The players are spent. Just like last year and the year before that.
If GC in their 3rd year can perfom late in the season.......
Give them our year and see how they perform
Personally think it's a cultural problem that has stuck around from the late Sheedy days, and lasted across 3 coaching regimes now.
I think the coaches have to take alot of the blame in that aspect, all of them. I believe they've all created an environment similar to the cricket team, where the in crowd get all the leeway in the world. those who aren't thought to be in the best 22 are basically treated like second class citizens.
Yes i say that full well knowing we don't get to see anywhere near the full picture of why and how players aren't picked, we see snippets and form opinions trying to join the dots.
But once you start playing favourites, for whatever reason, it's a cancer and it spreads, and kills any team moral we've built up early in seasons.
and before people say players should harden up, lets not forget our captain was ready to walk away from the club, if Sheedy continued on, due to his perceived bad treatment (which was prolly true) from the coach, so it can affect anyone and everyone.
That then snowballs and effects every part of the game.
Look at Geelong this year, I remember everyone asking how do they keep finding these great young players. They were playing well and given every oppotunity to do so.
Watching the VFL on the weekend, and there was about 4 or 5 of em back in the vfl playing. Why ?
because when anyone is in form, you pick them no matter what. when they aren't, you pick others who are in better form, than the guys you're replacing.
Again our perceived starting 22 is picked no matter what, on the basis of favourites. struggling with form or injury doesn't seem to matter, and you're played regardless.
I just don't think that sets a good example, and again morale plummits starting from there, to the point everything drops off dramatically.
What? Really?
Name the bloke that is getting preferential treatment, and who the player is that should have his spot and is being dudded.
The one guy that you could make this claim about last year was Melksham. And I'd suggest this year has proven that getting games into the lad has been a win (much to my amazement).
100% agree.
So glad to see him develop this year.
He'd be in my first 22 every time now - frankly, ahead of some others more highly-rated.
The players are uncertain about their futures. They say no infractions, then it’s no infractions right now but maybe in the future
The players are spent. Just like last year and the year before that.
If GC in their 3rd year can perfom late in the season.......
Give them our year and see how they perform
This isn't just about this year.....
The players are uncertain about their futures. They say no infractions, then it's no infractions right now but maybe in the future
This could be one of the bigger issues in it all.
Unfrotunately past seasons muddy the waters. In isolation, I would 100% agree.
The players are spent. Just like last year and the year before that.
If GC in their 3rd year can perfom late in the season.......
Give them our year and see how they perform
This isn't just about this year.....
I think this year is mainly about this year. Normally I would agree with you, but this year I don't wonder at all why they have fallen off the cliff; I more wonder how the ■■■■ they stayed so strong and competitive for so long. This year, and it's circumstances and effects, is something that cannot just be written off, or slotted neatly into a pattern. It's a one off, season killing, series of events.
I'm backing us this weekend and I haven't backed us for the last month
Reasons:
1. Training load is tapering off (according to Hird)
2. We've regained hope of playing finals and we're getting less negative press
3. Jobe should be fully recovered (will have had six weeks since his collarbone) and should start hitting targets
4. Zaharakis should nearly be fully recovered from his back fracture and should give us some more run
5. Ryder and Hurley back in the team
The players are uncertain about their futures. They say no infractions, then it's no infractions right now but maybe in the future
Yep, personally, if it was me playing at any club in this scenario, i'd be annoyed and then some at the entire situation.
Unfortunately that's just the reality.
Take the fan goggles off for a minute and understand the situation, and any drop off in form is understandable.
The players are spent. Just like last year and the year before that.
If GC in their 3rd year can perfom late in the season.......
Give them our year and see how they perform
This isn't just about this year.....
I think this year is mainly about this year. Normally I would agree with you, but this year I don't wonder at all why they have fallen off the cliff; I more wonder how the **** they stayed so strong and competitive for so long. This year, and it's circumstances and effects, is something that cannot just be written off, or slotted neatly into a pattern. It's a one off, season killing, series of events.
It is. But some of the efforts are far too reminiscent of previous seasons. Have had many debates with family and firend sover this. Perhaps I am too angry and being too judgemental. But I just hate it when the effort isn't there. And defensively we fall apart each season. To me this is all mental. I just don't want this years debacle to help gloss over potential issues with either a) the players, b) the game plan or c) the coaches. We can't afford to waste anymore seasons. I just want us to get it right and actually play decent footy (not just win), but play decent footy at the right time of the season. If we have fixed everything and ASADA is to blame, great, but my fear is that is not the case.
I think another issue is that our players almost never regain form quickly (if at all) once they get injured. That or they frequently miss games in chunks i.e. come back then within a game or 2 re-injure themselves. Never going to be good with an unsettled line up most weeks. Perhaps we have too many injury prone players on the list?
I think this year is mainly about this year. Normally I would agree with you, but this year I don't wonder at all why they have fallen off the cliff; I more wonder how the **** they stayed so strong and competitive for so long. This year, and it's circumstances and effects, is something that cannot just be written off, or slotted neatly into a pattern. It's a one off, season killing, series of events.
