A little perspective..

[kelvin_sheedy]

Lets not get too crazy about last night because there must have been a full moon out there. So many things went against us:

- They got around 5 goals from the ball doing leg breaks
- Jordan Bannister kicks a miraculous banana
- Stevens miskick into Fevs arms
- Their duds come out once a year to play good games
- Eddie Betts, the worst small forward in the league gets it 27 times
- They had everything to play for and more. They were breathing fire because they don't want the record for consecutive losses.
- Fev, Judd, Stevens can't play much better yet it wasn't enough

Lets look at were we are at :

- We are missing about 4 players from our best 22 - Lucas, Welsh, Dempsey, NLM.
- We have injuries to our kids so they can't put pressure on a lot of the underperformers
- We got smashed in clearances but lets take into account that Judd had his best ever game against us. He is the best player in the league when on song. They had 14 more clearances and Judd had 9.
- We have yet to see our midfield string it all together. Players have only played bit parts in each game.
- We need one more ball winning midfielder to rotate through. Pev and JJ aren't up to it so Hislop and Hocking should be given every chance.
- Players like Lovett, Winderlich, Houli, Reimers and a lot of others will get better as the year goes on.
- We should fast track Myers and Pears and get 5-10 games in each.
- Next 3 games Dogs, Saints, Pies will tell us were we are. We go 2-1 and we can play finals.

 

[The Dustbin]

Great analysis. Agree completely.

Carlton couldn't have played any better, yet they still lost.

 

[Enki]

- They got around 5 goals from the ball doing leg breaks

Yeah, some of those bounces were incredible. It got to the point where if we didn't have a defender running to touch it I just assumed it would go in until proven otherwise.

P.S. We only won due to the umpires (well according to half the carlton supporters anyway).

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Yeah, some of those bounces were incredible. It got to the point where if we didn't have a defender running to touch it I just assumed it would go in until proven otherwise.

P.S. We only won due to the umpires (well according to half the carlton supporters anyway).

Not only that there were about 3 occasions where we were running onto the ball and it did a leg break straight into the Carlton players hands which pretty much resulted in a goal.

 

[The Dustbin]

Not only that there were about 3 occasions where we were running onto the ball and it did a leg break straight into the Carlton players hands which pretty much resulted in a goal.

Richard Hadley's goal was a classic example.

 

[retroparty]

The umpires had no influence on the game. We outplayed Carlton. We were more effective, played a lot smarter and went in harder for the ball. Yes, the had their best 22 bar 1 (Andrew Walker) and we had our best player out who is one of the most effective players in the comp.

All those Carlton supporters, saying we didn't deserve to win, are just a bunch of soft **** who can't handle the truth.

I'm gonna sing the Pies song with gusto when they beat the bluebaggers next week.

 

[jdwood]

I thought we got a ride from the umps, while they got a ride from freak natural occurances!

 

[KingMullet]

The umpires had no influence on the game. We outplayed Carlton. We were more effective, played a lot smarter and went in harder for the ball. Yes, the had their best 22 bar 1 (Andrew Walker) and we had our best player out who is one of the most effective players in the comp.

All those Carlton supporters, saying we didn't deserve to win, are just a bunch of soft **** who can't handle the truth.

I'm gonna sing the Pies song with gusto when they beat the bluebaggers next week.

What they think Carlton deserved to win? What game were they watching?

 

[The_Young_Gun]

I think there were only 2 or 3 really bad decisions made by the umpires yesterday, 2 favouring us, and 1 favouring Carlton, thats not including all the soft free's umpires give out on a regular basis but I've noticed that the umpires are getting a bit better at spotting out free kicks and when a player is just going for a dive, its just these stupid rules that the rules committee (Adrian Anderson to be specific) make up, it really makes our blood boil.

One day the AFL committee will go too far with these rules and make all of us turn against them.

Just imagine, 2012, there will be a No hands on your opponent rule, thats what the future brings. (Unless Adrian Anderson dies suddenly and unexpectedly........???????)

