Autopsy Positives and Negatives vs Sydney

[dkalphy]

Good, continue to tank

 

[Coasters7]

Good point. Melbourne did lose a lot of players in 2019 and 2020 and finished second last and 9th.

Their is an argument to say our system needs a change but as Simmo keeps saying, he hasn't been able to demonstrate the change due to the number of players that are out.

I think they need to strip it back. Players should not come into the team until fully fit (which probably means a couple of WAFL games for conditioning). Let's stop kidding ourselves and rushing our senior mids back in. Now is the time to try and get them fit and hopefully we might see some games in the second half of the year where our first choice midfield is fit and firing.

This will give the young guys more games while the senior players and coming back from injury.

Yes, we'll lose more games, but I'd rather see us working to get the players back into shape than getting pumped by 10 goals and achieving nothing.

I think this year we’re just picking players out of necessity. In the past (Bulldogs game) they were clearly mistakes, or possibly a similar feel of desperation, but this game Simmo 100% knew we’d get spanked and did it anyway. He knows this is the final hurrah for this list, so if the players are available then play them, because come next year it won’t matter how much synergy they have when the average age of the best 22 is 30+. He hasn’t thrown in the towel on the season but he doesn’t have weeks to wait to build into the year either. We can’t afford to waste a month, come home with a wet sail and peter out to a 9th or 10th, so it’s now or never.


I reckon if we get to the bye and we’re firmly rooted to the bottom of the ladder he might just call stumps on the season and we’ll see some retirements and the kids played.

 

[junebug]

He knows this is the final hurrah for this list

Then why not start ringing the changes now and giving the youngsters more time on ground to hone their skills? It's not like playing our senior players is going to result in another surprise premiership and they shouldn't be played just because they are expecting to be played.

Last night was a travesty. I actually went to the North Melbourne game and was so much happier with the loss because the men on the field TRIED. Last night there was no try. Why not? Perhaps because the older players don't care enough to put the effort in when they know they are going to lose anyway.

Whatever the reason, I'd much rather watch a bunch of lesser-known, lesser-skilled players who at least TRY.

 

[Dark Sharks]

If i read "XON and Hough wouldn't have made a difference to the result!" one more time i'm going to have a stroke


No shit, they wouldn't have made a difference. it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Nobody is saying we'd have won if they played, or lost by less.

But it's the WAY we would've lost, which is what people prefer to see, than the shit show our returning underdone 'stars' dished up with that embarrassment.


I could happily sit there for 4 quarters, and watch Hough, West and XON, go down scrapping with their shit foot skills, being outclassed by better opponents. At least you can sit there and watch them give 100%, watch them crack in knowing their place in the side depends on their performance. Like Duggan says, it lifts the players around them and gives energy to their teammates. It's what youth does to a team. It also excites the crowd seeing that sort of effort.


What i'm not happy to sit through on the other hand, is our stars being absolutely invisible for the first quarter as we're blown off the park. Watch Tim Kelly

11

Tim Kelly

Age

31

Ht

184cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.6

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

10.1

5star

M

3.4

3star

T

4.0

5star

CL

4.9

5star

D

19.9

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

7.6

4star

M

3.1

3star

T

4.7

5star

CL

3.6

4star

D

21.6

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

11.2

5star

M

2.8

3star

T

3.8

5star

CL

3.8

5star

clearly look underdone as he clumsily runs from one swans midfielder to another trying to put pressure on, and stumbling over himself due to his lack of match fitness. Or Yeo drop his head because the game isn't panning out how he thought. Or Shuey try and duck his way into a tackle out of desperation to win himself an easy free kick. These are the actions of unfit players who aren't ready to step back into this side, and the intensity of AFL football.


Our 3 best performances of the year (Gold Coast, North and Pies) was coincidently the three games where our list was impacted by Covid the most and we had to back in our young players or turn to top ups. Hopefully one day the MC will learn that lesson. Last week was the best win this club has had since the Richmond game last year. Which ironically, we won due to having to play the youth that night.

 

[Goroyals22]

The people that say it wouldn’t have made a difference id point to the scoreboard and say how much difference than scoring nothing in a first quarter and still nothing halfway through the second? Unless we could go into minus it couldn’t have been any worse..

Again the last time we injected multiple new blokes into the side and played them was 2018. Funny what result that ended up being..

 

[The_Gambler]

Prediction - Changes for Round 5 vs Sydney

It’s a known fact that only fat guys do ACLs so if Nic stayed skinny he never would have done a knee

www.bigfooty.com

This is aging badly very quickly

 

[KERRPOW]

If i read "XON and Hough wouldn't have made a difference to the result!" one more time i'm going to have a stroke


No shit, they wouldn't have made a difference. it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Nobody is saying we'd have won if they played, or lost by less.

