poita

The terrible team selections in the first five rounds and the improved showings with a better balanced side in the past two rounds would suggest that the coaches don't know more than us.

Sure, if they'll trade him for Kolodjashnij.

Only needs to wipe out the occasional really catastrophic kicking error to become a very good player. He was a good acquisition for what we gave up for him, and he will be better for a season with this group.

By far the best team we have picked all year, but still a few issues. At least we are heading in the right direction. Tomlinson and Hunt both pay the price for some really weak efforts at the contest last week. I thought Tomlinson was okay against Geelong, but he was poor against Richmond. On that basis, Melksham should have been first one out, but he is clearly a protected species. McDonald never should have been dropped and our defensive structure works much better with him there. I would have given Smith a couple of weeks playing forward, but maybe that will come later in the season. Good to see Bennell back, although I'm not sure we can have both he and Vandenberg playing limited minutes without causing issues elsewhere. I've been calling for a second tall forward all year - finally Goodwin gets it (that's why he gets paid the big $$). I'm no fan of Weideman, but we need another big body in the forward line and there aren't many options. Jetta is the only inclusion I'm not thrilled with. Rivers struggled last week, but has much greater value long term than Jetta does.

Should senior AFL players be taking precautions to ensure that they aren't having babies in the middle of the AFL season? Or is that an infringement of their human rights? Would Richmond be so understanding of Edwards & Houli not travelling interstate if it was in the middle of the finals series? Would the players make the same decision if they were missing finals? I get that players want to be with their families, and I fully support that, but they get paid a hell of a lot of money partly because there are sacrifices involved with being professional athletes.

Maybe they could drop back to 4 star accommodation, or move a suburb back from the beach, to free up some money for the whole list to travel together. I get injured players not travelling, and possibly those who won't be on the list next year, but Baker (for example) has a contract for next year. What does it say to him that he is not worth being included?

I know we have mainly played Corey as a defensive forward, but I can't imagine he'd be any worse than Lockhart and Jetta have been as a small defender.

The North trade was a dumb trade at the time and it looks even dumber now that a bottom four finish is all but guaranteed. Pickett will be a good player if he can put on some weight so he is not pushed off the ball so easily, but he is icing on top of a non-existent cake. Jackson was a blatantly poor selection who fits none of our needs, present or future. Whether he is an undersized ruckman, an oversized midfielder, a speculative key forward prospect or all three, he was simply the wrong choice for a club with so many glaring holes in its list.

Why have we not had Schwarz, Neitz or Lyon down at the club working with Weideman from day dot? All of these guys were competitors, they attacked the football and they demanded the ball from their teammates. If not them, then find someone who will help him out, because it sure is not going to be coming from Rooke, Chaplin or any of the other lightweights we have running the forward line. Weideman is lacking in all of these respects and we should have been constantly working on these parts of his game. Instead we waste crucial development time playing him in the ruck or letting him chase kicks around the ground. It is alarming how badly we develop players over and over again.

The scariest thing about that performance is that we are not in any way a young side. We had two first year players, Rivers & Pickett, who are not close to being our worst players. Our next youngest player was Oliver, who is in his fifth season and has played 86 games. We're wasting time and effort putting games into Smith, Lockhart, Vandenberg and others who are deeply flawed players. We're carrying guys like Wagner x2, Kolodjashnij, Brown and Preuss who can't get near the senior side. None of these guys are going to improve at age 24 and above. Where are our promising youngsters? Who are the budding replacements for Jetta (30), Gawn (28), May (28) and McDonald (almost 28)?

Max is the least of our problems, but his shocking kick from defence in the first quarter set the standard that the rest of the team followed for the rest of the day, and he compounded it by dropping several fairly straight forward marks in the same quarter. I agree that he is trying to hard and hope that he doesn't burn himself out in what is already a stressful period for everyone.

Totally agree with this. And we have the same issue in the forward line as well. That is 100% on the coach and the selectors.

Remind me again who were the key defenders when we finished top 4 in 2018? I'll give you a clue, they weren't Smith or Lever.

He has been over coached to within an inch of his life. In his first two years he was playing on instinct and thriving. Now he is second and third guessing himself, and taking disposals off balance and under pressure. I suspect it has something to do with coaches trying to mess around with his ratio of kicks to handballs.

