Coach Justin Longmuir

[Snuffaluphagus]

I think you have to get credit where it's due. Changed up the midfield and got better results (whether that's the oppoistion or not we cant tell) and had the team playing a better brand of footy in the first half. In particular, putting Switta and Jackson through the midfield is showing a willingness to try new things which is encouraging. I'm also putting that third term on no one but the players.

As we get into the season, I think people also need to start to get away from last years results. North, with LDU and Simpkin, are a much better side than last year (bottom 6 still but not absolute dogshit last and I'm not giving an out for the shitshow that was last week), WC when their old men bodies dont break down would be good enough to float around 9-12 (though they'll be bottom 4 now with their injuries) and St Kilda are having that new coach bounce and playing fantastic footy. It's still been a shitty start to the year but mah main point is not use arbitrary things like where these teams finished last year - that can change A LOT each year.

One game doesnt mean much in the grander scheme of things, but he certainly did the things most people on here wanted to see.

 

[Quazar]

I think you have to get credit where it's due. Changed up the midfield and got better results (whether that's the oppoistion or not we cant tell) and had the team playing a better brand of footy in the first half. In particular, putting Switta and Jackson through the midfield is showing a willingness to try new things which is encouraging. I'm also putting that third term on no one but the players.

As we get into the season, I think people also need to start to get away from last years results. North, with LDU and Simpkin, are a much better side than last year (bottom 6 still but not absolute dogshit last and I'm not giving an out for the shitshow that was last week), WC when their old men bodies dont break down would be good enough to float around 9-12 (though they'll be bottom 4 now with their injuries) and St Kilda are having that new coach bounce and playing fantastic footy. It's still been a shitty start to the year but mah main point is not use arbitrary things like where these teams finished last year - that can change A LOT each year.

One game doesnt mean much in the grander scheme of things, but he certainly did the things most people on here wanted to see.

as fans we have this weird, unofficial rule to reserve the right to be completely illogical about all things sports, no matter what situation. We win, we're euphoric and expectant, we lose...and if we should so lose badly, we go all out on the warpath to decimate the club and its 'fallibilities'.

Every single fanbase is doing it, especially here. What I liked about yesterday is what you described the willingness to 'try' different things, mix it up...and then from there the intent. The willingness to attack the contest, get to work and then to find a way through West Coast's defense. The lowering of the eyes, especially from Serong was quality. That's something we must persist with because we have great runners and kickers with the likes of Clark and Young, Serong. In fact Caleb really lifted, and when we needed him to. He held composure and looked for an option that set up important chains of attack. Switta's runs through there were incredible and his ability to break lines and cause havoc was immense, his game was especially good! Of course, if we're realistic, Wiggles losing many men helped, they ran out of interchange usage and as a result, fatigued.

But we let them off the hook in the 3rd, a bad quarter by us....and to be fair things looked bleak and I thought "we're bottling it", but we maintained a stranglehold in the 4th as Wiggles ran out of steam - that's unfortunate for them, but there's nothing we can do about that, nature of the beast and it's not like we haven't suffered the same indigity. Of course the West bias will say 'brave Eagles' lah lah lah, but 4 points is 4 points. Sometimes you just need to get them, no matter if you don't play the ultimate sexy game! Credit to J-Lo for the midfield shake-up, we needed to do something and yesterday, we got the right answers

 

[Midnite65]

You would prefer rude, prickly and arrogant and talking junk philosophy tripe?

Yes, much better to have Clarko who cant even shake Mitchell's hand after the game or attend a joint press conference.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Yes, much better to have Clarko who cant even shake Mitchell's hand after the game or attend a joint press conference.

Really? What a gigantic flog

 

[Lach72]

Really? What a gigantic flog

I reckon Sammy may have had something to say on the racism issue that rustled Clarko's jimmys

 

[fnerd]

Yeah didn’t Mitchell retell a sort of when hawks were flying to Sydney 10+years ago and clarko told them no phones allowed and at the time michells wife was having issues with their unborn kid and desperately wanted to have one on him(pretty fukn obvious) so he and clarko ended up having an heated argument that only got resolved by then gm of footy mark evans- who basically gave Mitchell the ok?

