not, then the week after that and so on. Should be cherry ripe for round 23 at the worst.

I blame myself for the Fristch smother. I yelled at the Geelong player manning the mark that he couldn’t jump over a can of beer.

One thing I have learned over the years is not to take round one at face value. All sorts of weird results. I’ll wait a few more rounds to see who truly has the form. Out of all the loss permutations for us this was the most tolerable. Shows we are capable but need more fine tuning.

He should have had a quiet night at home. Why front up to a show where the optics were never going to be good and the answers unsatisfying? There were no positives to be gained. He was just giving oxygen to the controversies.

I did notice that handball chains helped set up penetrating forward movements but that movement is slow thus Geelong had time to set up in defence at their leisure. Sometimes a quick long quick forward might catch defenders out of position. Did not see that often

We are at our best for over a decade. Just need some cool heads in the leadership.

We seriously owned them in the second half. Selwood and Ablett were ineffective. Very poor forward structure offensively and defensive killed us. Even when we scored points they cleared out with too many easy uncontested marks from kick outs 40-50 metres out.

I would say it’s lack of onfield leadership. No one out there to pull in heads and stop panic until a reset at the breaks. That’s what it looked like. Just like the first quarter against Collingwood in round 23. One wishes the siren would sound 10 minutes early because it’s obvious the damage just gets worse. Sure amongst the talent in our side there must be some untried latent leadership? For now need Viney back quick. Jones is no good. Further, there is no leadership to organise the forward line and bloody get someone to lead and structure up.

Inside 50’s, 64 to 41. 23 more than them. Another blow out quarter. We won the other three. Same old issues.

Errors, errors and more errors. Is Neeld coaching both sides?

Jack Watts looking good. Looks beefed up this season.

Sloppy game full of errors last night. The play was like a pinball bouncing all over the place. Crows certainly missed Lynch and Walker out front and more so Lever out back. Glad he is ours now. Essendon took far too many easy marks in forward 50. I’d rather watch a more strategic and tactical game rather than this chaotic fast food like spectacle. Worst of all was that unmentionable moron commentator who creamed his pants all over Etihad with his fanboy antics and who topped it all by suggesting Essendon might be the next Richmond.