We know where we sit now

[OldBlueFan]

Despite all of the players who were down, we still dominated the 3rd and just couldn't convert and then had our chances in the last, but decision making going forward was deplorable.

You could almost put tonight's loss down to 1 thing, a young football team. And by extension, it was the lack of size that hurts us in certain instances and inexperience in others.

There were plenty of positives to take out of tonight's game, but the biggest for me was the fact that we were well in the contest until mid way through the last quarter even though one CJ was having a game to forget. Didn't get many touches and the kicks that he did have were almost all turnovers that hurt.

Everyone keeps saying that when Judd doesn't play well, either do the Blues. Well I think they went quite a way toward proving that wrong tonight.

 

[40yearBLUE]

Odd?

The final margin is largely irrelevant, with how the game is played these days.

Our own coach labeled our effort against the Pies a disgrace pretty much, because it was - to try and draw parallels with tonight's game, or suggest our reactions to each loss should be the same is a ridiculously simplistic view.

I guess we should have praised our efforts against Freo, because the margin was only 8 points?

Reactions after the Pies game were mostly justified, and I'm sure would have been mirrored by the coaching staff behind closed doors. Tonight's game however shows to me we should be a top 4 contender next year.

If you can't see the differences, or if you find it odd that there was such a difference in people's reaction, than perhaps pay less attention to stats and margins, and simply watch the games...

Whilst I agree lets examine that a little. But before we do understand where I am coming from. My point is that when we lose like we did against the pies and other times this year the reaction has been rabid and some of the actions include people losing their job over it. Sack Ratts, sack our assistant coachs, player x should never wear the jumper again etc. I am sure that not a single person at the club had that thought in their post match debrief. So no, reactions after the pies game or any other game were not mostly justified, there was no justification for them. None. I dont care if we lost to them by the largest margin in our history. None. So lets get that absolutely straight.

Now back to margin, yes I agree that margin is largely irrelevant but lets for a moment wonder about the rabid reaction if we played as poorly as we did against the pies but only lost by 4 goals. Would there have been the same ferocious calls for mass sackings? Sure there would have been some, who for them only 25 wins a year is good enough. But most would have been disappointed but seen areas we could improve. What if that margin was 4 points in a mostly spiritless display? We would have been climbing over each other to proclaim that we just had to get our shit together and we were top 4 on that kind of loss. So yeah margin largely irrelevant in modern footy?

The truth of the matter is we got beat in both games by about the same margin. In one game we were spiritless and one we had a fighting spirit. Now as I pointed out in another thread, in a spiritless loss there is an upside, short term upside in that we could change that and come with spirit next time, but if you throw pretty much everything you have at a team and have a spirited loss by the same margin it tells you that you are a way off beating them. But it keeps the fans happy and everyone gets to keep their jobs.

Nah for me same same. Both losses point to the fact we are about half way through the cycle of moving from bottom of the ladder to top and all is about where it should be. No sackings, no disgraces, no rabid outbursts.

Thats my take. You can take it anyway you like. I am sure you do.

 

[Azzurri Blues]

We will push for the top 4 in 2011 if we have a good run with injuries.
Geelong had only a couple of their best 22 players out last time and we walked over them. This proves even in good sides if you lose a few best 22 players you fall away quick. We had, Joseph, Kreuzer, Hampson, Mclean and Lucas out. Against teams like Melbourne, Essendon and Richmond we are men but against teams like Geelong and Collingwood we are still babies and get physically monstered.

Murphy was good tonight. Robbo panicked and didn't play smart, will probably learn.

What a reversal. Weak effort.

 

[Mountain West]

At least we won't be at Toilet Dome again this year. Hopefully we won't be at the SCG either.

I wish they were back at Princes Park.

 

[FRUMPY]

Gotta love how ratts said Grigg is going nowhere. After a sluggish start, he played a good game (except for the pivotal moment in the match when he missed a sitter!!!). Gotta love his grunt work, runs the lines and kicking has been good this year. Adds so much to the side when out there.

