Autopsy Magpies Season 2020

[magpies42]

There is some element of truth in what you say.

But some of this is on the club and it’s list management strategy for retaining so many vulnerable players. For example Reid has had chronic soft tissue injuries for years. Broomhead been on the list for 8 years for 30 odd games, when is enough enough?

The management and reoccurrence of injuries has been a massive issue, but no more so than the recruitment and retention of injury prone players.


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Yep we are afraid to cut our losses!

 

[mwhop]

If Grundy had a good year and an inside mid like sier had come on, we'd be in this up to our necks.
Our game is built around winning clearances yet we barely won them this year. No need to worry too much about the finer points if your engine room isn't up to scratch. You need a superstar in the guts like swanny to win a flag, but plenty of teams win flags with stop gaps and role players round the field. We aren't too bad and our backline is fantastic.

 

[gouki88]

Remember the belting we got in 2009 Prelim by Geelong? What happened the next year? Keep the faith guys, winning premierships is never an easy feat.

Who is going to be the 2020 version of Jolly and Ball? Are Ben Brown and Jack Gunston the two we need? Not saying I want those two in particular

 

[magpies42]

Who is going to be the 2020 version of Jolly and Ball? Are Ben Brown and Jack Gunston the two we need? Not saying I want those two in particular

We need a Daniel Wells type, and a better strategy...can’t be all about defending. We need centre clearances and better more direct transition to make the forward’s job easier. I think our forwards are actually ok, can of course be improved but our big weakness is ball movement.

 

[JB1975]

A lot of uncertainty about this season, about whether there'd even be a season.

I'd f****** despise a season-long road trip. I would hate almost every minute of it. Plenty would embrace it, or love it in fragments.

In any case I've got no doubt that the performance of teams and individuals has been thrown around, and we won't really know what it has all meant until next season.

I appreciate that the AFL and the clubs have cobbled together a season. I still feel good about our win over West Coast. I feel good that Daicos has become a player, and that others like Noble and Madgen have shown that they belong.

 

[domin8tors]

Add Phillips as gonski.

I would be very tempted to trade Treloar and/or Sidey. Possibly Elliott as well. I also think Grundy is taking up too much of the salary cap. Let’s be real here. Year 6 & 7 ain’t going to be worth the million per year. So already half the deal is bad.

We need a proper shake up in the midfield.

I'm a little against trading players that are 'fabric' to the club it can break culture, look at Adelaide, Melbourne and St.kilda in recent memory. trading treloar who bleeds black and white would not be wise, his contract will be up i think soon and will be on a reduced salary. we don't need wholesale changes. we know Key forward is one Cox has been the best player on our list to fulfill that role but if we can get a gusnton or snag Cameron. key back is another spot. and then a genuine electric crumbing forward and Wing. essentially from our side last night

Howe comes in for magden. A key back comes in for roughhead. a key forward comes in for Cox. an electric forward in for thomas and a wing comes in for mayne.

 

[No SPIN]

If someone could quantify the impact of:

• 15 weeks away from Melb and the disruption to daily routine
• Constant interstate travel
• Constant relocation
• Disrupted training, recovery and preparation
• Compromised downtime and ability to “switch off”, living in a hub
• And the impact on mental health of all the above

Then projecting into 2021 would be far more straightforward.
As it stands I suspect that last week was not an aberration - because when we’re on we are very capable.

Last night was an aberration just like Geel kicking 1.5 up to 3 QTR time against Rich 4 weeks ago.

Not sure that the elation and positivity about our list, after last week, can be completely extinguished by last night, as so many here have done.

 

[stormskye]

If someone could quantify the impact of:

• 15 weeks away from Melb and the disruption to daily routine
• Constant interstate travel
• Constant relocation
• Disrupted training, recovery and preparation
• Compromised downtime and ability to “switch off”, living in a hub
• And the impact on mental health of all the above

Then projecting into 2021 would be far more straightforward.
As it stands I suspect that last week was not an aberration - because when we’re on we are very capable.

Last night was an aberration just like Geel kicking 1.5 up to 3 QTR time against Rich 4 weeks ago.

Not sure that the elation and positivity about our list, after last week, can be completely extinguished by last night, as so many here have done.

A single game I’d agree and call an aberration. We’ve been handed three 10 goal losses, which in shorter games is basically 80pts. A good team doesn’t lose 3 games by that margin, it just doesn’t happen. . Add to the fact last night we kicked 1 goal in a final... we only kicked our second when geel left the ground.

We finished 8th, belong there, and have some work to do to match it with the best teams. Of more concern is bris adding Daniher, geel adding talent. I fear we are getting left behind.

 

[No SPIN]

A single game I’d agree and call an aberration. We’ve been handed three 10 goal losses, which in shorter games is basically 80pts. A good team doesn’t lose 3 games by that margin, it just doesn’t happen. . Add to the fact last night we kicked 1 goal in a final... we only kicked our second when geel left the ground.

