Jerry Lundergard

Except on Sunday we cracked when the ball was bounced at the start of the game...

I think Dunn plays the tagging role well on bigger bodied mids who lack pace. Judd hasn't definitely lost a yard, and he could not have done him cold 3 years ago, but he has performed well on the likes of Watson a nd S.Black before, and is more suited to your Josh Kennedy/David Mundy types. Small quicker guys with great lateral movement like Ablett and B.Harvey, he gets towelled up. There is no obvious matcup for him in the Tigers midfield, as Tuck would be the only one to fit the bill and he's injured, so i would keep him down back, and Frawley away from any kick-ins.

Richmond play a style of footy that if they are on, we will not be able to combat, and we will get destroyed. When they are up and about, they win possession and run forward in waves through the corridor and create a lot of scoring shots. Going to be a tough day for our defenders if our mids get slaughtered. I would like to see Magner elevated for more midfield depth and grunt around the ball. The only thing we have going for us IMO, is the Tigers have a history of destroying the souls of their supporters in recent years, and I am hoping that Sunday may be one such day for them.

29. Picking up the ball and not getting rid of it in the one action. Our guys like to pick it up.....what am I going to do with it now........[censored] I am tackled......opportunity to clear the ball out of congestion over.

Robert Shaw?

So So I take take it you won't be watching the replay on foxfooty that's starting now DemonDave?

That's my point. We had top end picks in the draft. We have no excuses. With the picks we have been handed in the draft over the last decade, we don't have 1 A-Grade midfielder on our list. Pathetic.

It's taken me a while to snap into reality, but today I finally concede we just aren't good enough. I thought our first half today was possibly our best half of the year, but due to our lack of conversion and polish with the ball, to go with basic skill errors and defensive lapses we were still down 27 points. We really only have ourselves to blame for years of ineptness. Instead of having a finals midfield of Moloney, McLean/Gysberts, Sylvia, Jones, Morton, Scully and Trengove. We somehow have the mismatched group of players that are consistently getting destroyed every week. Whether we have drafted or developed poorly doesn't really matter, because it is all our clubs fault regardless, and we supporters, are the ones left to sit in the outer and watch the smashings.

McDonald can go with him.

Can't believe people get on here and rubbish the Tigers. They will destroy us by 10+ goals. Their midfield will run rampant against ours. The Tigers matched Geelong for more than half the game, and were also victims of some umpiring decisions non-paid and paid, that would have us screaming blue murder on Demonland for a week. Three losses in a row to Pies, 1-point at Freo and Geelong. Are you kidding me? I dream about having a midfield that wins the ball and gets it going forward like Richmonds does. As long as their powers hold firm to their plan, and they just tighten up a few weaknesses, they will be a gun side for years to come. And yes, Geelong are awesome. Just don't understand the Richmond bashing.

I think Evans has the potential to be one our better midfielders when you consider how much footy he has missed over the last couple of years, and how well he has played since coming into the side. I think he has definite upside.

Every time I hear comments like Neelds from the weekend, or his address before the Bombers game, I think back to Sheedys address to his GWS players before their first game last year, where he talked about "not letting anyone or any team dominate you", and wonder what messages we are sending our players. Is it different behind closed doors?

We need a at least one A-Grade midfielder who can read the ball off either ruck, get it on the move, and release others into space with precision handball. Think Black, Priddis, Watson, etc. They don't grow on trees, but are invaluable. First use mids, who can get it outside with clean disposal is a must. I think Viney will be more of your bullocking Joel Selwood type, and Toumpas will hopefully be some outside class. Nathan Jones would need to be our 3rd or 4th best mid playing at his current level, for our group to be at the next level. That's my take on it anyway.

I am struggling to see what attributes he brings that will make him great. I think his overhead marking for his size is something he excels at, but besides that, I would say he is below par in all other areas. He isn't really a great clearance player or have speed to spread on the outside, so I am left wondering what is it that will make him great for us?

Not often I can say we have a the better of the umps, but so far is one such day. Watts is poor, but he does seem to have a limp in his running gate. Doesn't excuse soft efforts when not running though. We looked out on our feet early in the 2nd qtr. If we do not get another wind we will get cut up by plenty in the 2nd half. Any chance we can get a bit of handball receive, and link up through the middle as well. I think they are susceptible there, but we dont seem to have the players capable. Or maybe it's just not part of our game plan.

Black played half a game in the reserves last week and was on track for a bout 70 touches before getting dragged, so he may be good to go this week.

When I see him bust a run like that through Geelongs midfield, then I'll get excited. Sorry to be a bit negative, but he was brushing off some tired boys.

I have said this in other threads before that when I watch Watts in a 1 on 1 contest, he looks like he hopes just to halve the contest, and maybe create a stoppage or hope for some help to arrive. Compare this to a Joel Selwood, who looks like he would rather have a stake driven through his heart than lose a contest, and if you or he gets injured in the process, then that's just collateral damage.

Doesn't matter what your setup is, if your midfielders aren't good enough. Do you think that if Royal took over the Hawks midfield, that all of a sudden they wouldn't be able to get a clearance? Wrong.

Essendon have one of the top 3 midfielders in the league, and maybe the top clearance player in Jobe. Viney might be our closest player to him and he's played 3 games. The rest of the Bombers midfield is not that great, and is why they had to recruit Goddard into the fray. If Jobe goes down, I can guarantee you the Bombers will struggle.

That was Cooper Cronk.

That won the Eagles a flag....

Sorry, but Viney is the only player there in that midfield group who I think is a definite A-Grade in the making, and who is that contested, first use ball winning midfielder that we lack. The jury is out on a few of the younger players, and the older ones can't get a crack in the worst midfield in the league. I like the picks of Clark and Hogan, but thought we could have used the Dawes pick on another ball winning mid. They don't always develop how you want them too, but you have to give yourself that opportunity. Are we going to play Clark, Dawes and Hogan all in our forward line in 2 years time? Maybe we will. Maybe we will be too top heavy. I would still prefer another A-Grade midfielder though, so unless one of those guys you mentioned suddenly becomes Simon Black over a preseason, I think we have taken the wrong course.

I put it to you though, that Neeld has put a greater emphasis on getting big forwards to the club, rather than mids who can get first use of the ball, and hence, get the ball to those big guys. Therefore, I lay the blame squarely at Neeld for this problem. No gameplan works if you can't get a hold of the ball. Almost everytime the ball was in dispute in a 50/50 contest in the 2nd half, West Coast won it through superior onballers.

I like those two, and we may be on the right path there, but neither set a tone or standard for attacking the footy, or a will to not get beaten by your man like Morris does. The guy is an animal.