Autopsy Shameful game V Dees - tell it like it is right here.

[astrovic]

No qualms about the gameplan, then? Granted, tonight was a better gameplan in my view than the usual long-bomb down the line crap, but there are still worries. A lot of our players are aimlessly wandering around with no confidence or intent about where they're gonna move the ball next. I think it's great we're playing the kids, but I'm worried about the lack of structure and, quite frankly, the guidance from the coaches box. The skill errors I can forgive, that will fix up with experience as the team gets better, but the players constantly look in two minds with the ball, and that to me is a worry.

Honestly, screw game plans. Biggest furphy in football.

You know what is the biggest challenge in any sport? The voice in your head. The negative voice that says no. The 50 year old bigfooty poster inside everyone that just wants to crap on everything you do. That's the guy pouring concrete in your boots as you try and chase your opponent when things aren't going your way. That voice is why most grand finals are boring - one team gets to wear the concrete boots and the other doesn't.

Ask any retired player, they say the same thing - football isn't a physical sport, it's a mental one. The physical stuff is easy by comparison.

Conquer that guy and the football world is your oyster. Your game plans look amazing. It's why we beat Adelaide by 69 points exactly 8 days ago and lost to Melbourne by roughly the same margin tonight. One week ago we had confidence and tonight we didn't. Kinda happens when your team is built around a bunch of kids, after all. Tonight we ran out of puff, everything fell apart and the blue and red flat track bullies do what they do best, which is why Melbourne's current upside is 9th.

They're not going anywhere based on what I saw tonight. They are right where we were circa 2015 - sure we might have snuck into the bottom half of the 8, sure we snagged a few finals wins, but no-one in their right mind thought we were a serious contender. And hell yeah we beat teams full of kids. We were pretty good at that. Woo ******* hoo.

Confidence is why Richmond went from being the biggest football butchers going around to the most skilled team in the comp. They're the same bunch of guys but somewhere along the line they started believing in themselves. They barely have a game plan, they just rely on pressure (which is a confidence thing) and self-belief to win games. It's why Geelong 2007 went from underachieving to destroying. Same guys, different outlook. They barely had a game plan. Bomber was so bereft of needing a game plan that he ate sandwiches. North in the 90s? Zero game plan. Just bomb it to Carey and watch him perform miracles. Which worked because he was the most confident mofo in football history and made the team walk taller as a result.

Screw game plans. Give me 22 blokes who believe in themselves and each other and I'll point them in the vague direction of the ground and say "go". That's all it takes. The most important thing a coach can do isn't to devise game plans, it's to get inside the heads of 20 something year old men and make them believe in themselves. Which is harder than it sounds. On that note - RIP Kanga Kennedy.

I'll leave other people to bitch and moan about things they can't control. It's basically all this forum is any more. Miserable middle aged men having a sook.

Me? Best season in years. We desperately needed to transition and experiment and we're actually doing it.

 

[Rad Roo]

you Now know why Clarkson, Longmire, and Simpson didn't want the job at North

It's not hard to figure that out, who in their right mind would actually want to coach at north melbourne, you are not only dealing with a below par team but also an admin that does not have the ability to think. Relocate or disappear and that is the truth.

 

[giantroo]

Most recent sides to win by 50+ points when having less than 10 hit outs
2020 R11 - MELB v NTH
1997 R08 - geel v melb
1996 r21 - wce v melb

 

[Shermanator]

Surely you meant to add JMac.
His tackling and composure were top notch

100%

His 14 touches (12 uncontested), one slicing run through the corridor and 2 massive tackles were scintillating!

Where has Chris Judd mkII been all our lives?...

 

[berniemccarthy]

Is that supposed to be an insult? If pessimistic is what you call someone who calls it as it is then yeah, i love being negative. This club is f’ed, actually the club has been f’ed for the last 20 years. To go one step further, because we didn't bottom out after carey left we have actually killed ourselves. It's becaues of this shinboner spirit that has doomed this club for good. What we call shinboner spirit in professional world is called middling stagnation. This club has been stagnant for the last 20 years. There is no way back from this other than pack up shop in vic and start again elsewhere and if you can't handle that the brutal truth then it's okay, Norther/Tassie roos won't miss you as a member.

Mate you have no idea what it is to be a supporter. I’ve seen worse than this for years on end. The wheel turns. You’ve been around five minutes and know not much.

