Autopsy Rd 4 - Massive choke - Bottomed out again.

[KnaveyBlue]

Weak draft a possibility?

I believe so. You look over the list of draftees and it's pretty thin in hindsight.

I think LOB will make it, but we probably have to acknowledge that LOB ahead of Higgins was probably our biggest draft blunder since Watson ahead of Darling. We had a glaring offensive deficiency staring us in the face, the clear solution was there, and we just ignored it.

 

[RAPPA]

Bolton won’t get sacked and I wouldn’t support him being sacked now. But on paper, Carlton’s team should trounce Gold Coast. On paper, Bolton is a more experienced AFL coach than Dew. The execution from a majority of the Carlton players was poor. In addition to the players, the coaching across the board needs to wear that one - not just Bolton, but his assistants all have a part to play. Eliminate the simple skill errors and Carlton would’ve been 5 goals up with 30 seconds left.

Anyway, look to next week and try to make positive changes with team selection. Assuming Dogs go in again with English, then there’s no question Kreuzer is an automatic in as he will give his a win in the ruck straight away. Kennedy - if fit - must also come in to help in the clearance battle against a strong Dogs midfield.
On form, JSOS is the only other real candidate.
Garlett didn’t do anything to warrant a recall. Stocker needs more time. Lang is was ok but suspect he’ll need more continuity in the twos.
We don’t have much by way of replacements. Fasolo was injured so the small forward role goes to Gibbons again I suspect - Polson didn’t play in the twos so it’s not like there’s a comparison to draw by way of form.
If Cunningham is fit, he’s a certain in.
At best we have four ins - Kreuzer, Kennedy, JSOS and Cunningham.
Out - Lobbe, Cas, Dow (disposal efficiency is genuinely poor) and take your pick for the fourth - Setterfield if he’s suspended, or one of the many others.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Oh great Saints one, so happy for them

Weren't we snubbing our noses at them pre-season this year?

We were supposed to be better than the Saints and Suns this year. 3 game head start after 4 rounds.

Still, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater ...

 

[windows1]

I get the pain. I had to calm down for a bit after the game. But we need to be clear minded. I’d like the make the following points for consideration:

- I think I’m about the only poster on here who thought ‘finals’ this year. So the rest of us are angry about? Winning 4 games instead of 6-7 this year? REALLY?
- we have been in winning positions in every game. Slight improvements and / or better runs with injuries and wed be 3:1.
- SO many players have continued to show improvement. I’ll come back to Dow but he’s had 3/4 games with 20 possesions. Last year I think he had none. Walsh. Weiters! Jones. Cripps. SPS. McKay. Marchy looks great. Setters and MCG are good additions. It’s a huge number
- our midfield is just TOO young. Three third year players. Two second years. A first year. And Cripps and Murph. That’s it. Every midfield we come up against is more experienced. Even GC.
- we will continue to improve out of sight over the next twelve months.

Some ‘howevers’ are fair.
- Firstly selecting 4 key forwards was moronic. Like....WHAT?
- Gibbons cannot kick to save himself. Like it is truly dreadful and that experiment needs to end.
- Paddy dow’s kicking and decision making need SO much work. I’d keep playing him. His paces breaks him wide open. Just slow down and chip it son. Persist.

Overall in my view the trend is rapidly up. It really is. Anger has abated.

Main point: most here didn’t see finals. Still don’t. If you don’t truly see a huge number of guys improving you’re just being emotional. Some selection decisions are terrible. I don’t get them. That stuff needs to be fixed.

Keep the faith.

 

[LFTWNG11]

The 4 talls didn't cost us the game, it was disposal, again

Can’t wait to see this structure against the doggies at Marvel next week then?

 

[HARKER]

What did we expect from Gibbons?
Not his fault but that of our seemingly insistence on ignoring players that can play forward, provide pressure and..... Get this one..... Kick a goal or two?

What do we think Bolton will be pining for right now? Another KPD defender?

We can't kick goals right now and for all the talk early that our mids will do the job.......well, what did we expect?

Again, of course things will get better at some point in the but that's only because they can't get much worse.

 

[pinot]

Anyone think McGovern choosing us was a mistake by him??? Surely he is privately wondering if he has chosen the right club to play for.

Get a coach in that knows how to drill a team I am just sad for the club more than anything dont give two hoots about individuals no matter how cute they are.

 

[feffs93]

We miss Kreuz. Big time.

Thats half the problem though.

