Where to now?

[Gugs9]

Amazing all the posters that come out once we are loosing.

We have lost three games : 2 x second ( swans) on the ladder a 15 point game away and a 25 point loss at home and then a loss to an average team by 28 at home.

Surely thats mot season over?

That Swans game last week was a pretty intense game from start to finish so there would have been heaps of sore bodys + travel and a 6 day break v a bombers team off a bye in decent form leading into this game.

Exactly, well said. We just game off a 6 day break after an intense match vs swans, and played our first flat game of the season... Even with the 2 losses the last two weeks we still dominated the I50s. We just need a slight re-jig of the fwd line.

Lets see how we go the next month before giving up already. I think everyone would have taken 10-3 at the start of the year

 

[Luuuc]

Around this time last season the Tigers lost to Sydney, and got flogged by 11 goals by St Kilda, so we're actually ahead on the premiership blueprint
Oops sorry, what I meant was, sack the coach, drop all 22 players, and everyone burn their membership cards!!!

 

[Bob Fossil]

We played one bad quarter.

I am in no way saying that first quarter means nothing or Essendon were lucky, undeserving of a win or anything in that vein but after qtr time:

Eagles 51 v Bombers 42.

And we ****ing butchered it inside 50.

 

[DickDunn]

I don’t think it’s season over or anything like that - we should still be in a position to push for top four. But we’re clearly a level below Sydney and Richmond. Everything fell perfectly into place during the winning streak and I’m not sure we’ll be able to recapture it. Desperately need guys like Shuey to perform at the level he’s capable of because we can’t rely on first-year players to get us over the line against good teams

 

[Big_Tony]

We had a terrible first 1.5 quarters, but then turned it around. We just couldn't buy a goal, which is concerning going forward. Will need to find a way to score without our dominate forwards in the next couple of weeks obviously, but they'll be back soon.

Was livid last night. But we are % off top spot still. The sky isn't falling (yet). We are still just as likely to finish top 2 as Sydney with their run home. Who knows, this could be just what we need. Get through a form slump in the middle of the season with resolve and hit the finals at full tilt.

 

[dave123]

Rather lose now than when it really counts

Yes we lost a game we should have won but we have won a couple of close ones this year also

Geez we sit 10-3 .....we are fine

Kennedy and darling are crucial but last night I doubt we would have won ...our midfield got smashed in clearances and use of ball

 

[MKMatty]

Really annoyed last night, but with perspective we are tracking okay. Our forward structure and how we move the ball forward is going to have to change, and hopefully it does after last night, but there are clubs in worse spots than 10-3 and percent off top spot. We will be fine (I hope).

 

[Hap Hapablap]

2006 season

Port Adelaide 13.19 (97) West Coast 8.12 (60) AAMI Stadium 28,125 17 June

West Coast 8.16 (64) Western Bulldogs 10.13 (73) Subiaco Oval 40,375 2 July

previously the two games we had were these

Geelong 15.8 (98) West Coast 16.5 (101) Skilled Stadium 24,028 3 June
West Coast 16.15 (111) Carlton 15.11 (101) Subiaco Oval 40,090 11 June

so we had a shit month overall with 2 massive comebacks with both over the 40 point mark come half time.

but we managed after those two losses to come back.

I am hoping against adelaide we pull our finger out of our arses and go hard against them, gws and collingwood \

I have hope albeit it all depends on kennedy.

players better be hurting but they have 9 days to come back from this.

 

[Trouto]

Depends on what the players think of this loss. Hopefully Simmo will sit everyone down and make them watch the whole game, stopping to discuss particularly stinky passages of play (might be a long meeting!). My hopes are that the players will be embarrassed by such a performance and come out next week firing.
Haven't seen the Eagles play that bad since 2010.

 

[ChampRevesby]

Depends on what the players think of this loss. Hopefully Simmo will sit everyone down and make them watch the whole game, stopping to discuss particularly stinky passages of play (might be a long meeting!). My hopes are that the players will be embarrassed by such a performance and come out next week firing.
Haven't seen the Eagles play that bad since 2010.

Simmo did say in the presser last night that the club is a "safe space" so I hope they aren't running the place like a nursery.

