Look, I will say this.
A month ago I was worried about our ruck stocks. Now, not so much. Having decent youngish rucks on an otherwise terrible list is a bit like having a small part in a broadway musical; it’s not much but it’s a start.
2 Likes
Agree - my NRL team the Bulldogs has no players on the list from 3 years ago! Think about that. They are flying and I am loving it. Move the players on if they are not up to it and get the right recruitment head (Phil Gould) and coach (Ciraldo) equivalents. We don’t have the right two in place at the Bombers!
We are experts in finding ways to lose.
1 Like
If we delist Hunter I’ll fkn lose it.
We are the gold medal winners in being the duds of the AFL. Possibly the only team in the AFL, who don’t even have to wait until the end of the season. We find a way to play so badly and come out with a winning loss. Just by a few points and are congratulated. Until such time as this club seriously rebuilds its more of the same.
We have a million defender with so little defence it’s ridiculous.
This club won’t take any notice until the devoted fans cease paying with their blood.
1 Like
This game was a Carbon copy of last week ■■■■ house bar the last quarter, only diff was the accuracy
I prefer to start holding the players responsible. The players are responsible for this fade-out first and foremost.
The coach isn’t selecting the side well or coaching well, his moves mid year unsettled them. That’s the facts but that’s not why we ended up losing last night. That last quarter falls directly on the players inability to execute. Draper, Stringer 5 points between them is about mental resilience and executing in the monent, they failed. Thsts on the players.
The whole club needs to be a lot better, it’s the players who ultimately have to want to elevate themselves to the next level.
3 Likes
Maybe I’m in the minority. I don’t see the failures due to lack of effort and squandering talent. I’m not saying individuals haven’t in the past or some on the list aren’t, but I don’t think the majority are. Just because they aren’t getting results doesn’t mean they aren’t working bloody hard. I think as a supporter we lean in to question things like effort and drive because:
-It’s an insult to the player who has hurt us through poor performance
- It seems like something they can control - they are choosing to do this or they don’t care enough
- It feels like a simple solution that can easily be corrected and we can blame them for it because it matches our frustration over poor performance.
At the end of the day though they are completing against other professional athletes that also have a will to win. Other teams that have also put in hard work.
I think we just aren’t good enough. Full stop. It’s not a decision by the players because they are spoiled. We just don’t have enough talent to perform consistently.
5 Likes
We noticed a lot of disappointment after the game over the missed opportunities to win the game in the last.
Lots of annoyance, didn’t pick up any ‘not going next week’ stuff
We are losing games but is it really a fade out? Is that performance any different to the first Adelaide game? The first St Kilda game? We controlled more of the match than round 1 vs Hawthorn. We’re just losing games we won early. We’re proving where we belong on the ladder. Sure we looked putrid against the Saints but we also looked rubbish against Port.
2 Likes
You couldn’t pin the loss last night on lack of effort that’s for sure.
2 Likes
But this is none of the issues the club has - to add to its many.
We recruit perennially injured players.
Baldwin, Hunter, Reid - who haven’t even proven anything yet.
Then there’s Setterfield, Duursma, Parish and Ridley.
We need Durham types - hard for and resilient.
By fade out, kicking 1.9 from 19 entries should be a game that was won by 4 goals. That’s on the players last night. We didn’t play well but lots of teams are not playing well for weeks on end. Essendon, despite not playing well, should’ve won last night. They threw it away.
1 Like
Sorry - I’m misinterpreted what you meant by fade out.
1 Like
We can get the ball into the forward line, but for years we are too inefficient in converting.
This is a function of the quality of the entry…. Just bombing it long
Poor quality forwards who are unable to find space, take a mark or lead up
Poor quality kicking, and inability to kick gettable goals
Poor structure, either too tall or too short
Poor quality small forwards
Caddy, who has played a few games, looks likely.
Langers, fell off a cliff
Jones, relegated to wing
That’s it. The stocks are bare.
Later in the day will be my review of the backline.
1 Like
There’s far more to being successful than talent and effort - game plan, development, leadership, resilience, preparation, match ups, mix of players etc.
1 Like
I agree 100%
1 Like
A loss like that 20 years would’ve seen tears and a tantrum from me. Proper toys out of the cot stuff.
Now it’s like, yeah knew that was going to happen, oh well.
Which I think is the same mindset of most of the players sadly
4 Likes
Our forward structure functioned pretty good in Q4. Ten very gettable shots from 19 entries. It’s poor skill execution from Stringer and Draper in particular. You can’t really call it a choke because they’ve constantly missed shots like that with less pressure. We need forwards that will convert consistently.
1 Like