 

[Tiberius]

Does anybody seriously think we were trying our best to win that game? With Gawn out their only recognised ruckman was a 19 year old who thinks frizzy mullets are cool, so we started the best tap ruckman and number one clearance player in the comp on a wing...
How many centre bounces for Higgins?
I'm not saying we went out to try to lose, but we certainly didn't go out to give ourselves the best possible chance of winning.
I hope they know what they're doing because if we lose players like Brown because of this we're screwed.

 

[bennymate]

Literally the best part of the last few weeks has been playing ghosts of tsushima and getting wasted on beer. Its a great way to work through some frustration after a north game and it always feels totally justified.

Lol are you me?

 

[chairo]

2017 was infinitely better than this. You would have to go back to 2006 to find anything resembling this.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

This is worse than then.

 

[The Anvil]

LDU more class than our entire team combined

And this is why pick 2 or 3 could make a massive difference in the future.

 

[Conundrum]

Agree on the paucity of wins pre 73. They were so fecking rare. But think we need early picks and a lot of them. The Polecs and Anderson’s are not enough to change things. We need 5 LDUs

I don't think we need 5 LDUs...










Maybe three LDUs, a Weitering, and a Max King. The way we look to be heading, we might get those top shelf players if we pick right. No trading for players, only pursue the younger end of free agents. Trade senior players with currency for a fair price, keep a couple to support the kids

 

[Masked Avenger]

Honestly, screw game plans. Biggest furphy in football.

You know what is the biggest challenge in any sport? The voice in your head. The negative voice that says no. The 50 year old bigfooty poster inside everyone that just wants to crap on everything you do. That's the guy pouring concrete in your boots as you try and chase your opponent when things aren't going your way. That voice is why most grand finals are boring - one team gets to wear the concrete boots and the other doesn't.

Ask any retired player, they say the same thing - football isn't a physical sport, it's a mental one. The physical stuff is easy by comparison.

Conquer that guy and the football world is your oyster. Your game plans look amazing. It's why we beat Adelaide by 69 points exactly 8 days ago and lost to Melbourne by roughly the same margin tonight. One week ago we had confidence and tonight we didn't. Kinda happens when your team is built around a bunch of kids, after all. Tonight we ran out of puff, everything fell apart and the blue and red flat track bullies do what they do best, which is why Melbourne's current upside is 9th.

They're not going anywhere based on what I saw tonight. They are right where we were circa 2015 - sure we might have snuck into the bottom half of the 8, sure we snagged a few finals wins, but no-one in their right mind thought we were a serious contender. And hell yeah we beat teams full of kids. We were pretty good at that. Woo ******* hoo.

Confidence is why Richmond went from being the biggest football butchers going around to the most skilled team in the comp. They're the same bunch of guys but somewhere along the line they started believing in themselves. They barely have a game plan, they just rely on pressure (which is a confidence thing) and self-belief to win games. It's why Geelong 2007 went from underachieving to destroying. Same guys, different outlook. They barely had a game plan. Bomber was so bereft of needing a game plan that he ate sandwiches. North in the 90s? Zero game plan. Just bomb it to Carey and watch him perform miracles. Which worked because he was the most confident mofo in football history and made the team walk taller as a result.

Screw game plans. Give me 22 blokes who believe in themselves and each other and I'll point them in the vague direction of the ground and say "go". That's all it takes. The most important thing a coach can do isn't to devise game plans, it's to get inside the heads of 20 something year old men and make them believe in themselves. Which is harder than it sounds. On that note - RIP Kanga Kennedy.

I'll leave other people to b*tch and moan about things they can't control. It's basically all this forum is any more. Miserable middle aged men having a sook.

Me? Best season in years. We desperately needed to transition and experiment and we're actually doing it.

We must have been in the same torture chamber - AKA the last 10 years. If you're not winning flags - actually do something about it. Don't die a death by a thousand cuts. This game will mean little in the scheme of things.

 

[Zondor]

Gee JMac played well... one of the few that can hold their heads high.

maybe Luke, Taz, LDU, Larkey... Bonar while he was out there.

JMac played well. Hopefully you enjoyed your big crank. :stern look

 

[zoomba23]

Honestly, screw game plans. Biggest furphy in football.

