AFL Autopsy RND 12: Loss to the Saints

[BrunoV]

Well would helped if we had a forward line to take advantage.

Not much forwards can do when players can't hit targets and the ball is being passed around the middle to no effect.

The possession numbers are grossly inflated. Watch the game, don't listen to what the commentary says which affirms what ever it is you want to believe. We were not in that game for a second and no amount of stat padding in the middle of the ground was going to change that.

Or maybe the forwards should just start leading while the midfielders take 15 handballs to clear the ball out of congestion because no one can wear a tackle and set the play up.


Edit: hopefully you see this edit before reading the post which reads as being quite aggressive toward you which was not my intention. I'm just annoyed about the same old things.

 

[Halftimehero]

People calling to play Mosquito “off the bench” do you even have the slightest idea of how football is played? No one plays “off the bench” ffs.

 

[CBombers17]

We are very very soft around the contest.

 

[Halftimehero]

Win clearances, win inside 50’s and are never in the game, make no mistake this is a ball movement/game style issue, we are either miles off nailing it or it’s rubbish to begin with.

 

[R t james]

I know I’m from outside and you won’t give a toss , but what we saw today was a whole bunch of kids trying there hardest , mids forwards and backs , normally you bring in a few a season and they get guidance from mature players , didn’t see to much on field leadership , the four mids that got all the stats were just flat out trying to get the ball and no time to point or preach , also just need a couple of your quality forwards back and your ok

 

[gillon]

Coaches are delusional if they think Heppell, Hooker, Daniher and Fantasia are going to turn us into a great side. The other players aren't even worth mentioning.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

I hope I'm wrong, but I am not seeing what everyone else is. Has no leap, which is a worry...and old, injured Patty Ryder was jumping all over him.


Spot on. I can accept being not good enough, but I can't accept insipid.

Paddy is still a very good tap ruckmen...and gave him a footy lesson in ruck craft. Draper is very inexperienced and it will take time....He has a leap just doesn't always use it, as sometimes he is using his body to try and get the other ruck out of position. I remember him in his first game basically standing on the other rucks head tapping it out. Also took a big pack mark where he was pretty high in that game. There was an image in his practice match taking a big grab too. Saints ruck Dept very good with Marshall and Ryder. He didn't get the luxury of rucking against a second string spud like McKernan that we dished up to.

 

[Dave]

Hmmm Learnings

Yikes thank goodness for shorter quarters

Learnings about learnings??

 

[The Devils Advocate]

He’s still running windows 95

We're trying to upgrade to Vista, when Win 98 SE would be fine.

 

[afairgo]

This club needs strong, ruthless leadership.
There are too many wishy-washy, lets-hold-hands-and-hug-each-other, she'll-be-right-mate characters in leadership roles at our footy club. This includes not only the on-field leaders, but also the off-field leaders too.

I'm sure you can work out who I'm referring to.

Co coaches. Co chairman of the club. Whose the toughest in the club either on field or off? Not a long list.

Bite the bullet. Play youth for rest of season. Experiment. Be bold through the middle. Woosha may need to leave the bubble for “family reasons”. Start working on 2021.

 

[Dave]

Yes but we would draft 27 flankers.

and 3 midget midfielders?

 

[Dave]

It is a difficult year to be trying to work on a new game plan. It does take a bit of work with the full squad and not groups of 2 or 6 like we had early in the year.
However effort is something you can bring every week.
Working harder and thinking smarter can also be done under any circumstances.
We have a side that is either full of the dumbest footballers to pull on a boot or they do not give a fu**.

insert taco gif here

 

[bombre-boy]

We showed more heart and endeavor in 2016, when we were " properly undermanned".
would like to see them just play footy rather than faff around with the "system"
At least we might get some enjoyment out of watching and not be subject to the pathetic spectacle we have been given recently.
Team/club is immaterial and is really just an annoyance. Silly thing is as supporters we could all see it coming, but we were not deluded into thinking it was something it wasnt.
Will be interesting to see how they are going to try to sell to us the values of renewing memberships for next year.

 

[Runk]

Away jumper looked good.
That is all.

 

[Halftimehero]

Coaches are delusional if they think Heppell, Hooker, Daniher and Fantasia are going to turn us into a great side. The other players aren't even worth mentioning.

Don’t rate Stringer?

 

[cobra land]

What is it with the over use of handball ?, should be used to create . At the moment guys like McGrath, Parish, Snelling & Lagfords first thought is to handball and make it someone else problem...
We play at our best when we give it out wide to our runners to break the lines, atm we are handballing in a phone booth...

 

[ghostdog]

I'm sympathetic to the fact that we are missing a number of quality players.

