Back from match. Usual random thoughts:

- Cripps: Not himself. Either the faster/more open game of 2021 has passed him by, he's carrying an injury or he's checked out. Or a combination of the above.
- Harry: Wins as many as he loses in the air, but some of his efforts seem half-assed. Nothing in the way of second efforts which is a shame because he's very quick over the first 5-6 meters. Goes to ground.
- Murphy: Cooked. Cookedy cook cookingly flower cooked. Looks for easy possessions and can't stick a tackle. Cannot believe he was our captain.
- Doc: Poor disposal continues, has been a major issue since the pre-season matches. Dunno what's going on there, he used to be up there with the best.
- SPS: Flat footed and reactive.
- Walsh: Star
- Saad: All class. We'll ruin him in good time I'm afraid.
- Williams: Can play. Already trying to do too much to compensate for the soft and fragile players around him.
- Fisher: Is way ahead of himself. You're not Dustin Martin pal, so don't try the fend offs. You're 5 foot nothing and 75 kegs soaking wet. Play the percentages and do the basics well.
- Williamson: Almost always tries to run around and almost always gets caught htb.
- Fogarty: Persist. He's got some good tools. Can be a solid role player in a team with good structure and discipline.
- Dow: No confidence anymore. Could have been a good role player and depth midfielder but we've destroyed him.
- Coaching: Deplorable. We simply have no structure and no good connection between the lines. I maintain John Barker MUST go.
- Mental strength: Weak as piss. The whole comp knows we'll buckle under sustained physical and mental pressure.
- Physical strength: Most of our team can't break tackles. Most of our team can't stick tackles.

- If I hear Teague say he "believes in the group" in the presser I'll vomit. They gotta earn your belief and they aint doing it. Find something else to say.
- The players likewise need to earn the coaching groups' belief. No gifted games.

I should be detached and it shouldn't worry or hurt me anymore, but it @#$%&! does. It @#$%&! hurts. Many of you have seen glory years. At my age, all I've seen (other than being barely 13 in '95) is mediocrity. We've been really crap for really long and we don't even look like we're close emerging from it.

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Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano. Fortem posce animum mortis terrore carentem, qui spatium vitae extremum inter munera ponat naturae, qui ferre queat quoscumque labores.

Its inexcusable to lose against a far inferior team, but ours managed to do it.
Our inability to defend against small forwards is unbelievable, but Buckley knew this and hence he loaded up in that area. Teague was inept in stopping that rot.
Levi isn't right. O'mac should have been in the starting lineup without question, especially given his results last week.
We are 0 and 2 for something like 10 years in a row.
We cannot deliver 4 quarters of unrelenting, determined, effective football.
Teague is far too passive. His presser was a joke. He should be breathing fire, and stating without doubt, that was UNACCEPTABLE, but we get the " I believe in this group" and other meaningless platitudes . Its rubbish!
I'm just flabbergasted at this effort and result.
I love this footy club, I really do, but wow, they give me a huge test of my love, when they perform like this!

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Cripps is the man

We've drafted a few in the last two years but they can't get on the park.

Seriously?

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

I actually thought SPS was very good after QT.

Murphy....sad to see. Too slow, too small, can't tackle. Game has passed him by. How on earth he could be playing forward over Betts is beyond me.

Very one paced with Ed, Setters, Newnes running through the midfield.

Levi battling, has to be replaced, same for Williamson who I've defended a lot.

Williams spent a lot of time forward which seemed odd.

What we'd give to see a fit Charlie, TDK and Marchbank out there.

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"I had to eat"

Our playing group are the Scott Morrison's of football. Not accountable and don't take responsibility for anything.

Don't know if you watched on tv or at ground (I went) but he was more competitive than you give him credit for: certainly more than last week.
In fact he had a great battle with Moore and I think this motivated him to be more competitive, certainly in the third quarter when he was down where I could see him.
The other big improvement from last week was backing himself to kick the goal.
Murphy on the other hand seemed to have no impact.

Pies did the simple things better. They're pretty well drilled (have been for a while) and each player knows his job.

Teague mentioned the other day that Betts (when fit) would be in our best 22. I wonder what Teague's best 22 looks like ?

