Game Day Round 17 vs. Essendon, MCG, 7:40pm Friday 05/07

[The Magnificent Seven]

Forget Essendon, I'm more worried by our consistency.

I don't mean to be a doom'n'gloomer but in the last few matches - including Dogs, Roos and now Suns - we just appear to have a midfield that gets beaten easily, gives opposition plenty of room to go through the middle and can't snag a tackle.

What won us Roos match was individual brilliance, but we play a team sport. And most of the team appear middling, not high-flying.

Our injury list has been a big factor, but hey we didnt have an injury list in Rounds 0, 1 and 2. It just feels like the electric team spirit has just mellowed. IQ has been mediocre, Moore has been patchy, Jaicos has been good in patches too...

I can see us losing by 2-3 goals in a murky affair I'm afraid. I'm still going to the match, will still cheer us on and still get angry if we lose, but without the gameday emotion I feel a bit drained by the 2024 season.

 

[domus]

Forget Essendon, I'm more worried by our consistency.

I don't mean to be a doom'n'gloomer but in the last few matches - including Dogs, Roos and now Suns - we just appear to have a midfield that gets beaten easily, gives opposition plenty of room to go through the middle and can't snag a tackle.

What won us Roos match was individual brilliance, but we play a team sport. And most of the team appear middling, not high-flying.

Our injury list has been a big factor, but hey we didnt have an injury list in Rounds 0, 1 and 2. It just feels like the electric team spirit has just mellowed. IQ has been mediocre, Moore has been patchy, Jaicos has been good in patches too...

I can see us losing by 2-3 goals in a murky affair I'm afraid. I'm still going to the match, will still cheer us on and still get angry if we lose, but without the gameday emotion I feel a bit drained by the 2024 season.

If we win a couple on the trot your passion and emotions will be back on song along with the boys in black and white. David King seems to have faith in our team and thinks we will crank up the pressure and winning ways in the coming home stretch. Time will tell-but like you I'll be there hoping to see that familiar relentless pressure breaking the opposition.

 

[domus]

He's invisible in any of the VFL matches I've watched.

He just looks like a very vanilla player.

 

[stormskye]

Forget Essendon, I'm more worried by our consistency.

I don't mean to be a doom'n'gloomer but in the last few matches - including Dogs, Roos and now Suns - we just appear to have a midfield that gets beaten easily, gives opposition plenty of room to go through the middle and can't snag a tackle.

What won us Roos match was individual brilliance, but we play a team sport. And most of the team appear middling, not high-flying.

Our injury list has been a big factor, but hey we didnt have an injury list in Rounds 0, 1 and 2. It just feels like the electric team spirit has just mellowed. IQ has been mediocre, Moore has been patchy, Jaicos has been good in patches too...

I can see us losing by 2-3 goals in a murky affair I'm afraid. I'm still going to the match, will still cheer us on and still get angry if we lose, but without the gameday emotion I feel a bit drained by the 2024 season.

We’ve been playing without Mitchell, degoey and pendles for weeks. Two came back for the first time last week and we lost against a team NOBODY else has beaten at home

 

[The Magnificent Seven]

We’ve been playing without Mitchell, degoey and pendles for weeks. Two came back for the first time last week and we lost against a team NOBODY else has beaten at home

Don't get me wrong, my rational brain has also processed all this too.

I just did the ladder predictor and have us finishing 12-9-2 and juuuuust in the 8 come finals time.

That's with a win against Essendon, loss to Cats, loss to Hawks, win against Tigers, loss to Carlton, loss to Sydney, win against Lions, win against Dees.

So 4-4 leading into finals. It's all doable and hopefully we rally with returns from Elliot, Mitchell and McStay as well.

 

[cfc19902010]

sullivan isn't up to it and unfortunately Finn hasn't shown enough to think he's going to be either ..sullivan tries hard and is obviously a very good vfl player but doesn't have enough tricks and attributes at this level IMO..his decision making and initial movements are slow which is fatal at this level for senior mid

 

[ElliottsMaggies]

We’ve been playing without Mitchell, degoey and pendles for weeks. Two came back for the first time last week and we lost against a team NOBODY else has beaten at home

It's weird isn't it, apparently Bombers lose by 8 goals & it's largely due to a couple of umpiring decisions..we lose by 11 points & it's because our defence is so dysfunctional, we've lost our aura & become complacent.

Our second loss in 12 weeks btw .

 

[SuperSub17]

Forget Essendon, I'm more worried by our consistency.

I don't mean to be a doom'n'gloomer but in the last few matches - including Dogs, Roos and now Suns - we just appear to have a midfield that gets beaten easily, gives opposition plenty of room to go through the middle and can't snag a tackle.

What won us Roos match was individual brilliance, but we play a team sport. And most of the team appear middling, not high-flying.

The optimist in me says that the mid-year bye rounds always play funny tricks, and most good teams (including premiers) usually go through a flat spot around them.

Last year we played an awful game against Melbourne and lost, then came off the bye and pulled off a lucky escape against Adelaide at home - only winning by 2.

Geelong 2022 (easily the most dominant recent premier) fortunately got a terrible West Coast team - and still nearly lost. They also pulled off a big escape against Richmond the next week, requiring Prestia to be KO’d to do so.

Melbourne 2021 went through a big flat spot - they lost to us in Sydney in Bucks’ last game, 2 weeks later lost at home to GWS, followed by drawing with a terrible Hawthorn.

Richmond 2019 lost 3 in a row, including being spanked by 63 points by Geelong.