A largely inept performance by a playing group severely lacking in basic football skills and game sense. Only Petracca has consistently elevated himself above the malaise this season. Goodwin needs to take responsibility on three accounts: 1. He is asking this group to play a style of football that is above their capabilities. 2. Every player on this list has either been recruited by or re-signed by him. 3. He won't select the players necessary to play this style of football, eg key forwards and good kickers. As for the players: May - solid again defensively, but his kicking, which I generally rate, has been woeful this year. Salem - an over rated, under achieving, selfish footballer. Harmes - we looked better when he played midfield. Just leave him there, Goodwin. Petracca - a class above every other player on the ground. Viney - King Dumb Dumb of all the dumb footballers on our list. Is less of a player than he was in round 1, 2013. Lever - the opposition's best defensive forward. His work to consistently spoil May & Gawn is first rate. Brayshaw - another who is currently being wasted on the periphery. Gawn - solid, but hardly dominant, against mediocre opposition. His lazy kicking is unacceptable. Oliver - looks to be a confused, over coached player. Just let him do his own thing. Hibberd - best game for three years. Langdon - works hard for little result. Melksham - a selfish, lazy and arrogant footballer. Should have been dropped last week and must be this week. Hannan - needs to maintain current level of hard work. Tomlinson - should be embarrassed by his lack of physicality and competitiveness. A major disappointment. Vandenberg - Lacking match fitness and skills have not improved. Rivers - has looked out of his depth in past two weeks, but we have to persist. McDonald - we've bulked him up, now we push him back up the field? The mind boggles. Hunt - a waste of space when he won't put his body on the line. Fritsch - looked much better playing half forward. Pickett - looks like a auskicker playing against men. Has developed some awful habits in the past fortnight. Lockhart - a mediocre footballer who has had all the flair of his first year coached out of him. Smith - an athlete with no football nous. Only useful running in straight lines.

The Richmond game last year was the one occasion in the past 18 months in which Goodwin tried a few different things, eg McDonald back, Hibberd running with Martin, etc. It didn't work on that occasion, but it was disappointing that he never went back to these ideas at any stage.

Just so I'm clear where the line is, pokies are out but alcohol and sports betting are okay? Good to know. Where do we stand on firearms and tobacco? For what it's worth, I'm happy to take money wherever we can get it, so thanks to 78 Degrees.

If it is his responsibility to support the senior coach and the playing group by providing the resources that they to maximise their performance, then I think he is significantly underperforming. Who are the bright, young assistant and development coaches on our books? Chaplin and Rooke have been around a fair while now, and neither convinces. What qualifies Plapp to be an AFL midfield coach? What are the KPIs for these guys, or do we keep shuffling their roles until we find one that suits? We haven't had a rising star nomination in almost four years - where is our player development? Why do we only hit the draft hard once every four years when we have list lacking in depth and top end talent? The North trade was a disgrace, but only one of many in recent times. Who is keeping Goodwin accountable for the performance of the team? What is Richardson bringing to the table? I'm assuming Mahoney ticked off Goodwin's contract extension before it went to the board - that alone should be cause for dismissal.

I don't care what happened decades ago. I care that we made a preliminary final in 2018; have since added May, Lever, Langdon and Tomlinson; have a full list to pick from and are currently as bad as we have been at any stage in the past ten years. How can this board, this coach and this playing group have taken us so far backwards in the space of less than two years?

Yep, I'd hate to have one of those, hey Dan?

As I expected we lost that game at the selection table. Lockhart, Hibberd, Hannan and Vandenberg did sweet FA between them. It is laughable that Bennell wasn't considered fit enough, but Hannan and Vandenberg both were. We won't win another game until we bring in another tall forward. Salem and Melksham were both awful again and should be next to feel the axe. Salem should have been traded two years ago when he had some value - now he has none. I was wrong about Melksham delivering a half-decent game every few weeks - he has been terrible this year. None of our players want to take responsibility for taking the game on and trying to make things happen. Instead we'd rather go backwards or sideways, rather than taking a shot at goal. Instead of our forwards being able to compete one out, they end up competing one v three by the time the ball arrives. Salem's effort was abysmal, and Tomlinson didn't make any effort to line up the goals either. Six goals in a game of football in perfect conditions, thus making seven in our last six quarters. No wonder we sit last on a combined ladder of seasons 2019 and 2020. Goodwin has taken us backwards at a rapid rate, but his job is safe because the board that gave him a ludicrous contract extension is still in charge. Once again I ask, what is one thing that Goodwin did to change the course of this match?

Another five unforced changes, 12 in two games - absolutely ridiculous. Yet, some people reckon everything is peachy. These selectors have absolutely no idea.

Harmes was fantastic in the second half of 2018, but surely we didn't give him a 5 year contract to wander around the backline looking lost. Put him back in the middle where he belongs, running with the opposition's best midfielder, starting with Dangerfield this week.

I sincerely wish that this thing would never happen, but are you better to focus on the 1% of small minded, miserable people who are seeking some attention and purpose in their pathetic lives, or on the 99% of people who try their best to do the right thing and get along with everyone? I don't think that you'll ever change some people, so it is much better and healthier to find the positives where possible (unless laws are clearly being broken). (That said, I avoid twitter and instagram like the plague, because these are where such people thrive.)

Another inept selection performance by Goodwin & co. Minimum 31 players used in 3 games; at least 9 but probably more changes in 2 weeks, none of which are due to injury. That suggests to me that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing and are making it up as they go along. How about picking a sensible, well-structured side and giving it a few weeks to come together, rather than throwing everything in the air each week? Hannan, Fritsch and Melksham in the same forward line? Have any of them ever laid a tackle or taken a contested mark?