Let's put some things into perspective

[PonsfordMagpie]

I'm very disappointed with our performance tonight and I'll even admit that I was angry right after the game concluded so I decided to calm down and rationalise what happened. In hindsight, I shouldn't have raised my expectations as the season went on. I tipped this year to be a year of 'transition and further development' for our side so when I saw some impressive performances earlier in the year against Sydney, Richmond, North Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton (in round 7) my expectations went up a notch obviously. Now in light of recent form I'm sticking with my original expectations and attitude about 2014 being a year of 'transition and development'. We should also recognise that half of our players had played less than 50 games in today's game. This includes the following players:

Taylor Adams - 40 (20 years old)
Lachie Keefe - 34 (24 years old)
Paul Seedsman - 34 (22 years old)
Marley Williams - 30 (20 years old)
Sam Dwyer - 30 (27 years old)
Josh Thomas - 29 (22 years old)
Jarrod Witts - 20 (21 years old)
Brodie Grundy - 19 (20 years old)
Jack Frost - 17 (22 years old)
Ben Kennedy - 15 (20 years old)
Tom Langdon - 14 (20 years old)

I don't excuse our performance today whatsoever but seriously some people just need to remember that nearly half our team today has played under 50 games in their career so they're got long careers ahead of them apart from Sammy Dwyer obviously who is a mature age recruit for the club and with lack of game experience of course some players are going to naturally have poor games, but these games are going to make them great players in the future. Had Jamie Elliott played today he would have just reached his 50 game milestone today and the kid is only 21 years old so there's plenty of upside despite the way some are perceiving it at the moment.

Overall despite this setback I still feel like our future is bright nevertheless. We just need to continue to strive for greater improvement and improve in certain areas of our game. The most notable ones being our kicking skills and our tackling pressure which dropped off significantly today. Also we need some mongrel in this team! We lack it at the moment!

Anyway it just needs to be reminded that we have a relative young team so setbacks will occur along the way, but hopefully we're still building to something positive. Now we must regroup for the Essendon game next week and show some fight and determination! I'm expecting a swift response from the boys next week.

 

[TradeDraft]

Fantastic and Well Thought out Post.

Did better then Most of us on here Posting with Hot Heads.

Great Job

 

[Anzacday]

I'm very disappointed with our performance tonight and I'll even admit that I was angry right after the game concluded so I decided to calm down and rationalise what happened. In hindsight, I shouldn't have raised my expectations as the season went on. I tipped this year to be a year of 'transition and further development' for our side so when I saw some impressive performances earlier in the year against Sydney, Richmond, North Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton (in round 7) my expectations went up a notch obviously. Now in light of recent form I'm sticking with my original expectations and attitude about 2014 being a year of 'transition and development'. We should also recognise that half of our players had played less than 50 games in today's game. This includes the following players:

Taylor Adams - 40 (20 years old)
Lachie Keefe - 34 (24 years old)
Paul Seedsman - 34 (22 years old)
Marley Williams - 30 (20 years old)
Sam Dwyer - 30 (27 years old)
Josh Thomas - 29 (22 years old)
Jarrod Witts - 20 (21 years old)
Brodie Grundy - 19 (20 years old)
Jack Frost - 17 (22 years old)
Ben Kennedy - 15 (20 years old)
Tom Langdon - 14 (20 years old)

I don't excuse our performance today whatsoever but seriously some people just need to remember that nearly half our team today has played under 50 games in their career so they're got long careers ahead of them apart from Sammy Dwyer obviously who is a mature age recruit for the club and with lack of game experience of course some players are going to naturally have poor games, but these games are going to make them great players in the future. Had Jamie Elliott played today he would have just reached his 50 game milestone today and the kid is only 21 years old so there's plenty of upside despite the way some are perceiving it at the moment.

Overall despite this setback I still feel like our future is bright nevertheless. We just need to continue to strive for greater improvement and improve in certain areas of our game. The most notable ones being our kicking skills and our tackling pressure which dropped off significantly today. Also we need some mongrel in this team! We lack it at the moment!

Anyway it just needs to be reminded that we have a relative young team so setbacks will occur along the way, but hopefully we're still building to something positive. Now we must regroup for the Essendon game next week and show some fight and determination! I'm expecting a swift response from the boys next week.

