Merrett was on AFL 360 during the week and got asked what happened the earlier rounds.
He pretty much said that the players just expected to continue their form from the second half of last year, and it was a shock when they played against GWS.
Think there were some issues coaching wise, but also think the players may have drunk their own bath water during the pre season (especially with the addition of Shiel). Good to see they turned it around quickly.
Fair point. But people are annoyed after losses and are very emotional( I know I am). So people need to vent
When we win everyone is happy and it should be the one time blitz gets along and enjoys the win. I have no problem with people coming into the worsfold thread getting stuck into those who have bagged him. Just give it at least 24 hours so people can say or the win before the infighting can begin again
I’ve largely been pro-Woosha but tee’d off big time in the opening rounds. Some things he’s changed that have helped, and some stuff his stubbornness has rewarded:
Backline balance. Dropping Ridley was baffling at the start of the year, Guelfi is not a defender. Redman, Ridley, look great. I’ll eat humble pie on Ambrose, he’s been terrific.
Midfield balance. Langford, Myers, Hepp was always too slow. It was great to see Ham and Guelfi named rather than Langford. Team balance matters more than ‘best available’.
Venting about performance is fine but attacking J Worsfold’s commitment to the EFC was out of line. Same with the linking of his personal arrangements with his ability to do his job and other abuses along those lines.
What I’m saying is a lot of you people are dickheads.
We are starting to add a different dimension to our typical back half launches.
For the third week running nearly half our scores are coming from stoppages.
Sheil has added that explosiveness from stoppages which in tern has helped elevate both Heppell and Merrett games and now we are more than just a one trick pony.
I think we were pinpointing our way through their midfield too, it was a bit of a shootout but we were always winning.
Also for quite a bit of the 2nd half we were just taking the ■■■■ seeing what we could get away with, some really adventurous kicks and handballs that we probably wouldn’t have tried if it was a tight game. High risk/reward.
i noticed that too, esp in the second qtr.
North were going in harder and the contest in general, seemed to win it more but just poor skills going forward.
then with what 8 odd mins left in the qtr essendon just shifted a gear so to speak and just went bang.
it’s hard to tell if it was meant/planned or if it just panned out that way.
i guess this week is the big test. collingwood won’t turn the ball over as much, and probably won’t miss as many easy goals as the teams the last 2 weeks have, so it’ll be interesting to see how the defensive structure stands up to more pressure and a closer scoreline across the whole match.
Diggers can support whoever he likes.
But I don’t see how he can reasonably expect people to give a crap what he thinks about their opinion of the team he stopped supporting’s coach.
It’s a stretch.