You know what is the biggest challenge in any sport? The voice in your head. The negative voice that says no. The 50 year old bigfooty poster inside everyone that just wants to crap on everything you do. That's the guy pouring concrete in your boots as you try and chase your opponent when things aren't going your way. That voice is why most grand finals are boring - one team gets to wear the concrete boots and the other doesn't.

Ask any retired player, they say the same thing - football isn't a physical sport, it's a mental one. The physical stuff is easy by comparison.

Conquer that guy and the football world is your oyster. Your game plans look amazing. It's why we beat Adelaide by 69 points exactly 8 days ago and lost to Melbourne by roughly the same margin tonight. One week ago we had confidence and tonight we didn't. Kinda happens when your team is built around a bunch of kids, after all. Tonight we ran out of puff, everything fell apart and the blue and red flat track bullies do what they do best, which is why Melbourne's current upside is 9th.

They're not going anywhere based on what I saw tonight. They are right where we were circa 2015 - sure we might have snuck into the bottom half of the 8, sure we snagged a few finals wins, but no-one in their right mind thought we were a serious contender. And hell yeah we beat teams full of kids. We were pretty good at that. Woo ******* hoo.

Confidence is why Richmond went from being the biggest football butchers going around to the most skilled team in the comp. They're the same bunch of guys but somewhere along the line they started believing in themselves. They barely have a game plan, they just rely on pressure (which is a confidence thing) and self-belief to win games. It's why Geelong 2007 went from underachieving to destroying. Same guys, different outlook. They barely had a game plan. Bomber was so bereft of needing a game plan that he ate sandwiches. North in the 90s? Zero game plan. Just bomb it to Carey and watch him perform miracles. Which worked because he was the most confident mofo in football history and made the team walk taller as a result.

Screw game plans. Give me 22 blokes who believe in themselves and each other and I'll point them in the vague direction of the ground and say "go". That's all it takes. The most important thing a coach can do isn't to devise game plans, it's to get inside the heads of 20 something year old men and make them believe in themselves. Which is harder than it sounds. On that note - RIP Kanga Kennedy.

I'll leave other people to b*tch and moan about things they can't control. It's basically all this forum is any more. Miserable middle aged men having a sook.

Me? Best season in years. We desperately needed to transition and experiment and we're actually doing it.

Not a bad take, tbh. Wonder if the coaching staff will be able to pull it off.

 

[Devil Fish]

40 years of following NM and this is the most poorly skilled playing group to wear the blue and white, without any doubt whatsoever.
Throw that in with a significant lack of leg speed and a stack of poor decision making, we’re a dead-set mess.
And if that’s not bad enough, we seem to be bereft of any game plan and any idea how to move the ball from defence to attack. Really, other than Cunnington, who else are we missing that would help our current issues???

I’ve said it for years that our club has been obsessed in recruiting/drafting average paced, average sized, poorly skilled mids. Year after ###### year. Surely those of you who marvel at our list now can see its MAJOR deficiencies.

Cameron Joyce and Brad Scott have left us with an absolute s**t sandwich.

If Scott Clayton does not target the quickest/most skilful young midfielders in this years draft, it could be it for me.

You all know my thoughts on last years first 2 picks. Talk about not understanding what type of player we need. And I hear Scott Clayton thinks priority number 1 this year is to “sure up our defence”????

 

[Ball Dont Lie]

Is that supposed to be an insult? If pessimistic is what you call someone who calls it as it is then yeah, i love being negative. This club is f’ed, actually the club has been f’ed for the last 20 years. To go one step further, because we didn't bottom out after carey left we have actually killed ourselves. It's becaues of this shinboner spirit that has doomed this club for good. What we call shinboner spirit in professional world is called middling stagnation. This club has been stagnant for the last 20 years. There is no way back from this other than pack up shop in vic and start again elsewhere and if you can't handle that the brutal truth then it's okay, Norther/Tassie roos won't miss you as a member.

Seriously mate, stop posting

 

[Devington]

Is that supposed to be an insult? If pessimistic is what you call someone who calls it as it is then yeah, i love being negative. This club is f’ed, actually the club has been f’ed for the last 20 years. To go one step further, because we didn't bottom out after carey left we have actually killed ourselves. It's becaues of this shinboner spirit that has doomed this club for good. What we call shinboner spirit in professional world is called middling stagnation. This club has been stagnant for the last 20 years. There is no way back from this other than pack up shop in vic and start again elsewhere and if you can't handle that the brutal truth then it's okay, Norther/Tassie roos won't miss you as a member.