I'm very disappointed with our performance tonight and I'll even admit that I was angry right after the game concluded so I decided to calm down and rationalise what happened. In hindsight, I shouldn't have raised my expectations as the season went on. I tipped this year to be a year of 'transition and further development' for our side so when I saw some impressive performances earlier in the year against Sydney, Richmond, North Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton (in round 7) my expectations went up a notch obviously. Now in light of recent form I'm sticking with my original expectations and attitude about 2014 being a year of 'transition and development'. We should also recognise that half of our players had played less than 50 games in today's game. This includes the following players:

Taylor Adams - 40 (20 years old)
Lachie Keefe - 34 (24 years old)
Paul Seedsman - 34 (22 years old)
Marley Williams - 30 (20 years old)
Sam Dwyer - 30 (27 years old)
Josh Thomas - 29 (22 years old)
Jarrod Witts - 20 (21 years old)
Brodie Grundy - 19 (20 years old)
Jack Frost - 17 (22 years old)
Ben Kennedy - 15 (20 years old)
Tom Langdon - 14 (20 years old)

I don't excuse our performance today whatsoever but seriously some people just need to remember that nearly half our team today has played under 50 games in their career so they're got long careers ahead of them apart from Sammy Dwyer obviously who is a mature age recruit for the club and with lack of game experience of course some players are going to naturally have poor games, but these games are going to make them great players in the future. Had Jamie Elliott played today he would have just reached his 50 game milestone today and the kid is only 21 years old so there's plenty of upside despite the way some are perceiving it at the moment.

Overall despite this setback I still feel like our future is bright nevertheless. We just need to continue to strive for greater improvement and improve in certain areas of our game. The most notable ones being our kicking skills and our tackling pressure which dropped off significantly today. Also we need some mongrel in this team! We lack it at the moment!

Anyway it just needs to be reminded that we have a relative young team so setbacks will occur along the way, but hopefully we're still building to something positive. Now we must regroup for the Essendon game next week and show some fight and determination! I'm expecting a swift response from the boys next week.

Great points you make, although they are a young side too and their skill level, decision making and endeavour was better than ours

 

[TradeDraft]

Great points you make, although they are a young side too and their skill level, decision making and endeavour was better than ours

Well Having about 20 1st Round PIcks sure helps out

 

[magpie90]

Add to that how good we have been in developing the kids then the future is bright and we will not be a club bottoming out. The question remains who and what do we need to lift that cup again. We will be competing against 2 talent driven teams in the suns and giants. We have done such a great job in getting top end talent onto the list in the last couple of years and next year we will be competing for many years to come.

 

[TradeDraft]

Add to that how good we have been in developing the kids then the future is bright and we will not be a club bottoming out. The question remains who and what do we need to lift that cup again. We will be competing against 2 talent driven teams in the suns and giants. We have done such a great job in getting top end talent onto the list in the last couple of years and next year we will be competing for many years to come.

Moore is a Top 5 Talent that we get in the 1st Round.

So do we try and Trade to get a 1st Round Pick we could use to Draft another Top End Prospect?

 

[Anzacday]

Well Having about 20 1st Round PIcks sure helps out

True, still doesn't change the fact we were beaten by a more skilful and desperate side who were also heavily undermanned in the end. The positives of the OP was our youth, which I agree with, I'm just putting some context around it.

 

[Demonalke]

My head has exploded, I have no perspective... though when I gather the pieces up I am sure I will agree with the OP.

 

[TradeDraft]

True, still doesn't change the fact we were beaten by a more skilful and desperate side who were also heavily undermanned in the end. The positives of the OP was our youth, which I agree with, I'm just putting some context around it.

That is True. Lot of Middle Aged Players have gone backwards.

Big One that stands out is Lumamba

Dwyer and Martin would not be in a Top 4 Team. Good Depth and that is it

 

[Gone Critical]

You have posted an interesting comment. I am a little different from you. I entered this season with greater hopes than most. I expected us to challenge for the top 4. Today's game and the Bulldogs game have put an end to that. It is becoming clearer we have slipped down the list a fair bit now. The difficulty is the further you fall the bigger the gap to return is. I had hoped we were just off the best teams but it seems the gap has grown

Perhaps our biggest dilemma going forward is if we couldn't eat GC tonight when they were so vulnerable how do we get ahead of them in the future? I thought our youngsters were pretty underwhelming today. Kennedy looks a good chance to develop but when you look at Bennel, Prestia, Swallow, Martin etc they have us more than covered

Our biggest issue is if we have slipped to the level of bottom 8 or just outside the 8 it means the gap between us and the top teams is a chasm.

