Past #42: Scott McMahon - club won't renew contract (29/9) & Loose retires (13/10) - thanks Loose

[naturally north]

I am yet to see a defender that can beat three alternating opponents at the same time.

Have a rest mate.

Yes very true, and that's why I think the Gorilla FB is a waste of time- on the other hand an Octopus.....

 

[Daz]

I was sitting well up and behind the goals that Sydney were kicking to in the third quarter yesterday and the way the ball was coming out of the centre there is nothing any backline could have done.

We were opened up like a hot knife through butter and by the time it got to our backline it was all over.

They had runners streaming through the middle in waves - the ball carrier could handball off or if they kicked to a forward contest it was more often than not spoiled by our defence but the weight of numbers coming through from their midfield meant that they had players at the fall of the ball that were damaging in broken play.

Our problem is not in our backline.

No joke. The Everitt goal from Goodes' handball was ridiculous. Our midfield was nowhere. That shit just wouldn't happen to Sydney. They're all two way runners.

I'm sure Embley, Masten, Kerr and Gaff would agree that it's an area we could improve on.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Regardless of whether he DID have 5 kicked on him yesterday (which I still don't believe to be true) the bloke held a clean sheet something like 8 times last year and the majority of his games only had 1 maybe 2 kicked on him at most. Thats just ridiculous.

 

[Daz]

He saved us on so many occasions going back with the flight. I thought he was fantastic all day.

In general I actually love our backline. The rest of the team, not so much.

 

[Roo-Boy]

I said this at the start of the year.

Both are solid footballers but they don't provide enough leadership and they aren't really that accountable.

Firrito have given away 5 costly 50's this year and McMahon has had his arse handed to him by Jude Bolton today.

Both are slow, and provide next to no rebound from defence.

My two cents.

we needs gorillas just like Michael Martyn was

 

[blackshadow]

we needs gorillas just like Michael Martyn was

Gorillas don't grow in trees.

 

[Roo-Boy]

They need to take out opposition players just like Michael Martyn did to Simon Black in the 1999 prelim

 

[alf24]

I normally like your stuff RF, but this is bollocks. SPUD, McMahon, Grima and Thompson are fine mainstays. Fish andAtley provide the creativity. The defence is not the issue. The game was lost in the third quarter in the midfield.

Agree 100%.
Our backs were outnumbered 2-3 to 1 as the swans mids ran down in waves.
Personally, I would have loose play the quarterback role as he has the best disposal but one of the mids needs to cut across and help the defence, most probably J.Z. as Basti is too much of a squib.

 

[Daz]

At one stage Basti put in a Ziebell type attack on the footy on the half back flank.

 

[Artaxx]

Our senior players just aren;t very good AFL players. Theyre ok, good enough to get a game, I'm sure they are popular and good blokes and therefore hard to drop, but except for Swallow, none are close to A grade standard players every week. Can't go back in time and get 10 year vets from the 2001, 2002, 2003 2004 period which gave us pretty much nothing in terms of talent for a bunch of reasons.

 

[a4brianp]

Our senior players just aren;t very good AFL players. Theyre ok, good enough to get a game, I'm sure they are popular and good blokes and therefore hard to drop, but except for Swallow, none are close to A grade standard players every week. Can't go back in time and get 10 year vets from the 2001, 2002, 2003 2004 period which gave us pretty much nothing in terms of talent for a bunch of reasons.

Firrito just doesnt seem to have the awareness of what is going on around him .50 mtr penalties are an example but also gets caught a fair bit or hanballs to players that are covered.

 

[giantroo]

For the third week in a row, we’ve had a third quarter blowout. We allowed the Swans to kick 11 goals in a single quarter of footy which is unacceptable and unforgivable. The players are all gutted by what happened in Hobart on the weekend and we know we let ourselves, you and the club down.

The style of football we put on show was pleasing for the most part and it allowed us to win three out of the four quarters. It shows when we are switched on, we are extremely hard to beat. However, this game is as much mental as it is physical and it’s clear we are having damaging lapses of concentration at crucial moments. When our opposition makes a charge, we are not standing up as one to combat their attack. This has to change, and change quickly.

We are definitely fit enough and are running games out comfortably, but it seems our issues are above the shoulders at this point. We had some guys play really well but it’s vital all 22 are contributing. Andrew Swallow was outstanding again while Ben Cunnington took another positive step forward getting plenty of the ball and kicking two goals. Taylor Hine had a decent debut and adds some real pace around the ground and I thought our back six held up well considering the amount of inside 50s we conceded.

Although we are 0-3, no-one is dropping their head. Right now, we could go back into our shells, or meet the challenge head on. We’ve had our review this morning and many of the players have spoken about what lies ahead and we are extremely upbeat and ready.

We have the Lions this week who are coming off a win and I noticed Jonathan Brown is in form which means we will have to be at our best.

It’s another home game for us at Etihad, so we all hope to see you there.

Cheers,

Michael Firrito.

 

[Hard_to_Beat]

when we are switched on, we are extremely hard to beat.

Aim high Spud.

 

[Bigeasy]

Aim high Spud.

Or higher in this case. -

 

[Devil Fish]

I said this at the start of the year.

Both are solid footballers but they don't provide enough leadership and they aren't really that accountable.

Firrito have given away 5 costly 50's this year and McMahon has had his arse handed to him by Jude Bolton today.

Both are slow, and provide next to no rebound from defence.

My two cents.

But the club holds them both in high regard.

 

[SMaturin]

One thing I love about McMahon is his ability read the play, be third man in and kill the contest. Not just in a 'don't let the opponent mark it' kind of way, but in a 'punch the ****ing thing into the fifteenth row' kind of way.

 

[HobaRoo]

McMahon is invaluable in the amount of spoils / killed contests he provides. Firrito could be better utilised? I'm not sure of his tank but perhaps better off in the centre bounce contests as another big body? #1 job to stop clearances from guys like Watson / Kennedy / Scott Thompson.
I think our backline is more then fine anyway. Midfield / Run from opposition half back is the main issue.

 

[linnaeus]

Cleaning out some old papers and came across 2003 phantom drafts and actual draft. What surprised me was to realise that Scott was our third round rookie choice. I think we tend to forget how many good players come from the rookie list. Gibson was our first choice rookie. Phantom draft suggested we would take Troy Chaplin but alas we took David Trotter.

 

[Daz]

Troy Chaplin wouldn't be in our best 22.

 

[linnaeus]

Troy Chaplin wouldn't be in our best 22.

Neither is David Trotter!

 

[Daz]

Neither is David Trotter!

Haha fair.

 

[Snake_Baker]

McMahon, Mullet, Firrito and Grima are all rookies.

 

[Daz]

Adams and Daw as well.

 

[Black Diamond]

And Gibson.

 

[LuvtheKangas]

Hey linnaeus, is it fair to say that you're "not happy" that we took David Trotter?

... s****** ...