Remove this Banner Ad

Grant Thomas - why the hate (for us)?

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

September_Glory said:
Didn't know playing devil's advocate would elicit such a strong reaction :D

Here's my response to your responses:

I know what the injury list was. I'm aware of Rosa not practicing, Cox playing injured before being shut down etc.

I also know we applied a game plan that we could not execute for more than a quarter at a time. Our ball use was appalling yet we persisted with a "let's play on at all cost" gameplan despite running A.Selwood, Ebert and Priddis as the prime midfield movers hoping to out gun opposition teams. On top of that, there were some questionable selection/tactical choices starting with Masten on the HFF for the entire year. (How's that worked out?)

Were we shit? Yes. Should we have won the wooden spoon? Hell no. The discombobulation on-field was a reflection of the off-field. More than once, I felt we simply gave up - players were confused, coaches had no answers.

I can't confidently say we went into every game with the intent on winning every quarter like this we have this year. Anyone who does, is lying to themselves.

There's a case to be made that we rolled over, that's all I'm saying.
Click to expand...

We persisted with the same game plan that is killing opponents this year. It is the same thing Hawthorn is doing now, persisting with a game plan they think will be successful, despite their injury list. You can change to a game plan that will allow you to save face, but if you won't win a premiership with it, what is the point? You'll just end up like St Kilda. Is that tanking? Or just good judgement that many in the media and on here were too short sighted to see?

I don't think Thomas was correct at all, as you are implying. When you start getting injuries and losing, the younger players coming in (our fit group was about 2 years younger last year) often lose confidence, which can result in them "rolling over". How is that anything like the clear tanking and putting players away early (which did not happen, in fact the opposite did, with us refusing to put our better players away for surgery), that Thomas referred to?

Anyone that thinks we tanked and or didn't try to win games last year from a coaching or administration perspective obviously has NFI about what happened to our club last year and therefore can't relate to why we are so much better this year. This is not just evident in Thomas, but many of our allegedly die hard supporters on here.
 
September_Glory said:
Tanking is such a taboo word.

Not meaning to get into semantics, but for me, tanking implies losing for significant benefits. There were no significant benefits, so there is no tanking.

Like I posted above, "rolling over" is the way I'ld describe the 2010 season.
Click to expand...

Rolling over or managing your list for long term success?

We all know about the Lions playing and winning a GF with a recond number of players taking pain killing injections, Black had a punctured lung and played. When the reward is there teams and players take risks with their bodies. When there is no tangible benefit in risking players short or long term health why take the risk?

We had injured players who could have played on, but decided to get surgeries done sooner so the following season they would be fit and ready. And wow, that has worked out nicely hasn't it.

In doing this we played more kids and more development games, wow that worked too.

We also played the kids ahead of older guys who most likely would be around the next time we played finals, and wow again, the kids like Smith and Stevens are coming along nicely.

The question for Grant is what would he have done differently?;)
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

ZergMinion said:
Wait, what? I remember Lappin playing with cracked ribs, but playing with a punctured lung is suicide. You'll collapse the other one pretty quickly and undergo respiratory failure.
Click to expand...

Ok, it was Lappin who needed the injection pregame with ribs but I recall that someone punctured a lung and only found out after the game and played through it.

Anyway the point is that players and clubs take risks with injury when the reward is there, when you are not even going to make finals you don't take risks, you get players fit and ready for next season.
 
greennick said:
We persisted with the same game plan that is killing opponents this year.
Click to expand...
Accrediting 2011's success to "following through with the game plan" is misleading. Our game plan has evolved from last year and the year before that. As some have noted, we are pushing our press even higher than last year and structurally, we are hitting up our HFF's and at least have the ability, if not the always the willingness, to lower our eyes going i50.

All round improvements from many different areas (kicking skills, a big one) and luck with injuries have been the biggest contributors to the improvement, I feel.

I don't think Thomas was correct at all, as you are implying. When you start getting injuries and losing, the younger players coming in (our fit group was about 2 years younger last year) often lose confidence, which can result in them "rolling over". How is that anything like the clear tanking and putting players away early (which did not happen, in fact the opposite did, with us refusing to put our better players away for surgery), that Thomas referred to?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure, did Thomas actually use the word "tank"? I did not hear him say that last night.

