(07-27-2024, 08:16 AM)Blue Moon link Wrote:Back to my old  mantra, Losers lose because they lose, Winners win because they win.  At the end of the first quarter against GWS you could see the self satisfaction in the players. The Club has played in one Preliminary Final in twenty-five years and one final series in twelve years and they talk about what their identity is. They have a losers identity and they will keep that identity until they create a winners identity for themselves. The players say they love the passion the supporters bring but the love is not reciprocated by them otherwise they wouldn't put up what they have in the past four weeks. I thought we had turned the corner but it looks like it is another blind alley.
Since the Geelong game I do not understand the selection policy. You pick seven forwards, seven backs and eight midfielders, you have key forwards, key defenders and a ruck. Injuries and illness can disrupt this process but it appears the Club has been experimenting with the team's structure and we are paying for it.
Kemp at this stage is not able to play on gorillas and the other clubs have worked it out. I believe we need to commit to Young. Last year Collingwood won a Grand Final with Billy Frampton and whatever Young's short comings are he is a far better player than Frampton.
In Jack Dyer parlance,  Sam Walsh is going to where the ball aint. He either needs a rest or a rocket.
Under pressure our decision making and skills let us down. We dropped so many marks twenty metres out in defence which adds to the pressure. Players are not running and spreading because they don't trust their team mates so when someone wins the ball in defence their is no one to kick it to. In the last minute when Hewitt couldn't hit Cripps with a twenty metre pass was representative of our skills. We are being out tackled and smashed around the ball and too many players are trying to make the Hollywood play, like Cottrell did in the second quarter rather than trusting the game plan and the skills. So many times the players just didn't seem to be on the same page, took too long to make a decision which drew pressure, or simply played selfishly.
We have the team, and I think we have the Coaches and the Club is being managed well, so it must be the attitudes of the players, both individually and as a collective.

(07-27-2024, 02:04 AM)laj link Wrote:I'd think about Lemmey as well.

(07-27-2024, 11:01 AM)ElwoodBlues1 link Wrote:Agree, last week vs Nth didnt impress me and set us up for the debacle vs Port imo. We are not the second best team in the comp and got ahead of ourselves and Brisbane deserve second place given their form compared to ours.
Lucky our draw isnt as challenging in the run home and we might still steal second place but Im not seeing anything that makes us strong  contenders other than most of the other teams in the eight apart from the Swans and Lions are as equally up and down in form and a Bradbury team like the Bulldogs could even sneak their way through to the prelims .

(07-28-2024, 02:16 AM)laj link Wrote:Actually our draw is the Pies on Pendlebury's 400th, Hawthorn, the form side, St.Kilda, who are suddenly flying.

I'm hanging my hat on the fact the Pies lost R20, 21 and 23 then won the flag. Then praying for the best.

(07-28-2024, 02:40 AM)ElwoodBlues1 link Wrote:Can't afford to drop a game and if we do then we don't deserve 2nd spot.
Pies are done for the season, Hawks youth and pace will be challenging but I'd expect to flog Stkilda who have fluked a few wins.

(07-28-2024, 10:51 PM)tonyo link Wrote:The frustrating thing is we are not winning games, but are certainly not getting smashed either.

Just gotta hope that our list gets as fit as possible over the next 4 weeks or so, and we win enough to get a decent finals draw. 

This is a season where anyone finishing in the 8 could end up with a premiership cup.

(07-27-2024, 04:43 AM)Professer E link Wrote:We overlooked LDU and Cerra for Dow, who we passed on for bugger all, then traded a first rounder for Cerra.  That draft year has been curse for this club.