rufus

[censored] Vince Lombardi couldn't get consistent effort out of these blokes. At some point, this club has to realise there's only a certain amount a coach can do. At every juncture for at least the last 10, when there's been times on the field where things can either go ok, badly or go terribly, they've gone terribly. And the lack of care factor apparent on field is as frustrating as it is mystifying. Simon Goodwin has the worst job in Australian sport. Try putting together a strategic game plan for a group of professional sportspeople who don't want to do the hard work. Everyone knows how soft this club is. Every laughs at this club. Carlton will be licking their lips for when they get a chance to have a piece of us. You know what we're going to do when we play them don't you??

Players embarrassed the club in the last round last year. Players embarrassed the club in the pre-season. There were a few different ways they could respond to those incidents and we have seen the all too familiar response. Forget about the coach. Nobody has been able to get the required level of effort from our playing group on a consistent basis over the last 30 years. There is something rotten about what is expected of these guys by the wider club. There is just no pride.

Good from Richmond. Sustain the pressure for long enough and wait for the water.

Here comes our pre-prepared white flag!

We just had a quarter with about 5 inside 50s vs. 20 odd. That's not coaching...just a lack of ability to out compete your opponent... Lucky not to be 7 or 8 goals down.

I think we'll struggle badly tonight. A hard tackling team that plays at high intensity around the ball is not what we like. Richmond's current playing style is built to demolish us. I imagine we might start fairly well after last week's embarrassment and then fade under sustained pressure.

Very simple sport AFL. Apply pressure to your opponent and play with high intensity and you will be at the least very competitive on the scoreboard. The bottom end of every single lineup in the AFL has severe weaknesses and can be exposed with pressure and intensity. Once again today our bottom half (and probably more) was exposed by a level of pressure that we simply didn't want to return.

Your first sentence is spot on. Roos was the first in a long time to be able to get our players to work back and help out the defence...thus making us harder to score against. But our players as individuals didn't really improve defensively as a result. We were not and and are not fundamentally better defensively as a group. We simply now have a good ball winning midfield that generally limits the opportunities that the opposition get. Now, if we could actually improve defensively we would be a much tougher proposition.

You have to admit...it's pretty funny really. The guy (Clarkson) who has been exposing our players physically for the last 10 plus years licks his chops when this game comes around. More inside 50's, more contested possessions, and completely [censored] our pants when we get the ball and have pressure applied. We didn't look like scoring because even though we have the talent to win contests we can be pressured out of creating opportunities to score. At least the fans will get the benefit of our players being laughed at for the next 9 days...we might get something genuine from then for 120 next Tuesday....who knows though.

92 tackles to 61 is a [censored] disgrace. You cannot any more clearly illustrate who wants it more.

This is the most physically 'worried out of it' performance I have seen in a long time. And against a team with a ton players that don't like the contest. Pathetic and weak. Still the same club. The problem isn't Goodwin. He has this club competing physically more than anyone else has been able to over the last 10 years...it's just that they still don't like it tough...and when opposition turn on the heat we are waterr.

20 tackles to 11 says it all. One club has pride...one doesn't.

North know the formula perfectly well. Phyiscal pressure for long enough, and high intensity around the ball in close and we break. I reckon they are better than even money for next week. I think the club may have drunk a bit too much of the bathwater again (mystefies me how they could given the embarassing off season and finish to last season). Our upside looks to be bottom of the 8 and there's enough evidence now to suggest we aren't far ahead of teams like Brisbane and Collingwood (if at all). Goodwin has done a good job with the midfield. The forward line is looking ordinary and the backline is just no. At what point do the line coaches take heat? Let's hope the curve turns upward from here. I reckon there's enough in the list to be much better than we are, but who wants to drive the change? Will we just continue to be the same old MFC (i.e. the most gettable sports team going around)?

Those who are defending this move by the players are part of the root cause of the problems with this club. Happy for this club to continue to be considered the softest club in the competition. Plenty of oppo supporters i know are finding this hilarious...and i would probably just laugh too if i didn't know that this incident is indicative of what this club is about...and during next season when push comes to shove these blokes will once again be shoved (and they will be excused for rolling over no doubt).

When they sign up with the MFC. The tail has been wagging the dog here since the back end of Daniher's time...and not only has it got is nowhere but along the way the tail has disgraced the club. I remember talking to one of Goodwins friends just after he was appointed...they told me he was one of the most passionate and determined people in the industry...i told them he doesn't know what he's getting himself into with this club. How can you be successful as a coach at a club that doesn't want to get its hands dirty? We are weak and going nowhere.

The main strength of Rance and Grundy is that they actually win their one on one contests (i.e. they take marks). The first step towards getting to that point i would think is at least being able to stop your opponent from marking it. That ability should be evident very early in a defenders career.

Yes but now they have a competent teammate who can peel off to help cover for the fact that neither are good one on one defenders. Like it or not they were both badly exposed in one on one contests this year.

Today's deal shows how badly we needed to fix our tall defensive unit...it was an out and out calamity this year and it is now a hell of a lot better. I guess the FD couldn't risk missing this opportunity.

No doubt they were the better side...and should have won the game either way. What was disgusting was the way our senior players let our young players get physically smashed with zero retaliation...it was embarassing. Coming up against a team that is way better than you is a great opportunity to be a spoiler...the pressure is on them not you. we rolled over in that game...such is our nature.

Mate we still need to go through the season where we make finals get flogged and excuse our players because it was their first final and it was a bit tough. 2019 best case for us!

Well that completes the set now. Every Vic club has 'got it' at some point during the AFL era except the dees! Yes i am being bitter. By 'got it' i mean showed some resolve and stood up when it counted. Sadly this just annoys me even more in regards to the dees. Now i think back to the disgusting and embarrassing showing in the 2000 grand final...jeepers even when we were decent we didn't get it...

I trust Goodwin on this (moreso than anyone who's been involved in the MFC for a long time). Here's a guy who's been involved in succesful football clubs. He knows what it takes to win. He would have seen, like the rest of us, that JW has a nice ability to hit the scoreboard (which is very important for us because we haven't scored freely for many years). He would know that JW has been a nice servant of the football club and by all accounts is a great bloke. He would also be as aware as anybody else in the industry that the MFC is still not a respected footall club, and like it or not it is because when push comes to shove our playing group still doesn't seem to have the desire to do the shoving. All I've ever wanted from the MFC is to know I'm going to get 100% effort from the players 100% of the time. I still don't feel we are nearly there and if this move helps us close that gap then bring it on. I reckon we sit about equal with GWS at the moment in terms of willingness for a fight. Goodwin wants to change this and i for one believe in what he's trying to do.

The GWS playing group seem about as up for a challenge as the MFC group. It's one thing to show great intensity when it suits...but you need to be able to raise the level on the weeks where it doesn't come easily. There doesn't seem a lot of backbone in that club. Outhustled when it counted 2 years in a row.

Who cares. We [censored] the bed in round 23 (once again). Tried hard to [censored] it in round 22 too. We finished in the half of the ladder that we deserved to.

Don't really care who wins...but you have to admire Essendon in some ways. $hithouse team but there is always great expectation on them and they always seem to play with pride. Essendon fans get great bang for their buck in return for their support of the club. To be in the finals after their recent disasters puts a number of other clubs to shame.