they go sideways because no one is demanding the ball to straighten them up - no one is running to the middle. Fev for all his glory runs to the pocket 9 times out of ten - he is the dominant forward he sends them to the flank.
When they start to chip sideways - Ratts should get the number one culprit in Thornton and shift him to CHF - Thornton can take a contested mark and he would straighten them up.
But what he tends to do is shift Waite down back - and he always go sideways with his kick and that also removes another forward option .

If you want them to go through the middle there has to be something there when you get there . But if your main forward is sitting in the pocket leading towards the flanks thats where they are going to head . We had miles of options in the middle on the weekend - Grigg Russell , Joseph ran through the centre corridor often 20 metres in the clear - But the ball wasn't directed their was because the big targets were heading to the flank.

The club is still technically rebuilding I would bite the bullet and bring someone in to the back line and let them learn - Austin - Hartlett- Ohalpin maybe Okeefe or even Hill - Stanton Cloke maybe - We need to shift Thornton out of defence he is our biggest liability down there but is to good of player to be playing bullants .

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

I agree synbad. Our backs have to move it alot quicker once they have it.

Bower against westcoast last year should be the example. Took em on and in one action saved us the game.

Mark it and run. Move it by hand straight up the guts. Get to the middle and send it to fev in a one on one.

Once we stop we have to go sideways to get around the mass of players standing in the corridor. THorton kills us with this.
He needs to get more dash in his game.

We go sideways cos we are not drilled properly.

We "are still rebuilding " Every team is technically rebuilding.

Scoccer uses wingbacks to move the ball quickly into dangerous positions.

We have few ball carriers who want to take the game on.

We do have however a lot of players adept at chipping the ball sideways backwards etc

Simmos first action when receiving the ball used to be to play on.... but now he is playing differently if you watch him.
Bower same...

Actualy apart from Judd and Betts all of their first reaction is to stop and look for someone close to chip the ball to.
I understand why.. (possesion hold onto the ball etc).. but shouldnt teams look at what they have at their disposal and use what is on their player list rather than being too smart by half and doing what someone else is dong??

We get Adelaide now who were the team that played that piossession footy now adating to something different.

Were going to what Adelaide were doing 4 years ago...

Crazy crazy stuff....

A team must have a few different game plans and should be able to transition from one into the next depending on whats going on.

So far we have lost to an undermanned and crappy Essendon* with a fast game plan.
We have ost to a crappy and udermanned Swans with a choking gameplan...
We have beaten the Tiges!!!... gee great!!!

And a Brissy gave us a fright with a second game coach.... and not too uch on their list either...
I keep hearing our players have been studying the art of football lectures .. tutorials.. homework... videos ... and they really dont understand shit...cos if you watch that game .... they had no idea...how to beat the choke... and they had no idea with a team that was playing a faster more open style of footy...

So are we learning just what we want other teams to play against us.. or what other teams might actually do???

Both of those styles have knocked us over before so they were hardy a surprise to come up against.

The Lawgiver to the Spartans Lycurgus actually understood that anyone using the same tactics over and over again was going to get ustuck and warned the Spartans not to go to war with the same enemy polis (city) should not make war often, or too long, with the same enemy, lest they should familiarise themslves to our tactics and counter"

Seems like we dont familiarise ourselves with tactics and counter.

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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.

I agree with most of what you're saying Synners, however I did catch the Essendon* / North game on Sunday and Knights' message to his Bombers didn't change until 3 qtr time. His message - and their entire game plan - was to move the ball inboard and run and carry through the corridor. North knew this from the outset - and stopped them in their tracks...time and time and time again. The Bomber players weren't allowed to go via the wings - even when a better option presented itself and were hell bent on giving the ball to Lovett or Winderlich to run thru the middle and deliver hard and fast into the forward 50. It didn't work. They changed things up a bit in the last - trying to create a loose man option over the top scenario, but it was too late. North went one-on-one. The commentators on radio made mention of North's 'rolling zone' but there wasn't one!

...the media, the talkback drongos who ring radio stations, the coaches and the players themselves are thinking this great game of ours is some complex 80 page playbook that needs to be memorized and executed in order to play like Geelong. Watch Geelong play and it's the simplest, (yet disciplined) gameplan on the face of the earth. There's no rocket science to it. The problem, to a large degree is everyone thinks it is!

