Autopsy Eagles 92 defeat Dogs 85

[_Mike_]

Seems like one of the main differences between this team and the 2016 team.

The 23 team has conceded over 200 points more than the 16 team did at comparable stages of the season (near end of season) . Our defensive structure has been a major problem this season, underpinned by a combination of injuries and depth issues.

2016 best 6

B:	39 Jason Johannisen (inj)	30 Joel Hamling	5 Matthew Boyd
HB:	24 Shane Biggs	38 Dale Morris	10 Easton Wood (c) (inj)

Depth - Roberts, Cordy, Dale, Adams


2023 best 6

B:	17 Josh Bruce (inj)	19 Liam Jones (inj)	39 Jason Johannisen (Inj)
HB:	31 Bailey Dale	42 Alex Keath (inj)	20 Ed Richards (inj)

Depth: Gardner, VDM, O'Brien, O'Donnell, Daniel

 

[Next Waiting]

The 23 team has conceded over 200 points more than the 16 team did at comparable stages of the season (near end of season) . Our defensive structure has been a major problem this season, underpinned by a combination of injuries and depth issues.

2016 best 6

B:	39 Jason Johannisen (inj)	30 Joel Hamling	5 Matthew Boyd
HB:	24 Shane Biggs	38 Dale Morris	10 Easton Wood (c) (inj)

Depth - Roberts, Cordy, Dale, Adams


2023 best 6

B:	17 Josh Bruce (inj)	19 Liam Jones (inj)	39 Jason Johannisen (Inj)
HB:	31 Bailey Dale	42 Alex Keath (inj)	20 Ed Richards (inj)

Depth: Gardner, VDM, O'Brien, O'Donnell, Daniel

As Norm has said multiple times, our forward's collective inability to defend has placed enormous pressure on our sluggish midfield to cover, and when that inevitably fails, our backline looks like sh1t, gets its arse handed to it and cops the blame.

Jones, JOD, Richards, JJ, Dale look like 5 of the back 6 to which one more is added. I'm not sure if we've seen that combination at all this year, mainly due to injury, but even if we had, there's not a lot they could have done about the defensive rot that started in the fwd 50.

2016 was a team of committed pressure and tackling players and I assume their tackle attempts to effective tackles would be pretty good. And a lot of that was in the fwd 50 with Picken, Clay, Dunkley and McLean (Biggs when he up there too - never forget). We don't have anything like that sort of defensive resolve in our fwd 50 currently and there are some very suspect defenders in the midfield/on the wings too.

It's the part that surprises me a little about Bubba Smith's moving on. His line has been ravaged by injury all year and wasn't/isn't our biggest issue defensively.

 

[_Mike_]

It's the part that surprises me a little about Bubba Smith's moving on. His line has been ravaged by injury all year and wasn't/isn't our biggest issue defensively

understandable which was the intent of highlighting the issues across the backline this year. The forward line is another topic all together however its been a bad season for injuries unbalancing the setup

 

[suetonius]

Richmond don’t play there often either.

Neither do Essendon, Hawthorne and Carlton.

Yes yes I know. I've posted stats on this before.

It's a bit off topic for this thread but here's part of what I posted lasted year.
[2020 was the heavily covid affected year with games having to be rescheduled all over the place. This table is based on how the fixture was published prior to covid, i.e. what the AFL's original intention was]
View attachment 1781627
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apologies if it takes a little bit of study to work out what this table is saying.
Here's the guts of it:

