Another disappointment.

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Esperito

Team Captain
Dec 6, 2000
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AGAIN we were in a good position to win the match.
We had several opportunities in the last quarter to run over the top of them.

I hate to say it... but we can't keep sticking up for Chris Grant in regards to his goal kicking accuracy....its just not good enough.

There's not much point in saying 'oh but we've played well in all 4 games.' A loss is a loss.

We are 0-4, and while our season is far from over, something needs to drastically turn around for us to threaten the top 8.

On the positive side... Dimattina was solid... Alvey continues to improve, Hunter started to regain his Wizard Cup form (tonight showed that playing him at full-back wastes his creative flair...he was used much better tonight), Darcy dominated for the first time this year, and Libba was his usual self.

I think Wallace needs to be congratulated... his players just let him down at the final hurdle.
 
Thanks for the quick report, Esperito. I had no audio and the main changing scoreboard wouldn't load. Had to watch the slow scoreboard on the Doggies site. Got up early for the match and am going back to bed. Now about 7.10am. At least it seems we gave them a run for their money.

Maybe next week.........:)
 
Originally posted by Esperito


On the positive side... Dimattina was solid...
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Are you serious? Dimma's complete lack of ability to find teamates with either hand or foot did more to lose the game than any other factor. He needs to go straight back to Werribee and not get back into the seniors until he can kick...Sorry PC, but Dimma is a dud and I am furious with him.
 

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Hunter in the backline looks slow and soft. He is a forward if anything.
The boys were brave tonight, we can look back and wince at some of the mistakes, and there were plenty, but they showed amazing spirit and persevered with a game plan that demands commitment and hard running. |I just wonder though how long they can keep their heads up with "good efforts"...it is so discouraging not to win...it will be a challenge for Plough to keep them positive.
Wouldn't Westy have been handy tonight with that sort of game plan..his hard running back into defence would have been such a help.
 
dimma played all right....

now now i am the biggest anti dimma bloke out there but tonight he showed something which he hasnt for a while.... HEART! if he keeps it up and keeps going in hard for the ball i might even start to like him again.

RE: CHRIS GRANT

I know we can't heap the blame onto him and that we had ample opportunities to win the game but honestly he just keeps missing the crucial goals. i wrote a post after the doggies 2nd loss in a row entitle "hey hey booboo its like deja vu all over agin" and my point really has been proved by grants missed goals tonight. Champion player and all, he needs to start kicking those goals.

I was heartened by our performance tonight but the reality is we are on big losing streak and need to turn it around.
 
Re: Re: Another disappointment.

Originally posted by localyokel
Are you serious? Dimma's complete lack of ability to find teamates with either hand or foot did more to lose the game than any other factor. He needs to go straight back to Werribee and not get back into the seniors until he can kick...Sorry PC, but Dimma is a dud and I am furious with him.
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Dimma got a lot of touches and did some excellent things however, he fumbled marks - missed his target too often and fell over at critical times plus the free kick he gave up lacked discipline and I think it cost us a goal.
Libba was also great tonight but the lack of depth with his kicks really stood out when comparing him to the fab four. He gets every last drop out of his ability but he can be a liability.

Westy was a big loss.
 
Again i was going to give a report, but instead i'll start by defending Dimma

Dimma went into the middle in the second quarter and we kicked 3 goals. His disposal was good, and to pick him out as being the weakest link Local is just wrong. I was very happy with the quality of his game and was even happier that some of the grunt has come back into his game.

I, however, am furious with one S. Garlick. WHO THE **** KICKS IT OUT OF MIDAIR RUNNING INTO AN OPEN GOAL???????
 
Originally posted by -PC28-
Again i was going to give a report, but instead i'll start by defending Dimma

Dimma went into the middle in the second quarter and we kicked 3 goals. His disposal was good, and to pick him out as being the weakest link Local is just wrong. I was very happy with the quality of his game and was even happier that some of the grunt has come back into his game.

I, however, am furious with one S. Garlick. WHO THE **** KICKS IT OUT OF MIDAIR RUNNING INTO AN OPEN GOAL???????
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I thought Dimma was excellent. He is such a tough player and I thought his disposal was better than it usually is. He made an impace tonight

But I also thought Garlick was very good and it is very harsh to bag him for one mistake. His last 3 games have been great

And Darcy and Libba were brilliant
 
I saw the game and yes you lost but, we all thought you'll be thumped.
You show a great backs to the wall fighting spirit (Libbas tackle on Acamanis "Brilliant") in your team. No one can say you dont go down fighting.
Brizroy are the current priemiers and they thumped the Bummers.
To threaten to beat Brizroy was a good effort, cause there was a lot of relief shown on their faces in the end.
Chin up guys you have a lot of positives to come out of the game,and a win is just around the corner.
Cheers
 
Originally posted by -PC28-
Again i was going to give a report, but instead i'll start by defending Dimma

Dimma went into the middle in the second quarter and we kicked 3 goals. His disposal was good, and to pick him out as being the weakest link Local is just wrong. I was very happy with the quality of his game and was even happier that some of the grunt has come back into his game.
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No one ever doubts that he plays hard and he did get a lot of touches tonight but missing targets the way that he does hurt us. It's getting to the stage where I'm not sure you can have both Libba and Dimma on the ground together even though they both worked their backsides off tonight.
Colonial's pristine conditions highlights skill errors like no other ground. At Optus or the G they both would have played better.
 
