Review Dees v Eagles & the Ghost of Murray Wrensted: Good, Bad & Fugly

[Tulip]

Perfect storm for us today, a lot of good players were down and a lot of our role players were shown up as probably not being quite up to the standard.

When the ball was bouncing the way it was for the Eagles' (two absolute leg breaks & LeCras back heel) - you knew that it wasn't our day.

This should be a good lesson for Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw, Gawn, Harmes, Petracca - we need them to stand up every final & it doesn't look like all of them were quite ready for that today (despite some okay numbers), now we've played three I think they & we will be better for it.

Lewis & Jones have missed their chance to be a part of this moving forward I think, Jones might have one more year but both have shown throughout the finals that they can't consistently deliver.

We definitely need to target a mid in free agency or at the draft, by trading a player or two out to get back into the top 20.

If we are going to give Jones one more year, then he deserves to play out that year in good faith to see whether the last 10 weeks were an aberration or the new normal. Up until his 250th, he was in really solid form.

I understand the eagerness to turn the list over at every opportunity, but there's still a round dozen players on our list I would cut before Jones without a second thought.

A tough conversation needs to be had about the captaincy and what his actual role is going forward. One of our biggest remaining issues is Goodwin shoehoring players into positions they're not much good at.

If we're still here in 12 months, then you'd imagine he'd be encouraged to call it a day.

 

[demontim27]

Overwhelming sentiment is it is a bad loss but overall a good season so most of us are ok with it.

My issue isn’t with the season, it’s the sentiment that the loss is going to spur us to greater things. There seems to be some implication that we are guaranteed to improve next year.

We had a shot this year, and missed it, you need to make the most of every chance you get, we didn’t.

 

[Proper Gander]

Hyperbole was fairly obvious.

But if you want to argue semantics I never said anything about force, I said people are adamant that this needs to be positive.

If they prefer to, good for them. I don’t feel especially positive about it at all but don’t really feel a great need to question anyone about why they have decided to move on.

 

[Tulip]

Not one person has said ‘everyone’ must accept anything. If people choose to be positive that’s up to them. Nobody is forcing you to feel that way.

People flagging 2000 as an example of why we should be afraid of falling off a cliff is the kind of virtue signalling that just doesn't make sense to me.

We've gone from a non-finals team for 12 years into a top four side, but apparently you can't be pleased with your progress unless you go all the way. Yes, I get that 'if you're not first you're last' attitude, but this isn't the 2000 team and teams deserve to improve in a linear fashion. We don't have guys like Ox on their last legs, and this team has far more young star power than that one which was totally reliant on inconsistent guys like TJ to have a big game.

Since Roos took over, we have faced significant challenges and overcome them well. To lose a prelim final by 11 goals is an embarrassment, but that's just the next challenge. When we lost to the Swans, we were an overrated side with a soft underbelly that couldn't beat top eight sides. We won four in a row after that.

The players let themselves down and have regained the choker tag a week after losing it, but let that drive them on. Clearly they're good for the challenge, and not many young teams get this far.

Tl;dr - this was their first prelim, they did well to get that far, they shat the bed. Lets see how they respond.

 

[demontim27]

If they prefer to, good for them. I don’t feel especially positive about it at all but don’t really feel a great need to question anyone about why they have decided to move on.

The discussion started because I responded to any Essendon fan about the loss, maybe direct the “questioning anyone” to everyone who responded to me I was responding to my view being disagreed with.

Not sure why you’d paint it as me just randomly questioning people

 

[Alpine Lodger]

Last year West Coast were riding feel good momentum after beating Port Adelaide in extra time in an ef after sneaking into 8 by half a percent.
The next week they lose to GWS by 67 points (similar margin) in a semi final. They could have been scarred by that loss but instead used it as impetus for this year, in which they go into a grand final with a huge chance of winning. Hopefully we can do the same.

 

[Simon_Says]

What, so you can cleanse the board of any emotion? Just ignore posts like this and move on.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

Fair call
MarcMaverick pays his admission, he is entitled to his reaction
Its 100% Justified. I was under no illusion yesterday was going to be hard, guesse by HT i was just numb to the final result due to our play being so poor.

This lose sets us up for next year.

 

[Proper Gander]

People flagging 2000 as an example of why we should be afraid of falling off a cliff is the kind of virtue signalling that just doesn't make sense to me.

It doesn’t make sense to me either, but I recognise it for what it is - it’s virtually BF commandments:

I. If you are criticising the team, or better still a player, this obviously makes you a much more astute judge then anyone else.

II. If you are pleased with progress then you’re just “caught up in the hype” or “drinking bathwater” and clearly not as astute a judge as others.

III. If you don’t lose your s**t after every loss, it’s probably because you’re “making excuses” so not as astute a judge as anyone else.

 

[TheCount]

It doesn’t make sense to me either, but I recognise it for what it is - it’s virtually BF commandments:

I. If you are criticising the team, or better still a player, this obviously makes you a much more astute judge then anyone else.

II. If you are pleased with progress then you’re just “caught up in the hype” or “drinking bathwater” and clearly not as astute a judge as others.

III. If you don’t lose your s**t after every loss, it’s probably because you’re “making excuses” so not as astute a judge as anyone else.

Ah, the sacred texts ...

 

[Cannon82]

My issue isn’t with the season, it’s the sentiment that the loss is going to spur us to greater things. There seems to be some implication that we are guaranteed to improve next year.

We had a shot this year, and missed it, you need to make the most of every chance you get, we didn’t.

