scarlett

I think we discussed this previously, i think i was on the keilty bandwagon but were both wanting the fwd ruck. Tmac and weid both benefited from this and even there forward pressure was better. Petracca looked so much better not trying to be a bustling 3rd tall. I still worry about Pruess and his lack of a tank especially on a bigger ground. He struggles to get to packs and contests, so if the oppo wanted to they could risk playing a skilled rebounder off him. AA butchered a few which helped us. I like a lot of what spargo does, he links up well, and normally hits a short safe option. But i dont see him becoming much more than what he is. He gets pushed off the ball easy and doesnt possess enough zip to be any more. No depth to his kicks and cant kick a goal from 35 out. Hoping garlett pulls his finger out hannan comes back and Chandler lockhart and bedford come on.

Vandenberg is a worry, he is an important cog in the machine, was it his ankle that kept him out for so long previously? Is it another "hotspot" that we seem prone too? Last year i rated smiths defensive speed to close opposition fwd entries, but closed my eyes when he was to dispose of the ball, until his last 2 games he found time to execute. He seems to get injured every time he just starts to click.

We buy high and sell low. Pay pick 2 for tyson and salem. Played tyson out of position then trade him out for a third in line ruckman. Traded out a former number 1 pick for a second rounder. Held onto to long. Traded out a zippy goal kicker for next to nothing. Traded in a back flanker/intercept defender for 2 first round picks. Traded put a proven young kpf who only was scratching the surface on what he can become for just the 1 first rounder and a second? And if i recall i think we gave something back. With this first rounder we bring in a kpd who has soft tissue and discipline issues, who at 27 will be at his best for maybe 3 years and would have cost nothing in picks if we waited 12 months. Every "expert" commented on how strong last years draft was. Draft picks are worth more in the draft some years compared to others.

Either the players aren't understanding how to implement the set ups, or even worse they are and its how the coaches want it. If it were 1 or 2 players, you would say its the players. Remember these are the same core players that have proven they can play and play to instruction. The rest of the team are bottom depth, new players or new roles so you can understand standing in the wrong spot and such, but our senior guys should be able to help, but they dont because it looks like they have nfi either. i have watched jones and others jog around in no mans land. Oliver and brayshaw not in position at ball ups and throw ins, causing easy take aways or if they do win it on shear talent pressured disposal. Setting up to defend the rebound 50 was basically non existent.

We drafted for a main core group of midfielders, have a top 2 ruckman, lost 1 key forward but still have one that kicked 50 last year, and spent our draft picks on 2 kpd. These are the players that should be winning games, granted there isnt as much depth and we drafted all the same type of mid, but these players are good. They've proven it, not elite, but good. If they cant understand what the coaches are wanting do we trade out after what could be a poor year for cheap, or do we change the way they're being coached? Or they are executing well, but its a flawed system that has been countered(tigers going poorly too)

Excellently put. I recall melksham leading hard from the square, demanded his team mate hit him up, he dropped the mark, but because he was a moving target essendon didnt have numbers at the fall and we goaled. Last year tmac lead hard, it often got kicked over his head to hogan in the hotspot out numbered, but he atleast dragged his defender away. This year he and weid seem spent, bring keilty in to save them from rucking. If all three are leading their opponents either for a mark or to create space, it wont effect f50 pressure as they would have taken away the defender from impacting the rebound. While our structures were better and more spaced out, our forwards dont lead hard and demand the defender go with them. When forwards lead hard it makes the spare mans job so much harder. More chance of him getting stuck in between contests. Same goes for contests around the ground, back our guns in, we often go for the same ball or hang to close, when theres a contest, and if you're not impacting it first, run to an attacking position, your opponents going to chase you. If we lose the contest it drags them away from impacting their spread forward.

First paragraph and third contradict each other, its the recruiters who brought that vfl level talent in. Although vdb, fritsch, hannan and kent all play/played their roles. I've never looked at what players went around them to compare. Whats hurt us is the picks the recruiters have had, always trading draft picks out, buying high selling low. The playing group are definitely trying and playing hard, look at the i50's. How you can trust the offfield team is unbelievable. Either the structures and game plans being followed, (coaches fault) or the players dont know or understand what the coaches want implemented(im going with this one) which is the coaches fault. Last paragraph you answer your own question, if your a professor at a university where only the smartest kids get in, yet they all fail the exams, do you say all the students are suddenly dumb? Or change the way you're teaching.

Lever and may aren't the answer, either are spargo and tyson. Goodwin mentioned that we're getting slaughtered in ground balls either end. Well our drafting over the last few years has been for competitors, over the last few years i would have backed us in to win most contests, if we dont, pressure their disposal. We're not. The amount of times I've seen nathan jones jogging in no mans land this year is horrible from a leader. He's always had a couple of these a game but this year, he's lost and doesnt know his role. When he does get near a contest he is in the wrong spot to impact attackingly and wrong side defensively so just watches and jogs back to guarding pointless space. My point here is, our captain, veteran of 250+ games cant execute what the coaches are wanting(if this is what the coaches are instructing, sack the coaches) then what chance do the role players and young guys have? Confidence is a huge thing and when you dont know what is required of the role you play, you lose confidence. Nathan Jones inside ball winner wouldnt be caught ball watching a contest. Nathan Jones doesnt know how to play to what the coaches are directing. Jetta same, hibberd same, forwards the same. Too many players are worrying about where they should be in the zone and forgetting to play football.