But it's the WAY we would've lost, which is what people prefer to see, than the shit show our returning underdone 'stars' dished up with that embarrassment.


I could happily sit there for 4 quarters, and watch Hough, West and XON, go down scrapping with their shit foot skills, being outclassed by better opponents. At least you can sit there and watch them give 100%, watch them crack in knowing their place in the side depends on their performance. Like Duggan says, it lifts the players around them and gives energy to their teammates. It's what youth does to a team. It also excites the crowd seeing that sort of effort.


What i'm not happy to sit through on the other hand, is our stars being absolutely invisible for the first quarter as we're blown off the park. Watch Tim Kelly clearly look underdone as he clumsily runs from one swans midfielder to another trying to put pressure on, and stumbling over himself due to his lack of match fitness. Or Yeo drop his head because the game isn't panning out how he thought. Or Shuey try and duck his way into a tackle out of desperation to win himself an easy free kick. These are the actions of unfit players who aren't ready to step back into this side, and the intensity of AFL football.


Our 3 best performances of the year (Gold Coast, North and Pies) was coincidently the three games where our list was impacted by Covid the most and we had to back in our young players or turn to top ups. Hopefully one day the MC will learn that lesson. Last week was the best win this club has had since the Richmond game last year. Which ironically, we won due to having to play the youth that night.

This.

Ive come to expect these crab like performances from our 1st choice bunch of midfielders. It has been like this the last 3 years.

Really starting to get.sick of it

 

[eagles rule]

Can’t read article but headline is telling.

View attachment 1374798

Duggan the next WCE Captain please ..

 

[eagles rule]

Sounds like everyone knew within the team they weren’t going to be able to keep up with Sydney after coming back from Covid and the white flag was raised before the ball was bounced. If you’re going to donate 4 points atleast give the kids another run at it.

Simmo did start the game with Rioli in the middle so they knew and tried to work Jones through there as well to compensate ..

 

[ziad]

But who or what is the problem then? Kelly is harshly judged by a lot around here, he’s had a pretty shit run since he arrived here. Yeo and Shuey will never be accused of lacking effort and our small forwards are some of our best players.

There’s a lot of teams out there with worse players than us yet we look like by far the worst side in the comp. The “weak, lazy” (apparently) midfielders are all out of the side at the moment so where are the issues?

Our best just haven’t had enough games together over the past 2 years. This year has buried us deeper with the lack of fitness and covid piling on top. We’re a system based side and have been for years so to try and implement said system without 50% of the pieces (and rotating a new one every week) is nearly impossible. We can’t just call upon the next soldier to fill the gap in the rolling maul like the Swans would.

Whether it’s the smartest idea to live and die by a gameplan built specifically around your best players, who knows. But it means that when they’re all playing we look like the best team in the comp, and when they aren’t vice versa.

I challenge Melbourne to lose Petracca and Oliver for 2 years straight along with intermittent changes to other players week after week and see how slick their ball movement looks and how well their pressure/numbers at stoppage game works.

I know it’s a different sport but the same principle applies. Golden State lost Klay Thompson for 2 years and Curry was in and out of the side. You can’t have a gameplan designed around chucking up 3s when they’re both missing for extended periods, lo and behold, they went crashing down the standings until they sorted their shit out and gained their players back

The problem is that the list isn't up to it because of long term poor management, tallent identification and developmennt as I stated. All else is just excuses and avoiding reality.

 

[Beau_Waters for PM]

Positive: Took me <2 minutes to walk to get my 3QTR time hamburger and back to my seat

Negative: I only got my hamburger so quickly because half the stadium had left the stadium by 3QTR time and there were no queues. And it was cold because the caterers hadn't counted on Eagles fans leaving en masse so early so they had a rack full of lukewarm burgers.

But on a serious note...

Positives

• Naish's workrate
• Ryan's moments of brilliance
• Hugh Dixon around the ground

Negatives

• Lack of intensity/intent. Most of the guys just stand around and barely anyone leads to the footy.
• Naish's clangers
• Darling can't mark the ball even when it virtually hits him in the face. Poor bloke is woefully out of form.
• Any momentum from last week was totally undone

 

[Dark Sharks]

Can't blame the fans whatsoever for leaving at HT.

Imagine planning your Good Friday evening around going to the game, some GA people probably paid $80+ for a ticket, and then copping that.

