I don't know what game you watched yesterday but.....

[eskimo]

the gameplan wasn't the problem!!!

The problem was the 15 or so lazy, half assed players that took the field in the second half.

Tapscott, Trengove, Martin, Frawley, Rivers, Bail and Bartram get a reprieve from the rant.

Our team had no passion and no desire to win. The gameplan worked really well in the first half. One of the reasons they kicked so badly was the pressure they were under. They couldn't get any run and carry, and we had it all, especially in the second qtr. Even our kickins were effective in the second term!

After half time, no one ran, no one presented, we were flat footed and didn't give a shit. Brad Green didn't give a whimper, Sylvia stood in the middle of the ground whilst Clinton Young ran off him, Moloney was too busy trying to take someone's head off, and breaking a tag in the second half just got far to hard for Aaron Davey to even bother trying. Ricky Petterd complained about being the sub last week, but I doubt he laid a tackle in the forward 50 this week. The closest Dunn got to a hard effort was giving one to Hodge in the guts after the ball went out of bounds. Jurrah was leaping for the rediculous. Grimes - after 2 weeks in a row like that the Magoos might be calling if you keep it up.

This is where the blame solely and squarly lies. Contrary to popular belief on this board, we do have a gameplan, and it is effective. Unfortunately for us it takes 21+1 committed blokes to pull it off effectively. When there is only 5 or 6 players who even want to bother then it all goes to shit.

Bail did a bloody good job on Mitchell, but when Hawthorn started to block for Mitchell not one of our players gave Bail a chop out. They stood flat footed and didn't even seem to care. Jamar won probably 70% of the hitouts yesterday, but our midfielders are too stupid to work out that he taps it to the same place 90% of the time. Surely we can figure that out!

We stopped running, the forwards stopped presenting, and we were left with no option but to kick long to Jamar. Surely when this happens, rather than our forwards all running to the same contest, one of them can try to stop their opponent getting 3rd or even 4th man up against it.


Our players are to blame, not the coach. We played lazy, selfish, half assed football. It's time the players realised just what they represent when they pull that jumper on. If they don't, then I don't care if it's Aaron Davey, Colin Sylvia, Liam Jurrah or it's Michael Newton, they can **** off back to Casey!!!


/rant

 

[Crusty Demon]

the gameplan wasn't the problem!!!

The problem was the 15 or so lazy, half assed players that took the field in the second half.

Tapscott, Trengove, Martin, Frawley, Rivers, Bail and Bartram get a reprieve from the rant.

Our team had no passion and no desire to win. The gameplan worked really well in the first half. One of the reasons they kicked so badly was the pressure they were under. They couldn't get any run and carry, and we had it all, especially in the second qtr. Even our kickins were effective in the second term!

After half time, no one ran, no one presented, we were flat footed and didn't give a shit. Brad Green didn't give a whimper, Sylvia stood in the middle of the ground whilst Clinton Young ran off him, Moloney was too busy trying to take someone's head off, and breaking a tag in the second half just got far to hard for Aaron Davey to even bother trying. Ricky Petterd complained about being the sub last week, but I doubt he laid a tackle in the forward 50 this week. The closest Dunn got to a hard effort was giving one to Hodge in the guts after the ball went out of bounds. Jurrah was leaping for the rediculous. Grimes - after 2 weeks in a row like that the Magoos might be calling if you keep it up.

This is where the blame solely and squarly lies. Contrary to popular belief on this board, we do have a gameplan, and it is effective. Unfortunately for us it takes 21+1 committed blokes to pull it off effectively. When there is only 5 or 6 players who even want to bother then it all goes to shit.

Bail did a bloody good job on Mitchell, but when Hawthorn started to block for Mitchell not one of our players gave Bail a chop out. They stood flat footed and didn't even seem to care. Jamar won probably 70% of the hitouts yesterday, but our midfielders are too stupid to work out that he taps it to the same place 90% of the time. Surely we can figure that out!

We stopped running, the forwards stopped presenting, and we were left with no option but to kick long to Jamar. Surely when this happens, rather than our forwards all running to the same contest, one of them can try to stop their opponent getting 3rd or even 4th man up against it.


