Autopsy What have you liked, learnt and hated from Season 2015

[The King!]

You were saying?

Well played sir i tip my hat

 

[Hardhat11]

Liked ...our effort to succeed despite so many injuries
Liked Fyfe
Liked hawthorn when it mattered showed us the way and they will the next two flags


Disliked clubs like GWS get more MCG games than established proper footy sides
Disliked ..stevic all year
Disliked deaths in footy

 

[Vic pokiesmon]

Liked ...our effort to succeed despite so many injuries
Liked Fyfe
Liked hawthorn when it mattered showed us the way and they will the next two flags


Disliked clubs like GWS get more MCG games than established proper footy sides
Disliked ..stevic all year
Disliked deaths in footy

Likes -Football and the clubs involved
Dislikes.Supporters were a national embarassment

 

[HR Roughnstuf]

I liked it when Hawks won.

 

[TheCoach16]

Liked, rather loved, the way the footy community/family rallied together in support for those who suffered unimaginable and unprecedented tragedy this year. Just goes to show that footy clubs are extraordinary places filled with extraordinary people...

 

[franjon]

With the last round coming this weekend, its time to start getting your thoughts on the season that will end this weekend ahead of what will no doubt be a blistering finals campaign.

Learned - Hawthorn are sill the best side in the comp
Learned- Simmo's mob and our's still have a way to go

 

[Napoleon X]

Like, Hated & Learnt:

Free Agency

AFL is my favourite TV show to tune into every week and the introduction of FA will ensure that it will stay varied and full of intrigue. I really don't want them to adopt the NRL's version of FA and require players to declare if they're leaving before the season is finished, why not look at NBA/NFL for an example? A lot of the time players are gambling on their own abilities to make more money, they gamble on their performance, have a dominant year and earn an extra 10% by not extending their contract the year before, or sometimes they want to leave and I have no issues with how Paddy Dangerfield handled his situation.

The old guard of the AFL's attitude need to change and the quicker the better as well. I no longer want to hear the term 'one club player'; the game is changing, the audience is changing and FA keeps this and many more millennials thoroughly entertained throughout season/offseason. If people desert a certain state and/or club that is not an issue for me, we live in a democracy that believes in the free market, we have safeguards against monopolies (salary cap) so lets let the free market determine wether certain teams can justify their existence or not.

I am really looking forward to this offseason (and many more to come), because we will actually see some movement!

Free Agency - Hear, Hear

 

[benfranklin]

I love how this comes up, but nobody mentions the 80 odd point turnaround between Haw and WC due to the grand final being always played at the MCG.

Now I'm not saying change it, but if theyre worried about moving from Ethiad to the MCG they should put themselves in West COasts shoes who earnt home final but ended up flying thousands of km to play.

"Due to"? You think the MCG gave Hawthorn a THIRTEEN GOAL home ground advantage?

 

[grumbleguts]

Liked: Threepeat
Learned: Threepeats are freaking awesome
Disliked: Deaths and other sad moments in footy (Neil Daniher for example) , but loved the rallying the community engaged in as a result.

 

[DangerSloane]

"Due to"? You think the MCG gave Hawthorn a THIRTEEN GOAL home ground advantage?

No. Hawthorn were far too good yesterday and far too bad in the first final for that to be true.
Butterfly effect and all that jazz. The hawks were clearly comfortable in their environment from the first minute.

Their rooms, no travel etc.

In the future it may cost a grand final. I know its never going to change and I love the GF at the G however

 

[Freoforever86]

Liked
- Fyfes brownlow season.
- minor premiers
- Nic nats mark of the year. Ripper.
- WCE not winning the flag
- Bulldogs resurgence. Great year.
- GWS rising up the ladder
- more competitive competition

Learnt
- never write off hawthorn
- port will be top 4 material again.
Found their form late & add Dixon.
- Melbourne still has work to do
but getting there slowly.
- Jesse Hogan is a superstar

Hated
- punch up at the Freo prelim
- losing to hawthorn in the prelim
- seeing McPharlin retire
- Pav possibly retiring.
- all the hard luck injuries over the
Season. Can't remember them all

 

[Choomah]

learnt: jimbob hird is the worst coach in afl history
liked: jimbob hird being the worst coach in afl history
hated: jimbob hird getting sacked

 

[Hardhat11]

Likes -Football and the clubs involved
Dislikes.Supporters were a national embarassment

GWS

Gee were stupid

That's it ....stupid decision by demetriou to put a club in another non footy place and attract 7000 people to games ......

