It's just depressing to see so much effort dropped in by the players for so little gain. There is a massive gap between what the coaches are seeking and what's appearing on the field, but I think communication and absorption of the information are only part of the problem.

The tactics are over simplified, the pool of scenarios mooted too few and the message dumbed down to the point of leaving people rote learning where to stand on the field instead of understanding it and making it instinctual in their play. So much going wrong, and not enough people digging in and looking for solutions.

Whether or not Ratten goes, there needs to be quite a few egos swept out the door at the end of the season.

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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.

In my mind there are two key aspects of our game that are falling short. This was shown up yesterday:

∗ negative game style - too often we go wide or backwards. Now this is fine in certain pressure situations but not when you are clear and looking to score. You need to be more proactive. It was infuriating to see us handball to stationary targets or switch the play with a kick to another player who was held up and kicking over the mark. Pointless football. You need some run and carry. Apart from Yarran and Jamison in our back half, I couldn't find another player who is able to turn defence into attack. Hawthorn have this in spades. It also gives the other team time to set up. Why do you think Geelong has been so successful over the last five years. They have elite kicks and play corridor footy.

∗ defensive pressure - too often we allow easy goals. It appears our set ups just don't work consistently. Whether that be due to bad positioning or mental lapses. People may not agree with me, but I actually believe that our endeavour has been quite good for most games this year. Our possession count has been good but we have played a lot of dumb football. We don't get reward for our efforts. It's disheartening when other teams waltz into goal after we have had the ball in our forward half for extended periods. Confidence drops quickly when this occurs.

Hopefully, we can rectify these issues quickly.

I thought the overall effort was good - the execution poor however.

No need to mention names but our "bottom six" players continue to let us down and IMO this is where Sydney are stronger than us.

I like Zac Tuohy and he could develop into a quality player however a stint in the 2nds might do him some good.

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There is no footy god

Questioning the merit of spending all that money on the trip to Qatar, when staying home and putting some time in the gym and on the field would probably have been just as worthwhile.

Make no mistake, this was a winnable game, injuries and all.
The Swans beat us purely with poise and structure. Kudos to Roos and Longmire for giving them those weapons.
This was a nothing result, we haven't improved over the last 2 years. Our personnel has changed but any time we come up against a team with discipline and structure, we have to play out of our skins to win.

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T E A M

Bloody hell!

I'm surprised we even managed a goal, considering we didn't have a forward line the entire game.

At one point, both Waite and Levi went for a grab at the same time, which is fine, but it was halfway up the ground on the wing???? ?What are you both doing up there?

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

A team of "champions" vs a champion team. The result should surprise no-one.

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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

Sydney well and truly older and more experienced. Exactly two years older on average and almost 1000 more games experience under their belt.

A couple of more pre-seasons.

Exactly.

What we need is a coaching panel that can instil discipline and structure - and players that can deliver it under pressure with poise.

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

Winston Churchill

Totally agree. I think it is just indicative how we simply don't have any structure up-forward. I lost count of the number of times we kicked it into our 50 to 3:1 or even 3:0 contest just allowing Sydney to set up for another goal.

Surely it can't be that hard to keep a forward structure in place

_________________
Carlton - Nothing's changed
I still love you, oh, I still love you
Only slightly, only slightly less
Than I used to, my love

And it could also destroy his new found confidence in being able to play AFL at the top level....Zach Tuohy is not a player to demote.

And what a beautiful kick he is....

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

Teams pushing back , wearing our punches, then getting us on the counter with loads of space has been a thorn in our side for a long time. It has become a thorn in West Coasts side of late also. Both WC and Carlton continue to press and try to score in the most congested 50arcs ever seen. We would be onto a winner if we ever found a way to score in that congestion but i doubt that is possible.

Perhaps we just not press up and wait further back down the field. Perhaps we should not bother going in when it is that congested. Or do what we do now and go into the pockets to get a stoppage but not commit too many players to the congested stoppage, but have them further back down the ground, almost concede possession and focus on pinching the ball back on the wings rather than around 50. Then hit them on the counter as they come out of their defensive 50. This tactic will make us less easy to score against also.

The uber press is not as effective as it use to be with teams holding their defensive shape even when they have the ball. It is handy at times but not all the time. Shifting our focus to getting the ball back further afield would open up our forward line IMO and attacking will become easier.

Just received Ratten's weekly post game email to members. Noticed the final sentence which reads:



Thought about that statement and wondered:

1. is this a reference to the team's output being affected by injuries, and possibly an excuse?

2. is this a dig at the conditioning folk for not being able to get the players injury management through the season?

3. is this an insight into my suspicious and devious mind that I would read between the lines like this.


I suspect #3

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"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?" Billy Connolly

Carlton get the ball, they're outnumbered, can't find a free player and inevitably turn the ball over.
Sydney get the ball, they outnumber Carlton, have free players all over the ground and work the ball forward resulting in a shot at goal.

This is how the game looked 75% of the time.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

Sydney's handball in close was sensational

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#DonTheStash

The last 2 posts from Wojee and CK sum up the game perfectly in my opinion.

We were never in it after the first 10 minutes.

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I'm shocked to be sitting here

This.

As was their ability to kick to a player wearing the same colours.

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"I had to eat"

How many times did we kick long to hit Ted Richards or Heath Grundy on the tit with no Carlton player within 20m?

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

About as many times as we had two guy's going for the same footy at a stoppage and as many times as we had two or three guy's running along side each other.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

And as many times as we had nobody at home up forward

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"I had to eat"