Originally posted by -PC28-
Again i was going to give a report, but instead i'll start by defending Dimma

Dimma went into the middle in the second quarter and we kicked 3 goals. His disposal was good, and to pick him out as being the weakest link Local is just wrong. I was very happy with the quality of his game and was even happier that some of the grunt has come back into his game.

I, however, am furious with one S. Garlick. WHO THE **** KICKS IT OUT OF MIDAIR RUNNING INTO AN OPEN GOAL???????
Click to expand...

Dimma gets first hands on the ball, which is a plus.

Mistakes: bloody hell, how many do we count? Guido made some absolute pearlers -- hospital handpass to Johno with two blokes running for him 10 meters inside, Croft blazing away from 65 meters out, etc..etc...

I thought Grant gave us big drive in defence, and hunter looked better up forward. I think he gets a bit confused in the backline, and he isnt hard enough. Bart again did some things, but still looks like a deer in the headlights when he has the ball.
 

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Re: Re: Another disappointment.

Originally posted by localyokel


Are you serious? Dimma's complete lack of ability to find teamates with either hand or foot did more to lose the game than any other factor. He needs to go straight back to Werribee and not get back into the seniors until he can kick...Sorry PC, but Dimma is a dud and I am furious with him.
Click to expand...

He found Birss with a 40m handpass...that was nice
 
Great effort by Dogs tonight, if they were playing any team (except the Lions ;)) I would have wanted the Doggies to win. (Incidently, listening to the radio commentators on the game, the Bulldogs may have been a bit stiff with some of the umpiring decisions going the Lionsway)

Things may seem bad now for the dogs, but as they say whatever comes around, goes around. Soon things will turn around and you guys will reap the rewards of blooding youngsters now.

I remember in 1998 (when the Lions finished last), we lost our first five games of the season (I think). We had a lot of injuries that year to several key players and were forced to give players like Black and Notting a lot of game time. Things looked grim then (when we finished last) but we'll hopefully see the rewards of it now.

I think the same thing may apply to the Bullies and it won't be long before they'll be in the top four/two in the comp.

Good luck to the dogs for the rest of the year (except maybe in round 19 ;))
 
We cannot keep praising these so called brilliant players week in week out, Dimma is not up to it anymore I don't care who thinks he worked his butt off tonight, Libba can only tackle well when he can catch the opposition and that's all he can do tackle, this is football so he should be able to kick the ball further than he does and to one of his teamates for a change, Darcy well I don't know what his problem is this year, he is really starting to piss me off, as for Garlick what can I say, if you saw the game you will know what I mean, while Bowden was sitting on the bench Garlick and Bartlett (who is major crap) were out on the ground, yeh, yeh, Bartlett took a good mark and kicked a goal, but that isn't enough he is not a skilled player. As for Grant he needs to show alot more of what he is capable of because we've yet to see it this year. It's no use praising the team for coming close or being competitive, who gives a **** when you still lose and are zip and 4 trying to entice new members and a major sponsor, we really ain't going about it the right way, now are we ????:mad:
 
Originally posted by Dogs r Roos
We cannot keep praising these so called brilliant players week in week out, Dimma is not up to it anymore I don't care who thinks he worked his butt off tonight, Libba can only tackle well when he can catch the opposition and that's all he can do tackle, this is football so he should be able to kick the ball further than he does and to one of his teamates for a change, Darcy well I don't know what his problem is this year, he is really starting to piss me off, as for Garlick what can I say, if you saw the game you will know what I mean, while Bowden was sitting on the bench Garlick and Bartlett (who is major crap) were out on the ground, yeh, yeh, Bartlett took a good mark and kicked a goal, but that isn't enough he is not a skilled player. As for Grant he needs to show alot more of what he is capable of because we've yet to see it this year. It's no use praising the team for coming close or being competitive, who gives a **** when you still lose and are zip and 4 trying to entice new members and a major sponsor, we really ain't going about it the right way, now are we ????:mad:
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Mate, pull your head in. We played the best side in the league tonight at got within 16 points. We've lost 4 on the trot, but what do you want us to do, call for wholesale changes?

We havn't been playing bad football and we have a lot to be positive about. The seasons only just starting and we're still only a game out of the 8.

Lighten up, its only round 4.
 