 

[PP34]

Like: The season ending, just an absolute bore of a season. Wasn't excited by much (even in neutral contests)
Learned: Footy is in a real ordinary cycle. Hawthorn is far and way beyond any team right now.
Disliked: Most of the season.

 

[JoondalupJ]

With the last round coming this weekend, its time to start getting your thoughts on the season that will end this weekend ahead of what will no doubt be a blistering finals campaign.

Never never ever give up . Go about your business , do your job , and there we go again! FANTASTIC THREEPEAT!

Also the recruitment of one super hero does not always mean instant success, in fact it barely does mean success. Geelong need to look carefully at betting all their money on one bloke.

Good footballers are recruited young blooded and developed through a clubs system , champions are always there or in the making , buying them doesn't mean premierships!

 

[JoondalupJ]

GWS

Gee were stupid

That's it ....stupid decision by demetriou to put a club in another non footy place and attract 7000 people to games ......

Expansion has made the future a longer and harder struggle for clubs now trying to get back to strength.
The worst mistake ever by the AFL, and will haunt it forever too.

If any big traditional state club falls over , blame Dimetriou, it will not only destroy the club but it will destroy thousands and thousands of fans and the money pool will drop then , as people drift away. I said it before and I'll say it again dilution kills , and it took Hawthorn 10 years to reach its peak and will take other contenders just as long , Hawthorn were smart to get hold of a modern day football brain called Alistair Clarkson , he knew what was coming and built before the tide went into diluted mode, and also had the nous to pick up good players on the way under the radar, and good sense to know where improvement lay, look at Gunston! Still a kid!!! But now we have 4 to 5 years of 2 new clubs hunting down the player pool , which is shrinking , maybe not in numbers , but absolutely shrinking in quality that it takes to play this game at the top level.

16 clubs was almost too many, I still say Send North to the Gold Coast, they may actually win a flag, won't happen , Footscray may be looking closer , but winning a flag is so damned hard, Fremantle boss of the Ladder all year , fail when it counts. No forwards, just an over loaded incapable Pav , who looked good in his footy gear but didn't play good, for years. Couldn't break packs only goaled "sometimes" so Freo need goal kickers, and Ross needs to get into attacking and 18 clubs makes it all that harder.
There that's 2015 , and Gold and Brown are the only smiling ones!!!!!! Rule book needs re examining too!

We definitely have a 2 division competition, and as finals go, well, we actually almost have a split division there too (top four , bottom four), and I blame that totally on expansion for TV money and 18 clubs. Better fix it AFL or you won't have it at all.

 

[Hardhat11]

Expansion has made the future a longer and harder struggle for clubs now trying to get back to strength.
The worst mistake ever by the AFL, and will haunt it forever too.

If any big traditional state club falls over , blame Dimetriou, it will not only destroy the club but it will destroy thousands and thousands of fans and the money pool will drop then , as people drift away. I said it before and I'll say it again dilution kills , and it took Hawthorn 10 years to reach its peak and will take other contenders just as long , Hawthorn were smart to get hold of a modern day football brain called Alistair Clarkson , he knew what was coming and built before the tide went into diluted mode, and also had the nous to pick up good players on the way under the radar, and good sense to know where improvement lay, look at Gunston! Still a kid!!! But now we have 4 to 5 years of 2 new clubs hunting down the player pool , which is shrinking , maybe not in numbers , but absolutely shrinking in quality that it takes to play this game at the top level.