It is. But some of the efforts are far too reminiscent of previous seasons. Have had many debates with family and firend sover this. Perhaps I am too angry and being too judgemental. But I just hate it when the effort isn't there. And defensively we fall apart each season. To me this is all mental. I just don't want this years debacle to help gloss over potential issues with either a) the players, B) the game plan or c) the coaches. We can't afford to waste anymore seasons. I just want us to get it right and actually play decent footy (not just win), but play decent footy at the right time of the season. If we have fixed everything and ASADA is to blame, great, but my fear is that is not the case.
I think another issue is that our players almost never regain form quickly (if at all) once they get injured. That or they frequently miss games in chunks i.e. come back then within a game or 2 re-injure themselves. Never going to be good with an unsettled line up most weeks. Perhaps we have too many injury prone players on the list?
I very much doubt we have fixed anything. This year was not a time for 'fixing things', but a time for survival. I reckon we will see some of those same problems needing to be dealt with over the off season/next year. All this year's drama has basically taken a season of development away from us imo.
I blame the disruptions at BomberBLitz personally.
The only chance the players will cop an infraction notice now is if one of them come out and say that they took PED and knew about it and was wide spread etc. however if they did that, they would be admitting to lying in the previous interviews to the ASADA investigators which is a far worse crime than taking a PED.
Is there any other way now that they can cop an infraction notice?
I think this year is mainly about this year. Normally I would agree with you, but this year I don't wonder at all why they have fallen off the cliff; I more wonder how the **** they stayed so strong and competitive for so long. This year, and it's circumstances and effects, is something that cannot just be written off, or slotted neatly into a pattern. It's a one off, season killing, series of events.
It is. But some of the efforts are far too reminiscent of previous seasons. Have had many debates with family and firend sover this. Perhaps I am too angry and being too judgemental. But I just hate it when the effort isn't there. And defensively we fall apart each season. To me this is all mental. I just don't want this years debacle to help gloss over potential issues with either a) the players, B) the game plan or c) the coaches. We can't afford to waste anymore seasons. I just want us to get it right and actually play decent footy (not just win), but play decent footy at the right time of the season. If we have fixed everything and ASADA is to blame, great, but my fear is that is not the case.
I think another issue is that our players almost never regain form quickly (if at all) once they get injured. That or they frequently miss games in chunks i.e. come back then within a game or 2 re-injure themselves. Never going to be good with an unsettled line up most weeks. Perhaps we have too many injury prone players on the list?
I very much doubt we have fixed anything. This year was not a time for 'fixing things', but a time for survival. I reckon we will see some of those same problems needing to be dealt with over the off season/next year. All this year's drama has basically taken a season of development away from us imo.
YAY..... :(
My hope is that Merrett, Kav!, Kommer, JD, Gleeson, Hams all have big pre-seasons. They are the ones who will benefit greatly from them and could give us a lift.
I think guys like Kommer have faded (which is to be expected given a lack of AFL pre-seasons).
We still have very little depth, and this perhaps too is a cause of why we can't run out seasons.
The only chance the players will cop an infraction notice now is if one of them come out and say that they took PED and knew about it and was wide spread etc. however if they did that, they would be admitting to lying in the previous interviews to the ASADA investigators which is a far worse crime than taking a PED.
Is there any other way now that they can cop an infraction notice?
Dank saying we did. But that is akin to him shooting himself in the head. So no.
After 6 months of investigating, the key witness is still an unknown. Flabbergasting.
I think this year is mainly about this year. Normally I would agree with you, but this year I don't wonder at all why they have fallen off the cliff; I more wonder how the **** they stayed so strong and competitive for so long. This year, and it's circumstances and effects, is something that cannot just be written off, or slotted neatly into a pattern. It's a one off, season killing, series of events.
It is. But some of the efforts are far too reminiscent of previous seasons. Have had many debates with family and firend sover this. Perhaps I am too angry and being too judgemental. But I just hate it when the effort isn't there. And defensively we fall apart each season. To me this is all mental. I just don't want this years debacle to help gloss over potential issues with either a) the players, B) the game plan or c) the coaches. We can't afford to waste anymore seasons. I just want us to get it right and actually play decent footy (not just win), but play decent footy at the right time of the season. If we have fixed everything and ASADA is to blame, great, but my fear is that is not the case.
I think another issue is that our players almost never regain form quickly (if at all) once they get injured. That or they frequently miss games in chunks i.e. come back then within a game or 2 re-injure themselves. Never going to be good with an unsettled line up most weeks. Perhaps we have too many injury prone players on the list?
I very much doubt we have fixed anything. This year was not a time for 'fixing things', but a time for survival. I reckon we will see some of those same problems needing to be dealt with over the off season/next year. All this year's drama has basically taken a season of development away from us imo.
YAY..... :(
My hope is that Merrett, Kav!, Kommer, JD, Gleeson, Hams all have big pre-seasons. They are the ones who will benefit greatly from them and could give us a lift.
