Play Nice Bye bye Brad

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Right so dropping everyone = flag. That sounds easy.

Is this the same Ryan O'Keefe that played 25/25 games in 2013 before been giving the flick - a player that wanted to continue his career but not one team picked up?? Yes that was very big call by those brave Swans.

Your use of ridiculous hyperbole is hilarious.

 

[Wild Bill]

Mate.

Come on.

Pls.


We were never premiership faves but by **** are we better than losing to the bottom team by 10 goals and then hopping on the same ride week after week for 6 ******* years.

Ya know what? Folk will get back on board the Brad Scott Magical Mystery Tour bus if he can get us a shit load of wins in a row, but what you are witnessing on BF now is not a sooky-sooky-la-la reaction to a bad game, but a concerted shift in the mind-set of 'supporters' who no longer 'support' the methodology being employed at the club. Why? Because the methodology has rarely altered and neither have the results.If you repeatedly make mistakes you don't do the same thing over and over again. And not all this shit is raining on the coach (although he is the focal point) but the players and admin are copping it too, as they should, because they are all letting us down.

We won more games in 2015 than every year since our last flag, we won 2 finals and finished top 4 - why would they change the methodology? Because supporters throw the baby out with the bath water after a bad loss and demand changes.

Also what let down? Doesn't the let down come once we have played our last game? We still don't know when that will be.

 

[Mav]

Not really - the ones sooking are the ones that thought we could win this years flag. They now know they over rated our side and want Scott sacked for their error.

are you happy where Scott has got the side to after 5 and half years? Do you think he has been successful? If his contract was due to expire at the end of this year would you renew it?

 

[BowWow1978]

eh it's true, he's racked up 30 possies and you'd never notice.



is skilled?...i didn't specifically say that, but yes he kicks clutch goals like against wce. disposal efficiency is low due to lack of outside runners giving him and option.

Priddis is a gun - so I don't agree with you there, not even a little bit. However, I do agree that I'd have JZ or Cunners over him for one reason and one reason only - their age.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

We won more games in 2015 than every year since our last flag, we won 2 finals and finished top 4 - why would they change the methodology? Because supporters throw the baby out with the bath water after a bad loss and demand changes.

Also what let down? Doesn't the let down come once we have played our last game? We still don't know when that will be.

A bad loss.

Just one?

**** me sideways.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

And those changes would make us a lot better?

They would re-enforce that established players are still required to perform to hold their spot.

We have players openly admitting they don't take the right attitude into games, and are complacent. What would you put this down to if it's not a lack of pressure to hold their spot?

 

[Wild Bill]

Your use of ridiculous hyperbole is hilarious.

I just love reading post from the arm chair critics that have had zero to do with a club - How anyone can convince themselves that they know the way is hilarious.

Keep shaking your fists at the TV while knowing how to get us more wins - how frustrating that must be - to have all the answers yet no one will listen......

 

[GarnerSmash]

We won more games in 2015 than every year since our last flag, we won 2 finals and finished top 4 - why would they change the methodology? Because supporters throw the baby out with the bath water after a bad loss and demand changes.

Also what let down? Doesn't the let down come once we have played our last game? We still don't know when that will be.

Because ultimately the aim is to win a flag (different from supporter expectation). What they have needed to address and have not addressed in the years since Scott took over is a fundamental flaw that will prevent that from happening and that is an over reliance on structure and an inability to adapt mentally and strategically when the structure in place has been countered effectively. This has bred complacency through the group which has also been allowed to fester and this has now become terminal. This is not an issue re one game, or two, or this season, but a culmination of actions and results that leads the majority to feel the way it now does. And it has taken 6 years to get here.

If you ask me there are a number of posters on here who are taking a much longer term view on this matter than you are and have arrived at a very similar place to those who crack the shits after every bad loss. The thought and consideration put into their deliberations may be polar opposites but it just so happens that now the logical conclusion to their arguments have a common end point.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

I just love reading post from the arm chair critics that have had zero to do with a club - How anyone can convince themselves that they know the way is hilarious.

Keep shaking your fists at the TV while knowing how to get us more wins - how frustrating that must be - to have all the answers yet no one will listen......

The club is flying mate.

Nothing to worry about.

We have players admitting that they don't have the right attitude on gameday.

Going. Places.

 

[King Corey]

Not really - the ones sooking are the ones that thought we could win this years flag.

I'm with ya brother. I pity those supporters wanting to win flags especially when their coach will be close to a decade in charge at contract's end.

 

[GarnerSmash]

I just love reading post from the arm chair critics that have had zero to do with a club - How anyone can convince themselves that they know the way is hilarious.

