Ted Lasso

I think we'll put up a massive challenge but their class will get them home Hawks by 23

Ah well, 10 rounds in and Diamond doesn't like it, better scrap it and start a re-build? if we win next week the port game will be forgotten. we are working on the balance between defense and attack and i am certain when we get that right you'll see much better defensive set up and effort.

it's not another false dawn in any way shape and form, we've been steadily improving for the last three years. we are inconsistent because it's a new game plan and we have the youngest and most inexperienced 22 in the comp.. our best is very good, our worst is very average that's just what happens with young teams, look at the Saints, they look like world beaters one week and get belted the next, we're definitely ahead of them but the point stands. Our defense looks bad because they players are still working out how to implement it in game, combined with the lack of experience at AFL level making a 2 way transition running game plan very difficult for such a young team to deliver week in week out in any case, then you throw in the interchange cap, the conditions in Alice and the lack of changes it makes for a difficult day at the office, i said in the game day thread if we didn't jump out of the blocks we would really struggle over four quarters. in the last four years we've gone 2 wins, 4wins, 7 wins and now 5 already, there is definitely an upward trend there but we're just going to have to accept that with a list the age of ours we're going to have down weeks, but we'll also have up weeks, i wouldn't be surprised if we beat or seriously push the Hawks on the weekend.

Can we just clone 18 Nev Jetta's and just play them around Gawn, Hogan, Tmac and N,Jones?

Give him a week to think about it, every team in the comp knows he has a short fuse and if he doesn't learn to deal with players winding him up he will miss a few weeks to come.

If Dion declares us his destination i think when push comes to shove they'll take that deal, but won't be happy about it.

Brendan Bolten has done a fantastic job so far with Carlton, i still think their list is average but i think they're definitely on the right track.

Well depends if you actually want to get him, the Suns wouldn't accept an early second rounder for an A grade player. they're be stupid if they did.

I would love to see Jesse Hogan do extra goal kicking sessions with Jack Watts, if Jesse could convert with the same efficiency as Wattsy he would be the best forward in the comp.

They claim every year is a super draft these days, but if we want to land Dion second rounders won't cut it, we will need to offer up the 2017 first rounder.

The Zone defense isn't the issue, it's the poor execution of basic skills that come from our inexperience and adjusting to a new way of moving the ball that lead to us being exposed. When you play 18 man offense and 18 man defense when you make a mistake and there is a turnover we're totally exposed and that's why we're allowing so many easy marks inside 50, we will get better at this over time when the players learn how to set up the zone much quicker and it becomes instinct. Priority 1 is fixing our midfield, when guys like Brayshaw, Petracca, Oliver and co reach A grade level we will be fine, our game plan is built around the idea we're going to be able to win more of the ball out of the middle than our opposition, which we aren't always able to do yet, but next year and into the future we'll really get on top of this area and we'll be fine. When you implement a new game plan to such a young team you have to expect there will be some teething issues, we're playing a totally new plan, so effectively it's like having a brand new senior coach already, we are also playing the youngest and most inexperienced side in the comp and have returned a result of 5-5 with 2-3 games we should have/could have won on top of that, i'd say all things considered we're going along quite well, we should definitely win 8-10 games which i think would be a pass for this year all things considered and could potentially win more. I think it's really important that we stick to the Zone, it's not working brilliantly just yet and when we make mistakes our defense looks horrible, but the biggest issue is those mistakes and not the Zone, our setup is also a huge part of why we're now averaging plus 30 odd points for every game.

Our entire game plan is based around us winning the ball out of the middle more than our opposition does, so we can never have enough quality mids, our Zone is an extremely aggressive method of defending that allows us to be scored against a little more easily but significantly increases our ability to score on the rebound, right now we're struggling in game because our skills aren't good enough to turn those rebounds into goals without making mistakes in transition and our midfield is getting beaten at times, i really like the plan, our execution is poor but we will improve. I strongly believe in 2 years time Jones, Vince, Tyson, Viney, Brayshaw, Petracca, Oliver, Salem, Vanders, Trengove and hopefully Prestia will be feeding off Gawn and we'll have the best midfield in the game, and we'll have nailed down our ball movement and significantly improved in enough areas to seriously push for a premiership.

Out: Oscar, Newton, Tyson, Garland In: Trengove Dunn Grimes, Dawes

We're seriously lacking experience and composure down back, Garland has fallen off a cliff as a player and for whatever reason Dunn seems to be on the outer. I'd be bringing Trengove back in next week for sure, maybe Grimes as well

need to get a move on.

same thing against the dogs, they were blatantly throwing it and the umpires only called throw if it was a demon doing it.

We have the run now, i think we will win...

Conditions in Tassie are a bit easier to deal with than Alice Springs, this game seems to take it out of the players for a week or two

I think we're very much still in this game, we just need to use the ball better, we're making enough of the play we're just making stupid mistakes and missing shots we should kick. If we start this quarter off well we can close this gap fairly quickly and get a roll on.

If i remember correctly our NAB cup game againt Port was quite similar to this, they dominated us in the first half and we came back hard in the second half and won?

Winning contested ball and hit outs easily, and only 15 points down, we just need to re-set and get back to playing our footy, half time can't come fast enough.

Positive is, we're playing like absolute [censored] and we're still very much in this game, if we switch on we'll get on top.

I read this thread before checking the scores and thought the same thing, seems like we're playing miles below our best and should still be 2-3 goals ahead given our poor kicking at goal.

The thing to remember is the Zone defense is a big part of why we're now able to score like we are, and the players are still very much learning it, you can't just abandon a plan when it doesn't work right away or you won't get very far. the players will get better at it.

Oh i agree, Viney is a better player these days, he's a far better outside player, and probably on par on the inside, but it needs to be remembered that a lot of Viney's improvement comes on the back of Gawns, i think Wines would look amazing roving Gawns tap work as well.