Round 18 - Post-game thoughts

Remove this Banner Ad

swiftdog

Premiership Player
Sep 26, 2005
4,208
2,757
melbourne
AFL Club
Collingwood
There's enough threads about us tanking and how shit we are. This thread is for discussion of the game.

Collingwood 1.2 3.8 6.13 8.14 (62)
Hawthorn 6.3 8.8 12.11 17.14 (116)

GOALS
Collingwood: H. Shaw 2, Pendlebury 2, Medhurst, Didak, Anthony, Davis
Hawthorn: Franklin 8, Roughead 4, Dew, Bateman, Gilham, Williams, Sewell

BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, O’Brien, Maxwell, Anthony, Didak, Swan
Hawthorn: Franklin, Mitchell, Hodge, Bateman, Ellis, Croad, Brown



My thoughts:

1. Umpiring - I'll get this out of the way first, it was absolutely pathetic. I wasn't even angry at it, more just dumbfounded, I'm sure that many Hawthorn supporters would also feel that it was not up to standard. Whenever one team got a run on a couple of stupid decisions would go against them. The difference was when the Hawks got the good end of the stick they took advantage of it, we didn't.

2. Intensity/Tackling - Simple enough, when the intensity was there we got on top and vice-versa. We were too bloody soft today and didn't look interested. Our tackling has got to improve if we want to have a decent crack in September. Like with intensity, when the tackles were sticking we got on top.

3. 2 up, 0 down/Communication - This was a constantly occuring basic mistake and shat me up the wall the entire game. One of the first things your taught in football is that one person goes up to take the mark, the other stays down to get the crumbs. Too many times we had two players flying for a mark and Hawthorn made away with the easy ball. Furthermore, communication seemed to be lacking between players. I put this down to either a lack in confidence or in team harmony.

4. Forward Structure - What structure? Forget the midfield this is where we are losing the game. Many of us like to blame our mids that can't kick but let's try some empathy. What have they got to kick too? Our forwards don't lead anywhere near hard enough and we are just not presenting targets. Hard leads break the cluster, a steaming forward is going to outmark a stagnant player 9/10 times or smash him trying. Cloke and Anthony have good dukes but why the hell don't they lead? Thomas gets his share of criticism on this board but he seemed to be the only player trying to make an option at some times tonight. Our forward structure is based around precision and dainty kicks into our forward line but we don't have the personell to do it. Change the bloody structure ffs. Or Cloke can pull the finger out and make some purposeful leads (may be a tad harsh but if he wants to be the no 1 forward at Collingwood he needs to present).

5. Turning point - This is going to sound really weird but bare with me. Maxwell got on top of Buddy during the 3rd and the entire Hawks team were becoming too Buddy conscious. Clarkson took him off and the Hawks got on top.

Fire away.
 
To be fair to the forwards (and the mids) because Hawks were pushing up the ground, when we got on the rebound we didn't have anyone to kick to! Cloke was playing far too much up the ground, leaving either Anthony or Daisy to crash the packs. Very disappointing game. Thought Maxwell did pretty well in the 3rd, and realistically I don't think any player in the league would have done a better job considering the delivery Buddy was getting tonight.

The game ended up how I thought it would - completely carved up in the middle. Again.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

To be fair to the forwards (and the mids) because Hawks were pushing up the ground, when we got on the rebound we didn't have anyone to kick to! Cloke was playing far too much up the ground, leaving either Anthony or Daisy to crash the packs. Very disappointing game. Thought Maxwell did pretty well in the 3rd, and realistically I don't think any player in the league would have done a better job considering the delivery Buddy was getting tonight.

The game ended up how I thought it would - completely carved up in the middle. Again.

That's what i'm trying to get at. Only a small handful of players in the AFL would be able to spot up Medhurst/Thomas/Anthony in between three Hawthorn players. We can't blame the mids if they've got no decent target to kick to.
 
we are a rabble at this point in time.. our midfiield is absoloutely pathetic..
our forward line is non-existant(due to our midfield) our back was inundated(due to our pathetic midfield)... its seems to me as if every time we play the opposition has players that rack up multiple 30+ possessions while we have been struggling to get the ball and whenver we do we hack away it like a butcher to a carcass...

i have lost faith in my (our) beloved club... we need a miracle for this season... and a clean out, review, coup de tat, revolt, revoloution or something that will get us back to being a power side as opposed to a side that "can" match it on our day with the best (ala geelong , although this now looks like it was just an abberation).. because apart from geelong, sydney and west coast we have been fairly ordinay this season....

i am usually mr optimism when it comes to our club.. but i think eddie needs to take a good hard look at the direction the club "wants" to travel in as opposedto the direction we "ar" trabelling in and make the cut throat changes required.. if he doesnt do this.. he will been seen as the man who made collingwood on off field power that played in 2 grand defeats and achieved not much else.... OUR JUMPER deserves better.
 
Collingwood played a shocker, 3 losses in a row, next game vs Stkilda (always a hard game for collingwood). Surely top 4 position is out of the question now if not even top 8 with 4 games remaining.
 
If I wasn't about to finish my MBA in 14 hours time I would be crying right now
I'm not doing my MBA, but I'm not crying about it. Not in the slightest. This Collingwood team deserves to be belted at the moment. It will be for the greater good both on and off the field because it doesn't take much to turn things around in this competition and Collingwood has a very good player base when at full strength.

I think this patch of three disgraceful performances will do wonders for players like Thomas, Pendlebury, O'Brien, and Clarke and a few others when their confidence returns at some stage down the track. Too many Collingwood players have expected natural progression from last season without doing the hard work every week, and the forward line is not good enough with three key forwards watching on.
That's what i'm trying to get at. Only a small handful of players in the AFL would be able to spot up Medhurst/Thomas/Anthony in between three Hawthorn players. We can't blame the mids if they've got no decent target to kick to.
I absolutely agree! Give the midfielders something to kick to, and all of a sudden they look a lot better. Without the tall forward targets available, then the midfield looks terrible which puts too much pressure on the defence until the floodgates open.

Even the Geelong midfield would struggle if they were without Mooney, Hawkins and either Gamble or Lonergan for as long as Collingwood has been without Rocca, Reid and Rusling. Look at Carlton's midfield of Judd, Gibbs, Murphy and Carrazzo when Fevola has a bad day.
 
-I'm actually so tired of posting on how bad Maxwell is. It bores me to tears. One last time though. Biggest hack, skills not up to it, reading of the play not up to it, one-on-one ability not up to it, accountablility not up to it, etc.

-Our midfield..disgraceful. r*ped in the clearances, footskills absolutely SHOCKING in the first half in particular. Pace exposed big time when the Hawks countered with numbers streaming through the centre of the ground.

-Heath Shaw; was moved around a bit today, which is a good thing. About the only good move MM has made in the past four matches.
 
- Pendlebury: As much as I really really love this kid (and believe me, I do), he needs to be harder at it.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Remove this Banner Ad

Round 18 - Post-game thoughts

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top