Our players are to blame, not the coach. We played lazy, selfish, half assed football. It's time the players realised just what they represent when they pull that jumper on. If they don't, then I don't care if it's Aaron Davey, Colin Sylvia, Liam Jurrah or it's Michael Newton, they can **** off back to Casey!!!


/rant

I agree with you for the most part, and yes 3/4 of our side yesterday were pathetic. But, the coach has the ability to change things up when things start going bad. How about making some moves or changing the style of play during the match? I don't think he has the ability matchday to do this. At least he hasn't proven this as yet. We had enough good players on the park yesterday to implement a change in style when Hawthorn were on a roll. Where was our zone and defensive pressure? How about Davey taking all the kick ins? Instruct the players to hit up a target and not just bomb it to Jamar! Just try something different. The coach has the ability to do this.

 

[eskimo]

When our players don't move, we have no option but to kick long to our tallest player. The shittest thing about the game yesterday was that 9 times out of 10, by the time the player decided to kick the ball in, that was the best option. That isn't the coaches fault. Like I said, the kick ins worked well in the first half when we provided some run

 

[Mr Controversy]

When our players don't move, we have no option but to kick long to our tallest player. The shittest thing about the game yesterday was that 9 times out of 10, by the time the player decided to kick the ball in, that was the best option. That isn't the coaches fault. Like I said, the kick ins worked well in the first half when we provided some run

I agree with you eskimo, it was bloody frustrating to watch. Yeah we were good in the first half but lets not forget hawthorn still had alot more scoring shots we just made the most of our opportunities.

I think we lack a key forward who can crash into a pack and bring the ball to ground. I also think our midfield was pretty poor. I dont know if sylvia was just buggered or plain lazy either way i wasnt impressed at all with his efforts.

Without being too harsh with our mids i think jones may need a spell and to be brutally honest im starting to wonder whether his cut out for this level. I dont think he can play midfield cause pure and simply his not good enough. He's a goer and thats what i love about him, but skill wise he struggles compared to the elite on ballers that win u flags.

I'd seriously like to see tapscott and grimes have a run in the mid. Hopefully we are flogging brisbane and bailey starts trying a few different things. As for watts i honestly think he will be something special but he needs a fire cracker or something similar to get some aggression out of him. Hope one day he just turns the corner like jack reiwolt did a couple years ago.

 

[proka123]

It was very noticeable being at the ground the Hawks were standing on their own in dangerous areas just through a series of measly chip passes. So unfortunately the laziness call is warranted.

 

[Redleg_24]

I went past Gosch's paddock on Saturday morning, only to find that we were training, so i parked the bike and had a look. Here's what I noticed.

1. The group lacks leadership and intensity even at training the day before a big game.
2. Only Brent Moloney was vocal and called blokes into line when they were playing up.
3. The players were NOT taking training seriously. The forward group were having shots at goal, and while spraying them all over the place, found time to have a laugh about how poor the kicking was
4. I don't find it funny.
5. The coaching staff were not tough on the players. Too much 'we are mates with these young fellas' shit going on.
6. Jack Watts is the typical private school boy who loves a good time and needs a wake up call. Was all laughs at training. (I went to a big Melb private school and have see this type of talented go wasted before. Case Example. Cayden Beetham, St Kilda).
7. We lack the professionalism of a side like Collingwood. I have seen them train and it is all business.
8. We have too many blokes that are just happy to be an AFL footballer and don't have the hunger to be elite and/or go to the enxt level to win a premiership.

