Why???

[Windas_Magic]

If theres something i've realised its over the past 3-5 years, we mainly do the same thing. That is, in Q1 we run, carry, take the ball down the guts, kick goals and play suberb footy and get a handy lead but then in the next 3 quarters we go quiet and stop running the ball and quite easily lose our lead. We become more defensive and less confident. We simply cant maintain 4 quarters of high standard footy. Some instances from this year are the following games: Carlton, Collingwood (ANZAC DAY), Hawthorn and the Freo game where we looked great early but just stopped. Why do you think thid happens reguarly??

 

[Charliebrow 16]

I've noticed it a bit, however the quarter i notice it most is the last.
There were years on end where we would just struggle to win ourselves a last quarter which is something that lost us many a game over the years.

We could probably put it down to confidence loss, when the opposition get a full head of momentum that can be pretty bloody hard to stop at the best of times (Last year vs Carlton anyone?).
But the real reson is that most teams, especailly a team as young as ours has been, just can't consistently play at the same level or better for four quarters.
We get tored and let the opposition back into the game with unforced errors and undiscipline.

 

[Jono B]

I've noticed it a bit, however the quarter i notice it most is the last.
There were years on end where we would just struggle to win ourselves a last quarter which is something that lost us many a game over the years.

We could probably put it down to confidence loss, when the opposition get a full head of momentum that can be pretty bloody hard to stop at the best of times (Last year vs Carlton anyone?).
But the real reson is that most teams, especailly a team as young as ours has been, just can't consistently play at the same level or better for four quarters.
We get tored and let the opposition back into the game with unforced errors and undiscipline.

Um, we won most last quarters last year.

 

[GuzzLG]

Um, we won most last quarters last year.

Yep, we didn't lose 1 game after leading at 3qtr time. Also won 4 after trailing at the last break.

 

[Windas_Magic]

I know our last quarters were great this season but im mainly talking about second and third quarters where we take the foot of the peddal. Its as if we think that all the hard works been done in the first

 

[Jono B]

I know our last quarters were great this season but im mainly talking about second and third quarters where we take the foot of the peddal. Its as if we think that all the hard works been done in the first

I think it has a lot to do with our problems with midfield depth. Simply our second string of our midfield was nowhere near strong enough.

 

[Houli2Gumbleton]

I believe it was the fitness. That's y knights is focusing on it so much.

 

[Charliebrow 16]

Um, we won most last quarters last year.

What i said was i notice the last quarters the most.
And never once did i say that we struggled to win last quarters in 07.
I said that last quarters were something that we lost heaps of games because of...

 

[The_Young_Gun]

27 years of Sheedy..... I hate to say it but I think most of our players got bored of him in the end, and that, that may be why the bombers have been so shocking and Inconsistant from the past years of football, which probably influanced the board in Sheedy getting the axe.

If I could compare Kevin Sheedy to anyone it would be Pat Riley, they both have been in the business of coaching for over 20 years, both have won many championships, and both have the ability to bring any side out with a win on they're backs. If anything they are most a like with their speaches and motivational talks that they do, lately Pat Rileys team (The Miami Heat) have been shocking this year (9-34), just like Essendon in our 2006 season. Players of the heat have said that after so many years with Riley as coach, they have just gotton bored and sick of him, especially sick of his speeches and motivational talks. Even Pat Riley has said that he is out of motivation and that he doesn't have many more speeches left in him... Don't be too surprised if Pat Riley gets sacked anytime soon.

Sometimes when Essendon play poorly, you can just tell that most of our players aren't motivated or looked pissed off for some reason, so many years of sheedy, I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of our players had already gotten sick of him by the end of the 2006 season.

 

[bomba4eva]

Lack of confidence and belief, poor tactical manoeveuring in the coaches box, a change in mental approach of 'protecting the lead' rather than carrying on and destroying teams etc.
Seeing Knights gameplan is one of the most interesting things for me this season.

 

[DonMania#5]

It's all about the fitness...hopefully this will improve under Knighta this season.

 

[Ebert80]

I recall 2 last quarters last year where the Bombers totally outscored their opposition - v Port at Footy Park, and the Eagles over in WA. They gave too much of a start, but finished well, i dont think your club had a fitness problem at all last year.

 

[Slattery_20]

What i said was i notice the last quarters the most.
And never once did i say that we struggled to win last quarters in 07.
I said that last quarters were something that we lost heaps of games because of...

