Macca

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?

It's got nothing to do with me, SWYL My evaluation is based on what I believe the club will do with regards to Goodwin's contract It would have to be a complete disaster and even then, I don't believe the club would act until seasons end anyway Another factor would be the pay-out figure and whether the club would be prepared to pay out a hefty amount The other big factor are the players themselves ... you made the call that they 'gave up' today So if that is the case, that's on the players, not the coach. Should we sack all the players who gave up?

Good points I agree, there's a lot more that we could do apart from trying to hit up forwards with precision passing There's teamwork and then there's playing as a team. We're not doing either very well these days The saving grace is that we still have a lot of talent on the list. We just need to get the best out of them

I wouldn't call it cowardly because playing that way has won us a lot of games over the last 4 seasons (until now) Whilst we played that style and also managed to hold the ball in our forward line, the other teams weren't scoring But all the other teams know what we do now and have planned accordingly ... they started off flooding back in 2022 and that has advanced to rebounding on the counter out of our forward line (at pace) North did it today as did GWS last week. So by all accounts we are trying to change but the question is, can we change?

No you're wrong again bing I said 'IF' our players are instructed Learn how to read properly and stop wasting my time

Could be that it falls into the category of 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' Let's just use Petracca, Oliver & Viney as examples Do any of the 3 hit-up targets in the forward 50 with precision kicks on a regular basis? And to accompany that, do our forwards provide proper leads to the ball-carriers? Or do they just constantly boot it long into the forward line with our forwards being drawn to marking contests that inevitably sees the ball often being punched out of bounds? They are rhetorical questions KC, because we all know what the answers are So to change from our 1 Wood (Plan A) to a completely different way of advancing the ball (Plan B) is a bridge too far (right now)

Which is essentially exactly what I said ... so what you just said has already been said (by myself and others) And it's a combination of both ... antiquated coaching and a lack of quality forwards and a midfield who's footskills aren't up to scratch But if our midfielders are instructed to kick down the line and bomb it to the pockets, who's fault is that? I'd say the coaching Truth is we don't have the skilled players to transgress to the new trend of fast movement forward with precision skills Our players are contested ball beasts with a defensive mindset (2-way running, zoning off, tracking back etc etc) We've been left behind by the new trend in footy and we're playing catch-up As James Hird said tonight, we're trying plan B but because it doesn't work we revert back to plan A (which also doesn't work) And I'm not sacking any of the coaches. Not yet, anyway

Then there's Spargo, Turner, Jefferson, Fritsch, T-Mac, Petty & Lever Their combined input was negligible I'm not sacking all of them, just making a comment on the input But it was the form of our better players which is the much greater concern. We can replace the NQR's

I'm with you on the Suns as of the 8 players I listed that are virtually walk-up starts when fit, only 2 umprovens in Langford & Johnson might be available So the team would still have too many weak links Langford could end up being a good player (at least) whilst Johnson would at least add a bit of vigour and presence up forward I just don't see it with Turner & Jefferson But we are weeks away from having a decent list of good players available for selection

Yep, that could happen too Just to break even, we'll need all our better players available Today, we had weak points all over the field ... probably fielded 10 VFL standard players if we're being honest But the real issue is our style of play and the players look exhausted. Constantly working for stoppages whilst hugging the boundary line has taken it's toll Right now, I can't see us winning any more than 8 games for the season None of our forwards can impact the game so how can you win with that sort of obstacle? Chandler did well today but is he going to be able to maintain that standard looking ahead? As for the rest of our forward options...

Realistically, we are not going to sack Goodwin in season. But if we fall right away, the end of the season could see the end for Simon But we'd have to fall right away (7 wins or less) Right now, we don't have the players with the skills to play the new type of offense that we are seeing from a number of clubs However, if we add May, Melk, Kozzie, Kolt, Windsor, McVee, Johnson & Langford (he should have played today) we'll be a lot more competitive at least Add those 8 and take out Spargo, Woey, Turner, Jefferson, Sharp, Howes and take your pick on 2 more and we're a much better team But back to our offense ... it stinks And Goodwin & Chaplin are responsible Our method of advancing the ball is treacle-slow and we avoid the corridor like the plague. And our skills on offense are bog-average Then there's the actual forward line which is right now, bereft of talent But all of the above can improve with an injection of talent (especially up forward) The other thing that stood out today is our lack of teamwork and the lack of selfless acts Early doors but it's going to take a big turnaround. It's just as well we've got 5 winnable games in our next 6 games (Suns, Bombers, Freo, Tigers & Eagles) Hard to see us beating Geelong at Geelong in round 4 but we're going to have to win at least 3 of the other 5 to keep the wolves at bay After round 8, as you would all be aware, our fixture gets tough

Lobby knew what he was doing. And the Fox crew reckon it was just an accident!! But because it was a filth player who has done his fair share of sniping himself, he got his right whack

Good game but the Saints stopped to a walk. Did well to hang on in the end

You Beauty!!!!