 

[TradeDraft]

You have posted an interesting comment. I am a little different from you. I entered this season with greater hopes than most. I expected us to challenge for the top 4. Today's game and the Bulldogs game have put an end to that. It is becoming clearer we have slipped down the list a fair bit now. The difficulty is the further you fall the bigger the gap to return is. I had hoped we were just off the best teams but it seems the gap has grown

Perhaps our biggest dilemma going forward is if we couldn't eat GC tonight when they were so vulnerable how do we get ahead of them in the future? I thought our youngsters were pretty underwhelming today. Kennedy looks a good chance to develop but when you look at Bennel, Prestia, Swallow, Martin etc they have us more than covered

Our biggest issue is if we have slipped to the level of bottom 8 or just outside the 8 it means the gap between us and the top teams is a chasm.

So we are not a Top Side and Not a Bottom side with High Picks.

We are stuck in the Middle and Really No Man’s Land

 

[The Royal Sampler]

We should have won that. Much like when the Dogs had no Boyd coming into the game and lost Cooney 20-odd minutes into the game; we had the deck stacked in our favour and couldn't take advantage. When we had the dominance in general play, we couldn't apply pressure on the scoreboard because we are an awful team for kicking skills (some of this has to do with Elliott being out, but even so...) and then when they were dropping like flies and had no bench rotations, we still couldn't win the centre clearances.

We have a lot of work to do if we're to ascend from our current echelon in the 5th-8th bracket on the ladder.

 

[Anzacday]

My emotions have waxed and waned from the absolute lows of losing to Freo, the highs of our comeback on Anzac Day and the frustration of the stupid losses in winnable games to Cats, Crows, Dogs and Suns. I'm probably like most of you hoping that once we get our desired team on the park at the same time we will gel at the pointy end of the season, although it may well be too late. Truth be known it really was to be a year of consolidation I thought and maybe that's all we can hope for.

 

[TradeDraft]

My emotions have waxed and waned from the absolute lows of losing to Freo, the highs of our comeback on Anzac Day and the frustration of the stupid losses in winnable games to Cats, Crows, Dogs and Suns. I'm probably like most of you hoping that once we get our desired team on the park at the same time we will gel at the pointy end of the season, although it may well be too late. Truth be known it really was to be a year of consolidation I thought and maybe that's all we can hope for.

Well IF we do get the Best side in the next 2-3 weeks we could still finish 7th or 8th and hope for a Upset in the Elimination Fial

 

[Anzacday]

Well IF we do get the Best side in the next 2-3 weeks we could still finish 7th or 8th and hope for a Upset in the Elimination Fial

Then what?

 

[TradeDraft]

Then what?

We lose in the Semi to a Top 4 Side.

That be the Best I can Imagine for us but we need to get back to playing better footy ASAP

 

[Gone Critical]

Hate to say this but to put things in perspective our midfield is overrated. I put my hand up as guilty here. Swanny who I love has been a shell of himself this year. The wrist surgery may have stunted him but he is making mistakes with the ball all the time.

Pendles is a gun but he is not top 2 in the comp. Tonight he got disposals but was ineffective. The last Q was dying for the Pies to stand up and we needed a leader. Pendles didn't deliver and I reckon he hasn't most of the year. Beams is good inside but he has fallen away with his outside work. Sidey has been good our mid who has enhanced himself. Ball has been good, still a tyro but time is limited. The youngsters Adams, Thomas, Dwyer (inexperienced) etc just haven't kicked on.

 

[TradeDraft]

Hate to say this but to put things in perspective our midfield is overrated. I put my hand up as guilty here. Swanny who I love has been a shell of himself this year. The wrist surgery may have stunted him but he is making mistakes with the ball all the time.