 

[Gozz]

Disagree with the OP about Carrazzo not being a good tagger. He had it over Ablett running through the midfield to the extent he almost made Ablett look inept. In a good coaching move, Thompson moved Ablett forward to try to expose Carrazzo and for us this is when Ratten should have made a change because Carrazzo isnt a good defender when the ball is coming in.

I felt real sorry for Carrazzo because he played his role as well as he could last night but was let down by ratten for making him stick with Ablett in defence.

 

[RTBB]

At least we won't be at Toilet Dome again this year. Hopefully we won't be at the SCG either.

I think the last game at the SCG is played there today, pretty sure any finals is contracted to play at ANZ stadium, which Sydney dont really like.

 

[Azul]

He's only played 10 games.

With no fitness base. He missed the other 11 games due to injuries and was rushed back into the team each time.

 

[Lukesta63]

Great games from 23 and 30.

As for 19 and 38 - MIA.

I suppose this time around Bomber's focus was to stop the small fwds and that's what he did.
Fair effort but too many people happy with the loss !

It's a must win next week,and rue the mistakes in the 3rd qtr...just about had them by the throat!

 

[AndyWalkersGirl]

OP is major over-reaction, which most of us have done as some stage.

We didn't play that well for all teh game, but we certainly weren't as bad as we could have been.

Geelong and Collingwood are the benchmarks. I'm jjust glad we didn't get smashed last night.


My only roasts last night were
1. Bower: not strong enough. Needs to build up his strenght over summer. I'm sick of him always being caught out of position too. Just looked so lost as so many parts of last nights' game. And would someone please teach him to handball without looking like an unco? I tremble when he gets the ball sometimes...
2. Walker : confidence obviously playing it's part.

 

[audas]

Not sure what game you were watching. Apart from some poor forward entries, we would have been in front mid way through the 3rd. Those misses killed us and then stokes goes down the other end and slots one. That was the game there.

Cant fault the endeavour (although the tackling was poor). Showed some promise and character. Dont look at the margin, we fell away at the end.

Teams have learnt to sit on eddie betts. He is getting a hard tag every week and cant seem to shake it. probably needs to work harder.

Betts, Garlett, Bower, Walker had bad days. Walker did improve after half time. Robbo played a shocker except for 3 goals (which sounds weird). He has to stop bombing the ball every time he gets it.

Murphy was clearly our BOG. Was in everything and used the ball superbly. Gibbs next best. Hendo was great. Waite good cameos. Ellard was great in the 3rd qtr. Davies did some nice things. Armfiled was good. Russ curbed johnson after qtr time.

Gibbs played the far better game - easily, no doubt about it.

 

[Blue Dawn]

Men v boys was the most apt description. We have some growing to go. Seeing all those tackles fail is what really bought it home. And we panic running into our 50 a lot, experience will fix that. Having Waite and Hendo firing will straighten us up in years to come. And not surprised the likes of Garlett drift in and out, still very young.

And man are we lucky we have Hendo, he kicks the crap out of Tom Hawkins. All hype is Hawkins, all class is Hendo.

Swan r*ped Voss on that deal.

Sure did - not that the hole wasn't already well established by that stage of trade week.

Really hope Yaz plays well this week as Eddie clearly needs a rest. Struggles to perform interstate in the best of form anyway does our Eddie. He, Bower + AW1 were the real disappointments under the spotlight last night for me.

Mind you, the positives outweighed the negatives last night. We're about 4 players (and 30-40 games) short of where we want to be - and 3 of those blokes are already on our list.


Oh and Thy go dees!