• We have been scheduled at KP nine times out of 11 years (10 out of 12 if you count 2023). If it was perfectly balanced for all clubs we would have played them away only 7 times over that period.
• Meanwhile over that period Carlton have been scheduled there twice, Essendon once and Richmond twice. Collingwood not at all.
• Over those 11 years:
  • Carlton has played Geelong in 5 away games and 3 of those have been at Docklands (their home ground at the time).
  • Essendon has played Geelong in 6 away games and 5 of those have been at its home ground, the MCG.
  • Richmond has played Geelong in 6 away games and 4 of those have been at its home ground, the MCG.
  • Collingwood has played Geelong in only 3 away games and they have ALL been at their home ground, the MCG.
• In games between the WB and Geelong over 11 years we have played 9 times at KP and only 6 times at Docklands.
• In games between Geelong and all of Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond combined they have played 5 times at KP and 46 times at either MCG or Docklands!
• On average over 11 years you should have double-ups against any particular side (playing a side twice in one H&A season) about 3.25 times. We've had Geelong four times. Those other four clubs have only had Geelong 7 times (should be 13).

It's worse if you go back further. Collingwood last played there in 1999. Carlton didn't play there from 1998 to 2017. Essendon didn't play there from 1993 to 2020. Richmond by contrast have had to play there a whole 8 times this century. They must be ropeable! Hawthorn have played there only three times this century.

Meanwhile we've been scheduled there 14 times this century. Other smaller clubs like North (18 times this century), Melbourne (19 times) and St Kilda (11 times) suffer the KP/Geelong syndrome roughly as much as we do. In other words, we four clubs take the difficult games thus subsidising the cushy run that those other five Melbourne clubs are getting.

Vive l'égalité!

Small correction re Essendon.

Round 18 2023 was the first time Essendon played a genuine away game at Kardinia Park since Rd 21 1993. The two games that were played during COVID crowd restrictions should not count (especially since one of them was played against Gold Coast).

 

[Norm De Guerre]

12 hours or so on...

Beveridge has always been an emotional, people first, man management kind of coach. Perhaps he was better suited to the role that he had lined up at St.Kilda before the last minute Luke Darcy tap on the shoulder that he got to reconsider and come over to us and be head coach.

His post game address to the players can be seen in a few football related ways in my view.

1. He's been told that his tenure will end at the conclusion of the season. This news is still tightly held within the inner sanctum.

2. He's been told that his tenure will end at the conclusion of the season. And its been announced to the playing group. The more I think about it the less likely it seems. Im 100% certain that given the size of the playing group and those in the inner sanctum present that news of beverages imminent departure would have leaked out by now.

3. He's been told that there will be major changes behind the scenes and that people he was personally responsible for bringing to the club are about to be let go. This tracks in line with the clubs statements about Beveridges future.

4. There's undoubtably others scenarios that could be gamed out.

Regardless, it was a very raw and odd piece of selectively edited vision to release for public consumption. One that has only ramped up speculation and was best left behind closed doors as I cannot see what purpose was intended with it beyond showing how wounded the clubs public figurehead was.

I won't speculate on his personal life and how that may or may not be playing into all this.

Yesterday. I thought he was gone. Today, Im not so sure.

Another 12 hours on...who the * knows?

 

[BEaston]

I think we miss Daniel down back. His ability to mop up groundballs was second to none. Apart from Red and Jones, we're very fumbly under pressure back there. I mean he's an All Australian backman... has not reached anywhere near the same heights since moving up the ground.

I'd be moving on Duryea (sad to say as he's my favourite player) and shifting Daniel back. Richards can play lockdown if required.

3 tall configuration is generally rubbish. Especially if it includes Keath, and only works if JOD is the 3rd tall.

Jones, JOD/Gardner (depending on matchups), Dale, Richards, JJ, Daniel, VDM would be my back 7 group. You could play with JOD as 3rd tall with Gardner at VDM's expense if you wanted on matchups also.

 

[Next Waiting]

understandable which was the intent of highlighting the issues across the backline this year. The forward line is another topic all together however its been a bad season for injuries unbalancing the setup

I've feel we've lost sight of how important it is for forwards to defend as we've been mired in their conversion woes (which granted is very unhelpful).

We expect the defenders to attack. Similarly, we should demand that the forwards defend ... with intent.

 

[BEaston]

12 hours or so on...

