Thoughts on the Game

[Ripper]

Although the result was not a surprise in completely terrible conditions, there were good signs to come out of the game.
I was pleased with the way the boys fought it out right to the siren and when a blue started it was one in all in.

I defy anybody to find anyone who didn't put his body on the line today.

I can handle losing to a better team when everyone has a go.

Well done boys.

 

[Kapow!!!]

Biggest Croc I've heard all week unfortunately Rip. We showed that we could easily be bumped off the ball, have a c*ap coach, can't play pressure games and showed no signs of finals footy.

I mean who would get beaten by 50 points in those conditions?

 

[Ripper]

Biggest Croc I've heard all week unfortunately Rip. We showed that we could easily be bumped off the ball, have a c*ap coach, can't play pressure games and showed no signs of finals footy.

I mean who would get beaten by 50 points in those conditions?

So you are saying they didn't have a go? Didn't look like it from where I watched. Nothing soft about them today.

Outplayed , but we expected that , but not soft.

 

[Eagles4Ever]

Although the result was not a surprise in completely terrible conditions, there were good signs to come out of the game.
I was pleased with the way the boys fought it out right to the siren and when a blue started it was one in all in.

I defy anybody to find anyone who didn't put his body on the line today.

I can handle losing to a better team when everyone has a go.

Well done boys.

Been reading the posts because i'm not one to butt in a bag a team when they lose, especially onb there own board but Ripper... please.

 

[Kapow!!!]

So you are saying they didn't have a go? Didn't look like it from where I watched. Nothing soft about them today.

Outplayed , but we expected that , but not soft.

In that third quarter, I saw Pavlich even be bumped off the ball. Everyone was bumped off the ball and we struggled with that. I'm not saying they didn't have a go, after half time they didn't have a go. The first half was fine, and then we gave up........

Hopefully we can bounce back with a derby win because if we can't....kiss finals goodbye. We're already only in it to make up numbers and now we're in danger of missing them altogether due to percentage.

But then again, I'm a severe pessimist and I'm sure by tomorrow my mood will change

 

[FreoDocker]

People will talk about the weather being a factor, but there were two teams out there today and Geelong played the conditions alot better.

For all the talk in the offseason about the amount of weight our team had put on, the way they were talking about it, it was almost a seen as a given that they would actually use it and toughen up. While I'm not saying that the players were soft today, I don't think they used their body size to their advantage, we have this extra weight, but if we don't know how to use it, it's just useless.

I would have liked us to have played good one on one footy to ensure that we would at least have a 50/50 contest for each kick forward. Instead we let men roam free across halfback to ensure that our players were consistently outnumbered.

Today we were simply not good enough. The coach was not good enough in his flexibility and methods. The players were not good enough in their skills and endeavour. Lets face it, unless we win next week we're out of the finals.

 

[hoss]

I agree with Rip in regard to us not being soft. The application today was better than most of the last month.

We were simply outplayed by a better team that played the conditions way better. The last couple of weeks has shown that we must improve rapidly, if not instantly.

I also question our game plan at certain stages of the game. I thought our first quarter was OK and we should have played that way in the third. If it ain't broke , don't fix it.

 

[tico]

So you are saying they didn't have a go? Didn't look like it from where I watched. Nothing soft about them today.

Outplayed , but we expected that , but not soft.

they had a go in very trying conditions but how were they coached in your opinion RIPPER?
how do you you think CC went with his tactics?

 

[FreoDocker]

If you've got the wind and balance of play, you would think that having an extra man or 2 in defense wouldn't be of much use. I mean we have to score to win, so we should at least have man on man in the forward line to give us an even shot.

 

[Ripper]

they had a go in very trying conditions but how were they coached in your opinion RIPPER?
how do you you think CC went with his tactics?

Tactics don't come in to a game like that very much. Basically the ball bounces around and occasionally someone jags a goal.

Can't see what else could have been done except try 211 a bit earlier.

I wouldn't worry about the coach tico, He obviously "Has" the players by the spirit that was shown even when we were well behind on the scoreboard.

 

[tico]

Tactics don't come in to a game like that very much. Basically the ball bounces around and occasionally someone jags a goal.

Can't see what else could have been done except try 211 a bit earlier.

I wouldn't worry about the coach tico, He obviously "Has" the players by the spirit that was shown even when we were well behind on the scoreboard.

before you read below it is noted how bad the conditions were BUT....

why did were they continuously kicking to that pocket on kickouts trying nothing else,

why did he have them(forward line) push down into our backline only to have three geelong players by themselves evrytime the ball went past the middle?

are the players so stupid that they cannot follow instuctions or is it the coach asking them to play that way?

sandilands is a joke joke thats just my opinion and i hope he proves me wrong ,i will gladly eat my words IF he does BUT why would you ,play him today? find it SO puzzling.

