Sidefx wrote:
I went into watching the game with the mindset that we would lose and I thought we would've and probably should've got pumped, if it wasn't for their inaccuracy.
Because of this I was able to watch the game with little emotion.
I think the game plan is solid.
I can see what Voss and co are trying to do with the tempo changes and the defensive style of play, I also seen this game a bit more of an attacking mindset with the players.
I knew after the draft last year it was going to be a tough year and adding a more layered game plan was always going to take time for the players to embrace.
It is not a complex enough game plan the players can't deliver either.
It was interesting to also note that with all the inclusions the team didn't suffer or really excel.
To me that shows either a good game plan with defined roles or that our depth is pretty even after a handful of stars, maybe a bit of both.
The unfortunate part of the game for me was that while the players that came in played their roles, our senior players didn't.
It also really exposed how one dimensional we are in the middle and consequently up forward.
When your captain comes out and makes a public statement about the game and then doesn't deliver, is not only embarrassing for him but the club also.
23 disposals and 151m gained is pretty poor for our no.1 mid "making a statement".
Not sure what is up with Walsh, Doc and Saad. But all 3 were pretty poor also.
I thought Kennedy and Cerra played well but Kennedy only had 176m gained.
I also thought TDK did well in the middle, he just needed another ruck and losing JSOS didn't help.
26 Hit outs, to Gawn 20 and Brodie 11 is pretty good.
Both Young and Kemp did well in defence as too Weitering.
Acres actually played a better game this week IMO, he still had 6 clangers but he had better i50 entries and actually made an impact moving the ball forward.
Cotters had a bit of up and down game unfortunately but started to get going in the second half.
Harry presented well but geez his kicking is a coach killer still............stop trying to kick 45m snaps.........no one can.
Curnow was quiet, you can't have him blitzing every game.
With Harry missing goals and Charlie being shut down we are screaming out for another forward as an option, medium preferably.
Our small forwards were a real let down, not so much in kicking goals but defensive pressure.
4 goal kickers for the game and only 4 tackles in the F50 says a lot.
I also thought LOB, Fisher and Dow had a good game.
They all did some nice things and their deficiencies were not really a highlighted part of their game.
All in all it was an expected result, not really worth getting upset about.
I think we should stick to the game plan Voss is implementing and in the off season address the shortfalls of the team to implement it.
Get rid of more injury prone players and add speed, speed and more speed as well as foot skills.
We need to trade heavy and be daring at the table with some big names, if Austin is up for it.
I like this.
I mean it is a calm response.
But I am not sure I agree.
Just in the sense that the stats show we were 8-2 after 10 rounds last year, then in the last 12 games last year we have won 4 games and now in the first 12 games this year we have won 4 games, so my take is after the initial new-coach sugar hit early last year, and also with the forward-handball-at-stoppages trick being demystified by opposition coaches, since mid 2022 we have basically been a consistently very, very poor football side, and I have not seen anything materially different in the first 12 games this year as I saw in the last 12 games last year.
Actually that's not true - if anything I am more puzzled by our game plan this year. Our ball movement from defense has gotten worse and we seem to be constipated in terms of getting the ball to Saad or having a Plan B for when Saad is being tagged out of the game down back. And I do not believe Saad is the only player who can perform that role. Doc can do it for one.
And if anything we seem to be even more predictable when we go forward this year, kicking long to the two pillars most of the time.
I am not seeing anything new in the game plan and I am not seeing urgency in rectifying glaring issues.
I do concede that lacking a third quality forward is maybe hampering us when we go forward, but then I don't think our supporting cast are hopeless footballers either. JSOS can play. Motlop can play. Durdin can play. Owies can play. So why aren't we trying to mix up our entries better? You cannot expect to have stars all over the place. Good coaches find work arounds, they can make some mediocre players better than they are.
I also concede we lack speed and run through the midfield, but then I ask why it is our quality guys in there like Cripps and Walsh and Doc have been so below par this year? Walsh I get had a slow start due to injury, but then what to make of Hewett and Kennedy also being below par this year. The entire midfield bar Cerra (who I note is NOT quick) has been poorer this year. To me that isn't a speed issue. They have all just gotten worse. And that to me suggests the midfield/ball-movement side of our game plan is actually not good and we have been worked out and the coach hasn't responded.
What is arguably most concerning is I read I think last year they say the game evolves multiple times in season, and I see teams around us starting to play better the last few weeks/months (Gold Coast, Essendon*, Adelaide in particular, but even North have gotten better albeit it isn't translating to wins just yet) but we seem to be stuck in the mud as Doc said the other day.
Put bluntly, we have been a very, very poor football side for 24 games now and seem to be getting even worse as judged by our consistent decline in scoring the past 6 weeks and the poor performances by our best players. All of this tells me something really isn't right.
I mean 24 games is a fairly long stretch, split over a pre-season remember. Voss should have ironed out some of the kinks and got the team playing better by now. But we are getting worse. All this tells me he might be out of his depth and the senior players know it.
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