Freo were pretty damn good, give them credit. They were hungry, really primed to win first up on new home turf.
Despite the handful of exceptions on our behalf, what’s hard to take is that there were some very pedestrian, passive, flat footed, reactive and ultimately meek performances. Cannot to accept that.
Tonight was the night I longed for the calculated, old school BAKE from the coach.
You hope behind closed doors that Worsfold did gave them a bake
I do but I just not sure that’s his style. Hope I’m wrong. It’s something you bring out appropriately. We’ll probably know within about the first five minutes/quarter of next week’s game, it’s often evident. Woosha was ruthless, regimented and a total hard nut as a footballer but he appears very mild and calculated as a coach, bless em as a group but ■■■■ every now and then they need reminding. We can all loath the likes of Clarkson for multiple reasons but there’s raw emotion there, passion for the contest, hunger.
That was lacking tonight.
This. We are Essmond.
Freo suck. Their record at home is terrible of late and Fyfe had a blinder because we let him. You are delusional.
I shudder to think what Brisbane / norf / Carlton are gonna do to us…
Plus the good teams
I rate you as a poster mate. I honestly do
But that’s some head in the sand ■■■■ right there. Wake up and realise nothing has changed. Still mentally weak. Will not be anything until that changes
Freo ran us into the ground. They were just too good.
Just pathetic. I’m a fan of Worsfold but he’s certainly got his limitations, and preparing the team for games like this is one of them.
The only way to win an interstate game is to be absolutely prepared to deal with the feral opposition crowd and the inexplicable umpiring decisions and the opposition team that’s tearing in hard and hunting in packs by going in even harder than they do and getting even more numbers to the ball than they do and ignoring the crowd and the inexplicable frees to the opposition.
And every time we go interstate it’s the same old crap. Our players waltz around in a daydream, zoning off, leaving one player to cover two opponents, generally playing as if they want to be somewhere else — as they probably do.
We were in the game for about 5 minutes of the first quarter, when Freo went to sleep. Otherwise we may as well not have even turned up. The score line flatters us courtesy of some Freo misses and a few junk time goals at the end.
Everyone is to blame. It’s the coaches’ job to make sure that the players are focussed and fanatical when they run on to the ground and that they stay that way throughout the game. It’s their ■■■■■■ job and they didn’t ■■■■■■ do it. And it’s the players’ job too: they are professional footballers and most of them have played a fair bit of football and they know what to expect and what to do to overcome it and they don’t ■■■■■■ do it.
Pathetic. Another year of mediocrity ahead.
It is a full moon you lunatics.
I’d hope he’d apologise to McKenna for hanging him out to dry in his post match press conference - said our problem was we moved too fast, too often and then named McKenna as someone who goes fast even if an instruction is sent out to slow things down.
Problem is, McKenna’s “playing fast” is normal to him and he hits targets better than anyone in the team at his speed. He had 24 possessions at 85.7% efficiency, the best in the team…despite playing in a backline continually under siege. Then add the superb, long running goal late and hitting Bellchambers with a bullet pass through heavy traffic for another.
Worsfold should have publicly slammed the likes of Hurley, Zaharakis & Heppell for their disgraceful display displays…dropped marks or terrible kicking (Worsfold did mention dropped marks but didn’t name names). Heppell, despite having 1-2 extra mids with him at stoppages most times, managed no more disposals than McKenna but went at a lamentable 54.2% disposal efficiency…to go with his uncontested, overhead dropped mark in Q3 that cost us a goal (just like Hurley’s in Q1 in the same part of the ground for the same result).
If Worsfold wants to slow things down then he should push Heppell to HB - where his lack of foot speed isn’t so much of an issue and put McKenna in the midfield. Each player would then play to their strengths.
Criticising a player, like, McKenna, for successfully playing to his strength is rather bizarre.
Decent assessment of the game.
Watching it, I didn’t know walla was so poor early but I thought Stringer was atrocious.
Yes. Somehow we once won 3 in a row in Perth (Freo 2012, Freo 2013, WCE 2013),
He doesn’t even do that
We had been shocking interstate for years when Hird came in. It was one of his priorities to fix and are did, suddenly we became a force interstate again. Need to take a long look at what we are doing cause it ain’t working!!!
And woosha can’t coach but I’m guessing it’ll take most of you another 1-2 mediocre, middle of the road and embarrassing finals exits seasons to realise it. Guy is completely passive in the box and couldn’t motivate a drunk in a bar.
The worst thing about this game was the feeling of familiarity with so many games that came before.
And the realisation that tagging is to Essendon what gun control is to the USA: Literally everyone else in the world knows it works.
That wasn’t top 4 quality. Freos pressure was good but their disposal was ordinary.
We on the other hand, can’t cope with pressure, and can’t work hard enough to get clear of an opposition player.
We kicked to contests all night because we couldn’t find people in the clear.
They kicked to people in the clear.
Stuff like that worries me. Firstly have the holiday after the game. Secondly too much lying in the sun saps people’s energy. Seen it happen before in a different sport.
I really don’t know where to start with this comment.
Exactly. I would rather play fast than chip it around the halfback line while other teams block up the space that makes this team dangerous. Heppell should go halfback sometimes because he is an average mid that runs like a player in his last year of football. He looks slower than Jobe. Would way rather see McGrath, parish an Merritt as our starting mids. Least they have polish. We ain’t goin to win any final playing the way we are with the same mistakes. I bet parish would rack up similar possessions as tom Mitchell if he was allowed to run around as free as Heppell but with way more efficiency. I dunno anymore. Sick of seeing same ol ■■■■