Pendles is a gun but he is not top 2 in the comp. Tonight he got disposals but was ineffective. The last Q was dying for the Pies to stand up and we needed a leader. Pendles didn't deliver and I reckon he hasn't most of the year. Beams is good inside but he has fallen away with his outside work. Sidey has been good our mid who has enhanced himself. Ball has been good, still a tyro but time is limited. The youngsters Adams, Thomas, Dwyer (inexperienced) etc just haven't kicked on.

Adams has played about 6 games for the Club. How the Hell would he Kick on?

Think this post is a Tad Harsh. Pendles did what he does every week, No Player can win a game by themselves. Beams is about as good as you Expect. Not the Best he was in 2012 but he has not been the Worst

 

[Gone Critical]

Adams has played about 6 games for the Club. How the Hell would he Kick on?

Think this post is a Tad Harsh. Pendles did what he does every week, No Player can win a game by themselves. Beams is about as good as you Expect. Not the Best he was in 2012 but he has not been the Worst

Yeah it is harsh but we have midfielders who are meant to be ranked in the top of the comp. if you are that player it is pretty non negotiable that when a game is on the line like tonight you take control. I love Beams and Pendles and Swanny. Still tonight they were the guys who should have been in the vanguard dragging us over the line. Swan ans Beams missed shots they needed to make and Pendles just didn't take the game on and make a win happen. harsh yes but if you want to be a top 10 player that's non negotiable.

 

[TradeDraft]

Yeah it is harsh but we have midfielders who are meant to be ranked in the top of the comp. if you are that player it is pretty non negotiable that when a game is on the line like tonight you take control. I love Beams and Pendles and Swanny and Beamer. Still tonight they wer the guys who should have been in the vanguard tonight dragging us over the line. Swan ans Beams missed shots they needed to make and Pendles just didn't take the game on and make a win happen. harsh yes but if you want to be a top 10 player that's non negotiable.

I think our Midfield has been very overrated this season. Outside of Pendles who has really dominated like what has been Adverstised?

 

[TyronePie]

I'm very disappointed with our performance tonight and I'll even admit that I was angry right after the game concluded so I decided to calm down and rationalise what happened. In hindsight, I shouldn't have raised my expectations as the season went on. I tipped this year to be a year of 'transition and further development' for our side so when I saw some impressive performances earlier in the year against Sydney, Richmond, North Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton (in round 7) my expectations went up a notch obviously. Now in light of recent form I'm sticking with my original expectations and attitude about 2014 being a year of 'transition and development'. We should also recognise that half of our players had played less than 50 games in today's game. This includes the following players:

Taylor Adams - 40 (20 years old)
Lachie Keefe - 34 (24 years old)
Paul Seedsman - 34 (22 years old)
Marley Williams - 30 (20 years old)
Sam Dwyer - 30 (27 years old)
Josh Thomas - 29 (22 years old)
Jarrod Witts - 20 (21 years old)
Brodie Grundy - 19 (20 years old)
Jack Frost - 17 (22 years old)
Ben Kennedy - 15 (20 years old)
Tom Langdon - 14 (20 years old)

I don't excuse our performance today whatsoever but seriously some people just need to remember that nearly half our team today has played under 50 games in their career so they're got long careers ahead of them apart from Sammy Dwyer obviously who is a mature age recruit for the club and with lack of game experience of course some players are going to naturally have poor games, but these games are going to make them great players in the future. Had Jamie Elliott played today he would have just reached his 50 game milestone today and the kid is only 21 years old so there's plenty of upside despite the way some are perceiving it at the moment.

Overall despite this setback I still feel like our future is bright nevertheless. We just need to continue to strive for greater improvement and improve in certain areas of our game. The most notable ones being our kicking skills and our tackling pressure which dropped off significantly today. Also we need some mongrel in this team! We lack it at the moment!

Anyway it just needs to be reminded that we have a relative young team so setbacks will occur along the way, but hopefully we're still building to something positive. Now we must regroup for the Essendon game next week and show some fight and determination! I'm expecting a swift response from the boys next week.

No offence, but I think this post is tripe.

Im happy to be patient, as is any good supporter. But you cant honestly be dishing out excuses for blokes who just plain and simply aren't good enough.

Oh, and FYI, future isn't "bright" when your gameplan is just dyeabolical