Jaded No More

Should beat Essendon, and could beat Carlton. Plus 2 wins against Melbourne. Beat Freo at Subi, so no reason they can't beat them at the G'.

You're kidding me aren't you? Our forward line is pathetic, with Neita all but gone, Robbo falling to the ground at every contest, and Davey gone missing, who the hell do we have in our forward line that demands long and direct kicks to them? Sydney have Hall, and a plethora of other gun forwards. West Coast have Lynch, a bit on the crap side, but he sure can take a mark. They also have an actual CHF. We don't. Our forwards are no longer great like they once were. They now need all the help they can get. Don't go kidding yourself that we are robbing our multi-faceted forward line of great service. Our forward line couldn't master a decent scoreline if you handed them the ball on a friggin silver platter. By the way, I think Bailey is hoping to make the transition to more of a Geelong game style. The problem is, that Geelong's backline is far better equipped to quickly rebound the ball.

Bate is recovering from injury, Newton was suspended last week in the VFL, and Buckley is learning how to hit targets.

It's true. In the last quarter, when the pressure was off, we were able to find space to carry the ball forward quickly, and we also got first possession in the middle, which allowed us to control the ball movement and tempo of the game. I don't think Bailey is necessarily instructing the players to handball at every opportunity, he simply wants them to move the ball forward as quickly as they possibly can, without actually bombing it to a 3-on-1 and hoping for a contested mark (contested marks? at Melbourne? good one!). The biggest challenge for our playing list is to be able to execute this style under the intense pressure of the game. It's no wonder that we've played a lot better in the last quarters of matches, when the game was beyond our reach and the pressure was lifted. It's a matter of changing the way the players think. After 10 years of being coached to kick, it is no wonder that their first instinct is to look for a target down field, and then they panic thinking they need to handball and they stuff it all up and we lose rhythm. Old habits die hard, especially bad habits. This is where chasing, accountability and pressure needs to become second nature to our player, because the way the game is evolving, nobody is going to let you get a cheap possession, especially not in finals.

Dean Bailey has had 6 rounds of AFL footy, FFS how the hell do you know that he won't adapt? He too is assessing the list, in the same way that Clarkson did. His conclusion? We're awful and no game plan is going to change that in a hurry. And we are not playing a game plan that is exclusive to Port Adelaide. Many teams have played similar styles of accountable, running football and won flags.... Sydney, Geelong, West Coast. Finals footy is based on getting contested possessions and pressuring the ball carrier. This explains why we made 3 finals in a row and won just one. We were living in fools paradise, now we and Bailey understand what the major flaws with our list are. Let's see what he does next.

West Coast Eagles team mascot > Melbourne Football Club Nothing to worry about as far as I'm concerned. They are still better than us, and they still have a far greater home ground advantage than we do. I'm worried about Carlton and Freo.

My biggest concern is that we have nobody who can step up and replace those who don't deserve to play in the seniors. That's what happens when you get rid of all of your depth players (and thank god we did, don't get me wrong). You are left with a top 22-25 and another 15 who are too young/raw to play league footy. So maybe you get rid of Robbo and hopefully Bate is fit and can replace him. Jamar, while he is probably the worst footballer ever, should play alongside PJ and/or Meesen for the rest of the season, because White is not going to be around next season. You can bring in Valenti and drop Moloney, but all you're really doing is shuffling deck-chairs on the Titanic. Of the other senior players, Junior and Bruce are going nowhere given they were made co-captains during the week, Green is actually playing well enough and Whelan is required when fit. Oh and get it through your head, Miller is not going to get dropped!

Hard to get worse when you've done nothing for 5 years. He is running harder and has a bit more speed, that's good. He still has minimal to no impact on games, that's nothing new.

6- Jones 5- Aussie 4- Green 3- Moloney (actually hit targets instead of bombing long all the time!) 2- Bruce (disposal still pathetic) 1- Warnock (encouragement award, plus everyone else had a shocker)

I'm sure they hit every target at training, because there is no pressure. So it's not as if they don't work on their skills at training. Playing one on one in the backline when Bradshaw has kicked 98 goals against us in the past, and Jonathan Brown is lurking, is crazy. Not many teams do it, let alone teams who are struggling as badly as we are. The whole game plan is built around accountability and pressure on the ball-carrier, that we can't execute it, is another story. Maybe Bailey is not getting the message across, maybe he didn't realise just how slow to adapt we'll be, maybe the players are not listening to him because they don't like the game plan. Who the hell knows. Whatever the case, Bailey deserves to show us what he can do over the next 3 seasons. That is the length of his contract, and that is the length of the opportunity that he deserves. And I'll say it again, I rather find players who can adapt to a game plan that will stand up in finals, than adapt the game plan to players who won't.