 

[Barry Zuckercorn]

Lets not get too crazy about last night because there must have been a full moon out there. So many things went against us:

- They got around 5 goals from the ball doing leg breaks
- Jordan Bannister kicks a miraculous banana
- Stevens miskick into Fevs arms
- Their duds come out once a year to play good games
- Eddie Betts, the worst small forward in the league gets it 27 times
- They had everything to play for and more. They were breathing fire because they don't want the record for consecutive losses.
- Fev, Judd, Stevens can't play much better yet it wasn't enough
- The Umps crucified us all night long

Lets look at were we are at :

- We are missing about 4 players from our best 22 - Lucas, Welsh, Dempsey, NLM.
- We have injuries to our kids so they can't put pressure on a lot of the underperformers
- We got smashed in clearances but lets take into account that Judd had his best ever game against us. He is the best player in the league when on song. They had 14 more clearances and Judd had 9.
- We have yet to see our midfield string it all together. Players have only played bit parts in each game.
- We need one more ball winning midfielder to rotate through. Pev and JJ aren't up to it so Hislop and Hocking should be given every chance.
- Players like Lovett, Winderlich, Houli, Reimers and a lot of others will get better as the year goes on.
- We should fast track Myers and Pears and get 5-10 games in each.
- Next 3 games Dogs, Saints, Pies will tell us were we are. We go 2-1 and we can play finals.

LOL @ the "where we are at" part! Pisser!

And edited for accuracy (from an Essendon fan perspective)

 

[Merv]

LOL @ the "where we are at" part! Pisser!

And edited for accuracy (from an Essendon fan perspective)

Baz, the Whinging board is 2 above ours, just in case you were lost.
Or is it now the eat your own board?

I hear things are getting quite ugly....

 

[Barry Zuckercorn]

Baz, the Whinging board is 2 above ours, just in case you were lost

Dont worry Merv, I know very well where it is. I've been whinging all day!

 

[FandangoDingo]

LOL @ the "where we are at" part! Pisser!

And edited for accuracy (from an Essendon fan perspective)

Dont worry Merv, I know very well where it is. I've been whinging all day!

This would get you a red card on the Blues Board. Sooks.

Please Mr QC.... Enlighten us on Carlton's current "where we are at" analysis? Was it the umpire's fault again?? You had all guns firing on the weekend and you still come up a fair bit short against a "bottom 4" team?! Oh dear. Worse than you thought, huh??

Brett "Zero" Ratten.... Now there's a good laugh!

As to where the B-LOSE are at, I suggest you start paddling!

Enjoy!!!!! Supporters of every other club certainly are!

Go Pies!!!!

 

[Not a Wellman]

- Next 3 games Dogs, Saints, Pies will tell us were we are. We go 2-1 and we can play finals.

That is exactly true. I have this funny feeling that this week will be very very close and then we will smash st kilda. Collingwood will be real measure of where we are at, we have to put up a good show against them.
The next 3 weeks are huge.

 

[evs05]

smash st kilda? not based on the weekends form we won't.

let's not kid ourselves. carlton are a bottom 4 side that we managed to beat, but i wouldn't say we beat them convincingly. in fact if they had held on in the last 5 minutes of the third quarter they very well could have won.

st kilda are a potential top 4 side. last time we played one of them we lost by 99 points.

i believe we can beat the saints, but i dont think we will smash them and we will need to play a much more balanced game of football (involving some defensive actions perhaps). if we leave the corridor open for kosi, riewoldt and gehrig like we did for fev and fisher on the weekend saints will destroy us.

if it makes the carlton fans feel any better, i thought the umpiring was horrible and we got some very lucky decisions go our way, particularly in the first half.

 

[Bombers42]

yes stkilda will be hard to beat but the good thing about them is they always give you a sniff.

As for the carlton match things really when carltons way IMO and it was a good win by us as i believe we are the better team.

 

[Thrust]

smash st kilda? not based on the weekends form we won't.

let's not kid ourselves. carlton are a bottom 4 side that we managed to beat, but i wouldn't say we beat them convincingly. in fact if they had held on in the last 5 minutes of the third quarter they very well could have won.

st kilda are a potential top 4 side. last time we played one of them we lost by 99 points.

i believe we can beat the saints, but i dont think we will smash them and we will need to play a much more balanced game of football (involving some defensive actions perhaps). if we leave the corridor open for kosi, riewoldt and gehrig like we did for fev and fisher on the weekend saints will destroy us.

if it makes the carlton fans feel any better, i thought the umpiring was horrible and we got some very lucky decisions go our way, particularly in the first half.

