I’m not going to comment on club issues, I’ll concentrate on the problems with the team.
There are a lot of problems right now. I’ll start from a structural viewpoint. Our defence is seriously undersized, compounded by the fact that it’s way out of form. Laverde and Hind are not nearly the players they were last year and Ridley, forced to play more defensively, isn’t the rebound weapon of seasons past. Ball use out of the back half is poor also, and we’re missing a defensive general to organise the defence. Hurley was that man previously.
The defence’s job is made much harder by the total absence of pressure or accountability through the midfield. At the moment, there appears no interest in defensive running or more than cursory attempts at tackling. Work rate is abysmal. This is an attitude issue, not talent, and the coach has to take a share of responsibility also.
Up forward, we’re missing Walla badly for his pressure acts and ability to inject some excitement into our play. Generally speaking, we’ve lost all fizz and spontaneity this season. Wright has been good up to yesterday, but we’re definitely thin and rely on cameo efforts. Need Stringer back, and another tall.
Game style is a mess. I can’t believe that’s what the team is being coached, but what we’re seeing is slow ball movement, long kicks down the boundary, and frequent overuse by hand. There’s very little dare and no system that I can discern.
Clearly, we’re in a hole. We’re better than we’re playing, but the fact that we’re so poor atm comes back to attitude and coaching. There’s no belief and no-one is really playing as if their life depended on it. There’s obviously a big confidence issue.
I’m not about to write off the season yet. Things can turnaround quickly. I’d like to see the likes of Perkins and Hobbs get more midfield minutes to see what they’re capable of. I’m not super-impressed with Cox, but if he’s playing give him a gig on a HBF.
More than anything, the team needs a great mind shift, and it might mean some ruthless selections to ignite that. Need to get back to hard, uncompromising footy first. I’ll cop losing to Collingwood next week if we make them hurt. Right now we’re powder puffs. And play with a bit more dare. We have deficiencies - overcome them by being bold.
If they’re serious they’ll go hard in the week leading up to Anzac Day. This performance can’t be swept under the carpet. No second chances now. Play for keeps.