Exactly. Maybe it just takes us 3 quarters to switch on? We all now that as a team, we are not the most mentally stable one going around. Perhaps it's not until we are getting smashed that we realise, 'oh hang on, this is football, where the aim of the game is to score more than your opponent'

Demonland is awesome when the team is struggling

Warnock wasn't bad. His disposal was good, and he had some nice spoils. I've seen worse players in Melbourne's backline. We have to give him and Frawley a chance this year, unless we're happy to keep playing Carroll in the FB position and watch him get smashed each week.

Indeed. We should have lost by over 100 given how many times Brisbane had the ball in their forward 50. Pressure was off in the last quarter and hence we played a lot better. We cannot play football under pressure. I'm sure we hit targets at training too. Oh and the game plan is always going to change when you get first possession in the midfield, which we didn't do all day until the last quarter (and Belly finally played in the midfield... WOO! :D)

To pull off Bailey's game plan, you need to be exceptionally skilled, because once you turn it over, you are stuffed. We unfortunately turn it over again and again and again. When we get our hands on the footy and move the ball forward quickly with handballs and then a kick inside the forward 50, we score and we look fairly good. The problem is we are struggling to get and KEEP our hands on the ball. Turnovers galore. I've counted no more than 6 disposals in a row from Melbourne before we turn it over. That's woeful.

I don't think he could either, doubt he's trying to out-do himself each week... lets see how much worse we can get with each passing round <_< But what has happened to this team that they have lost all basic skills? How can professional players turn the ball over 9 out of 10 times?

You all realise that if it wasn't for the 10,000 turnovers a minute, we wouldn't be 41 points down? All of our goals this quarter have come from quick ball movement, didn't they? It's when our players don't feel like moving their arse, creating an option, or running back into position that we kick to a 4-on-1 and inevitably lose possession. And lets not even mention the amount of times we turn the damn ball over in the backline. For the love of god, no coach in the world could get a victory out of 22 skill-less players. Disgusted in the players' response to losing Neita, to getting baked in the media and being humiliated every week. They just don't care to show any improvement or work hard for each other. How many times can you leave your opponent free? how many times can you just stand there instead of creating a viable target? UGH, thank god for Jonathan Brown... he at least makes this match watchable.

Where's the dilemma? With the creation of 2 new teams, and the draft concessions they are about to receive, it has NEVER been more important to get the best picks possible in the draft. Glad I'm not in charge of recruiting though, because the choice for #1 is going to be a difficult one. Freakishly athletic ruckman or gun midfielder... it's like asking what you need more, a leg or an arm.

Given the mixed reviews he's received, can I ask what in particular you liked about him today? Can't believe we finally play on different days to Melbourne and I'm stuck at work <_<

I agree that Jonesy has struggled. He really needs to work on his decision making, which is hopefully something that he'll develop with more experience. He has to learn to take the first option more often, because he does not have the leg speed to fluff around with the ball.

Indeed. They are playing the roles of senior midfielders, except they are 19 and 21. I can't think of one other club in the AFL which relies on the efforts of such inexperienced players in the midfield. Maybe possibly Essendon, and look at how they're traveling.

You can get pick 2 if you traded the love child of Gary Ablett and Mark Ricuitto... you know, Colin Sylvia :D

Stop your crying, Bate is EASILY in our best 18, which means he mustn't be 100% fit. They put him on the extended bench, gave him a fitness test which he didn't pass, so now he has to be put down as an emergency. We can't afford to be carrying underdone players, god knows we're crap enough with 22 fit players. Another week at Sandy, while Garland gets another game under his belt. It's not like we're fighting for a top 4 spot here people.

We got pick 14 for TJ. We could get the same, or higher for Bruce. We can also get fairly reasonable picks for Green and Sylvia, if we combine the offer with a later draft pick. There are ways of gaining early (not top 10, but top 20) picks, it's just a matter of having the balls to do it.

Clubs need to agree to this disgraceful robbing of talents, which they probably won't. Regardless, it makes getting a #1 pick, and trading for early picks this year absolutely paramount.