Coach Fages and the coaching group

[Grasshopper17]

To be fair, (and I’m now at the stage where I think we should just move on from last week), but as a team who has consistently competed for top 4 and the chance to play in big finals for a number of years, to have the coach of the team come out and say “we haven’t practised how to close out close games for a while” is a bit “weird” at least.

You reckon Collingwood are overlooking that part of the game?

I reckon Collingwood didn't focus much on winning close games in the 2022 preseason. I reckon it became a focus for them when they lost 3 consecutive close games early in 2022.

 

[Tom14]

I reckon Collingwood didn't focus much on winning close games in the 2022 preseason. I reckon it became a focus for them when they lost 3 consecutive close games early in 2022.

And fat lot of good training the close games did for Collingwood last year - they forgot to train to win close finals.

 

[Thomasno]

Beat the reigning Premiers and dominate them for large portions of the game, apparently not good enough, we need to win every game by 10 goals to be a good side.

Lot of people here seem to forget that Geelong is still a very ****ing good team. They’ve had a rough run with both form and injury this year, but they’re the reigning premiers for a reason - they were never going to roll over in the game on the weekend, and we held them off well. Never once looked like cutting our losses and focusing on restricting the damage like we did in the Melbourne game

 

[Thomasno]

Any Hungry Jack's franchises for sale in Brisbane?

We could tempt him with Beak House, the most iconic and culturally significant Hungry Jacks in any city in Australia

 

[dlanod]

Lot of people here seem to forget that Geelong is still a very ******* good team. They’ve had a rough run with both form and injury this year, but they’re the reigning premiers for a reason - they were never going to roll over in the game on the weekend, and we held them off well. Never once looked like cutting our losses and focusing on restricting the damage like we did in the Melbourne game

I still can't believe we held a forward line with Cameron, Hawkins, and Stengle in it to one goal in a half.

 

[Tom14]

I still can't believe we held a forward line with Cameron, Hawkins, and Stengle in it to one goal in a half.

1 goal until time on in the third quarter.

 

[martinson]

I still can't believe we held a forward line with Cameron, Hawkins, and Stengle in it to one goal in a half.

I reckon Geelong's been ordinary most of the year.

Cameron was clearly struggling , the end is near for Hawkins the most he can do these days is kick very accurately from pockets , and Stengle ,well he's had one good year so far.

If it wasn't for Stewart we would've been 10 in front.

Didn't get why anyone thought they had a chance against us at the Gabba.

Mind you I got a little bit aggravated near the end.

 

[notliondown]

I still can't believe we held a forward line with Cameron, Hawkins, and Stengle in it to one goal in a half.

And wasn't that a gift from Starce or am I misremembering?

 

[Grasshopper17]

And wasn't that a gift from Starce or am I misremembering?

I think that was their second goal. Let them back into the game, needlessly really.

 

[Grasshopper17]

Comments from Linc McCarthy. I really love this stuff, but by the same token, to me this comes under the category of "the basics". When we're young we're all taught about "one man up, everyone else stay down"... I know with the modern game you have the zoning defender (ala Harris Andrews

31

Harris Andrews

Age

27

Ht

202cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.8

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.6

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

151.7

2star

D

17.0

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.0

3star

D

9.8

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.8

4star

M

3.4

4star

T

1.6

4star

MG

94.0

2star

) to contend with and keep occupied as best you can. But that still doesn't warrant having 3 guys flying for the same ball with nobody left on the ground.

It does make me wonder how much success we missed out on in previous seasons by not getting little things like this right.

Anyhow, better to get this stuff right late than never I guess.

 

[dlanod]

I reckon Geelong's been ordinary most of the year.

While true, most of that has been due to various players been in and out via injury. When they've been healthy they've been very good, and they weren't missed a lot of their top players on the weekend (which was why I was quite nervous going into the game). Sure, beating Essendon and NM isn't much but they've also beaten Melbourne and the Dogs in the last six weeks.

 

[Nunez]

Comments from Linc McCarthy. I really love this stuff, but by the same token, to me this comes under the category of "the basics". When we're young we're all taught about "one man up, everyone else stay down"... I know with the modern game you have the zoning defender (ala Harris Andrews) to contend with and keep occupied as best you can. But that still doesn't warrant having 3 guys flying for the same ball with nobody left on the ground.

It does make me wonder how much success we missed out on in previous seasons by not getting little things like this right.

Anyhow, better to get this stuff right late than never I guess.

View attachment 1755870

Development isn't linear though. If it were, the Hawks wouldn't have fallen off a cliff in 2009 and take four years to make another GF. Geelong too.

