No the question was were you at the game????

No i missed the game. Dads birthday and watched it with him and my brothers

I seen the moves made by Ratts. They showed plenty of shots of the Saints flooding

your point is?????

The point is when you are at the game you see the whole field of play, when you watch it on TV you only see what the TV station wants you to see. You would not have appreciated the flood the Saints put on, they basically had all of their players in the defensive half of the field.

Ratts mixed up the forward line, unfortunately to no avail

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

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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!

Now you know what we have to put up with in these longitudes

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

Pro:
Judd - This guy is a machine, I'm looking forward to him after a full pre-season.

Gibbs - Always makes the right decision and is a very good user of the ball.

Tagging - St Kilda had to worry about designating run-with players for 4-5 of our players. Who did we tag? Hayes?


Con:
Flooding - We just can't handle teams that employ the mega-flood. Our entries into the forward 50 are not precise enough and we seem to panic and bomb it long for the opposition to easily spoil and run it out.

Goal-kicking - We have almost no players who are consistent shots at goal, whether that be running or set. There are several players who I have almost zero confidence in unless they're lining up inside the goal square.

Small forwards - It's been a long time since we've had a truly dangerous one, and it's been a long time since we've been able to blanket opposition ones. Letting Milne kick 5 goals infuriates me.

Forward structure - Fev gets double and triple teamed yet we have no other forwards bobbing up with 3 goals per week. Another player kicking goals would actually help Fev because the opposition wouldn't have the luxury of telling their back six to "Just all go stand next to Fev".

St Kilda - Losing to these guys for so many games in a row is embarrassing.

I would like to see this turd kick 5 on Armfield next time we play.

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

Winston Churchill

I've finally calmed down enough to contribute after Friday night's debacle.

Pros:

GIBBS - This bloke is just going to be an absolute gun, hell, he already is!! He's just so confident, strong, balanced, skilled, never loses his feet and I am confident every time he gets the ball that he will do something special with it. All this and he is only 19 This guy will be an elite player of the competition for the next 12-13 years, and I will be very suprised if he doesn't win a Brownlow in that time. Just so impressed with him. Our next captain

JUDD - Didn't have the best start to the night, but just battles on and on. Looking forward to him tearing the competition apart next year with a groin that is 100% and a full pre-season. A great leader, we are so lucky to have him in our team. Will only get better with him showing the way.

FIGHTBACKS - In just about every loss we have fought back to be in contention, and when we do it looks if there is nothing the opposition can do to stop us. Just a pity that we turned the ball over at a crucial stage in the last which cost us a goal, and by then the players had given up hope. If we had snagged the next goal it would have been interesting indeed.

ENDING FINALS EXPECTATIONS - While I don't subscribe to either theory that it is a good or a bad thing to make the finals this year, I think after that loss and a tough run home it is time to concentrate on getting the game plan right and getting some game time into players like Hammer, Pfieffer, Harts, Austin, Jacobs, Ellard, Armfield etc. Not wholesale changes, just to give these guys a run and see how they go. Hammer must be played for the rest of the year. If we happen to fluke it and make the finals from here, we will have deserved it and it will be worth it for the development of the younger players.


Cons:

GAME PLAN/S - Yes, its a work in progress and we can't expect them to perfect it so soon, but we are like sitting ducks sometimes. WE CANNOT BEAT TEAMS THAT FLOOD. We do not have the skills, link-up plays, penetrating kicking or urgency to beat teams that employ flooding tactics against us. It is very frustrating to watch us play into their hands time and time again, especially against an ordinary side like St. Kilda - who are going nowhere fast. Credit where it is due though, they knew our weaknesses and exploited it.

HANDLING PRESSURE - We have been overwhelmed in every game where there has been some pressure on us to perform. Every time we have had a good win and a chance to back it up the following weekend to consolidate our position we have dropped our bundle. Sign of a young side, yes, but we really need to start to step up when the pressure is on us. I would hope that next year we will be much better prepared and soak up the pressure when its put on us.

CONTESTED MARKING - We would just about have to be the worst in the comp for this, especially around the ground. Every team we play seems to be able to pull in a contested mark at a critical moment when the ball just gets popped up in the air on a wing or flank. We don't have a ruckman or tall mobile player to be able to do this around the ground. (except for Waite who is in defence 90% of the time) When we do make a contest, our players lose their feet and the opposition get the crumbs. We need a mobile marking target.

FISHER/RUSSELL - Not writing them off by any means, but they are both not playing well enough to hold their spots in the team. Give them a run in the Ants and see how they respond, I would expect that it would fire Fisher up and give him some confidence back, but I am not sure about Russell. Russell should have enough senior experience by now to play well enough in the Ants to fight his way back into the team. If he can't do it then he clearly isn't up to it. There is enough competition for spots in the team now, let's make the players earn them!!!

