Roast Not Good Enough

[Donkey Chop]

Its round 8 and we've already had three 10+ goal losses.

Round 1, Adelaide 77 points

Round 5, Hawthorn 60 points

Round 8, Fremantle 73 points

This is seriously worrying. Good sides don't let this happen, let alone three times in 8 weeks. Feeling pretty flat about it

I believe we have the talent to be a good side but something is very wrong when a side can be smashed so often. We seem to crumble when teams put a lot of pressure on us and struggle to get the game on our terms.

In all of these losses we can't keep the ball in our forward half, the opposition bringing the ball out with ease. Conversely we can't get the ball out of defense, often turning it over gifting the opposition easy goals as our defenders are caught out.

The question is, Is this a coaching issue or a player thing? Either way teams have figured out how to beat us and till he get it sorted will won't be going anywhere.

I think we are really lacking polish and run in the back half. Boomer is trying but it's sad to see him play there.

Thoughts?

 

[Bigeasy]

Our game plan is flawed. You see Scott has this brilliant game plan IF you coached the AFL team of the century but holes appear when our list try to apply it.

Hopefully one day it clicks for Scott

 

[ChopChopDigDig]

Name a player who's playing better this year than last year?

 

[Dodecahedron]

We come out in first quarters not ready to play. We set the wrong tone, get four goals down every week and cannot get back. Stuff the meditation before the game. Fire up. Coach cannot get the players to the line in the right frame of mind. Then can't change anything when it goes wrong. We need to be freshened up.

 

[Donkey Chop]

Name a player who's playing better this year than last year?

Goldstein & Jacobs off the top of my head

 

[Dodecahedron]

I reckon Goldstein and Jacobs have gone backwards in the last two weeks like everyone else.

 

[Gasometer]

Think they all thought it would happen after last year.

Hot air.

 

[Donkey Chop]

I reckon in the past we've generated a lot of run and scoring from our back half, similar to Port. Teams, especially the good sides have realized all they have to do is push right up on us with a high press and we'll cough it up.

IMO we need blokes like McKenzie and Mullet to come on. Luke was rated as a brilliant long kick pre draft, well that hasn't been seen yet. We obviously miss Dal Santo.

We need to target someone with pace and good foot skills in the trade period, we've been saying that for years though

 

[Valian]

Think they all thought it would happen after last year.

Hot air.

Yep, we have gone backwards on last year, will be lucky to make the 8, IMO & if we do it will be just to make up the numbers. The players are soft, the coach is soft, the club is soft. Its embedded now over the Scott years & will take a mighty effort & perhaps a complete change of personnel to overcome this. We do not have any players with much mongrel in them , our captain is a 'nice guy', our coach is a 'nice guy'. The only bloke who had any mongrel was JZ but he's probably just a 'nice guy' now courtesy of the tribunal. Sorry people this wont win us a flag.

 

[Donkey Chop]

Yep, we have gone backwards on last year, will be lucky to make the 8, IMO & if we do it will be just to make up the numbers. The players are soft, the coach is soft, the club is soft. Its embedded now over the Scott years & will take a mighty effort & perhaps a complete change of personnel to overcome this. We do not have any players with much mongrel in them , our captain is a 'nice guy', our coach is a 'nice guy'. The only bloke who had any mongrel was JZ but he's probably just a 'nice guy' now courtesy of the tribunal. Sorry people this wont win us a flag.

How can you blame Swallow? He didn't even play. He has a broken thumb, you know in a game where he had a lazy 11 tackles. If that's not leadership I don't know what is.

 

[Devil Fish]

I've said it for years - we have too many guys who have deficiencies & when the heat is really on, these deficiencies are EXPOSED. We simply lack the talent to be a serious Grand Final contender. And seriously, can anyone see that changing over the next few years? I can't. Honestly, I think it will only get worse as we lose Harvey, Wells & Nicky Dal - our 3 classiest players.

 

[IschenkoUBeauty]

Yep, last year nobody expected us to play in a prelim. We did and it was a step forward. But we also got our arses handed to us. People gloss over this as they're too busy focussing on the other two finals. Both were good wins and taking nothing away, one was against perennial pants-shitters Essendon (was still great to beat those frauds regardless) and we nearly coughed up a five goal lead to Geelong. Then the prelim happened. People were understandably optimistic coming into this year, but the negatives of 2014 were ignored.

 

[BigRedRoo]

I just don't understand why we recruited forwards when its midfielders that we need.

 

[Hojuman]

I put up my concerns pre-season when alot of blokes had had off season surgery and really late starts to the season ( wish l could find it ). Chuck in injuries we have incurred & it was going to be difficult year.
We all looked at the draw & thought " s**t ". This will stretch us.
Honestly, l'll take 4-4 at this stage. Now we have lucked out as we have to play the top 5 teams on the ladder. Who would have expected that to include COLL, GWS & W.C ?

We are all disappointed. But.....l presume we'll all turn and give our support next time we play.

 

[Hojuman]

I just don't understand why we recruited forwards when its midfielders that we need.

Best midfielders from recent drafts are playing at GWS & NEAFL. ( GWS ressies ! )

 

[Loogie Hansen]

Is Tudor still at North? Everything that improved last season has disappeared.

2013 - Ripped teams open with our run and gun attacking style
2014 - Defensive structures in place and good contested football
2015 - um...

 

[gokangas]

Reality is a bitch. I'm shattered.

 

[numchuks]

We are not that good enough. Simple as that.

Starting to think we had an easy draw last year, which made us look better then we were.

We had a few great performances, but finished higher than we should have on an easy draw.

The finals performances were overstated.

Essendon* - Almost thrashed by them, but they were mentally exhausted side and we came back.

Geelong - Past it. Should have gone for the throat, but we almost let them run over the top of us.

Sydney - Thoroughly annihilated by them.

We are very far off being a top side.

It is a player, coach and development issue. We will be middle of the road for a few years, but to get into the top 4 we need a lot more talent. And we simply don't have it.

 

[Donkey Chop]

We are not that good enough. Simple as that.

Starting to think we had an easy draw last year, which made us look better then we were.

We had a few great performances, but finished higher than we should have on an easy draw.

The finals performances were overstated.

Essendon* - Almost thrashed by them, but they were mentally exhausted side and we came back.

Geelong - Past it. Should have gone for the throat, but we almost let them run over the top of us.

Sydney - Thoroughly annihilated by them.

We are very far off being a top side.

It is a player, coach and development issue. We will be middle of the road for a few years, but to get into the top 4 we need a lot more talent. And we simply don't have it.

Wells, Swallow and Dal Santo would be good.

 

[numchuks]

Wells, Swallow and Dal Santo would be good.

Definitely, but we had them round 1 and it didn't make a difference.

Adding them back in the mix makes us a good 5-8 side rather, then 7-10.

It's not the deciding factor to becoming a dominate top 4 club, that position for finals and premierships.

 

[Clappa87]

Looks like it will be a 6-12th place finish this year. We have a number of players over 30 does it get to a point where we need to make a tough decision and move some of those blokes on and try to reload?

I am not saying we should it just worries me we have a list with the age profile of a contender and reality is we are well off it. The counter argument to it all will obviously be wells and dal santo would make a huge difference to us but to me that's still a concern. i am not sure that an injury prone player and a soft outside player with skills is the sole difference between 6-12th and a top 4 finish.

 

[King Corey]

Wells, Swallow and Dal Santo would be good.

All played in one of those games.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

Player development is rubbish, and it shows when we come up against the top sides who produce guns for fun.

Although in fairness, Freo lucked out by tanking and landing the following:

Pick 19: Munday
Pick 20: Fyfe
Pick 26: Ibbotson
Pick 53: Walters
Pick 58: Neale
Pick 76: Pearce
Pick 87: Barlow
Pick 8 (PSD): Johnson

Unfortunately we won't bottom out so we can't compete with this.

 

[numchuks]

Player development is rubbish, and it shows when we come up against the top sides who produce guns for fun.

Although in fairness, Freo lucked out by tanking and landing the following:

Pick 19: Munday
Pick 20: Fyfe
Pick 26: Ibbotson
Pick 53: Walters
Pick 58: Neale
Pick 76: Pearce
Pick 87: Barlow
Pick 8 (PSD): Johnson

Unfortunately we won't bottom out so we can't compete with this.

That's the extra $$$$$ at play.

That's what being a bigger, better resourced club gets you.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

That's the extra $$$$$ at play.

That's what being a bigger, better resourced club gets you.

Port nearly folded three years ago yet have developed Boak, Wines, Wingard and Gray, while Polec, White, Schulz and Ebert have all developed as players there.

St Kilda produced a string of elite footballers through the 2000s, as did the Dogs (who are doing the same again with Bontempelli, Stringer, Liberatore and Macrae).

Draft position obviously plays a part, but we have a glut of first rounders on the list who haven't properly developed. Let's not play the "they have more than us" card.