 

[No1Suspect]

Decision making
Tackling
Handballing under pressure
Bower and Jamo as KPD and in 1on1s
Consistently bombing into our forward 50
Walkers confidence in a hard contest (shoulders always in his mind)
Russell kicking in

Gibbs, Warnock, Murph, Hendo, Simmo, Waite

Trade like theres no tomorrow for a BIG DEFENDER ie Watson

Sauce trade value going up, had a solid game

 

[Tish]

We were pretty good in patches last night, We just don't like the dome. The dome is made for one thing. Bags and Bags of goals from strong bodies players.

Geelong have beaten us at the dome every game we've played there in the last 4-5 times.

The times we beat them are at the G, the most important place to win games.

You don't win finals at the dome.

 

[ratten7]

Odd?

The final margin is largely irrelevant, with how the game is played these days.

Our own coach labeled our effort against the Pies a disgrace pretty much, because it was - to try and draw parallels with tonight's game, or suggest our reactions to each loss should be the same is a ridiculously simplistic view.

I guess we should have praised our efforts against Freo, because the margin was only 8 points?

Reactions after the Pies game were mostly justified, and I'm sure would have been mirrored by the coaching staff behind closed doors. Tonight's game however shows to me we should be a top 4 contender next year.

If you can't see the differences, or if you find it odd that there was such a difference in people's reaction, than perhaps pay less attention to stats and margins, and simply watch the games...

very well said. athough the loss was similar , at the end the Pies loss was akin to a 100 point drubbing and Geelongs was closer to 3-4goal loss.

at 3 qtr time the general feeling was we should have been close to even against Geelong.
With collingwood should have been 80 points down if they didn't close shop.
So i can see how people accept this loss much easier than Collingwoods.
I am not saying i am completely happy with Geelongs loss( tackilng and lack of pressure at times) but both games were miles apart.

 

[40yearBLUE]

very well said. athough the loss was similar , at the end the Pies loss was akin to a 100 point drubbing and Geelongs was closer to 3-4goal loss.

at 3 qtr time the general feeling was we should have been close to even against Geelong.
With collingwood should have been 80 points down if they didn't close shop.
So i can see how people accept this loss much easier than Collingwoods.
I am not saying i am completely happy with Geelongs loss( tackilng and lack of pressure at times) but both games were miles apart.

But neither loss were as you think they were, they were what they actually were, a 48 point loss and a 42 point loss, nothing more nothing less. Its like being allergic to pork but because it taste like chicken today you should be ok. They may have felt like all sorts of things but they were a goal apart, major losses. Suck it up fella, no point feeling like one was better than the other when in fact they were pretty much the same.

 

[ratten7]

But neither loss were as you think they were, they were what they actually were, a 48 point loss and a 42 point loss, nothing more nothing less. Its like being allergic to pork but because it taste like chicken today you should be ok. They may have felt like all sorts of things but they were a goal apart, major losses. Suck it up fella, no point feeling like one was better than the other when in fact they were pretty much the same.

What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach.

 

[CrippsonBlue]

What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach.

Haha, nice call

 

[Dramoth]

I suppose this time around Bomber's focus was to stop the small fwds and that's what he did.
Fair effort but too many people happy with the loss !

It's a must win next week,and rue the mistakes in the 3rd qtr...just about had them by the throat!

Happy with the performance, disappointed with the loss.

If we can put in the effort from the last 3 weeks against the shockers (who seem to be on a slide atm) and we should pick up at least 7th and possibly even 6th.

We would have to lose by 200 points to actually miss the finals.

Now where are all the ****ers who were saying that we wouldnt make them this year...

 

[The_Wookie]

The game against Geelong was pretty representative of where i think the team is at. Sure we were missing a few people who'd make the first team, but the game was characterised by missed tackles, poor calls and missed shots. Exactly what you expect from a young team finding its way.

At the start of the year, any serious supporter expected us to finish pretty much exactly where we will - lower part of the ladder. We got excited when we won because we won well. We've had some close games. We've had some beatings.