We're bottom 4, forward structures were better, but still so, so [censored]. we slowed some of their rebounds, but our structures are too easy to chip around and run through. Even numbers and we all run to the one spot and watch them spread away. We only have one player that leads hard out of the square and thats melksham, who was battli g agaisnt Hurley. I've been saying it since last year, we need better assistants around goodwin and we need to poach the best. Getting a few players back wont make any difference to how easily we get scored against. Umpiring needs to be investigated, that was match fixing.

Petracca tried but melksham turned and wanted the over the top, resulted in an uncontested mark to hurly.

Petracca was one of a few (gawn, oliver, hunt, hibberd) who won crucial contests and turned a goal our way into momentum our way. Petracca was huge that qtr, thankgod he's not playing at casey like you want.

Im done for the night.

How was that not holding the ball to petracca, then nibbler gets dragged down never taking possession

Mekernen ran straight past the pack and bumped gawn to stop his run at the pack, play on, essendon goal, this is terrible by us and cant see the team turning this around this game while umpire calls are causing more score board pressure. We're [censored], but the umpiring is so far beyond [censored] it hurts watching. We've even been screwed with advantage, not allowed when in play for us, ball had almost stopped and play had halted, essendon goal.

Wow, the rebound was pressured and this is heart breaking, wE need someone to take charge aznd keep possession while they're scoring so easy so we can sort our defense out

Forward structures heaps better, this is much better a part from tge first entry

They might get hooker back, might throw him orf hurly forward. I still dont think we bring in a kpd for may with out dropping one of frost or o mac

A more interesting stat would be finals teams that started the next year 0-2 and went on to make finals.

Forward line structure needs a lot of work. If the forwards are spreading to all different areas more chance of taking a mark. We also need to work the ball on angels and hit up short targets when under pressure, so more of the 50 is facing the kicker so defenders have to respect our forwards and cant peel off and follow the ball down the line. If the mark is spilt and we dont get the crumb, its easier to defend 2 or 3 players that get to the ground ball and put pressure on the disposal. If the first exit disposal is under pressure, it gives our whole team more chance and time to defend and pressure all the way. Even if they do take it inside 50, it wont be completely on the oppositions terms so we can give our defence a chance to crowd the fall of the ball and rebound with numbers. I saw an interesting stat where we had the second or third highest average speed in defensive running, which would be because of the ease and speed port and geelong rebounded.

In an ideal world all our players would be fully match fit by round 1. I admit he's coming from further back than he was last year. 96kg is a bit heavy to be carrying up and down the ground in the midfield. But i wont accept it is through laziness, if you said that about the previous rebuild players and staff i would believe you, but i think we are a much more professional club now and wouldnt let that seep into the playing group. He was completeing extra sessions and the club has probably taken skin folds and given him what range they want him in and would have a plan to get him to his goal. Personally id prefer him leaner, hes not kp but they seem to want him as that inbetween. If he dropped to say back to 90-92 he would still have his core strength and his build would still keep him that bull type that they cant tackle but might give him a little more burst. As for playing him back and running him ragged, i disagree with that. Why give the opposition an advantage by playing with 17 on field and one unable to run with his opponent. Manage his loads like we do for all returning players so we get 100% out of him for 60% game time and build every week rather than 100% for 10% game time and 60% for 70% and the rest blowing out on the bench. Its all good to say drop him until he's match fit, but who comes in and plays fwd and bring in a another mid rotation? Or have the other player play both roles like trac, if the output is greater then yes. But obviously they dont believe that is the casr. On output, trac produces more than say young sparrow in the midfield and more than him as a forward even with less game time (just using sparrow as an example as he's fringe and will probably ve ommitted this week)

We need to restructure our forward line so we dont congrigrate in the one spot, stand still in a pack where defenders easily spoil and have all the team mates to flick it around to relieve pressure and hit easy targets and transition to attack easily picking our zone apart and causing extra defensive running. If this structure our forward coach (troy chaplin still forwards coach?) of hoping to take a difficult pack mark is his grand plan, then i would be chasing a new forward coach asap. That they loaded his running up as much as they could due to the injury interrupted pre season. Screw injuries, just train through them and be out for longer and be less fit than before. Petracca seems like the body type that would take a lot to get to where it should be and lose condition very quick.

Some athletes are blessed with a large endurance base, others have to work for years to get to an adequate base. Dustin Martin is the first one that comes to mind. He still spends more time forward than other mids, and it benefits the tigers with dusty doing dusty things at a high level rather than the alternative. AVB is one closer to home, when he moves into the midfield watch his disposal drop drastically after a few contests. Is he fat and lazy too? Crossy would be all over improving his endurance and so would christain. But until he has a sufficient base, i would rather him be managed between forward and midfield (preferably a bit closer to goal but then we lose him delivering inside) and doing his best and making a defender defend rather than attack, over exhausting him through the midfield and not doing things well and poor second and third efforts and watching his opponents run off him after a couple of contests.

Its not a whatsapp message getting around is it? Just a dumb guy saying dumb things when hes already done dumb things and shows more about him then her.

Lever would fill the general role in defence, and id be looking at lever, t mac,may and even nev jetta to calm the team down and slow tempo down when momentum is going against us and viney brayshaw and oliver to drag it back our way and drag the team with them from the engine room. A spread of cohesive leadership is a better option then bringing someone in specifically for it, however roughead would still be servicable as a forward if clarko wants to let him go,no 3 year contracts though.

I wouldnt call him lazy, he trains at full intensity and still chases when hes stuffed out on the ground. You may think he's lazy or bad attitude when an opponent zips past him, but I'd argue he's got nothing left. There's improvement to come with his endurance even in the short term he'll get more match fit. The problem is a lot of our midfield is on managed minutes, which means tracs probably doing a bit more in the midfield which would burn through his tank quicker, and the goid things he does become harder.