Macca

Another session to the Aussies ... England added 74 runs but we picked up 4 big wickets to put them on the ropes. I'll score it 10-6 Overall Australia 37 England 33 with the Aussies better placed for the knock-out punch! Where's bazball? Huh?

Fascinating night ahead and let's hope the pitch still provides that same pace and bounce The green tinge may be disappearing but the wicket did look like it had a good coverage of grass Our bowlers need to bend their backs and we need to get Joe Root out cheaply (if possible) ... but after dropping 2 catches you'd be reckoning that Root will be doubly determined to get amongst the runs Still, it's always a matter of working for one (wicket) Every time we do that we set them back a bit

Once again you read it better than me dl4e! I got ahead of myself. Excitable boy they all said! Wood was way too good for our tail, all the same. I'm wondering when was the last time any of our batsmen faced someone so quick 155kph is like 8.5 on the Richter scale compared to 140kph being about 7?

Where are all the Mitch Marsh haters now? haha!

So the cricket world is enraptured by the Marsh innings and rightly so His career to date has been hit & miss and at 31 years of age, Mitch was at the crossroads So a gutsy innings as well, took chances and it paid off. Clean hitting and monstered the ball. And then picked up the vital wicket of Crawley If Root takes that easy chance when Mitch was on 12, it's a whole different conversation and we'd be staring down the barrel of defeat in this test match Kudos! As for Mark Wood, our batsmen are going to have to see him off in our 2nd innings if we're going to win this match. Bowled very impressively and is seriously fast. He could prove to be the difference maker (or not) The last session I've scored at 10-10 as we've got England at 3-68 at stumps. A quick wicket or 2 in the first session tonight and we'll be in front

Wood has run through us with his express deliveries. Our tail has no answer to his potent pace We're going to have to bowl well to stay in this match If not for Marsh's knock, England would be well odds on to win this test

I'll be slightly disappointed if we don't get to 350 now. They are a bowler down and the ball is knackered It was a great knock. We were in all sorts of trouble when he went to the crease Given the pressure and our precarious position, it was a brilliant innings, no question Edit: Joe Root drops another catch! ... and now catches one! Edit (2) now 7/247 eeeeek! 300 might be a bridge too far haha! Edit (3) 8/249 Can we get to 250? 350? A pipe dream!!!

2nd session to Australia 10-7 Match evenly poised but the Aussies have a chance now to post a good first innings score If we can get to 350+ we'll be ahead in the game

What a fantastic 100 from Mitch Marsh ... counter attacking in magnificent style Completely swung the match around Gilchrist-style! WOW!!!!!

He's damn quick and could be a handful in this test ... only bowled 6 overs which is a bit puzzling

Bit surprised with Green making way but I wish Mitch well And I'd take 300 in a heartbeat! 250 and we're at least in the game especially if the green tinge and quick bounce remains in the pitch Need a big score from Head, Marsh or Carey (or 2 decent 50's) Edit: Apparently Green was feeling the pinch from the Lords test (soreness?) hmmmmm

In boxing terms England won the first session 10-7 England bowled very well and our batsmen were found out a bit

Yes, Wood bowling at 155kph+ is just not fair. Serious pace!

3rd Test England have won the toss and elected to bowl ... green tinge on the wicket but as always, if we can get through to lunch relatively unscathed, it might be a good toss to lose And England are batting 4th again which is often a disadvantage

With the odd exception the best teams often take the most risks We should back ourselves to defend well as a team if in the process of taking on the corridor and the forward line hot spot, we turn the ball over For instance, Richmond won 3 flags whilst constantly giving away professional free kicks in their own forward line Why? Because they knew if they gave the ball back to the opposition the opposition would in turn, turn the ball over against their all-over defence. And on the counter-attack the Tigers would often score goals Not every time of course but that was their method if a forward foray broke down, deep in their forward line

We just have to tweak things a bit, it doesn't need to be that dramatic a change Just normal inside 50 forays. Forwards leading out to the hot spot with other forwards making other leads, dummy leads or leads to draw defenders away from where the ball is to be kicked As a last resort, lead to the boundary line (my pet hate) And the leads need to be honoured but not every time. A lot depends on where the opposition defenders are situated. We have to be smart about it ... just like the Pies, Port & Lions are (smart) But it starts at half back or from stoppages. And our wingman can kick inboard or run inboard. We need to take on the corridor in rapid style Slow ball movement coupled with boundary hugging allows the opposition to flood back Most here can see what I'm describing so it's not exactly news It's just footy forward forays 101. It's nothing startling, rjay If kicking only 5 goals from 73 inside 50's isn't a wake up call I don't know what is Even with a dodgy forward line (in terms of personnel) we shouldn't be losing so many games

Take risks when entering the forward line and take risks from half-back (through the corridor) Another loss gets us closer to not being a true contender so what have we got to lose? Even more so without Fritsch because with our current non-productive style, he's been our only decent forward The greatest risk is not taking a risk. Risk-free football is actually risky What lives in our memory is have much dare we showed in 2021 Where has that gone?

