Autopsy Round 16, 2024: Positives and Negatives vs Hawthorn

[Eaglemaniac]

Burgiel has been mediocre in the wafl. Can’t bring him in.

Why on earth would culley come in ahead of trew lol

Because Simmo hates Trew for some reason. He rarely picks him and when he does, he plays him out of position and then wonders why he doesn’t dominate.

 

[Hoskin300]

We've been pretty good at stoppages this year. I would say days like today have been the minority as far as the midfield unit is concerned.

Yeah we have shown this year our midfield can dominate when the mids turn up. We absolutely demolished freo and demons mids.

 

[GeelongEagle]

Absolutely horrendous performance today. The team does not want to do the hard things. Not playing for each other. Not playing for the coach.

Aside from McGovern and Barrass, and possibly Hough, everyone else was embarrassed. Yes, even Harley who looked like a bit of a prick strutting around and mouthing off while he was getting pantsed.

We have seen first hand how to get a not so great team playing well for over a month now (Hawthorn, North, St Kilda, Adelaide) We keep making the other team look like All Australians. No one tackles effectively. No one runs hard defensively. No one puts in the hard yards. We are outworked and teams must be licking their lips to play against us.

Big changes are needed.

Short term
1 - Get someone from the WAFL and make them a dedicated tagger.
2 - No more Darling, Allen, Maric, Waterman and Williams in the same team.
3 - Ryan gets out of the centre square and his primary role is forward line pressure.
4 - JJ, Brockman and Hunt are all the same player. Pick one and play them off the half back line.
5 - We can't have Witherden, Duggan, Cole and Rotham all playing in the same back line. Watson took 5 uncontested marks and he is about 4 foot tall.

Long term
1 - New coach who gets the team playing like everyone does against us.

 

[Hoskin300]

Are you in line to get promoted at one of Simmo's HJ's or something?

There are just minimal examples in the AFL where coaching changes dramatically change a teams fortunes.

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Full post-match, R16: Eagles

Watch West Coast’s press conference after round 16’s match against Hawthorn

www.afl.com.au

For the Excuses.

I bet the team learned a lot out there today

 

[Godfather32]

No one in the WAFL currently is outperforming Kelly today. The only one is Trew but Simpson wont play him (which is genuinely something to be very critical of simpson for). We have terrible midfield depth.

Telling a player how to deal with their dad dying is extremely dumb. Glad you weren't overseeing that decision.

It's not a matter of outperforming, it's a matter of playing an unfit player who clearly shouldn't be on the field and putting someone out there who could put in 100% effort.

And having lost a parent in my mid 20's to an illness and having gone straight back to work two days later I think I am actually fairly qualified to know that Yeo will probably look back at some point in his life and wish his boss had insisted he spent the week with his family instead of coming back to work.

 

[chunkylover]

Positive - Got to Optus full of optimism with the team close enough to “full strength.” The first centre clearance and the next 5 minutes let me know what was in store so expectations reduced to zero I was able just to sit through it with no investment or expectation

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Can you explain to me how Simpson is responsible for Kelly and Yeo being terrible today? Your comparison to a senior management role is just ridiculous so wont bother addressing that.

If you can tell me how Simpson could have altered Kelly and Yeos performance today I will be happy to here it.

By your argument, Simpson didn't influence our 2018 flag either. It was all the players. He was just the over paid patz who happened to be in the right job at the right time.
Clarko with his 4 flags at Hawthorn, just a figurehead.
Etc. etc.

 

[Hoskin300]

It's not a matter of outperforming, it's a matter of playing an unfit player who clearly shouldn't be on the field and putting someone out there who could put in 100% effort.

And having lost a parent in my mid 20's to an illness and having gone straight back to work two days later I think I am actually fairly qualified to know that Yeo will probably look back at some point in his life and wish his boss had insisted he spent the week with his family instead of coming back to work.

Who says he was unfit? Him being shit doesn’t mean he was unfit. His effort was fine he was just bad.

Im sorry you went through that but pretending each and every person is the same is super dumb. Criticising Simpson for letting yeo choose is just being super desperate to criticise him.

 

[Gentle Ben]

Ya'll are leagues in front of us in the development stage. At least your coach isn't afraid to give his players a clip when it's deserved. Your whole season turned around the week Mitchell told the players to bring their mouth guards to training.