Half his career he has been injured and for all of those seasons we havent had a proper backup ruck

 

[Weiterbot23]

We needed that win so bad

Just to get a bit of belief

Media will be licking their lips, knives will be out for Bolton and it will just snowball until we start getting wins

No way we beat the dogs next week

It will he mark Needle levels of external pressure

 

[Beer n Skittles]

It needs to be Cripps, Kennedy, Dow and Setterfield in the congestion (within 2 metres of the stoppage), with Fisher, Samo, Walsh and Murphy on the periphery ready to set up a chain of handballs to free someone up for a kick.

At the moment, Dow and Cripps are being asked to do too much for their roles, particularly with Setterfield unfit. Fisher and to an extent Samo are subsequently forced to play a role they are not physically equipped for, now Walsh and Murphy are being asked to do too much on the outside.

Cripps and Walsh have been Herculean, Murphy to an extent today, but that's too much for too few.

Kennedy and JSOS must be brought in. Kreuzer will help drastically too, likewise a fit Cuningham. Until then, we simply won't win a game, it's just not feasible.

Good call Kennedy in does look like it has a fair flow on effect

 

[Mr_Plow]

Is that the new Turkish joint in Brunswick?

I hear their kofte are the shit!!

Give me the name/address of that place, ASAP.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

If this is the case it's rather problematic.

If the players are ignoring the coach week after week something is seriously broken.

Either with the coach/player relationship or the recruitment team who give the coach below average players to coach and make his job impossible to succeed in.

Let's not pretend that what we saw today has been happening the whole season.

 

[SBYM]

Does anyone have any idea why Ccurnows performance has dropped this year?

Was it not reported on here that Charlie was spotted blind drunk the week before the season??

Not a defining error, by any stretch, but perhaps symptomatic of a general, 'she'll be right, mate' kinda attitude.

This shit is hard. You are off 5%, you are nowhere.

 

[chunkylover53]

Convinced this is a coaching issue.

Effort is there.
Most of the young players are developing as expected.
As the players have clearly been trying - the coach hasn't 'lost' the players.

Structures are ****ed. Today's selection was truly baffling. Bit of pressure mounting, in need of a win, perfect chance for the coaching team to turn things simple, pick a balanced 22 and let the boys play and win on talent and hard work. Instead they do the opposite and go full Malthouse trying to complicate the shit out of everything thinking they are geniuses and as a result players are confused and frustrated.

Imagine being one of the 4 KPF's?

"Ok Harry, you're our key forward number 1 today, but you're to be up the ground, and sometimes in the fifty. Doesn't really matter, just anywhere - get on ya bike. Charlie, we want you to play that roaming forward role that's mostly up the ground, just don't get in Harrys way, same for you Harry - stay out of Charlies way. Considering we like to chip backwards and sideways chances are you won't take many marks so you'll just have to deal with it. Gov - you stay in the 50, you can kick goals if you want, but remember you're not the full forward - I'm getting to that! Cas! You're to stay inside 50, and up the ground and sometimes in the ruck - again doesn't matter too much just make a contest and don't get in the way."

"So who's full forward?"

"Gibbo!!"

 

[btdg]

It's always darkest before the dawn.

Yeah, but we are living through a Norwegian winter here. It’s been a very long and bleak night

 

[BoltonsBlues]

I believe so. You look over the list of draftees and it's pretty thin in hindsight.

I think LOB will make it, but we probably have to acknowledge that LOB ahead of Higgins was probably our biggest draft blunder since Watson ahead of Darling. We had a glaring offensive deficiency staring us in the face, the clear solution was there, and we just ignored it.

Its possible he was all richmond well before the draft even happened. I heard the same thing with obrien coming to the blues.

 

[CFC18]

I don't so much care that it was GCS we lost to, but I am concerned about what impact the growing number of losses will ultimately have on our players' development.

Today for instance will have done Dow's development no good at all - it's human nature that he will likely be doubting himself throughout this week, and second guessing his options next week. That self doubt might be small, but it leads to more mistakes and the snowball continues.

I don't want to be overly critical, but Charlie and Fisher have not lifted to the expected level at all. Charlie in particular has looked laconic in all his performances this year. In fact I look at the whole list and I can only say Cripps, Weitering, Jones, McKay, SPS and Cuningham have shown clear signs of improvement this year. That's a huge concern, and our development probably deserves to come under the spotlight much more I feel.