It would be robbing Peter to pay Paul but the way we enter the forward line needs hard-nuts front & centre Those who relish contact and don't mind getting knocked about (like Viney & Brayshaw) To be honest, apart from a lack of real talent in the forward line we need an injection of real vigour up forward

On a brighter note we still sit 4th and if we beat the Saints and the Pies win this weekend, there's an excellent chance that we'll be effectively 2 games clear in 4th spot (percentage factored in) Need the Dons to win to be assured of that buffer So it's not all doom & gloom but we need to start winning

@beelzebub An example of a player thinking for himself is our best forward - Fritsch He's often goal hungry and often doesn't palm it off ... but when he kicks the goal we don't mind When he misses? But do you palm it off to those who have the yips in front of goal? And he still does it so does the coaching mind that he is goal-hungry?

Players are at fault as well but less so Thinking for themselves is an option

We are doing a lot right but the forward line woes stand out like a sore thumb We tweak it, we'll be fine Trouble is (apart from Fritsch) all our best players play in the midfield or defence Again, apart from Fritsch, we probably don't have a top 15 player in the forward line However, our delivery into the forward line is atrocious so what chance have the forwards got? Front & square smalls? Where are they? If they were on the ball, they'd have a field day (do they prefer the cheapie out the back?) It's definitely an assistant coach/coaching issue as the players look like they are playing to instruction So it's no good blaming this player or that player, that's blaming the A-end of the problem Don't be reading this thinking I want changes to the coaching either ... they need to do better

From an overall perspective our forward entries have been inefficient since the beginning of last season ... mainly because most of the oppisition teams are flooding back more and at the same time pressuring our midfielders into kicking the ball into our forward line in a haphazard way We got away with it for a while but we are now too easy to read Proof is in the pudding where we have lost 14 of our last 29 games from the 10 & 0 start in 2022 Our best players are in defence & in the midfield so we need to lean on them to repel counter-attacks if we decide to pass the ball into the forward line (doing that can create intercept marks or turnovers from miskicks) Forwards need to get on the move as well and leads need to be honoured This is footy101, not some ground breaking new philosophy. It's how suburban teams are coached We work so hard in so many other areas and then just waste possession moving the ball into the front half. Frustrating to watch I feel that if we don't address this issue we'll be gifting the flag to another team (Pies, Lions or Port) As stated previously, it's not a hard fix and there are times when a long kick to a 1 on 1 in the forward line is perfectly ok But to consistently bomb it to a 6 on 6 is dumb football By the way, I haven't read the Garry Lyon article as I don't need to. The eyes say it all

I still have a strong hope for the rest of the season despite our shortcomings We win the ball enough and our midfield & defence is strong and classy But we fall down up forward both with delivery to the forward line (method) and also with regards to how our forwards go about it The fix is not that hard For instance, (despite the wet weather last Sunday) if we had attempted to pass the ball into the forward line with most of our 73 forward line entries, then we would have given ourselves numerous chances to take marks or win free kicks and therefore, have as a result any number of set shots at goal Of course, those would-be passes might not have all ended up with positive outcomes but that's the chance you take Anf it's imperative that our forwards play in front with the front & centre smalls playing their part The above is coached and practised in the lower leagues at suburban level and is standard practice What we are currently doing with regards to our forward entries is quite farcical and lazy. Just doesn't make sense

If ever we should take risks with our kicks it's when those kicks enter the forward line But we won't or don't take risks and prefer to bomb the ball in chaos style But the opposition teams know what we're going to do and plan accordingly. They flood back as early as possible so those long bombs end up directed to large packs Very difficult to take marks in those circumstances and our front & centre smalls are often nowhere to be seen to further add to the issue But none of the above is news. Numerous people here as well as myself have been saying the same thing since early last year So it's really an assistant coach/coaching issue as the players are obviously kicking the ball into the forward line under instruction In simple terms we need to change our whole approach. We will not be winning the flag with our current method Lower the eyes, forwards to lead constantly and pass the ball into the forward line. When that doesn't work defend well from that point and further back It's not rocket science