AFL Autopsy 1 point (technical) win vs the Weagles

[eth-dog]

Well we got 4 points. Let's never speak of this again.

 

[Darealrath]

As terrible as that was credit to Merrett for once again doing everything in his power to get the result. Loving his leadership. Reckon he would have been fuming in the rooms if we lost (and maybe he was anyway).

 

[ant555]

As terrible as that was credit to Merrett for once again doing everything in his power to get the result. Loving his leadership. Reckon he would have been fuming in the rooms if we lost (and maybe he was anyway).

Absolutely . He is the one of our top level players who has actually gone up a level along with Langford.

 

[Yoda_]

I’m with ya Yoda. I often keep the game on in the background with no sound and spend time with the kids because investing in this s**t truck too much brings nothing but disappointment.
And when the issues are chronic, glaring and perpetual it simply becomes an exercise in utter futility.

Im finding it harder to 'get up' to support this car crash.

What is most annoying is there is always an excuse. Lunchtime catch up "its cause we're young", Don The Sash "cause Scott is first year in charge", on here it's cause we don't have a big bodied key defender. Their is always an excuse.

We are s**t and have been for a long time now. I had hope earlier in the year, I want to believe that as a young side the year is long and hence the legs are getting heavy, however, the same mistakes from yesteryear under previous coaches are rearing there ugly heads so blaming it on culture.

It's getting harder and harder

 

[Yoda_]

We’re a clogger haven. Have been for 20 years. Management fall in love with spuds worse than the members and that’s a significant achievement.
Your Marty Gleeson, Slattery, Jackson Merrett, Zaharakis, Fantasia, Michael Quinn, Heppell, James Stewart,
Weideman, Aaron Francis types are clung to and listed for sickening lengths of time beyond their used by date and in some cases they never had a period that they were even useful.
We’d rather be s**t and keep utter duds around the joint that we’ve fallen in love with then make a tough calls and foster an elite performance based environment.

I've been thinking about this part a little but lately, we ar eobssessed with players being AFL standard when they are the cancer we have.

I look at the key defenders we (currently) have. Laverde and BZT. Both doing a (loosely) passable job but the moment we can get an upgrade, with the kids we have then we should see improvement in the list. Menzie, Snelling, Guelfi are probably the three worst small fwd combo in the AFL yet people think they are ok because, I actually don't know. They are young(?).

I called out some really poor list management decisions from Dodo, especially mature agers who had already had a chance, why were they afforded second/ third chances? They were undeserving. List management purposes? why were we in that situation in the first place? The whole "he supported Essendon as a kid" was a like seeing your daughter all cute farting and burping but now they are older it's just crap.

I look at the overall list balance and see the inferior depth in some positions and the glut of players in other roles that shows Lord Voldermort has done a wonderfully pathetic job to build a list for two decades.

 

[Yoda_]

I watched about 15 minutes of the 2nd (?) quarter, and in 2 minutes I saw this club summed up.

Perkins did some great work up forward to cap off some ugly scrapping from the rest of the team, finally netting a goal (either his own, or the one he passed to Langord).

At the next centre ball up, our players stood still as West Coast waltzed out. Heppell ran forward and fell over. His man ran out the back. McGrath sort of jogged as he watched him collect the ball and dribble it through for an instant goal.

I had to turn it off for unrelated reasons, but something tells me I don't need to watch any more.

The irony of one of the slowest players on our team lining up on one of the quickest blokes in the AFL yesterday was not lost on me. Shows us where we are at

 

[Yoda_]

Is that not footy ? Melbourne waited 50 years. Richmond 30 years . Pies have only won two flags in 40 odd years and it is actually now 13 years since the last one. Carlton 27 years. Geelong has a 11 year gap despite not falling too far. Hawks are now at 8 years and looking at over 10. We have ****ed up the list build a few times but lets face it the saga has really set us back 10 or so years this time around. Problem is we got spoilt between 1982 and 2001 and we just expect it again. Maybe I am a bit immune because I started going in the seventies when we where a mediocre underachieving side and waited 11 years before I saw a winning final and my step dad was a Fitzroy supporter who was just happy to see his team play every week .