Not racism related but certainly didn’t do anything to paint clarko in a good light…and rightly so , clarko really does co me across as some average human being

 

[Spirit Level]

I think it must be said....

We were slitting our wrists because we thought we needed to go 6-0 in this 'easy' stretch in order to make finals because the rest of the fixture is brutal.

But look ahead now after 3 rounds and it doesnt look as daunting. Geelong and Brisbane dont seem as good as last year, Sydney are beatable.

 

[Midnite65]

I think it must be said....

We were slitting our wrists because we thought we needed to go 6-0 in this 'easy' stretch in order to make finals because the rest of the fixture is brutal.

But look ahead now after 3 rounds and it doesnt look as daunting. Geelong and Brisbane dont seem as good as last year, Sydney are beatable.

They may be beatable but generally are at least 5 goals better playing on their home decks.

 

[poshman]

My post was made in reply to comments on another thread entirely.

That thread was not about discussion of JL's performance in general -- it instead merely invited speculation on who might take over JL's job once he is sacked.

In my view, that thread and the comments in it, were not just counter productive at this point in the season, but also a cheap shot, and frankly rather offensive.

The mods then later merged that other thread, with this one.... Why they did this, I have no idea.

From the looks of it though, some of the more offensive comments from that previous other thread may have been pulled since the two threads were merged as well.

My comments in the post you quoted, pertain specifically to the contents of that other thread, not to the contents of this one.

I have not read any of the comments in this thread, so I can't comment on them.

I'm willing to hazard a guess however, that this entire thread (unlike that other one) isn't just based around ghoulish speculation that is seemingly designed specifically to be hurtful.

No doubt there's some sort of grounded and reasonable discussion to the pros and cons of JL's performance in this thread, rather than just one mean-hearted cheap shot after another when the guy is under pressure.

Disagree with my posts by all means, and believe whatever you like about JL-- that's your right, and I honestly don't care either way.

But please check the larger context around my posts first, before you try taking me to task.

With respect, your criticisms were way off the mark, as the context behind my comments, is not the same as the general context of this thread's far more encompassing, far more involved, and hopefully far more meritorious discussions.

Fair enough - I could only reply to the post I saw in this thread, which I am sure you could understand would normally be all the context needed. I don't think there would be a way to check the larger context and in this instance due to the merged threads it has caused an issue.

My criticisms as understood were not way off the mark as such, it seems that the thread issue means we just completely missed each other.

Appreciate you pointing that out as your post didnt make sense in light of this thread.

 

[poshman]

He is barely started on his 4th year as head coach (senior manager in a multimillion dollar company, his role is vastly different to an assistant coach), he is expected to be competent but needs to gain a lot more experience in the job, has a lot of study to do if he wants to improve. I doubt that the board would have seen a different trajectory to that when he was appointed.

As a senior manager in that position who hires others, 4th year is no longer 'young' or 'inexperienced'. Results are measured quarterly.

You mention the board, yet it was the board who set the targets of prelims, finals and premierships in the next few years.

 

[poshman]

I think you have to get credit where it's due. Changed up the midfield and got better results (whether that's the oppoistion or not we cant tell) and had the team playing a better brand of footy in the first half. In particular, putting Switta and Jackson through the midfield is showing a willingness to try new things which is encouraging. I'm also putting that third term on no one but the players.

As we get into the season, I think people also need to start to get away from last years results. North, with LDU and Simpkin, are a much better side than last year (bottom 6 still but not absolute dogshit last and I'm not giving an out for the shitshow that was last week), WC when their old men bodies dont break down would be good enough to float around 9-12 (though they'll be bottom 4 now with their injuries) and St Kilda are having that new coach bounce and playing fantastic footy. It's still been a shitty start to the year but mah main point is not use arbitrary things like where these teams finished last year - that can change A LOT each year.