Players race at HT would've been interesting.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

I’ve never left a game early and I’d like to think I never will. I won’t even turn the TV off on an away game, because I’m a stupid campaigner.

There was a goal in the second quarter, I forget which, and I had a very noticeable urge to leave. It was more real than any desire to leave any shitty game I’ve been to, and there’s naturally been some special efforts in that department over the years.

The bloke next to me got up after that goal, and a part of me was jealous. When he came back with beer I was sort of sad that he didn’t go.

Closest I’ve ever gotten and I didn’t like it. By the end we made our own fun by taking the piss. A grim day out.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

I want to try to find something positive but I just can't. Absolutely filthy with the result. And ****en pathetic by the team.

 

[Coasters7]

The problem is that the list isn't up to it because of long term poor management, tallent identification and developmennt as I stated. All else is just excuses and avoiding reality.

I really don’t think any list would be able to withstand what ours has been through. Say what you like about 2019 and 2020, we made a meal of those, but last year and the start of this has been nothing short of diabolical and, for the most part, out of our control (unless the S+C staff aren’t pulling their weight which is a possibility).

We don’t have another 5 elite midfielders waiting in the wings in expectation of our best ones going missing for 2 years, and I’d wager the other 17 clubs would all be in a similar ladder position if their fortunes mirrored ours

 

[Dark Sharks]

I’ve never left a game early

Me neither

I was actually off to get a beer.


They were selling beers at the train station.


I left early.

 

[Bender_]

Was gonna rip you for this:

Can't blame the fans whatsoever for leaving at HT.

Imagine planning your Good Friday evening around going to the game, some GA people probably paid $80+ for a ticket, and then copping that.

Players race at HT would've been interesting.

But you redeemed yourself with this:

Me neither

I was actually off to get a beer.


They were selling beers at the train station.


I left early.

 

[Godfather32]

Me neither

I was actually off to get a beer.


They were selling beers at the train station.


I left early.

Careful those legs don't snap on the way down.
It's like looking at the anti-Langdon

 

[Bender_]

Careful those legs don't snap on the way down.
It's like looking at the anti-Langdon

Can probably kick it further though.

 

[Godfather32]

Can probably kick it further though.

That's part of being the anti-Langdon

 

[Dark Sharks]

I'm all quad, zero calf and i'd say both me and Legdon struggle to kick 40m.



Length is genetic gaiz, nothing you can do about it. Trust me. I've checked. Online.

 

[KBLT]

I’ve never left a game early and I’d like to think I never will. I won’t even turn the TV off on an away game, because I’m a stupid campaigner.

There was a goal in the second quarter, I forget which, and I had a very noticeable urge to leave. It was more real than any desire to leave any shitty game I’ve been to, and there’s naturally been some special efforts in that department over the years.

The bloke next to me got up after that goal, and a part of me was jealous. When he came back with beer I was sort of sad that he didn’t go.

Closest I’ve ever gotten and I didn’t like it. By the end we made our own fun by taking the piss. A grim day out.

I don't usually get particularly worked up by this kind of stuff, but last night's performance is the first time I've ever genuinely gotten angry about the club.

I fully expected to lose, probably by a big margin, but what pissed me off was the performances of the senior players. Results aside, this team feels completely different to 2018. That group felt like they were giving their all every second of every game. Now, I don't see it in the senior players anymore. It feels like they're just cruising for the paycheck.

 

[Priddis Is Done]

I want to try to find something positive but I just can't. Absolutely filthy with the result. And fu**en pathetic by the team.

Maybe when we get to the 10th time (soon) of the senior players letting the club down, a small light bulb may go off?

Still waiting

 

[RookiePick]

+ got to see my kid run around on optus.

- yellow maggot whistled him everytime he knocked someone over.

 

[Matera92]

I’ve never left a game early and I’d like to think I never will. I won’t even turn the TV off on an away game, because I’m a stupid campaigner.

There was a goal in the second quarter, I forget which, and I had a very noticeable urge to leave. It was more real than any desire to leave any shitty game I’ve been to, and there’s naturally been some special efforts in that department over the years.

The bloke next to me got up after that goal, and a part of me was jealous. When he came back with beer I was sort of sad that he didn’t go.

Closest I’ve ever gotten and I didn’t like it. By the end we made our own fun by taking the piss. A grim day out.

I used to be like that but now I just think...is it worth getting this frustrated over?

Would rather go play some silly game with my young fella who throws 100% at everything he does.

I can sit through a loss if the players are giving effort, I very much enjoy seeing young players develop and grow into their potential. However when senior groups put up performances like Friday night, they don't deserve my time or support as I know its not a skill/talent issue, but a heartstring one.