If we could actually out the ball through the big two pointy uprights, rather than spraying it around like a ladette projectile vomiting. We would be 4 zip and pretty happy with the world. Personally I think we have a 30% improvement in the team and noooo I am not happy we have thrown away two games we should have had iced by 1/4 time. It will cost us down the track.

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06

I hope there are some water coolers in this new high performance training centre because all we seem to be drinking at the moment is bathwater!!!

Is it time to ditch the 'they know we are coming' marketing and slip back behind the comfortable mediocrity of 'still 3-5 years away', 'developing team' 'boys playing against men' etc etc

Obviously Richmond are way worse than anybody expected, we jumped a couple of teams early with some new faces and a bit of youthful exuberance. Now they've all had time to watch countless re-runs of the tapes we've been exposed. Fev's playing on 1 foot and cant convert and the supposed 'other' avenues to goal have been exposed or worked out. Our best defender has re-done his gammy shoulder and our next best is being flung about like a rag doll.

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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

No - whether you like it or not, arrogance and confidence is a part of Carlton. The effect of this on the playing group would be negligable....I doubt many of the boys would know the clubs marketing slogan.



I don't think this is the case. Certain clubs will be more susceptible to the game plan of others. The club will analyse the Bulldogs gameplan at the Dome and I don't think that exposes their style of play. There aren't many secrets...intensity and execution of good skills over 4 quarters wins you games of footy - rarely will umpiring or video analysis win matches.



When you run out on the ground you're 100%. Fev might have a little discomfort, but that doesn't affect a set shot for goal. He has a case of the yips and needs to spend a bit more time at training getting his timing and confidence back. He's too good a footballer for this to continue too much longer.

don't blame Thornton for following coach/team instructions.

What is comes down to is pressure, when we apply it we are fine, if we release it by even a small percent we are found out.

TACKLE TACKLE TACKLE!!!

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

Just on Fevs foot Dr.S. Which foot is it? His kicking foot or the other. I have played a season (soccer) with this injury and it really does effect your balance and confidence. You think you are ok each week but not until you fully recover do you realise how much influence it has on your game. To get it fixed completely fev would have to take a month completely off his foot. Even then it can come back.

I found mine got better after 20 weeks while playing. I tried everything to get it right and in the end found wearing birkenstocks all the time, never walked barefoot and got some good orthotics for my footy boots.

Quite clearly you spent too much money! Brendan is using an orange peel in the boot for cushioning and takes a couple of ibuprofen before the game. It's his kicking foot (right) and from what I understand it's getting better. He's missed quite a bit of training and just needs to take the time to get the rhythm, timing and confidence back in his goalkicking. If the club docs had any grave concerns they sure as hell wouldn't let him jump up for marks and land on it like he is...

Maybe they are hoping for this scenario:-

GOOD BREAK FOR HAHN
The Western Bulldogs have confirmed a foot tendon injury was the source of Mitch Hahn's mysterious departure from the ground on Sunday, reports The Herald Sun. But nobody at Whitten Oval is concerned. In fact, it is cause for minor celebration. Hahn had been dogged by soreness to the plantar fascia tendon under his foot for almost a month, but pressure was eased when it snapped in the opening minute against the Demons. Although the forward was on crutches after the game, he will be fit to confront Geelong on Saturday. And with the tendon completely torn away, the Dogs are now confident the pain will go away forever. "We're getting a scan to prove it, but it looks like that's what's happened," Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade said last night.

Yes as I said it depends on how you view it.

In terms of the future we have top end kids, and they arguably don't because they haven't finished bottom so many times.

But right now our kids aremn't ready yet and they have a better list right now.

Better KPP defenders
More forwards threats
Better ruck

We have a better midfield on paper, but you wouldn't have known that if you saw the game on the weekend, not after Qtr time anyhow.

Amazing to think they also lost Kennely, and had Micky O and Hall out, and Barry too.

Again, they're all old but they can still do the job, they did on the weekend.

Anyone, can someone tell me why with Judd quietened after Qtr time, and Hadley blanketed again, we didn't have Gibbs and Stevens on-ball, to get things moving? Surely there's no need to tank in 2009??

