Autopsy 2026 Rd 9 Blues go down after scaring reigning premiers

[marcmurphy3]

It's not Kemp's kicking that's the issue, it's his brain.
He's too panicky. When he takes his time he's usually OK.
Tonight he was way too close to his mark and stabbed at the ball instead of going back and kicking through it.
It really bothers me how so many of our players take the shot to close to the man on the mark.

Kemp has no real goal kicking routine. His run-up looks slightly different every time.

 

[TENACIOUS]

Nup. We lack the structures and systems of the top teams. Perhaps a little IQ with some, but that is where coaching is supposed to come in.

Skill errors are more about confidence than anything else.

We are no where near Brisbane, Sydney, Hawthorn, Geelong, Fremantle or Suns. For talent and foot skills.

 

[windows1]

Much much better. God knows what was going on with our kicking in the second.

Still don’t want George in the side. Gets us torched in transition.

Best game in a long time McKay. Cripps too.

 

[SurreyBlue]

When the pressure was off we did and we built momentum. We play well when game is on our terms. When it’s not we have no belief or don’t know what to do

Difference between a good and a poor side

That’s a fair point. Made by a couple of people that I shared the night with as well.

 

[Blues177]

Good game by Harry especially his work around the ground including the ruck. Confidence booster for him.

 

[Sharks On A Plane]

Hayward 22 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals
Ainsworth 21 disposals, 2 goals (second week in a row over 20 touches & 2 goals)

 

[dangertroy]

He had players moving in front of him. He's never going to be the best kick in the club but his workrate combined with players making space will make him a very effective player.

100% I’ve been saying for a while - hard to be a decent kick if you don’t have someone in a good position to kick to. If we play a bit less contested and give ourselves some space, then every disposal is going to be a bit more effective.

 

[Soapy V]

Hayward 22 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals
Ainsworth 21 disposals, 2 goals (second week in a row over 20 touches & 2 goals)

Ainsworth is a very smart player and does well up the ground. Should be mixing his time fwd/mid more

 

[Will_Hayward]

Even at our best that's always a hard game, so you can't be too disappointed with the result. First half obviously awful, but the second half goes most of the way to balancing it out. Who knows? With a bit more accuracy we could have snagged it.

Bizarre some are focusing on Wilson's game though. Disposal looked good, but defensively unsure. Basically wasn't part of the team when we were playing well. People really get fixated on the weirdest things.

 

[BigFrizz36]

& he coughed it up like an old man, out of his depth.

Maybe 3 years ago, he would have worked it out.

Thought that Saad did a pretty good job on Cameron . Yeah, he bit off more than he could chew at the end but we needed 2 goals in 2 minutes. Que Sera Sera.

We didnt lose because Cameron, Lomann, Bailey etc tore us apart like I thought that they might. We lost for 2 reasons. 1) we got hammered in clearances early and 2) we turned gilt-edged opportunities going forward into rust and turned the ball over ridiculously and got burned with no pressure going back the other way.

 

[AndyLucimitis]

There will be no firing this week

Maybe he resigned at half-time

 

[branedotorg]

I put this in google translate and it replied “fu…..d if I know”

Just ****ing ignore each other, please.

 

[BlueBayou]

Hmmm...

It's interesting the sheer amount of sliding doors in this match. If Kemp had kicked just one of his set shots (well, not the one that went to Gov, one of the ones that didn't result in a goal). If we had confined them to slightly less goals in the second. If the mids hadn't surrendered the game in the second. If Levi Ashcroft wasn't a sooky child in the body of a man, diving like Rhys Mathison at his worst. If the umpires paid throws, or kicking in danger, or push in the back, or holding the ball our way in the countless times it was there. Hell, Kemp might've kicked straighter if when they clipped his head 'clumzily' after he took a mark they actually awarded a 50m penalty the way the rulebook says he should for high contact, illegal contact or late contact.

But it's also an interesting one because it really was a coach killing performance. Were this Teague or Bolton, the players wouldn't have pulled their fingers out. There would have been no rally, no 5 goal run, no turn around. There wouldn't have been run, and players suddenly able to break tackles and lay their own. But the two halves tell me something pretty definitive.

I genuinely think we're tanking.

We are not at all as bad as we seem. The messaging from the players, the club, the coach have all been to weather the storm. The club is focused on fitness and cohesion, working on weaknesses - whether those weaknesses are slow play and fast break, knowing when to go versus when to go slow - quietly in the background. We're trying shit. It's unusual. We now know we've got this footy in us. The coaches and the club recognised the moment when the pressure would come, and changed the narrative onfield. Instead of being a coachkilling performance, we delivered on transition beyond our wildest dreams. A Harry that kicks like a dead eye. Carrol delivering Gulden-esque tracer missiles into forward 50. A defense that ****ing works because the mids aren't getting trounced, with Weitering blocking for Dean and vice versa.

