..you might be surprised by that, plenty of good rucks don't do much forward, our problem is we need them to be good up fwd cos we don't have a good forward combo to rely on weekly, and haven't for years now..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

..we don't really have anyone better, some say simmo but not really.. ..our on field culture has been weak for years, and simmo is among those that ought to help but we are still the same.. ..no real leaders..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

Should've recruited Joel Tippett.

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We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.

Another brilliant performance by Dr Strangelove tonight ... we learnt so much.

It really cleared our vision. So many CONS we can learn from.

Obviously Henderson is going to have to play back. I love the way the Doctor held back on the decision to send him back when Watson was being slaughtered (and McInnes was virtually ineffectual). It really showed some insight ... and placed the full stop at the end of the sentence.

Now we can all see the issues.

I must say one of the many master strokes came in the last quarter when he took Bell, our big bodied midfielder out of the game just when we needed some strength. Once again ... this gave us clarity ... now we know we need big bodied midfielders.

I am much in admiration of the Doctor ... sooner or later the old fashioned bomb tactic will work. After all who needs any of that fancy modern coaching.

I say ... lets hold off on bringing in Cripps and Buckley ... there is still so more to be learnt.

Dr Strangelove and MC ... insightful ... way to go.

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I am as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!!

Sadly, the above sums up my feelings toward the club.

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They will know that they've been playing against the famous old dark blues

Pros:
Collingwood lost.
Richmond lost.
Port was good value at the TAB.

Cons:
Was obvious early we couldn't sustain the ferocity we showed in the first quarter.
Not sticking enough tackles.
The ruckmen.
The split round.
A reactive supporter base who were happy to rip into our recruiters all offseason but come the first game can't understand why we lacked depth & talent.

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@cecil_anderson

unfortunately the club keeps deluding itself

we constantly over rate our abilities and pay the price for it

blind freddy could see that a full rebuild was required

instead we recruit like we are the Swans and set ourselves back another 5 years

When was Sydney's rebuild? Geelong's? Freo's? I don't buy that a rebuild involves bottoming out. We turned over a substantial amount of the list last offseason. The rebuild is already happening.

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@cecil_anderson

Hampson played pretty well last night; we got rid of the wrong ruckman (then there's Jacobs). Playing Kruse as a forward reminds me of the definition of insanity, repeating the same actions expecting a different result.

Murphy has been shot for confidence when it comes to kicking for goal since he blew the final against WC in 2011. Will always hand it off if possible, hardly what you want from a captain.

It's been said plenty of times, but ah gee how bad has our recruiting been?

On the bright side, plenty of underdone players, should be better for the hit out. The Tiggers on the 27th is the litmus test; lose that and it's going to be a long season, no excuses.

Hey we have 2 Irish madmen waiting in the wings......Get em playin....

Disappointed, but not really surprised. The game went pretty much how I expected after we didn't make the most of our chances in the first half. I think everyone at the ground (including the Port players) could see that the Blues needed to be at least 4-5 goals up at 3/4 time or else it was likely to be a Port victory. The final margin was about what I expected when we only led by a kick at 3/4 time.

Whether it was physical or mental, I don't know. But one thing the last quarter definitely was - predictable.

Simmo is our best player by some distance in my eyes.

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It's never as good as it looks and it's never as bad as it seems.

22 players with offseason surgeries
Some of our best 22 still on the sidelines
Some of our best 22 out there horribly underdone
Trying to figure out the right mix given the above
Conditioning due to the above. Buttifant's not a miracle worker
Fittest team in the comp burnt us off in the last

What's to get? It's round one. I thought we might steal it in an arm wrestle but it was always gonna be 50/50. After the first quarter (which was fantastic and showed what the team can do when fit/fresh), I said we'd need at least a 4-5 goal 3 quarter time lead. Probably wasn't far off the mark. Port coming out full of run in the last is the worst kept secret ever, I'm really surprised that anyone's surprised we got rolled.

Some stuff to like, Ellard and Curnow particularly. I thought Jamo was great, far better than he's been in forever. Thomas was good, goalkicking aside - love his second efforts and his tenacity...I'm confident it will rub off on the others in time. Gibbs was good, Murphy far more contested than ever before. Lots of missing players - Garlett and Waite for most of the game, Yarran 7/10 on his lazy scale, Tuohy invisible, Robbo shocking and Walker absolutely diabolical. Menzel brought on too late to do anything, Bell okay. Simmo will always be the heart and soul of this team but we can't clone him.

Was screaming to switch Everitt/Hendo for ages - isn't that the luxury of having two swingmen? Watto harshly judged - no one could contain Westhoff at that time.

GWS beat Sydney by 32. Let that sink in. Are the Swans done? Perspective. I'll judge us at around Rd 8.

Good post Scotty.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

Murphy does this a fair bit IMO - it wasn't just tonight. He regularly dishes off to somebody else and refuses to take the responsibility that a senior player and captain should. He needs to find ways to impose himself on games, he is a "nice" player but we need more than that.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

Pros:
- Curnow and Ellard
- Gibbs, Murphy, Simpson all did their job

Cons:
- Game plan.. Why?? It's just dumb.
- Kreuzer. Don't know why he was an "untouchable".. I don't see a place for him in the team. Warnock has him covered as a ruckman and he can't play forward.. Needs to go.
- Menzel as the sub.. What's the point? It needs to be a runner.
- We don't have any young KPP coming through the system. Very worrying.

Pros
We are not on the bottom.


Cons
Too many and i am in need of a good rant.
We left the game a few minutes early hoping to catch an earlier train, i am on the Hurtsbridge line so anyone else here on this line will have experienced the same.
Get the Southern cross station to be told no Hurstbridge trains going through the loop and to catch a train from platform 4 and change at Flinders St, catch the train and arrive at Flinders St go to platform 1 and the South Morang train is on the platform. Wait another 10 minutes or so for my train and it finally turns up at about 10 to 11. When we board the announcement says there will be buses replacing trains between Clifton Hill and Macleod. Bloody buses. After sitting through such crap at the footy i then have no train. I only arrived home about 20 minutes ago.
Not happy, Metro i hate you.

Rebuild...crap

Good, smart recruiting. Inspiring modern coach. Team-based culture. That's what's needed.

I'd be happy with Simmo. he's rarely injured,and has so much courage.
I get your point though. It's probably not even close to being our biggest issue.
After all, anyone could take a game by the scruff and lift the team. it used to be Judd who happened to be Captain. I know how great Murph can be, but he still appears to have issues.
The whole team seems to leak confidence very quickly.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

Which midfield players are pushing through?

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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.

Don't think Watson is being harshly judged. he would be ok as a fill in when needed. that's about it. McInness is also a problem. He looks lost out there, apart from a few good punch away move.
We are missing 2 or 3 elite players. They could tip the balance and make us contenders.
Even with Juddy an Carrots playing great, who do we have that can be freed to move into defence? Gibbs? ..It's almost like we haven't recruited well.
note this is hysterical laughter.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”