As long as its not a cutting edge program I would find it acceptable.
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I wonder where that stuff sits in clubs across the AFL? Have they backed off or are some still at the edge?
As for injuries - looking at the latest AFL injury update, and just a cursory glance over them, it looks like we are somewhere in the middle for number.
What an awesome thread, especially in comparison to some of the dross we dish up here on BB. I especially enjoyed JD06’s analysis, which made me think “time to go, Woosha” and then Your_Team’s excellent summary which changed my mind back the other way.
So now as usual I’ll just sit on the fence and see what happens.
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You pretty much sound like the EFC board atm… just sit on the fence and see what happens.
It is probably a fair call but I sort of felt like we did that last year… which means that this year we need to move closer to making a decision. The amazing run of form late last year probably gave Woosha the grace he needed to get one more season… but when we essentially repeat the same mistakes… even if we have another nice little run now but fall short… do you just repeat the same process?
I don’t think we should jump at shadows, nor do i think we need to panic and be afraid of missing this guy or that guy… there will always be the right coach waiting but at the same time sometimes ‘sitting on the fence’ becomes worse than decisive action either way.
Lots of things annoy me, we are all aware of that, but I especially hate the way some people change the goal posts half way through a season. It was fairly unanimous both on BB and in general public that it was ‘finals or bust’ this year… we were primed for it, we traded for it (not incorrectly imho) and it was the benchmark. If that was the bench mark then the moment we can’t reach that benchmark then we should make a decision.
To walk away from the benchmark seems silly to me. If we sit back and say… well if there are injuries then that excuses not making finals… well then we may never make another final ever again… because literally every single farking team and every single farking season will have injuries… including to your ‘top’ players.
If we say it is lack of experience… fine… cool… but then you KNEW our level of experience going into the season… so then why set the benchmark in the first place? the entire football world knew our age, experience and skill level (on paper) going into the season and most, if not all, agreed it was a finals worthy team and yet here we sit… staring into not just missing finals but a possible bottom 4 finish.
We are now 3.5 seasons into his tenure and we still haven’t been able to reliably produce the safe effort, create a style of play that is consistent, reliable and effective against top teams (or even bottom teams for that matter), we have no ‘brand’, we are still soft, we still lack inside grunt, we still lack polish, our skills are deplorable and we still languish at the bottom of the ladder.
4 seasons in football is an eternity… more than enough time that we should be able to clearly see what the coach is doing. So yeah… I get that we can sit on the fence but at the same time… if every supporter sits on the fence then we are likely looking at another year wasted in 2020. Whether it feels like it or not… one of the few things us fans can have some input on is the coach… it seems to be one area that the clubs will react if the general attitude is negative enough. So I would urge you to get off the fence and decide… either way I will respect you and anyone else who has the courage to stand for something rather than sit idly by.
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That is not true.
Adelaide haven’t had many injuries all year Brissy have had very few yet Richmond, St Kilda and Melbourne have been devastated by them.
In our case i don’t think it’s had a massive bearing on our season but injuries can be a valid reason for failing to hit benchmarks.
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Bottom 4? Are you serious?
And yes all teams get injuries. Not often do they decimate one section of the ground though. We haven’t had a settled forwardline yet and we’re 14 rounds in. It might not be enough of an excuse come seasons end, but it is still valid.
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I don’t know about the forward line rubbish. We still have Mitch Brown and McKernan in our best 25, if not best 22. That alone should be alarm bells for the lack of depth in the forward line. Stringer has been a constant as has Tippa. Raz and Joe obviously huge losses but our forward line issues started before the injuries.
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Daniher, Walla, Raz, Stringer, Laverde & Begley with Brown/McKerrnan on the edge is a very good forwardline. If they played consistently together for a year it would be very dangerous.
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Why though? Some people like myself are still undecided. Some people can still be objective with things like the length of time that Woosh has been there. You claim he’s had 4 years. Woosha claims 18 months. I like to think somewhere in the middle. Injuries are another one. Haters say it’s no excuse. I like to be objective and think it is a contributing factor. It is in the sense the we are playing badly and need our match winners out there to help get us over the line.
So I will continue to sit on the fence until I’ve got enough data to push me off to the right side. I don’t like what I see. Not sure if anyone possibly could. But I’ll let it play out over the next 2 months and go from there.
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I think I wrote pre-season that I based the list as having us finish between 6 -10.
No JD for the year, no consistency for Fanta and Stringer out for a few has us sitting in a position that is no surprise. I am a supporter, so I can use injuries as an excuse. We do not have the forward line to compete with the top 8 sides.
Crows, Tigers, Swans, Hawks, Dees have all had inj to key personnel and like us have struggled.
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I have no idea what our best forwardline set up should be
at full flight id like to see the following 6
Stringer
Daniher
Fantasia
Tippa
laverde
Mosquito
HF:Laverde Daniher Fantasia
F: Mosquito Stringer Tipunwuti
Int: Smith
but do we really need another good tall in there?
well we do if Daniher has to ruck as well.
I actually wanted to see more of Bellchambers up forward and Draper in the ruck this year alas his knee.
Begley I see as a 7th forward, he may turn into a mid down the track.
Brown and Mckernan not getting the job done as well this year as last year and against quality opposition.
Stewart been injured hoping he could get back on the park and dominate, lots of ??? on him, he had a good VFL finals series last year, would be handy if he could get back for VFL finals this year.
Gown / Jordan Houlahan arent tearing up the 2’s
I predicted we’d be 13th.
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Where’d you have Melbourne?
I know that wasn’t to me but…
Rich
Pies
WC
Melbourne
Crows
GWS
Swans/Port/Bombers/Cats/Hawks
Good overall post but you neglect the fact that for two years running we have entered the pre-season comp seeming unfit, uninterested, determined not try young promising players (e.g. Draper, D.Clarke) and without the semblance of a game plan.
Consequently, we have been smashed through the pre-season competion, started the season poorly, found oursleves well entrenched in the ower half of the ladder at around 2-6 after 8 rounds with limited chance of making the finals as a result.
This could happen one year…everyone can have an off pre-seasion preparation.
But, two years straight; exhibiting the same dysfunction in th second pre-season as the first?
That’s unforgiveable in my mind and should have seen both Worsfold and Justin Corw sacked straight after the Carlton pre-season loss this year.
Yes, we have had injuries - but so has GWS and to some of their best players. It hasn’t stopped them being Top 4.
I am sick of excuses and making allowances for this and that when other clubs can face the same type or scale of challenges and overcome them to be in the top half of the ladder.
We are simply not ruthless enough as a club when dealing with mediocrity, hence it becomes entrenched throughout the club as an excuse is always being made for a mediocre performance so it becomes the norm.
It’s why a non-AFL standard spud like Zac Clarke gets picked ahead of promising young talent like Draper until Draper is not abvailable. It’s why Myers - whom the game has passed by - kept getting picked ahead of a young Dylan Clarke until we lost enough games to not be a real finals chance. It’s why the club is mute and takes no action after putrid, disasterous back-to-back pre-seasons like we’ve just had.
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I didn’t predict where Melbourne would end up.
But I assumed they would be up the top. In the FLR competition ladder I had them 2nd.
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Me too i think. I was just wondering if anybody got that right. They have to be the most disappointing club of all time.
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Don’t forget Essington
From a piece in the Age this arvo:
“That is the strength about Woosha [John Worsfold]. His demeanour doesn’t change. He flat lines every week,” Zaharakis said.
What many have suspected, Woosha is dead on game days!! No wonder hardly any moves are made.
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