Kangaroos to be a force in 2015?

[Thats Wright]

Seriously worried about our next 6 matches, could be in trouble. Wood needs to play every game

Thats for sure. How good is it having Turner, Brown, Higgins and Wood in the blue and white.

Season will have its ups and downs. Will be thereabouts for a prelim.. Give or take an interstate final.

Personally am hoping they start preparing for next season at some stage.

Don't think they can go all the way with Gibson (combined with Swallow).

As has been said, the side can't stop a run on through 'keepings off' because of the butchering and hand balling (one - two) will only take you so far these days.

Side is a bit slow also Imo. Need at least 1 more genuinely quick player off half back or through the middle. Lot of flat footed players need assistance in getting it moving.

Just can't see the point in repeating 2014.

Seems plenty would be satisfied with that around the club.

 

[rippersnipper]

Thats for sure. How good is it having Turner, Brown, Higgins and Wood in the blue and white.

Season will have its ups and downs. Will be thereabouts for a prelim.. Give or take an interstate final.

Personally am hoping they start preparing for next season at some stage.

Don't think they can go all the way with Gibson (combined with Swallow).

As has been said, the side can't stop a run on through 'keepings off' because of the butchering and hand balling (one - two) will only take you so far these days.

Side is a bit slow also Imo. Need at least 1 more genuinely quick player off half back or through the middle. Lot of flat footed players need assistance in getting it moving.

Just can't see the point in repeating 2014.

Seems plenty would be satisfied with that around the club.

You're spot on. Far too many slow players in the team. I want pace. Yes its okay to have two or three really tough players but they aren't going to keep up, especially when they get older. Wood looks awesome, quick, tall, great left foot, he could almost play midfield he's so agile.

 

[Wild Bill]

Thats for sure. How good is it having Turner, Brown, Higgins and Wood in the blue and white.

Season will have its ups and downs. Will be thereabouts for a prelim.. Give or take an interstate final.

Personally am hoping they start preparing for next season at some stage.

Don't think they can go all the way with Gibson (combined with Swallow).

As has been said, the side can't stop a run on through 'keepings off' because of the butchering and hand balling (one - two) will only take you so far these days.

Side is a bit slow also Imo. Need at least 1 more genuinely quick player off half back or through the middle. Lot of flat footed players need assistance in getting it moving.

Just can't see the point in repeating 2014.

Seems plenty would be satisfied with that around the club.

That's why I was not shattered about greenwood. Slow with poor foot skills we have plenty of. Gibson had some howlers yesterday. He is handy late as he keeps running and puts himself in good positions. Would be great for Harper to become decent - he has the X factor we need.

 

[Kimbo]

If North don't have a big year in 2015/16 (which IMO they wont) they will have invested heavily for no return. They really need to get more young talent coming through.

What's the 'heavy investment'? In free agents?

 

[Kcrack]

What's the 'heavy investment'? In free agents?

Seems like people can't grasp this simple fact. I'll say it again, we haven't traded away any of our first two picks or kids.

 

[Thats Wright]

You're spot on. Far too many slow players in the team. I want pace. Yes its okay to have two or three really tough players but they aren't going to keep up, especially when they get older. Wood looks awesome, quick, tall, great left foot, he could almost play midfield he's so agile.

Hope he gets a decent crack at it. Just needs to let loose and he'll be weapon that's for sure.

 

[Thats Wright]

That's why I was not shattered about greenwood. Slow with poor foot skills we have plenty of. Gibson had some howlers yesterday. He is handy late as he keeps running and puts himself in good positions. Would be great for Harper to become decent - he has the X factor we need.

The way Hawthorn are pushing the limits of modern football Greenwood was getting left behind. Wasn't a big loss except now instead of Levi's hardness there's dal santo looping handballs and going to watch one direction.

Would kill to add a Pike, Pickett, Archer to this side.

But certainly needs more explosive pace and footskill.

