What is time really?
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In truth we donāt know how long it will take. Depends on how long it takes Club to build and embed a high performing culture and football department. We hope they get most decisions right throughout the Club, getting us there faster.
Ball moves around a lot more when itās not hitting targets.
Was watching a youtube shorts of afl coaches swearing at their players the other day, @Finding_Nino youād love matty nicks from adelaide, forget Brad heās your sort of guy 
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My favourite is this
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Leave you bland piece of cardboard. Donāt make a fuss.
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Me too Brad, me too.
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Bit of work to do in the not so royal box.
We are getting absolutely dusted in the centre clearances. If we donāt fix that in Q4 it will be hard to hold on.
Apart from the clearances, this was one of the first times in a long time that we went in with a plan and executed perfectly.
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I think itās the most composed and methodical our players looked for a long time.
The plan to beat dees is pretty simple, run them to the ground. We accomplished that, Dees are trash.
It did help that we dominated the air (whenās the last time we won contested marks by 10?).
I still think better teams will score heavily against us as we lack defensive structure when we have the footy. We turn the footy over too often before getting inside 50.
But we are improving.
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Coached well Brad kudos
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Shhhh you canāt say that
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I know thereās a lot of debate about stats and rankings but itās good to see coach leads this one -
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Could it possibly be that finally the players (at least on the last two games and probably last half against Hawks) are doing what has been coached?
Early days, but stats are suggesting we are building good midfield depth and are a very good contested ball team now. We are the number one side for ground ball gets and stoppage clearances (never thought Iād see Essendon be that). Top four for many other similar statistics. So tick to Scott for that.
In contrast, the stats show Scott has identified that kicking is a weakness, and has built a game plan around handball. Weāre first for handball receives, but second last for marks. Poor kicking may be illustrated by us sitting bottom 6 for clangers, despite being a low kicking team.
Other low performing stats relate to intercepts and ball movement from defence. Weāre last for scores from kick ins and bottom 6 for scores from defensive half. Weāre also low for intercept possessions and intercept marks.
Part of this is personnel issues that can only be addressed in the offseason. But part of this is on Scott, particularly for poor selections and structures.
Thoughts @BakerWasAStar?
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Showing signs that its starting to turn imo.
Like i said we just need to hold firm and give him time to turn things around.
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There are definitely some key improvementsā¦I think you using the same site I look at: AFL Team Statistics
Some quick comparisons (based on difference vs the opponent) for signs of improvement
FY24 FY25
Contested Possession 9th 3rd
Ground ball gets 15th 1st
Hard ball gets 15th 2nd
Loose ball gets 11th 3rd
Centre Clearances 3rd 15th
Stoppage Clearances 15th 1st
As we have gotten better at contested possessions, we have improved winning Ground Ball Gets and Hard Ball Gets (the latter being āA disputed ball at ground level under direct physical pressure or out of a ruck contest, resulting in an opportunity to effect a legal disposal.ā)
Thatās where the improvement has come. I think driven by playing a feisty contested small like Archie Roberts and, finally, 3 smalls up forward the last two weeks.
The most interesting stats are the clearance numbers - we have fallen away in centre clearances but made up the difference in stoppage clearances around the ground. Same players at each; this might be a structural thing that has to be addressed.
At the end, when you get better winning contests, as evidenced by the CP stat, you do get better as a team.
The key then are Ground Ball Gets: Hawks were 1st last year but are now 13th. This is a very big warning sign for them. We have gone from 15th to 1st. Melbourne has gone from 9th to 17th
You then go to Hard ball Gets: Melbourne were equal 1st with Brisbane last year but have now fallen to 14th. We have gone from 15th to first. The Hawks have dropped from 3rd to 11th.
Winning Ground/Hard balls is a big key to winning the game, more than CP. Itās why Mitchell didnāt sound too happy after their win over us. If the Hawks continue to be poor at Ground/Hard Balls, the losses will start to pile up.
We have now done away with the ridiculous forward press that kept leaking goals over the back and also playing more 1:1 with less zoning. And the older guys, who were declining in winning contests have been replaced by younger, better, hungrier players. Also Nik cox hasnāt played and he played plenty last year and, to be kind, wasnāt vey good in contetsā¦ .
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You can tell them apart by their noses. Chrisās is squashed to ā ā ā ā whilst Brad has retained his aquiline nose.
Funny coz Adelaide still canāt defend transition! Whose he kicked out?!
Bit of that maybe, bit of improving the balance. Bit of just genuinely not that good, particularly in terms of fitness/hardness/concentration, which tends to cause a lot of the defensive lapses.
probably donāt have a good idea of where weāre really at yet. Crows game was about as bad as we can play, Dees about as good as we can play. The real world is somewhere in the middle - weāll have a good idea after Rd 9.