we didn't look switched on at all tonight - even when we were 22 up in the second. A few soft 50's and we got goals. Hard to win when you let tthe opposition kick 7 in a row without putting a major on the board!!!

We hurt our top 4 credentials tonight, and will struggle to stay in there. Lost 2 out of the last 3 and injuries to key players are hurting us.

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For some silly reason, you people want to assassinate him, and it's just rubbish. You people. All of you, ALL of you!

Agree.

Out
Houlihan
Joseph
Waite (inj)

In
Curnow
Tuohy
Carazzo

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There is no footy god

Just lazy. The hunting in packs and desire to hurt sides with tackles that is there when we are playing our best was just not there today. No spark.

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The only way for some people to understand is for them to be on the receiving end

Left wing moralists
In self serving denial
They shit me no end

That just about covers it. The big challenge will be where do we go from here?

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

I think that is pretty right. He did get caught once tonight and turned it over a couple of times. He certainly needs space, which is getting harder and harder to find. Ratts likes to play him in the back half when quite a few people think he is better served in the front half receiving and going inside 50.
But he won't be dropped on tonight's performance because he was far from our worst.

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

Houlihan should stay but he is more suited to being the specialist sub. He can come on when fatigue has set in and use his skill in space.

JR should be either IN the 21 or OUT.

Paul Bower, the person that a lot of people here have in their best team has the following stats:

Games Played: 59
Games Lost: 38
Percentage of Games Lost: 66.10%
Percentage of Games Won:33.90

Games Carlton Played since first playing PB:107
Games Lost: 58.5
Games Won: 48.5
Percentage of Games Lost: 54.67
Percentage of Games Won: 45.33

Carlton's Record without PB playing:
Games Played: 48
Games Lost: 20.5
Games Won: 27.5
Percentage of Games Lost: 42.71
Percentage of Games Won: 57.29

These stats don't lie, spin this anyway you like, he is overrated and when he plays we have a greater chance of losing and when he doesn't play we have a greater chance of winning.

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

[youtube]EN-3_OR7JoE[/youtube]

Another challenge and another failure. The SCG is the only challenge passed this year. Essendon*, Collingwood, Geelong, West Coast, and now Bulldogs all put pressure on us and we have come up short every time.

We play a game style that works to beat up average sides, but any genuine pressure applied and it wilts. Thank god they didn't take the bait and re-sign Ratten after winning 4 on the trot. This game style will fail in finals pressure and if we don't get past the first week of finals it is over.

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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

Credit to the Dogs. Their workrate was far superior to ours and their willingness to work for each other at the stoppages paid dividends. Some good lessons for several players.
1. It doesn't matter how supremely fit/fast you are. If you're only willing to work hard one way, you'll be exposed.
2. Leading to the boundary consistently doesn't equal effort. The opposition will always concede the boundary. Good forwards work their opponents over until they can open the corridor through sheer exhaustion.
3. Consistently zoning off in the backline will find you out when the opposition have control of the ball.
4. We'll know we're a true threat when our structure stands up to losing personnel. A good, well drilled system allows players to come in a replace injuries without losing a lot of impetus. We aren't at that stage yet.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

If those are our INs and OUTs, and I am not having a go at you cos its not out of the question, then the pies will do destroy us. 10 goals +

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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

http://www.afl.com.au/Video/tabid/76/co ... fault.aspx

What the hell happened there?

we have beaten,
tigers twice
swans twice
lions
adelaide
melbourne
saints
gold coast
what does that tell you?
joseph
houlihan
bower
thornton,
thanks for your services.
we will be lucky to make the 8, overrated.

Robbo was not moving freely also. Kicking mainly with his left. Yaz looked tight also.
I am not blaming injuries but think the selection of so many injured players was always going to be costly.

I think we need to get more running players in the next draft so we have more options to rest and rotate players as the season goes on.

Put those same stats on Murphy and Gibbs over their entire careers and you'll find they're useless as well. And Scotland and Simpson while you're at it.
If you want to make stats say something, it's pretty easy to find a way. Just find the biggest losing streak you can find and then prove every player in the team was a dud. Bower may not be the best player on the list but when he is fit, confident and backing himself, he does contribute a lot. Tonight he played in the forward fifty for most of the game. It isn't where he has played his best footy for us. He's just a kid. He'll either make it or he won't.

Simmo apparently went 4 weeks in a row with no possessions at all. Feed that into a stats machine and see how it comes out.

"Lies, lies and bloody statistics" (Don't know who said it first)

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

The SCG win is the only win of merit.

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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

After that insipid display tonight we should start rebuilding for next season - Bulldogs are a very ordinary side who rag-dolled us tonight.

Need to put a line through Thornton, Houlihan, Joseph, McLean and consider whether its worth keeping Betts, Bower, Sentanta, Austin, Armfield.

Lets not kid ourselves, we need to start recruiting players who can kick the F*%ken footy - that would be a great start.

I dare you to do it on Murphy and Gibbs, do some research before spouting a garbage response. Simmo went three games without a touch, big deal, this isn't about him, nor is it about tonight in isolation. Overrate PB at your own risk.

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

Benjamin Disraeli (and it's "lies, damn lies and statistics").

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"You can't polish a James Hird"

There seems to me that there are three reasons you lose a game with a more talented side.
1. You're poor tactically and you let the game get away from you, unable to make changes that can even stall the other sides momentum. Rattan and co were poor tonight I thought.
2. Your on field leaders shrink under pressure and are unwilling to sacrifice their own game to effect a change.
3. The team as a whole are mentally fragile and when some pressure and self doubt kick in the group as a whole shrinks.

I thought we had all three in spades and until we address we will not hold a spot on the ladder eqaul to the talent of our list.

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I've learned that life is one crushing defeat after another, until you just wish McGuire was dead

Disappointing how much we bombed the ball into the 50 without a reliable tall up forward. The one thing we have is pace up forward but we weren't able to create any space.