AFL Autopsy Rnd 21: Chewed up and spat out by the Dogs

[OsteitisPubis22]

I’ve slept on my thoughts.

We seriously lack leadership.
Injuries occur, s**t happens, but you need to show effort and commitment. That starts at the top and it has been lacking for such a long time.

The team doesn’t lack courage, ability, talent or skill. The team lacks hunger, desire, fight, mateship and passion.
All these intangibles are the difference between us and the good teams past and present. Even if we somehow make the finals we are out first week. Continuing to be the laughing stock of the league with another 12 months without a finals win.

Leadership needs to change. And players need to decide weather they want to be apart of something or just keep taking a paycheck.







Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[JayJ20]

I’ve slept on my thoughts.

We seriously lack leadership.
Injuries occur, s**t happens, but you need to show effort and commitment. That starts at the top and it has been lacking for such a long time.

The team doesn’t lack courage, ability, talent or skill. The team lacks hunger, desire, fight, mateship and passion.
All these intangibles are the difference between us and the good teams past and present. Even if we somehow make the finals we are out first week. Continuing to be the laughing stock of the league with another 12 months without a finals win.

Leadership needs to change. And players need to decide weather they want to be apart of something or just keep taking a paycheck.







Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

And we all know that our full strength side is capable of performing the way we did last night. That’s how we started the year.

 

[Mercurial89]

It’s interesting. The rule changes seemed to have caused a very even competition earlier in the year, anyone could win any week when they were reasonably healthy.

Teams had their positional weaknesses exposed with the 6-6-6, harder to engineer a loose man or a 2 on 1. No third man up in the ruck (though that came in a year earlier).

The strengths of the coaching were somewhat taken away with the runners being removed from the game. Initial match ups become more important especially in high scoring games.

Now that injuries are hitting the landscape is changing again. If one part of the ground is compromised it’s hard to get a loose man to help even the odds, and there are some real blowouts around the league as a result.

I think it's incredibly obvious, and I just don't get the fury people have.
Every year teams go through flat patches. Every year ebbs and flows.
We are in a league where every single team can beat another. At the start of the season everyone's fit, and the talent is the difference. As the year drags on the health of the players and list is the issue. Thats where the games swing.

We had 6 changes through injury this week. We have played catch up footy for 5 weeks, the mental fatigue as well as the physical is real, we all saw it coming.
History shows you just don't win games after those changes, especially on top of who else we have out.
I said this week would show what we can expect for the rest of the year and would clarify what last week was. We have hit the wall, we are done. Mentally and physically cooked. That's ok, it happens, shelve this year and start planning for the next year and the smart thing would be getting surgeries now so we can have a full preseason to focus on the biggest issue with our team, their health.
There is quality on this team but when you go from having Saad to mcneice it's pretty obvious we are going to struggle.

I also don't think people watch other teams, calling it embarassing to lose to dogs and port? Please. Their football when on is top 4. Their ladder position isn't a true reflection of where they were because they dropped games they shouldn't have. But they knocked off some of the best in the league and they are healthy. They should both be in the finals and Adelaide and us should miss.

We aren't good enough. That's fine, next year we might be, put the work in and reload. The tantrums that fans throw is the embarrassing part.

 

[Mercurial89]

And we all know that our full strength side is capable of performing the way we did last night. That’s how we started the year.

Last night and round 1 were entirely different reasons for performance

 

[Rednblak]

When a team has 100 more disposals and still lays more tackles you know its more from effort than personel. Absolute rubish performance. Wish i could say we are back to square one but our list needs a massive cull this offseason we have too many passengers who are getting games purely because of “experience”

 

[JayJ20]

Last night and round 1 were entirely different reasons for performance

Still the same outcome. Excuses can change. Outcome is the most important part.

 

[WaylonSmithers]

Which players actually bring us the hunger needed to win a flag? Even Heppell is a bit of a lame duck. Say what you will about Goddard's declining skillset, I don't think a result like last night's would have occured with his leadership behind the group.

 

[Blood Bomber]

When other teams have losses like we have just had I always say that there is something happening behind the scenes that is causing it. Coach/player tension? player/player tension?
Poor morale?

What is it with us?

There's always gotta be more to it than just injuries destabilising the team structure.

Something is wrong and I just wish they'd fix it.

 

[Beerfish]

Which players actually bring us the hunger needed to win a flag? Even Heppell is a bit of a lame duck. Say what you will about Goddard's declining skillset, I don't think a result like last night's would have occured with his leadership behind the group.

I do because it's not down to one person.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Which players actually bring us the hunger needed to win a flag? Even Heppell is a bit of a lame duck. Say what you will about Goddard's declining skillset, I don't think a result like last night's would have occured with his leadership behind the group.

It was Goddards declining or lack of any defensive capability that was the problem rather than the odd missed kick or missed mark which were a few too many also.

He is symptomatic of our last 15 years holding on to those who are past it, old, young and not good, who aren't quick, tough or skilful enough.

 

[CBombers17]

If we are repeating mistakes then.the clubs leadership, from board level down, must be questioned.

The problem is we as a club (and society) have come to accept bullshit corp-speak and flowery words as though they have meaning - and they don't.

Explanations should have been demanded from round 1 this year onwards as to how a supposed top 4 AFL side is presented for a season so far off the mark that they disgrace 80 thousand members in the season opener. Then more questions after the Stkilda loss and so on.

We are the Richmond of old with no Ben Gale.