Things I noticed last night

1. Frawley was underdone. His first to kicks proved as much
2. Jetta is unfit and lazy but can use it, but should be back at Caset this week.
3. Jamar wins a lot of centre taps, but opposition sides set up knowing he will knock it in our direction and continually 'shark' the footy.
4. Jamar and Stef tap the ball in the opposition direction from stoppoges.
5. Grimes needs to have a week in a different position. His kicking is shit ATM. Give him a go in the midfield or on a wing. Let him get some confidence back. Under too much pressure down back.
6. We are the worst at kicking the ball in from a re-start in the comp. This has been a trait for 4+ years now.
7. Davey is a brilliant kick. However, I reckon he has lost a yard and he goes missing too often when the going gets tough.
8. Jones and Beamer are too similiar a player and should never be on the ground at teh same time. Beamer is a better player than Jones.
9. Our game plan is......well..is there one?
10. we play on at all costs and put ourselves under unnecessary pressure.
11. WE DO NOT PUSH BACK OFF THE MARK FAR ENOUGH BEFORE KICKING. Therefore, are kicking is shit.
12. Dunn was quiet.
13. Jurrah needs to stop jumping at everything. Be realistic.
14. I hate Hawthorn
15. Cam Bruce needs to see Advanced Hair urgently.

 

[Tulip]

Agree with the original poster. We were surprisingly cohesive in our game plan. Problem for me though is the gamplan itself, it's outdated because of defensive zones and forward pressure.

 

[demonfromupnorth]

Eskimo, tip of the cap to you sir. Spot on post.

 

[eskimo]

Agree with the original poster. We were surprisingly cohesive in our game plan. Problem for me though is the gamplan itself, it's outdated because of defensive zones and forward pressure.

I don't neccessarily agree that it is now outdated. When all 21 players commit to it, we have seen it work perfectly, and it is very effective against the zone. However it does need some tweaking.

We set up far too deep in our own defensive 50. We start our zone from the goal square almost. We need to set up from 30-40m out. If we move up the ground a little bit with the zone it means when we force a turnover and go forward we will actually have players in our half.

There are no major concerns with the game plan, just a few subtleties that need to be addressed. I still think the game plan has as much merit as any other, but until the players play 110% committed footy, it will continue to fall down. Just like Collingwoods game plan would fall down without commitment to it.

 

[RandB]

There are no major concerns with the game plan, just a few subtleties that need to be addressed. I still think the game plan has as much merit as any other, but until the players play 110% committed footy, it will continue to fall down. Just like Collingwoods game plan would fall down without commitment to it.

I agree with some of your observations but the reality is that 21 players don't just collectively stop "committing" to a game plan at the same time merely because the opposition have lifted their work rate. 21 players don't just simply toss a game in the "too hard basket" when it heats up.

We were simply unprepared for the brand and style of football Hawthorn came out with in the 2nd half.

 

[Brock Machine]

We were simply unprepared for the brand and style of football Hawthorn came out with in the 2nd half.

Unprepared or just physically incapable of matching it with a mature hungry Top 4ish opposition at this stage?

 

[RandB]

Unprepared or just physically incapable of matching it with a mature hungry Top 4ish opposition at this stage?

Unprepared in every sense, including physicality.

 

[Biffinator]

And Redleg 24 - an equally good post. In my profession - safety - the culture of a company is determined by the leadership. Your account resonates with me; other than Beamer, there is no 'in your face' leader to make the rank and file tow the line. Green is a leader by virtue of his professionalism and standing in the game - and rightly so. But given our culture since 1964 - or even 1987, something more pointed is required. I actually long for the day when - for all the right reasons - a fight erupts between two guys on the list. To me, that spells hunger.

No-one berated or commiserated with Jetta when he dropped that mark. To my mind, that is unforgiveable.

Jack Watts, for instance, has already been lapped by Hurley, and Darling is coming along nicely. Yes, in two years time, I daresay he will be unstoppable but a good kick in the arse is going to get him there faster.

Over the years, business-wise, I have lost deals here and there. Why, I ask myself retrospectively? Often it is because I did not want it enough. Could the same be said of our current talented list?

 

[BigSexc]

Redleg_24 makes some good points, would love to hear more of his insight from time to time

 

[Cudi_420]

It was actually embarrassing to watch them kick out of full-back. Like a bunch of kids scared to move around. It was terrible.

 

[Andy_Mac]

And Redleg 24 - an equally good post. In my profession - safety - the culture of a company is determined by the leadership. Your account resonates with me; other than Beamer, there is no 'in your face' leader to make the rank and file tow the line. Green is a leader by virtue of his professionalism and standing in the game - and rightly so. But given our culture since 1964 - or even 1987, something more pointed is required. I actually long for the day when - for all the right reasons - a fight erupts between two guys on the list. To me, that spells hunger.

