Macca

How about Geelong? 40,000 capacity at CatPark but only 25k for the Freo game Pathetic

Their supporters are pathetic, they drop off as soon as their team struggles Zero excuses

25k there last night? Essendon supporters are pathetic

What about North's rebound from their defence and all those intercept marks? Also, the rebound from GWS

On a wet track only (which is a distinct possibility) Each way Rosehill (Saturday) R7 #2 Mazu 10.00/3.10

Demons by 31 Fritsch 5.1 Bookmark it

Drop Fritsch? What would be left with? Right now, a small forward who doesn't kick a lot of goals along with other forwards who contribute very little What we need to do is change the way we play, so as to give forwards like Fritsch a chance to excel As we saw on Sunday, bombing it in long is often now resulting in an opposition intercept mark ... we're creating a situation where we need our tall forwards to spoil (and right now, our tall forwards can't even get to contests)

Our dysfunctional forward line is now creating issues in other areas of the ground. Notably our defence (which against North, was under seige) If the opposition are able to rebound quickly out of our forward line, they'll find easy routes to goal Teams are no longer happy to just boot the ball down the line out of the opposition forward lines The sport has moved on with teams using handball & kicking skills when rebounding out of defence (at pace) So if we can't lock the ball in our own forward line, we're effectively setting the opposition up to score (with our long bombs) We need to change the way we advance the ball forward ... quick smart

Melksham would almost certainly be our 2nd best forward when he returns (behind Chandler) The rest are non contributors (JVR, Turner, Fritsch, Jeffo) AJ is unproven as well We are bereft of talent up forward So even a 33yo veteran like Melksham improves our embattled forward line If our 2023 finals forward line was rated as C- what is it right now? E? Once Kozzie, AJ, Melk & Tholstrup return along with some cameo's from Petracca & Langford, we'll be way better off up forward. Not great, but certainly an improvement on what we've got right now

I wouldn't rule out seeing an improvement in disposal efficiency* (from the stoppages and in general play) from Oliver, Petracca, Viney, Rivers**, Sparrow & Langdon** All 6 have talent so why can't they learn how to dispose of the ball in a more efficient manner? Mindset? Change!!! We know that Salem, Kozzie & McVee can hit up targets at pace whilst Windsor, Tholstrup, Langford, & Lindsay all have the potential to do so as well (not bomb it long) But when embarking on a different game plan, the coaching staff need to be prepared to let go of how we previously played (as do the players) Locking the ball into our forward line enabled us to win a lot of games from 2021 to 2024 and to a degree, that can still happen but in my view, doing that (locking the ball into our forward line) can no longer be a priority *Bombing it long into the forward has to be a thing of the past ... except to 1 on 1's (when applicable) **And Rivers needs to go back to the HBF and Langdon is a wingman Just typing all those names (above) in this post highlights that we've still got loads of talent. It's not 2012/13 all over again I've changed my mind, we can play finals if we've got most of our good players available for the majority of the rest of the season) Not top 4, that's a stretch, but we can make the 8 Gold Coast are flakey and it's a must-win for us. I'm tipping a 5 goal victory And once we get Kozzie, May, Windsor, Melk, McVee, Tholstrup, Langford & AJ back, we'll be much more competitive by default (most of the 8 players listed above will be back in a couple/few weeks)

Fast ball movement with greater use of the corridor using precision skills hitting up forward 50 targets is probably beyond us right now But if we are endeavouring to implement that new style we have to keep at it Practice makes perfect The positive is that it looks like we've drafted players that can help us play a new style (Windsor, Tholstrup, Lindsay & Langford) But I can't help but think that the old style is going to be difficult to shake off After all, the game style that we had (or have) often involves slow ball movement ending up with the mids booting the ball deep into our forward and then working to win the stoppage (if a stoppage eventuates) ... and then locking the ball into our forward line) Plan B is a long way removed from plan A. There's no subtle difference, the difference is stark I also reckon that our depth of players that are highly skilled by foot and by hand is not great But again, we have to keep at it as our old plan A just isn't going to work anyway Slow ball movement via the Cape is now playing into the oppositions hands. They constantly flood back which gives our forwards little chance So go to plan B and stick with it. Pain along the way is a probability but that's the price you pay for change

Basic footy 101. What we need to happen (mids connecting with forwards) was a common practice endeavour 50 years ago ... or further back A midfielder streams out of the middle and passes the ball to a forward on the lead. Sounds simple and of course it is simple So why is this simple practice looked upon as somehow being a difficult assignment? To go from bombing it long to passing to a forward should be a simple instruction. it's not rocket science I'm wondering that this might be a communication issue ... maybe it's a mixed message with the added bit being locking the ball in the forward line Or maybe our mids are so used to bombing it long that they can't change. Muscle- memory too strong?

