Earl Hood

Observers keep saying Stretch is not up to it! Do these stats mean anything? 21 disposals this week at 95% effciency, yet he is said to be non AFL standard amongst a squad of players who routinely butcher the ball when they get it.

Hi Dieter, been cruising around Jurien Bay, Geraldton area looking at the wild flowers for a few days then headed south today to Perth to watch the Weagles vs Hawks game. My wife is a mad Hawks fan and yes yet again the Hawks win. Everytime I go to these interstate Hawks matches, they win, I think that is 4 in a row. Everytime I drag her to an interstate Dees game we lose!

Yep watching live tonight the Hawks took them to the cleaners and this loss has most likely cost the Weagles another flag. The Hawks are so well drilled, and have skills and they have a system that works. They always show up to play to the game plan and tactically they play smart to negate their opponents strengths. Next year they get Mitchell back, Wingard, Scully will be better, they might pull Cogniglio as well. They have picked the eyes out of the free agent system and the disgruntled or chronically injured A graders from other clubs. As well they keep developing second round picks into likely future champions, Worpel, Sicily, Mitch Lewis, etc. Yes the Hawks will give it a shack next year, us well who knows!

Yes I am at Optus watching this and my thoughts exactly if only we had those skills in our forward line! The Eagles ball movement in the last 10 minutes is extraordinary! Hard to defend against that although the Hawks are playing well.free kick to Darling was laughable

I am driving in WA only heard the result and looked at stats. How did Stretch go, 21 disposals at 95% efficiency looks OK?

Buck I suspect Brendan McCartney picked up on it early. He said as much to me while I was watching training a day before it the coaching revamp after the bye. As I relayed in a training report he said to me (unsolicited which surprised me) after a training drill that the kids have to learn to not take short cuts, how you train is how you play but they will learn. My take at the time was that they weren’t putting in 100% at training. The next day Macca was shafted in the coaching reshuffle and rumours from DLand were he had clashed with some senior players. We know now he is gone at years end after telling me at the time he wanted another 2 years to get that elusive flag! Lewis’s comments align with Macca’s I think. Yes we have had injuries but the intensity of 2018 has been missing all year and now the group’s confidence is absolutely shot.

You are right height wise but Bradke is miles off AFL standard! A call up could destroy the kid at this stage.

Assuming Gawn is going to get up! If he doesn’t there is only Keilty available to play forward or Frost I suppose. We are almost bereft of players over 192 cm on the fit list.

I would offer Daisy a one year option for several reasons. He is playing good footy, has kicking skills and I like that he is a quirky extrovert type of player that is not carrying the psychological baggage that our list and coaching group is at the moment! Listening to interviews with Lever, Melk and even Goodwin, they seem bewildered at what has happened, basically we are in a dark place not unlike what Roos walked into. We probably need a turnover of 10 or so players, a mix of experience and youth to reset the group’s confidence in themselves.

Goffy that isn’t noughts and crosses, that’s this weeks game plan up on the board! If the Kangeroos get hold of that we are stuffed!

I somehow suspect Lewis may tell him to not bother with MFC as it is a basket case!

No surprise given Roughy and Buddy and co were at the MCG on Friday night. I suspect even if we offered an extension he has had enough of the MFC clusterfluck he has witnessed this year. I would love to hear his real thoughts on how we have ended up where we are.

I still think a decent forward coach should be able to develop a functional forward unit out of what we already have, particularly if we get everyone fit. Talls: TMac, Weids, Petty Flankers: Tracc, Melk, Hannan, JSmith, AVB, a rotating midfielder Harmes/Oliver options: Dunkley, Lockhart, Spargo, Chandler, perhaps May goes forward... ( I don’t think Jeffy and maybe ANB will be there and I think Hunt should play on the wing). first requirement is to get the set shot goal kicking sorted, that issue has cost us 4 or 5 games this year. Get a specialist kicking coach in preseason for heaven’s sake! Then get targets leading at the ball carrier providing multiple targets, spreading the defence; don’t all cluster in one area as the ball is coming in and how about not having everyone flying and no one down for the spilled ball? Surely this so called forward disconnect can be rectified!!!