Originally posted by Dogs r Roos
We cannot keep praising these so called brilliant players week in week out, Dimma is not up to it anymore I don't care who thinks he worked his butt off tonight, Libba can only tackle well when he can catch the opposition and that's all he can do tackle, this is football so he should be able to kick the ball further than he does and to one of his teamates for a change, Darcy well I don't know what his problem is this year, he is really starting to piss me off, as for Garlick what can I say, if you saw the game you will know what I mean, while Bowden was sitting on the bench Garlick and Bartlett (who is major crap) were out on the ground, yeh, yeh, Bartlett took a good mark and kicked a goal, but that isn't enough he is not a skilled player.
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That's a very long sentence.

Darcy was good tonight.
 
Yes, very disappointing. Another winnable one slips through but in the end they were simply a bit better. We had our chances and when you play that game plan skill errors can really hurt. A solid effort by many but few standouts. We needed someone who could inject some magic, but it just wasn't there.

My view on the individual players:

Murphy - ok but hasn't really run into form

Grant - got it alot but when it really counted, couldn't finish it off

Garlick - showed again why he is a fringe player who's presence in the side signifies us as a fringe team rather than a good one. Not much point being in the right place at the right time if, like last week, you just leave us deflated

Smith - likes flooding games where he has a licence to play his preferred totally unaccountable game. His game was ok but even with 30 touches, he won't get in my votes

Johnno - tried his guts out, tooks his opportunites - a good, but not special game

Hahn - I like the way he goes about it but he's just not finding the ball enough at the moment

Gilbee - a little but on the bench quite a bit - I'd prefer to see more of him but there wasn't enough today to make a compelling case for leaving him in

Bandy - some good and some weak stuff today before he got injured - not sure what the injury is - seemed to have upper calf strapped and was streching it alot before he went off

Giansiracusa - bit of a quiet one - struggled to get into it today

Darcy - good game although he can still frustrate and leave you wondering 'what is he thinking' sometimes

Croft - did alright down back without being great - but totally ruined any good work he did by completely ignoring a free Guido in the last qtr and blazing away - I would have dragged him immediately - pathetic play - it was THE point I knew we had blown it

Brown - good game - worked hard - seems reluctant to take the first option though and that proved costly when nothing else was there

Bartlett - as a backman he's useless - up forward he contested but has no skill - one good mark and goal in the last and one hopeless 'I'll just stand here and not move and hope the ball reaches me' non attempt to mark in the third qtr

Bowden - showed a bit but doesn't appear to work hard enough to pressure the opposition - as a flanker he's slow and as a key position he's not making the contested marking contests

Harrison - 27 touches surprised me but he played a good game - he works hard at the defensive side and applies pressure - let himself down twice by missing the goal in the third and not shooting at goal in the first when inside 50

McMahon - not much but at least he'll chase and apply pressure when he hasn't got it

Hunter - looked poor down back and better up forward which isn't an usual observation - swap him and Grant - it'd be a win/win

Dimma - added a bit of spark but he is simply a poor kick - there's no penetration in his kicks as shown by his 45m shot in the 3rd which was easily marked in the square. He's a bit like Romero was in that given his kicking, he's got to get it alot more than others to compensate. Fantastic handpass to Birss in the 3rd though.

Alvey - yeah I know he got 19 touches but I'd drop him. He has absolutely no defensive ability. There's a reason he's often 30m clear and it isn't that he's worked hard to make the space. He zones up in no man's land every single time and consequently makes no defensive impact at all

Kretiuk - poor game - too slow - he's struggling

Libba - I'm undecided. He played his heart out and keeps on applying some great tackles and ties the ball up well at times. But he struggled to get enough on a 30m kick to Bartlett in the 3rd qtr which should have been a momentum building goal but was turned over. I think he needs to win the ball more in the middle and give it to someone though. What to do???

Birss - I like him but he didn't really do enough to be considered a good player today

So, overall, most are contributing but there's enough weaknesses and mistakes to explain why we're 0-4. You win games by playing better than alright. Or you have some players stand up and star. We're just playing alright and no-ones starring.
 
Originally posted by -PC28-
You put a negative comment next to all but one player, including one who had 30 touches, interesting to see who you give your votes to :p
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Because we're losing and most could do better in some aspect. It'd wouldn't take much improvement to win, but we have to improve.
 
I saw a lot of positives - and some in most players - I even saw some positive things from Bartlett. We're not a team displaying no character. We're not a team in poor form. But we're a winless 16th. The fact is we were behind all day because little things let us down. I spent the day frustrated and I'm still a grumpy bastard more than 4 hours later.

My 6yo son said to me 'Dad - it's only a game' after my reaction to Crofty's last qtr poor attempt at individual heroics rather than team play. I was just so anguished that we could throw away another hard fought opportunity to win a game.

We even came out on the ground first tonight for the first time in ages and still we had to run out to the other teams song.

Robbins - best player r1 - out injured
Penny - best player r2 - out injured
West - best player r3 - out injured

Is anything going right?

My mood isn't improving - maybe I should just go to bed.
 

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Another disappointment.

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