Keep shaking your fists at the TV while knowing how to get us more wins - how frustrating that must be - to have all the answers yet no one will listen......

I like that you support passionately, but don't be a condescending git about it.

None of us have the answers, unless the question is 'Is there something seriously wrong with the culture at the North Melbourne Football Club'? Well, based on all evidence available, the answer is a resounding yes.

 

[Only Forwards]

We won more games in 2015 than every year since our last flag, we won 2 finals and finished top 4 - why would they change the methodology? Because supporters throw the baby out with the bath water after a bad loss and demand changes.

Also what let down? Doesn't the let down come once we have played our last game? We still don't know when that will be.

Holy shit.

10 goals to the side in 18th isn't a bad loss.

At this stage in our development it is f***ing catastrophic.

 

[King Corey]

The club is flying mate.

Nothing to worry about.

We have players admitting that they don't have the right attitude on gameday.

Going. Places.

Maybe one day we'll learn this has been one giant troll.

And when we do - I'll say 'well played'.

 

[Wild Bill]

are you happy where Scott has got the side to after 5 and half years? Do you think he has been successful? If his contract was due to expire at the end of this year would you renew it?

Prelim last year was a very good result. Making it into the top 4 was a successful result. I will wait untlil season end - there is a lot of footy still to be played.

Would sacking Scott at years end guarantee more wins in 2016? Sacking plus more supporters shaking their fist at the TV?

 

[GarnerSmash]

Prelim last year was a very good result. Making it into the top 4 was a successful result. I will wait untlil season end - there is a lot of footy still to be played.

Would sacking Scott at years end guarantee more wins in 2016? Sacking plus more supporters shaking their fist at the TV?

Mate, if we win a flag, make a granny or prelim there will be the mother of all omelettes on a million faces. But, we need to get a wriggle on.

 

[Wild Bill]

The club is flying mate.

Nothing to worry about.

We have players admitting that they don't have the right attitude on gameday.

Going. Places.

Sack Scott

Drop everyone

Retire everyone

Shake fist at TV

Everything will turn out great - 5th flag on the way!!

 

[Kanga1996]

FOX FOOTY just posted this..
FALSE HOPE

AFTER bowing out in a preliminary final in 2014, most experts predicted the Roos to reach similar heights — perhaps go even further — in 2015.

The Roos thought the same thing.

So during last October’s free agency period, they picked up Jarrad Waite and Shaun Higgins to bolster an ageing yet talented list that — the club believed — could challenge for the 2015 flag.

This was the Roos’ make or break season.

But fourteen rounds and seven losses later, it’s heading for a break season for the Roos.

Veteran Brent Harvey on Tuesday refused to admit his team had gone backwards this year.

Ultimately, though, clubs are assessed on their win-loss ratio. And when you put the club’s 2014 and 2015 campaigns side by side, North has gone backwards.

They are 6-7 with a percentage of 92. That constitutes an average to below average side.

Hawthorn champion Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy’s On The Couch this week: “I was bullish about them pre-season. I thought they were going to be one of the teams to beat. (But) I have no idea what to make of them (now).”

LIST ISSUES

COMBINED with their recruiting strategy, this has led to a team that thinks they’re at one notch on the premiership clock, but missed out on daylight savings and went too far forward.

North Melbourne has the second-oldest list in the competition, with an average age of 25.35, just behind Fremantle.

They’re also the most experienced list in the league, with an average of 90.4 games played, which is just ahead of the Dockers.

Usually when you have a group at the older end of the spectrum, you can at least avoid the inconsistency that young players tend to bring. Yet we see the constant collapses that have become their unfortunate trademark.

Mark Robinson pointed out the issue with North Melbourne’s list on SEN last month.

“What’s happened with most premiership teams or contenders is a couple of kids come through and North haven’t had those,” Robbo said.

“They’ve put all their eggs in the one basket going for a premiership.”

INCONSISTENCY

Premiership contenders are a tipster’s dream — not their nightmare. They’re not frustratingly unpredictable. They don’t lose to the 18th-placed side — which had won one game for the season and was coming off a soul-destroying fortnight — by nine goals.

North’s 2015 formline is terribly vexing reading for tipsters: LWLWLWWLLWLWL.

One week, the Roos boot just five goals in an entire game in a 73-point loss to Fremantle. The next, they produce a tight, inspiring win against a contender like West Coast.

If you thought you had it rough, tipsters, spare a thought for North Melbourne supporters.

Harvey on Tuesday couldn’t admit his team had gone backwards this year. However he did confess it was playing erratic footy.