NOT TAKING OUR CHANCES - In the first quarter we had a golden opportunity to put them away, and we failed miserably. We absolutely dominated the play yet led by 4 points. Not only did we miss easy shots at goal, we also allowed them to score a couple of soft ones themselves. Don't be fooled by the scoreboard - we may have been smashed in the 2nd and 3rd 1/4's but this 1/4 cost us the game. We came out firing but couldn't transfer that to the scoreboard, they waited for the pressure to subside and then went bang.

NOT SHUTTING MILNE OUT OF THE GAME - I can't believe how many times I have watched this guy tear us apart, and we still don't have an answer or pay him enough respect. For flower sake, the guy must love playing against us, he's guaranteed 2 great games per year!! If we let him do this to us again then we are a joke. Pity Armfield wasn't available


Overall, a very disappointing loss. Certainly not the end of the world - we are definately on the improve - but just a disappointing loss to an average team. I knew it would be a roller coaster ride this year, but it's hard to take when all you want to do is win.

I still think we are in for a few more suprises yet, like a win or two over quality teams, but that will balance out with some more disappointments. Either way, its much better than barracking for you team to lose this time of year!!

GO F@#$%N BLUES!!!!!!!!!!!

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"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself" - Henry Ford

I'm 100% with you Mil Hanna.
Players like Hartlett and Pfeiffer who are in their 4th and 3rd years respectively need to be given a decent run in the seniors.

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There is no footy god

Geez Mil, your a bit fired up for a Monday.

Pro's

Gibbs, reminds me more of Hird every time I watch. Will be a superstar.

Judd, all class, needs some help in the packs.

Jammo did a good job on Riewolt when given a chance!

Con's

Fish has to have a spell, he now gets the number two defender each week, and he is simply not good enough right now.

Ratts & MC need to find Edwards a role, and tell him to stick to it. Too young and raw to make it up as he goes

Stevens continues to pick and choose when he wants to run. Was great against tigers, busted a gut, didn't seem keen to put in the hard yards Friday night.

Our lack of basic skills continue to amaze me, we clearly are unable to tolerate any kind of expectation or pressure. Perhaps its because we are young, or maybe we are just not good enough...yet.

So many like-minded comments identifying his inconsistancies ..surely the MC must recognise it and act on it and not pretend it isn't happening..

I know........ It's a good thing I didn't post straight after the game!!!!!

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"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself" - Henry Ford

Con: After seeing most games and reading the excellent reports from the Bullants games I am convinced that not many players on our list can hit a @#$%&! target

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Cheats never prosper (except in the AFL)

Yep. We need to know where these guys are at and others before we think of tossing them on the scrap heap or trading them, or just leaving them in the Ants to rot.

As I said before, I'm not about making changes for the sake of it, but in my opinion we should be dropping players who are not performing when they get a role, and bringing in those who are performing or even showing glimpses in the Ants. I don't care if their disposal is average in the Ants, as they may just rise to the occasion playing for the Blues. Better grounds, massive crowds, greater expectations etc. Remember Pfieffer's great goal at the end of the Dockers game - it was pure adrenaline - it was absolutely brilliant. No one would have thought he would have kicked a beauty like that after being a late inclusion. Remember Armfield's game against Geelong - after hearing all about his "shocking" disposal in the Ants thread, he stepped up to the plate.

The "automatic selections" must feel the pressure to perform, and the guys running around in the Ants must believe they will get rewarded for their efforts. It's no good just sticking with the same fringe-dwellers every week for the sake of it. We have a good nucleus of players to work with, now let's put some pressure on those that don't have the right stuff or are out of form.

It may also benefit the performance of the Ants too, which would be a bonus.

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"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself" - Henry Ford

POTY

cons: carrots cant be played in the backline.
monfries: 6 goals
brown: 6 points
milne: 5 goals

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"You don’t get much more Navy Blue than Stephen Kernahan" - Marc Murphy

Unfortunately doesnt offer much in the midfield either. Not enough penetration in his game.

I dont mind him in the backline. He started at carlton there and did quite well. He may just be getting his head around it again. It can be hard going from mid to defender in a couple of games.

If he cant get it right back there then there probably isnt a spot in the 22 for him in my opinion. ...... Tagger maybe?

Pros

Judd and Gibbs

Cons

The peanut/discrace Cartlon supporter in the members who only had a 2 word vocabulary F... and Maaaaaate.

Stevens - what a surprise he has a shocker in a big game

Cloke - Listfill/backup ruckman at best. Gives 100% but not quick or tall enough.

and Setanta would not made any difference considering Gherig kicked his only 4 goals this season on him last time

won the b&f in the midfield

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"You don’t get much more Navy Blue than Stephen Kernahan" - Marc Murphy