It was really frustrating to see Mitchell (even at 35-18 in front and dominating most important stats) angry in the coaches box, only for the camera to pan to Simpson looking emotionless and still.

Simpson has zero dog in him anymore, and unfortunately the players are responding in similar fashion on the field. Like most here, I’m all for a new coach at the end of the season.

 

[Hoskin300]

By your argument, Simpson didn't influence our 2018 flag either. It was all the players. He was just the over paid patz who happened to be in the right job at the right time.
Clarko with his 4 flags at Hawthorn, just a figurehead.
Etc. etc.

I mean I do agree with this to an extent. Eagles had an amazing team when we won in 2018. The main reason we won because of the team not because of the coaching.

 

[Astro7]

simmo or biden, who gets the boot first?

The Dems have already found a solution for Biden!
You don't give them the boot, you re-boot them!
Maybe the same could work for Simmo?

 

[Godfather32]

Who says he was unfit? Him being shit doesn’t mean he was unfit. His effort was fine he was just bad.

Im sorry you went through that but pretending each and every person is the same is super dumb. Criticising Simpson for letting yeo choose is just being super desperate to criticise him.

People were saying he was limping around the ground. He's just had 4 weeks off. He's clearly unfit.

And I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm just saying that at that age you don't always realise what's important, more experienced people should step in and offer advice...like say the coach.

And you're the one saying there was nothing Simpson could do other than play Yeo and Kelly despite a fairly predictable outcome....when there are other options available to him. You act like Simpson is just some helpless puppet at the mercy of the players, some behind the scenes puppet master or the gods themselves or something. He's the head f**king coach, it's his responsibility to ensure the team at least play with a bit of effort. And today (like many games and just as many excuses over the last 4 years) apart from 2 or 3 players they didn't. That's on Simpson.

 

[Astro7]

They can clearly do it because we’ve seen them match it with some of the best but too often we just lack energy and dare.

Duggan needs to step down as captain because his scared, hesitant play sums up our entire team. No organisation and no dare to take the game on.

It's more his rushed kicks and poor kicking skills...he's not alone and it's something that staggers me given all the years of playing and training?

 

[cacik]

Absolutely horrendous performance today. The team does not want to do the hard things. Not playing for each other. Not playing for the coach.

Aside from McGovern and Barrass, and possibly Hough, everyone else was embarrassed. Yes, even Harley who looked like a bit of a prick strutting around and mouthing off while he was getting pantsed.

We have seen first hand how to get a not so great team playing well for over a month now (Hawthorn, North, St Kilda, Adelaide) We keep making the other team look like All Australians. No one tackles effectively. No one runs hard defensively. No one puts in the hard yards. We are outworked and teams must be licking their lips to play against us.

Big changes are needed.

Short term
1 - Get someone from the WAFL and make them a dedicated tagger.
2 - No more Darling, Allen, Maric, Waterman and Williams in the same team.
3 - Ryan gets out of the centre square and his primary role is forward line pressure.
4 - JJ, Brockman and Hunt are all the same player. Pick one and play them off the half back line.
5 - We can't have Witherden, Duggan, Cole and Rotham all playing in the same back line. Watson took 5 uncontested marks and he is about 4 foot tall.

Long term
1 - New coach who gets the team playing like everyone does against us.

tackles comment stands out for me.....We cannot.. fken.. tackle.. Anything that's outside 2 meters of us on a lateral movement.. ffs, horrible in that area for years and years.
One handed and no chest. Tbh gutless for far too long in the mids
Yeo clearly an exception...

Blocks/Sheppards after a handball receive have also been non existent for years as well... these are fundamentals of the game itself, i know under 16s that will get that done ffs.. grrrr

 

[Astro7]

He shouldnt have played..he chose to play and had **** all impact.

He wasn't alone there...

 

[InTheWings]

Did anyone else think Harley looked injured? At the start of the match he was running like he had lead in his legs. Maybe it's just that he hadn't played for a month.

 

[Obeanie1]

They could make an effort - they are paid for it.

If you are off by 5% you get found out.

Plenty of our mids were understandably well below their best.

 

[BeornJ]

Witho had a good game...... Are you his dad or something. FFS he was woeful.

On Pixel 6 Pro using BigFooty.com mobile app

Eh agree to disagree but he was the sixth highest rated Eagles player.

 

[Hoskin300]

People were saying he was limping around the ground. He's just had 4 weeks off. He's clearly unfit.