”We’re too inconsistent and to challenge those (top) teams, you can’t have that inconsistency week in, week out and quarter in, quarter out,” Harvey said.

On Fox Footy’s League Teams on Wednesday night, Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton said: “North Melbourne can beat anyone on their day and then they just have losses that are just inexplicable.

“There’s something really wrong with their playing list. They turn it up too often, too frequently. There’s this dreadful infrequency of super effort. You should have that effort every week. It’s strange.”

Norths are "boring"

0:57

MENTALLY WEAK

The big loss to Gold Coast was the Roos’ fourth by 55 points or more this season. The other losses were to Adelaide (77 points), Hawthorn (60) and Fremantle (73).

Yes, those other losses were to good teams. But good sides don’t lose games by such big margins.

Following the massive loss to the Suns, North legend Wayne Carey slammed his former team for lacking mental toughness.

“They certainly won’t be playing Grand Finals and going deep into finals. They are mentally weak — that’s their issue,” Carey told Triple M.

“It’s not about talent, they’re mentally not strong enough. They have too many lapses from week to week and within a game to be a really good football team. It’s all above the shoulders.”

Former Hawthorn spearhead Ben Dixon also called the Roos “mentally soft” on Fox Footy’s League Teams on Wednesday night.

“They get to games like this (against Gold Coast) when you should be steely, you should be hard, put the game away at half-time and away you go. But they can’t do it — and top-four sides do that,” Dixon said.

MASTERS OF NOTHING

At the moment, North Melbourne isn’t a master of any specific area of the game, as they have mediocre rankings in an array of key statistical areas.

The Roos are ranked ninth in the league for contested possessions differential, 10th for disposals and uncontested possessions differential, 12th for points scored differential and 13th for marks, inside 50s and tackles differential.

Three-time Carlton premiership player Mark Maclure slammed the Roos for being “boring” on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday night.

“There’s nothing flash about them. Give me something that’s dynamic about them. Give me something that they do that’s terrific,” Maclure said.

Fellow panellist David King rebutted with the Roos’ biggest asset: Their ability to score from defensive 50.

According to Champion Data, the Kangaroos generate 12.3 points per game from defensive 50 intercepts and 5.8 points per game from kick-ins. They’re ranked No. 1 in the league in both categories, while they’re also ranked first for scoring from their forward 50 entries (51.2 per cent).

But if the Roos can’t run and generate scores from their defence and get the ball inside their forward 50, they seemingly don’t have many other weapons to turn to.

FEW A-GRADERS

“Few”, meaning, not many at all.

When you analyse the lists of the big boys — Hawthorn, Fremantle and Sydney — there are A-graders every five or so names as you work your way down the roster.

Yet there’s nowhere near that consistency of guns on the Roos’ list.

Todd Goldstein is a genuine A-grader who will undoubtedly be in contention for a spot in the all-Australian side, while Harvey is also up there, even though he’s not providing A-grade performances so far this season. Nick Dal Santo, who has hit the ground running since recently returning from injury, might be also in the A-grade category.

As for the rest? Not much.

There are ample A-grade “teasers”.

Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow and Jack Ziebell threaten to be A-grade players. But if they aren’t playing genuine and, most importantly, consistent elite footy, it’s impossible to rank them in the top category.

Scott Thompson used to be an A-grade player, but he, arguably, hasn’t been the same player since his 2013 all-Australian season.

Brad Scott has been highly criticised for some of his coaching decisions, including a lack of willingness to drop star players to set standards.Source: Getty Images

LITTLE SELECTION GUTS

THE footy world has praised new Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge for his willingness to drop key players.

From Will Minson to Jack Macrae to Stewart Crameri, the top man at the kennel has been very willing to give nominal best-22 players a spell in the VFL.

Brad Scott hasn’t, with North Melbourne sitting fourth in fewest players used this season with 31 behind Sydney (30), Adelaide (29) and Fremantle (27).

It’s a strategy that would be paying dividends if the performances were there. But showings like this past week’s game against Gold Coast have occurred — and there have been few repercussions.

Mark Robinson has called for stars to be dropped multiple times on both AFL 360 and on SEN.

Last month on radio, he called for the move again: “They think they’re in the premiership window but they still make the same lazy mistakes.

“Where are their standards, when do their leaders stand up? There’s no defensive leadership.

“There’s something fundamentally wrong with the mentality of the group and the coach influences that.”

LACK OF DEPTH

THE problem is though, if North does swing the selection axe, there are an array of fringe players the club is obviously concerned about when it comes to taking their opportunity at AFL level.

Ryan Bastinac has averaged 31 disposals at VFL level this year, but only 17 in 10 AFL games. In fact his AFL numbers have decreased gradually since his career-best 2012 season.

