I feel like this is a key area holding us back - compared to other top 8 sides.

We seem like one of the most wasteful teams heading inside 50. (to me, anyway, I hope I'm wrong)

When we have runners outside and a breakaway into an open 50 we seem good enough,
but when we kick it inside 50 from a centre clearance against half decent teams they seem to sweep it away more easily than they should - given the talent we have.


Yes, we are lucky to have moments of brilliance from Eddie, Walks & co.
Yes, we do get good pressure on kick-ins

But I feel as though we have a big breakdown & waste opportunities to put pressure on the opposition heading into the 50.
Teams like the Saints and Bombers really showed us up in this area.

Is it because we are lacking a tall forward?
Are we just unlucky that Rowe & Casboult haven't been able to fill that spot?
Are we just waiting for Luke Mitchell to come along?

Are we kicking it to the wrong areas?
Are the forwards running to the wrong spots?
Is it a coaching error?
Do we need to get more forward stoppages?

Does someone have some stats on this?
How do our scoring shots/ inside 50s / rebounds against stack up?
I would like to be proved wrong, but I feel as though this is an obstacle we need to overcome.

Would love to hear some wiser heads than me break this down a bit.

I'm so sick of all the "what if you still had JK" commentary.

No doubt this is a problem. Our conversion of fwd 50 entries to scores has been poor. A bigger issue to me is how very efficient our opponents have been going in to scores. Especially the case in our losses. The aints had 73% conversion of fwd 50 entries to scores in the first half. That's incredible-a blight on our defence and mid pressure/lack of clean hands.

Duigan, Jamo, AJ, Russell, Garlett all undeserving of their spots. Touhy has dropped off since the pies game. Rucks not taking enough marks around the ground, and our contested ball and stoppage work poor. We are a one trick pony.

It didn't help tonight that the Saints defenders were allowed to block their run or shepherd them out of marking contests pretty much at will.

Main problem though is the delivery is rubbish. And that creates turnovers and with the way our defenders push up the opposition has acres of space behind us.

Their ruckman, Stanley (16 games) took more marks and kicked more goals than our two combined. Oh, and he ran away from a defender to kick one of them. This is what can happen when you give a young kid a go and he knows he will be dropped as soon as the regular players come back unless he does something pretty special.

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

I've posted on these boards many times, that I think our entry into forward 50 is amateurish. There is no kicking to a leading forward, even when there is space. It's bomb and hope. It works against the weaker teams, but not against the better teams or well organised/well coached defences. The last 4 games, teams have played 1 and 2 spare, we bomb, they spoil and sweep away. We had more inside 50s again tonight (as we did against Essendon*).

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Mens sana in corpore sano.

Bring back the laurel wreath logo!!!

And this has been the case for years now and has not improved....we are so predictable it's not funny....

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

We have Warnock putting pressure on them.

Hampson and Kreuzer won the hitouts. Hammer took more marks than Stanley.

Spot on...although surprisingly we had 16 marks inside 50 to 9.

Doesn't help when you have a small forward like Jeffy who isn't putting any pressure on.

Where's the tall forward coming from? Someone who has busted his shoulder a couple of times? Someone who has an amateurish kicking action? This draft really needs to focus on inside midfielders and key forwards....easy hey.

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Clubs have worked us out. Tonight we had more scoring shots, more inside 50's but just seem to mark inside our 50m.

He can't coach

Our press isn't working either.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

The press is about a willingness to work hard.
To spread and run hard both ways.

Cant do that when your flag favourites.

I can guarentee Adelaide will be running and working very hard next week

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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.

Even GWS tried to rough us up early, it's a basic tactic that means some players disappear from contested footy all game.
Then play a couple extra down back and watch us kick it to them all night. Betts and Walker need to have blinders or we can't kick a winning score.
James Hird take a bow.

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Green Shooter

Mark Thompson is the architect of that gameplan.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

I really wonder why Waite was rested ??when ever he comes back from injury etc he looks rusty for a few weeks.
He couldnt burn off his opponent on the leed,and when he did the ball went over his head.
crunch goals misses to russel kruzer Hampson they just didnt fall our way.
we seem to be out coached atm whole club need to dig deep to beat Adelaide there up and about!

Our forward line is always going to be all or nothing - I'm not being racist here but indigenous players can be electrifying or they can go missing and we have 3 of them in our forward set up

Like everyone else we are over the moon when they are on song there is nothing better to watch - but when they are not they get closed down badly

Walker is showing more consistancy than the other two he regulary contributes but if he is off or not firing the whole forward line falls apart .

Waite doesn't need rest - he needs to play and keep playing

and I am not sold on the resting ruckman forward think that is a throw back from the 70's and 80's - if you are going to have a big bloke forward why not make him a specialist forward

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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

Our defensive spread is slow and soft. Players can get loose at will.
Not that we spread that well with the ball anyway.
We have just lost all intensity and desire to work.
We have VB players asking for Moet.

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T E A M

Our forward line is relient on us dominating clearances. When we dominate the clearances it's too much for any defence and Eddie/Jeff etc have a picnic. When the clearances are slightly against us we have no true key forward to straighten us up. Maybe Kreuzer/Hampson at the top of the square but they're not genuine forwards.

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

We've also lost the crumbing aspect of our forward game plan. Sure, a kick may go over Waite's head, but why was nobody behind him to mop up, or in front of the contest should a spoil be effected?? Frustrating.

Plenty of our forward entries recently have been directly to the opposing extra man or to a 2 on one in their favour.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa