Strengths and weaknesses as at rnd 5

[LP]

Whatever happened against the Crows, I don't believe size or weakness had much to do with it.

And yet, if a team is prepared to match our apparent physical capabilities they can force a split in the midfield dominance, and we are unable to match them on the outside when they win their fair share.

We can't be reliant on winning the midfield to win the game, there are weeks were it simply won't happen and the rest of the team has to pick up the slack. We must find a way to diminish the oppositions run and spread when our midfield is less than dominant.

A lot of fans bag the shizen out of Owies and McGovern, but they were both severely missed last night for their ability to cover ground and close up space. What they do is not appreciated by the ball watchers

[Baggers]

And yet, if a team is prepared to match our apparent physical capabilities they can force a split in the midfield dominance, and we are unable to match them on the outside when they win their fair share.

We can't be reliant on winning the midfield to win the game, there are weeks were it simply won't happen and the rest of the team has to pick up the slack. We must find a way to diminish the oppositions run and spread when our midfield is less than dominant.

A lot of fans bag the shizen out of Owies and McGovern, but they were both severely missed last night for their ability to cover ground and close up space. What they do is not appreciated by the ball watchers

Sadly, pinning any hopes on Gov & Owies may not yield much fruit as they're both rather injury prone. And, as you mentioned in another piece you wrote, Motlop & small Durds aren't delivering enough from small forwards. Then there's our third tall... but I agree, questioning jsos does not go down well.

[Macca37]

And yet, if a team is prepared to match our apparent physical capabilities they can force a split in the midfield dominance, and we are unable to match them on the outside when they win their fair share.

We can't be reliant on winning the midfield to win the game, there are weeks were it simply won't happen and the rest of the team has to pick up the slack. We must find a way to diminish the oppositions run and spread when our midfield is less than dominant.

A lot of fans bag the shizen out of Owies and McGovern, but they were both severely missed last night for their ability to cover ground and close up space. What they do is not appreciated by the ball watchers

The problem is, and has been, that we are reliant on our midfield either winning or at least breaking even and when we are in that position other players lift and we look good.

However, when the midfield is losing we simply do not have players who can take the pressure off the midfield and we go to pieces, as against Adelaide.

Part of the problem is the supposedly good players permanently on the injured list, and added to that is the number of players who are just not up to the standard required to play top 8 football.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Crows played us the same way as last time....Walker and Fogarty walked through our tackles which were limp and lame, they outbodied our defenders who didnt want contact.
Keays put Saad off his game as well because he is a stronger unit...other teams will play us the same way now so it will be interesting to see if we show a stiff upper lip or fold up.
eg..We saw Rankine trying to upset our players, he isnt Cam Zurhaar or Barry Hall but apart from Cripps we gave  a weak response and a green light early in the game we were ok with being bullied.
Someone other than Cripps needed to fly the flag harder and show Rankine that BS wasnt on this game and send him a message.
Same with those mental midgets Walker and Fogarty...it would be stacks on every time they got the footy...Id rather lose the game going down swinging than be bullied by Neanderthals like Walker, Fogarty and be punked by a knob like Rankine.
Doesnt mean sly whacking opposition players just gang tackling and bumping with vigour making every contest one where they will have to earn a possession and wear some pain.
One passage of play where Walker outmarked Young was just so weak, he outbodied him with strength and then motored away for a goal. Young is 200cm/100kg...you dont let players do that to you when you are that size.....
That just set the tone for the rest of the game and Young needs a lesson from Voss on how to contest properly.....

[Gointocarlton]

Crows played us the same way as last time....Walker and Fogarty walked through our tackles which were limp and lame, they outbodied our defenders who didnt want contact.
Keays put Saad off his game as well because he is a stronger unit...other teams will play us the same way now so it will be interesting to see if we show a stiff upper lip or fold up.
eg..We saw Rankine trying to upset our players, he isnt Cam Zurhaar or Barry Hall but apart from Cripps we gave  a weak response and a green light early in the game we were ok with being bullied.
Someone other than Cripps needed to fly the flag harder and show Rankine that BS wasnt on this game and send him a message.
Same with those mental midgets Walker and Fogarty...it would be stacks on every time they got the footy...Id rather lose the game going down swinging than be bullied by Neanderthals like Walker, Fogarty and be punked by a knob like Rankine.
Doesnt mean sly whacking opposition players just gang tackling and bumping with vigour making every contest one where they will have to earn a possession and wear some pain.
One passage of play where Walker outmarked Young was just so weak, he outbodied him with strength and then motored away for a goal. Young is 200cm/100kg...you dont let players do that to you when you are that size.....
That just set the tone for the rest of the game and Young needs a lesson from Voss on how to contest properly.....

Retaliators always get in the neck by the umps and tribunal. Fatso, The Racist and Rankine were trying to get under our skin, you dont get sucked into that carp, let your footy and the scoreboard do the talking. Unfortunately our footy and the scoreboard was pathetic so we were unable to stick it up them that way. There's always next time.

[Baggers]

Positives:
Hollands.
Cowan.
H.
Charles.
Blacres.
Newman (the only bloke who can hold his head up after last night).
Game plan (we've seen passages when we play our way and it is extremely good).
Board stability.
Top notch CEO.
Doc.
Walsh.
Amazing and strong membership base.

Negatives:
Meekness (which undoes good game plan).
Injuries to key players.
Non-hackers getting games.
Small forwards not 'clicking.'
Fragile ruck stocks.
Inconsistency in games.

Undecided:
Coaching group.
Performance and fitness team.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Retaliators always get in the neck by the umps and tribunal. Fatso, The Racist and Rankine were trying to get under our skin, you dont get sucked into that carp, let your footy and the scoreboard do the talking. Unfortunately our footy and the scoreboard was pathetic so we were unable to stick it up them that way. There's always next time.

We got smashed and embarrassed playing the choirboy style and it was the same deal as last time, something had to change  but we served up the same tripe and Id rather wear a few umpire decisions going against us than be bullied and timid.
The Daicos kids are starting to cop extra treatment and it will interesting to see how the other Collingwood players as well as the brothers cope with the physical stuff and Im betting they dont let other teams treat them the same way we allowed ourselves to be bullied...tomorrows game vs the Saints might tell us what to expect next week and how we need to play to win.

[Thryleon]

You know, I was wondering if my expectations are wrong, but I saw Zac butters put in a repeat effort 3 times to prevent a forward entry and likely cause a stoppage and im wondering if that level of desperation stands out to me because it's rare or if he's a gun, but I've watched on and I've seen him play desperate footy and wondered who from our tram exhibits such tenacity.

I would have thought this was a minimum requirement.

[Gointocarlton]

You know, I was wondering if my expectations are wrong, but I saw Zac butters put in a repeat effort 3 times to prevent a forward entry and likely cause a stoppage and im wondering if that level of desperation stands out to me because it's rare or if he's a gun, but I've watched on and I've seen him play desperate footy and wondered who from our tram exhibits such tenacity.

I would have thought this was a minimum requirement.

Saad, Gov, Doc

[Baggers]

Saad, Gov, Doc

Yep, and although I have deep concerns re JSOS, his repeat efforts are also terrific. Hollands and Cowan have also shown strong repeat efforts as has Newman. And I'm sure I've left some out.