Heppell, Stringer, Daniher, Hooker and Smith. Not to mention your second tier players who are frequently in the best 22 such as Bellchambers, Laverde, Francis and Ambrose. That's a serious chunk of the salary cap.

Nevertheless, we still had a pretty strong core of midfielders and a reasonable back six. We should have put in a greater fight even if your forward line was lacking the quality to kick a big score.

Some big decisions need to be made at seasons end. There are guys that should be in their prime who are merely treading water that should ultimately be let go at the end of the season, such as Zaharakis, McKernan and even Gleeson (among others). We should also consider trading talent to obtain pieces that either better fit our structure or timeline.

I'd even consider trading Smith at this point to be honest. Snelling offers more currently and can play the same role, albeit with less skill around goals.

 

[gillon]

Don’t rate Stringer?

I do, just completely forgot about him lol.

 

[Dons4days]

We're trying to upgrade to Vista, when Win 98 SE would be fine.

Woosha would be more comfortable with MS DOS.

 

[Sanj48]

7 players with less than 20 games experience were out there today - I can't say I expected any different.
That being said, our inside 50 delivery is some of the most diabolical football I have ever seen

 

[ghostdog]

Win clearances, win inside 50’s and are never in the game, make no mistake this is a ball movement/game style issue, we are either miles off nailing it or it’s rubbish to begin with.

Efficiency inside 50 was less than half of St Kilda's: 48.6% to 20.9%. Points to a ball movement issue, yes, but we can't ignore how shite the forwardline in its current form actually is. It needs to be coached to be on the end of the ball movement, right place and right time, forcing the distributor to kick were they're leading to, if they lead-up at all.

 

[Halftimehero]

I do, just completely forgot about him lol.

You need to think more broadly also, how much of a better player would it make Stewart or Mckernan if Daniher and Stringer was there? They all of a sudden get less attention and have lesser defenders manning them, the opportunities it would then create our smaller forwards would be further enhanced, the ball then spends more time in our forward half which then allows the team defence structure to set up.

Make no mistake, the team we are putting out there now compared to the team we could put out there are miles apart.

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

No Zaka to blame. No bad umpiring to blame. Who is at fault here? I need a scapegoat!

No Francis or Bellchambers either...luckily we still have Langford in the team. Oh and Irish.

 

[Seb78]

We just aren't that good. I know it easy to rattle off an Injury list and say thats the problem but it just isn't.

Let's look at the missing players

Devon Smith - Been bog ordinary all year.
Aaron Francis - Has minimal to no impact on games
Tom Bellchambers - Done
Cale Hooker - Missed him tick
Orazio Fantasia - See Smith
Patrick Ambrose - Miss his toughness and accountability tick
Laverde - Really?
Zaharakis - See Laverde
Dyson Heppell - No Nat Fyfe, but still skipper, and a big upgrade on Cutler, tick
Joe Daniher - Why we even mentioning this guy. Been irrelevant for the best part of 2 and a half years and most likely won't be at the club next year. Its not as if we havent competed well and won games without him over that time!!
Jake Stringer - Our biggest loss, tick

The problem is list, mixed with player positioning and inconsistent game plans. We've introduced 3 or 4 different game styles in the past 5 years. Players look and I think are still confused.
Also until we address some serious gaps on our list and introduce some "quality" depth we will continue to be middle of the road. Injuries are inevitable and ALL teams are are effected at some stage.

Guys like Hooker, Hurley, Zaka, Gleeson etc... are stop gaps, cannot see anyone of those guys being a part of any future success/premierships. We need to persist with the youth we have and hit the top end of the draft as soon as possible. In my 41 years of supporting this mob this has been the flattest I've felt. EVER!!

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Our second tier have so many flaws its so hard to stem the bleeding. I'm tired of seeing slow or skinny players spending 10 years on our list.

Our midfield of Shiel, Parish, McGrath and Merrett were the shining light. The few that looked capable of having any sort of athleticism to compete.

Guys like McKernan, Cutler, Townsend just aren't up to it. They may have a good game here or there when things are going well but thats not the making of players we need on the list.

Hurley and Gleeson cannot be relied on in defence. Hurley is competitive for the most part but makes so many mistakes in general play. He is a senior player but relies on the team, the engine to be running at optimum to be able to justify his reputation. Not sure what more I can say about Gleeson. If you don't have the size you need the skill and pace. He lacks both.

Why is Townsend still playing?

BZT was poor but had some good moments and we need to persist. King only kicked one on him after the change from Hurley.

Begley - wasn't great but has some nice size and is at least has AFL physicality. No point in playing hacks like Townsend in front of him.

Hard to see where a win will come from. Hard to see why we chose this succession plan.

Our inability to compete in a marking contest was so deplorable. Seemed like no one good even give a decent contest or get into a good position.