No-one berated or commiserated with Jetta when he dropped that mark. To my mind, that is unforgiveable.

Jack Watts, for instance, has already been lapped by Hurley, and Darling is coming along nicely. Yes, in two years time, I daresay he will be unstoppable but a good kick in the arse is going to get him there faster.

Over the years, business-wise, I have lost deals here and there. Why, I ask myself retrospectively? Often it is because I did not want it enough. Could the same be said of our current talented list?

The fish rots at the head.

I have been a Bailey fan, but if Mick Malthouse comes on to the market...

 

[Mightydees]

I agree with some of your observations but the reality is that 21 players don't just collectively stop "committing" to a game plan at the same time merely because the opposition have lifted their work rate. 21 players don't just simply toss a game in the "too hard basket" when it heats up.

We were simply unprepared for the brand and style of football Hawthorn came out with in the 2nd half.

I was there on Sunday and remember being well pleased to see so much Melbourne movement across the ground during the second quarter. If there is one thing I cannot stand its going to the football and watching a group of blokes stand around while they get slaughtered. I thought it was going to be different on Sunday while I sat there and watched the second quarter. We were moving, providing options and alot of the Hawks mistakes were due to our pressure and run. Our skills were good too. I pinched myself but I wasn't asleep! Was it Christmas?

I was sitting centre wing on the second tier and so I had a perfect view of the entire ground and I can tell you that I visually noticed a massive difference from the bounce of the ball in the second half. There was one point when a Melbourne player had the ball in the defensive 50 and not a single Melbourne player was moving at all while the player with the ball looked around for an option. It was seriously hands on hips stuff waiting for someone else to do the work. Pathetic. That continued for the entire 3rd quarter and while I am not dumb enough to fail to acknowledge that the Hawkers played a fantastic brand of football in that quarter I will say that we contributed to that through our lack of run. Whether that was due to a lack of commitment or a lack of fitness or both I have no idea but we stopped in that 3rd quarter and I felt like I had gone back in time....

 

[The Uncle]

Finally some people who actually watched the game and picked up on the real problems. Game plan or no game plan dean bailey can't make our players run and present from the coaches box. It was noticable last week and far too many times this week that not one melbourne player was presenting from the kick. I would rather see melbourne play a juniors brand of football whereby we all huddle in the middle and run to one side, than to watch the cr@p we served up on the weekend. I think leadership is a real problem in this area because we need a general down back telling players what to do and where to run. I'm not sure of Frawleys personality and he was clearly under done on the weekend but I think he has to step up and really lead that backline from kick in's. From everything i've seen on game day and the videos postered on the website i really think beamer should have been named captain, he bleeds red and blue and the boys really seem to respect him and he is the only vocal player we seem to have. Really looking forward to having a full fit list to choose from so the pressure for spots really heats up, players won't be able to dish up the weekends efforts once Scully, Mckenzie, Morton and Gysberts are all 100% fit.

 

[stretcharmstrong]

the gameplan wasn't the problem!!!

The problem was the 15 or so lazy, half assed players that took the field in the second half.

Tapscott, Trengove, Martin, Frawley, Rivers, Bail and Bartram get a reprieve from the rant.

Our team had no passion and no desire to win. The gameplan worked really well in the first half. One of the reasons they kicked so badly was the pressure they were under. They couldn't get any run and carry, and we had it all, especially in the second qtr. Even our kickins were effective in the second term!

After half time, no one ran, no one presented, we were flat footed and didn't give a shit. Brad Green didn't give a whimper, Sylvia stood in the middle of the ground whilst Clinton Young ran off him, Moloney was too busy trying to take someone's head off, and breaking a tag in the second half just got far to hard for Aaron Davey to even bother trying. Ricky Petterd complained about being the sub last week, but I doubt he laid a tackle in the forward 50 this week. The closest Dunn got to a hard effort was giving one to Hodge in the guts after the ball went out of bounds. Jurrah was leaping for the rediculous. Grimes - after 2 weeks in a row like that the Magoos might be calling if you keep it up.