Like I said earlier. Can't cope with our longstanding form and has sunk cost fallacy. Would rather burn s**t down and whinge to everyone that will listen than just take a step back and stop '''supporting'''.

 

[hcd199]

It's not news to anyone that tonight's was a deplorable showing, with some of the most inept skill execution we've ever produced, and only McDonald, Larkey, Davies-Uniacke and a few others producing solid games.

My concern is just how totally shapeless we look. Players don't seem to know what they're supposed to be doing - it's one thing to mess up a chain of play with a terrible handball under no pressure, quite another when players frequently look perplexed as they find no options available. Many of the players who by rights should be in our bests look like they're rapidly losing confidence out there, and they're not alone in that: as regular followers of the team, it's easy for all of us on here to pot each of them for their known deficiencies (e.g., even when Higgins was deservedly winning the Syd back-to-back, he wasn't the best defensively and could be a fraction slow with decision-making), but when the issues are so clearly team-wide, the heat has to also come onto those in charge... for example, why play Durdin tonight? And if so, why play him without giving another tall a rest? Walker as a forward to accommodate this is a move I'm still not sold on either - his decision-making has looked a lot less assured up forward than down back.

People need to stop pretending this is all part of the plan. We all know the available excuses and same old self-deluding coping mechanisms justifications for this rut (injuries, new team bedding in, Covid cutbacks, and anyway being crap is just the tonic we need to make us good, look at all the potential our young players have...), but there are far too many seriously concerning signs about our direction to be complacent and not ask questions. You simply cannot look at the game we played tonight - devoid of confidence, woeful skills, lacking in effort across the board, generally listless - and make it out to be anything other than yet another complete disaster of a performance, in a season that unravelled extremely quickly, and which we've shown no sense that we have the answers for.

 

[Zondor]

Lol. Chasing slow blokes who can't kick. Yeah that'll work. That's not solving our problem - that is our problem.

Spot On. The last thing we need are more Slow Inside Mids. :stern look

 

[Devil Fish]

LDU is going to be elite.

Times where he looked a class above everyone else out there.

LOL. Has done NOTHING to show he is a good ball user.
He seems to be good in traffic but his lack of leg speed is a big concern.

“elite” “class above”???? Come on. Let’s talk some sense here.

He was good tonight but gee whizz.

 

[giantroo]

 

[Waynesworld]

It's not hard to figure that out, who in their right mind would actually want to coach at north melbourne, you are not only dealing with a below par team but also an admin that does not have the ability to think. Relocate or disappear and that is the truth.

Wish you’d disappear.

 

[Ether]

Surely you meant to add JMac.
His tackling and composure were top notch

He was good. When we were turning it over through the middle in Q2 I was thinking we needed another one of him to make a decent decision and hit a target. Can't say I've had this thought before!

 

[Devington]

In terms of providing cover for Shaw/Brady to do what needs to be done (and have already been doing) this loss may well be the one we needed.

LOL. Has done NOTHING to show he is a good ball user.
He seems to be good in traffic but his lack of leg speed is a big concern.

“elite” “class above”???? Come on. Let’s talk some sense here.

He was as a junior. All the other features of his games back then are starting to resurface in spades. And his ball usage so far has been fine, sprinkled with a bit of silk and a bit of s**t (which is normal for most kids).

 

[astrovic]

Not a bad take, tbh. Wonder if the coaching staff will be able to pull it off.

That's the question.

For every Clarkson, Thompson or Hardwick that looked awful after a couple of seasons of development but turned out a multiple premiership winning team, there's a - hell there's so many that have tried and failed I can't name some examples. Whoever coached the Saints or Melbourne or Brisbane or Carlton in the last decade? The names blend after a while. It's not an easy thing, this caper.

For me, worse case scenario is Shaw ends up a transitional coach like Schimma. There's an open question as to whether he was unfairly dumped or not, but at the very least he was the guy that put the club on the path out of the doldrums by investing in the kids. It might be that Shaw gets dumped due to lack of results, but was the one prepared to upend the table to see what was underneath. At this point, isn't that what we need?

 

[Rad Roo]

Seriously mate, stop posting

Yeah mate, thought to post all i need to say before the club disappear.