As I said in my initial post, when a club like Collingwood, the renowned Collywobbles can play in a grand final (02, 02), bottom out (04, 14th), re build, win flag (10), compete (11), miss finals four consecutive year (14-17), then play off in another final (18), bottom out (21) for a year and now competing again for a second consecutive year for a top 4 spot.

Hawthorn are the most successful team in the AFL era (7) so im not worried about them being a poorly run club. They know what they are doing.

Richmond are Richmond, they have had success. They played finals for 3 consecutive years while we meandered and then won flags. We couldn't even be s**t properly.

Carlton are worse than us, they have managed to avoid the **** days since finals wins curse because of... Us (2013) funnily enough.

We have managed to finish 7th with a first week finals belting three times. That's sub standard and with no end in sight, it's getting hard mate.

 

[IggypopsTshirt]

I've been thinking about this part a little but lately, we ar eobssessed with players being AFL standard when they are the cancer we have.

I look at the key defenders we (currently) have. Laverde and BZT. Both doing a (loosely) passable job but the moment we can get an upgrade, with the kids we have then we should see improvement in the list. Menzie, Snelling, Guelfi are probably the three worst small fwd combo in the AFL yet people think they are ok because, I actually don't know. They are young(?).

I called out some really poor list management decisions from Dodo, especially mature agers who had already had a chance, why were they afforded second/ third chances? They were undeserving. List management purposes? why were we in that situation in the first place? The whole "he supported Essendon as a kid" was a like seeing your daughter all cute farting and burping but now they are older it's just crap.

I look at the overall list balance and see the inferior depth in some positions and the glut of players in other roles that shows Lord Voldermort has done a wonderfully pathetic job to build a list for two decades.

Problem is you can’t tell most Essendon supporters (or clearly staff for that matter) that our list, S&C, coaching, game plan, preparation, drafting or player development is s**t. The proof has been in the pudding for 20 years and yet our appetite for accepting mediocre remains insatiable. We don’t just accept it, we demand it for the sake of not hurting egos within the club and having to admit we’ve ****ed up in every measurable metric time and again. Hubris and a sycophant mindset bordering on masochistic has sunk this joint so far off being genuinely professional and elite it’s laughable and disgraceful all at the same time.

 

[Yoda_]

Problem is you can’t tell most Essendon supporters (or clearly staff for that matter) that our list, S&C, coaching, game plan, preparation, drafting or player development is s**t. The proof has been in the pudding for 20 years and yet our appetite for accepting mediocre remains insatiable. We don’t just accept it, we demand it for the sake of not hurting egos within the club and having to admit we’ve ****ed up in every measurable metric time and again. Hubris and a sycophant mindset bordering on masochistic has sunk this joint so far off being genuinely professional and elite it’s laughable and disgraceful all at the same time.

what annoys the s**t out of me is that we have Lord Voldermort who goes for guys he was fans of in his draft year or they supported us as a kid. Why?? GET PLAYERS THAT FIT AND SUIT THE LIST NEEDS NOT YOUR OWN ******* AGENDA ADRIAN

 

[MiguelM]

I've been thinking about this part a little but lately, we ar eobssessed with players being AFL standard when they are the cancer we have.

I look at the key defenders we (currently) have. Laverde and BZT. Both doing a (loosely) passable job but the moment we can get an upgrade, with the kids we have then we should see improvement in the list. Menzie, Snelling, Guelfi are probably the three worst small fwd combo in the AFL yet people think they are ok because, I actually don't know. They are young(?).

I called out some really poor list management decisions from Dodo, especially mature agers who had already had a chance, why were they afforded second/ third chances? They were undeserving. List management purposes? why were we in that situation in the first place? The whole "he supported Essendon as a kid" was a like seeing your daughter all cute farting and burping but now they are older it's just crap.

