I hope that it is made clear that the performance and subsequent player distress is related to the betrayal that have experienced from the afl world and not because they have fallen out of relationship with the coach.
The question is whether the club can heal until all the remnants of the 2012 squad are removed. Looking at the players is does seem they are broken. I don’t know if you heal from that. I don’t know how I would cope with the pressure they have been under for 3 years.
I wonder how they feel when TWO more players are banned for 2 years after being found GUILTY of using performance enhancing drugs… and there is 2 stories written… 1 is a ‘good news’ piece about how they are likely to come back to the rookie list!!
I wonder if they rage against the unfairness of it all. They have been found innocent and yet they still face more angst, more criticism and more BS than guys who have been found guilty of actually doing the crime.
If they had plead guilty and copped the full 12 months when this started… this would be the SECOND season back after their suspension. I mean seriously… it just boggles the mind.
With all that aside… we have some seriously insipid players, a really poor game plan and structure and the coaches match selections are curious at best.
Testing times ahead.
Why do people keep bagging Steinberg? Hes played ■■■■ all games and keep getting the oppositions tallest forward or resting ruckmen in a team thats getting thrashed! Holding Jenkins to 3 goals was a top effort considering!He simply is not AFL standard, if we accept players like him as best 22 then we will continue to be an irrelevant side in this competition. He tries hard, works hard but just doesn’t have the skills for this level. It is not about who he plays on and what he is copping by playing on them, it is simply about whether he is good enough and he isn’t.
Well why bag him? Who else should we get to play? He might not be good enough now, but hes putting in a lot better effort than the plodders up the ground and in the middle and playing a ■■■■■■ hard role.
We at least want the players to have a decent crack and Hirdy would be picking him because he at least has a ■■■■■■■ crack. If he got to play on blokes with similar body size hed be doing a lot better but ■■■■■■ hard under the circumstances.
Many potted Hooker and he came good.
Give the guy a chance!I didn’t bag him, others did but I guess it is their frustration and passion when watching games and dealing with the aftermath of a 112 point loss. We all react in different ways.
Deffinately understandable, but I get aggro at people who pot the blokes trying to make their way at AFL level. Hes played 20ish games and is standing blokes that Hooker and Hurley would be playing on in a team thats getting flogged.
I had aggreed with some suggestions to play him forward as he does take a good grab and uses his body well. Would allow Hooker to sure up the defence a lot more.
Not really. 4 game and it’s over.
Can't really argue with the result.IMO it’s got to be about quite a bit more than just Hird staying or going.
And rightly or wrongly, Hirdy may not be solely judged on his coaching right now but that is exactly the same as the players not being solely judged on their talent.
Thats just the reality of where we are at.
The only decision I am really invested in right now is whether we try to compete next year or commit to a comprehensive list regeneration process and do it properly (which will take a couple of years).
Everything else seems pretty irrelevant right now.
Wada needs to be dealt with of course, but I think even if we get a good result there, some players are probably just never going to come back from all this which is the sad reality, but reality nonetheless.
At our best (which admittedly we haven’t seen for a while) we are a good team - but as always the worry is that our full list will make us competitive and will continue to see us mid-table for years to come.
Club has a couple of big decisions to make, and not just about the coach.
I agree and I think a lot is to do with the direction the board has taken. We have just laid down all over the place and haven’t fought for anything over the past three years. That sort of attitude rubs off.
If your bosses, for want of a better word, aren’t fighting for anything, it’s hard to motivate yourself to give a ■■■■. And I believe that is what is starting to manifest itself now.
There needs to be a huge cultural shift.
I am not saying t he board needs to go or anything like that, I think we need to change our strategic direction, otherwise we will be stuck in this rut for years to come.
That of course involves a rebuild etc but it needs to include the entire club. There needs to be a complete rethink on strategy.
I do think it’s time for Little to go and hand over to someone like Lindsay Tanner who is a little more politically and media astute.
We need to get our fight back. We have none from the top down.