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

I agree most of the players wouldnt know/care about the slogan, i was more referring to us supporters having to defend performances that dont match expectations. In my experience, arrogance is not a sustainable defence for sub-par performance.



Good call



Not sure about that, I know that with my overused and totally abused 40 something body I'm constantly countering for injuries when I play soccer. I know I'm not fit as a player to clean fev's boots and I've never played at the elite level but I have found that when, during my amateur outings, done my foot/ankle, balance is a big issue. When i injure the foot that is the balance foot (the one that you plant whilst the other one kicks) it plays havoc no matter how hard i try. I've had ibuprofen, the ill fated vioxx (which was excellent buy the way!!), cortisone needles, I've even had a surgeon with a horse needle drain fluid out of the joint to get the swelling down so that i could play. All they do is take the edge off the pain, if it is a bit unstable it still makes it harder to kick.

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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

those who went to pre-season training would have seen time and time again the lads trying to run the ball through the corridor quickly with snappy handball and run.

Where is that now?

Only took 4 weeks to lose the momentum.

They just aren't running hard enough, not being proactive.

Or is Ratten making them chop change their game plan every week to suit the opposition, and it hasn't worked the past 2 weeks?

Stevens down back was designed to generate that run, but it hasn't really worked.

And as for Johnston, supposed to be an elite kick, they give him the kick outs, but twice he has turned it over with inexplicably bad kicks the past 2 weeks, and it has hurt both times if I remember correctly.

He also doesn't chase too well.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

I'm not sure those performances need 'defending'...my response the last 2 weeks is usually - 'you're right, we didn't play well...maybe the guys got ahead of themselves a bit...started to believe the hype before we've actually done anything...still - there's always next week' If opposition supporters are in my face - 'Have a coke and smile champ...there's still 18 weeks to go - it's a marathon, not a sprint'



You seem to have tried everything bar lukewarm rhinoceros semen for your foot...we're probably off topic - but when i injured my ankle and acupuncture, rest and strapping just didn't work, i'd purposefully papercut my knuckle on my racquet hand...it transferred the pain and sharpened my focus away from my foot...i'll be at training tomorrow arvo and suggest it to Brendan!

Yep, i tried the Rhino Semen as well, just couldnt find a nice wine to go with it!!

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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

The SCG lends itself to teams who zone the corridor and force the opposition wide. The Swans are the perfect team for it. Strong bodies and experienced leaders.

We have 2 options. Run the ball in space where we can utilise our strengths (speed and youth) or kick to contests through the corridor which suits the Swans. (On average nearly 2 years older and stronger than our players).
Which would you prefer?
I have no doubt that if we bombed it up the corridor and played to Sydneys strengths, the supporters would be going feral.

Ratts had a plan to break up their zone which was reasonably successful. It's more the footskills of the players that let it down. Waites first 3 kicks were to leading forwards were poor whilst under no pressure. All 3 should have given us set shots at goal. Lets also remember Sydneys first 2 goals were also direct results of Carlton clangers including a THornton kick across goal to a contest 40 metres out.

Meanwhile Carlton dominated play and should have iced the game half way through the second quarter. All the stats were in our favour except for scoring efficiency.
Lets not forget, we had more scoring shots in the first and second quarters which resulted in 3 goals 12. You can argue had we kicked 4.3 in the second quarter instead of 7 points, the game would have been ours!
Ratts cant get out there and kick them for the players. He can only supply the game plan and structures to give us every opportunity to win.
I'd suggest he did that.

Lastly, dont underestimate the importance of scoring accuracy to winning games. I had a quick look on Saturday night and around 80% of games this season had been won by the team with the superior accuracy. The value of scoreboard pressure on opposition teams is enormous and our structures have given us every opportunity to capitalise over the past 2 weeks.
Its our poor conversion that cost us the games.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Your reason has no place in hysterical 'we-just-lost-we're-shit-Ratt's-was-outcoached-Stevens-can't-tackle-our-marketing-slogan-is-making-us-play-bad' threads BV.

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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

Scotch work a treat!


or you could try sitting under a pyramid and saying ommmmmm a lot.

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06