West Coast 2018 also lost 3 in a row, including a game in Perth against Essendon where they looked absolutely awful and got smashed.

And Richmond 2017 blew a big lead and lost to Sydney at the G. A couple of weeks later they got absolutely annihilated by St Kilda at Marvel, and were lucky the Saints eased off in the last and didn’t lose by 100 points.


I can keep going, but it’s all about peaking at the right time. I’m backing us in - don’t think any team would be confident in beating us at the G.

 

[The Magnificent Seven]

It's weird isn't it, apparently Bombers lose by 8 goals & it's largely due to a couple of umpiring decisions..we lose by 11 points & it's because our defence is so dysfunctional, we've lost our aura & become complacent.

Our second loss in 12 weeks btw .

We're all pretty much agreed that it was touch-and-go for 3 losses though.

 

[Jen2310]

We're all pretty much agreed that it was touch-and-go for 3 losses though.

should have lost the north game, and the freo draw prob should have been a loss too.
We havent beat a top 8 contender since carlton.
We need to get better with our consistency. Cant be playing 1 quarter. Reminds me of 2019, we would win by playing a good quarter or two.

 

[The Magnificent Seven]

should have lost the north game, and the freo draw prob should have been a loss too.
We havent beat a top 8 contender since carlton.
We need to get better with our consistency. Cant be playing 1 quarter. Reminds me of 2019, we would win by playing a good quarter or two.

Just watched the highlights again - gee has it already been 10 weeks?!? - and it does not surprise to see all of Checkers, Pendles, Cox, Elliot in a winning team. Great cameos from Bobby, Harvey, Will and of course THAT goal by Daics.

That felt more like an evenly-spread game in terms of effort and ability. There's where we need to get back to.

 

[danielnajdek]

should have lost the north game, and the freo draw prob should have been a loss too.
We havent beat a top 8 contender since carlton.
We need to get better with our consistency. Cant be playing 1 quarter. Reminds me of 2019, we would win by playing a good quarter or two.

Don't agree. Umpire balded headed prick cost us that win.

 

[Apex36]

Don't agree. Umpire balded headed prick cost us that win.

Weird calls all around. We were in control for all but the last 10 minutes of that game, 100% should have been a win. Umpires call definitely turned momentum but we shouldn’t have allowed them back in it regardless.

Definitely not a game that should have been a loss.

 

[Jen2310]

Don't agree. Umpire balded headed prick cost us that win.

cant blame the umpires for our bad kicking. Didnt take our opportunities, and went goalless in the 2nd Q. I was there and it was an arm wrestle for most of the game.

Maybe not should have been a loss, but could have. Just like anzac day

 

[ElliottsMaggies]

We're all pretty much agreed that it was touch-and-go for 3 losses though.

But we didn't lose them. And that's what counts at the end of the day. Had we won another touch & go match on Saturday, we'd be more than happy with the 4 points.

 

[jmac70]

Our destiny lies in our own hands. Seven out of eight games to come at the G and only 2 points from third.

If we play to our level we will finish top 4.

 

[Jen2310]

Our destiny lies in our own hands. Seven out of eight games to come at the G and only 2 points from third.

If we play to our level we will finish top 4.

4th is best case senario. Wouldn't want to lose too many more games.
And yeah most of them are at the G, but some of them are against MCG tenants too, so no real home advantage.

None of them are easy, so we will need to start performing better. Hopefully starting friday.

 

[gerryg400]

Our destiny lies in our own hands. Seven out of eight games to come at the G and only 2 points from third.

If we play to our level we will finish top 4.

Our draw is a good test. We get looks at Carlton, Bris and Swans before the finals.

 

[jmac70]

4th is best case senario. Wouldn't want to lose too many more games.
And yeah most of them are at the G, but some of them are against MCG tenants too, so no real home advantage.

None of them are easy, so we will need to start performing better. Hopefully starting friday.

Premiership teams win the hard games. Perfect opportunity.

 

[windchimes]

What I see without a true 2nd Ruck is the inability to:

• maintain Ruck competitiveness for 100% of the game
• use a down the line kick for a mark or spoil to crumbers.
• deploy a Ruckman to fill the hole in defence when the game is in balance
• deploy a Ruckman Fwd to stretch an opposition defence
• tire or fatigue elite Rucks by double teaming them with big bodies, to blunt their effectiveness.

I repeat that I like Kreuger but he can’t be expected to do all the above which are necessary tactical options for Fly IMO.
Do we win the GF 2023 without 2 Ruck?

Kreuger is no less likely to be able to do any of the bolded than Cox.

In fact, those are all things Kreuger is significantly more likely to do successfully than Cox when in the side.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

He was on the bike. Not been mentioned once when the club has brought up injuries to JFN or Beau.

They have now



Man this season is becoming a real slog for us with all these injuries

Tough see us scraping to the finish line

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

So Maynard and Jaicos in doubt for Friday night. These injuries are getting annoying!!!!

 

[ElliottsMaggies]

They have now



Man this season is becoming a real slog for us with all these injuries

Tough see us scraping to the finish line

He'll be fine. Corkies won't be keeping those 2 out.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

They have now



Man this season is becoming a real slog for us with all these injuries

Tough see us scraping to the finish line

I think this season will end up being a nearly season, but couldn't achieve what we wanted because of injuries....

 

[danielnajdek]

So Maynard and Jaicos in doubt for Friday night. These injuries are getting annoying!!!!

We had 4 come back and got 3 injuries and 2 with tests. Hence why I never understood the people saying wait until we get all our players back. We just are having one of those years when it comes to injuries.