AFL Autopsy Rnd 7: Loss to the Cats

[Shanghaistu]

We are as mid table as it comes. Can fire up now and then, throw in a good crack such as the Coll game, can belt a minnow (norf ) but can throw in a shocker like no-one can ! Which equals mid table. Sorry, it all stems back to that bloody drug thing.

I think that we’re still in the mode of handing out participation medals and hugs because of the ‘saga’ but once we’re over that phase, THEN we can hopefully start getting back to being a precessional, hard-nosed Football club and team once more. Just not sure when we can make that transition...

 

[srobbo]

Disappointing today, but I can’t say I’m surprised. Had a gut feel all week they beat us comfortably.

We just aren’t clean enough & don’t concentrate for long enough to win these games. Everytime we’d work back into the game, we’d give up an easy goal via a simple skil error, bad decision or lapse in concentration. It just continues to hamper us in these big games & we won’t win any of them until we become better drilled.

How dumb were we continually bombing the ball i50 against that back 6?? It was farcical the ease with which they defended us. We showed no patience or willingness to lower the eyes & hit up shorter targets. To say we need fantasia back is an understatement.

I’ve seen enough of Langford. Banish him to the VFL & ship him off at years end. Zaka was pathetic too. Just spectated & had no inclination to win his own ball all day.

 

[dnbassador]

LEGO Masters is more enjoyable than today’s game

 

[Who are ya]

I understand mate. I’m just as pissed off and disappointed as the next fan.

But the reality is we lack the team cohesion and total aggression that’s required to counter a red hot team in form like the cats today.

There’s nothing wrong with us that screams panic. Just a lack of urgency around the ball with composure and turning it over which leads to loss of control of play.

It’s footy.

I understand where you’re coming from mate

For me the most frustrating thing about this side is not knowing what you’re going to get week in week out. We have 2 weeks where we look great against Brissy and North, put in a brilliant effort Anzac Day but then get s**t like we did today and the first 2 weeks of the year. And when it’s been happening for the best part of 20 years you can understand why a lot of people start to think negatively about the club and where it’s at. Seems to be a lot of 1 step forward 3 steps back and it gets to you after awhile!

 

[brendan84]

Fantasia a late out two weeks in a row with an illness? What the * is going on there? Or are these lying campaigners covering up something

 

[Squeaky]

We had to separate their defenders by hitting up at the ball, leading maniacally and just keeping the opponent occupied. We did none of that.
Also make the most of your set shots... honestly 50% of the u/18s would have converted from where we missed many shots today!!
ANZAC day kills us cos not only do we lose that game but we always lose the one after it!

 

[Yoda_]

This is the problem

I would almost drop Conor. A poor game v Sydney and I’d give him a run in the magoos


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[jmoo wan]

A few people just need to have a cup of tea and a lie down.

 

[windyhill]

I would almost drop Conor. A poor game v Sydney and I’d give him a run in the magoos


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He is way too confident in his limited ability. Does not know his limitations.

 

[srobbo]

Redman is worth mentioning as a positive. Ablett didn't dominate and Mason was steady when he got the ball.

He's a very impressive player; should be an automatic selection from now on.

Good call, thought Rids was alot better today after a testing Anzac day. Both are staples for mine.

 

[mxett]

We are as mid table as it comes. Can fire up now and then, throw in a good crack such as the Coll game, can belt a minnow (norf ) but can throw in a shocker like no-one can ! Which equals mid table. Sorry, it all stems back to that bloody drug thing.

Sure, it hurt the last 5 years, but we havent been relevant for far longer than that

 

[srobbo]

Mckenna should be banned from kicking out and tryin those silly side kicks in the first half. We cant afford to give away easy gols early in the game...we cant afford to give em away any time, but especially early on.
We are still a team of mental pygmies and seem to drop off when things dont go or way.
Crap umpiring decisions dont help, but they are out of our control.

I’d drop McKenna. He’s a liability & anyone who wants to deny it has rocks in their head. I’ve had a gutful of his turnovers by foot & his lack of awareness around him when he runs & carries. Gets caught too often & when he avoids it he invariably puts a team mate under pressure.

We’re flush with small backs & need to start cleaning up our errors within the chains. I’d be sending McGrath back there & shifting Irish back to the VFL to clean up his game.

We’re just not a good enough side to be giving the best teams a leg up with school boy errors.

 

[KevDawg]

They can't focus for 2 hours on a weekend and you want them attempting 40 a week?

Yes, if it means they don’t have to worry about accounting or architecture or banking or whatever other stuff. They can focus on the rules interpretation and application.

 

[jmoo wan]

I’d drop McKenna. He’s a liability & anyone who wants to deny it has rocks in their head. I’ve had a gutful of his turnovers by foot & his lack of awareness around him when he runs & carries. Gets caught too often & when he avoids it he invariably puts a team mate under pressure.

We’re flush with small backs & need to start cleaning up our errors within the chains. I’d be sending McGrath back there & shifting Irish back to the VFL to clean up his game.

