BBW, it was a 9 goal run of North

When we were switched on we looked pretty good going forward, but our defensive structures continually broke down resulting in easy goals to North. The greatest concern for me was at one point North had 8 inside F50 for 5.2. It just seemed that if they made it forward of centre they were destined to score. You cannot give up that kind of scoring percentage and expect to stay competitive. It seems to me that without Jamison, Duigan and Laidler, we are really lacking that defensive general to direct the defensive set up. Hopefully someone can standup until those guys can get back into the side

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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

I'd be asking for a refund from the eye surgeon.

Did he hold any marks against Port, Adelaide and the Dogs?

Club should book you in for laser surgery.

Along with the rest of the wrist slashing clique.

I went yesterday and saw the game against the Dogs - this all wont matter if we beat the tigers in round one -

Some positives from what I saw -Kreuz is getting better - last year and the year before his marking technique didnt seem to be so good - he is now really going for them and whats more they seem to be sticking - still playing well on the ground as well as in the air -i RECKON it wont be long until he is our best or if not our best our most influential player both in the ruck and forward and will be a nightmare match up for opposition teams

Forward line looked much better with Waite in it - although his kicking for goal is still average and needs to temper his enthusiasm for contact with opponent when opponent has not got the ball - need also to work in with hampson and kreuz more when they are resting in the forward line
Bower I thought played well in the two games and looks a lot more confident than last year
Lucas looks to me to have had a good pre-season and should be an addition to our midfield this year.
Russell seems to be getting better each week and should be in the backline come round one to give experience and grun given absence of duigan laidker and jamison

Curnow has had good pre-season a little slopy yesterday but really good game against the dogs

Robbo after yesterday is fit and firing and will really rip into the tigers

Scotland also seems to be continuing on his rich vein of form fom last year

Still think without duigan big knockers laidler jamison ellard and walker we should beat the tigers although the outs even up the ledger somewhat

makes me weep whey Ellard is mentioned as a notable out from a midfield aiming at winning a flag

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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.

Synbad you know as well as I THERE is always have a number of foot soldiers in a premiership team - ellard is a foot soldier but so was micky kennedy michael young shane robertson mario bortolotto throughout our history there has been those type of players in our successful teams - more recently premiership players include leigh brown and brett renouf to name a few for other clubs have played in successful sides

Yeah you can carry one non-elite user in the guts, eg Luke ball. No question about that.

I think Ellard is generally fine with his disposals, he's certainly been pretty decent around goal with some important kicks.

Brock looked very neat and tidy on the weekend - at least at a Luke Ball level, if not higher by foot. Had nice weighting on his kicks, wasn't belting everything as hard as he could (hello Armfield). Curnow was a mess when he had time to think but was really impressive in close when I saw a couple of clearances in front of the Pratt stand.

Mitch is one player who, on Sunday's form, displayed improvement in his usage. If he stays fit and keeps his nose clean with the tribunal I think he's ready to take another step and be a star. Skill and smarts combined with his relentless attack are a pretty imposing combination.

Also clear from the weekend that if forward line was disfunctional another option is to play mitch there as a forward -obviously prefer his grunt around the packs but he could provide an avenue not only on the ground but in the air as a burst player to snag a few goals or create a path for jeffy or eddie

why don't we deliver the ball to the hotspot .not sure if this makes sense but the most obvious spot to cause panic go the opposition is thirty meters out right in front!
players should know someone is at that spot along with a crumbing type!
I don't mean Eddie!
if hammer is going to be effective he must be competitive in that area. either holding it or bringing it to ground for the small guys.

our structures going forward are laughable!

run to the non protected fifty meters out on the boundary.

I'd be happy to concede some of those if I was an opposition coach! .

hammer from the boundary at distance?

priceless!

same with Waite!

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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.

from where i sat i thought waite kept leading to the pockets so it was pointless kicking it to the 'hotspot'

we were found out a number of times last year by the opposition rebounding quickly through our supposed press and into a clear forward line (Pagans Paddock) - North proved that we haven't really fully addressed this

agree too re the non-committal to the hotspot 30m out - forward entries still need work

Nothing Irks me more than a player just bombing it to 30 meters out

It is the best way to see the ball come flying back over your head

A forward 50 entry is a priceless comodity why would you want to give it away so easily

In saying that I don't think you should be leading to the 50 meter arc - Maybe they all learnt that from that other bloke who was adapt at kicking them from there

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They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Doesnt your first pragraph clash with your last sentence ?

I always thought we were so effective scoring off our press that in order to get it setup we kick to a spot least likely to be rebounded against. ie the hotspot. If the percentages are not stacked in our favour 25m straight out we go wide knowing if we dont mark we will get a stoppage and set up the press.
I know that type of footy is probably a bit 2011 but that is why i thought we did it last year. The heat maps showing we scored more from that situation and less rebounds scored against us than what the old hot spot delivered.
Yesterday i agree we went too wide and too far out. Hammer from where the arc meets the boundary isnt high percentage. We need to clean that up.

I reckon we press so high that if we drop our intensity or only half turn up to play we leak goals on the rebound far too easy. I highlight of Norths preseason has been the run and carry rebound. Yesterday in the 2nd and 3rd it was slick and nice to watch. We need that squeeze at its best for long periods of the game to win.

We also need a second phase of the press where we bring it back 15m IMO. Like the pies did last year. Something more defensive so we can catch our breath at certain times of the games without leaking goals out the back.

It all gets back to effective positioning and understanding of roles - preparation

We looked unprepared yesterday and dare I say a 'rabble' at times

So people are writing off judd and hammer interesting we will see after rnd 1 if the tune is changed lets hope so.
The only reason i am worried about the opening game is the lack of quality in our backline thornton and hendo just wont cut it im afraid,
i wonder if there will be a surpise late inclusion (jamo, duigs or laids) or will they just bank on us winning this one......
To be honest im not worried about our mids at all they are clearly not in top gear atm and are classy enough to flick the switch.
C,mon boys smash these ferals!!!

another observation I noted yesterday was Simmo's immense displeasure at proceedings taking place - anyone thinking we weren't taking this game very seriously wasn't watching Simmo - he was seething at times

We do, it's just laughable how many times we do that because we've not seen the opportunity for a better option, or no one's prepared to force a lead and test the defence.


We sit too high once they've made it to HB. We play a very dangerous game if we're not prepared to push back quickly in transition, the defensive unit included.

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You will find scotland has specified that there will be a real focus for us not to allow easy ball inside opposition 50 thankfully

Just watching the flow of the game yesterday, I thought Waite was leading to the pockets more than chasing the entries. So I'd suggest some of the work needs to be on getting the guys to lead to a more cetnral area - unless they want the leads to go to the pockets, to create a stoppage if the kick isn't marked.

That said, if Hammer is going to run himself metres under the ball like he was yesterday, it wouldn't matter where it was kicked to.

The defensive breakdowns, especially in the 3rd, were appalling. Perhaps as a result of the substitutions? But yes that clearly would need to be a focus.

Hammer was missing simple marks in the warm up, I mean kicked to him high above his head with no opposition.

The problem isn't eyesight, it's an ability to read the flight of a ball.