Yep. We could be there and there abouts again next year, we could have a run of injuries / bad luck and struggle, or we could fall back in a heap. Odd to see people who should be used to tempering expectations stating we should be making a GF at a minimum next year.

The only positive about yesterday was that we were in a preliminary final. The game itself was a write off.

 

[Cannon82]

People flagging 2000 as an example of why we should be afraid of falling off a cliff is the kind of virtue signalling that just doesn't make sense to me.

Virtue signalling? Not sure how you've come to think people are trying to assert moral superiority bringing up the 2000 GF loss. That's one weird reference you've made there.

 

[demontim27]

Virtue signalling? Not sure how you've come to think people are trying to assert moral superiority bringing up the 2000 GF loss. That's one weird reference you've made there.

He either used the wrong phrase or doesn’t understand what it means. The context doesn’t make sense.

 

[Simon_Says]

Capt_Concussion MarcMaverick
Hope i didnt sound too Condescending

 

[stEdy]

We were flat and reactive from the bounce and literally nothing went our way the entire day, except them missing a few gettable shots early

Some of the bounces of the ball were just comical

Vanders and Hibberd tried hard all day to get something going

Viney fought hard when nobody else was in the middle

Brayshaw's disposal/kicking inside 50 was abysmal

Gawn looked sore and was completely ineffective

Looked like a young team that had run out of steam, plenty of players looking sore and unable to stick a tackle, which left WCE to move the ball with precision and ease

 

[Eternal Schism]

Happy with the lads for winning through to the preliminary final, they showed grit to win against two sides that were monkeys on their backs over the years. Can't help but feel we let a great chance slip away with the Pies being there, but that is football unfortunately. We clearly did not come prepared for that level of pressure, very blase in our tackling which is usually a strength for us. The players were rattled, we could all see it when they had their very few opportunities to go forward. Can't do anything but learn from our mistakes, clearly the lads got the message at 1/2 time and at least raised some coherency and intensity at the man. Have to go again next year, a few won't be there. The reality is that if we didn't blow those two Geelong games then we would have been the ones hosting the Eagles week one, we showed we could handle the Cats easily when it counted so that is inexcusable.

We have to push hard for 16 wins next year at a minimum in H&A, we already have the winning away from home thing down pat regardless of yesterday. The team has the right age profile, even if there is a miss step here or there just remember how Richmond fans were howling the demise of their team in 2016 after missing finals post 3 finals series flops. We're already 2 finals wins ahead, we showed that this Melbourne football club can put away teams in do or die matches. We have good contested football, a premiership requirement and play at the home of football. Our heart beats true, and there will be a premiership for the red and the blue!

 

[Tulip]

Virtue signalling? Not sure how you've come to think people are trying to assert moral superiority bringing up the 2000 GF loss. That's one weird reference you've made there.

Yep, mishandled the phrase there. Was going for a superiority angle, but the right term is certainly not virtue signalling

 

[schmuttt]

My issue isn’t with the season, it’s the sentiment that the loss is going to spur us to greater things. There seems to be some implication that we are guaranteed to improve next year.

We had a shot this year, and missed it, you need to make the most of every chance you get, we didn’t.

Nothing is guaranteed next year obviously but I’m confident we’ll be thereabouts in 2019. Don’t see anything wrong with that, it isn’t an outrageous opinion to suggest we will be a better team next year.

Yep, mishandled the phrase there. Was going for a superiority angle, but the right term is certainly not virtue signalling

Went full Topkent trying to sound too smart there

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

My issue isn’t with the season, it’s the sentiment that the loss is going to spur us to greater things. There seems to be some implication that we are guaranteed to improve next year.

We had a shot this year, and missed it, you need to make the most of every chance you get, we didn’t.

We will improve - only thing is of course that plenty of teams will have plenty of improvement left in them. Richmond, Essendon, North, Port, GWS, and the Bulldogs will all go up a notch over the offseason.

 

[demontim27]

Nothing is guaranteed next year obviously but I’m confident we’ll be thereabouts in 2019. Don’t see anything wrong with that, it isn’t an outrageous opinion to suggest we will be a better team next year.



Went full Topkent trying to sound too smart there

I’m apparently not getting my point across still. I’m by saying we won’t get better. Again, it’s that this finals loss is some sort of good motivation for the team that will ultimately help us.

 

[LeverPuller]

We will improve - only thing is of course that plenty of teams will have plenty of improvement left in them. Richmond, Essendon, North, Port, GWS, and the Bulldogs will all go up a notch over the offseason.

Don’t agree on North and Port. North had a remarkably good injury run and Waite was super important, and it looks like Port are about to shed a bucketload of their top talent

 

[Astro7]

You've got the arsenal, just need to fine tune team at draft/trade.
You finished 4th with your available team!
We were genuinely concerned going into this game given the press.
Reckon you're on the cusp. Just have take the next step.
2019 looks good for Dee's!

 

[Toump Ass]

Richmond, Essendon, North, Port, GWS, and the Bulldogs will all go up a notch over the offseason.

Collingwood and WC maybe too.

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

Collingwood and WC maybe too.

Yeah figured I didn’t need to include them. But they will definitely be stronger next year

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

Just took a look - the temperature was actually roughly the same yesterday as when we played them a month ago. Really don't understand how we managed to start so poorly in the middle of the ground.

 

[deltablues]

Would have loved to have seen a Collingwood-Melbourne GF.

Forget the Eagles game and look forward to seeing y'all in the Finals next year.