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"I had to eat"

im suprised

i did say it would be very suprising

kudos to the fitness team

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

Still don't rate Brett Ratten at all.

Why is it when we attack the game we play like a team on a mission.................. the answer lies within

It was about this time last year we started to run over the top of sides maybe it will repeat it self this year

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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

My only complaint with Ratts is that he cant get our boys up and firing for the full four quarters. When we are playing hard intense football and win the contested ball we look pretty good. Just a matter of consistency. Hopefully with a maturing list and a maturing coach we will fire up week after week.
Thought the zone looked good in the second half. I havent seen it work like that for us before.

The team looked better without Stevens.

If Swann decides its the end for Ratts i hope the new coach brings new right legs for our forwards. Our kicking for goal has cost us all season.

Any win on the road is a good one.

Freo were never going to maintain their 1st half standard.

We just had to maintain and hang in there and reel them in.

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There's so much I could say...

Yeah, what was Ratts doing pre-match, watching Geelong & St Kilda? Freo getting 48 of the first 62 possessions was clearly Ratten's fault.

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"I had to eat"

rofl

this is the best one yet.

so, when the team does the things the coach (and supporters) expect and play to his tactics we play like a team on a mission

but when they dont, the coach doesnt know what he is doing?

ffs, do you blokes even understand what you write sometime?

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

Players who lack self-motivation should be dropped IMHO. These guys are well paid professional athletes and I don't know why it is the coaches' fault if a player lacks motivation.

If Cadel Evans puts in a lazy leg in the Tour De France does the coach get blamed?

If Ponting plays a lazy shot in a game is it the coaches fault?

If an employee at work becomes lazy is it the manager's fault? Most likely that the employee will be sacked.

Don't see why ALF footballers should be treated any differently.

The coach is responsible for strategy and making sure the players respect and listen to him, and to place the platform for players to improve, but the coach can't be held responsible for players not chasing or being plain lazy.

let's ignore the result and try to assess the coach as objectively as I can (I'm sure others will balance it up !)

1. selection - I probably agree that a statement needed to be made with stevens (his efforts were unacceptable last week) yet I thought bringing cj, garlett and poarticularly greg bentley (wtf????) did weaken the side...

2. our kickouts - still don't get it and we got nothing new here ! the old chip to the boundary followed by a kick along the boundary line to a contest....it continues to be deplorable and is ratten's biggest achilles heel....almost embarrasing !

3. defending their kickouts - started poorly and they seemed to move the ball at ease....but for some reason (which was hard to pinpoint on tv) we seemed to tighten up and force them to contests in the second half which played a part in our comeback.

4. our game plan - gave them far too much access to the corridor when they had the ball. When we got it, we at least tried to move it centrally....but too often it only resulted in a long bomb forward. we still struggle to show any systematic movement of the ball or structure...and continue to rely on forcing turnovers and capitalising...so unfortunately not much progress here for mine.

5. gameday coaching - thought rats did a bit better here today...at least he made some moves...pushed jamo onto mcfarline after he threatend to tear thornts a new one and in particular the move of houla to the backline paid off in the last quarter big time ! And I must add that backing setanta in at CHF has added another dimension over the last month....so credit where credit is due.

6. playing for the coach - at quarter time, it really appeared that following on from last week there was a big risk that rats had lost them....but thankfully the boys did appear to respond and even if the polish wasnt there, the effort certainly was from quarter time !

so all in all, a pretty sloppy performance in the box and on the field...still have major concerns about rats and MC....particularly in relation to developing a structured game plan....but lets continue to monitor over the next 10 or so weeks...

all I am hoping is that those in power do the same....and at the end of 2009 (whenever that may come), sticks, swannie and co objectively ask (regardless of contracts/shmontracts) "Is Rats the right man to take us forward ?"

not having a shot at you mate, as you are on the same wavelength as me.

but yet, just something to illustrate.

our kicking for goal this year, something that a coach has no control over in the box, has been what has costs us at least 2 if not 3 games this year.

would we be even having this debate, or would this thread even exist if we took the chances we had, and where sitting 10 & 4 on the ladder?

i would think not.

for all those that want to rag on ratten, he is young, he is learning, but our season could very easily be different, if we similpy took the chances we had laid before us. through the coach, the game plan, and the efforst shown by players at times, we should have won more than we have. i thought it was going to cost us dearly again today, but luckly for us it didnt.

missing easy goals, which is something we have done all year, is what has cost us a couple wins, and what ratten does in the box on game day, simply has no effect on that. you can not blame ratten for missed opportunity, and for me, this year has been all about missed opportunity. we should be sitting at least 10 and 4 IMO, if not 11 & 3, if we only took the opportunities before us.

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

Grigg, Walker and Robbo.

Bring on the 3 amigos right now. drool

Would change the chemistry of the whole team.

Add the tenacity and menace of a Joseph and Betts and we don't really need 7 taggers out of 22.

Enough there to provide plenty of pressure from blocks and nuisance factor.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Yep. I was just trying to point out that no matter who was coaching today/all season they still would have had to deal with our poor goal kicking.

We have a good chance to build on today over the next few weeks.

How do you know this?

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Melvey told him.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

Im sure they respect him.

Some just think he has no idea........... though could be a case of sour grapes from where it came from

Libba?

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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.

rofl

is that the sound of a truck backing up.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

Where is juddyandthekreuzers?

I reckon the traffic in this thread will slow down significantly until our next loss

His right here mate...what's up?

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"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