Hird is a complete outlier in that respect. He would be a very lonely man right now.
Edwards does some really clever stuff though when he hasn't gone missing. Lots to like.And one on each forward flank will be ■■■■■■■ dangerous
One of the issues with keeping Hird on is that next year we’ll become what Carlton were this year. The media will be sharks just waiting to destroy Hird at the first bad performance.
One of the issues with keeping Hird on is that next year we'll become what Carlton were this year. The media will be sharks just waiting to destroy Hird at the first bad performance.
You mean different to the last 3 years?
Fark this ■■■■. These players need us. All of us. You ■■■■■ who want to declare various players as disgraceful, worst ever , never play again should be ashamed of yourself.
There is nothing, NOTHING, normal about this situation. Good players, really good players, are battling, not because they have lost ability but because of unprecedented and catastrophic factors.
Get ■■■■■■, this sniping is bullshit.
I’m afraid that’s true.
Yes. Because they know Hird will not survive another year if the team does not improve.One of the issues with keeping Hird on is that next year we'll become what Carlton were this year. The media will be sharks just waiting to destroy Hird at the first bad performance.You mean different to the last 3 years?
Well said, Sal.
Fark this ■■■■. These players need us. All of us. You ■■■■■ who want to declare various players as disgraceful, worst ever , never play again should be ashamed of yourself.There is nothing, NOTHING, normal about this situation. Good players, really good players, are battling, not because they have lost ability but because of unprecedented and catastrophic factors.
Get ■■■■■■, this sniping is bullshit.
+1. Who knows if some of the players have depression. …i wouldn’t be surprised. You can’t perform at your best . We need to stick together.
Fark this ■■■■. These players need us. All of us. You ■■■■■ who want to declare various players as disgraceful, worst ever , never play again should be ashamed of yourself.There is nothing, NOTHING, normal about this situation. Good players, really good players, are battling, not because they have lost ability but because of unprecedented and catastrophic factors.
Get ■■■■■■, this sniping is bullshit.
Absolutely.
Fark this ■■■■. These players need us. All of us. You ■■■■■ who want to declare various players as disgraceful, worst ever , never play again should be ashamed of yourself.There is nothing, NOTHING, normal about this situation. Good players, really good players, are battling, not because they have lost ability but because of unprecedented and catastrophic factors.
Get ■■■■■■, this sniping is bullshit.
Well said Sal!
The time has come to cut our losses and start a fresh.
I have always been a supporter of Hird because we played like we were going to win and felt that we were on the right track. Once the crap happened there was always a sense that we could fight our way out, but if Hird isn’t allowed to do that then there is no point anymore.
Clean the house, start a fresh. Offload plenty of middle tier players.
Little to stand down for Tanner.
Xavier Campell to go.
Neil Craig to go.
Hirdy to go along with half the coaching group. Only probably keep Egan, Corrigan and Neeld.
Go throw the bomb at Stewie Dew and tell him to bring some Hawks and Syd mates with him.
Hit the draft aiming for 5 in the top 20.
Get around them. And fark the media.
Fark this ■■■■. These players need us. All of us. You ■■■■■ who want to declare various players as disgraceful, worst ever , never play again should be ashamed of yourself.There is nothing, NOTHING, normal about this situation. Good players, really good players, are battling, not because they have lost ability but because of unprecedented and catastrophic factors.
Get ■■■■■■, this sniping is bullshit.
I agree some of it has been over the top.
But surely we are still allowed to express opinions on players? I think the bagging of Stein has been unwarranted BUT I also, personally, don’t think he is good enough at this level.
The players need our support, the club needs our ongoing support… but we also need to be honest about players. This is a cut throat business and we can’t carry blokes because of what has happened. We need, sadly, to be ruthless about deciding who can take this club forward and who can’t.
We either get ruthless or we will be stuck int his rut for another 10 years.
The first quarter was awesome!
Look at Port this year. Meant to be premiership contenders. What’s there excuse?