Our tackling technique did need work.

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater?

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

That's actually a good post but seeing it has the name Melvey attached to it I don't think you will get positive responses. People will look only look at the negatives in the last two paragraphs.

_________________
Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Or an inversion of.

_________________
Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

1. Players who use the ball well under pressure and kick with penetration
2. Players with genuine leg speed who can attack and break the lines.
3. A genuine tall forward with excellent team ethics and physicality plus genuine goalkickers.
4. A huge ruckman
5. The MC's ability to to pick players on form and not on favouritism. Also not to play players with any hint of an injury that will affect their output.
6. Average list with a lot of overrated players. Play the kids!!!
7. Too many passengers week in week out. We have individuals not a team.
8. We can't clone Judd.
9. Mediocrity is to readliy accepted by some.
10. There are too many players still around from the bad old days.

I think the deficiency is the same now as it has been over the past 3-5 years. I have attended games, training, sepcial player days with my kids and the main thing is disposal. Every one talks about forward deficiency or backward deficiency or whatever. The fact is that the delivery to Fev last night was atrocious from everybody, thats right everybody. The turn overs in the back half and midfield IMHO are disposal related. Ive been spruiking this for 5 years. Williams, Bradley, Teague, Lappin, Harvey, Montgomery, Riley and Ratten are doers IMO not teachers. I wish they would giet it right in the coaches recruitment strategy moving forward FFS.

_________________
Go BLues

In all fairness to Ratts I believe he identified this as our main weakness last year. It has been quoted on several occassions that his instructions to the recruitment people were to make players that are naturally good kicks the number one priority. The result was Yarran, Robinson, OKeefe, Tiller who are all good kicks of the footy.

If a player gets to the club with poor skills it is very hard to change these issues. It is not as if they haven't tried.

If you listen to Calrkson and Thompson their priority in recruiting has ALWAYS been guys that can kick the ball effectively. That is the reason that Dew was recruited.

Like most have mentioned, a KP forward.

Not sure how we are going to get one with our likely draft position and the concessions to GC and WS.

I think we lack a tagger in the midfield. Joseph will be good but is more suited to the back pocket, the type to tag small forwards. Browne I think also is more suited to the back pocket.

We have no one to go onto a dangerous player like Hasleby. Hasleby had been in good form, winning the medal the week before...he chopped us up at the stoppages (partly due to the silver service from his ruckman) however there appeared to be little pressure on him.

Dangerous forwards in general...Yarran will help but then it's Fev/Betts/Yarran...where is the depth?

The rucks are fine...we aren't going to come up against Sandilands every week. Hampson is still a baby when it comes to ruckmen. Sure he drops some simple marks but his intent/hunger is there and he gifted Yarran a goal by causing a turnover near the goalsquare.

Maybe a skilful HB'er out of defence but we have O'Keeffe on the list.

Could still add more depth to the midfield as well...we have Judd/Gibbs/Murphy/Walker and a few others who don't contribute as much as they should. Grigg should develop into a good midfielder who will get little attention from the opposition. Robinson was a steal at 40...it's great that he has the versatility to play onball, provide defensive pressure up forward and kick goals.

We already have a lot of the players. I get frustrated with the lack of structure but with such a young list how can you implement certain gamestyles when your main priority is to actually develop the players first, get the fundamentals right and after they've played 30-50 games then you can start expecting more consistent results. There is a big gulf between the jets in the middle and the developing players however as they continue to develop we should get a more even contribution.

You look at St Kilda and see second tier players like Gwilt, McQualter, Eddy, Geary playing like millionaires...however it's only 1-2 years ago the Saints were being blasted for having a terrible game plan and looking like they would have to rebuild before they could have a crack at the flag.

_________________
"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Get more all over defensive pressure.
Stop the other team from scoring so easy and the rest will fall into place.

Defence first ! It was the mantra in the pre season and in our early games but i think we have let it slip.

