AFL Autopsy RND 2: Loss to the Lions

[theboxmike]

I liked seeing Parish and Merrett working well together in the middle. Some nervous handballs but we should just leave them in there most of the time. I’m sick of seeing them being played out of position.

Disappointing we lost but at least we showed desire this week. It makes me wonder what the actual **** happened last week?

We also need a proper leader. I’ve always thought heps was an overrated captain. Stringer should honestly should take over that role.

 

[Albertross]

Plus Francis and Wright both put one out on the full each

Set shots were not great, apart from Wright early. Having said that, to counteract Wright and Francis, I believe Joe (surprise, surprise) and Cameron also kicked it OOF. So that kind of balances out.

To me, it was more the set shots from players like Cox, Darcey and Francis that scored behinds. All should have kicked majors, but, they are not alone.

I liked seeing Parish and Merrett working well together in the middle. Some nervous handballs but we should just leave them in there most of the time. I’m sick of seeing them being played out of position.

Disappointing we lost but at least we showed desire this week. It makes me wonder what the actual **** happened last week?

We also need a proper leader. I’ve always thought heps was an overrated captain. Stringer should honestly should take over that role.

Not so sure that Dyson is overrated as Captain. I do wonder where our next leader comes from though.

Stringer shows plenty of passion on the ground, does that alone make him a leader. Perkins does too, but he shouldn't be Captain, yet!

Not sold on Zach or McGrath as next Captain. So who do we go to?

 

[Shane Heard]

We need Michael Hurley

…in a backline coaching role



I saw this game as a massive positive


We responded very well from last weeks rubbbish

The intensity was up massively by all


But without stringer we look lightweight and fragile. Stringer is genuine A grade talent who can influence the momentum of his team. Hopefully he stays fit for the 3 years because we need him out there.

This year is shot. Mid table ladder position again.

Get rid of Ham, Smith, Heppell …so slow and weak

Start developing these talls we have for backline and give Cobbs, Durham, Jones, Martin and others multiple games.

There’s an ideal best 22 next year and Smith hepp ham Gwelf Stewart Tippa cutler ain’t in it


Get rid of them and Send Francis Back to SA and open up game day senior spots for young talent


People complaining about McGrath are idiots. He’s a great link up player and has genuine pace. He’s not going to be a Sam Walsh and shine like a diamond. He’s just a good workhorse utility kind of player.

As we develop Cox will find his proper role in the side eventually. I’d just keep playing him this year because there’s no benefit in VFL games. VFL is for break glass emergency spuds like Ham.

Draper is developing fast. He’s only played 30 odd games.

Perkins’ footskills and all round special talent at such a young age is wonderful to see.

He’s part of a group of 6 to 10 players that are the future of this club in the next 5 years

Big Pete is not too bad. Just wish Jones was out there with him providing another target for mids to hit.

A dream functioning forward line next year would be something like 2MP, Jones, Snelling , Martin , Perkins, Wanga

And again ..For the love of Christ..Smith has to go. Get him out of this senior side. He is an absolute liability and a waste of time.

Things can turn very quickly when you remove your dead wood

 

[JayJ20]

I'll have another go;

Smith and Heppell have been crap - agreed
McGrath - Can play, we know this. Just need to settle him somewhere but mr fix It makes him thrown around far too much.
Stewart - Crap, I want to like him but I want a proper KPD not a stop gap.How far away is Reid from being a genuine KPD?
Ham - Agreed. Embarrassing watching him #DonTheSash
Cutler - Has been ok, not great, not bad. Just going. Is that an indictment on us?
Francis - Imagine playing a defender as a forward and then harping on he's no good? Yeh, I don't see it it as a forward, coaches obviously do or we have no one else. Sad.



I think we have too many C & D grade players we hope can become B grade contributors and force our way into finals contention on this. No point Dodoro hanging his hat on these success' when they come in and contribute when we could have had stars if we were daring enough to select kids and develop them.

Rutten should swap Francis and Stewart.

Stewart is just not a natural defender. His positioning and decision making as a defender is painful to watch. He is however a decent forward and a good kick for goal.
Francis has the tools to be a good forward, but his kicking for goal isn't accurate enough. He misses way too many gettable shots. I'd rather make use of his contested marks by at least taking them in defence rather than wasting it on behinds and OOTFs.

 

[avignon]

Honestly think we are not fit enough. Those half heated efforts, particularly later in the game, are because we can't get to the ball due to lack of match fitness. Put the fitness dev crew on notice. Wasted pre season!

 

[essendon]

Are the coaches scared to make positional changes during a game?
Are we gonna tag anyone this year? God help us with Petracca and Oliver this week.