Injury-prone Kieran Harper hasn’t played an AFL game since 2013, but his mediocre performances at VFL level are concerning. He’s booted four goals and averaged 12 disposals from four matches this season.

Luke McDonald and Aaron Black played 48 AFL games between them in 2014, but only eight between them so far in 2015. Aaron Mullett hasn’t played an AFL game yet so far this season, but hasn’t really thrown his hat into the selection mix yet at VFL level averaging 20 touches.

And a couple of their top draft picks of recent years — Taylor Garner and Brad McKenzie — have simply failed to come on, either due to injury or poor form.

The bottom few spots in the first 22 are a constant churn of similarly-skilled players who don’t make a big enough impact when they get a go.

FINALS NO GUARANTEE

On paper, North has arguably the easiest run home of teams competing for finals.

The Roos play Essendon (Etihad Stadium), Brisbane (Gabba), Carlton (Etihad Stadium), Melbourne (MCG) and St Kilda (Blundstone Arena) between Rounds 16 to 20. You look at those games and think North could win just about every match.

But that’s if you’re assessing the North of 2014.

Judging by the number of upsets occurring in the AFL this season — of which North has featured in a few — there are no “gimme” games for the Roos.

The other problem for the Roos when it comes to making the finals is they’ll be coming from a long way back.

With six wins from the first 14 rounds, North doesn’t have a great security blanket as it hasn’t banked many wins. Therefore it has no room for error in the run home, especially between Rounds 16 to 20.

The other concern is the percentage of the twelfth-placed Kangaroos, which has plummeted to 92.2 per cent. To put that in perspective, every team currently inside the eight has a percentage of 105 or more.

Overall, North’s average losing margin (43.7 points) is the third-biggest in the competition. Only Brisbane (47.4) and Melbourne (47) are worse.

So those big defeats could cost the Roos if they end up with the same win-loss record as teams on the edge of finals.

The seemingly easy draw no longer looks so easy.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Sack Scott

Drop everyone

Retire everyone

Shake fist at TV

Everything will turn out great - 5th flag on the way!!

Brad, ease up on the hyperbole.

 

[GarnerSmash]

Surely there comes a point when the little voice in his head starts telling him, mid pre-game address, that he no longer believes what he is saying to the group.

 

[LuvtheKangas]

Sack Scott

Drop everyone

Retire everyone

Shake fist at TV

Everything will turn out great - 5th flag on the way!!

Awesome posting.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

Sack Scott

Drop everyone

Retire everyone

Shake fist at TV

Everything will turn out great - 5th flag on the way!!

The king of the strawman argument.

 

[Wild Bill]

Awesome posting.

It was in response to an awesome post.

 

[Only Forwards]

Prelim last year was a very good result. Making it into the top 4 was a successful result. I will wait untlil season end - there is a lot of footy still to be played.

Would sacking Scott at years end guarantee more wins in 2016? Sacking plus more supporters shaking their fist at the TV?

Does not sacking him guarantee more wins?

Wild Bill since the inception of the current final 8 finals system on no occasion has a team ever gone from outside the top 4 after the home and away to win the flag.

Only 3 occasions has a side from the bottom half of the 8 played off in a prelim, on all occasions those sides were beaten.

The short hand conclusion is that to win a flag you need to finish the Home and Away season in the top 4 (preferably top 2) to be able to play in a Grand Final.

After 5.5 years we are currently only a maybe to make finals at all. This when you take a step back an look at it is a complete failure.

When you compare it to other coaching records it is a complete failure.

The only modern coach he is remotely like is Thompson.

It took the Geelong side to be in almost full revolt to jar them into action, what is more our teams are fundamentally different.

THe Geelong side in 2007 was not reliant on a 37 year old to hold things together.

I have become very much of the opinion that the quickest way for us to get even remotely close to number 5 is to get a new voice in.

 

[hilly]

I actually expected to finish 21st - kudos to Brad Scott, the mastermind of everything.

 

[Horizons_00]

We won more games in 2015 than every year since our last flag, we won 2 finals and finished top 4 - why would they change the methodology? Because supporters throw the baby out with the bath water after a bad loss and demand changes.

Also what let down? Doesn't the let down come once we have played our last game? We still don't know when that will be.

Its more about the WAY we lose all the f****** time not because we don't have the talent or the right cattle it's because we DO NOT SHOW UP

Have you ever gone "oh well they lost by 10 goals to a bottom team" or "oh well, they let Collingwood come out and kick 10 goals straight and lost"

But atleast they tried and gave it their all

No