With respect Synbad, every team we play isn't much chop according to you lately. Richmond i agree with. Who are your teams that are T-Bone Steaks? Geelong, Hawthorn?


Dog I agree with 100%.

_________________
Mjonc signing off at 8888

Just on the forward line - why is it that our forward line often seems as empty
as a school playground on a weekend? Where do our forwards go (Is this what Cat Stevens was really singing about) ?

_________________
This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Pagan's paddock.

Agree Danny.

We get sucked upfield way too easily. Need to keep a presence of talls and smalls inside 50 at all times.

_________________
Mens sana in corpore sano.

Bring back the laurel wreath logo!!!

Or more like Ratts weekend rail yard.

We need some forwards to play in the forward line. Particularly the flanker/crumber types....

_________________
This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

I do agree that any senior player not giving 110% should be put on notice for their careers. Hoops is the one that really comes to mind. Silky skills and great finisher, but he is a downhill skier with too little intensity sometimes. I want him in the team because you need finishers, but I only want players that give 110%. I would put him on notice.

Scotland and Thornton are trying hard but are just not yet suited to the handball running game plan right now. They tend to hold the ball up and look for options rather than take off and handball to advantage. Their first instinct is to steady and kick. That needs to change. It may take time to convert.

As for Simpson, I never doubt his commitment. He just had an off game and will rebound... just as he did last year. I remember after the first 5-6 games last year the same posters calling for his head. He turned things around pretty quickly and really showed us what he is made of - a leader.

The player that still worries me the most is Carrots. His disposal is just so blah. It doesnt hurt the opposition and it often doesn't advantage us either. But i like his work ethic, so I'm still on the fence of where and if he will fit into the eventual team structure once we hit our strides... and trust me, we will. A win or two and the momentum will begin to grow.

To often Carrazzo's first instinct once he gets the ball is to "stop and prop" or "double back" - he doesnt hurt the opposition with quick and accurate disposal - I dont question his work ethic or his on training track example - but the fact that sides dont pay him the respect of being tagged despite him getting 25+ disposals every week - should be an indication to us all that he does not hurt other sides.

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

Winston Churchill

Nice post, Dog.
I normally agree with you but I find it hard to accept that this time last year we were 2-1 and this year we are 0-3 and we are improving.
If we are to improve we have to beat the teams who finished more or less level with us last year:
Richmond
Essendon*
Melbourne
Bulldogs.

I think that at the moment we are no better than last year. I think Richmond has improved and I think Essendon* has improved. I think the Doggies have improved and I think Melbourne has gone backwards. I thought we would finish around 12th and still hope we can but it isn't looking good. We had to jump over a few teams to get there and one of them has already beaten us.

Our midfield lacks raw pace and we need to put somebody into it that has it.
Our back six lacks raw pace and we have to put somebody into it that has it.

The team lacks flair and confidence. I know that's hard to display when you are on the losing end but we need players to stick the pill under their arm and run with it occasionally. We need someone to take a speccy. Or at least miss a few. Apart from Judd and Eddie, we don't seem to have anybody that makes the crowd come alive when he gets near the ball. I think Walker's injury has particularly hurt us in that regard.

I am sure we will improve as the year goes on and I am equally sure that Ratts will realize that Houla is a finisher and not a backman's bootlace. I just hope the Andersons and Benjamins of the world get fit PFQ so we can inject pace and flair into the team.

I am also going to go on record as saying I now think Dale Thomas was a better pickup than Murphy. Murphy is a great, solid, thinking player, very workmanlike and makes not too many mistakes but to me, Thomas is more of a matchwinner. Faster, tackles at least as well and plays with more flair. At the time I thought we should have selected Nathan Jones by the way so I am only looking in hindsight.

I can't watch or listen to games without emotion as hard as I try and even afterwards, trying to analyze a loss is hard for me. But I am calmer than Blue Beatle, who will surely die on the couch in front of the telly one of these years.

_________________
Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

Once upon a time, 100% was enough.

_________________
Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

Marc Murphy will be the AFL's competition next Ben Cousins (without the off field party tricks).

Dale Thomas at the moment is travelling very well in a side where he doesnt have to exhibit too much accountability and has a licence to use this flair - I will reserve judgement.

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

Winston Churchill

Some players have been given different roles to play this year so their output doesn't seem as good- Even this week they decided that Thornton wasn't the best go to man to bring it out of defence and he was given a more negating role than he has had recently - Last year Houlihan and Scotland were the go to men off half back - this year some of there work has been spread around to Thornton- Bower and Gibbs - last week Gibbs and Murphy did most of the work in the middle this week it was taken by Judd - Stevens and Hadley and Betts - Ratten seems to be mixing things up trying players in different positions and roles even at the expence of others in the team.

_________________
If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Murphy was the best player in that draft, and by a long way too.

As for Simmo, if I remember correctly, he started last season slowly too. He'll be fine.

_________________
"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

QFT

agree with nytdog. great post.

things are slowly clicking.

the judd / stevens combo is looking superb.

team discipline seem to be improving and Fevola maybe on a new path.

Kreuz/Murph/Gibbs/Hampson/Jamison - bright future.

takes time for new players to click with new coaches and understand game plan. am sure that it will all come together nicely.

am very excited about future. except not sure re Carazzo / Russell.

Hey Sombo... its been a long time. I hope you're well and its good to hear from you.

As for your comments about us going backwards, it is a fair observation but I'm not sure its 100% correct. Last year we were 2-1 but we had a coach and a game plan that had been building for 3-4 years. We also were relying on the same ol same ol players to win us those games. This year, we have a better spread of talent. But the biggest thing, is that we are adapting to a new coach, a new game plan and with new players. A quarter of our team havent played together... Judd, Hadley, Pfiiffer, Kreuz, Jamo, Hampson... and you could probably throw Bower in there who didnt play much last year. It will take time. In any team sport it takes time to become familiar with your team mates and build trust and understanding. Its particularly hard when your coaches are new and the game plan is so different. So I really don't think we've taken a step backwards, I think we've taken a step sideways and forward (diagonal you could say). The scoreboard will be the last thing to follow. A few more of those 3rd quarters strung together and we'll really see things differently.

Great post nytdog.

A lot of our kids have been in a modern, supportive football environment for six months at AFL level. I can't see how they could develop quickly under an ancient gameplan and being tossed back and forth between two teams where the coaches didn't speak to each other.

Add in the fact there were virtually no dedicated development resources and we are coming from so far back it isn't funny.

There were so many positives out of Saturday night in terms of seeing a team structure in place that I walked out with a smile on my face. In 18-24 months' time, this is going to be a serious team.

The two areas I am most concerned about is defensive midfield pressure and forward line structure - I think the people we have there are good enough but their positioning and the emphasis on Fev is something we need to keep working on.

Very comfortable with where this team is considering where they've come from six months ago.

Add to nytdog's comments the fact that Pagan had us primed to hit the nab cup running and this spilled into the first few weeks of the home and away season before the team collapsed later.

I honestly don't make any comparisons between this team and Pagan's reign - everything is so different now I don't see the point.

I rwally like this analysis Sydney B.

I really like this analysis Sydney B.

I hope both the Dog and Agro can prove me wrong.
I really do.

_________________
Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)