One game doesnt mean much in the grander scheme of things, but he certainly did the things most people on here wanted to see.

Agree with the credit and somewhat with not looking at last seasons results. Longmuir should get credit for Switta and Jackson into the middle. He should get a heap of criticism for how we started the year.

We should have beaten North and the Saints. Losing both has put us behind the eight ball for the year. I thought we would finish 7th-12th. Now I think it is more like 8th - 13th. And 8th would mean a lot went right. Ade - GCS - BL - WB

How many are you confident we will win?

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Agree with the credit and somewhat with not looking at last seasons results. Longmuir should get credit for Switta and Jackson into the middle. He should get a heap of criticism for how we started the year.

We should have beaten North and the Saints. Losing both has put us behind the eight ball for the year. I thought we would finish 7th-12th. Now I think it is more like 8th - 13th. And 8th would mean a lot went right. Ade - GCS - BL - WB

How many are you confident we will win?

I think by seasons end, the Saints win will be seen as a 50/50 game and I dont want to absolve him of criticism, only that we give credit where it's due. I shouldnt be terrified heading into a derby against this WC side.

Bit of a cop out but I honestly dont know where we are at. How much do we place those first two games down to two very good coaches picking us apart because we look really good when we can play how we like. Of the next 4 I'd say

• There's half a chance we win all 4
• Equal chance we win between 1 and 3
• No chance we lose all 4

I think we match up well with Adelaide, Brisbane (particularly these guys and they're not exactly flying at the moment) and the Dogs and I'm not too scared of GC outside of their home ground (plus, we hub really well).

In particular, I think a lot of the next month is down to a few players. Can Jackson repeat yesterdays game basically every week? Can Tabs re-discover something near his best? We win basically all these games if those two questions alone are a yes. Hopefully Switta in the midfield keeps giving it that boost we need because the midfield losing contests is my biggest cause for concern at the moment, that and the possibility of Sonny getting injured.

 

[dominguez]

You would prefer rude, prickly and arrogant and talking junk philosophy tripe?

100%, Lyon's press conferences were iconic!!

What's your name????

 

[dominguez]

He is barely started on his 4th year as head coach (senior manager in a multimillion dollar company, his role is vastly different to an assistant coach), he is expected to be competent but needs to gain a lot more experience in the job, has a lot of study to do if he wants to improve. I doubt that the board would have seen a different trajectory to that when he was appointed.

How far into their tenure did Horse at Sydney and Beveridge at the Dogs win a flag? How long was RTB here before we played in a GF?

If we miss the 8 this year personally I'd sack JLo. I can't see Bell and Garlick agreeing with me, but if we miss the 8 he starts 2024 under a lot of pressure.

 

[dominguez]

I think by seasons end, the Saints win will be seen as a 50/50 game and I dont want to absolve him of criticism, only that we give credit where it's due. I shouldnt be terrified heading into a derby against this WC side.

Bit of a cop out but I honestly dont know where we are at. How much do we place those first two games down to two very good coaches picking us apart because we look really good when we can play how we like. Of the next 4 I'd say

• There's half a chance we win all 4
• Equal chance we win between 1 and 3
• No chance we lose all 4

I think we match up well with Adelaide, Brisbane (particularly these guys and they're not exactly flying at the moment) and the Dogs and I'm not too scared of GC outside of their home ground (plus, we hub really well).

In particular, I think a lot of the next month is down to a few players. Can Jackson repeat yesterdays game basically every week? Can Tabs re-discover something near his best? We win basically all these games if those two questions alone are a yes. Hopefully Switta in the midfield keeps giving it that boost we need because the midfield losing contests is my biggest cause for concern at the moment, that and the possibility of Sonny getting injured.

Getting what many thought was an easy first 5 or 6 games is actually a curse really. The bottom teams often start the next season well because they've had a longer pre-season then by mid-May they start to fall away. Carlton and Saints did it last year, Suns do it every year.