This year - we have all the pieces we need to win a flag and a lot of that is not just down to recruiting Dunks and McKenna, but guys like Hugh, Bailey, Payne etc finally getting physically mature enough to share more workload.

2021 was the only year I felt our team were similarly placed except we were derailed by injuries and didn't have the depth.

 

[p4p1]

Comments from Linc McCarthy. I really love this stuff, but by the same token, to me this comes under the category of "the basics". When we're young we're all taught about "one man up, everyone else stay down"... I know with the modern game you have the zoning defender (ala Harris Andrews) to contend with and keep occupied as best you can. But that still doesn't warrant having 3 guys flying for the same ball with nobody left on the ground.

It does make me wonder how much success we missed out on in previous seasons by not getting little things like this right.

Anyhow, better to get this stuff right late than never I guess.

View attachment 1755870

This is also in line with too much icing, not enough cake rhetoric that was being used to describe us previously. All of our small-mid small forwards are capable marking options who can take pack marks, all of them have the ability to turn a game themselves, but it mean that sometimes there was no one left to do the team things and/or be happy not to be the hero etc. Charlie and Linc this year especially have really been more focused on playing a role rather than trying to nab everything within striking distance of them regardless of who is around.

 

[Squizz89]

Just here for the laughs. But in all honesty, **** me, twice in 3 weeks having been outcoached, once during the game and the other before we even ran out, whilst competing for top 2. It’s just sad really.

 

[KissKiss]

Was questionable to not bring in a mid if not 2. Same old problems rearing their head again. Clearly no lessons are ever learnt

 

[Squizz89]

Was questionable to not bring in a mid if not 2. Same old problems rearing their head again. Clearly no lessons are ever learnt

Yep. Learnings and all that. Seriously who thought having a 34yo cooked Zorko was the play?

 

[SizeMatters]

I think even the most one eyed, rose coloured glass wearing lions supporter is starting to see that Father Fagan isn’t up to it.

Where is the tactical adjustments that positively impact our chances of a win? Where is he demanding more from the blokes out there? Or maybe he is but no one is taking it on board? Neale not getting any help from his team mates. Cameron “Dusty 2.0” Rayner missing. No defensive accountability. No run. Still the same old panic bomb it long when under pressure.

What can this club legitimately do to improve between now and finals? Or next year? What are the answers? Same old same old for a few years now.

Are we happy just being good but not great?

 

[Squizz89]

Have we always been so bad at running out games, as what we have appeared the last month? I thought against Melbourne we just shit the bed, but given our last 2 weeks, our last quarters have been crap as well.

I wonder whether they have them in a heavy training block before finals, or is that giving them to much of an out for that effort tonight?

 

[Tom14]

Will do my usual #Fagesout post here as part of my healthy coping mechanism after a loss.

As respectful as I am of what Fages did for us over the last 6 years, the pattern of losses we have like this is far too frequent and its pretty predictable (if difficult to do for some teams) - stop lachie and win the clearance battle, forcing us to play the game from our back half. We don't have the personnel to play like that and don't seem to have a response when it happens or the ability to wrestle the game back onto our terms.

We are clearly all in on the list and don't really have many levers to change things. There's enough young talent there and future draft picks coming in to stay contending, but at this stage I tend to think we need a freshen up. Maybe that has to be a clear out of assistant coaches although I don't like to blame them give we have no clue what goes on.

In any case Fagan isn't going to be sacked after getting a contract extension earlier this year. I don't need him to tell me different things in press conferences or anything like that and I don't think I'm reactionary, but despite quite a lot of improvement this year I'm still seeing the same failings repeat over and over again and at some point you have to try something else.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Conole has to go

 

[JasRulz63]

Zorko has struggled with his fitness to keep in games playing half forward, and yet we move him into the midfield to replace Ashcroft instead of bringing in a midfielder. Questionable selection to go with the fascination with the three tall forward set up.

 

[SizeMatters]

Seen enough. Out in straight sets.

Nothing has changed my mind.

 

[briztoon]

Have we always been so bad at running out games, as what we have appeared the last month? I thought against Melbourne we just s**t the bed, but given our last 2 weeks, our last quarters have been crap as well.

I wonder whether they have them in a heavy training block before finals, or is that giving them to much of an out for that effort tonight?

Yes.

Been identifiable for the last three years.

 

[Nathan Barley]

I know team selection is often easy in hindsight and we look for patterns in the game that confirm our own views but how often do we get a bit cute at team selection for it to backfire in the exact way we expected it to?

 

[M Malice]

Conole has to go

Yep, bring in briztoon .