Think they are wasting their time with Gibson. Great fella obviously but bastinacs timidness and skill should be preferred to Gibsons tank and shane Clayton ability. It is 2015 and it's simply not good enough anymore.

Might as well get as many games into Harper as possible. Would be good, but free agency looks more likely at this stage. But they'll never know if they don't give him a proper shot at it. If only he had some of Gibsons personality.

 

[Kimbo]

Last year, I stood in a bar with several North and Bomber mates prior to the Essendon v North Elimination Final sinking a few beers and discussing the game.

Fair to say, fans of each club tend to not have warm and fuzzy feelings about the opposition side, however both had a reasonable amount of respect for, and fear of the opposite.

The permutations of the finals meant the winner was likely to face Geelong the week after, and generalising, both sets of fans believed the winner of the EF was likely to beat Geelong as well (which of course as we know was exactly what happened).

Now why is this relevant? Because like it or lump it, Essendon and North found themselves, due to the obvious terminal weakness of Geelong, with an inside track to catapult themselves into the top four.

Essendon have now with this last weekends loss to Sydney, given up significant leads (31+ pts) three games in a row - the North final was smack bang in the middle of that.

Now, for the sake of being clear, I am NOT in some round about way trying to imply or infer that Essendon are a top four side that simply 'let' North win. Simply stating the facts as they are in order to demonstrate that North are roughly equivalent to a 'good' side. The game was close, Essendon does what it does, North powered over the top and won the game. The week after, they knocked over (in highly predictable fashion) Geelong.

Bravo, I certainly know I'd be pretty stoked if it was us that had made the top 4, but it is undeniable that, as has happened several times in the past, North were considerably weaker than the other top four sides.

The problem with making the top four in this fashion, is that it can artificially inflate the prospects of the side in question. North ARE a good side, I still think they are a fair chance to make the top 4 and would be shocked to see them miss the eight.

There are two generalised assumptions I've seen this offseason that have bemused me a bit. One, that Brisbane were immediately top eight threats, and two, that North were the 'next best' possibly just below Port in the flag race.

Reality is, they were one of a few sides that trailed Haw, Syd and Port into 2015. Teams such as Essendon, Adelaide, Fremantle had every reason to feel just as bouyant as North heading into 2015.

So to bottom line, North a good side. Good enough, with a little improvement, to genuinely challenge the top sides, but they have no reason to be MORE hopeful than several other sides in the league.

A solid argument Jade. The quibble I'd make is that no one else gets to determine how much hope anyone can have. If, by dint of being a win away from a GF, NM players and supporters hold more hope of making a GF and, dare I suggest, winning one than another finals team such as yours, they're entitled.

Actually, a second quibble. Your argument, in reference to either Essendon or North Melbourne beating Geelong in the semi is mute. Not only did you not beat us, you can't say with any surety that Essendon would have beaten Geelong. Given how you've surrendered significant leads in all your past games (even this weekend against the Hawks), whose to say that may not have happened with Geelong who came back at us?

edit: I reckon Freo were judged harshly losing to Port who we can see are a good match up for them. Match ups matter. If we'd have played Port in a semi I think we'd have done okay, but not Freo. Equally, I think we'd have done better against the Hawks than the Swans. How would Port have gone against the Swans? Perhaps as well as they did this last weekend?

All said and done, of course, the year is yet to play out. Who da f@#$ knows the future?

 

[Kimbo]

Agree with your points. The Tiges got sucked in under Frawley thinking we were a top 4 team and never recovered from some of the draft choices made after we made the Prelim.

And the comparison here is what, exactly?

 

[The Swans Blog]

Let me guess how this thread has gone:

In march the confidence was high, then the reality check happened against Adelaide - nothing has changed, then confidence is high again, to the point where Kangas should finish 1st because they beat the worst team in the league by 80 points. So now Kangas should beat Swans, Hawks, Freo, easily make the preliminary final again, beating whoever they face.

