04-07-2019, 11:01 PM
I walked away from that game with the same sense of foreboding I have felt around Easter time for the last 5 years. We are staring down the barrel of another bottom 4 finish - for the 5th year in a row!! I'm losing faith in BB and my 9yo son has all but given up supporting the club because he can't take being beaten almost every week.
We talk about how some individuals improved, and obviously they have. But at the same time an even larger group have stagnated or gone backwards [or are proving to be not up to the level in the first place]. But more worryingly, our basic game plan, tactics and ability to score points remains incredibly poor and shows no signs whatsoever to my eyes of improving at all.
Our senior players need to be hard, uncompromising types who make good decisions and set the tone for the younger players to follow. Murphy, Thomas and [to a lesser extent Simmo] aren't that type of player. We have one star and bunch of kids and you are never going to be a force with a set up like we have.
We handed that game to the Swans on platter - let Mills & Lloyd run around half back and pick up possessions under no pressure. Cripps v Kennedy was always likely to be a draw, so the real impact was how the respective second midfielders fared - Jones comprehensively took the points over Dow. We play Lobbe and Cas against one of the fittest rucks in the comp and got smashed again. Heeney v Plowman is a match made in heaven for Heeney and he won easily.
As soon as any team locks down on us and turns up pressure we go to water time and time again. Every team knows it - we are ok when the game is a shoot out but as soon as a opposition coach turns the screws we fumble and go into our shell.
And don't get me started on our forward line. 3 games in and we are track to score 1500/1600 points for the season which will all but guarantee a bottom 4 finish. We haven't had a AFL capable forward line since we had Betts and Waite. Harry is coming along nicely, but with such little support in terms of small forward goal kicking capability it isn't enough to kick a winning score. Ed Curnow kicking 4 goals shows just dysfunctional our forward line really is!
We talk about how some individuals improved, and obviously they have. But at the same time an even larger group have stagnated or gone backwards [or are proving to be not up to the level in the first place]. But more worryingly, our basic game plan, tactics and ability to score points remains incredibly poor and shows no signs whatsoever to my eyes of improving at all.
Our senior players need to be hard, uncompromising types who make good decisions and set the tone for the younger players to follow. Murphy, Thomas and [to a lesser extent Simmo] aren't that type of player. We have one star and bunch of kids and you are never going to be a force with a set up like we have.
We handed that game to the Swans on platter - let Mills & Lloyd run around half back and pick up possessions under no pressure. Cripps v Kennedy was always likely to be a draw, so the real impact was how the respective second midfielders fared - Jones comprehensively took the points over Dow. We play Lobbe and Cas against one of the fittest rucks in the comp and got smashed again. Heeney v Plowman is a match made in heaven for Heeney and he won easily.
As soon as any team locks down on us and turns up pressure we go to water time and time again. Every team knows it - we are ok when the game is a shoot out but as soon as a opposition coach turns the screws we fumble and go into our shell.
And don't get me started on our forward line. 3 games in and we are track to score 1500/1600 points for the season which will all but guarantee a bottom 4 finish. We haven't had a AFL capable forward line since we had Betts and Waite. Harry is coming along nicely, but with such little support in terms of small forward goal kicking capability it isn't enough to kick a winning score. Ed Curnow kicking 4 goals shows just dysfunctional our forward line really is!