As I posted above. To me, there is a distinction (ie: I'm in agreement with you here) but it doesn't really matter what I think does it?

What was more interesting was that Caro and Hutchy intimated that Demetriou might have hinted at WCE not to bring negative attention (tanking) upon itself in 09' when that was clearly the year to tank, if ever.

Anyone that thinks we tanked and or didn't try to win games last year from a coaching or administration perspective obviously has NFI about what happened to our club last year and therefore can't relate to why we are so much better this year. This is not just evident in Thomas, but many of our allegedly die hard supporters on here.
Click to expand...
Tanking, no. But Worsfold and Nisbett have already stated that the management structure in the wake of the '07 incidents was flawed. A structure that resulted in a distancing between playing group and coaching group.

That disconnect was evident on field and for that, the coaching group and administration didn't fulfill their responsibilities to the players. It wasn't intentional, obviously, but that's what happened and it's all on record.

I choose to look at every link in the chain and not just the ones that are easiest to follow... and I have NFI?
 
Ash Hansen has been quoted as saying our game plan this year is merely a perfection of what we have been trying for several years.

For some reason I really resent the accusation/insinuation that West Coast players and coaching staff "rolled over", gave up on a regular basis, were intentionally not competitive ect we were just a bad/poor team last year, but we didn't roll over. we were overrun in frequently in the second halves, but to say we gave up at quarter time is just wrong.
 
I actually laughed when the question was raised how the eagles had improved exponentially from last year and there was a slight pause, no real effort at putting up a theory just tomo saying we may have manufactured a few losses last year and a few half hearted agreements from the rest.
Good to see Garry giving us a real shot at making the granny though.:rolleyes:
 
i watch the show for laughs, it's so far behind the others.

couldn't care less how they rate our players, i wouldnt expect them to think too much of us.

i'm happy for us to just keep going about our thing, playing hard footy and winning most games.
 
Grant's not that bad, what he says makes sense, and I believe him re the Blight affair.

I don't think he hates us at all, it's more Hutchi and other media than anything else.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Naitanui & Special K > McEvoy > Smith.

Honestly Naitanui and Kreuzers statistics are warped by how they are used in games, given the role of Smith and McEvoy they would be statistically all over them. At the moment they are pretty similar.

Goldy isn't in the same age bracket.
 
Gary Lyon really pisses me off. In 2009, he accused the Eagles of tanking halfway through the season, despite the fact we'd won more games than his beloved Demons. I have no doubt he was worried the Eagles would spoil Melbourne's plans of getting the consecutive PP's. I really hope Scully goes to GWS. Not that I'm bitter or anything;).
 
xLeCrAs2x said:
If you arent A wce supporter then gtfo you f**kwit, all you ever have to say is negative things about the eagles i see it everyday from you, its either you are a grumpy old man or a troll.
Which one is it?
Click to expand...
Attention seeker.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

All i can say is i'm giving up on watching this show. These so called Analysts of the game are nothing but. They all have other media obligations whether it be with Melbourne Radio, T.V and Papers and therefore only really comment on a interstate team when either they
A. are going incredibly well and therefore cannot be ignored or
B. are going incredibly bad which allows them to pull their claws

However when A. is the situation we get stupid propositions put forth like tanking for a PP or Lyon's Gem for whatever reason Cox was injured last year???

And when presented with option B. all they do is spew out some statistical bullshit that does no good to the root of the problem.

They only know Victorian teams because it's what they get paid for. Melbourne supporters couldn't give a shit about us.
Simple as that.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Grant Thomas - why the hate (for us)?

Similar threads

T
Expectations for 2026
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
169
Views
10K
Mighty Eagles
Mighty Eagles
RustyShacklefordFalcon
The Official Eagles EPL Thread ⚽
2 3
Replies
55
Views
2K
evans1863
E
Keys
Up the Coasters 2026 Player Sponsor Draft
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
155
Views
6K
Farmer Lister
Farmer Lister
Cuzz09
Banter The No Dazzlering Big Cricket Thread - 2025/26 Ashes Edition
99 100 101 102 103
Replies
3K
Views
54K
FKASC
FKASC

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top