The heat is on everybody after that game.

The 'experts' know what they see. We know what we see. The MC and coach know what they see, but what are they doing about it? What's their plan?

Start again. Drop Pagan. Inject some new iseas. Send a message to the players who know are slow and to those who think are untouchable:

Ackland: drop and shame him to retirement (enter Aisake)
Lance: drop and early retirement (enter Kennedy)
Saddo: drop and get him to coach the young defenders (enter Hartlett)
Kouta: drop/ rotate from bench and retire (enter Bower)

Bentick: drop and put Russell in the middle (enter Benjamin on wing)
Blackwell: drop and replace with Anderson (enter Anderson on wing)

There's a few more in last week's team that are on my radar too, but I'd rather give them a few more games:

Banno (bring on Flint/ Hampson)
Wiggo (bring on Edwards)
Houla (if there's no place for him on a wing or forwardline bring on Grigg)

Setanta FB and ruck looked after by Aisake and bring in Hampson as the 2nd ruck...to send a message to Ackland, and give him a taste of the big boys' league.

Firstly, sign up players not in contract who we want retained.

Secondly, Sack Pagan, and send a message that the last chapter is closed, and everyone is on notice.

It's time to make some 'expert' decisions.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

i agree with everything written there bondiblue but if you make those changes we might start to look 'quick'.

Agree bondi with most of your post.
I would not give Houlihan another game. Can you name one player from Geelong, West Coast, Adelaide and Hawthorn who has the same level of defensive skills as Houlihan. Not one .If Houlihan was axed no other club would want him and he would be playing against or with his brother Josh . He has played close to 150 games and sets such a poor example for our young players.

The biggest concern is the Ruck and we have really [REDACTED] up here. Remember what the Saints did with Capuano a few years ago. They got rid of him before the season was finished and his contract for the same reasons we should do the same to Ackland
Ackland is at his 3rd club and is 25. We have to admit we made a mistake and sack him. We can then promote both Aisake and Jacobs off the rookie list and play them. Carlos could play down back where he should be. I love Carlos but he wont have the skills to be a ruckman but as a defender his guts and enthusiasm and height and agility will make him a difficult opponent. Because he is spending half the time on the pine as a resting ruckman he development isnt happening. Aisake is a more natural footballer and is taller. Jacobs has already played seniors for Woodville/West Torrens and gives a contest. Hampson isnt ready yet. Wont be till 08. It simply has to be done because Ackland is so bad. we dont lose anything in the ruck.
Bannister I would get rid of as well. He is 25 in October. He should be better. Two good games out of 51 doesnt make a career.

I would keep Bentick on but he needs to add a few strings to the bow.

Not sure about Bower.He has less defensive skills as Houlihan from what I have seen. Jackson is worth more of a punt although Bower's height is an advantage over Jackson.

To me Friday night' game was probably the most significant game in the club's recent history. Given Williams , Franklin, Dixon and Vandenberg were all out it was a disgraceful effort. Time for some tough decisions to be made IMO

The glaring deficiency on Friday night was in the 2nd quarter when the dawks got on top at the rucks and our two combatants here were absolutely smashed and their runners got a sniff and it was all over from there.

This was subsequently compounded by the thrashing Saddo and Red got in defence. It was horrifying seeing what happened from the 2nd quarter onwards. And its not like Taylor and Campbell are elite rucks but they monstered Ackland and Carlos. We were simply non-competitive in the rucks for an entire quarter (plus).

We still have a long way to go. We have focussed on talls in the past few drafts so I hope for flower sake that someone can stand up for our defence because we have neglected the middle because of it. We still need runners. You dont win games of footy without a line-up of good to great running midfielders. And as for the rucks!!!

If we keep running into teams with form like the other night then we will be losing more than winning.

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C'mon Blueboys!

The game has changed a lot since last year when Lance won the B&F. Sure it has .. NOT. What a pack of whingeing wankers. I rekon I could count 2 players that performed reasonably tonight ... lets sack the whole team.

