THAT second quarter

[PieLebo87]

I'm sick of hearing that Geelong deserves so much credit and it was unstoppable. This is all a load of crap. Any decent football side out there would've been able to at least put some sort of halt to an 8 goal to zilch second quarter.

Collingwood must be one of the most mentally damaged footy sides in the competition because its remarkable how easy it is for quality opposition to blast away against us. If we are an ounce the quality we seem to be rated, we should be able to put a halt to a run, even if its from the best! We lost by 27 points last night, so we aren't far off a team like Geelong.

I'm very disappointed in the mentality of our players because that second quarter should never have happened. I told you all last week, I'm scared that because of the opening two rounds, Collingwood will come out all guns blazing in the first quarter and then get washed away, and thats what happened. Losing didn't hurt, our attitude in the second quarter did.

For a top 8 AFL side, we're very shit at playing four consistent quarters in an AFL game. I don't remember the last time I saw one from the Collingwood FC.

 

[didaka]

They did lift quite a few notches in the 2nd and let's make no mistake, when going they are light years ahead of us.

When the cats are going well they're giving the football of quick to the first option and you can only chase tail when this is happening because their hands a quick and skills are almost flawless moving forward on occasion, and what's more important is they work for one another.

Our midfielders could learn a lot from watching that. They're always looking for the quick give to a player in a better position so they move forward in the best fashion. To put it bluntly we tried, but they are extremely powerful.

The turning point was the first few minutes of the 2nd. If we had have slotted one more in that time we would've just about had enough scoreboard pressure to really get their heads down, instead we gave them a sniff and that is what you can't do.

 

[RRRooocccaaa]

Well I was there, too, last night and I have to say that I didn't rate Geelong at all. If they're as good as their press, they should have pounded out another 70-80 point win. They were just as much at fault last night with some poor kicking for goal, their forward line is patchy and their back line could have been really stretched.

This week is the first week I've actually found myself wincing at Mick Malthouse's comments after the match.

While the coach lamented his side’s 7.12 return from 19 set shots, he said that was no excuse for the 18.14 (122) to 13.17 (95) loss.

I would have thought the inability to kick goals actually will lose you a match.

“I’m not going to blame shots on goal, Geelong were just better than us.

Rubbish. We had the game, we fumbled, we lost it. Take some feckin ownership and responsibility and be honest about the fact that we do control our own destiny, we were better than Geelong last night and then we ground to a halt through some pretty poor foot skills for what should have been almost practice goals.

“We’ve got to be very careful here – let’s not confuse great sides with wanting-to-be-great sides,”

Go on, feed their ego Just because they've won 1 flag in 2 years doesn't make them a great side.

Mooney spent the whole night taking grabs in the centre square and handballing yet strutted around like he was Tony Lockett. Steve Johnson isn't the messiah, he's lazy and opportunistic. They're a very good side but they certainly didn't play like the 'great' side everyone was raving about in today's papers.

I can only hope that someone inside CFC snaps this weekend and calls a halt to this ineffectual blame-shifting and does something about the simple skill of set shot practice. Enough of dribbling the ball around the boundary - if Didak can't straighten up toward goal, if Tarks, Brown and Fraser can't guide through some 40m basic shots and the rest of the team can't pinpoint some of the basics of their kicking game then it's time to ditch the fitness and go back to skill training.

 

[FuManchu]

We panicked towards the end of that 2nd qtr. It was obvious.

But due credit, they came back out with a renewed focus and resolve and implemented systems again. It was the most pleasing result of the night for us. We got our shit together again.

But what MM has to implement is the ability to get it back during the course of the game, not wait for a main break. 10 mins of football can kill you these days. They just about would have if it wasnt for our lead at qtr time.

 

[Ant85]

I don't agree with Malthouse's post-match press conference either.

If anything, last night showed that we can beat Geelong if we get our act together.

We do have mental damage, it's a recurring problem where sides can easily blast us away and we struggle to contain or reverse the other side's momentum.

We seem to lack heart when we play. At times I feel like our players simply aren't interested. Is this a cultural problem, or an easy-fix? Why hasn't it been addressed?

Do we have a backup plan when sides get momentum? Why aren't we locking down games when we feel the opposition is getting the better of us? Put numbers around the ball, plug the holes, lock the game down for a few minutes, stem the tide! We struggled to do that in the 2nd quarter last night, and we seem to struggle with that in most matches.

A lot of our players panic and lose confidence when the pressure hits, which is what happened last night. In the first quarter, we were hitting our targets and moving the ball with class. As soon as Geelong turned up a notch in the 2nd quarter, we cracked, we panicked, we missed targets, we lost composure and it fell apart.