16 clubs was almost too many, I still say Send North to the Gold Coast, they may actually win a flag, won't happen , Footscray may be looking closer , but winning a flag is so damned hard, Fremantle boss of the Ladder all year , fail when it counts. No forwards, just an over loaded incapable Pav , who looked good in his footy gear but didn't play good, for years. Couldn't break packs only goaled "sometimes" so Freo need goal kickers, and Ross needs to get into attacking and 18 clubs makes it all that harder.
There that's 2015 , and Gold and Brown are the only smiling ones!!!!!! Rule book needs re examining too!

We definitely have a 2 division competition, and as finals go, well, we actually almost have a split division there too (top four , bottom four), and I blame that totally on expansion for TV money and 18 clubs. Better fix it AFL or you won't have it at all.

Greed is the problem

Too many people employed in the afl and big fat wages and long lunches .....it's not that hard to run a footy league is it ......they want it bigger and I can't see the benefit

The afl is fudging figures also and watch GWS and GCS games ...they get 7000-9000 per game yet the say the crowd was 14,000 .......lol

They are fudging figures to make people believe it's working.

How many GWS and GCS fans are new fans to the game vs ex pats who live in the area ....and decide to follow the game. It angers me no end to see these clubs playing on the MCG when west coast and crows have to play on dung hills in Darwin and Hobart .....it's a joke

 

[smasha]

Like: The season ending, just an absolute bore of a season. Wasn't excited by much (even in neutral contests)
Learned: Footy is in a real ordinary cycle. Hawthorn is far and way beyond any team right now.
Disliked: Most of the season.

When Richmond got eliminated,it left a huge hole in the finals.

 

[getgaff]

From a West Coast perspective. There;s probably a lot of things I'll miss

Best win

Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. Port's season was underwhelming compared to 2014 so in the context of the full season it doesn't seem huge but early in the season it was important. This win was a bit of a light bulb moment for me personally when I realised that as a club we had something good happening.

Worst loss

Few bad games over the year. Adelaide at Adelaide, North at Tassie to name a couple but our first quarter in the first derby of the year killed us. We pegged back the lead over the course of the game and with junk time goals as well but it was something like 10 goals to 1 at 1/4 time. Not good enough.

Most improved

Jeremy McGovern - For an inexperienced player at AFL level he was terrific in his work down back. Great reader of the play and can hopefully bring that into the forward half in 2016.

Chopping block

Scott Selwood - Gone from captaincy material and club champion (2012) to scrap heap in less than 3 seasons and only played in 1 final because of injury to a best 22 player. In 2012 was an effective tagger, who won the ball and laid a lot of tackles but injuries and skill deficiencies being more noticeable have played a massive part in his demise, however so has team structure.

Simpson is backing our midfield to go head to head more regularly now, rather than selecting a defensive mid with the sole intention of tagging an opposition mid. Feels like he is gone to Cats to play with Joel and in Redden (if we get him) we get a similar bigger bodied midfielder but a player more capable of winning the footy and not butchering it as much.


Liked

The team progression from 9th to 2nd

Wins at home. 11 home wins iirc (including an away derby) set the season up at home while adding some handy away wins. In season 2013 and 2014 home wins were a lot less frequent. Need to make Domain Stadium a feared place for opposition teams to play at again and a fortress for us

Emergence of Jeremy McGovern down back

3 x AA players

Got senior games into Duggan and Nelson. Two key parts of the future. Lamb debuted as well but games were limited because of injury.

Dom Sheed's year

Learnt

It's been a few years coming but Luke Shuey can be a genuine star midfielder and stoppage beast in the comp. He's our most dynamic midfielder since Judd i think.

"Need to lose one, to win one" in relation to the GF this is how I feel

West Coast need at least 3 games at the MCG in 2016. I get that more MCG experience comes with ladder positioning from previous year, ability to fill the ground etc. however I petition that we have 3 x MCG appearances - Hawthorn, Richmond and Collingwood for starters plus maybe the Demons but that is our general Darwin trip for an "away home" game for Melbourne. North is a question mark, would rather play them at the G instead of the arctic chill of Tassie as well but not sure that would sufficiently fill the MCG. Need to scrap the Collingwood game at Etihad. Stinks big time

With more experience Dom Sheed will get better still. Love the way he plays and a deserving place getter in the Rising Star.