We're maximising our draft hand, losing games while we do shit behind the scenes, play blokes in development roles across ones and twos.

It's really the only explanation that makes sense to me. Why Cripps looks like he's going through the motions and Walsh like he's playing school footy.

We'll see, I guess.

I don't agree we are tanking Geth. I agree we did not get the free's we should have and Ashcroft is a talented flog. We lost because Kemp could not hit the proverbial side of a barn from 35mts. Their rucks kicked 3? goals between them. We are very weak in that department. I like Pitto, but he is no Draper/Gawn.

We fumbled too much

We ran the dual premiers to within 2 goals with dubious umpiring and a serious home ground advantage.

Our best effort of the season. Unfortunately not the right result.

 

[Prem17]

A lot of positives.
Half time just felt like how bad is this gonna be, then all kinds of strange things happened.
Ollie held tackles and delivered nicely, Harry kicked with the confidence of a Coleman medallist, Pittonet brought the runners into the game around the ground...... nek minnit Carlton played like they did in '23!

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

Still cant get over that Levi Ashcroft circus. I hope we take his head off again next game.

Please. Knowing our lot, they would have bought him a beer and an endota spa voucher after the game.

 

[Aphrodite]

19 - 13 frees their way. Every bloody week

 

[Lukeblueboy]

Good fight.
But I’m really really interested in next weeks match now.
Is this a turning point?
Or an aberration?

 

[DieselKernahan]

First half felt like a continued pattern of Brisbane flicking the ball outside in clearances for quick goals. If we did manage to get the ball inside 50, Brisbane would win the turnover, their players would sprint forward, decisive kicks over the top and we were done. 2nd half we actually clamped down on Neale and started to win clearances, mostly led by Cripps who worked back into it. Hard to tell tho if lions went into cruise mode a bit, or we genuinely stopped it being an outside game.

Jagga does some smart things across the field, first half disposal was sloppy at times but 2nd was great. Took a mark going back into traffic and a good goal too. I thought you get another kick if they pay downfield but it goes through for a goal? Anyway. A goal kicking midfielder is just what we need.

I thought Hewett did some smart things in traffic, showed composure. Also won some clearances and a couple of goal assists. He’ll prob be dropped though.
Cerra isn’t the player he was looking like at freo.
Use of Wilson was bizarre. Can’t we just give our young players a block of games and solid time on field to see if they’ll make it? We probably need to be phasing out saad and Hayes as well.
Great to see McKay have a good game. If we play such an energy sapping game, and without burst players, we can’t afford to play 2 lumbering rucks anymore.
Nice to see hollands get some space and reward for running too.

 

[gab213]

Good fight.
But I’m really really interested in next weeks match now.
Is this a turning point?
Or an aberration?

An anomaly

 

[Blueing]

After Voss went up to the box, our entire game plan changed for the second half!!! We come close but yet so far......a few of our players awoke tonight...if only we had that game plan in the first half what might have been....

 

[marcmurphy3]

Hope that ends any talk that Cripps should be dropped. Hewett I think the jury is still out on.

 

[Stamos]

it 100% wasnt. Just boomers picking a target to aid their copium again.

Saad saved more than a handful of goals during the game and started some good scoring chains from d50. Brisbanes smalls shared by Saad Newman and Cowan - when Cowan wasn't in the middle - did nothing great. 20 touches and 2 goals between Cameron and Rayner ....

Yep. Saad cost us that one. What a goldfish ****ing take.

I think this is very generous to Saad.
Defensively, 2 contested, 4 intercepts, 1 tackle, 8 pressure acts.

He had 16 disposals (6 of which were kick-ins), 3 score involvements.

 

[jackn]

any chance we can get Fev to work with Kemps kicking?
How does anyone get to AFL level and be THAT bad at goal kicking...?

One of the commentators said they watch him pre game and he slotted every kick he took. It's 100% mental. Not sure Fev is the one to help with that.

 

[norway blue]

Shout out to Voss and the team. We had a ****ing crack at it.

 

[Soapy V]

Hope that ends any talk that Cripps should be dropped. Hewett I think the jury is still out on.

You can have one IMO. With both in first half we got thumped in middle. I thought when Ainsworth Jagga went into middle we looked much better