Bring McKernan in ASAP. He does everything Ambrose does except a lot better.
Put Chappy out to pasture from here on in and play Edwards in his role.
Tell Cooney, Goddard and Stanton they need to shape up or fk off. If not it’s time to start playing the kids.
Fantasia is working hard, it’s borderline for me whether we persist but you probably would.
Hibberd seemed to improve as the game went on and perhaps earned himself another life for the next match though hopefully Ashby is breathing down his neck for his spot.
I’d persist with Kav. Play him 100% on ball in the Stanton role.
Is it possible that, after GCS's credible performance against Freo, Essendon is vying with Carlton for worst team in the comp at the moment? We'd probably manage a nil-all draw with the Blues - or maybe the Lions - the way our current structure is functioning. If we can't find a way to get Smack into the side after the bye, we're just not trying.
I don’t think so. That was only West Coast’s 6th best win of the season. We’re bad at the moment, but we’re not worst-in-the-competition bad.
Turns out I’m not the only one who thinks we’re one of the worst couple of sides on current form…
That said, I do think we have the talent to be somewhere in the 7-12 range, rather than the 13-18 range.
Yup, we’re absolutely in the bottom four on form. I also think we’d give Carlton a thumping, and we did give Brisbane a thumping.
Is it possible that, after GCS's credible performance against Freo, Essendon is vying with Carlton for worst team in the comp at the moment? We'd probably manage a nil-all draw with the Blues - or maybe the Lions - the way our current structure is functioning. If we can't find a way to get Smack into the side after the bye, we're just not trying.
I don’t think so. That was only West Coast’s 6th best win of the season. We’re bad at the moment, but we’re not worst-in-the-competition bad.
Turns out I’m not the only one who thinks we’re one of the worst couple of sides on current form…
That said, I do think we have the talent to be somewhere in the 7-12 range, rather than the 13-18 range.
Still think our problem lies with the mids. You can’t really improve the backline that much. The forward line needs good delivery and it’s the mids that should be able to do so.
We’ve got that natural ability back to handball to stationary targets or to hit them on their laces, or their shoulder running past, or just where they were previously.
Maybe the training sessions need to stop with gameplan drills and just get back to basic skills under pressure. I haven’t seen this ever at training (I don’t go as often but I haven’t seen it).
Just on training the effort of the training is always top notch, but training under pressure imo is not there. Also the comments from ‘experts’ that once you cross the line you forget about all the outside issues may be true, but for the other 6 days a week you are probably dragging it with you into every training session. I’m pretty sure it was bomber who said you train like you play on the weekend.
I want to show my support to our army of coaches. AFL is not a simple game. You can't just add elite players like a Brownlow medallist (Cooney), a former #1 star (Goddard) and multiple premiership forward (Chapman) to a list including Watson, Heppell, Hooker, Hurley, Baguley etc and expect they will win contests.
It’s a team game. It’s up to the coaches to develop a game plan that accentuates the strengths of the team. And minimises the weaknesses. Our primary weakness is no-one actually likes to kick goals. And they are very poor at it, which probably makes them sad. So it makes sense to play everyone as far from the goal as possible. For the last two years I’ve felt sorry for Jake and Joe when they have to enter forward fifty (against 3 or 4 opponents) but it’s nice that they stay close to each other for support.
I think it’s brilliant that we once again won the disposals count - by about 50! And we creamed WCE in tackles, so the effort is there. (I suppose this is to be expected when you outnumber your opponents at the contest.)
I reckon Dodoro should snaffle Eddie Betts so we can teach him that AFL is actually a difficult game to play, regardless of your natural ability.
A little offended myself, but jeez, open season on efc continues. What happened to players just saying yeah/nah?
He and Cox got pantsed by Judas two years running and after his first touch against us in 3 years he has the balls to question our selection. Get stuffed Nicnat.
Where are we at for the rest of the season, if we lose to the Hawks (expected)?
We are in a great position to start clearing out the C graders that just won’t go to the next needed level and see what some of the youngens have got.
Melksham/Howlett/Ambrose etc… are on notice.
Chappy is done Cooney/Gwilt/Windas/Fletch (gee hurts to say that) will need to make way unless their form absolutely warrants selection.
Spots should open right up even with Myers/Zaka/Hocking/Kommer returning.
I’d rather use the back half of the year developing the under 23’s, and assessing list needs, opposed to scrounging out 9th or 10th place with the same old faces that are not quite up to it.
Not all at one’s of course, but:
Laverde/Browne/Dalgleish/NOB/Jerrett/Hams/Langford-give them all a good crack.
I’d like to see a side that can incorporate 8-9 youngsters with the most in form seniors available.
I want to see the priority of the season change-that is the answer.
Forget about winning, look at developing.
And what you will get is a top 5 draft pick, a better understanding of the list (and therefore upcoming draft needs), and a rocket up those senior players that have been able to get continually selected with mediocre performances.
That’s how you conjure hope from despair, that’s how you turn the ship around quickly.
Some call it bottoming out…
I have yet to see a game in the past twenty years where Fletcher’s form doesn’t warrant selection.
If there is even a hint of tanking at the club the players will walk out end of season. Exodus will be huge. They've already had multiple years of their careers wasted by the ASADA saga, how anyone can suggest we waste another is astonishing. We owe it to the guys on the list to play the 22 most likely to get the win.
I couldn’t let this go without comment. The guys on the list owe it to us, the members, the supporters to actually follow team rules, to put in 100% and where possible to win. The current 22 have let us down badly and at least 6 players must be close to getting dropped and perhaps never playing an AFL game again (or at least in the red and black). If any player wants to walk then let’s put them up for trade or de-list them. No room for anyone not 100% on board. We are now in a position where the AFL drafting system will reward us to play the kids and see just what we have on our list. Give Ashy 3 games in a row, play O’Brien for 3 games in a row, let Edwards play 3 games in a row, if we have to put someone in the sub jacket then Cooney and Chapman can raffle it between them.
To win 5 or 6 of our remaining games will result in a mid table position and only hurt us for not making the finals and pushing us down the order for draft picks. It’s a fundamentally flawed system but we have to be ruthless and use it to our advantage.
I’m not saying players shouldn’t be held accountable.
I’m simply saying we should field the team most likely to win week in, week out.
If it means we win 5-6 games and not get a top pick, so be it. Losing the bulk of our games to close the year will be a huge blow for the players, the club and the coaches. One draft pick is nowhere near compensation for the damage it will do. It may well happen regardless, but we should be doing all we can to stop it, and as a club, certainly not positioning ourselves to move down the ladder.
If I’m Hurley, and I’ve already had 25% of my career ruined by something largely out of my control, then I get a whiff that the club are deliberately surrounding me with players on the park that makes it harder for me to win games of footy, I’d be angry.
Hi Go Team, I understand your position, in fact I use to have the same philosophy. A winning culture is really important and you only have to look at Melbourne to understand what happens when a club welcomes losses to improve its draft position. Yet I am that worried about our current position that I believe we should spend the rest of the season playing the younger players and having a good look at them and if anyone wants out (even Hurley) then so be it. I’m not asking that we tank season after season to build up a store of draft picks but I am asking we truly understand if any of the “kids” can actually play and take the place of … (insert your own names here).
That was fkg ■■■■.
Tell Cooney, Goddard and Stanton they need to shape up or fk off. If not it's time to start playing the kids.
I’d persist with Kav. Play him 100% on ball in the Stanton role.
Get some youth into the side. They are working.
How the ■■■■ are you not banned from making comments when you talk utter ■■■■ like this?
Stanton was easily top 3, if not our best player yesterday. Other than Heppell I am struggling to think who else was even remotely decent for a fair portion of the game yesterday. Edwards, Kav, Hurley, Hooker et all showed glimpses of good play, heck even Carlisle was moderately good, but to bag out Stanton again for what will almost be a BOG game is ■■■■■■■ idiocy and should result and a lifetime ban on this site
Maybe do yourself a favour and ban yourself - or at least have a good long hard look at yourself in the mirror
I am thinking now that you must be that old woman who sits behind me at Etihad that is constantly saying “Oh God Stanton!” “Oh Please Not Stanton” and “■■■■■■ Stanton always making mistakes” and failing to register anything good he ever does, like the fact he kicked our first goal after 2 quarters of non-competitive footy against Geelong.
I want to show my support to our army of coaches. AFL is not a simple game. You can’t just add elite players like a Brownlow medallist (Cooney), a former #1 star (Goddard) and multiple premiership forward (Chapman) to a list including Watson, Heppell, Hooker, Hurley, Baguley etc and expect they will win contests.
It’s a team game. It’s up to the coaches to develop a game plan that accentuates the strengths of the team. And minimises the weaknesses. Our primary weakness is no-one actually likes to kick goals. And they are very poor at it, which probably makes them sad. So it makes sense to play everyone as far from the goal as possible. For the last two years I’ve felt sorry for Jake and Joe when they have to enter forward fifty (against 3 or 4 opponents) but it’s nice that they stay close to each other for support.
I think it’s brilliant that we once again won the disposals count - by about 50! And we creamed WCE in tackles, so the effort is there. (I suppose this is to be expected when you outnumber your opponents at the contest.)
I reckon Dodoro should snaffle Eddie Betts so we can teach him that AFL is actually a difficult game to play, regardless of your natural ability.
Where are we at for the rest of the season, if we lose to the Hawks (expected)?
We are in a great position to start clearing out the C graders that just won’t go to the next needed level and see what some of the youngens have got.
Melksham/Howlett/Ambrose etc… are on notice.
Chappy is done Cooney/Gwilt/Windas/Fletch (gee hurts to say that) will need to make way unless their form absolutely warrants selection.
Spots should open right up even with Myers/Zaka/Hocking/Kommer returning.
I’d rather use the back half of the year developing the under 23’s, and assessing list needs, opposed to scrounging out 9th or 10th place with the same old faces that are not quite up to it.
Not all at one’s of course, but:
Laverde/Browne/Dalgleish/NOB/Jerrett/Hams/Langford-give them all a good crack.
I’d like to see a side that can incorporate 8-9 youngsters with the most in form seniors available.
I want to see the priority of the season change-that is the answer.
Forget about winning, look at developing.
And what you will get is a top 5 draft pick, a better understanding of the list (and therefore upcoming draft needs), and a rocket up those senior players that have been able to get continually selected with mediocre performances.
That’s how you conjure hope from despair, that’s how you turn the ship around quickly.
Some call it bottoming out…
I have yet to see a game in the past twenty years where Fletcher’s form doesn’t warrant selection.
If there is even a hint of tanking at the club the players will walk out end of season. Exodus will be huge. They've already had multiple years of their careers wasted by the ASADA saga, how anyone can suggest we waste another is astonishing. We owe it to the guys on the list to play the 22 most likely to get the win.
I couldn’t let this go without comment. The guys on the list owe it to us, the members, the supporters to actually follow team rules, to put in 100% and where possible to win. The current 22 have let us down badly and at least 6 players must be close to getting dropped and perhaps never playing an AFL game again (or at least in the red and black). If any player wants to walk then let’s put them up for trade or de-list them. No room for anyone not 100% on board. We are now in a position where the AFL drafting system will reward us to play the kids and see just what we have on our list. Give Ashy 3 games in a row, play O’Brien for 3 games in a row, let Edwards play 3 games in a row, if we have to put someone in the sub jacket then Cooney and Chapman can raffle it between them.
To win 5 or 6 of our remaining games will result in a mid table position and only hurt us for not making the finals and pushing us down the order for draft picks. It’s a fundamentally flawed system but we have to be ruthless and use it to our advantage.
I’m not saying players shouldn’t be held accountable.
I’m simply saying we should field the team most likely to win week in, week out.
If it means we win 5-6 games and not get a top pick, so be it. Losing the bulk of our games to close the year will be a huge blow for the players, the club and the coaches. One draft pick is nowhere near compensation for the damage it will do. It may well happen regardless, but we should be doing all we can to stop it, and as a club, certainly not positioning ourselves to move down the ladder.
If I’m Hurley, and I’ve already had 25% of my career ruined by something largely out of my control, then I get a whiff that the club are deliberately surrounding me with players on the park that makes it harder for me to win games of footy, I’d be angry.