Youre abit slow on the uptake!
Lance is abit like you.. slow!!!
He was slow last year.. he played as a spare man in defence.
HGe was gifted best and fairest.. so he can be captain.
No way was he our best player last year.

This year he is an albatross around our neck.. the game is faster and he just cant do it!

Simple...

And as to why a team can crumble???
Because we dont have every player doing their bit and covering the ground.
Youre as strong as your weakest link.....
When Kouta and Lance cant/ wont chase.. others have to come away from their man to help.. which opens things right up.. for the opposition!

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I must admit Synbad you were right about trading Lance a couple of years ago. I can't see him going on after next year, he's like an old man out there.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

Well.. i did say he will be finished aged 28... how old is Lance???

And like i keep saying.. he might play the odd good 10 minutes.. or quarter.. or even half a game.. but he cant string together whats needed in the modern game to have any kind of sustainability about his game that we need.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

keogh wrote



keogh I always take an interest in particular posters, and you're one of them.

You get out and see the Ants and training...and call a spade a spade...sometimes I don't agree with spades, especially when I need a fork.

So as far as the Houla thing is concerned, I trust you, but I can't agree at this stage...
maybe it's because of this game plan,
maybe because I suspect Pagan is behind it,
maybe because he's playing in the wrong position
maybe because I want to improve his trade currency
maybe because I am biased

so the jury is out with him, but I believe you.

I wouldn't sack Cane to elevate Aisake and Jacobs, only because we would have to pay him out, and that makes him a winner. We can elevate Aisake for Cloke, and Jacobs for Stevens, which means Jackson goes back to the rookie list. I want him disgraced in the two's by the Carltonians and media, unless he can change his ways (doubt it)...fancy being paid $450K per year to play reserves. It will also serve as a reminder when trading.

Just banish Ackland the 'lout'.

Bannister,Bentick, Blackwell...I've dropped my bias favourtism of these guys, but I still see an upside in them....but I need proof if we are going to persist with them and that they are made of the material required to take us to finals.

As for Bower...he's young, and can be tried and then dropped for not following defensive instructions...maybe that will fix his issue, or tell us that he can't follow instruction. Size wise he's very very right, and he has speed. I liked what I saw last year against Sydney in Sydney...he looked defensive enough for mine.

Mate I'm not going to be biased from now on....of course I'll always like watching Houla kick goals...but if hasn't got his whole game in check then stuff him too....and to tell the truth I'm not convinced in Jackson, Blackwell or Wiggins, but at least Wiggo bleeds the navy blue...just not sure if this is enough...am starting to like him more than the other ex favourites of mine.

I think there's one thing we're all sure of, and that is Ackland MUST be dropped, and Lance should rest the knee for the rest of the year. If he isn't, sack Pagan and the experts will come in and make that decision for him.

I'm thinking finals, I'm thinking flags.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

What do you reckon we could get for him now?

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

Lance was stupid a few years back whenPagan moved him to the backline.

He should have done what Fev did and let 5 get kicked on him in a quarter then he would have spent the last 4 years or so up forward and probably kicked 50 - 60 goals a year

So much for his brain hey

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

I'm not knocking him as a player Sydney, I just think his body is done. I was watching some footage from 99 the other day and he is just so much slower now. So we've got a slow player getting slower in a sport that is getting faster. I agree though that he should be left up forward.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

Surely that's a bit drastic considering you couldn't see how we could possibly miss the finals only a week ago?

Dreamin'!!!!



Hed finish in the top 10 in the competitions goal kicking if he could do that!!!

If he could do that there would be a line up bigger than the dole que in Dandenong to sign him up as a forward by other clubs.

Look you really have to rip yourself away from the past mate!!!

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Setanta ain't the answer at fb people, on the genuine full forwards he was often pant'sed this year - I see him as a defender but not against the power forwards, he is easily outbodied. I also don't understand why the "Experts" are all bagging Carrots so much, whilst I agree he is a blue collar worker there are so many more who I would say weren't up to it before him - on SEN after the game he was copping a PASTING

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Cheerio to my friends KN, BC, TT, GP, DK, AE, MS, SC, TC, JL, MO & LF

Carrots is a good kid and a player we need around the club for a while.
People knock him cos they dont know where to vent cos were not as advanced as we like to think.
He is a no name player who is not an early picks so its easy to bag him.
He is however one of our best 5 players this year.