We do NOT have enough talent as yet. Some on here actually think we have the talent but don't know what we are doing. If thats the case I'd love to read a list of the truly talented players we have. And here I mean talented...not potential talent..there is a huge difference between the two.

_________________
"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

And Yarran doesn't??

Last year Bomber Thompson said something along the lines that we had an unbelievably talented list and I remember wondering why. Since then I was seduced by the improved depth on paper, but the depth is of guys who can play a bit, not a lot - C graders and kids. and while I think we're ok, we're nowhere near as good as the hype suggested.

I agree with what Melvey wrote, immediate success isn't necessarily the best thing for our current group. Painting Matty Knights as some kind of demi god of development though is a bit extreme, considering they have one more win than us and a lot poorer percentage, and also Knights hand was forced with the amount of injuries they copped last year. Thing is Essendon* do have some talent there, but I think in an even comp they have been able to take advantage of sides taking them lightly. I still would be surprised if they finished above us this year.

Thing is with developing sides like ours is, when things go wrong, they lose their structure and confidence easier than sides who have been together for a while (like Geelong and St Kilda), it happens. We started off well, sides realised what we did well and what they needed to stop, and now we need to find a different way and tinker a bit. We have weaknesses like many other sides, and at the moment there are 12 or so sides who can win/lose against each other depending on their current mood.

So the original question; weaknesses
a) Forward line
b) Leadership
c) Extra key position defender
d) Deadwood

Same old, Same old...

No Fev

No Carlton.

A couple of dangerous forwards, possibly two mediums. A mobile KPP would be nice in place of one of the mediums. Not fussed just goal kicking options who are hungry for goals, rather than panic at the thought of the responsibility.

One or two quick defenders who can break lines, but still can kick the ball well at pace. Must not be defensive liabilities.

A really good psychologist or witch doctor to exorcise the demons of failures past that seem to haunt some of our players That could be number one.

at the risk of sounding like ratten - fev hasnt really set the world on fire in our wins this year

_________________
*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

Fev kicks goals - we win

Who else kicks goals for us.

We are frigid in the front half.

Fev kicked nearly a hundred last year.

Who are you relying on?

Cameron Cloke!

'Interesting to note that on this mornings footy show it was mentioned that Fev had said that the preseason was all about defensive pressure. I ask if the entire focus is on 'not having teams score against us' doesn't that portray a somewhat negative mind set to the playing group.

The Saints and i thin it was Dal Santo who said they hardly did any tackling training over the summer. You know you have to tackle, no need to practice it' - melvey


now I know we are angry and I am trying to just ignore but @#$%&! me - the saints practiced shit defensive football for two @#$%&! years under RL - 2 years! Now they have opened up (after that 2 years of practise) and suddenly no one needs to worry, just think and it will be done.

_________________
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!

Alan Richardson

_________________
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

Our list is about 80% there, how many other teams have more than 4 or 5 top graders and the rest are amongst the pack? Who can say they have the best footballer in the comp - Judd in their side? Murph, Gibbs, Kruez, Jammo, Fev...Our list will get better and just seeing Austin out there yday shows we have some talent that is maturing as are our other kids. Guys like Hartlett, Edwards, Bentick etc etc will all get the chop and are basically just making up the numbers. Our rookies have shown more in one year that that lot have in the last 3/4/5 teams. Our problem is that we are not well drilled, too many deers in the headlights and kicking the ball sideways, backwards etc etc. How many freaking crap handballs where they yday?? None of our blokes understand what game plan we are supposed to be following. Our forward line is a disgrace and there are too many players taking pot shots at goal. Freo dont have a better list than us, not by miles but they were well drilled yday and played hungry footy. Malthouse gets the best out of a pretty average list ditto Knights. Everyone bar the Saints & Cats at the moment are in the pack and the better drilled teams will make it to the finals. Sadly it looks like our blokes wont while they are running around like headless chooks.

_________________
I stole Sheedy's Gatorade...