We finished 8th, belong there, and have some work to do to match it with the best teams. Of more concern is bris adding Daniher, geel adding talent. I fear we are getting left behind.

like I said in the previous post if you can quantify the impact of the bullet points listed and also add the fact we used 40 players then I could give your assessment a more informed response.

 

[Scratchy05]

I'd say it was below expectations from the start of 2020 but once we had the down form in the middle of the year, I'd say making the semi finals were a good result. Just the way we finished up sucked

 

[gouki88]

If someone could quantify the impact of:

• 15 weeks away from Melb and the disruption to daily routine
• Constant interstate travel
• Constant relocation
• Disrupted training, recovery and preparation
• Compromised downtime and ability to “switch off”, living in a hub
• And the impact on mental health of all the above

Then projecting into 2021 would be far more straightforward.
As it stands I suspect that last week was not an aberration - because when we’re on we are very capable.

Last night was an aberration just like Geel kicking 1.5 up to 3 QTR time against Rich 4 weeks ago.

Not sure that the elation and positivity about our list, after last week, can be completely extinguished by last night, as so many here have done.

I'd be much more willing to think of it as an aberration if we didn't have two other 10 goal beltings this year

 

[Finnishpie]

I anticipate a bit of a list turnover and even players with contract likely unable to be guaranteed best 22 spots now. Reid, varcoe, dunn, roughead, Langdon ( I hope not ) thomas, mayne. Experiment with wiils over with. Beams, scharenberg and broomhead. . that's a fair list cull

Yeah, I feel this is as far as this list can go. Missing a few key pieces. Don’t need to bottom out but a step back before we can challenge again in, say, 3 years.

 

[Finnishpie]

If someone could quantify the impact of:

• 15 weeks away from Melb and the disruption to daily routine
• Constant interstate travel
• Constant relocation
• Disrupted training, recovery and preparation
• Compromised downtime and ability to “switch off”, living in a hub
• And the impact on mental health of all the above

Then projecting into 2021 would be far more straightforward.
As it stands I suspect that last week was not an aberration - because when we’re on we are very capable.

Last night was an aberration just like Geel kicking 1.5 up to 3 QTR time against Rich 4 weeks ago.

Not sure that the elation and positivity about our list, after last week, can be completely extinguished by last night, as so many here have done.

thing is, pretty much every club has faced these challenges. And we just haven’t looked capable against the top sides - the west coast game an exception.

I see out entire season as an example of just not being quite good enough and a few key injuries emphasising that.

 

[No SPIN]

I'd be much more willing to think of it as an aberration if we didn't have two other 10 goal beltings this year

the Melb game was after 4 games in 14 days.
And in each of the others we beat the same team during the year.
So your point is moot.

 

[Pedro]

thing is, pretty much every club has faced these challenges. And we just haven’t looked capable against the top sides - the west coast game an exception.

I see out entire season as an example of just not being quite good enough and a few key injuries emphasising that.

We actually didn't do too badly against most of the top sides. We managed a win against all bar Port and Brisbane (an 8 and a 16 point loss)and the draw with Richmond. We did what we have done in recent seasons and lost games we probably should be expected to win. God knows what happened last night but this year has been weird in a lot of ways.

 

[No SPIN]

thing is, pretty much every club has faced these challenges. And we just haven’t looked capable against the top sides - the west coast game an exception.

I see out entire season as an example of just not being quite good enough and a few key injuries emphasising that.

correct every team faced these challenges but not equally- eg. no team had 4 games in 14 days in 3 states?

Which Top teams have we not looked capable against and why?

 

[magpies42]

I'd be much more willing to think of it as an aberration if we didn't have two other 10 goal beltings this year

I felt we should have used an opportunity to rest players before the west coast game, we had a brutal run of games with interstate travel. We did not manage that well at all. We should have sacrificed the west coast game, and we then would have been more competitive against the Dee’s.

Simply poor management.

Grundy injured I am certain, should have been rested.

 

[stormskye]

the Melb game was after 4 games in 14 days.
And in each of the others we beat the same team during the year.
So your point is moot.

That’s true. But, good teams play consistent football, we don’t. The gap between our best and worst is huge, and of huge concern. That’s what separates us from the best teams.

Even if you break down our wins. We played 1 good quarter of football in most of them. We just can’t put it together for long enough consistently enough.

 

[10571z]

I’d give Broomy a rookie spot if we don’t have better alternatives, similar to Dunn. I’d also keep Mayne as a ‘squad’ type player, does the hard stuff and can play just about any position. Good for development purposes in the VFL, can show the kids how to go about it. having said that, the big unknown is list sizes given the cap reduction.

I would trade Stephenson to get what we need, we can’t afford to wait and see whether he will turn into what some on here expect.

Don’t mind the call on Treloar, but that won’t happen. Buckley loves him, I think we keep unless we get an amazing offer for him.

Sidey, no way we trade him. I was very disappointed with his decision not to return to the squad after his babies birth, but he’s an outstanding player. Similar to Pendles I think he’ll play another 3 years of good quality football.