Do something on game day coaches us supporters can see it, why can't you.

 

[ant555]

Are the coaches scared to make positional changes during a game?
Are we gonna tag anyone this year? God help us with Petracca and Oliver this week.

Do something on game day coaches us supporters can see it, why can't you.

I hear what you are saying as far as tags go but no side tags anymore . Is it the way to go about it ? my opinion no but it is what it is.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

The forward line is a mess and that is causing all the indecision up field. At one stage five of our six forwards were Francis, Guelfi, Ham, Durham, and Caldwell. Not a natural forward amongst them.

Play Bryan against Melbourne. Keep Wright in the forward line. Play Tex, at least he has some natural forward craft. Take out Ham and Guelfi. Forward six would be Wright, Francis, Stringer, Bryan, Perkins, Wanganeen.

The commentators repeatedly lauded the Lions' defenders (of course, they're very good), when I think the main factor at play was the dysfunctional nature of our forwardline.

 

[Lore]

The commentators repeatedly lauded the Lions' defenders (of course, they're very good), when I think the main factor at play was the dysfunctional nature of our forwardline.

That and basically not having one. Wright, Francis, Stringer, Perkins, Smith, Cutler, Ham, Guelfi

Compare with Wright, Jones, Francis, Stringer, Langford, Perkins, Martin, Snelling, Walla

The only forwards that were fit and not selected are Baldwin, Eyre, Waterman and Wanganeen, and apparently we'd prefer to push Parish, McGrath, Merrett, Caldwell and Shiel forward rather than select Waterman or Wanganeen at this stage.

 

[essendon]

I hear what you are saying as far as tags go but no side tags anymore . Is it the way to go about it ? my opinion no but it is what it is.

So they shut down Merrett after half time and we let Neale run loose.....so it is what it is......no tags....really .... that's why we are where we are........

 

[foj1]

I hear what you are saying as far as tags go but no side tags anymore . Is it the way to go about it ? my opinion no but it is what it is.

Berry tagged merrett from the second quarter- just when they started to get on top
while hard tags are not in vogue- accountable two way running midfielders are everything
not sure we have many who can do that effectively for four quarters week in week out

 

[bomberlegend2007]

Let’s be real here, the Lions will most likely play in the GF this year. They are a quality side and for two quarters, we were on top.

We are still building. The Lions have built their house and ready to cash in. That’s the difference between the sides.

I’m just surprised at the, burn it down, start again crowd. Do you understand how rebuilds work? We are two years into that. The club isn’t kidding themselves this time, which I am pleased to see. If they did, they would have gone full St Kilda last trade period.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Gulp… yesterday wasn’t that bad.

It’s where we’re at. We’re facing 3 of last years top 4 in the first three rounds and it was always gonna be this way. We’ll start the year 0-3.

Last week was trash but we were much better yesterday.

 

[Lore]

Are the coaches scared to make positional changes during a game?
Are we gonna tag anyone this year? God help us with Petracca and Oliver this week.

Do something on game day coaches us supporters can see it, why can't you.

With the way the rules are now (6/6/6), if you set someone to tag Neale that means you have one less player attacking the ball and generating opportunities for ourselves. The coaches discussed this and decided not to sacrifice our own ability to score in order to shut down one player.

Rutten was really good in the presser last night, quite candid, and was asked specifically about this. Recommended watching.


And as the others have already noted, sitting on someone for a quarter when they're getting a bit too influential, or only at the bounces and playing your own game when the ball is in play, is far more common than a dedicated tagger in the current era. Full-time run-with roles are practically antique.

 

[foj1]

With the way the rules are now (6/6/6), if you set someone to tag Neale that means you have one less player attacking the ball and generating opportunities for ourselves. The coaches discussed this and decided not to sacrifice our own ability to score in order to shut down one player.

Rutten was really good in the presser last night, quite candid, and was asked specifically about this. Recommended watching.


And as the others have already noted, sitting on someone for a quarter when they're getting a bit too influential, or only at the bounces and playing your own game when the ball is in play, is far more common than a dedicated tagger in the current era. Full-time run-with roles are practically antique.

I think you are delusional if you thought rutten press conference was really good
i thought he was full of cliches and looked weak and ineffective
we Have a midfield that has parish and merrett- two undersized mids who lack physicality and defensive intent but win a lot of footy- maybe we need a defensive minded midfielder
do you reckon Hewitt has helped Carlton and Cripps in particular?

 

[FlyingV]

Merrett, Parish, McGrath are not the answer on the ball. They are small, frantic players who, if the conditions are perfect can slice teams open, but the moment they are not cannot execute.

