AFL Autopsy RND 23: Buried and cremated by the Giants

[Happyskeret]

Whatever what our build plan is in terms of time we have just given GWS their highest score ever! I never thought we were in contention this year but record losses are inexcusable.

 

[cAsEy_18]

This - do we owe Woosha and Truck an apology?

Rutten yes

Worsfold checked out himself

 

[Algorithmic Hot Takes]

So...that was bad.
On a slightly serious note:
This is the same side that beat Melbourne and nearly got past Port.
We're playing like the 18th team at the moment, but have played better.
You'd like to think there would be some pride, losing is OK if you busted your gut.
Anyway, we are not only in need of the off-season, but maybe an uncomfortable one.
I was expecting Brad to be boiling in the presser.
He may be pissed off, and saving it for the "inner sanctum", but it doesn't hurt to put a bit of fire on the playing group (without naming individuals) to let them stew a bit after an effort like that.

 

[ant555]

McGrath, BZT, Hep, Kelly and Laverde.. that’s the core of our backline other than Ridley and Redman. Those 5 wouldn’t get a look in, in a genuine top 8 side

Nope and there are a few other spots as well.

 

[outersanctum]

Recruiting. It has to start with recruitment. The list isn't good enough, hasn't been good enough and isn't even close. Until you give the coach enough cattle to work with.. we are shuffling deck chairs. I would say the same about our fitness department (or high performance or whatever they want to call it). Until we can actually get our players on the park for consistent periods then we have no idea how to build.

Today showed we are a bottom 4 side. That is our reality. It looks like Hawthorn has gone past us. Suns will keep improving. This is a tough league and when the whips started cracking.. we went to water. That isn't just bad luck.

There are some players that thrive on pressure and the contest.. if we had a list of those players then today would have looked very very different. They had a chance to claw their way into taking a shot at finals. They had to WANT that. GWS looked like a team.. exact same position.. who wanted that. From the first bounce they ran at the ball, ran in waves and just overwhelmed us. They WANTED their shot at September. We didn't even give a yelp.

I don't know if it was just hitting the wall but something happened at half time of that Adelaide game.. we haven't looked like the same team since. No pressure, no run from behind.. just flat. And it starts from the top.. Merrett has looked flat the last two weeks.. McGrath just doesn't ever give a toss.. weakest VC in our history I think.. Hepp is done. So where does the leadership come from? Stringer can't blow out a candle after 30 seconds of running.. Drapes is too immature.. Riddles injured.. Langford and Wright are stuck in an ice cold forward line.

Scott has a good opportunity to define what he wants this team to stand for. Right now it just have shades of the last 20 years all over it.

At least we have a long off season to contemplate and rebuild our hope for the future.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

 

[Squeaky]

The lack of effort has to be a concern inside the club. They didn't fire a shot today and that's not good enough. Poor / weak efforts need to be identified and heads need to roll going into next week and repeat offenders gone from the club.

But it should have happened already. These putrid performances are far too regular from our club in the last 5 or 6 years. Maybe longer...

 

[doug85]

So we lost to the other bottom 4 sides ?
I have embraced the reality. I have embraced it more than most. I have been very consistent in saying we are 4 or 5 years away. That we lack leadership. That our best players are actually the issue.
We are years away from finding out if Scott can do anything with the list. We may not have even hit rock bottom yet either. Not even sure that Scott and Vosso can do anything. However no matter how many ways you spin it we are not bottom 4. We are in the group of sides that are 10 to 14. That has been our lot with a couple of years just in the 8 and a year in 15th.
Being bad does not actually make you bottom 4. We have been better than 7 sides so far this year. We have still been average and are having a poor finished to the year but I still say if we where genuinely one of the poorest sides of the year the Eagles would have beaten us by 4 goals. We suck. We may crash further but the simple fact is we still won 11 games.

It’s also factually incorrect that we’re bottom 4. We might be playing at that level right now, but at the end of the season we’ll finish 11th or 12th.

 

[doug85]

I know what I’m watching tonight

 

[supportyourteam]

Pleasant 20 goal loss. Game plan issue.

 

[bombadeer]

W. T. F.

 

[Happyskeret]

It’s also factually incorrect that we’re bottom 4. We might be playing at that level right now, but at the end of the season we’ll finish 11th or 12th.

Wow way to rub it in.

 

[citizen-erased]

citizen-erased
Yet we have won 11 games and not actually finished bottom 4. We where bottom 4 last year. This year has fallen away but we did enough to not be bottom 4 this year. Does not make us anything special and I have been very consistent as far as questioning our leadership and players and where we are at. The simple fact is we have been in the next level up from bottom 4 most years and never really fallen to bottom 4 too often. We have enough decent players to keep us from being genuine bottom 4 . Bottom 4 sides lose to bottom 4 sides. The winning margin is irrelevant. The issue is you got seduced and thought we where better than we where before coming crashing back to earth. Are we any good . No not really.

wouldn't necessarily say seduced. and we're agreeing and disagreeing at the same time.
Ladder wise, no we're not bottom 4. but i'll come back to that.

