binman

An no access to the MCG! I don't want to sit right behind or beside some virulent, COVID loving, anti vaxer, conspiracy theorist, Pete Evans wanna be, wack job yelling abuse at a dees player, or worse an umpire for not policing the rules properly.

Love it. Another slogan for a t shirt. Or even better a mask!

Top work CMB. Great point about the revolving door in the forward line. It is has long been accepted that a consistent back six is critical in terms of developing synergy. It is even more important these days with zones. It stands to reason then when start talking about all team defence and tbe critical role forwards play in terms of pressure and spread, that consistency in selection would be very helpful.

Without a word of a lie i read that as a recruiting nightmare!

In a role reversal dogs collar dees. What next - taking us for a walk?

I am hating watching every game on TV. You just miss so, so much. And one thing is the work rate of players who don't have the ball. Teams switch to the 'fat side all the time. It is usually the most reliable and relatively risk free way to break a zone. Sometimes team give their opposition that option, but deep. And cover and force rhe bsll to be switched back. But more often than not the dees try to not even give the switch option and force a kick down the line But it is not tbe first switch kick that is the problem, it is the next disposal, be that a kick or handball. If that disposal can be immediate and under little or no pressure you get what happens to us in the third. Easy transition from the back half to their inside 50. So even though it looks routine it is just so critical that a player gets accross hard when the ball is switched to man rhe mark and hold up the next disposal. And if your team is working hard enough and prepared to gut run and sprint the time the ball is in the air on a 40-50 metre kick gives them time to cover. This is where langdon has been so important for us. Live you can see who is working hard and who has decided not to sprint and cover. On tv you are guessing. But if we were collectively working hard enough in that third quarter there us no way tbey transition rhe ball so ridiculously easily. And it has to be said the most likely culprits not covering off in thst game are the forwards as rhey are the first line of defence stopping easy transition.

You seem a pretty compassionate bloke, so i assume your son will be a hawks fan?

Great minds. Was just thinking the same thing (about not making many changes). I reckon Jones will be out injured, sparrow obviously too and i can't see them playing preuss and maxy. So that's three. And i very much doubt they will want want to make anymore. That said there a few players who better take the chance to atone this week. Kozzie being one. I wish melk was one but he reminds me of the old joke about council workers - stands all day leaning on his shovel, but aint no way he's getting sacked (now of course they have sacked his entire department and spend three times as much on contractors to not dig the hole).

Agree DZ. Some questions i am curious about (not trying to be smart [censored], i promise, just curious because I've noted an inside mail vibe about your posts): Do you think he should be? Do you think his performances this year have been at the required level? How do you rate his on field leadership this year?

I can't see how Tmac can play with his lack of mobility. The saints will torch him. I know opinion is divided on Smith but for me now that Jackson is out i'd swap him for Tmac. Let him loose down forward. Be manic. Don't think. Do Encourage him to be aggressive in the air and fly for everything. Bring the ball to ground and any mark is bonus. He is an excellent tackle, is quick and spread and cover the switch in away that Tmac simply can't.

Great post 3183. Won't get an opposing view from me. Spot on. A couple of responses to the points above Agree, particularly may who gave Naughton a toweling - and it think it is an important point in terms of the discussion we could have got close if we had kicked straight. That may be true but really we were lucky to not get beaten by a lot more Agree defending against our system (assuming of course we are actually implementing it) is mentally and physically exhausting for an opposition - but i would also say it is mentally and physically exhausting to play. It is built for finals and is hard to sustain in the home and away season. And for me a key question i have started to ponder is the mental side of this equation - surely coming out after the half time break and not working hard enough is mental not physical. It tells me we have a way to go to get to the next level and that Goody has work to do on his ability to get his players fully switched on and motivated Agree, i think, but only we have the players with the mental fortitude to dig deep week, week out - we are a relatively young side but so is Port and a number of times, this week included, i have seen them come out very flat but dig deep after half time to win games they easily could have lost 1000% agree - this week losing Jackson really showed because he works super hard in our front half. To be fair so did tmac but he is simply too slow and lacks agility and mobility. And like the roos, the dogs took full advantage of these issues. One thing i'd say though is i don't give kozzie a pass mark. Not only did he miss goals he is in the side to kick his pressure was way, way off what it has been. Bonus points Axis for the use of the word bifurcate

Great post DP. I agree with all of it and pretty much your suggested changes. I think Hibberd has to stay. Didn't have great game but has been terrific for weeks now. As is so often the case it is the medium forwards who cause us problems. They play Wallis almost as a traditional out of the square full forward. And we just could not get the match up right. Wallis was too strong and smart for for Lockhart and we ended up having to play Hibberd. Hibberd is not brilliant one on one, and Wallis is and playing him deep negated his strengths (rebounding off HB). A big win for Bevo Goodwin's hands were tied a bit because he couldn't use May (who would have both the nous and speed to beat Wallis) because neither Tomlinson or Lever could take Naughton. I'd move Tomlinson to the wing to take Jones' role (who will come out you'd think) and bring Omac back in for that deep defenders role. Sparrow is out obviously and like you i'd bring in Rivers. Not sure about the other in. Maybe Hunt for some run?