I look at the overall list balance and see the inferior depth in some positions and the glut of players in other roles that shows Lord Voldermort has done a wonderfully pathetic job to build a list for two decades.

Only have to watch the VFL to see how little depth we have.

Only Baldwin, Wanga, Weid & maybe Voss, Monty the only players who could reasonably come in. Cursed by injuries but do we recruit durability?

The cupboard is bare.

 

[IggypopsTshirt]

what annoys the s*t out of me is that we have Lord Voldermort who goes for guys he was fans of in his draft year or they supported us as a kid. Why?? GET PLAYERS THAT FIT AND SUIT THE LIST NEEDS NOT YOUR OWN ****** AGENDA ADRIAN

His ability to retain his position in the face of long term abject failure is astounding. The fact Essendon people laud him as some kind of genius is sheer wizardry.

 

[ant555]

As I said in my initial post, when a club like Collingwood, the renowned Collywobbles can play in a grand final (02, 02), bottom out (04, 14th), re build, win flag (10), compete (11), miss finals four consecutive year (14-17), then play off in another final (18), bottom out (21) for a year and now competing again for a second consecutive year for a top 4 spot.

Hawthorn are the most successful team in the AFL era (7) so im not worried about them being a poorly run club. They know what they are doing.

Richmond are Richmond, they have had success. They played finals for 3 consecutive years while we meandered and then won flags. We couldn't even be s**t properly.

Carlton are worse than us, they have managed to avoid the **** days since finals wins curse because of... Us (2013) funnily enough.

We have managed to finish 7th with a first week finals belting three times. That's sub standard and with no end in sight, it's getting hard mate.

It was still 20 years between GF wins for the Pies and the current bounce is on the back of some good young blokes but also 12 to 15 players who played in finals . Not saying it is not hard. Just saying that is footy. I learnt a long time ago that you can not get wound up too much by things you can not control. I have accepted that we need to build again and I think we are maybe 3 to 5 years away from seeing if the current build is another fail. By Tuesday I am a bit Meh about a loss on the weekend. Maybe it hurts less because I follow the Panthers jus as closely and go to Sydney a few times a year to watch them and they are currently in a golden patch. Maybe because I have been to 5 Grand Finals and seen us win 4 eases the angst . But for me it is just football. I go to 14 or 15 games a year and it is part of the ride. You go home annoyed but you go back to the real world and there are bigger issues to deal with.

 

[Yoda_]

Only have to watch the VFL to see how little depth we have.

Only Baldwin, Wanga, Weid & maybe Voss, Monty the only players who could reasonably come in. Cursed by injuries but do we recruit durability?

The cupboard is bare.

the list is a shambles. We have depth in small forward but no developing half back flankers. I will give the midfield some depth (most injured) but no developing key forwards (until a mid year draftee). We have a few developing KPD but will likely go and pay overs for a mature KPD.

 

[Yoda_]

It was still 20 years between GF wins for the Pies and the current bounce is on the back of some good young blokes but also 12 to 15 players who played in finals . Not saying it is not hard. Just saying that is footy. I learnt a long time ago that you can not get wound up too much by things you can not control. I have accepted that we need to build again and I think we are maybe 3 to 5 years away from seeing if the current build is another fail. By Tuesday I am a bit Meh about a loss on the weekend. Maybe it hurts less because I follow the Panthers jus as closely and go to Sydney a few times a year to watch them and they are currently in a golden patch. Maybe because I have been to 5 Grand Finals and seen us win 4 eases the angst . But for me it is just football. I go to 14 or 15 games a year and it is part of the ride. You go home annoyed but you go back to the real world and there are bigger issues to deal with.

(reply re Pies) Wins is one thing, they competed and put themselves in a position to win one. We have struggled give ourselves the best opportunity to do so.