After attending Friday nights game and then hearing interviews by Melksham, Lever and Goodwin on Saturday I am not sure 4 weeks off for this playing group will be enough to reset their shell shocked mindsets! This group seems to be in a dark place, bewildered at why they are losing, with zero confidence in each other to execute the basics. Goodwin pointed to the fact that they had been tinkering with the game plan to the point that their method of play is unidentifiable and the players are obviously confused. They are not enjoying playing the opposition or with each other, expecting failure no matter who they play. It seems to me the squad was physically banged up at the end of 2018 and took much of the season to recover, if they ever have; now at the end of season 2019 we have a squad mentally traumatised! How long will it take to rebuild their confidence and get them enjoying their football again?

It looks like the entire AFL list can’t kick straight for goal! 0.9 from MFC players.

We were deplorable last night with nothing much to play for, no excuse I know but what is going on with Port? Really struggling to get a score on the board. God help us next week in Hobart!

Looking at those stats I think the AFL will be on the phone to the head of umpiring about the treatment of GWS, not good enough for the love child. Does confirm why I have been whinging all these years though!

Three talls out actually, May, OMac, Petty and none in, oh well not to worry. Maybe Hore goes forward ( he did a lot of goal kicking at training today) but who helps out Max? Given up trying to read the logic in the selections this year.

Hey Kev I got to training at 9.30 and it was all but over at 9.47! Do you know what time it started? This is twice I have shown up for the captains run at the advertised time to see them walk off after 15 or 20 minutes! I am not expecting a 2 hour slog for the captains run but 15 or 20 minutes of low intensity drills and some goal kicking seems hardly worth setting up for, let alone advertising to fans!

Hunt omitted! Has he ever been run off a wing for an extended run of games to see what he offers as an outside receiver with pace? Surely Pruess should come in just with instructions to sit up forward and crash packs and bring the ball to ground to help our newly selected fleet of midgets! As it stands we have a small forward line and no doubt our midfield will still bomb it high and long if under pressure. Good luck Dees we will need it!

I thought Petty did a shoulder last week but what is OMac’s injury? We couldn’t go smaller if we tried, maybe Pruess was an option just to have a tall up forward.

I didn’t see Hunt at training or at least all 15 minutes of it before they walked off and I got there at the advertised time 9.30! And Frost looked OK to me he only left a minute of so before the others started wandering off. A few low intensity drills in their respective squads ( forwards, mids, backs ) and some goal kicking. Jeffy running laps.

Oh dear, so ziltch for Howe and all the costs to replace him. And don’t start me on the unfortunate Toumpas selection. Never saw what attributes would have made him most pundits pick 3, we were not alone. Not big, not fast, no X factor that I saw but why go on about that typical lost draft opportunity at that time.

Can’t remember what we got for Jeremy Howe when he walked out but the price we have paid for that is Lever and the picks and $ he cost us. I doubt we would have chased Lever if we had Howe.

I agree in theory it should be possible to work on all these areas as they are 6 day a week professionals but I always wonder what they do with their time in the 4 or 5 months of the preseason. At best you see them 2 or 3 times a week out on the field for one or two hours, what are they doing the rest of the time? I don’t know but I hope it is not spent studying a game plan that hasn’t been working. And from watching training this year it is apparent to me that they do not play how they train anyway. When training we move the ball quickly often switching play to use the full width of the ground always looking for a forward lead up. Our training drills have zero emphasis on practicing small forward crumbing skills because our drills have us delivering the ball to a presenting key forward who will often take the mark. Come game day we are lobbing balls high to a contest that gets brought to ground but we have no small forwards positioned to take advantage but instead the opposition is there ready to run the ball out at high speed to their advantage. So the training drills we do are of limited use if we can’t replicate it on game day with success. Let’s hope for a big change out in assistant coaching resources for next year.