We missed Beau Waters. Not so much for playing ability but toughness and uncompromising attack on the ball and at the contest. He would have ruffled some feathers on GF day as too many weaker tackles were broken or shaken off.

Hated

LT Injuries to Mackenzie and Brown

Passing of past club assistant Phil Walsh and the sad and untimely passing of Nic Nat's mother and the effect it had on Nic

Lack of exposure at the G in 2015

Sub rule

 

[gavaniacono]

Learnt and dislike: fever pitch of whining and moaning, targeted at everything and anything, from Goodes to umpires to the mighty Hawks, even though they are head and shoulders. Has everyone become a pansie? Should we bring back national service?

 

[KOLOKOTRONIS]

Learnt: on the big stage only the big boys come to play. Amateurs are always found out.

KOLOKOTRONIS

 

[kranky al]

Learnt: on the big stage only the big boys come to play. Amateurs are always found out.

KOLOKOTRONIS

Learnt - putting your user name at the end of each post in caps lock makes you look like a

silly fellow

 

[estibador]

Liked: the rise of the Eagles, Goodes unbreakable under immense pressure, the dogs game style, Naitanui is an out and out superstar , if Eagles make the granny put $500 on him winning the norm smith.

I hope you didn't follow your own advice!

 

[Moody Blue]

Enjoyed: Bulldogs. Brought in a much needed breath of fresh air into the competition.
Hated: Essendon & Hird. The just never got it. Paul Roos covering his ass & Free agency which will eventually ruin AFL.
Question: Does the draft work? Since 2001: Brisbane 3, Geelong 3 Hawthorn 4, Sydney 2 have won the majority of the flags.
Theory behind the draft is that every club wins it once every 18 years. Hawthorn managed to find the right balance. Get rid of the superstar and pay no one more than 700k per year. North have been using the same formula and this could be the way of the future. Trouble is clubs at the bottom will struggle to retain quality players and be forced to pay more money to try and keep their players. Will the next big recruiting drive be to recruit US Collegiate players?

 

[MaddAdam]

Expansion has made the future a longer and harder struggle for clubs now trying to get back to strength.
The worst mistake ever by the AFL, and will haunt it forever too.

If any big traditional state club falls over , blame Dimetriou, it will not only destroy the club but it will destroy thousands and thousands of fans and the money pool will drop then , as people drift away. I said it before and I'll say it again dilution kills , and it took Hawthorn 10 years to reach its peak and will take other contenders just as long , Hawthorn were smart to get hold of a modern day football brain called Alistair Clarkson , he knew what was coming and built before the tide went into diluted mode, and also had the nous to pick up good players on the way under the radar, and good sense to know where improvement lay, look at Gunston! Still a kid!!! But now we have 4 to 5 years of 2 new clubs hunting down the player pool , which is shrinking , maybe not in numbers , but absolutely shrinking in quality that it takes to play this game at the top level.

16 clubs was almost too many, I still say Send North to the Gold Coast, they may actually win a flag, won't happen , Footscray may be looking closer , but winning a flag is so damned hard, Fremantle boss of the Ladder all year , fail when it counts. No forwards, just an over loaded incapable Pav , who looked good in his footy gear but didn't play good, for years. Couldn't break packs only goaled "sometimes" so Freo need goal kickers, and Ross needs to get into attacking and 18 clubs makes it all that harder.
There that's 2015 , and Gold and Brown are the only smiling ones!!!!!! Rule book needs re examining too!

We definitely have a 2 division competition, and as finals go, well, we actually almost have a split division there too (top four , bottom four), and I blame that totally on expansion for TV money and 18 clubs. Better fix it AFL or you won't have it at all.

Sigh.