They definitely got us in the midfield. Have done so for the past few years. We need Curnow or McLean up and running for the finals .... hopefully Curnow puts in another good VFL game this week and gets his confidence. This will fix one of our major issues.

Their second quarter was the killer blow. Our midfield was quiet in the first quarter, yet one goal four behinds doesn't accurately reflect the time it was in our half. Inside fifties were even at the end of the game. The boot would have been on the other foot if they lacked a tall forward and we had Buddy to straighten us up. Where we take our shots might be one reason why our goal kicking is poor. Two of Gibbs's misses were from areas that would be less than 50-50 for accuracy. The only point you can pot Bryce for missing was the shot he sprayed running through CHF.

Which is why we should have taken Isaac Smith with our first pick.

We could have taken him with our last pick if we hadnt of told him to go and play in the VFL where we could have a better look at him.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

I'm almost certain Hawthorn took Smith before we had a pick (and if you check last year's recruitment thread I was desperate to get him).

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"You can't polish a James Hird"

No, we took Watson at pick #18, while Dawks took Smith immediately after our pick.

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... an eagle flew out of the night. he was something to observe, came in close i heard a voice, bending stretching every nerve, had to listen had no choice ...

Do you guys really think he was the difference? I would say blokes like Buddy Franklin and Sam Mitchell might be the real gap in the two team's performances.

Simmo bolted away and nailed goals too, and he didn't sit ahead of the play trying to get a cheap kick.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

You`re right he probably wasn`t the main difference but he certainly was a factor while our first rd` pick will still be trying to force his way into the side mid way through next year. Too me it`s now obvious we need more quality midfield options. Smith is a great modern game player and was sitting right under our noses following his GF against the Bullants. He would have offset the McLean trade and added even more pace which is our main weapon.(and clean disposal)

funnily enough that's the reason Breust was subbed off.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

I can guarantee you he was sitting under our noses WAY BEFORE the GF against the Bullants.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Yes have heard the same thing and he was a huge Carlton supporter too.

It's that funny logic again that the best players (and types of players) to recruit are the ones that do well against us. We need players that give the opposition the heebie jeebies and they probably won't be the most obvious. There may be a case for Jack Darling (early days) but Isaac Smith is a bit of a streach.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

He didn`t just play well against us.

I know, but that is what is at the forefront of your mind. Watson, as far as I know, has been on the up in recent times and we weren't to know that Lucas's form would drop away, etc. I didn't know we had links with Isacc Smith, if I'm reading correctly, but the 'error' would be not playing it cool with him as opposed to not taking him with our first pick.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Like I said we could have taken him with a very late pick in the National Draft or even early in the Rookie Draft - if we had of played it cool.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Yet these blokes continue to burn us because we take our number advantage and attempt to smash, bash and dominate in the immediate vicinity of the ball, rather than using it to dominate around the ground by positioning ourselves well.

Such an apparent weakness in our game, and it has been for a long time. No we just throw down a forward press, then chalk it up to bad luck when teams trounce us on the counter for an easy goal 4 to 8 times a game.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Agro, Smith was on the Radar for many immediately he ran a muck in a Country League Footy Carnival in Canberra in mid 2010. The Geelong recruiters were all over him as well as a few others.

I'm not tooooo sure you have your facts right that we told him to play in the VFL. After he tore up the Carnival, North Ballarat gave him a run in the VFL under their own steam. I was at his 1st game for Nth Ballarat and there were plenty of others from other clubs there with me.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

Facts, schmacts.

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T E A M

Should have got Rich.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

Bloke is an absolute gun. Told my Dawks mate that they had picked a ripper when they got him

Gotta hand it to their recruiters. They get a hell of a lot right.