I think guys like Kommer have faded (which is to be expected given a lack of AFL pre-seasons).
We still have very little depth, and this perhaps too is a cause of why we can't run out seasons.
Me too.
Agree.
I'm not sure whether we don't have the depth, or TRB aren't willing to run them and bring them on a bit. Everyone can always do with more though. And our ridiculously inept forward line bothers me more than anything else right now.
I think this year is mainly about this year. Normally I would agree with you, but this year I don't wonder at all why they have fallen off the cliff; I more wonder how the **** they stayed so strong and competitive for so long. This year, and it's circumstances and effects, is something that cannot just be written off, or slotted neatly into a pattern. It's a one off, season killing, series of events.
It is. But some of the efforts are far too reminiscent of previous seasons. Have had many debates with family and firend sover this. Perhaps I am too angry and being too judgemental. But I just hate it when the effort isn't there. And defensively we fall apart each season. To me this is all mental. I just don't want this years debacle to help gloss over potential issues with either a) the players, B) the game plan or c) the coaches. We can't afford to waste anymore seasons. I just want us to get it right and actually play decent footy (not just win), but play decent footy at the right time of the season. If we have fixed everything and ASADA is to blame, great, but my fear is that is not the case.
I think another issue is that our players almost never regain form quickly (if at all) once they get injured. That or they frequently miss games in chunks i.e. come back then within a game or 2 re-injure themselves. Never going to be good with an unsettled line up most weeks. Perhaps we have too many injury prone players on the list?
I very much doubt we have fixed anything. This year was not a time for 'fixing things', but a time for survival. I reckon we will see some of those same problems needing to be dealt with over the off season/next year. All this year's drama has basically taken a season of development away from us imo.
YAY..... :(
My hope is that Merrett, Kav!, Kommer, JD, Gleeson, Hams all have big pre-seasons. They are the ones who will benefit greatly from them and could give us a lift.
I think guys like Kommer have faded (which is to be expected given a lack of AFL pre-seasons).
We still have very little depth, and this perhaps too is a cause of why we can't run out seasons.
Me too.
Agree.
I'm not sure whether we don't have the depth, or TRB aren't willing to run them and bring them on a bit. Everyone can always do with more though. And our ridiculously inept forward line bothers me more than anything else right now.
I reckon too many of them are too light. Ashby, Hams, Gleeson, JD, even Kav! are all too light and need at least another preseason.
gotta remmeber we got rid of a lot of expereinced blokes and we were always going to struggle with depth iwht substanital injuries. Unfortunatley NLM, Jetta, Davis, Browne, Hardy have either done next to nothing to warrant selection or have not taken their chances when presented. So I expect some more pain which is why draft picks are so critical for us. We need to keep looking for our next jet mid/fwd, because I don't see him on the list at the moment (I already include Heppell as a gun).
We had a great start to the year, with very few injuries and great enthusiasm.
TBC and Stants seem to have been carrying niggles for a while. And there are others who lost form or who got injured/suspended. And the game plan is an exhausting one with no real lulls in tempo; that said, we finished games well in the early games, and we had a lot more forward pressure on the opposition.
I only played footy at a local level, and I never had that much to worry about, but once I took the field I never thought of anything else but getting a kick, and I find it hard to believe all the ASADA hype affects game day. It could affect training and coaching, and AFL is now such a game with little room for error that it could be a factor.
Having watched all games this year either live or on Fox, I really don't have a clue !!
I can not understand why Stanton played either against Dogs or GWS. Surely a week off would have done him good.
Zaka apparently had a minor fracture in his back? Why the **** is he playing for then? I know him playing wouldn't be a bigger risk to his health, but surely another week or two off would have been more beneficial for him so that when he comes back (lets say he comes back against North after 3 weeks off) he has much more influence than he has in the last 2 weeks?
And couldn't we have had Joe play against the Eagles last week with Gumby up front as well and TBell having a week off with his bad knee?
I can not understand why Stanton played either against Dogs or GWS. Surely a week off would have done him good.
Zaka apparently had a minor fracture in his back? Why the **** is he playing for then? I know him playing wouldn't be a bigger risk to his health, but surely another week or two off would have been more beneficial for him so that when he comes back (lets say he comes back against North after 3 weeks off) he has much more influence than he has in the last 2 weeks?
And couldn't we have had Joe play against the Eagles last week with Gumby up front as well and TBell having a week off with his bad knee?
I assume that Stants, who again flinched like he'd been shot when coming off late last week, has an injury that will not benefit from a short rest. He's probably been told he needs post season attention and he has made himself available in the best condition he can manage at this time. That fact that he till merits a spot says a lot about his fortitude and the depth of the club at this point in time.
What worries me about the drop off is that a huge amount of it is basic skill errors. Failure to hit a target from 2 meters away, bad fumbles etc. Maybe their heads are just elsewhere, but it is consistent with what happened last year as well. The slide started by us suddenly making basic skill errors.