Our side has a lot of improvement in it so I thought there were positives.
However Tbird is not a forward, too slow to put any pressure on when the ball hits the ground. Hammer is a ruckman and not a forward, he cannot judge a mark and very awkward when the ball hits the ground. Walker is not a forward, doesn't work hard enough and his great leap rarely leads to great marks. If he is anything it is an athletic defender who can play tall. Waite has super talent but doesn't work near hard enough up forward. He plays his best most consistent footy in defence. Betts looks out of sorts. Is he injured, had a very ordinary game. Which leaves Jeff Garlett who is a fantastic talent. He just needs 5 new forwards to play with.

Yarran showed lots of class and Watson will be really good. Laidlaw wasn't bad and Curnow is a good tough honest player.

Gibbs needs to stand up and get some hard possessions. Pendlebury had 10 contested possessions. Gibbs had very few. For a player with his talent he plays pretty football that doesn't hurt the opposition enough. How about he and the MC decide it is time other clubs had to worry about Gibbs, rather than using him as a back pocket or a tagger.

Why did the coaching panel move Yarran forward and Gibbs to dinky back pocket in the last quarter? Just reverting to last year. Rather see Gibbs moved forward where he could earn a kick instead of standing wide deep in defence for the handball and then perfectly executing a dinky pass.

I would have left Walker on and put him in defence, more mobile than Thornton, though neither have a bright future judging on tonight.

But given that there are 6 players who need to be replaced or given a rocket there were lots of good signs and we have some young up and comers who need to be given chances.

Scotland excellent and love Robbo's endeavour even if he makes some shocking decisions with the ball. Jamo was attacking tonight and needs to keep that up.

Lose next week and watch the frenzy on the Sakc thread

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

Lose next week and at the very least I'm self-banning myself again for a week

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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

IMHO, our kick ins are based on structures that are easy to counter. Coaches too often think the game is about them and serve up strategies and set ups that the players must abide by. "stand here, kick there".
Collingwoods success isn't built only on kick in strategies, it's created by workrate and a selfless attitude. They dont just happen to find space, they create it. Players are willing to run to drag opponents away for the teams benefit.
They also continue to run after having a primary involvement (run and spread) better than anyone. Watch our players and they too often spectate the play after having an initial involvement.

If you have 100% possession and keep conceding it to contests, you cant expect long term success.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Losing next week is NOT an option.
Losing next week is NOT an option.
Losing next week is NOT an option.

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We are on our way back...

I thought it was a reasonable effort tonight.

To me, the difference was collingwoods ability to run hard both ways consistently. That is where we lost the game.

The pies are the best by a country mile, structurally we weren't bad, but the way collingwood always got back in numbers in defence, around the ball in midfield and especially when pushing forward was the difference.

ALL of their players run their guts out for the whole game. That is the difference.

They have it drille into them and are all disciplined runners, very impressive

QFT

One of our biggest weaknesses is 2nd and 3rd efforts to get to contests and follow a man, we jog to the next contest or 5-10m behind an opponant when they have the ball.

Also too often 2 guys will chase to tackle and leave the 2nd opponant free.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

I bet Jarryd Blair does nothing for the rest of the year, then next time we play them he comes up with 5 goals again.

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Premierships: 1869, 1871, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1887, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995.

"GIBBS."

Disagree with passion on all accounts.

Start with Hammer - I see him and Yarran as the key to our success this year. The way Hammer attacks the ball in a contested marking situation (he was a bit in his shell tonight) IS the modern game. It is actually better for us if he splits between marking and spilling with the best crumbers in the league at his feet. When we win a premiership - it is with Hammer up foward helping ruck and Kreuze will not be rucking.

T-bird - The game outgrew him in defence. He has probably the best read coming in of our forwards. Could be a huge asset. But will probably make way for Hendo.
Walker has the ability to play a half forward/mid role in the vain of Higgins/O'Keefe. Make no mistake he can make it there.

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A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject - Winston Churchill

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Gibbs is only good at collecting dream team stats. Yes its not his fault that he was asked to tag but seriously......no flowering impact on the game....AGAIN
He still isn't the third best midfielder at carlton

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If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

According to a flog on SEN we are so ordinary half the team needs to be replaced. He is a Blues supporter also.

Never heard so much dribble in my life

Probably from the Cheer Squad.

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Premierships: 1869, 1871, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1887, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995.

"GIBBS."

What impact did Pendlebury have? Know his role.

I think you need to watch the game again, Pendlebury is a ball magnet, and yet was barely sighted, Gibbs was very good tonight, just fumbled more than usual.

Look over their careers and tell me who has impacted games more. He's not a #1 pick to tag someone else. Obviously Ratten doiesn't believe that pitted against each other Gibbs would come out on top...so just negate him

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If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

Our inexperienced players cost us the game. They played through Watsons man early. They put pressure on Yaz and Duigan to force them to just hand it over and COllins got pressured into giving them a couple of goals.

We were unlucky in the 2nd with some umpiring decisions. Blair had a dream run. Hopefully we get the luck next time we play them. Umpire 25 in the third seem to have a real bee in his bonnet about the blues. We couldnt take a trick. Even Collingwood fans were laughing at their luck.

Collingwood are on top of their game at the moment. We have plenty of improvement left.

I happened to catch the pre game flag thing. What a crock. That eddie has a strange idea of what he thinks people want to see. It was as terrible as that time they left Vic park. Maybe the bogans like it but it looked very c grade to me.

Just back from the game and finished reading the posts.

From high up in the Southern stand you can really see the press. The Pies locked it their forward line much better than us. To beat them we need to learn to get it out, especially from kick outs. Several times they just waltzed it out. Time in possession definitely seemed to favour the Pies

That said we weren't far away - 3rd quarter was great, but 3 umpiring decisions went against us (including Collins not 15m) and they took it down the other end and goaled.

Judd, Murphy, Curnow, Robbo all Good

Betts, Gibbs, Walker, Hammer not so good

On Waite I thought he did a great job 1 on 1 and took a lot of contested marks. Only Carlton player to do so. Without him we would have lost by 10 goals IMO. I believe his position is forward and just needs a decent second big bloke. Hendo back in as soon as fit please.

Watson got an absolute bath - whoever he was on marked at will, change would be made with Jamo and then Watson's new opponent would do the same. Good learning game - but not up to playing on Dawes or Cloke yet.

Backline did OK, but compared to O'brien and Shaw we were far inferior

Yarran also got quite a bit of it, but couldn't get free to set up play - constantly under pressure, but a good learning experience

Last point Garlett really was sensational. I think I have a man crush

Agree with all this, although I'd rather cop those decisions in Round 3. The margin was about right, if we weren't going to win, better to know we have got a fair bit to improve on. Terrible decision to drop Army, and we desperately need Hendo (and Bower, Kreuzer, Houlihan)

duigan - yeah nah

and channel 7 are cauliflower

leigh matthews arrogant enouch to call him doooogan all game when his counterparts are pronouncing it properly all game

and the idiot geelong moron harley with the gartlett calls again

and the hand gesture fringe boy show pony little dero who no doubt used to smoke a pack of ciggies behind the dunnies at school scoring 5 goals !?!?!?! faaaaaaaark me !

what an annoying piece of shit game that was

we are pretty dumb lazy footballers really and yeah we settled for that loss

they arent that much more talented than us - if at all - but they sure as hell work harder , run harder and use their brains harder than we do

and that bloody umpire - push on JR !?!? puhhhleeeease

did i mention duigan ? yeah nah

the collins sub was a massive fail

mitch robinson - love him - need more of him - or at least more with his ethic

im annoyed

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.