The heart beats true

It really feels like this is beat up GCS month (hey, thank god it's not us), but I can't help the feeling that the resentment from some factions is actually aimed more at the AFL through the Suns, and is linked heavily to the handling of the Essendon Saga and previous grievances.

Watching the replay. Who'd have thought I couldn't wait for it to come on I feel like some players are being coached really well to play to their strengths. Wattsy has been given permission to get caught with the ball, because they know he's hard to bring down because he's tall, he can get his hands clear, and because his disposal is genuinely clean. As a result our players are learning to know he'll stand up in a tackle and to run off him. Created goals today because of it. Consistency and playing together will always make a better team, and we are only at the start. So happy for the boys.

I feel like this is one of the benefits of Roos as a coach. I can't help but think a rookie coach with long term aspirations would be playing the best 22 - which clearly includes Hogan. If we get done by 70 points instead of 45 Roos knows it's not impacting his future. It's a really clean, smart decision IMO. I suspect Brayshaw will get a rest or 2 in the back half as well.

A couple of positives, because I'm happy to pot blokes, so it's only fair it goes the other way: Toumpas - ran out of legs but gee he finally showed he could be a player. Hope it does his confidence a world of good. Jack Watts - still tries to take it on too much but at times in the first half his ball use was a class above most on the field. Brayshaw - we all know he's a player but in the last month I'd love to know how many scoring chains he's been involved in. When he has it we look good. Future -Viney, Hogan, Brayshaw, Petracca, Toumpas, Tyson, Salem, JKH, TMac, Pick 3 2015 There's 10 years there if we can keep them fit and teach them how hard they'll need to work.

Experienced leaders are our problem week in and week out. We didn't deserve to win. Our leaders went missing when we needed them the most. But honestly, if you're game enough to watch that game again, you'll see we were lucky to be that close for most of the game. Which is pretty pathetic given how even the teams are.

Effort was good. Skill and fitness just not at the standard they need to be. Those two are so heavily aligned in the modern game too. On a separate note, and I know this is petty, but after every week Watts stands around like a senior player and chats with the senior players of the opposition. He doesn't play like a senior player. He isn't a senior player. He's miles off it and he'll struggle to be in the side if a few young blokes can get there confidence up. Get off the ground. Feel it like it hurts. Standing around like its a wedding is pathetic if you don't bring effort.

Watts needs to go now. That was it. He's weak.

Yeah, Watts is really not going to make it. He found a way to give the ball back to them when he just needed to keep his head down and work. He's cooked.

Leadership?

I wouldn't be using GWS to support your argument. They prove what I'm saying. When we have been poor (finished low on the ladder) THEY got all the talent in the draft, and now THEY are a much better side because of it. Judging against your criteria Roos is incapable of demanding and measuring effort but Leon Cameron isn't? Come off it. It's the cattle. As for the bulldogs - they are probably a couple of years ahead of us because they had a better mix of experience to help development. Saints - Juries out. They've been up and down. As have we. Essendon - I agree that it's an ordinary list but it's an ordinary list with 50-100 games on average more than ours. Time in the competition can't be underestimated. Anyways. Lets agree to disagree. Losing sucks. I'd love you to be right and we demand more effort and the players can turn it around based on that alone!

Sadly the 'talent' of Grimes, M. Jones, Bail etc is pretty evident at training. I wouldn't describe GWS as an intensely tough team, but I'd swap my leg for their list. Why? Because it's FULL of potential talent. Also, I never understand why Melbourne supporters are so keen to disprove the theory that we need better draft access/Priority Picks. What if i'm wrong? We gain access to the type of talent that will make us successful, or at least give us trade value. I don't see Hawthorn or Collingwood complaining about their draft concessions from the early to mid 00's. It got them flags, and then allowed those players to move on with free agency (Franklin and Thomas). It's proof the system can work.

Can we all agree that there should be a moratorium on letting AFL players and coaches get away with saying 'it's a very even competition'. This game proves it's not, and it hasn't been for 5-6 years. We won't be able to attract free agents. It's simple. Who would choose to come to us? Byrnes, Cross, Vince and H prove that only players without other options will. Meanwhile a player in our top 3 walks to a club like Hawthorn. The answer is simple. Draft concessions. It's about access to talent.