This is where the blame solely and squarly lies. Contrary to popular belief on this board, we do have a gameplan, and it is effective. Unfortunately for us it takes 21+1 committed blokes to pull it off effectively. When there is only 5 or 6 players who even want to bother then it all goes to shit.

Bail did a bloody good job on Mitchell, but when Hawthorn started to block for Mitchell not one of our players gave Bail a chop out. They stood flat footed and didn't even seem to care. Jamar won probably 70% of the hitouts yesterday, but our midfielders are too stupid to work out that he taps it to the same place 90% of the time. Surely we can figure that out!

We stopped running, the forwards stopped presenting, and we were left with no option but to kick long to Jamar. Surely when this happens, rather than our forwards all running to the same contest, one of them can try to stop their opponent getting 3rd or even 4th man up against it.


Our players are to blame, not the coach. We played lazy, selfish, half assed football. It's time the players realised just what they represent when they pull that jumper on. If they don't, then I don't care if it's Aaron Davey, Colin Sylvia, Liam Jurrah or it's Michael Newton, they can **** off back to Casey!!!


/rant

Thank you. Finally a voice of reason.

I wish I could express my thoughts as concisely and effectively as that!



BTW, did anyone else get frustrated at Beamer and Sylvia standing in the Hawks f50 having a little bitch fight (was after one of their ops had just taken an uncontested mark about 35m out at the city end during the 3rd quarter)? Two of my favorite players and I was so ****ing angry at what I saw, they honestly stood there havin a go at each other for about 30-45 seconds.

Where they doing what I thought they were doing, or something else, was anyone sitting ground level in that pocket?

 

[stretcharmstrong]

I went past Gosch's paddock on Saturday morning, only to find that we were training, so i parked the bike and had a look. Here's what I noticed.

1. The group lacks leadership and intensity even at training the day before a big game.
2. Only Brent Moloney was vocal and called blokes into line when they were playing up.
3. The players were NOT taking training seriously. The forward group were having shots at goal, and while spraying them all over the place, found time to have a laugh about how poor the kicking was
4. I don't find it funny.
5. The coaching staff were not tough on the players. Too much 'we are mates with these young fellas' shit going on.
6. Jack Watts is the typical private school boy who loves a good time and needs a wake up call. Was all laughs at training. (I went to a big Melb private school and have see this type of talented go wasted before. Case Example. Cayden Beetham, St Kilda).
7. We lack the professionalism of a side like Collingwood. I have seen them train and it is all business.
8. We have too many blokes that are just happy to be an AFL footballer and don't have the hunger to be elite and/or go to the enxt level to win a premiership.

Things I noticed last night

1. Frawley was underdone. His first to kicks proved as much
2. Jetta is unfit and lazy but can use it, but should be back at Caset this week.
3. Jamar wins a lot of centre taps, but opposition sides set up knowing he will knock it in our direction and continually 'shark' the footy.
4. Jamar and Stef tap the ball in the opposition direction from stoppoges.
5. Grimes needs to have a week in a different position. His kicking is shit ATM. Give him a go in the midfield or on a wing. Let him get some confidence back. Under too much pressure down back.
6. We are the worst at kicking the ball in from a re-start in the comp. This has been a trait for 4+ years now.
7. Davey is a brilliant kick. However, I reckon he has lost a yard and he goes missing too often when the going gets tough.
8. Jones and Beamer are too similiar a player and should never be on the ground at teh same time. Beamer is a better player than Jones.
9. Our game plan is......well..is there one?
10. we play on at all costs and put ourselves under unnecessary pressure.
11. WE DO NOT PUSH BACK OFF THE MARK FAR ENOUGH BEFORE KICKING. Therefore, are kicking is shit.
12. Dunn was quiet.
13. Jurrah needs to stop jumping at everything. Be realistic.
14. I hate Hawthorn
15. Cam Bruce needs to see Advanced Hair urgently.