Like I said, I care less and less as each year goes by

 

[ant555]

I've been thinking about this part a little but lately, we ar eobssessed with players being AFL standard when they are the cancer we have.

I look at the key defenders we (currently) have. Laverde and BZT. Both doing a (loosely) passable job but the moment we can get an upgrade, with the kids we have then we should see improvement in the list. Menzie, Snelling, Guelfi are probably the three worst small fwd combo in the AFL yet people think they are ok because, I actually don't know. They are young(?).

I called out some really poor list management decisions from Dodo, especially mature agers who had already had a chance, why were they afforded second/ third chances? They were undeserving. List management purposes? why were we in that situation in the first place? The whole "he supported Essendon as a kid" was a like seeing your daughter all cute farting and burping but now they are older it's just crap.

I look at the overall list balance and see the inferior depth in some positions and the glut of players in other roles that shows Lord Voldermort has done a wonderfully pathetic job to build a list for two decades.

I still think you miss the big picture and keep swinging at the low hanging fruit. Yes you have called out the mature age players and Snelling and Guelfi and now Menzie but they are not the biggest issues. The biggest issues we have is our second best player does some great stuff but then kicks at 40% efficiency and has ten clangers. Our big hopes for the future just are not developing. None of our rucks can consistently take a contested mark. Your point about KPF is more an issue than the small forward one. The problem is we actually need upgrades in a lot of areas. Am I wrong in saying that unless we have an unbelievable trade / FA / draft period in the next two years we will be more like 5 years away from knowing if this build works ?
We need a CHF and a FB and another speedy half back with kicking skills and two good small forwards and rucks that can take more marks and some midfielders who can hold up under pressure.

 

[ant555]

(reply re Pies) Wins is one thing, they competed and put themselves in a position to win one. We have struggled give ourselves the best opportunity to do so.

Like I said, I care less and less as each year goes by

Well obviously you do not as you keep posting

 

[Yoda_]

Well obviously you do not as you keep posting

I love talking football too much, giving Essington credit is a different story

 

[ant555]

I love talking football too much, giving Essington credit is a different story

Well there is talking footy and then there is yelling because your team sucks.

 

[Squeaky]

(reply re Pies) Wins is one thing, they competed and put themselves in a position to win one. We have struggled give ourselves the best opportunity to do so.

Like I said, I care less and less as each year goes by

This is accurate. I feel the same way. I used to be passionate and hang out for our games. Now I try to avoid watching them as I find it frustrating, infuriating and just not an enjoyable experience at all.

 

[Duckworth]

Thought some others might like to relive the pain.

 

[Squeaky]

Thought some others might to relive the pain.

Wow... What hope do you have??

 

[MightyDon]

Well we got 4 points. Let's never speak of this again.

There’s a dvd double box set worth of these kinda games over last 10yrs

 

[MiguelM]

How we let Kelly get so much separation in the last is deplorable. He should have been tagged but not sure we have the player to keep up.

There was nobody within 50 metres of him on the wings. WTF are the coaches doing?

 

[Lore]

How we let Kelly get so much separation in the last is deplorable. He should have been tagged but not sure we have the player to keep up.

There was nobody within 50 metres of him on the wings. WTF are the coaches doing?

defenders are on the wings, wings are in the forward line, forwards are in the midfield, midfield is injured.

 

[Deepthroat]

We’re a clogger haven. Have been for 20 years. Management fall in love with spuds worse than the members and that’s a significant achievement.
Your Marty Gleeson, Slattery, Jackson Merrett, Zaharakis, Fantasia, Michael Quinn, Heppell, James Stewart,
Weideman, Aaron Francis types are clung to and listed for sickening lengths of time beyond their used by date and in some cases they never had a period that they were even useful.
We’d rather be s**t and keep utter duds around the joint that we’ve fallen in love with then make a tough calls and foster an elite performance based environment.

Ben McKay, come on down..............