Autopsy Dogs 64 Hawks 67

[geoffjennings79]

Uncompetitive performance? Get a grip, We lost by 3 points!

Are we a bit over reliant on key players and did we have a few of those players down on form, yep absolutely. We can’t expect them to be at their peak every week.

Collingwood lost to the same team by more the previous week, and at a less hostile venue.

I hate losing too but sometimes a bit of perspective is useful.

Do you mean the perspective where we repeatedly lose virtually every close game because the team as a collective panics and there seems to be no plan to how we react in close finishes?

Whether players are playing at their peak or not, if everyone knows that in a close finishing game, for example the ruckman positions themselves for kick outs exactly where their defenders expect, outriders adopt a known area of turf, everyone is aware how the player kicking out will look to clear defensive 50, etc, etc. It's almost like it's rehearsed. (Something Terry Wallace and I think Brian Royal had a set play for in the late 90s. As did Eade, albeit with a significantly more skilful side across the board. I used to go to training in the late 90s and they would set up and practice clearing the ball as a set play after a point, and had several scenarios, although Plough later practised them away from normal training sessions, most famously for the 2000 Essendon game.)

Yet 2023 Bulldogs over several close games appear confused, inconsistent and panic.

Collingwood lost to Hawks, yet have repeatedly won close finishing games, because they rarely panic, have a strategy which I would suggest all are aware of because they have a plan for that scenario. Like us, Pies have a few outstanding players, but all 22 know the system and play to it. Much as we did in 2016, even with a lot of foot soldiers who were not stars, but committed to the system. I'm not sure there is any system atm, or if there is, it is either being communicated poorly, or executed at a level below poorly. Or both.

 

[_Cerberus_]

Yes we only lost by 3 points, but the was the biggest 3 point loss I can recall of any game in ages. The forward line is the Hawks weakest line, if they had any half decent one, we lose that by 10 goals easily. We got our pants pulled down big time and got smashed across all facets of the game.

The third quarter was a complete demolition, we barely touched it, and couldn't stick a tackle. Also thank Jones, and Richards for saving our asses a few times too. The problem is, even the coaches say "yeah we lost a close one, we had a chance" But it just sugar coats the real issues. Last years Cats would be winning that game by 100 if we put in a third quarter like that against them. Got to treat it like a bad loss, not close one.

 

[hutchy31]

Uncompetitive performance? Get a grip, We lost by 3 points!

Are we a bit over reliant on key players and did we have a few of those players down on form, yep absolutely. We can’t expect them to be at their peak every week.

Collingwood lost to the same team by more the previous week, and at a less hostile venue.

I hate losing too but sometimes a bit of perspective is useful.

Kicked the first three goals and the last three - in the almost three quarters of footy between those times the team kicked three goals against a bottom four team.

Collingwood had already won 16 out of 19 games by the time they lost to the hawks. They had probably earned the right to have a bad game, I’m not sure a side that was barely the right side of the win-loss ledger and teetering on the edge of the eight has that luxury.

The difference in uncontested ball and missed/broken tackles in the game, and particularly during parts of the second and third quarters, was incredible.

There are a number of adjectives you can use for the performance. I personally don’t have an issue with uncompetitive. It was completely unacceptable, particularly given the stage and context of the season.

 

[Proffessor]

Sometimes it's important to take a step back and try being as objective as possible when assessing a team's performance. Not just in a match but across the season.

Our team has been far from settled this year. Several key players have had significant ups and downs with form and fitness.
Take poor Liam Jones

19

Liam Jones

Age

33

Ht

199cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.4

2star

K

6.5

3star

HB

2.9

3star

M

4.3

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

134.5

2star

D

7.6

2star

K

6.1

3star

HB

1.4

1star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.4

2star

MG

116.3

2star

D

9.4

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

2.0

2star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

for instance, he has played well when fit but has had a very tough year trying to stay out on the field. Who knows what he has been going through just to get back out there.

hutchy31 you imply our team hasn't earned the right to a bad game. Well, I would suggest that the key players who have carried us throughout the season with a large number of passengers on their back, certainly have. The fact that the passengers couldn't pick up the slack when they were needed is more the ongoing issue.

However, many of those passengers are still pretty young and show plenty of promise. James O'Donnel showed very good signs on the weekend. He has come a long way in a short time. Poulter was a bit down this week but has shown a fair bit of promise this season. Rhylee West

14

Rhylee West

Age

24

Ht

183cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.3

3star

K

5.7

2star

HB

6.7

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

1.5

3star

G

0.5

3star

D

12.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

6.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.0

3star

G

0.3

3star

D

13.0

4star

K

5.6

3star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.2

3star

T

1.4

4star

G

0.6

3star

was standing up strong when the game was tough on Sunday and looks like he might finally become a regular. So, the weekend wasn't a total loss.

We are a relatively small team physically, and Hawthorn exploited that weakness. I might argue they regularly went outside the rules in doing so, but the umpires let them get away with it, so they were able to play the game on their terms.

People suggesting, we should have better plans for such last-minute situations, seem to be overlooking how different our team looked on Sunday compared to what might have been expected during the preseason. Two players weren't even on our list in the preseason. The best laid plans aren't worth much if only half the players are familiar with their roles in said plans. Besides, most plans don't survive contact with the opposition anyway, because the opposition typically have countering strategies too.

We take the lessons out of the weekend, some good, e.g. O'Donnell and West, some bad, e.g. A. Jones not being ready yet, we lick our wounds and then get on with planning to take on the Eagles.

 

[geoffjennings79]

The last passage involved Richards, English, Dale and Williams. All 100+ game players. If they don't know the plan (if one exists) or can't execute under pressure, that is on the coaching group and playing group. There's no lesson there, just a complete failure in communication, process and execution. Again.

 

[bresker]

English is getting stick for some of his tap work , but I saw him put the ball into some good spaces . He can’t help it if our mids are out wrestled to the ball.

When English was developing & our stoppage work was at its best , it didn’t matter where the opposition ruck tapped it, our mids were first to the ball. In a grim irony , English now wins decent hit outs but our mids frequently can’t get near them. Hawks were outbodying them .