Exactly CK

Start with the low lying fruit. The obvious weaknesses.

Start by dropping Murphy. He has checked out and compromises the standards required. He had lost his sense of space. He is not about to change. His first quarter (and I was seated at ground level for this game) was weak, insipid, conditional and plays with a sense of entitlement. Has since he got smashed by Dangerfield in 2012 ie his last 100 games. Fans were laughing at "the old man". He's embarrassing and coaches selecting him are guilty of setting him up as "laughing stock".

That will be a sign the first step has been taken. Murphy should retire 'hurt'.

Next step is to start selecting AFL players not VFL players or Stawell Gift runners: see yu Cottrell (you have a lot of work to do with your skills and hardness at the contest).

See, 2 just like that. Newnes, Setterfield may have had their 15 disposals but they are ball watchers. Pitto is terrible. I don't care if he tries his best and I know he's the best we've got.

Anyone know WTF was the role Ed Curnow playing?

That will be a sign the first step has been taken. Murphy should retire 'hurt'.

Or he could be an absolute champ & go back & captain the reserves for the rest of the season. Someone in another thread said they recall seeing Jimmy Buckley & Wayne Harmes finish off their careers in the 2s. It's no disgrace if you handle it like a pro.

The rusted on supporters like us would respect both Murphy & the club if they parked him on 295 & had him play for the bigger picture. He could actually make a memorable statement if he did that. Now that the season is shot we need to make spots outside the usual Cottrell-Gibbons-Newnes rotation for Honey Ramsay Kemp etc. And we need to have another decent look at LOB & Willow before we are done, even Kennedy. There is heaps we could be doing with Murph's spot in the team over the next 10 weeks.

Out: Murphy (hurt feelings)
In: Hardness

Anyone know WTF was the role Ed Curnow playing?

Ed was playing half back to enable Docherty to play on the wing and Dow to start in the midfield. Unfortunately Plowman out and Williamson failing to play to the level required has left us a defender short.
Ed isn't a defender. He's an accountable mid and probably our only one.

It feels like we got obsessed with trying to build the perfect list, which you can never do. Gut the list, go to the draft with high picks, recruit recycled players who for whatever reason were originally taken as high draft picks. In theory they should all come on together & all blossom at the same time. Water regularly, leave in the sun & voila.

We forgot to build a mentality & a system & a hardness while we were at it. No wonder injuries always absolutely kill us. It's not just list depth we're missing, it's the ability to be a total system where one missing part can be replaced by another that knows its role.

Ed was playing half back to enable Docherty to play on the wing and Dow to start in the midfield. Unfortunately Plowman out and Williamson failing to play to the level required has left us a defender short.
Ed isn't a defender. He's an accountable mid and probably our only one.