Earl Hood

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.

What do we spend our time on? Physical fitness or foot skills in the preseason? You would think you could do both but I am not sure these days as they will spend 3 sessions a week for 90 minutes or so at Goschs paddock testing their footy skills and running laps. Is that enough to make a difference to both their skills and ability to run out a game? Not sure given the lack of skills we are dealing with.

I think the AFL might be going to take pick 2 from us anyway!

Dees win 57 to 42

Out May injured, Baker in Hore, Stretch

6 Petracca 5 Fritsch 4 May 3 JKH 2 Oliver 1 OMac

Grundy seemed to be in Max’s way at every ball up, jumping into the space at the drop of the ball forcing Max to reach over him. When does that tactic become blocking?

We were set up for the switch too. He is supposed to be looking for that, instead kicked straight down to Grundy leading to a Pies goal.

5 set shots from 35 for 1g 3!

GWS totally outplayed. Interesting to see Yze in the Hawks coaches box at the end. Is there anyway we can get him back home next season to help Goody with some Clarko IP?

Where is the million dollar forward Cameron? Hardly had a touch, incredible bunch of soft talent that can only perform when it suits them it seems. Just a bit too cold it seems.

Gee wiz these Giants are going to go nowhere in the finals. If I was their coach I would tear strips off a number of them but then you aren’t allowed to do that with these young ones!

I went passed on Wednesday but training had been cancelled, then TV interviews happened Thursday, so did they train then? If they did then Friday would be limited perhaps, although having watched a few Friday sessions, they are no more than a 45 minute stretching exercise with a few kicks on goal. So you could do Thursday and Friday but at this stage why bother?

Yes I was hoping for Hore and Stretch in for OMac and Wagner. Guess poor Billy’s papers are stamped. At least JKH gets another game.

You may be right Red but Macca said to me just 2 months ago that he wanted 2 years with this group to get that elusive flag (see my earlier post). He may have changed his mind but I doubt it. If you read the corporate speak release it goes on about his attributes and his great contributions and relationships with Goodwin but gives no reason why he is going! Not even the usual ones of seeking opportunities outside MFC or wanting to spend more time with his family. In short he has jumped before he was pushed!