 

[frenchconnection]

haha some of you "supporters" are sickening.

It's like you don't enjoy following the club you wait and wait and then when there's a little bit of a hiccup you pounce and pump this negative shite and it's the end of the world. We are 10-3, pull your heads in.

It was the lack of intent in the 1st quarter that was a worry though - not giving up on them but there are worrying signs starting to creep in, albeit we are missing out 2 key forwards.

 

[frenchconnection]

My 2c:

A big part of our improvement this year from mid-table to looking like top 4/premiership contenders was Darling's improvement. He was massive in the wins against Port and GWS, then went to another level (Carey-esque) with a monster game against Richmond.

That would have given the other boys so much confidence, having a dominant key forward who you can just kick it to instinctively does wonders for a team. The opposition's defenders get nervous, try to double team him and the other forwards get open looks at goal.

Remove Darling's impact and we likely wouldn't have gone on that run of 10 straight, would have dropped a few and remained mid-table as per last year.
With him injured, it brings us back to the pack a bit, and our gameplan built around kicking long to strong contested marking forwards is no longer effective.

Unfortunately tonight we didn't account for this, and tried to play in the same way, with McInnes playing the Darling role (lol). We need a plan b for when our key forwards are out - maybe a more pressure-based game where we just lock it in, gain territory and manufacture goals through our mids and small/medium forwards. Our defence is solid so we should be comfortable playing a low-scoring Sydney-style game plan when we're in a pinch.

It's unrealistic playing as though McInnes and Lycett are the equivalent of JD & JK, and it has a confidence-sapping effect on the team when it doesn't work. Also footy players aren't that smart where they can just switch gameplan on the fly. It needs to be worked on during the week and drummed in in advance so they're prepared.

Well that's a coaching thing I presume unless the players weren't playing to the coaches instructions? That's the one thing that worries me a bit about Simmo - when things don't work out he doesn't appear to have a plan B?

 

[frenchconnection]

But just the nature of those misses. A lot of close ones...but yeah, ultimately our poor kicking.

We just couldn't buy a goal there at one stage - would hit the post or at the very last second the bounce of the ball would change going in for a point instead. It was almost laughable at times!

 

[frenchconnection]

Ins JK, Ahchee, Sheed, Venables, , Petruccelle and one of Barrass or Emac. Outs Mcinnes, Masten, Hutchings, Nelson, Lecras and Schofield

A bit overreactive??

 

[frenchconnection]

It wasn't just a loss. It was a horrible loss at home against a bottom 10 side. Of course, it's a lot more than those facts, but it's demoralising. Also the fact our lack of forward depth was revealed. We had chances but looked so piss weak, which is worrying. I'm not giving up myself, we just have to keep believing.

The thing is in the past when JK has been injured we've always had Jack and vice versa. It's been a long time since neither have played and the players in waiting are just a bit inexperienced and under developed at the moment. Perhaps play Slyce and Guv in those key forward positions and keep McInnes in as 2nd ruck and Schofield stays in even if Barrass is fit next week. So that would cover the 2 talls in the forward line, the 2 rucks and the 2 talls in the backline.

 

[Eaglemaniac]

The worry is it isnt just one game or one quarter, we have shown this lack of interest since the Saints game which we nearly lost through complacency, and we havent got that early season intent back in three games since. Darling has been massive for us this year, so his impact has hurt, but that doesnt account for players not even making an effort like last night. I still think we're a mentally fragile team that goes to water if things arent on our terms. Hoping they prove me wrong in the weeks to come.

 

[CoastersFlag No.5]

I just decided to watch Darling against Richmond and GWS. We are gonna smack some teams up when that beast is back. In the meantime I hope we can win a few.

 

[WCE1698]

Most clubs experience a form slump at some stage of the season, better to have it at the halfway mark of the season rather than finals time. Most important thing is getting enough wins to secure top 2 and getting the balance right for finals. Eagles best is good enough to beat anyone.