This is the same problem we have been facing for the past few years. Why do our players lack confidence? Why do our players panic under pressure? What happened to the "big occasion Collingwood" that used to intimidate sides? We get intimidated too easily.

We can be a top 4 side, we just have to start believing it.

1-2 a very poor start when we should be 3-0. With Shaw and maybe Maxwell out next week, the prospects at the Gabba aren't too bright.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

Geez...the hostility! Perhaps, maybe, if you think all Collingwood has to do is take their hand off it for a quarter of two to beat Geelong, then just maybe the cats could lift their tempo for an entire game too?

People admire the cats second quarter because they all know we can play good footy like that for a sustained period and blow away good teams consistently. The Cats have earned that over the last two years and the expectation from the public is that they maintain that standard....which hopefully they will.

Its only April, both teams will improve a hell of a lot over the course of the season. Geelong still has plenty of upside and it was great to see Varcoe get in amongst it. YOu guys should be stoked at Beams performance.

 

[Alexander323bc]

The reason we can not halt a momentum shift is that we do not have the foot skills nor the handball skills to pin point passes under pressure or perceived pressure. The amount of times I saw our players turn the ball over when trying to kick over the Geelong players but drop it short by 10 meters was bewildering. I think our team does not have great basic skills under pressure, hence we keep getting outplayed by teams. It is as if Collingwood as a club is scared of winning a premiership.
I look at the Carlscum boards around Melbourne and they have things such as "They know we are coming" as a club they believe that they belong at the elite level of the competition, we think we are the workmans team and play as such.

 

[FuManchu]

The reason we can not halt a momentum shift is that we do not have the foot skills nor the handball skills to pin point passes under pressure or perceived pressure. The amount of times I saw our players turn the ball over when trying to kick over the Geelong players but drop it short by 10 meters was bewildering. I think our team does not have great basic skills under pressure, hence we keep getting outplayed by teams. It is as if Collingwood as a club is scared of winning a premiership.
I look at the Carlscum boards around Melbourne and they have things such as "They know we are coming" as a club they believe that they belong at the elite level of the competition, we think we are the workmans team and play as such.

That is the Malthouse ethos: workmanlike

 

[swiftdog]

We lack the leadership to halt a mid-quarter charge? This doesn't just boil down to Maxwell, we just may not have the leadership ability that we used to (Buckley, Licuria, Clement).

 

[Xx_Toomey_xX]

Colloingwoood lack in consistency in our quarters and games. When at our best Collingwood is easily a top 4 side but we can not mantain that through the whole year.

Truthfully i think Geelong will go through the whole year undefeated and lose the one that counts they need to lose a few games this year to win the flag.

They also have no Foward!

Good Sides Dont Aways Win Premierships!.


90-09

 

[OniAu]

We lack the leadership to halt a mid-quarter charge? This doesn't just boil down to Maxwell, we just may not have the leadership ability that we used to (Buckley, Licuria, Clement).

agree tottaly. people forget our team is still fairly young. our mid tier and senior players still go missing in most games which isnt good enough at times. (lockyer,leon,didak,fraser)

two more years and i think we are set, that puts the likes of thomas clarke and pendles around the 23 24 mark almost.

if only bucks was 25 with this list of players

 

[Alexander323bc]

That is the Malthouse ethos: workmanlike

Still does not excuse the poor kicking skills, FuMan. At times you would think that our VFL team is out there and not our AFL team.
I do not know what is going on in those training sessions, but we need to "learn how to walk before we can think about running."

 

[PieLebo87]

It has got to be a mental issue at this football club because our best is so far different from our worst. Its disgraceful how one week Travis Cloke can look like one of the best young CHFs in the league, then like last week, he can look so average, even in the Collingwood line up.

This mental constraint really needs to be resolved ASAP, and I can't help think that Malthouse has done nothing about it, thus he is to blame. It goes back even to half a decade ago with Anthony Rocca who would look elite one week, then be completely shocking the next. Its really disgusting to watch because it has cost us so much over the last 10 years.

Players like Scott Pendlebury, Alan Didak, Dale Thomas, Marty Clarke are all youngsters who show that they're capable of tearing it apart then go through fazes where they look completely lost and un-interested. That shouldn't be because they aren't exactly new faces anymore. I believe they need a Nathan Buckley type as coach who is always pushing them harder and harder.

 

[Chief Ten Beers]

Could you imagine the development for somebody like Beams and Pendles could do if you had Bucks around?

 

[PieLebo87]

Exactly.

Players like Pendlebury, Beams, Sidebottom, McCarthy and Wellingham can relate to Buckley more because he is of a more modern game style and his advice would be invaluable in developing their games.