Broomhead are you serious? The bloke has been gifted a career after showing zero.

 

[barrackers]

the Melb game was after 4 games in 14 days.
And in each of the others we beat the same team during the year.
So your point is moot.

And the WC debacle followed the announcement that we wouldn't be returning to Melb after 1 month away and instead would face an indefinite time hubbing in Queensland. Plus Pendlebury pulled out in the warm up, which added to the absences of DeGoey, Sidebottom and Howe.

 

[stormskye]

I think everyone should post their best summation of our season in a GIF:

here’s mine

 

[magpies42]

Broomhead are you serious? The bloke has been gifted a career after showing zero.

So much talent, has all the attributes...just needs some continuity. Could be the missing bit of class and speed to fix our midfield problems. Surely our luck turns...

 

[peter9789]

Broomhead are you serious? The bloke has been gifted a career after showing zero.

100% correct. It’s simply bizarre that he has been on the list for 8 years. Should have been shipped of 2-3 years ago


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[Robroy22]

Its been a LONG short season. Anyone else exhausted by it?
Some good things have come out of it (Daicos, Madge, IQ, Noble) but some bad things have happened too (Suspensions, Injuries, all that travel and inconsistency). I guess if we'd gone down in a tight tussle last night, then that may have been acceptable to even the most critical "supporter" but we didn't and now the critics will devour the corpse of 2020.

It's always been interesting in my family dynamic when WE play the Cats. Either way it feels like a win and a loss. I'm happy for Patrick and hope he now goes all the way to the only goal that has eluded him and to the rest of the Cats team (who are really good blokes also) I wish them all the best.

For my Pies, its time now to get home to your families, lick your wounds or (get the surgeries done) and then realise that NO SURGERY is ever gonna fix that hole inside you that last night has left there. This pre-season will BURN....every training session will try to erase the memory of one goal until three quarter time. Some blokes will leave and be replaced by other blokes. I'd love it if we could get some new coaching blood into the mix (assistants) and NON-Collingwood old boys but I'm cognisant of the fact that NB has 2021 to try and claw back the respect we lost last night.

2021 has to be a different style. We cannot survive by outlasting our opponents forever, we have to WIN games rather than save them. Another poster mentioned a while back that he believed if Bucks hasn't got the team firing by round 10 next season that it would be time for a change right about then....I'm hoping that we'll be 10-0 and on top of the ladder at that stage!

Draft wisely Pies.

 

[Yidaki]

I think one factor played a decisive role in our season this year and that was the hub and travel. You can pretty much take it to the bank that the two teams who have had a pretty settled year (no to very little hub) will make the GF. And that is Port and Brisbane.

At the end of the day, the players are humans and not robots. Most players need downtime and personal space between games to do the things outside of football that they enjoy. Being in the hub did not allow this. They were confined to a certain area week after week. They were basically all on top of each other. Personally, I would have hated this. I don't care how much money I was being paid, but being in a hub would have been extremely taxing mentally. No doubt there were many players were struggled with this. And when you are struggling mentally it affects your on field performance. No amount of mental toughness will improve that.

I think players like Grundy, Stevo, Pendles, and Moore would have struggled with this. But I think Grundy struggled the most. I knew he was experiencing mental health struggles with being in the hub. You could see it on his face. It's the main reason he has not performed well at all this year. He is an introverted character and a deep thinker. I'm sure he has a lot of hobbies he does between games that helps to keep him centered and focused on playing football. I don't care how much money the bloke is being paid. He was clearly struggling mentally this year.

I also don't care about them being in a 5-star resort. Their movements are still confined. They can't go for a drive. They can't go out to meet friends. They can't do normal things that we all do. And I know folk in Vic have been in this place for most of the year. But these players are expected to perform at an elite level while their personal lives have been significantly changed. Change for most of us is difficult at the best of times let alone being expected to play at the top level week in week out. I've also been to Twin Waters. Let me tell you it's a bit of shit hole. The whole place needs serious renovations. It's far from a 5-star resort. Sure being at the beach is nice, but it gets old quick.

So, with that all said, I think it's safe to say we did as best as we could this year given the circumstances that were thrown at us namely the hardest draw (travel part of it) out of any team in the league. We finished 8th and won one of the best finals to date.

It's also clear to me though that we need to cut some dead wood from the team and be aggressive during the trade. Players like Thomas, Phillips, WHE, Varcoe and possibly Maybe need to go. We need a KPF. We are also a few big body mids short.

I don't feel it all falls on Bucks shoulders. I will give Bucks one more year under a normal season to see if he can get this side a flag.

One last thing. I don't berate Sidebottom for leaving the hub to be with his first child. It's his earlier actions that have left a sour taste in my mouth. He has let the club down this year and as Vice Captain that isn't good enough. I'd honestly prefer if Maynard took over the role as Vice Captain. Sidebottom owes us big time next year.