Definitely noticed these things last night. Particularly the stepping back away from the mark, or often taking that one step too far just before the kick, and having to adjust the kick at the last second. Inevitably the kick is poor as a result.

 

[Mightydees]

I saw Bateman mow Davey down on the wing like he was standing still....he has definitely lost a yard or two unfortunately

 

[RandB]

I was sitting centre wing on the second tier and so I had a perfect view of the entire ground and I can tell you that I visually noticed a massive difference from the bounce of the ball in the second half. There was one point when a Melbourne player had the ball in the defensive 50 and not a single Melbourne player was moving at all while the player with the ball looked around for an option. It was seriously hands on hips stuff waiting for someone else to do the work. Pathetic.

That sort of thing happened a fair bit in the 2nd half and no doubt we became static and yes some players were lazy. What I am getting at is that not everyone was lazy, yet we had a systemic breakdown across the board the reason being that lack of movement was contagious - we lost our instinct of where to move. IMO our gameplan needs to be more thorough and we need to be better drilled so that this doesn't happen.

Often players didn't want to put their hand up and present because they were closely checked and more often than not we turned it over. Is that pathetic? Well it is subjective. It may have looked pathetic, it may sound pathetic on paper but why does it happen everytime we play a team like Hawthorn who counter our gameplan well? Perhaps we have the most pathetic team in the comp - is it that simple? I don't think so. We have to look further and ask ourselves why did so many players simply lose their run and efficiency. Why didn't we have a system where the majority of players could keep us in the game and play some players back into the game rather than opening the flood gates.

We lack leadership (we have for 3 years) and we slowed up early in the 2nd half but why so early? Because Hawthorn had changed the way they played and we didn't have the answers as a team. I don't dispute that some players didn't put in but I find it inconceivable that 21 players all lose their run purely because they were lazy.

That continued for the entire 3rd quarter and while I am not dumb enough to fail to acknowledge that the Hawkers played a fantastic brand of football in that quarter I will say that we contributed to that through our lack of run. Whether that was due to a lack of commitment or a lack of fitness or both I have no idea but we stopped in that 3rd quarter and I felt like I had gone back in time....

Mate, there's no doubt we had a lack of run. Fitness is a big part of it I dare say and it showed later in the game and also understanding and reading the play seemed non existant. I am not for one minute defending those players who didn't work hard enough and there were plenty but our defensive 50 was absolutely bottled up. Players couldn't work to space because there wasn't any. We were trying too hard to spot up players down the ground from the long kick out rather than patiently working it out kick by kick and rolling forward and forcing the Hawk zone backwards at the same time. We had no collective strategy. They pressed so hard that Grimes was actually struggling at times to even get the ball out past the man on the mark. Hawthorn did a very good job at closing off the visible options to the kicker. We didn't adapt because we didn't collectively know how.

In open play we didn't work to space enough or work the spread as Bailey rightly pointed out and we got smashed at the centre breaks, there's no doubt about it. There is a part of me though that suspects that the players aren't drilled thoroughly enough to actually work the spread and this was evident against Sydney too. When we play the better teams who counter our game plan well we don't just magically (all 21) go to shit simply through lazyness. In some cases lack of movement can be a symptom rather than a cause save for a couple of blokes not having a crack and Bailey will know who those players were.

I don't profess to know what goes on at training and other posters have much more insight than I do but from what I saw players ended up giving up over the space of the final 2 quarters not collectively at the same time but because there was no system or team synergy in place. We couldn't even slow the game down.

Many of the things we didn't do should be 2nd nature by now and whilst there were some genuinely lazy players there were also players who simply didn't know where to go or what the other players were doing and subsequently lost their own run as a result.

On the odd occasion we took a mark around half back or the middle rarely did the ball holder give the other players time to spread or work down the ground. Whilst our movement was admittedly not great we made it worse by playing on aimlessly and not giving ourselves the chance to get the play back in the forward half or control the tempo.

In reality we need to improve both on the ground and at training by the looks.

 

[Mightydees]

They pressed so hard that Grimes was actually struggling at times to even get the ball out past the man on the mark. Hawthorn did a very good job at closing off the visible options to the kicker. We didn't adapt because we didn't collectively know how.