.... and yes we need a ruckman. Pitto is out of his depth (Kruz on one leg would be better) and TDK needs to be nurtured. Some insurance with an older guy (eg: Stef Martin / Shaun McKernan) would have been handy. As for Levi .... I'm starting to lose faith.

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"IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE, YOU'RE PREPARED TO FAIL" - Mark Spitz

An observation from level 4 of the Olympic stand: our forward pressure was atrocious. Every time the ball hit the deck inside 50, the Collingwood players raffled it, had 3 easy handball options and then just walked it out of the 50. Just really disappointing. Fogarty tried on the pressure front but didn’t have many mates

Finally someone has said it, he got well and truly pantsed tonight.

Like many others

Williamson
Murphy
Casboult

Out.

I was at the game and thought Dow is absolutely worth keeping. Fogarty was very good. Martin, Saad also good.

Weitering was shown by Moore why he isn't all Australian.



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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

I went and his second efforts were non existent.

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

I don’t think I’ve read any excuses in this thread so far.

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

Well said, Moore is an a grader, very good. H did well to kick 4 but H is the least of our worries.

We certainly look better with Saad, Williams and Martin. Dow some nice things early and is getting better.

Pies have plenty of decent footballers with a better track record than most of ours: they were never just going to roll over for us.

I do find it weird some posters saying we are "far superior".

They have played finals and won finals past 3 years. Sure they have lost a few players, but they still have some of the best players in the comp. Sidebottom back was a big in for them as well.

It’s pretty sad that at no time this game or last game did I think we might win.

It had a similar vibe in that you feel there are leaders at both Tigers and Pies who are born winners and/or have a bit of mongrel about them. So at any given moment when the game was on the line you have guys like Pendels, Sidebottom, De Goey and Moore who could do something inspirational to change the momentum.

We simply don't have that, Cripps battled but looked banged up, or out of sorts. Only ones who look like being that for us are Walsh and Weiters. Williams tried hard too.

But yes still seems the same for us, the lack of leadership and no genuine belief they are good enough.

Maybe that will come, but its been missing the last 2 weeks.

While frustrated with the loss and the inconsistent umpiring the longer the game went, I go to bed reasonably content...
Because I got to go to the MCG on a pleasant night to watch my team against the old enemy with 51,000 making lots of noise, lots of entertaining footy, some emotion and plenty of people happy to be out. The post game walk back to Flinders Street with the moon and the city lights and the bubbling sound of the throng chatting about the game, or life.
After last year in Melbourne, with no live sport and exactly one year now working alone at home...it was great to be at the footy.

HArdwick end of 2016 survived a review and tigers realised they had to put good people around him ...

Teague is a young coach , who has John barker still at the club , surely this time is up , dale Amos needs to go , too many small forwards scoring Easily x today 9 goals between them
Murphy needs to be retired immediately, no impact agin , docherty is a turn over merchant who needs to fall on his sword

Cripps is 26 now and he looks burnout , Walsh is 20 and we are going to kill this kid

We don’t play for each other , we have no hardness about us , back line is too loose x and our midfield are non existent,

Cunningham , cottrell , stocker Betts , Carroll in the reserves ... surely they have to be looked at

It’s Groundhog Day season all over again

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#sayerscouldbetheman!!

Didnt think much of McKay's work rate at all. Final ten minutes of the third quarter was telling. We had all the momentum and no one to kick to as McKay was sucking in the big ones in the goal square while Moore ran off him. The Jarrad Waite half arsed extend an arm while the opponent runs away from him is really grating.

Could have done with the third tall tonight. Casboult non-existent. Very keen to see Oscar replace him.

Dow's inability to compete and apply pressure is a real concern. Done as far as I'm concerned.

Think we've found a player in Fogarty. Got us back in the match in the third quarter.

Still don't get the point or purpose of Newnes. Icing on a non existent cake.

Plowman's had two very poor games. The new rules don't suit a bloke like him that's already a bit of a liability on the lead. He's got credits in the bank for now.

Murphy was OK for me in the first half. One of the few trying to do something poised inside 50. Then just phoned it in late. I'd be filthy if I couldn't get a game behind this bloke.

Saad offers plenty to us and we look far more dangerous a side when he's involved.