Beveridge has always been an emotional, people first, man management kind of coach. Perhaps he was better suited to the role that he had lined up at St.Kilda before the last minute Luke Darcy tap on the shoulder that he got to reconsider and come over to us and be head coach.

I don't buy this. He was tactically brilliant in his early years (and in 2021 IMO). He made several changes that change the thinking around strategy and tactics in the game.
He was consistently voted as one of, if not the, best coach by his peers.

Listen to him speak back then and it was clear he had a deep understanding of that side of the game.

As time has gone on, I'm not sure what's happened. Whether it's the support around him or he's just been ground down but he's lost his touch there. Now just speaks in generalities, and cliches... sounding more like BMac every day.

 

[Norm De Guerre]

As Norm has said multiple times, our forward's collective inability to defend has placed enormous pressure on our sluggish midfield to cover, and when that inevitably fails, our backline looks like sh1t, gets its arse handed to it and cops the blame.

Jones, JOD, Richards, JJ, Dale look like 5 of the back 6 to which one more is added. I'm not sure if we've seen that combination at all this year, mainly due to injury, but even if we had, there's not a lot they could have done about the defensive rot that started in the fwd 50.

2016 was a team of committed pressure and tackling players and I assume their tackle attempts to effective tackles would be pretty good. And a lot of that was in the fwd 50 with Picken, Clay, Dunkley and McLean (Biggs when he up there too - never forget). We don't have anything like that sort of defensive resolve in our fwd 50 currently and there are some very suspect defenders in the midfield/on the wings too.

It's the part that surprises me a little about Bubba Smith's moving on. His line has been ravaged by injury all year and wasn't/isn't our biggest issue defensively.

The closest we got to that back 6 was in round 21. the only guy missing was Richards.

There have been two constants in postings all season.

Our forward pressure and playing 3 ( at times without Jones we had 3 lumbering and fumbling) talls in defence.

I don't think its a coincidence that when we addressed my two biggest gripes that we had our last and perhaps best win of the season.

I don't buy this. He was tactically brilliant in his early years (and in 2021 IMO). He made several changes that change the thinking around strategy and tactics in the game.
He was consistently voted as one of, if not the, best coach by his peers.

Listen to him speak back then and it was clear he had a deep understanding of that side of the game.

As time has gone on, I'm not sure what's happened. Whether it's the support around him or he's just been ground down but he's lost his touch there. Now just speaks in generalities, and cliches... sounding more like BMac every day.

Perhaps that was built upon his man management skills and the assistants that he had around him.

Im in no way suggesting that he was lucky, or cannot coach. What Im suggesting is that no man is an island of coaching genius or failure.

I agree that as it stands he just comes across as a man bereft of the self confidence, ideas and left exposed, once the pillars of his support were taken away.

Perhaps this is why the club is publicly doubling down and making noises about getting him proper coaching support.

This of course could be a smokescreen.

As an aside. What is the defining coaching tenet or innovation of his time as coach?

 

[suetonius]

Given that Geelong have lots of players going under the knife now that they can no longer make finals (this only comes out now that they are out of finals contention), I was wondering if we might have the same problems and we are hiding it and playing injured players because we are still a chance for finals? This could explain our flat end-of-season form.

 

[_Mike_]

FFS, I couldn't listen after that.

Paints a picture of defeat and throwing in the towel. I think he knows his position as coach has become untenable. The lack of expression from the players said it all.

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

I don't know what was yelled at the players and I have no intention of watching it. I thought we were better than that, and quite frankly the people that do that are symptomatic of the social media generation. Its less about the true expression and more about "look at me me me me".

No it’s actually a throwback to the 70’s/80’s when, after and bad loss, the team would be abused and spat on as they ran up the race that was only covered by hurricane fence wire. It’s old school.
What they players needed after that game was a bloody good roasting from the coach as well. I shudder to think what Malthouse would have done to the players after a loss like that in the mid 80’s!!! jesus! the paint would be peeling off the walls.
This generation of soft, emotional beings need a good clip over the ear sometimes.