@GrokSherrin IS THIS TRUE???

We are in serious trouble
Early days but I reckon Demons and NM have gone passed us
We will find out but the game plan is even more outdated with the rule changes
Too many slow players and poor kicks
Play kids

Thanks for that Keogh.

Just completed round 1.

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No Guts, No Glory

Not watched Norf-PA but I expect PA to be terrible this year so Norf smashing them doesn't concern me.

Did watch Melb-Aints and neither side showed any interest in defending, and anyone's ball movement will look good in that environment.

Exactly, everyone looks good when it's a bruise-free high scoring game.

Except Carlton

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'The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule it'
H.L. Mencken

If this weekend proved anything its that, at certain stages of every game, one team got on top and really banged home some goals. Momentum is even more difficult to arrest than it used to be. The main thing is to take advantage whe you're on top. We're not good at that. Everything we do seems belaboured. But it happened to good sides and bad i.e. Sydney picked up where they left off and torched the two-time reigning premier.

I don't buy the stories about us running out of fitness or clubs running over the top of us because they're fitter. Our issue has been maintaining the ascendancy within the contest both games.
When we control the contested ball, we control the outside game as well. But both weeks our midfielders have failed on the inside after half time. Against Richmond we dominated the stoppage clearances at half time (12-4) and led contested possessions 78-59. The third quarter our mids dropped off the intensity (again) After dominating contested possessions, we allowed Richmond to control the contested ball 37-23. It allowed them to get the ball outside and dominated uncontested ball. (61-26 for the quarter)
Have no doubt, if 'we're still winning the inside ball, they're not getting the outside ball.

After having 22 in the first half, Cripps had 5 possessions for the quarter. Walsh had 4 after 18 in the first half. Lord had 2, Pitto had 1 after 12 in the first half and Chesser had 3. It's not fitness. They've just had a 20 minute break. They didn't need speed in the first half to dominate contested ball or stoppage clearances.

We're getting nothing out of our second ruck. Reidy was found wanting and O'Keefe was terrible Thursday. Pitto was off for about 15m in the 3rd quarter and HOK offered nothing. No doubt he'll be a good AFL player as he matures but he's not AFL quality yet.

Somehow the clubs sports psych needs to get inside the players heads because it's a mental block IMHO. You can't dominated the contest like we have for opening halves and then fall off a cliff like that.

It was a frustrating win on Thursday and I was a bit numb when the siren went. But looking at the positives, we're trying to change it up. If our game plan stayed the same and we performed like this I'd be pissed but it's obvious we've had a big shift in how we play the game. Our forward handball game is great when its on and we've seen how we can account for top quality teams when it works (Sydney game)
But Thursday nights game showed how it can't succeed when you're not winning the ball. (270m gained from handball in the first half compared to 42m in the second half). It's a high quality game style when you control the inside ball.
But to be realistic, no game plan will succeed if you're not getting your hands on the ball.

Forward line remains a big issue and Fraser is finding out how big his job is. Harry is as flaky as they come and we need additional strike power down there. I shake my head at the suggestions we should leave Harry inside 50 to save us. In the 2 games to date, he hasn't taken 1 mark inside forward 30m.
His value is providing a link up the ground where he can lead into space. His playing for free kicks and spraying the ball around is a liability in the forward 50.

IMO, we need another option and I'd try Derksen or Young there. Somehow who will compete, not be outworked and who can hopefully capitalise on their chances. Or have McGovern coming out of the goal square. At least he can kick the bloody ball and reward the hard work up the field.
Cripps out of the front half. Rotate him mid/bench. His finishing and defensive work is a liability in the front half. I love Fogs footy smarts but you can't finish like him and retain your spot.

Byrne and Derksen into the 23. Plus Evans if he's fit. HOK, Fog and Kemp out.
I'm not losing hope. Our strength is the contested ball and we're finally turning that into outside dominance. The key is to retain consistency of effort and not drop of the cliff with intensity.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Can't have Fog and Cripps in the same forward line.
Can't have Cripps and Hewitt in the same midfield.

So many issues with the list, but will need to target a key forward again. Jed Walter seems to be out of favour. Not sure if King will stay at GC beyond this year but they have King, Read and JUH.

Interesting look at some statistics so far compared to 2025:

https://x.com/fantasynut_afl/status/2033350456249053309

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"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

And you can visually see the changes taking place.

This part is very important for us to understand and is why we are being killed in the midfield.


The opposition seem to be letting us burn ourselves out for a half then coming hard for the chocolates in the second.
The key is us either being more damaging when we have momentum or putting more speed around the ball, Jagga can't do it all on his own.
Either way, we need better skills and ball handling for an inside or outside game.

What do we think about this and who is our best chance to kick a bag this year?


https://x.com/FOXFOOTY/status/2033457124425241029

Enjoyed that BV, good post. Agree with it all. Only point I’m not convinced about is Kemp. While he hasn’t set the world on fire, I’d give him a little slack for another handful of games. Coming back from almost a season out and no more than 10 or so games as a key forward deserves that. He may not be the greatest converter, he does hit the ball hard which I like.

Definitely above the shoulders BV.
Below is my statement in the Richmond post-game thread. Sorry to group you with me but you are right.

Marc Murphy was on ABC and he said its definitely between the ears.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1095605260293390

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The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

#DopeThenStash

Couldn’t help but notice the skipper, after two games, declaring that this season “won’t be smooth sailing”.

Not ideal.

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

Ha….

sugarcoating again i see….


kindest regards tommi

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that'siti'mnotchangingthistagain......!

At the game, I looked at how we set up when we had the ball and when we didn’t have the ball. I tried to do the same for Tigers to see how we defend, and how opponents set up against us.

What I noticed made me question our set up. I realise it was just my opinion because I don’t profess to be a guru. But I was disappointed.

For a team who has changed game plan to be more attacking I thought our zoning was rather defensive, and the Tigers had a player sitting in between zones in the 2 nd half. The result, imo, was the Tigers were able to move the ball from end to end by hitting those loose players in between zones.

Maybe we didn’t run hard enough to close down their options. I say that because Ive watched the replay for my third time, and I thought our players were not running as hard as they did in first half.

Luckily our defense was able to hold up. I thought our defenders, all of them, did well. Lynch was pushed to the boundaries to get his set shots on a windy night. His 2 goals were bad umpiring decisions. We won thank goodness.

What changed after the first quarter intrigues me.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

As for Harry….

He looked strong and aggressive in the last 4 games of last season without Charlie.

Furthermore Harry won a Coleman playing from the square and leading hard, without Charlie.

He’s definitely our best option at FF, but also great as the outlet further up the ground. We had two KPFs last 2 years and we still struggled to win games with both in the team. I don’t think it’s one reason, but hopefully we get this sorted because I think we have the personnel to do well this year.

We are not setting up to hit up a leading forward. That shits me because that’s the way of the kPF thus far this year. Rules make it hard to stop their lead given increased speed and stand rule. Is it the kicking? Skills? A lot of ball not hitting targets imo.

For a start and change from the past….Stop fkn bombing it into the forwardline. No one is going to mark a predictable ball kicked on top of heads.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Mentally drained perhaps from having to fight with one hand behind their backs Bondi?
Hmmm...I think that was the issue last year.