But we didn't.
Don't have the final stat, but about 2/3rds through the season, we were the #1 team in the comp, in last quarters

What I did notice was we fell away rapidly, during quarters. ie Kick the first 3-4, then sit back and watch the opposition kick the next 3, then we scrap at the end of the quarter

Probably comes down to depth at the end of the day

 

[adamcf]

I'd say there was a tad of underestimation of our opponents. If we managed a lead early.. then we thought it would be easy to hold. But, when there is an opportunity to pin your ears back and go for it, we'd go well (i.e. the last quarters were good). That's youth I'd say and inexperience. This season.. more games in 'em, should be promising. (And at least our defence is better than Carltons).

 

[Windas_Magic]

I recall 2 last quarters last year where the Bombers totally outscored their opposition - v Port at Footy Park, and the Eagles over in WA. They gave too much of a start, but finished well, i dont think your club had a fitness problem at all last year.

The only reason we got back into those games so well was because the opposition went napping. both had a 8-10 goal leads and didnt maintain the intensity until Essendon got 4 or 5 on the board in the last Q. By then, Essendon had momentum and finished strongly. Still good signs for us but we have to learn never to let the oppostion back in it. Another example was the Melbourne game, we won it but it was appauling to watch our second and third quarters

 

[GoDons]

I'm not sure it was a fitness problem, I'd put it down to a lack of quality rotations.

We just didn't have enough quality midfielders to run out 4 quarters of a high standard.

 

[Shane Hird]

27 years of Sheedy..... I hate to say it but I think most of our players got bored of him in the end, and that, that may be why the bombers have been so shocking and Inconsistant from the past years of football, which probably influanced the board in Sheedy getting the axe.

If I could compare Kevin Sheedy to anyone it would be Pat Riley, they both have been in the business of coaching for over 20 years, both have won many championships, and both have the ability to bring any side out with a win on they're backs. If anything they are most a like with their speaches and motivational talks that they do, lately Pat Rileys team (The Miami Heat) have been shocking this year (9-34), just like Essendon in our 2006 season. Players of the heat have said that after so many years with Riley as coach, they have just gotton bored and sick of him, especially sick of his speeches and motivational talks. Even Pat Riley has said that he is out of motivation and that he doesn't have many more speeches left in him... Don't be too surprised if Pat Riley gets sacked anytime soon.
Sometimes when Essendon play poorly, you can just tell that most of our players aren't motivated or looked pissed off for some reason, so many years of sheedy, I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of our players had already gotten sick of him by the end of the 2006 season.

I'll be checking the Miami Heat site everyday for the breaking news..

 

[GmeUP]

I think the key is complacency. When we kick away to good starts if you look in the goalkickers column its usually 1-2 blokes with 80% of the score and the other players simply start relying on them to score instead of taking other options. Instead of spotting up a McVeigh who is one out 15 from home we bomb into Scotty who is now double or triple teamed after booting 5. The easy rebound then comes, Fev kicks a lifter from 55 and the Blues start to get a sniff, we continue kicking to Lloyd and Lucas cause they got us this far ahead and the easy rebounds keep coming leaving us vulnerable down back.

When we are winning on the other hand there are 5-6 goalscorers who kicked our first 10 and we are still getting run from out the backline with guys like McPhee, Fletcher and Ryder chiming in with goals.

 

[bomberz08]

so true windas magic....just on her in french haha

 

[Pevers-Legend]

Two types of fatigue - physical and mental.

We seem to sturggle mentally for more than 2 quarters. Again part of this I blame on the gameplan and coach.

Sheedy made the interchange bench a revolving door. The last few years as his conservatism has set in, it became more like a broken door that opened seldomly.

 

[smcateer]

I think the key is complacency. When we kick away to good starts if you look in the goalkickers column its usually 1-2 blokes with 80% of the score and the other players simply start relying on them to score instead of taking other options. Instead of spotting up a McVeigh who is one out 15 from home we bomb into Scotty who is now double or triple teamed after booting 5. The easy rebound then comes, Fev kicks a lifter from 55 and the Blues start to get a sniff, we continue kicking to Lloyd and Lucas cause they got us this far ahead and the easy rebounds keep coming leaving us vulnerable down back.

When we are winning on the other hand there are 5-6 goalscorers who kicked our first 10 and we are still getting run from out the backline with guys like McPhee, Fletcher and Ryder chiming in with goals.

When will the flashbacks STOP?!? That post was a serious stream-of-consiousness ... good work.

Simple ... the game has 4 quarters, to win you show up for them all. Just show up, that's all. If you're not there you lose. We played the 4 Q's of a match on just a couple of occasions last year ... Freo, Bears, Geelong (we showed up, but still got smashed - I left happy that day, bleeding but happy) ... can't think of any others.

 

[FandangoDingo]

I actually thought that last year, we often had a few (too many) goals kicked on us in the overtime period, whatever quarter it was.