RandB this is a very good point because I was told by a player that the reason the team lost to the Bombers during the NAB Cup was that the Bombers utilised a defensive tactic that the Dees had never seen before and they couldn't adapt to it before the end of the game. The Hawks changed their setup after half time and we clearly couldn't adapt to this change. This has to be a coaching issue as good coaches should be able to adapt the team plan 'during the game' to combat opposition changes...not during the next time we play that team....

Having said that I still believe that at the very least the old motto "do something, do anything" has to apply in situations where the players face a structure that they have no answer to. On Sunday they all appeared to ignore that basic premise and were standing flat footed with their palms facing the sky....

 

[demonfromupnorth]

RandB this is a very good point because I was told by a player that the reason the team lost to the Bombers during the NAB Cup was that the Bombers utilised a defensive tactic that the Dees had never seen before and they couldn't adapt to it before the end of the game. The Hawks changed their setup after half time and we clearly couldn't adapt to this change. This has to be a coaching issue as good coaches should be able to adapt the team plan 'during the game' to combat opposition changes...not during the next time we play that team....

Having said that I still believe that at the very least the old motto "do something, do anything" has to apply in situations where the players face a structure that they have no answer to. On Sunday they all appeared to ignore that basic premise and were standing flat footed with their palms facing the sky....

This is what makes my blood boil.

If that is close to an actual quote, we have a massive problem with our list. It sounds to me like a cop out, a poor excuse, why would a player openly admit to that?

Anyway, back to the Hawthorn game. During the first half, our ball movement was smooth; players looked fresh, willing and supportive. Our 'game plan' was working well. The second half things changed, one word comes to mind.... LAZY. It was deflating to watch. We went from being structured, hardworking and accountable to complete rabble.

How can we blame the coach when a player misses a tackle then drops his head, or when a player drops a crucial mark, resulting in a goal and receives no encouragement or support from team mates? Is it the coach’s fault we didn't chase, create space for a team mate or stood on the spot with our hand raised screaming for the ball when we shouldn't have?

Its the players who needed to take a reality check, I can't except F class performances.

 

[Redleg_24]

I will add this, I have been a Dean Bailey supporter from day dot, I am not calling for his head, yet, but by Christ I don't reckon this bloke has a 'modern' gameplan capable of taking us all the way. I know the players have a lot to answer for, however, I have observed teams playing against us. They work us out very quickly and apply a defence (press) that we are incapable of handling. Bailey makes very few changes, even when the ship begins to leak. This pisses me off no end. In fact, ofter he does quite the opposite, As the ship begins to leak he continues his 'rotations' and often has our B grade midfield competing at bounces in the crucial stage of the quarter when we are under the pump. I hate this! He also is super reluctant to change or try giuys in a new position. As I stated earlier, Grimes was having a shocker (2nd week in a row) down back. The kitchen was really hot and he needed to have some pressure taken off him, what did Dean do? SFA!! You have to be flexible.

Secondly, what the ****? is with our forward line setup? We seem to set up differentlt all the time. We seem to change a setup that is working back to one that has no hope. Sunday, 3rd quarter. FWDS: Watts, Stef Martin, Greeny. Those three only. Hawthorn set up one loose. Ball gets bombed in, no small crumbers, easily whisked up the other end. It frustrates the hell out of me. There was very little defensive pressure the other night. Opposition sides seem to take the bail out of our defence far too easily. If Davey has lost a yard, perhaps he needs to be back in a fwd pocket. Chasing guys down.

Final point. I have been a long time supporter of Rohan Bail since he arrived at the club. I knew he would be a gun as I had seen his form in the QAFL first hand while going to uni up there. Sunday proved that he is a great player for us and is as clean of a user as we have. Keep it up Bails!!!


Dees, pul the finger out this week, switch on, wipe the ****ing smile off the dile (saw them in the pool at AAMI on the Telly last night, happy as ****in larry) and give the Lions a thumping to remember. Failure to torch the Lions his week tells me something is up and people will be under scrutiny.