Despite our poor form in the first 2 games dropping both puts pressure on the next month though. We should have pinched one of them.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Getting what many thought was an easy first 5 or 6 games is actually a curse really. The bottom teams often start the next season well because they've had a longer pre-season then by mid-May they start to fall away. Carlton and Saints did it last year, Suns do it every year.

Despite our poor form in the first 2 games dropping both puts pressure on the next month though. We should have pinched one of them.

Yeah, if we'd just found a way to get over the line against North, it's not an ideal start but it does make the rest of the year easier. We'll have to pinch an extra one against a top 4 somewhere down the line to make up for it

 

[E Shed]

There were definitely problems in the first 2 games that I blame the coaches for. Conservative selection & trying to just plug & play O’Meara, Jackson & Hughes into the Mundy, Lobb & Acres roles.

I think it’s fair to say though that O’Meara & Jackson are taking some time to settle in & are starting to look better, Jackson did some very impressive stuff yesterday amongst all the nearly. Hughes has been more than serviceable & actually made some nice attacking plays through the corridor yesterday.
Point being is we lost some key cogs & it’s on JL that the system wasn’t firing properly but it’s getting better.

I also don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that the Eagles fielded a very strong side on paper yesterday. Shuey, Kelly, Sheed, Ginbey is a decent midfield & Shuey was chopping us up yesterday.
Allen, Darling, Waterman, Cripps, Ryan is a much stronger forward setup than we have & their defense with Hurn, McGovern, Barrass & Duggan is excellent.

I saw them throw the absolute kitchen sink at us yesterday & I think their injuries are a result of those older guys trying to turn back the clock. They were much more experienced, have been one of the better teams around when all up & about & I think it would have gone to the wire without the injuries but I don’t see that as symptomatic of anything more than our team is very young, has had significant structural changes & is yet to fully click.

I do hope to see JL make some gutsy calls & back Johnson to play 4 quarters, back Amiss to play FF, start easing Erasmus in & for the love of God at least let Sturt play a few games to see if he has it.

Our current forward setup is a fair way off the top teams. We need Fyfe to remember how to be Fyfe, Jackson to keep growing, Amiss to keep growing & Walters to stay fit to be any chance of finals this year.

 

[estibador]

How far into their tenure did Horse at Sydney and Beveridge at the Dogs win a flag? How long was RTB here before we played in a GF?

If we miss the 8 this year personally I'd sack JLo. I can't see Bell and Garlick agreeing with me, but if we miss the 8 he starts 2024 under a lot of pressure.

It's a tough one. We miss the finals and you start to worry that another year could be a wasted development year if you stick with JLo and he's no good.

But then you look at examples like Geelong and Richmond who both had down years after previously being on an upward trajectory, decide to stick with their coaches who looked like dead men walking, then suddenly explode and win 3 premierships each. Do they cost themselves those flags if they panic and sack Thompson and Hardwick?

Given the age of our squad I'd lean towards holding our nerve and hope it works out like the above. I think JLo overachieving last year with a ridiculously young team was enough to show he's no dud.

 

[Square Peg]

It's a tough one. We miss the finals and you start to worry that another year could be a wasted development year if you stick with JLo and he's no good.

But then you look at examples like Geelong and Richmond who both had down years after previously being on an upward trajectory, decide to stick with their coaches who looked like dead men walking, then suddenly explode and win 3 premierships each. Do they cost themselves those flags if they panic and sack Thompson and Hardwick?

Given the age of our squad I'd lean towards holding our nerve and hope it works out like the above. I think JLo overachieving last year with a ridiculously young team was enough to show he's no dud.

It depends a lot on whether the pronouncements by Garlick and JLo himself are cynical marketing tools to get members sucked in, pie in the sky ambitions that no one should hold them to, or realistic assessments of where we should be at.

 

[estibador]

It depends a lot on whether the pronouncements by Garlick and JLo himself are cynical marketing tools to get members sucked in, pie in the sky ambitions that no one should hold them to, or realistic assessments of where we should be at.

But again, Geelong and Richmond both missed the finals the year before they won their first flags. It's not unprecedented to have a major hiccup while still being on the right path.