Walker was just coming into form when he got injured again, and thats a shame because he was doing the job at CHB for us at the time. Carazzo was fine as a tagger, but he's not a defender. the roles are fundamentally different. Robinson should be encouraged, yes he makes mistakes, but even Judd made mistakes on the night. hell everyone did.

We've historically not need big backmen, just fit and fearless ones. Id love silvagni to come back and teach defense at carlton. Id kill for peter dean to do it. Look at our coaching staff - ratten, bradley, harvey.. Those 3 are going to make our midfield/half forwards unbeatable in a year or two. Id love to see some defense guys come back.

 

[thylacine60]

The game against Geelong was pretty representative of where i think the team is at. Sure we were missing a few people who'd make the first team, but the game was characterised by missed tackles, poor calls and missed shots. Exactly what you expect from a young team finding its way.

At the start of the year, any serious supporter expected us to finish pretty much exactly where we will - lower part of the ladder. We got excited when we won because we won well. We've had some close games. We've had some beatings.

Walker was just coming into form when he got injured again, and thats a shame because he was doing the job at CHB for us at the time. Carazzo was fine as a tagger, but he's not a defender. the roles are fundamentally different. Robinson should be encouraged, yes he makes mistakes, but even Judd made mistakes on the night. hell everyone did.

We've historically not need big backmen, just fit and fearless ones. Id love silvagni to come back and teach defense at carlton. Id kill for peter dean to do it. Look at our coaching staff - ratten, bradley, harvey.. Those 3 are going to make our midfield/half forwards unbeatable in a year or two. Id love to see some defense guys come back.

What a gun post looks like, folks.

 

[GCNavyBlue]

I've said it a million times. Walker needs to be played as a forward. However he does need to work heavily on his tacking over the pre-season (his tackling has been deplorable of late). He' got the speed, ability to take a contested mark and dangerous when the ball hits the deck. Imo he'd compliment Waite, Hendo, Betts, Garlett, Yarran, etc perfectly.

This

 

[stevebull]

Thought at times our endeavour was great & if not for a couple of spells when we dropped off we could of been closer with 20 to go & then who knows but we failed to maintain our intensity & skill level. went to bed after the delayed telecast up here disappointed but not shattered. Think we can beat all the teams in the bottom half of the 8 when we play our best footy, think we can beat footscray scum on our day, the other 3 think we need to be at our absolute best & them a little off their game & without Kruz & all 3 small forwards don't know that we can be at our best.

Agree on the men against boys thing a little, there were a couple of times it appeared they just had the bigger thicker core body strength.

Thought Carrazzo was ok early on GAJ but once GAJ went forward don't know that anyone would of stopped him.

Our tackling at times was very poor & we missed shots, also I think we failed to move it on quickly enough, a couple of times on wing half back we would get the footy & have a bloke on up the ground 15 to 20 metres away but we would delay or float the kick/HB & then they would be under pressure, cats would move it super quick in similar situations.

Turn overs as usual got us both in attack & defence.

Also cats are up after loosing to the pies & the fact we had beaten them the last 2 games they wanted to give us a bit of a slap plus at the slippery dome don't think we've beaten em the last 7 or 8.

Was happy with gibbs effort, would love him in mid but understand why they may think it will help him & us long term down the back, Warnock & Henderson showed bits, murph tried all night, eddie love him but appears to just drop of physically if it doesn't go his way early.

But we have to remember they are an absolute class outfit getting set for a 4th GF on the trot. We could of been better but weren't as bad as some are making out.

 

[gbatman]

I think Geelong might have recieved a rocket after the last two games against them. I recon they were instructed to be as physical as possible against us which is the way to beat us, as we are a light side and they are a heavy and strong side who aren't all that quick. We've got a bit of a way to go to be as physically developed as Geelong and Collingwood are. Hopefully a few blokes have a good season in the gym... and KFC . Will be interesting to see how we go against Freo. They are a side who are not big enough to beat us physically and a side we should be eavenly matched against speed wise. They also have a lot of good players out or under injury clouds. That's a game we should win.