 

[fishardansin]

It wasn't just last night folks. We just fell over the line against Gold Coast. Got smashed by Port over here. We were DESTROYED by the dogs last night. Looked like a genuine bottom 4 club.

I said after our string of wins that it was hard to get a read on our team. Either our team is underperforming in the first half of games and we "get it together at the end" or we are playing with a good team defence that limits opposition scoring when they're on top, then we're out running them at the end.

It is clearly the second option. Now that teams seem to be able to pick apart our team defence early they open us up and score heavily.

I think when you add Daniher, Hurley, Bellchambers, Smith, Stewart, Parish and Francis to our side it is much better than what we saw last night. I also think that Hooker, Heppell and Fantasia are all carrying something. So I am not carrying on like it is the end of the world.

However, I am very clear that the run of wins was not a true reflection of where this team with the players currently available is at.

 

[Shanghaistu]

You guys are all too harsh - the important thing is everyone tried hard and had a bit of fun and learning as well. While I’m at it, if there any parent volunteers to help with cutting oranges, washing socks and guernseys or car-pooling for next week’s game, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[KevDawg]

Interesting article on the impact of injuries . . .

When injuries force you out of finals: Study discovers exact breaking point

A Deakin University PhD candidate has uncovered evidence on the impact injuries to key players has on a team's ability to make the finals

m.afl.com.au

 

[Lore]

Interesting article on the impact of injuries . . .

When injuries force you out of finals: Study discovers exact breaking point

A Deakin University PhD candidate has uncovered evidence on the impact injuries to key players has on a team's ability to make the finals

m.afl.com.au

So the magic number is 27+ games missed by the top 10 most important players as defined by the previous years BnF placings, plus any new additions (e.g. Neale at Brisbane).

"The study, which has been presented to AFL clubs, found that if a team's 10 most valuable players missed a combined 27 matches, it finished ninth or lower on average and missed the finals."


2018 Crichton Medal top 10:
1. Devon Smith 370 votes
2. Dyson Heppell 360 votes
3. Zach Merrett 335 votes
4. Adam Saad 315 votes
5. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti 295 votes
6. Tom Bellchambers 281 votes
7. Michael Hurley 280 votes
8. Cale Hooker 276 votes
9. Conor McKenna 268 votes
10. Brendon Goddard 267 votes

Goddard retired. Daniher isn't even counted because he missed most of last year as well. Replace them both with Shiel.


Smith has missed 13 and will also miss the last two.
Heppell has missed 4 so far
Merrett hasn't missed any
Saad has missed 1
Walla hasn't missed any
Bellchambers has missed 6 and may or may not play the next 2
Hurley has missed 4 and may or may not play the next 2
Hooker missed 3 at the start of the season and is currently playing injured
McKenna missed 1 but not through injury
Shiel missed 1 with a hamstring


So 33 games missed already. The magic number is 27 according to the article.

With what we know currently probably a handful more games will be missed by this group as well.

 

[Run and carry]

The last few weeks we have been lauding the competitive spirit of the players despite the injuries, our tenacity to fight to the death in last quarters, and our new found ability to 'win ugly'.

And now the players are mentally weak, some should never be seen around the club again, and the senior coach should hand the keys over to an untried coach at the end of the year or sooner. So fickle. And immature.

 

[Lore]

Funniest thing about that article is how few games the best players at some teams have missed. North have 10 missing. Dogs 11. Those two plus Port, West Coast, Geelong and Brisbane have the lowest numbers of injuries, and are the only 6 teams with less than 27 missed games to date. They should be in the top 8. Three of them are, the other three are severely underperforming by this metric..

 

[Beerfish]

Funniest thing about that article is how few games the best players at some teams have missed. North have 10 missing. Dogs 11. Those two plus Port, West Coast, Geelong and Brisbane have the lowest numbers of injuries, and are the only 6 teams with less than 27 missed games to date. They should be in the top 8. Three of them are, the other three are severely underperforming by this metric..

Man they should really be burning their clubs to the ground and sacking everyone then.

 

[Sockeye]

Nick Hind would have been handy yesterday. Played a good last quarter for the Saints in a tight game against Freo. Better than quite a few we have kept on our list.

 

[avignon]

When a team has 100 more disposals and still lays more tackles you know its more from effort than personel. Absolute rubish performance. Wish i could say we are back to square one but our list needs a massive cull this offseason we have too many passengers who are getting games purely because of “experience”

David Zaharakis should be first to be let go. Nowhere near the consistency needed. Does enough to get another contract then back to laziness. There are others though, as we all know.

 

[Xavier Menzies]

Bring in roughead

 

[eth-dog]

Nick Hind would have been handy yesterday. Played a good last quarter for the Saints in a tight game against Freo. Better than quite a few we have kept on our list.

He wasn't on our AFL list.

 

[KevDawg]

Funniest thing about that article is how few games the best players at some teams have missed. North have 10 missing. Dogs 11. Those two plus Port, West Coast, Geelong and Brisbane have the lowest numbers of injuries, and are the only 6 teams with less than 27 missed games to date. They should be in the top 8. Three of them are, the other three are severely underperforming by this metric..

Are those a chance to leapfrog in after next round, maybe.

 

[Sockeye]

He wasn't on our AFL list.

Where did I say he was?

 

[Santoz]

last night was the "perfect storm" for a bad performance.

Too many injured players out
Too many injured players playing - Fanta, Hooker & Heppell
Too many VFL level players - Begley, McNiece
Too many washed up players - Zaka, Myers & Baguely
Too many passengers - Stringer, Brown, Gleeson, Hooker.

None of these blokes are washed up.