Then when they inevitably lose this weekend against Port, the same deluded cycle starts again.

Am I close?

 

[Thats Wright]

Let me guess how this thread has gone:

In march the confidence was high, then the reality check happened against Adelaide - nothing has changed, then confidence is high again, to the point where Kangas should finish 1st because they beat the worst team in the league by 80 points. So now Kangas should beat Swans, Hawks, Freo, easily make the preliminary final again, beating whoever they face.

Then when they inevitably lose this weekend against Port, the same deluded cycle starts again.

Am I close?

Think you missed the meaning of 'made pre lim last year'.

 

[Thats Wright]

But chicken choker you have somewhat of a point.

'Get Real'

This Mantra has already become a joke.

McMillian.... Leader in VFL form... Bizarre soreness.

Wells in terrible form... Bizarre injury.

Turner... Develops the Lindsay head duck seemingly overnight.

Am concerned this side is rotting at the top.

Unfortunately charisma doesn't win premierships.

Brad Scott is 75% of a coach.

Not every side can have a Clarkson, Longmire or Walsh as coach. We are all hoping Brad shows a much faster learning curve than previous seasons.

 

[MaddAdam]

Let me guess how this thread has gone:

In march the confidence was high, then the reality check happened against Adelaide - nothing has changed, then confidence is high again, to the point where Kangas should finish 1st because they beat the worst team in the league by 80 points. So now Kangas should beat Swans, Hawks, Freo, easily make the preliminary final again, beating whoever they face.

Then when they inevitably lose this weekend against Port, the same deluded cycle starts again.

Am I close?

We'll roll Port.

 

[StevenwellerHFC]

We'll roll Port.

I agree, by at least 5 goals.

 

[MarkT2]

What's the 'heavy investment'? In free agents?

List spot and, more importantly, salary - particularly for players with short football lifespan.

 

[The Swans Blog]

But chicken choker you have somewhat of a point.

'Get Real'

This Mantra has already become a joke.

McMillian.... Leader in VFL form... Bizarre soreness.

Wells in terrible form... Bizarre injury.

Turner... Develops the Lindsay head duck seemingly overnight.

Am concerned this side is rotting at the top.

Unfortunately charisma doesn't win premierships.

Brad Scott is 75% of a coach.

Not every side can have a Clarkson, Longmire or Walsh as coach. We are all hoping Brad shows a much faster learning curve than previous seasons.

There isn't anything wrong with Brad Scott as a coach, he's excellent really. He doesn't lack in game sense, preparation or in planning. Where you guys are falling apart is clearly in execution. There's mental blocks that the group encounters in games when the going gets tough. It isn't like a Freo, Swans or Hawks who'll battle to the end. The Swans' biggest loss in the regular season was 43 points to North, but finished with a great percentage, while North really struggled because they'd win big and then lose. Credit to North who's biggest loss was by less than the Swans, but would win a game then inexplicably lose the next when they were favourites, then win a game when they were heavily favoured to lose.

http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/tg-kangaroos?year=2014

Consistency throughout the year was awful and there's way too big of a gap between good and bad form. That's all mental and there's only so much the coach can do. However, this year you're already worse off than last season with that drubbing at the hands of Adelaide. It was your teams biggest loss since the Round 10 2012 slaughter at the hands of Hawthorn in Tasmania, which was as almost as big an aberration as the Swans destroying the Cats last year.

 

[MarkT2]

Seems like people can't grasp this simple fact. I'll say it again, we haven't traded away any of our first two picks or kids.

You lost Greenwood though.

 

[Kcrack]

You lost Greenwood though.

Because Swallow, Ziebell and Cunnington aren't enough inside grunt already? And Greenwood had nothing to do with our free agents, he left in fear of not getting a game in front of our other mids.