A more attacking gameplan which can often occupy much of the corridor requires players that are highly skilled and players who don't fumble ... otherwise the ball gets turned over in dangerous areas So, can we do that with the current crop of players? Or do we need players such as Windsor, Kolt, Langford & Lindsay to fill those roles when they become more experienced? I can't see why Oliver, Petracca, Viney, Rivers, Sparrow, Langdon, McVee, Salem, Pickett and Chandler can't do it now. There's so much talent amongst that crew of 10 players To connect with ... JVR, Fritsch, Melk, Petracca/Kozzie, Chandler (and Turner, Jeffo or AJ) Is it that hard to reprogram our players?

The players have to take ownership of their insipid performance today Top players should always have the wherewithal to be self motivated. Lesser players need a rev up We had a stack of experience out there today and by default, a truckload of leadership So where was it? We can't just blame the coach and the gameplan, that's a cop-out Where was the fight and the never-say-die attitude? Soft tackles and half-hearted chasing? Gut running to position to provide a target? A distinct lack of energy, effort, endeavour and enthusiasm prevailed today Embarrassing

Of course it's both but not one aspect only (or the other) And the players who let us down aren't below average players as they were during the Neeld era They can play and are highly rated players playing well below their best. On top dollar too If it was up to me I'd drop 6 players and make a statement (didn't Danners do that occasionally?)

Fair enough but I'm not sure the club will be listening to you anyway (nor me for that matter) I get it, you and a few others here want your pound of flesh but it's highly unlikely that things will pan out your way You may as well be howling at the Moon, Werridee

I don't look for easy options. Besides which, A Graders can be traded. And there might come a time when that happens in season (trading) Get the value back in season The coach can weild the axe too. Make a statement

North probably played their best game for years (today) ... credit to them But we didn't turn up and to be quite frank, the players should hand back whatever money they got paid for today's insipid performance

Remember Neeld? I was not a fan however, I never blamed him like others did. The players also copped the wrath and the club itself was a mess back then So I don't like scapegoating For instance, for the first time in quite a while, I was really disappointed with the players today Not to a point where there is a lack of trust, but I didn't like what I saw We're you happy with the players effort, energy, enthusiasm and endeavour today? You can answer with an evaluation as well if you like (all the E's)

Don't get me wrong, if we keep racking up the losses the pressure is sure to focus on Goodwin But in my view, unless it's a complete disaster (say, a 0 & 12 record or suchlike) I can't see Goodwin not coaching out the season But 0 & 12? Can't see it as there's a few bog average teams and our team will get stronger once May, Kozzie, Kolt, Windsor, McVee, Melk, Langford & AJ return We'll win games and the confidence will return. Finals threat? Unlikely 8 - 10 wins? Quite possible

Now we're talking As previously stated, do not let the players off the hook My reaction in the last quarter was all on the players, not the coach We surrendered meekly and a number of non-efforts were embarrassing

In my view, if we get to 8 or 10 wins Goodwin will stay on Anything less than that could see a change but we'd wait until the end of the season as there's a good chance that we'd probably appoint a caretaker coach anyway (if the change happened in season) The 2021 flag would be a factor from the club's point of view as well. Would we want all that media attention that would be sure to follow? I just reckon that's how it would go Just my view

It should be remembered that the team today consisted of players who are not proven at the top level (Woewodin, Jefferson, Turner, Sharp, Howes, JVR, Henderson, Lindsay etc) Along with a number of proven players who were well down on their best (T-Mac, Petty, Lever, Fritsch, Spargo, Rivers, Bowey etc) To have that many poor contributors can't be the fault of the coach alone Don't let the players off the hook, we did that with Neeld (Roos came in and got rid of 30+ players in 3 off-seasons, therefore, the 2nd rebuild within 7 or 8 years)

Well, I beg to differ, more so on how the players went about it Heads were bowed in the 2nd half and we haven't seen that for an age Half-hearted chasing along with an abundance of missed tackles. The players let themselves down today And yes, if the message isn't getting through then that's a huge issue but today's loss is not all on Goodwin A new coach would need the rest of the season and the off-season to swing things around anyway. There'd be no instant results ... footy has changed and to learn a whole new game plan takes time (as we're finding out)

We need better key forwards I'm not enamoured with Turner, Johnson, Jefferson or JVR. Maybe we could try Kentfield?