 

[royale with cheese]

It's a tough one. We miss the finals and you start to worry that another year could be a wasted development year if you stick with JLo and he's no good.

But then you look at examples like Geelong and Richmond who both had down years after previously being on an upward trajectory, decide to stick with their coaches who looked like dead men walking, then suddenly explode and win 3 premierships each. Do they cost themselves those flags if they panic and sack Thompson and Hardwick?

Given the age of our squad I'd lean towards holding our nerve and hope it works out like the above. I think JLo overachieving last year with a ridiculously young team was enough to show he's no dud.

Hardwick took 8 seasons to win a premiership. Richmond fans were very impatient

 

[Square Peg]

But again, Geelong and Richmond both missed the finals the year before they won their first flags. It's not unprecedented to have a major hiccup while still being on the right path.

Yes but JLo said himself preseason he's not going to predict where we finish, but if we go backwards this year something has gone wrong.
It might not be irretrievably wrong, but it isn't his plan.
Add this to the well discussed 3 prelims and a flag by 2025.
So let's hypothesise (as seems reasonably likely now based on how we're tracking) we don't make finals, the question for the club is how tolerant are they? I would suggest it depends a lot on whether they truly believed these statements, or just said them out of either hope or as a marketing ploy. If they truly believed, they're going to be less tolerant of not making finals, it just makes sense.

 

[poshman]

Yes but JLo said himself preseason he's not going to predict where we finish, but if we go backwards this year something has gone wrong.
It might not be irretrievably wrong, but it isn't his plan.
Add this to the well discussed 3 prelims and a flag by 2025.
So let's hypothesise (as seems reasonably likely now based on how we're tracking) we don't make finals, the question for the club is how tolerant are they? I would suggest it depends a lot on whether they truly believed these statements, or just said them out of either hope or as a marketing ploy. If they truly believed, they're going to be less tolerant of not making finals, it just makes sense.

Exactly. 3 prelims by 2025 means we must play one this season. Missing by a round in the finals is no problem. not making the finals unless we get smashed with injuries mean either Longmuir is behind or the clubs target was too ambitious, they can't have it both ways.

 

[poshman]

I think by seasons end, the Saints win will be seen as a 50/50 game and I dont want to absolve him of criticism, only that we give credit where it's due. I shouldnt be terrified heading into a derby against this WC side.

Bit of a cop out but I honestly dont know where we are at. How much do we place those first two games down to two very good coaches picking us apart because we look really good when we can play how we like. Of the next 4 I'd say

• There's half a chance we win all 4
• Equal chance we win between 1 and 3
• No chance we lose all 4

I think we match up well with Adelaide, Brisbane (particularly these guys and they're not exactly flying at the moment) and the Dogs and I'm not too scared of GC outside of their home ground (plus, we hub really well).

In particular, I think a lot of the next month is down to a few players. Can Jackson repeat yesterdays game basically every week? Can Tabs re-discover something near his best? We win basically all these games if those two questions alone are a yes. Hopefully Switta in the midfield keeps giving it that boost we need because the midfield losing contests is my biggest cause for concern at the moment, that and the possibility of Sonny getting injured.

You are more positive than I am... which I like.

Adelaide were good last week. We are in the same spot from a form perspective so it is a 50/50.
GCS I would normally agree with you, except they have found ways to play well against us.
Brisbane - who knows where they are at. This week will be telling.
WB - need to balance the side and are baffling to me.

I think we will win 1-2. Hope like hell we don't lose all four. Could you imagine this place and the scum supporters and the west...

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

You are more positive than I am... which I like.

Adelaide were good last week. We are in the same spot from a form perspective so it is a 50/50.
GCS I would normally agree with you, except they have found ways to play well against us.
Brisbane - who knows where they are at. This week will be telling.
WB - need to balance the side and are baffling to me.

I think we will win 1-2. Hope like hell we don't lose all four. Could you imagine this place and the scum supporters and the west...

Yeah, we won’t lose all 4, we aren’t that bad and teams are too even and up and down for that to happen.