I think tonight we saw the worst of what has been an epidemic at our club for years. For some inexplicable flowering reason, we always seem to cough up goals either on the siren, or with seconds to go. The effects of this IMO cannot be underestimated, as as deflating as it is for supporters to witness, it would be have to be 100 fold for players, especially if they've toiled to get close or in front only to lose that momentum at the death.

So is this just bad luck, or is there a definite problem here that needs to be addressed, and if so, wtf can we do to stop it??

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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

Beat me to it mate

Goals in red time.

You're right, its been killing us for years and its hurt us in every game so far this year.

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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

So what's causing it? Is it lack of any of the three C's; concentration, composure, commitment? Should we focus on icing the clock at training? It seems we've got too much to work on at training as it is, that the more you introduce, the more goes out the other ear.

Or is it just simply bad luck and another example of God hating us?

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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

As I said on the game day thread - lack of leadership. That last few minutes need to be organised. There must be run to
1. Provide options
2. Block
3. Man up when they have the ball
4. Get to places where players can be advised properly.
With good onfield leadership this gets done. Houla, Scotland, Stevens pffftt! ratts can only set the plan in place - it is the players that must follow through. Is it will or skill?

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

I dont think icing the clock is the answer. We tried doing that at the end of the third and coughed it up anyway.

Besides that, we need to attack ourselves to try to start scoring goals ourselves in red time.

I don't know what the cause of the problem and the answer are.

Perhaps its lack of experience and composure.

_________________
"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 don't believe icing the clock is the answer either. If players have a clear plan then they adopt that plan. If that means attack then fine, but you need to have the fitness to carry that out - I suspect we don't, or at least our key, experienced players don't.

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

I'm not sure why this happens, but it sure as hell drives me @#$%&! barmy!

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the gameplan is shite! or non-existant.
they slow the game down and allow defenders to flood when they should be moving the ball quickly. and late in a quarter, with a 2-3 goal lead they should be protecting the lead and going into any break (even quarter time) with a buffer. last night was the perfect example. should have been up by 13 points at 3/4 time... Essendon* would have been feeling deflated and the game result would have been very different.

Have seen it live in all 3 games... clear lapses in concentration towards the end of each quarter. IMO resulting from fatigue almost certainly caused by comparative substandard physical fitness levels. Due either to being physically a young side and/or having had interrupted or substandard physical preparation. It will improve week by week im sure.

We need to keep the ball moving freely and keep attacking.. We can't afford to slow things down in this period and turn defensive!

Only equals to trouble when we do this to ourselves!

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Corinthians 9:6- 8

Agreed

But it takes energy to keep up intensity..they seem to go flat after short intense bursts

Its also going to be a gradual process. I think, ideally, Ratts was us to move the ball forward quickly, using handball to keep the ball moving, but we're just not ready for that yet, so we have to slow it down to find an option further up field.

It would look a lot worse if not for Eddie Betts providing that option.

_________________
"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

Nothing wrong with slowing down the tempo if players concentrate and run to provide options for the bloke in possession.

What we should not be doing for a very long time is attempting to play counter-attack football, i.e. drawing the opposition deep into your defence & streaming forward in numbers when we gain possession. This needs to be looked at and tempered a bit better than it is currently. Having just about every bloke running forward is probably not the instruction, but it is just about what's happening.

I just hope we're not intentionally trying to draw the opposition to play into their 50 because we don't have a quick or defensively minded midfield, and our back six is inexperienced overall. Our team isn't built for that kind of footy.

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And only 7 that you like;
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Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Agree, we go defensive and it removes any pressure we were exerting on the opposition and puts it on us. The best method of defense is attack, keeps the opposition under pressure. IMHO this was the turning point last night. We were 14 points clear of the Bummers with 90 odd secs to go in the third and we stopped - result - 2 goals to the opposition, momentum turned.

It kind of reminds me a boxer who has his opponent on the ropes, slightly stunned after several good blows, he then stops punching and returns to the centre of the ring waiting for his opponent to come and try to counter punch amd gets knocked out

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The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

Ronald Reagan

make no mistake, this in my opinion is the sole reason for our loses.

we should have smashed richmond, but we let in goals at the end.
we should have had st.kilda goaless in the first quarter last week
we should have had Essendon*, 3 goals down going into the last quarter

instead we ended up
losing to richmond
10 points up over saints after 1/4
and 1 point infront of Essendon* at 3/4

and IMO, it comes down to fitness.

its all good and well running hard for 20mins of a quarter, but until we can run the full quarters out, we are going to struggle..

IMO, this is out biggest hurdle.

Seriously, at times in the 3/4, the way we where playing, i dont think there would have been too many sides that could have stopped us.

At our best we are up there, our problem is, we dont have the fitness to maintain that level.

That is what geelong and others excel at, and its is what we struggle with.

and the frustrating thing is, there is no quick fix, its a time thing, we need to get the fitness of all our players (with the exception of possibly judd) into that next level.

until we do that, we will continue to struggle.

but its not all horrible. the 3/4 was a joy to watch, minus the last 3 mins

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

it would be interesting to know how many interchanges we make late in quarters ... does our coaching staff think "Oh well there is only two minutes left ... the players will be resting soon"

maybe we are leaving very tired players on nthe ground for that little bit longer

when you make the decision to slow it down you have basically blown the siren to end the quarter . We are not the only team conceeding goals late when they try this tempo footy . Some sides like Sydney and Adelaide are quite good at it but they are defensive sides to start with .

They should play the quarter out rather than trying to shut it down .

Instead of having the mind set of "geez we dont want to conceed "

we should have the mind set of lets see if we sneak another before the end of the quarter

but geez it shits ya

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They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Goals against us in red time seriously is shitting me; it's been going on for years. Shouldn't be happening this year though....not all 3 games...its got to stop.

There's a fitness issue at Carlton IMO...it's really obvious.

I am expecting us to get the team playing at the fitness level required to play 120 mins of AFL in the 2nd half of the season.

This situation can't be remedied over night....unless of course it's something other than fitness, or rather, the lack of.

Tell me Ratts...why do you think it happens...why do they lose concentration? What will you do to change this leakage?

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Abso-friggin-lutely!

The best form of defence is attack, and if there's a turnover, at least make it deep in our attacking 50, rather than at HB.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.