- Aug 15, 2015
- 38,675
- 92,402
First half was as well as we've played. Waltzed clearances out, hit targets, rarely lost the ball and then when we did, our pressure was manic and we smashed them in basically every contest. Great to see Marshall and Finlayson hit the scoreboard and we looked several classes above.
2nd half was as bad as we've played and the philosophy that led to it is pathetic. The class gulf between the sides was clear to see and it's completely unacceptable to allow a team you've dominated so completely to beat you in a half of footy.
I don't agree with putting the cue in the rack anyway, but what we did went well beyond that. We allowed a garbage side to get a hold of us. We didn't slow the game down or maintain possession, we just released pressure, took off our ruckman to allow them to dominate the clearances and effectively stopped playing.
Good teams kill bad teams off. They don't allow them to kick runs of goals. It might "not matter" because we won the game, but there is a psychological advantage to smashing teams that we have repeatedly refused to take at AFL level under either of our long term coaches. Not to mention percentage.
The complete change in fortunes at clearances after we decided to sub off our ruckman should put to bed any of the nonsense we've seen over the past 2 seasons playing part timers or green ruckmen. Just play a competent tap ruckman first and foremost.