We’re just not a good enough side to be giving the best teams a leg up with school boy errors.

i’d like to deny that McKenna is a liability.

 

[JETTA7]

I’d drop McKenna. He’s a liability & anyone who wants to deny it has rocks in their head. I’ve had a gutful of his turnovers by foot & his lack of awareness around him when he runs & carries. Gets caught too often & when he avoids it he invariably puts a team mate under pressure.

We’re flush with small backs & need to start cleaning up our errors within the chains. I’d be sending McGrath back there & shifting Irish back to the VFL to clean up his game.

We’re just not a good enough side to be giving the best teams a leg up with school boy errors.

*Thumbs Down*

 

[yaco55]

The biggest difference between when we play well and when we play badly is our entry to F50. Playing well we hit up leading targets and the forwards make space for each other. Playing badly we bomb it in and everyone goes to the same spot.

I know it’s more complex than that; entry to F50 is dependent on pressure in the midfield, etc. It it just the one thing that sticks out.

You nailed it with your post - Will add that the forwards and especially the midfielders were slow to chase back - It was frustrating that Geelong got so many goals from slow builds - I suspect that because Geelong play wide, EFC ensured they blocked the corridor, when in fact they should have defended wider and tempted Geelong to use the corridor more often.

 

[BrunoV]

We had to separate their defenders by hitting up at the ball, leading maniacally and just keeping the opponent occupied. We did none of that.
Also make the most of your set shots... honestly 50% of the u/18s would have converted from where we missed many shots today!!
ANZAC day kills us cos not only do we lose that game but we always lose the one after it!

We absolutely had to do that but then we went into the game with Stringer, Francis and Baguley as forwards and didn't really use Langford in the role. Not much manic leading going to happen from there.

Francis looked good in the third when he started to find the ball on the lead. I am still trying to work out whether he is as good as he can look in the air forward or if it is just that "he jumps first and then asks questions later".

Sometimes he seems to make a contest in the air that he shouldn't have been able to get there to create a contest which gives him a real presence. It almost looks like he is fighting for a rebound under a basket ball ring.

My suspicion is that it's just show. If we have 3 or 4 games available for him to play forward we should probably persist because he could also start pulling down marks which would look Fyfe-like.

 

[srobbo]

i’d like to deny that McKenna is a liability.

That’s the problem. We seem to accept for all the run & creativity he brings (which I love btw), it’s ok to accept the flaws that come with it, which aren’t minor either.

 

[BrunoV]

You nailed it with your post - Will add that the forwards and especially the midfielders were slow to chase back - It was frustrating that Geelong got so many goals from slow builds - I suspect that because Geelong play wide, EFC ensured they blocked the corridor, when in fact they should have defended wider and tempted Geelong to use the corridor more often.

This was huge and a big part of the reason that they just cut us up in the first half (to control the scoreboard against the flow of play). They would charge forward in numbers and the field would open up as the ball carrier had options presented in 180 degrees.

Their mids out worked us big time.

Another real feature was strength around the ball. Lots of missed or ineffective tackles and inability to absorb pressure resulting in turnovers. It is a turnover in and of itself because the play is being set up based on our winning of the ball.

I didn't think the game was particularly intense. It was the first AFL game I've been to but it seemed to me that the ANZAC day was much more hectic.

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Langford's disposal by foot last year was sublime. Wtf happened?
Did he actually have chewy on his boot?

He was extremely disappointing. Not sure if it’s the tough love but his confidence is really shot. Looks like he plays worrying if he makes one mistake he’s gonna be dropped.

He certainly made it easy.

 

[jmoo wan]

That’s the problem. We seem to accept for all the run & creativity he brings (which I love btw), it’s ok to accept the flaws that come with it, which aren’t minor either.

i think he had a poor game, and his stuff ups are more unique than others so are more obvious and memorable. But a lot more often than not his good outweighs his bad - he’s a massive asset rather than a liability.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

I can't believe Jade was so confident this is a totally different Geelong team to one we beat the last two times

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Hmmmm.

First time we don’t melt at selection and this is the result.



I know what I’ll be doing on Thursday night.

 

[BrunoV]

They’re a game clear on top barely using 2 of the top dozen or so mids in the AFL on the ball. They’re in cruise control already.

I think people are turning a blind eye to the fact that we’re the 2nd most inexperienced list in the AFL, it’s something that matters and gives context to fade outs and inconsistency.

Cats have a proven, experienced core group, we’re still not sure what our core group looks like

I agree that they're cruising and that they're playing the best footy by quite some way.

I'd still like to see them step up their contested side of the game again. They have been jumped by sides like Richmond and the Pies who bring serious heat, particularly early.

They're very different to what they have been, particularly with a much more balanced forward combination but I'd want to seem them in finals-like heat. The thing is that no one really seems to be capable of doing it at the moment (with at least Richmond and Melbourne not anywhere near their respective bests).

 

[TheBrightSide]

Stupid Lloydy saying we are top 4 material.
I foolishly believed and went into the game full of confidence.
Then at the end it was like: