3rd quarter would be ok. Little bit of the 4th.
We won the toss.
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Itās all worth watching SOT.
Some good bitās of play in every qtr, and you get to see where we let it down and perhaps why. That way you can make your own assessment as to whether the team & season are doomed, or if we are on our way to being a team with a shot at the 8 with some more time and match fitness. The 3rd qtr will show how we adjusted & lifted the work rate & tackling, and that the lads learnt how much difference it can make, and that with a bit of Crow type luck with the goals, they could have found themselves right back in it., which would have been no mean feat from where we were at half time.
I always watch a loss, and more closely than a win. It often tells you more than one, but then, I canāt help but come at it from a coaching perspective these days.
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Itās hard enough trying to comment on this crap performance of ours without having to battle a Yankee Puritan swear filter as well. FFS, weāre not even allowed to say H-E-L-L.
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Heppell has been every bit as bad/good as Jobe in rounds 1, 3, and 4, and was clearly worse in round 2. The common theme is the year off, not their age.
Merrett has been down on hurt factor the last 2 weeks as well.
The real problem is that the next rung of our midfielders are already playing in the ones, and so far no oneās really stepping up to take the clearance pressure off the underperforming Jobe and Heppell.
I think the returning players are our biggest problem at them moment. I reackon they believe they are fine, yet are struggling with the game load and refusing to admit it. They are stuffed, need a rest and will be throughout periods of the season. But because of the emotional factor they will not put their hands up and we will be reluctant to drop them.
I think at best we can hope for 3-4 game bursts from them and a limited number in the side. Next year may be different.
I also think they are slotting back into their old ways of indirect, poor handball choices putting guy under the pump or calling for it when they are themselves.
The good news is that we can get games into the younger players throughout the year. Not so Mutch the first year players, but the rest.
I really donāt see the issues so much with Hooker forward, I think he has bee ok, not brilliant, but serviceable.
Hurley really looks lost and stuffed, he has never had a player get ahold of him like tex did in his whole career. He will be doing some sole searching.
Watson appears to have lost a yard, and unless he is winning the clearances he is a liability.
Heppell is either injured or needs a week off, the let down from weeks 1/2 has been huge, time to suck it up and lead.
Stanton is good when he gets it and appears to be clam and making ok decisions, but he canāt get near it enough.
Hocking canāt make the side. Neither can TBell, although I will give him the benefit of the doubt till he plays but Iām not hopeful.
Howlett similar and broke game 1
Colyer is the surprise packet of them, appears to have not missed a beat.
So if this year is about being middle of the pack them we need to make decisions about the next few years now. Games to younger players and their learning a number one.
Stuart and Francis play.
Jerrett gets a long stint so we can find out.
One in form debut player in every five week block.
Dea and Heartly plays the rest of the year.
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Thatās not entirely true. Two seasons ago, before our players were victimised, many of us here were commenting on the tortoise speed of our midfielders, Jobe, Humphrey, Doice & co. The year off has only exacerbated the existing situation. H-E-L-L, theyāre all a year older, so advancing age does have a bearing.
EDIT: Iāve just seen Nocturnalās post, immediately above this one, which was entered while I was writing this one. Heās spot on !
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I suggest he looks at the bottom of his shoe first off
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Yeah, farking front runners. Imagine only losing three games since rd 9 last year, with one of those being a semi final. Wish we werenāt that good yet!
Thanks goodness that Jenkins and the other big spud didnāt play. Maybe we went in thinking this was good for us and let the guard down. Mind you it probably didnāt help matters that Betts had front and centre attention all week to get him and his team pumped up for the game in front of a home crowd.
[quote=āTeeBee, post:212, topic:10274ā]
Weāve been badly lacking an intercept marker since Carlise left and Hooker went forward. Hartley was an option but hasnāt backed himself lately with his marking, hence his stint in the twos. Woosha has tried to address it by bringing in Brown with little success.
[/quote]
Are we really? Everyone keeps on biatching on about how we need to move Hooker back, or bring in Hartley, or Dea or Francis to be the āinterceptorā. It is not as if the oppo have just been blindly banging it in long (apart from Blues waterpolo game) for someone to easily take a grab 3rd man up. A lot of the kicks into our defensive 50 that have been a bit loopy, or are a floater, we do clean up quite well. Which is why we were actually in the top defensive teams for the first three rounds. The Crows were on tonight. They lowered their eyes well. Plus they were kicking them out of their ā ā ā ā ! [quote=āBLOODSTAINED_DEVILS, post:244, topic:10274ā]
with a bit of Crow type luck with the goals, they could have found themselves right back in it.
[/quote]
The Footy Gods did verily shine forth from between their buttocks upon the Crows.
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Its not the end of the world butā¦
The midfield is so firigging slow If we donāt get the clearance we cannot get the ball back until the opposition turn it over or the umpire bounces it after they goalā¦and then they win the centre clearance and bang they are off again. Jobe Hep, Goddard and Zaka are way too slow to be playing in the same midfield. Big call but I think its time to push Raz, Colyer and Walla more through the midfield at centre bounces. I hate to even say this but players like Jobe, Goddard,Hocking and Myers will only delay our chances of improving.
Also got to be questions about Kelly now. Was like a rabbit in headlights because of his lack of pace. Its only rd 4 but Hooker forward is a disaster. All Australian defender now a VFL standard forward. Hurley needs help in defence especially as Worsfold has decided Hartley isnāt good enough. Brown was ok last night but not up to it as a key back. Key backs Hooker and Hurley and Stewart and Joe forward.
Iāve been a big Baggers fan but why is he suddenly falling over at every contest? Is it because he is too slow now to play on quick forwards? McGrath gun!
I wonder how long Woosha will keep blaming the fact that some players missed 12 months of footy. Blah Blah Blah
As I said its only Rd 4 but FFS we look ordinary
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Sometimes you just get beaten by a red hot team at their peak while at their home ground and you just go yep, ā ā ā ā they were good and move on. This is one of those times.
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Totally agree with the fist sentence (and the fact that they are struggling with the demands AFL footy), but are you f*cking kidding with that second bit?
Do you really think Hurley goes home after having a bag kicked on him with a smile on his face and a sense of satisfaction? Or any of the others? Fk off.
That looks like a team of players who reckon theyāre going fine doesnāt it?
The returning players are showing very worrying signs, but you canāt possibly think that they themselves are ignorant of that.
There was a passage of play early in this game that summed it up for me. We turned it over in our forward line and crows player kicked it 50-60 metres to the wing where there were three farking crow players on their own - our defensive accountability in the midfield was really poor. But then you can cheat when essington are trying to deliver the ball in the forward 50 - high probability that we will turn it over.
Wallaās skills as a go to forward
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BTW, for those, (I imagine few), ā¦ that are interested in a replay, . itās now available via Sandbelts magnificent little rig.
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The weekend is f*cked now, isnāt it?
Essendon but more importantly Sydney copping a loss on the same weekend. Condolences mate, tough times!
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I also thought we had a few nice leads and spear passes there as well. Canāt remember who, McGrath was one, Tippa? Colyer? Irish? Delivery not atrocious, but f@rk Adelaide were red hot and Iād like to have seem Mc and Ambo on Eddie and Tex from get go. Hopefully these two get the premo forwards from now on.
Lol. My weekend has been f*cked since FRANKLIN! got corked by S Hurn 10 minutes into the 1st quarter last Thursday night.
ALL HAIL HURN!