 

[Hydrurga]

We'll have a better idea after the next 3 weeks, Port, Cats and Hawks await us and that's quite a challenging run. Yes, Port and Cats have had a shocker of a start but both are pretty formidable on their day and I don't see them rolling over for us in the slightest.

Truth be told, I'm not quite sold on us realistically challenging for the flag just yet this year, there's still a gap between us and Hawks/Swans/Dockers at their absolute best. I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong but it is impossible to tell after 2 rounds.

 

[Thats Wright]

There isn't anything wrong with Brad Scott as a coach, he's excellent really. He doesn't lack in game sense, preparation or in planning. Where you guys are falling apart is clearly in execution. There's mental blocks that the group encounters in games when the going gets tough. It isn't like a Freo, Swans or Hawks who'll battle to the end. The Swans' biggest loss in the regular season was 43 points to North, but finished with a great percentage, while North really struggled because they'd win big and then lose. Credit to North who's biggest loss was by less than the Swans, but would win a game then inexplicably lose the next when they were favourites, then win a game when they were heavily favoured to lose.

http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/tg-kangaroos?year=2014

Consistency throughout the year was awful and there's way too big of a gap between good and bad form. That's all mental and there's only so much the coach can do. However, this year you're already worse off than last season with that drubbing at the hands of Adelaide. It was your teams biggest loss since the Round 10 2012 slaughter at the hands of Hawthorn in Tasmania, which was as almost as big an aberration as the Swans destroying the Cats last year.

Not sure how you can excuse a coach for inherent mental issues.

Did the Crows just recruit Wayne Carey or appoint a coach that knows a leadership group and has his players mentally developed in one off-season?

Poor selections and a refusal to be proactive aside, Scott isn't useless as a coach like you say. He's in fact an excellent assistant coach.

But now you mention North rolling the Swans last year, perhaps they have something going for them.

The loss round 1 last year was just as bad if not worse in terms of deer in the headlights performance.

Crows in Adelaide is always tough for North. A better coach wouldn't have prepared for an ambush but proceeded to take the game on and make decent selections, subs, debuts, plans... In general. Was a bad week for Scott. One of many. He does seem capable of learning though. Maybe it'll be all too late for him but he presents well, and back in those times when young coaches were the rage and North needed a verbal gerbal to work its way into a rock solid position in the AFL, Scott has delivered.

He's done the job he was hired for.

The issue is can he do the job the club now needs from him.

 

[The Swans Blog]

The hall mark of a quality side - win through adversity. Sydney did it 1st round, Hawks almost did it on Sunday, Melbourne have done it, Dogs have done it. Not saying those last 2 are quality, but they're showing the desperation to win games that you expect from an AFL side. North aren't and are playing to last season's form - flat track bullies. They get themselves up for the big games and then lose to the worst teams out there.

 

[Wild Bill]

The hall mark of a quality side - win through adversity. Sydney did it 1st round, Hawks almost did it on Sunday, Melbourne have done it, Dogs have done it. Not saying those last 2 are quality, but they're showing the desperation to win games that you expect from an AFL side. North aren't and are playing to last season's form - flat track bullies. They get themselves up for the big games and then lose to the worst teams out there.

We had 2 bad losses Bris in Bris and the Blues. Most teams have poor losses in a season. Swans lost to GWS and the Pies.

 

[Kcrack]

The hall mark of a quality side - win through adversity. Sydney did it 1st round, Hawks almost did it on Sunday, Melbourne have done it, Dogs have done it. Not saying those last 2 are quality, but they're showing the desperation to win games that you expect from an AFL side. North aren't and are playing to last season's form - flat track bullies. They get themselves up for the big games and then lose to the worst teams out there.

Not sure you know what flat track bullies are.

 

[WowWeee]

North aren't and are playing to last season's form - flat track bullies.

how the fk were North flat track bullies last season?

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Not sure you know what flat track bullies are.

It means you beat all the best sides and lose to the inferior ones doesn't it?