We took some strides this year
i didn't think we'd make finals, but 10+ was on the cards with the start and what was more effort to keep going than we've seen before. I thought that was a big tick

then old habits snuck back in
Not hammering WCE then Norf was not a good sign. When i raised it in threads, I was told to calm down, you can't always smash sides. This is the result.

There was a set of tests post bye and we really only passed the Crows. Even when we won, it felt like a loss.

You're bang on that we lack leadership
But i'd say it's more than that. Its standards for me. I hate agreeing with Robbo, but maybe he's right. When you make excuses, you accept them too.

Back to my bottom 4 comment;
3 weeks ago i left the WCE game midway thru the 4th to get over to the Hawks v Pies game. Normally i'd just lob up late to the 2nd game. But i'd seen enough. And i didn't bother with the Norf match up. And cancelled all my plans to go today. Which is a shame cos i've still not been to that ground now.

I'd have agreed with you before that game that whilst we're still not good, we've at least taken a step away from bottom 4
We've undone that since. We may not be bottom 4 this year on the ladder, but by god we deserve to be. the sad outcome is we won't get the pick deserving of where we should be.
Our % is bottom 4
We are the 3 worst side for scores against.

I remember calling the hawks imposters for being top 4 in '18.
We're the same for being anywhere outside the bottom 4 at the moment.
this isn't a reaction to today. Last month has really shown our true colours.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

How on earth (I know the easier draw)...the cats are lower on the ladder than us. They are a far better, more competitive outfit.

 

[Vindicater]

Good idea not having an MVP thread. Not 1 player deserved a vote

I would give it to Perkins for clearly giving a shit.

 

[citizen-erased]

It’s also factually incorrect that we’re bottom 4. We might be playing at that level right now, but at the end of the season we’ll finish 11th or 12th.

Bottom 4, but without the pick
How very fitting of us

Meanwhile, the Dees will win a flag and walk to the draft with the pick we should hold.

ain't life grand

 

[gillon]

As others have said. This team is weak.

A team that is bottom two for clearances and contested possession will never achieve anything

We have not had a team that thrives in the contest and applies manic pressure in 20 years. You can see it in teams like GC even though we are above them. We don’t have the cattle and middling the table for a decade has not helped

 

[The Devils Advocate]

I wasn't able to watch this game, as I was at a kids bday party, my god am I happy about that.

 

[Beerfish]

I wasn't able to watch this game, as I was at a kids bday party, my god am I happy about that.

 

[The Devils Advocate]

Adelaide just got robbed by the umps too, ending our season. Baha

 

[Nicholas61]

This - do we owe Woosha and Truck an apology?

Think I read it on here before Woosha told the board we needed a different type of player and one that is more defensively minded and they weren't interested. Heck they even got a defender (Saad) who apparently to some here wasnt happy to play to lock down his opponent. Maybe one day they will realise among other things we need guys who will run two ways and adopt a defensive ethos.

 

[Chief Hopper]

Tough game to watch.
For an Essendon team that's done fairly well in the centre bounce all year, we were soundly trounced.
I just don't see it with this midfield mix. Too short, not enough muscle.
Could swap GWS with Geelong, Bulldogs or Brisbane. We just don't have the right mix.

 

[ghostdog]

One or two player changes isn’t making up 120 point deficit. Baldwin looked promising last week but he’s not fixing that loss.

Players look cooked and have packed it in for the season.

I'm not talking about players fixing the loss. I'm talking about the players' belief in the coach. It was obvious to all and sundry that Baldwin deserved to play. To not select him could undermine the trust of the group; why play for him if your best isn't worth anything to him. Yet players like Cox are gifted games.

 

[Happyskeret]

I’m imagining this to Pearl Jam music bear with me……he loses the ball in the middle he can’t find a Setterfield

 

[bombadeer]

Tough game to watch.
For an Essendon team that's done fairly well in the centre bounce all year, we were soundly trounced.
I just don't see it with this midfield mix. Too short, not enough muscle.
Could swap GWS with Geelong, Bulldogs or Brisbane. We just don't have the right mix.

Yeah, the way our midfield was dominated - it was cringeworthy viewing.

All of the teams you have mentioned feast on us at the coal face. Our backline and forward line becomes pretty much irrelevant - we get absolutely monstered regularly by squads with powerful contested midfields. They brush us off with ease.

I’m pretty much always certain after these contests that we’re a midfield rebuild away from being a good team.