Suggested he should be dropped. And I'm one. Noone suggesting he will be dropped. He won't.

I meant in the roos game. Though didn't make that clear obviously

For me this is the critical question. Goody and bevo are the perfect example of my type one and type two coaches. With type one being fully committed tho their system (eg Longmire, Buckley and goodwin) and making few big changes on game day. And type two having a system of course but being more flexible and focused on responding to the opposition strengths and weakness. And much more likely to make structural and positional changes. The problem with type one is every player has to buy in for it to work. Maybe they thought they did yesterday but it was clear our defensive and forward pressure was appalling. pretty much for the whole game (it improved in the last). So leaving aside march day coaching for me the critical questions i why weren't the players ready. Of course the players have personal responsibility for being ready but in team sports there is another intangible aspect - the collective enegery of the team And graz i'm with you on this - it is the job of the coach to have his charges ready. Preparation plays a roles but it is also where the ability to motivate comes. I'll bet Bevo has this ability. it was on did play yesterday i reckon. Does goody? Twice in big games we have failed to be ready. To be honest the failure this time was worse than against Port, because we had a seven day break and then Port experience to learn from. And still came out flat. And worst of all we came out flat after half time. That speaks to me of a coach who struggles to find a way to motivate - to get his players to dig deep deep and push though the barrier, to commit to the system, to gut run, to tackle, to harass. Too often this year that effort has come n the last quarter when scoreboard pressure does the job of motivating - just as it again seemed to yesterday. Another issue raised its ugly head yesterday. And that was on field leadership. Who in the third said enough, i am going to stand up and gut run, tackle like a crazy man, kick a goal against the run. Instead we got our stand in captain giving utterly pathetic 50 and looking a petulant teenager. That was the only time i got really angry in that game as i knew that 4 goals was likely going to be bridge too far.

Coincedentaly I just read the article (not realising there was this thread). Heartbreaking. So much trauma. I started going to the footy regularly (ie most weeks), usually by myself, as a 11 year old in 1978 and fans yelling racial abuse was so common as not to be even noticed. The footy show episode says everything you need to know about racism in this country. And how far we have to go to even get close to meaningful reconciliation. Assuming of course we actually want to get there. Which I am far from convinced about. No doubt many would say oh that was long ago. Well one of those aresehokes who thought such a 'skit' was funny is the president of Collingwood (in a lineage that includes that pig mcallister) who still thinks racial jokes are hilarious. And the other shamefully still has a very public voice. And was just sued by Nicky winmar for defamation after claiming he was lying about his famous protest (one i didn't know Robbie muir had made a decade before) I feel ashamed for using the mad dog epithet many times over years when talking about Robert Muir.

I don't think the dogs put any extra pressure on us in the third which is where lost the game. If so its not about buckling under pressure. Our mids and forwards simply did not do enough defensive running and they have the players who can exploit that just about more than any other club because they have so many excellent field kicks. And are drilled to switch and take the kick on. Which is bevo's game plan That is is why I was worried about this game beforehand. We didnt do enough defensive running in the first half either, particularly tbe first quarter. We were dead lucky to be in front at half time. In the third we gifted them goals through turnovers and we missed our opportunities. And that is because our Achilles heel is how many players we have with terrible kicking technique. Wind of the sort today, just like rain exposes poor technique. As it did today. For me the real issue is why the players did not work hard enough today. That is as much on the coach as the players. They did not have a single excuse not to be ready.

I don't recall anyone suggesting melksham will be dropped

They won't make many changes, given two are forced with Sparrow and Jones and preuss will come out for maxy. But I'd be really disappointed if melksham isn't dropped. The 50 was pathetic from a supposed leader. That goal was the nail. His body language straight after was pathetic. Shameless to be act confused. A fifty every day of the week. And a lazy, careless one too. But unfortunately that was not the worst example of a lack of leadership. Not going back hard and marking inside 50 (I forget who kicked it, Salem maybe) was just unforgivable.

Effort. Pure and simple

Lost it in the third when applied zero pressure on the ball carrier. They showed their gee wiz pressure gauge late in that quarter. And we barely registered. Lyon said rhat was a result of not having the ball. Peanut. That's why we couldn't get the ball. Defensive running stopped and as I feared you don't pressure their ball carriers (any clubs really) they chop you up. And did. [censored] poor leadership from melksham. That 50 was simply not on.

There is not rhe appropriate response button indicating agreement (a thumbs up might suggest it been a top year). But I agree.

Agree that is one of their strengths but I think our defensive system negates it because they won't have space to run into. What worries me most is their kicking - players like the bont, macrae, Daniels and crozier will look to get through our zone with sharp, accurate kicks. Key will be our pressure on the kicker (and those little flick passes they love). If we bring the heat we win.

I prefer teak

Agree. I'm more talking about model than outcome. But where it useful to compare us to the tigers is where we are at in terms of our development as a team. The tigers are the best team of the last 3 years. But it 5 years of development and plenty of heartache, prior to that to get there. We are building. No guarantee we will get there but what the tigers show is there are no shortcuts.