 

[Trouto]

Well that's a coaching thing I presume unless the players weren't playing to the coaches instructions? That's the one thing that worries me a bit about Simmo - when things don't work out he doesn't appear to have a plan B?

totally agree with this. you need to be ready for different scenarios each game, like if it rains, or if the bombers kick 6 in the blink of an eye. i think the pies are a good team at having alternate tactics.

 

[Rowan18]

My 2c:

A big part of our improvement this year from mid-table to looking like top 4/premiership contenders was Darling's improvement. He was massive in the wins against Port and GWS, then went to another level (Carey-esque) with a monster game against Richmond.

That would have given the other boys so much confidence, having a dominant key forward who you can just kick it to instinctively does wonders for a team. The opposition's defenders get nervous, try to double team him and the other forwards get open looks at goal.

Remove Darling's impact and we likely wouldn't have gone on that run of 10 straight, would have dropped a few and remained mid-table as per last year.
With him injured, it brings us back to the pack a bit, and our gameplan built around kicking long to strong contested marking forwards is no longer effective.

Unfortunately tonight we didn't account for this, and tried to play in the same way, with McInnes playing the Darling role (lol). We need a plan b for when our key forwards are out - maybe a more pressure-based game where we just lock it in, gain territory and manufacture goals through our mids and small/medium forwards. Our defence is solid so we should be comfortable playing a low-scoring Sydney-style game plan when we're in a pinch.

It's unrealistic playing as though McInnes and Lycett are the equivalent of JD & JK, and it has a confidence-sapping effect on the team when it doesn't work. Also footy players aren't that smart where they can just switch gameplan on the fly. It needs to be worked on during the week and drummed in in advance so they're prepared.

I think you've nailed it. I sit up in level 5 and have a great view of how they structure up, so I was tearing my hair out seeing that the coaches had decided to play the exact same game plan despite the fact our two gun tall forwards were out. I think that also contributed a lot to the players missing goals and turning the ball over - they started to become panicky because the game plan wasn't working but they were under instructions to keep trying to execute.

I'm putting this one down as the bad loss that nearly every time has each season. On balance the Eagles had won more than they should have in the first half of the season, so it's not that big a deal to drop a game they should've won on paper. The Adelaide game is big though, losing three in a row could start to upset confidence.

 

[Rowan18]

Simmo did say in the presser last night that the club is a "safe space" so I hope they aren't running the place like a nursery.

My interpretation of that comment is that he doesn't want the players throwing the baby out with the bathwater and losing all confidence. Last night was bad but they know they can play better, so they need to learn the lessons and move on.

 

[Crimson King]

It's time for us supporters to crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside.

 

[LordHaart]

Honestly, I don't know if it's good for the team to obsess about this loss if it was due to a loss of self-belief to start with. Much better to say - 'we were poor, and we know we can do better, we just have to get back onto our training regime and play the season one game (or better yet one quarter) at a time'.

Wouldn't be shocked if it turned out most of the players were worrying about the next 3 games, all of which are going to be a challenge, and lost focus on this week's game as a result.

Even if we only win half of the remaining games from here on out, 15-8 is still way better than I expected from us at the start of this season. And we've continued to introduce new players to the side, there are only a couple of players whose inclusion I'd really question compared with the last few years where there was a LOT to be critical of.

 

[Quinz]

From Round 6 to 16 in 2006, our premiership year, we were in front at three quarter time ONCE (by a point). We trailed at three quarter time 10 TIMES. We lost four of those games.

Sometimes you have bad periods, and you just need to regroup and win enough games to get top four.

Our first game without Darling and Kennedy in 214 games.... yeah you read that right.

 

[PerthBoy86]

The thing is in the past when JK has been injured we've always had Jack and vice versa. It's been a long time since neither have played and the players in waiting are just a bit inexperienced and under developed at the moment. Perhaps play Slyce and Guv in those key forward positions and keep McInnes in as 2nd ruck and Schofield stays in even if Barrass is fit next week. So that would cover the 2 talls in the forward line, the 2 rucks and the 2 talls in the backline.

Essendon can get the jump early. I think we just didn't take em seriously enough, but maybe it was partly just their speed. Still shouldn't have let it blow up that much. 30 points down I could understood, but as much as 50? And then yeah, lack of any forward structure...