 

[ImBlue]

If that happens we might end up like Fitzroy.

Could happen.

 

[SkyhorseTamer]

Don't nonsense me. The irony will kill us stone dead.

If we can find anybody saying that Bolton gave instruction to target Gibbons, or did not tell them to stop looking for Gibbons so much, then I'll retract my statement.

Bolton’s confirmed that bombing it long is part of the game plan. He made an on the fly change to structure to push his keys further up the ground, without thinking of the consequences that would be involved when he's training his midfielders to bomb it long - the way you train is the way you play. We're training a lot of these snap decisions. Bolts mucked up, bad.

 

[SBYM]

We were supposed to be better than the Saints and Suns this year. 3 game head start after 4 rounds.

Still, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater ...

View attachment 654603

On fire today!

****ing great flick, and by God, doesn't it just sum up the last decade or so around here...

 

[bleednavyblue]

Get a coach in that knows how to drill a team I am just sad for the club more than anything dont give two hoots about individuals no matter how cute they are.

Is it a case of Bolts and Co have a plan but its over complicated and the players dont understand? Or he has no plan and the players just do what they like?

 

[gardiner stand]

Too many posters blaming the coach and selection. I thought the game plan was excellent today, we identified their weakness in the air, it’s the players that didn’t execute both in their delivery of the ball inside 50 and the positioning of the fwds. But that was a very ordinary football team we played today and they were pretty shit too tbh so lots of thinking to do this week.

 

[Crow till I die]

Anyone think McGovern choosing us was a mistake by him??? Surely he is privately wondering if he has chosen the right club to play for.

Buyers remorse..no because the crows are not much better now

 

[rp84]

Anyone think McGovern choosing us was a mistake by him??? Surely he is privately wondering if he has chosen the right club to play for.

Nope. Couldn't have chosen better job security. Is so talented that he only needs to play one good qtr every week or so and he can earn 500k for the next 8 years.

 

[Bordertoon]

Executive Summary

Thought of the day, season, and indeed era - “They are ill discoverers who think that there is no land when all they can see is ocean” (Francis Bacon). In other words, we’re making progress, but are yet to see it in terms of our win-loss record, but that will come in time. Is it frustrating? Yep. Is it altogether surprising? Nope.

Waffle

I hope that the club is stockpiling large quantities of humble pie to send to some of our “supporters” when we reach our tipping point, which we are clearly busting our guts to reach (perhaps too much ...), and which we will reach sooner rather than later imho. It’s obvious that 2020 and 2021 will be a much more enjoyable experience for those who have stayed loyal to “the long game” ... as well as for those who are able to conveniently forget the sort of rubbish that they’ve posted in this forum in seasons 2019, 2018, etc.

As for today, what were some positives? Imo, most of our defence were excellent for most of the game, with Weiters and Jones being obvious bright points for the season, which only someone with a negative agenda could possibly overlook. Immediately after the game, I noticed Weiters addressing the team out on the ground, which speaks to his character, growing maturity, and quiet leadership qualities. I think he’ll be an All Australian within 2 years. Walsh was once again fantastic, with a work ethic that is outstanding, and courage to burn - not just the obvious courage shown in his mark and goal, but his constant gut running that he shows week to week. After a poor (by his standards) first quarter, Cripps once again showed his power and class, and his leadership will be a real strength of ours moving forward, especially when it’s complemented by Doc’s approach next year.

As for negatives from today, they’re obviously not hard to find, but most are understandable, albeit exasperating. Dow clearly needs to work on his composure, decision making, and skill execution. However, imo there’s definitely a serious player in there, and that player will emerge and grow as we do as a team. Our entries into the forward 50 are a train wreck most of the time, and that more than likely requires the serious attention of both our coaches and our players. As Bolts made clear at the start of his presser after the Swans game, he is trying to teach our players how to make better in-game decisions, and not to give them a detailed recipe book on “what to do when”. Personally, I think that this strategy will pay dividends in the medium to long term, but it will definitely involve some real growing pains in the meantime, both for the players and the supporters. The only other negative that I’ll mention here is that imo too many of our players seem to be drifting in and out of the game, instead of putting in 4 quarter efforts, and that has hurt us badly in all 4 games. McKay was just one player who seemed to slip into this pattern today.

Anyway, where do we go from here? Simple really - we keep our together; we dissect the game; we learn what we need to; we recommit to the plan and to one another; we work on what we need to in training; and we go again next week against the Dogs.