If you believe that he done his job today as a coach then you are kidding yourself.

defend our team and our coach when you have to and i promise you that when we do well you will hear from me to congratulate them, but also admit to when his is making mistakes as a coach

defending your team blindly whether they win lose or draw, whether they need to be critisied or congratulated should be done on its merits not because you support a team. That is what breeds mediocrity.

 

[voodoo_86]

My thoughts...

Personally I could not believe what I read at the beginning of this thread, while some of the points have merit, we cannot possibly reward that mediocrity with praise. We didn't score a goal in the entire second half.

Commitment was good, I didn't even think we were that badly outplayed (50 points in those conditions) around the ground but the 2 forward lines were completely different in their output. The number of inside 50s geelong had was amazing, and when we had the breeze we couldnt maximise that benefit. Geelongs forward pressure was awesome, ours left something to be desired.

Kick outs were absolutely pathetic, I believe we are the worst kicking out side in the league. No innovation, and our simple structure (connolly's own words) simply isnt working.

I was ready to let rip on the umpires at half time, costing us medders goal (well.. I think it was over the line when it went on its point) and some cheesy free kicks that were there in 90% of the contests but suddenly get called. Probably a good thing we got thumped like we did, removed that excuse.

Shining light - Dylan Smith. Thank god we finally have a clearance king in the mould of say a Sam Mitchell. This guy is very impressive 2 weeks running.

I thought Pav was one of the few players to use his body strength well.

Why the hell was sandilands in the team? That is definately not his weather. Granted he rarely played, but surely someone else would have been better.

McManus is in trouble.. he's slipped back into his pre-dropped form and could be in line for another wake up call, he's lucky we don't have any obvious replacements coming towards the end of the season.

Derby is going to be huge. Not even a win will guarentee us a place in the finals but it should get us there. I think the eagles chances are almost up with essendon and sydney getting up (and one of them definately getting to 12 wins seeing they play each other next week) If Kangas beat the Saints then that will almost seal their fate.

Anyways that will do for now. Mindless ramblings.

 

[Ripper]

sandilands is a joke joke thats just my opinion and i hope he proves me wrong ,i will gladly eat my words IF he does BUT why would you ,play him today? find it SO puzzling.

You are entitled to your opinion but he had more impact in his 1qtr + 5 minutes than Simmo did all game (and I don't consider Simmo a joke)
The Stats are that we have only won 1 game this year (against Brisbane with no ruckman) & 1 game last year (Against the kangaroos at Subi) when 211 didn't play.

We have lost a couple when IMO we would have had more of a show if he did play (Bombres at the Dome this year) Sydney at the SCG last year)

We have won a few that He has got us back into (Richmond at the MCG) Geelong at Subi Last year.

We have lost a few when being in a winning position and he has gone off the Ball. (Collingwood , Melbourne at Subi this year)

Not a "Joke" my opinion.

If you believe that he done his job today as a coach then you are kidding yourself.

defend our team and our coach when you have to and i promise you that when we do well you will hear from me to congratulate them, but also admit to when his is making mistakes as a coach

defending your team blindly whether they win lose or draw, whether they need to be critisied or congratulated should be done on its merits not because you support a team. That is what breeds mediocrity.

For week we have been calling for the boys to shed their "Soft" tag and go hard etc etc.

Against the Cats they did that on a day when there were a record 198 tackles (them 100 us 98) laid.

I know you think I am a bit silly but I am happier about that game than any for quite a while.

 

[hoss]

I might be a sucker for punishment, but watched the game again lastnight (on tape.) IMO, the boys applied themselves completely for the whole game. Their tackling, chasing, trying to get the pill etc should not be questioned this week. Geelong outplayed us and adapted better to the conditions, thats all.

 

[auste1234]

Come on guys, you are settling here a little short. For most of the day we never had the ball. Its because geelong didn't kick straight the margain was only 50.

Geelong played alot better and could have won by 70+ points.......the fact is we got smashed in the 2nd half.

Are you guys forgetting we didn't score a goal in the first quarter, 3rd quarter and 4th quarter. Come on...... we are the joke of the weekend at the moment. I had visions of this exact result happening and it did, but i still can't believe it!

 

[hoss]

Come on guys, you are settling here a little short. For most of the day we never had the ball. Its because geelong didn't kick straight the margain was only 50.

Geelong played alot better and could have won by 70+ points.......the fact is we got smashed in the 2nd half.

Are you guys forgetting we didn't score a goal in the first quarter, 3rd quarter and 4th quarter. Come on...... we are the joke of the weekend at the moment. I had visions of this exact result happening and it did, but i still can't believe it!

I agree - we got smashed and it could've been much worse. It wasn't through lack of effort though, just lack of skill and ability to play the conditions.