It has been 10 years and we have been screaming for a big bodied mid who can absorb tackles and keep their hands free to distribute from stoppages. We still don’t have this player. It’s now an inditement on our recruitment. So frustrating.

 

[SydneyBomber]

Might not nominate for f/s. Whole family moved to Melbourne a few years ago and he loves it. In a recent interview he said he loves being there with his family, his footy, study, friends.

We will be gutted of he doesn't choose us, and some other team will get an absolute jet.

Maybe we could do something a bit slippery and nab him like we did Chris Johnsons kid who was also supposedly highly rated.
That worked out really well...!


I hope the kid gets to the lions and has a future, unlike what we'd most likely do to him

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

the amount of times we invited pressure when no pressure was there by either fumbling or making plain mistakes just killed us.

Every time Hind goes for a run with the ball these days I'm not sure he's going to execute the bounce as it slips out of his hands all the time.

Francis has the same issues, can pick up the ball but as he goes to execute the next skill and needs to look up, forgets that the ball is in his hands.

Cutler always runs to to his non preferred side to kick with his preferred foot and ends up with loopy dinky kicks and too slow to move it on.

Redman is another one that the ball can slip out of his hands at any point in time.

McGrath is another that just doesn't have good hands and gets in trouble in crucial times.

Its always soap to Ham.

Cox handballs are so ordinary that he should have a no handball rule applied to him.

 

[citizen-erased]

Rutten should swap Francis and Stewart.

Stewart is just not a natural defender. His positioning and decision making as a defender is painful to watch. He is however a decent forward and a good kick for goal.
Francis has the tools to be a good forward, but his kicking for goal isn't accurate enough. He misses way too many gettable shots. I'd rather make use of his contested marks by at least taking them in defence rather than wasting it on behinds and OOTFs.

Truly puzzled by this.
Laverde has been a revelation as a stopper. Against opponents i give him no hope against he stands up.
Laverde + francis as the FB/CHB posts would be ideal imo.

I think a tall back set of francis, reid, ridley and laverde, with kelly as the small stopper and hind + mcgrath giving run and carry through the middle is a good setup.

Stewart deep, wright mobile is a decent forward setup.
Once its wright + Jones + baldwin, stewart becomes depth.

 

[Lore]

I think you are delusional if you thought rutten press conference was really good
i thought he was full of cliches and looked weak and ineffective
we Have a midfield that has parish and merrett- two undersized mids who lack physicality and defensive intent but win a lot of footy- maybe we need a defensive minded midfielder
do you reckon Hewitt has helped Carlton and Cripps in particular?

He's never going to come out and bash his own team. He's still talking to the media who write the headlines and could make things far more difficult than they need to be if he tells them things he shouldn't.

Compared with what we got from Worsfold, there was a hell of a lot more insight to be gained from listening to Rutten than we've had for a long time.

If you don't agree, that's fine – I know you're one to watch a game and form your own strongly held opinions, which you are rarely dissuaded from. But I do think we can disagree a bit more respectfully than launching into accusations of delusion, surely? Perhaps start from the point that we value different things, and that we can therefore find value in different things, and go from there?


As for the whole bit about midfielders and having a defensively minded midfielder, yes, I was agreeing with you – believe it or not! Coaches do sometimes mind a player for a quarter or during particular parts of the game, as Brisbane did with Berry on Merrett in Q2.

Whether that would have worked for us I don't know, who would you have put in there to play that role? Stringer can't play the defensive role, I think ant555 suggested Heppell could do it. But Heppell starts the centre bounce in defence, which means someone else has to play at half-back.

As a mid-game move, you don't get to change your 22 – so you need to figure out who is going to take Heppell's starting position at the bounce based on who was already in the side.

The obvious answers are Cutler and Francis, who were playing forward, but then you need to replace them up forward – Stringer? Or Merrett/Parish?

So Stringer/Merrett/Parish > forward, Francis/Cutler > defence, Heppell > defensive mid?

Does that overall make us a more effective side, now that presumably Heppell stops Neale from being too influential?


I can't and won't comment on Hewett and Cripps, I haven't seen their game and don't plan on watching it.

 

[citizen-erased]

Merrett, Parish, McGrath are not the answer on the ball. They are small, frantic players who, if the conditions are perfect can slice teams open, but the moment they are not cannot execute.

It has been 10 years and we have been screaming for a big bodied mid who can absorb tackles and keep their hands free to distribute from stoppages. We still don’t have this player. It’s now an inditement on our recruitment. So frustrating.

Stringer is one
Perkins will be the other.