Keep it up son!!!

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Bloody oath! Carrotts has stepped up when a lot of other 'names' have dropped off.
Carrotts is leading

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There's so much I could say...

Be careful who you call 'an athlete' ahead of 'a footballer’.

Our drafting decisions have just as much to do with lack of overall discernment as they do with chasing the 'athletes'.

Players like Pendlebury and Birchall and had been written off by some as athletes only. I think we have missed out on a few 'natural footballers' (who just happen to be very good athletically as well) because we were looking to plug holes, which seems to be our the biggest problem.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Mordan wrote



I noticed you referred to 'that' poster (me) last week, and I knew I was going to be a bit embarrassed by this if we lost...and I was expecting you to write something, to remind me of my rose coloured glasses...it was a bit of fun...a different way to view things....I tried to give a positive spin, and don't believe tanking would help our club in the short term when we have plenty of off field things working for us (in the pipeline) and the off field personnel need a statement from the players that supports their vision.

The changes I've always and still believe in:



We know about these guys, but don't know much about Hartlett, Aisake and Bower. We know we need to develop Kennedy, and frankly I see Kennedy as the right person to plonk in the forwardline to replace Lance.

You of all people know how I feel about our ruck situation. Yes I'm happy that Hampson and Jacobs were drafted/rookied with a long term view to fix the massive problem, but we're still stuffed in this department with Ackland, McLaren, Setanta and Cloke....maybe Setanta in a year or 2 will be able to play this position well.

But watching the Hawks on Friday, really spelled out what hard fast running is all about, and to counter that in games (let alone finals) we are very exposed. Yeah we beat the Doggies, but they made terrible mistakes throughout that game. We can't afford to carry too many slow players moving forward; that's all I'm really saying.

As for those bagging Carrots...

...Stop picking on Carrots you clowns!!! Have a look at where the real problems are. @#$%&! idiots.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Hehe yeah bondi, it was kinda a cheap shot. I just get frustrated by the roller coaster opinions of a lot of posters on here, and your posts were the most obvious this week. We win one game, and we're finals bound, we lose one and we're rubbish. One game, no matter what the result, means very little at this stage of our development (and that goes for individual players as well as the team). It's all about the development curve over the year.

While I was disappointed by the performance on Friday night, I wasn't overly surprised. We've still got a lot of inconsistent performers, and unfortunately some of them are also our senior players.

But Friday night was lost in the ruck and in the middle. Our midfield is mostly our younger players, and as a group they had a shocker. There's been a lot of talk about lack of speed, but I don't think that was the problem. At least leg speed wasn't. Far too many players just starting 3 steps behind their opponent, and then not chasing hard after they were caught out. Houla and Kouta have copped a lot of flack, but they weren't really any worse than our younger mids. Just easier targets.

A developing teams needs consistent performances from senior players to allow the younger players to develop around them with less pressure. With one or two exceptions, we don't have that. So we're left to choose between inconsistent senior players, or no senior players. A lose, lose situation really. And unfortunately one that can only be fixed by time (unless we go using high draft picks on older players, a big no no).

You argue for dropping the senior players, and just playing all youth, but I think that has its pitfalls too. Ultimately we have to take the route that is best for the young players, and I don't think that playing them before they're ready (Hampson, Jacobs, Benjamin etc) without senior players around them to take the heat off is the right thing to do.

As for Pagan, the change of coach is a card we need to hang onto and play at the right time. We'll get a boost in morale and optimism from it, and need to play that at the right time. Maybe that means riding out the year and using it to offset the discontent at another low finish. Or maybe we want to get some late wins and play the card with 6 games to go and play for a late season rush. Personally, I think we ride out the year and assess the options at the end of the year. No half-arsed appointments, let's do it properly.