St. Kilda are overrated and geelong will prove it. If Essendon doesn't beat them I don't think we will make the 8.

 

[GoGoGadget]

That is exactly true. I have this funny feeling that this week will be very very close and then we will smash st kilda. Collingwood will be real measure of where we are at, we have to put up a good show against them.
The next 3 weeks are huge.

Carlton absolutely smashed us at the stoppages with 2 unfit stars and a bunch of rookies.. Our ruckman won the hit outs yet Carlton had more clearances than us.. We were absolutely belted in the midfield..

I would love to know how we are going to stop Dal Santo, Montagna, Ball, Hayes and Harvey from giving us a football lesson through the middle.. and if that happens, with their disposal, no backline in the league will contain the German, the G Train and Kosi..

I seriously doubt were going to beat St.Kilda let alone smash them.. The only thing we have over them is speed.. I dont think dyson, Pev and watson have a hope of matching skills with these guys..

Hope im wrong...

 

[evs05]

St. Kilda are overrated and geelong will prove it. If Essendon doesn't beat them I don't think we will make the 8.

i completely agree st kilda are overrated, and have said as much in other threads. i didn't understand the "number 2" tag they were given this year before the season started. having said that, i still would not be surprised to see them make top 4. they should and will go in against us as favourites.

 

[lamaros]

We have a good record against the Saints and should do ok. We match up well on them and should hopefully be able to expose their weaknesses the same way the Dogs did.

Unless Lyon all of a sudden gets a clue and starts playing a gameplan that takes advantage of the many quality players St. Kilda has instead of trying to reshape them into players they're not, that is.

 

[OrangeCutter]

i actually thought we were a little lucky with frees, not to mention we got 2 goals after the siren one with 20 seconds left and another before the ball was bounced, so i think when we refer to 'luck' and other circumstances, it was even. At the end of the day we were just a 16 point better side.

 

[Big Blow Hard]

I thought we got a ride from the umps, while they got a ride from freak natural occurances!

Doubtful. We earned the kicks we got for the most part. If anything we were screwed a bit. They got away with dropping the ball, holding the ball quite a few times. If Lloyd were any other forward in the league, he would have recieved at least three free kicks. He was held, hacked, hit high over the shoulder, you name it. Kicks Riewoldt and Buddy would have definitely recieved. It seems if anything the umps are hesitant to pay Lloyd kicks, he is a victim of his own diving reputation.

 

[Big Blow Hard]

Carlton absolutely smashed us at the stoppages with 2 unfit stars and a bunch of rookies.. Our ruckman won the hit outs yet Carlton had more clearances than us.. We were absolutely belted in the midfield..

I would love to know how we are going to stop Dal Santo, Montagna, Ball, Hayes and Harvey from giving us a football lesson through the middle.. and if that happens, with their disposal, no backline in the league will contain the German, the G Train and Kosi..

I seriously doubt were going to beat St.Kilda let alone smash them.. The only thing we have over them is speed.. I dont think dyson, Pev and watson have a hope of matching skills with these guys..

Hope im wrong...

I disagree completely on this point. They will be held plenty of times because they are too cluttered with big men. How often are at least two, if not all three of them flying for the same ball. St Kilda need to shift Riewoldt to centre half back to start the rebound quickly forward. Gehrig needs to be their leading target, and Kosi, anchored in the square for the one out marking contests. Also Milne needs to produce again for them.
Their midfield, while full of big names is wastefull, and seemingly more interested in racking up possesions than getting it forward quickly. Their only real drive at the moment is Leigh Montagna. Ball and Del Santo, while no doubt great players, just dont produce enough.
There was a reason they were the lowest scoring side last year.
Plus their backline is suspect, Fisher is good but no star. They seem to think Mcguire will come back and be the star he was, but after his horrific injuries, that is certainly no guarantee.

A good side, but not a realistic premiership side. Will not make top 4.

 

[DaSawx]

St. Kilda's midfield melts if you are hard at the ball in the middle, if we have one of our better days in that aspect we have a big chance of winning, not to mention we match-up quite well with them.

 

[FandangoDingo]

^^ I agree. St.Kilda's midfield is fragile. Hell, their whole team/club is fragile!

We have a great record against St.Kilda and match up well.