One needs match fitness, the other is developing
Gotta say, im positive on caldwell too.
I think the midfield is fine. And super keen to see what hobbs brings. What we lack is that player who attacks the ball as mode 1. A la rowell and miller. They aren't tall but they are aggressive.

At the moment its mindset and fumbles.
Fix those, get some forwards back (jones, tippa, snelling, langford are big outs).
Yesterday wasn't the worst but it wasnt great. And showed we are still weak at protecting leads and wresting them back. Something i thought we showed great resilience at last year

 

[citizen-erased]

He's never going to come out and bash his own team. He's still talking to the media who write the headlines and could make things far more difficult than they need to be if he tells them things he shouldn't.

Compared with what we got from Worsfold, there was a hell of a lot more insight to be gained from listening to Rutten than we've had for a long time.

If you don't agree, that's fine – I know you're one to watch a game and form your own strongly held opinions, which you are rarely dissuaded from. But I do think we can disagree a bit more respectfully than launching into accusations of delusion, surely? Perhaps start from the point that we value different things, and that we can therefore find value in different things, and go from there?


As for the whole bit about midfielders and having a defensively minded midfielder, yes, I was agreeing with you – believe it or not! Coaches do sometimes mind a player for a quarter or during particular parts of the game, as Brisbane did with Berry on Merrett in Q2.

Whether that would have worked for us I don't know, who would you have put in there to play that role? Stringer can't play the defensive role, I think ant555 suggested Heppell could do it. But Heppell starts the centre bounce in defence, which means someone else has to play at half-back.

As a mid-game move, you don't get to change your 22 – so you need to figure out who is going to take Heppell's starting position at the bounce based on who was already in the side.

The obvious answers are Cutler and Francis, who were playing forward, but then you need to replace them up forward – Stringer? Or Merrett/Parish?

So Stringer/Merrett/Parish > forward, Francis/Cutler > defence, Heppell > defensive mid?

Does that overall make us a more effective side, now that presumably Heppell stops Neale from being too influential?


I can't and won't comment on Hewett and Cripps, I haven't seen their game and don't plan on watching it.

Do the move after quarter time and i reckon it helps protect the lead.
As the game wears on, you rotate through neale via durham, caldwell, etc

We have flexibility in the team too
Francis or cox can go back. Stewart can go forward
I suspect hind and redman can get forward too. We lose run off hb, but you can put the likes of cutler, mcgrath and merrett there to replace it.

We also become less predictable.
Redman into a rich or starcevich.
Hind on a hobbled zorko.
Try expose them.

Id have tried stewart, wright and stringer forward, francis back as a smarter defender and better user.
Let cox sit back, watch the game and either intercept or impact at ground level. Rather than try turn a 200cm+ kpp who is good at ground level into a mid, maybe make them a dangerous kpp?

And brought perkins onto the ball.
Merrett, parish and perkins is a handful to try stop.
Stringer, parish and perkins as well.

 

[BuffDog]

Ham, Cutler, Heppell and Hurley are all out of contract this year. None of these players should be offered another contract. Smith is contracted to next year unfortunately.

Heppell and Hurley gone should free up a fair bit in the cap.

Finish bottom 6 and draft the best KPF available (Lemmey, Keeler). Draft Davey x2 and Alessio, Munkara if possible.

Get in a defensive midfielder that can help Parish and Merrett out as they are offensive mids (still don’t know why we didn’t try for Hewett). Maybe even an experienced defender across half back for some leadership.

Trade out 2023 picks if it’s the right call and can get talent in.

Put Francis, Shiel on the trade table for 3rd round draft picks (unlikely they’ll command a 2nd).

That’s how we can cut the fat and improve.

 

[Schnitzengruben]

Ham, Cutler, Heppell and Hurley are all out of contract this year. None of these players should be offered another contract. Smith is contracted to next year unfortunately.

Heppell and Hurley gone should free up a fair bit in the cap.

Finish bottom 6 and draft the best KPF available (Lemmey, Keeler). Draft Davey x2 and Alessio, Munkara if possible.

Get in a defensive midfielder that can help Parish and Merrett out as they are offensive mids (still don’t know why we didn’t try for Hewett). Maybe even an experienced defender across half back for some leadership.

Trade out 2023 picks if it’s the right call and can get talent in.

Put Francis, Shiel on the trade table for 3rd round draft picks (unlikely they’ll command a 2nd).

That’s how we can cut the fat and improve.

Ham and Hurley will go, Cutler has done enough to earn another year but it will be interesting to see what happens with Hep. I don't think the club would have the guts to not renew him, even if it becomes evident he's completely cooked.

Shiel for a 3rd is a bad call.

 

[Lore]