Loved when Gerard said 'but you don't and you can't prove it because if you could have you would have' when Hird said the players didn't take anything illegal. Smacked him in the face with the cloud that will hang over him for the rest of his life. Ouch.

The biggest long term obstacle to an equal competition is a lack of onfield competitiveness. The players association owes us (the football members and supporters) a great deal after the debacle that is free agency. They've got on the front foot because public sentiment is turning against them as an association. The NFLs free agency set up is much fairer, and designed to create equality. We'd be wise to follow suit. As for Eddie, I don't think anyone really cares anymore do they?

If anything Walsh should have a crack at the lack of support Dangerfield got early from his teammates. A good player has to learn to handle that. Dangerfield and the clubs reaction has just made his season harder than it already is.

Garlett. One job to do. Can't get it done. Effort was outstanding for 90% of that quarter. Bloody kills me when a forward can't get the job done.

From watching on the TV here's what I'm seeing... Foot skills kill us. Still carrying 3-4 too many without AFL level foot skills. Sides are aware we are too slow in the midfield. Love the effort from Cross, Jones and Vince but it's one too many blokes who aren't quick. Everyone wants to take us on in the open. Hogan will be a star. Brayshaw looks a player. Salem gives me confidence with ball in hand.

There is a lot of Dawes bashing in here but I think it's also worth looking at his role and delivery. He's basically the Malthouse/Neeld era bomb down the line get out of jail card. Our players lack the confidence and skill to move the ball in other ways, and when the momentum is against us they don't want to make a mistake, so they take the safest option - around the boundary to Dawes. Opposition clubs can see it a mile away. It's really obvious, it's really not working, and he's not dangerous enough as a player to be able to execute on it. He does work very hard, but structurally it's an antiquated game style that's a lazy option for our team given our confidence levels.

Hate to point out the obvious but St Kildas 8 goal half time lead isn't exactly a glowing endorsement of our Rnd. 1 effort. Looks like the game is becoming quicker and more offensive in 2015 too. :-/

Remember in preseason when Roos said our worst was still very, very bad? He was right.

GWS had an unbelievable quarter. Some of those goals were freakish. The disappointing thing as a Dees fan is our inability to find leaders. Let's not have a leadership group if no one stands up on the ground. Jones looks injured. H, Cross, Dunn - experienced players need to stand up.

From AFL.com 'AFL operations manager Mark Evans says the League has received no official complaint from Geelong or Clark about the reports. Evans told Melbourne radio station 3AW the AFL had been in contact with the Cats. "There's been no complaint raised," he said. "It can be trapped under the League's vilification policy - we don't like people being put down for their race, religion, sexuality, or any impairment or handicap - but it's hard to act without a complaint. "And even when we do get a complaint, it's best solved via mediation.' I'd say the AFL knows the full story, and knows that it's not in anyone's best interest for it to be made public. That statement about it being hard to act without a complaint isn't the kind of language i'd imagine they'd be using if a player had been racially vilified. They'd be investigating. It sounds as if they are egging Geelong on for a complaint - because they know they won't come forward. Wonder why?

The other way to look at 5 or 6 coaches is 5 or 6 footy experts that have decided conclusively that Blease isn't up to it. From a purely statistical perspective he's probably no good.

The Aka thing is also generational. He came from the last of those hard as nails coaching styles at Brisbane. Clarko pulls it off at Hawthorn but that's also because of the age demographic and the hardening up of their culture that occurred due to early success (2008), and how hard they realised they'd have to work to get back there. Most kids coming in now need a balance of love and pressure. McCartney clearly believed that the senior players deserved a whack to help them grow, but they don't see the kids getting one too and they got put out by it. It's more likely to do with the way it was handled versus the message. It's pretty ugly now though. Their senior players look very selfish, they've got no coach, and the kids will be crushed without support around them. It's not us though!

He was dropped when he became injured. Everyone wants to believe that the foot injury has been the root cause of 3 years of bad form but it's only a guess. If he wasn't the captain in 12-13 he could have been dropped then too. I feel like there is some serious revisionist history going on here. Do we all really think that in one of the most medically scrutinised careers in the world his foot injury was overlooked for 3 years? I'm backing the club on this.