Macca

Watch this space, DZ

Are you serious? I'm of the opinion that the issues we have are not confined to Goodwin And 3 times already I have made mention that we might have a messaging issue Do you want to tell @bing181 to stay away from the thread as well Whatever happened to free speech? You don't like debate? Haha!

Well the list is definitely not the equivalent of a shotgun shack makin' way for units As for rebuilding through the draft (our best bet due to JT) ... if we could somehow get hold of 5 or 6 picks in the top 30 in the 2025 draft, that part-rebuild would be well on it's way Of course, we'd have to give up a bit but what if we were giving up players who don't want to be part of the club going forward?

I'm calling for rebuild (of sorts) Slightly bigger than a mini rebuild

I wouldn't be turning over 30 players ... far from it I just made a comment about the Roos rebuild (which is rarely referenced) But we might need a bit of a cleanout if we are serious about another assault on the flag The bulk of the old group isn't going to win our next flag If augers well, we could be able to challenge in 2027 but we can make finals in 2026 As for this year, it's more of a year where we practice and work on a new game plan And at seasons end we need an influx of fast, skilled players (another 3 or 4 would be handy) But we need to trade aggressively, DZ

Because of out injury list we'd be replacing fumblers with more fumblers I could give you the names but you know who the replacement players would be So if you want change, offer up the alternates, don't just whinge

Roos rebuilt the list which eventuatualy led to a premiership You might be thinking of the failed rebuild from 2007 to 2011 Doesn't get talked about much.but Roos turned over more than 30 players in 3 off-seasons

A fumble is a fumble Same deal for misdirected kicks, dropped marks, missed tackles etc etc Would you be blaming Barassi or Roos if their players made fundamental errors? I think not Your argument lacks consistency and common sense

A wise move, see if you can convince others, DJ!! Another way of looking at the new type of offense ... If you could pick any group of players from any team to embark on a new, fast, direct, precise way of playing, probably the last team you'd pick would be Melbourne We perfected the contested ball, long bomb to the pockets like no other It's any wonder we went back to Plan B last year after dabbling with Plan A I reckon the change that we are looking for is going to take more than half a season. Glimpses yes but a full transformation? It needs time

I agree and we'll do well to hang on to Kozzie (a player I would hate to see us lose) There's plenty of talent coming through but there's a chance we'll need quite a few more Remembering that it is a midfielders game these days so you can never have enough good midfielders. Even the players in the pockets need to be able to run all day and contribute

The 9.17 in that 2023 SF also highlighted that our forward line was D Grade standard I hate excuses but I do believe in sound reasoning No Melksham, No Petty, No JVR, No Brown, Grundy had disappeared Fritsch on one leg and our only key forward (T-Mac) was on half a leg and was needed as the 2nd ruck It's a minor miracle we got so close But again, the reason we got so close was because we had a stellar Midfield and a stellar Defence

So in the meantime, we should all be blaming the players who are making the fundamental errors, not the coaching For instance, if Billings chokes in front of goal, how can that be the fault of Goodwin? Or if Rivers fumbles or Viney misses another target? ⁷ And yes, we are trying to change and Goodwin has said there will be teething issues. And he is right, it's not a magic wand situation We have to give the new game plan a chance to take hold but there's a chance that the players (as a group) may not be able to change And if that happens, it won't be just the coach copping it in the neck. We'll need a host of new players

2022 we should have rested our best players as Geelong were doing as we often looked spent in the home & away Finals ... ran out of legs. The one that got away 2023 ... ended up with a D Grade forward line in the finals. Our midfield & defence nearly got us over the line in both finals 2024 Decimated Midfield with a still, dysfunctional forward line. Never a chance

If the game is decided by speed of ball movement on offense, I can't see us winning Plus, it's Geelong at Geelong My attention will be on how our offense operates. A vast improvement would be needed in order to win so I'll settle on decent improvement That would raise the hopes looking ahead

You are right, I should have said 'have' been (winning the ball and thumping it forward)