And I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm just saying that at that age you don't always realise what's important, more experienced people should step in and offer advice...like say the coach.

And you're the one saying there was nothing Simpson could do other than play Yeo and Kelly despite a fairly predictable outcome....when there are other options available to him. You act like Simpson is just some helpless puppet at the mercy of the players, some behind the scenes puppet master or the gods themselves or something. He's the head f**king coach, it's his responsibility to ensure the team at least play with a bit of effort. And today (like many games and just as many excuses over the last 4 years) apart from 2 or 3 players they didn't. That's on Simpson.

I was at the game and didn’t see Kelly limping once. Any source on that just more Bigfooty nonsense. If he was actually still injured like you suggest then that’s on the SC team anyway.

It’s not simpsons decision to make so stoping banging on about yeo. Ridiculous stuff. Yeo is a 30 year old he can make the decision himself. Maybe he wanted to play and honour his father? Stop pretending like you have any insight.

I have been very critical of Simpson on bigfooty this year lol. Kelly and yeo playing poorly just isn’t something to blame him for.

 

[InTheWings]

People on here really overrate the impact coaching has.

Part of me agrees with you but today it was really easy to tell that Hawthorn is a well coached and well drilled team. We were the opposite.

 

[Ghossein]

The Dems have already found a solution for Biden!
Maybe the same could work for Simmo, just program him right, all good!

View attachment 2035484

folks, the players played the game today. they played the football. its like the time kelly went out there, he had the ball, and, and, and, he was 3rd in the coleman. that doesn't just happen. that shows commitment. look, we have the greatest forward in barrass, he can play the ball, and folks, he will win us the brownlow.

 

[Godfather32]

I was at the game and didn’t see Kelly limping once. Any source on that just more Bigfooty nonsense. If he was actually still injured like you suggest then that’s on the SC team anyway.

It’s not simpsons decision to make so stoping banging on about yeo. Ridiculous stuff. Yeo is a 30 year old he can make the decision himself. Maybe he wanted to play and honour his father? Stop pretending like you have any insight.

I have been very critical of Simpson on bigfooty this year lol. Kelly and yeo playing poorly just isn’t something to blame him for.

I agree with this most weeks. But Yeos dad died and it was obvious he was most likely going to suck. Kelly was also likely going to be bad after not playing for five weeks. They both had reasons to suck that Simpson cant really change that.

So in your own words it was entirely predictable that Yeo and Kelly were going to suck...but Simpson can do absolutely nothing about it? So his hands are completely tied, he just has to chuck two guys out there that he knows are going to stink the place up?
Sorry but I think you're the one who has to stop pretending you have any special insight, you're just like most of the rest of us on here, a giant numpty with NFI

 

[Eaglemaniac]

I don’t know why people are surprised, they looked exactly like they have done for a huge part of the last three or four years since we won the flag. The senior players just run around like they’ve done their job and they just collecting a paycheck. People joke about how Harley is the team, but we didn’t fire up against Sydney this year until Harley started showing some enthusiasm and screaming at blokes to get fired up. Sure he’s had help from Gov, Yeo and Barrass for example on field, but why should an 18 year-old be coming out and firing up our useless senior players to get interested in winning a ****ing game for ****s sake?

And all of this is because we have a coach that picks favourites and senior players just about every week over guys that are performing in the lower leagues. We are not in a position to win a flag, or be winning a shitload of games, so our priority for the last few years should’ve been to play these younger guys on a regular basis who are performing in the wafl, and drop the senior players that aren’t playing well.
That makes the senior players play hard to keep their spot, and it makes the younger players work hard in the lower tier or league to get selected because they can see that they’ll get a chance to do so.
Our coach doesn’t do that. He plays his favourites as much as he can, and he leaves certain players in the wafl just wasting away which is demoralising for just about everyone in the club and you can see it. Right now we are living up to the coast section of our name, and that’s why Simmo needs to go.

 

[InTheWings]

Just got back from the game....

Today we had

• Absolutely NO system or structure going into the forward line
• No crumbers in the forward line - we need small forwards to stay there
• A desert in our front half. Way too many forwards vacating our forward line and going up the ground.
• A tall forward needs to be anchored inside the front 50 so he can lead at the ball or be one-out with a defender.

Positives:

• Gov and Barrass - absolute masters in the backline

The land of the Giants doesn't work. The MC need to make some hard calls and move on from that experiment.