Was anyone leading into space/at the ball carrier or just standing still?
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The pro Scott faction reckon he is doing all that.
Fixing the culture, getting rid of Dodo recruits or playing them out of position so they under perform and get dropped to the 2s.
All I can see is us becoming the new norf.
If players are being let go because they are not part of the next premiership, then shouldnât the same apply to Brad
There is no way he is going to win a flag.
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Standing still, all day - except for Peter Wright occasionally.
Caddy the worst offender.
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Geez thatâs frustrating
My son in his 4th game of footy at u/7 knows to run and make leads when his team mates are running forward. Itâs so simple
No wonder Stewart and every other defender have field days against us
Standing still of course. Essendon forwards donât lead. That sort of stuff is for other clubs.
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Looking at the stats, amongst forwards, Wright is 9th for marks on a lead across the league with 1.4. Caddy is top 50 with 1.
Then it really drops. Are only other forward in the top 100 is Kako at 0.4 a game (Wheelo includes Jones and Martin as forwards. Langers is excluded due to not playing enough games)
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One wonders if we would have been better off with Hird.
I feel he would be much better at player development.
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This is a must watch.
Chris Scott: Itâs one of the most extraordinary stories of the modern era.
Trending for a flag every 12 years with dips between them. This is their worst dip but theyâre kinda in the mid-point of the cycle (if the trend continues) so they have time to do their thing.
yellow is premiership years
Apologies in advance, because I think this is going to be a long post, but here goesâŚ
I work within walking distance of the MCG, and when I knocked off at half 3 on Saturday I made the last minute decision to wander across to the game. I just wanted to have a look at some of the young players first hand, I knew result-wise we werenât getting within a bullâs roar of Geelong.
The thing that makes the final margin so frustrating is that we actually did some good stuff in the first three quarters. So to lose by almost 100 is just so deflating. I know there are pretty serious personnel issues, but these kind of losses just do so much damage, across the board, and itâs the third one this season. We simply have to find a way to stop losses of this magnitude from happening. Regardless of who runs out on the field, with good system and intent you donât lose a game by 100 points. Ever.
A few observations on the game:
- Thereâs been a fair amount on comment on here about lack of movement by the forwards, but itâs actually a problem all over the ground. On the other hand the Cats players always seemed to be moving, and this was a factor in why they were able to cut off so many short kicks that usually end with uncontested marks and also apply so many smothers. Iâm not sure Iâve ever seen a game where we had so many disposals smothered.
- The players were obviously told to kick into the corridor, which is ok, but you have to be skilled enough to execute it and smart enough to know when NOT to do it. Our guys just donât seem to have this nous, and I feel itâs not something thatâs easily taught.
- We lack speed, across the board. This was an enormous problem last year, and it hasnât been addressed anywhere near adequately. Richmond and Collingwood have done well in recent times with blokes who arenât much good (Castagna, McCreery etc.) but can run hard all day and kick well on the odd occasion they get a touch. We need to be targeting these types of players.
- The players seem to have had any instinct/flair coached out of them. Itâs like they just try to follow the âplanâ, even when that is the worst possible option. Beltings like this just compound the problem because they sap the playersâ confidence and then theyâre even more reluctant to try something different.
- After God knows how many years, our tackling is still absolute â â â â â . Fifty tackles for the match, and Setterfield and Caldwell had 20 of those. Has anything been done about this? We will never, ever be a good side with this weakness, itâs absolutely mind-boggling that it hasnât been addressed.
One other observation I wanted to share. In the decade or so before COVID I rarely missed a Bombers game in Melbourne. We didnât have good teams during this period, but there was always a bit of feeling in the crowd during games and Iâd always hear people talking about the game on the way out of the ground. On Saturday there was none of that, even the Geelong supporters seemed flat (and that was before the final quarter capitulation). About five minutes before the end of the game, three young guys (two Cats, one Bomber) walked past me on the way out. One of the Cats boys remarked to his mate âwhat a crap gameâ. In the Fitzroy Gardens, another Geelong fan was talking to his companion about sanding a table. Itâs like our club has become so moribund that it not only sucks the life out of its own supporters, but also the supporters of our opposition. Itâs just depressing, and if the club doesnât understand the damage these kinds of losses do, and not just in the here and now, we are really doomed.
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Brereton was sitting in the bay across from me and he watched on quietly⌠until that last qtr where his frustrations with our decision making and skills led to a few forehead rubs and head shakes.
He was constantly indicating where he thought we should move the ball - which we did the opposite of and turned it over.
Reckon line in the sand was the least of his concerns for us.
It made for interesting viewing.
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