I'd just load up through the draft if it came to it. By seasons end, we'll know a lot more about which players are committed and those that may not be committed And those with trade value that we might be better off trading. Right now, it's more of a guessing game I'd definitely keep Kozzie but I'm not sure on 5 or 6 others (not 6 in all but 3 or 4 out of 5 or 6) Working both ways, those who might request a trade and those who we might help facilitate a trade As an example ... say we had a forward who might think he has a better chance at excelling at another club Or a mid who is being squeezed out of midfield minutes and is surplus to needs It's not hard to figure out who I might be talking about, in both instances Sounds dramatic but in order to get what you need, you have to give up a fair bit Our trump card is Jason Taylor so we need to give him something to work with. Right now, we don't have a first round pick but that can change It's just a wild guess but I reckon we'll end up with at least 2 first round picks and 3 or 4 x 2nd round picks Why? Because we need to keep rebuilding the list with players who have great foot skills along with players who have excellent leg speed We need to plan for the next flag assault We've started doing so with McVee, Windsor, Tholstrup, Lindsay & Langford but it doesn't stop there

Our players are good at winning the ball and thumping it forward but we are now asking them to play an offense which involves fast running, gut running, intricate passing by hand and by foot along with teamwork and playing as a team A same game plan that requires exquisite foot skills, no fumbling and creating space and seperation Right now, it's a bridge too far but by seasons end we'll know which players can adapt and those that can't adapt I cannot see us going back to the old ways of thumping it forward So just imagine if you were overseeing all this as the coach? No self-doubts, just keep reinforcing the message, over and over again and hoping like hell that it will work So, we need to cut Goodwin some slack He could have stuck to the old ways and maybe eked out 10 or 11 wins but instead of that, he's stuck his neck out and taken a risk We had high hopes but in my view, the next flag will need a new group of players, combined with a number of experienced players to complement that new group

Yes, but the long contracts can be a plus or a minus. Hard to offload unless the other clubs are willing to pay up Or, we hold the players to their contracts and then hope that certain players get back to their very best Ideally the latter argument comes to fruition. If not, we get value in return via the trade table

If we get thumped on Friday night this thread will be red hot I just hope we put up a decent showing and not get embarrassed again What might happen is that the players could finally respond to a game plan that the coaches are hellbent on persevering with The new, direct, fast & furious game plan that the better clubs employ We live in hope

Well you can interpret what I've said any way you like. I'm not sure I've made anything up But Goodwin isn't going to get sacked in a hurry anyway. I reckon the Board are backing him in on a new game plan and they would know it's going to take some time to implement But I reckon the Board also knows we've got some player issues to sort out. With no easy solutions

Players earning a half a million bucks a year (on average) and they can't carry out the fundamentals And that's the fault of the coach? Whatever happened to players being responsible for their own actions? Fumbling the ball is the coaches fault? What if we had the late, great Ron Barassi in charge Would we blame RDB if a player fumbled? I think not

Ha ha, the old straw man retort. Nonsense It's clear that you want to place all the blame at the feet of the coach Which, by default means that you are letting the players off the hook I'm almost the opposite, I believe the issues lies with the players themselves whilst the coaching messaging might be an issue Strangely enough, you don't strike me as someone who would only want to blame the coach Must be that Goodwin demeaner that annoys you? I mean, he's a bit boring (not that that bothers me one iota)

Are you sure you know what you are talking about here? We have obviously changed our offensive approach but it's a work in progress We trained all summer with a new game plan and that doesn't include bombing it to the pockets ... but if that does happen then it means that the players are going against the team rules Old habits die hard and all I've seen from Viney, Petracca & Oliver is repeat long bombs. Do they want to change and can they change? Stop blaming the coach and don't let the players off the hook

Hey picket, you reckon you've played footy so when things weren't going well for the team did you look in the mirror, or blame your coaches Sacking the coach, especially this early in the season, is just so much of an overreaction We had a tumultuous off season with various players going off-tap. And now we're not playing as a team I wonder why? Maybe there's a carry over resentment that's prevalent. Players just deciding to look after No.1? It looks that way to me They are not playing for each other and people like you want to just blame the coach? It goes way deeper than that

Why are you letting the players off the hook? If they are disinterested ship them off to Casey for a month These players are professional sportsmen, they are not amateurs To just blame the coach is unintelligent And it might look like I'm a huge Goodwin fan but I'm not I'm just a stickler for fairness We've got bad eggs at the club and the sooner we rid ourselves of them, the better I can't imagine being in an environment where 3 or 4 players are openly saying that they want to play elsewhere Question for you Oliver was paid $2.8Million for his last 2 years at the club Should he give the money back considering he decided that he was going to loaf on the job for 2 years? To my mind, what he did was outrageous and we should have torn up his contract for breach of contract And don't get me started on Kozzie & Petracca And if you don't think there's a connection to all that and how we're playing now, I can't help you