Bob Murphy called him the eclipse because you couldn’t stare at him for too long.
Printable View
Here's the reference to the speed and tackling piece.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/af...4774e78388bef7
Apologies for the blunt language, but I actually think we did what we could to get him into the side due to his talent, it's just the role that was available didn't suit him.
With respect to your points around Robbie McComb, they weren't on the list at the same time, so inserting him into the conversation is just conflating the issue to suit a point and I don't really get it.
Yep. I just get frustrated when the "our list is super talented and it's all Bevo's fault" is also accompanied by an argument that talks about the short-comings of a large number of players on our list...Seriously, whether we roll with Hannan, West or McComb does anything REALLY change? We need Bont fit and Naughton back in form...
If you look at every premiership team in the last 20 years (probably longer), there is always a sprinkling of role-players and fringe types who share the dais with the superstars - save for the worst 8 minute patch in our club history, the likes of Hannan, Roarke Smith, Schache, and one-legged pensioner Stef Martin would have premiership medals.
Like any team, we need our superstars in peak form in order to be a high quality finals team - when Naughts and English don't fire, or if Bont or Libba is quelled and kept quiet, we lose more often than not, same as any club really.
The more interesting question is if our game plan in 2023 is amenable to future success. This game changes quickly, and I hope Bevo is nimble enough to understand and adjust accordingly. I thought we made adjustments in our defensive profile from R3-10 to make sure we contend at the business end this year, but the ease with which we are being scored against in the last 3 weeks is a concern. We ae being sliced open, which has been a consistent theme of this team since 2019 when we notionally started contending again after our mini-rebuild post GF. The last 3 weeks aren't a surprise - my worry is that rounds 3-10 are the outlier and we still don't have that consistent defensive capability to defend the entire ground off turnover nailed down.
I think we know the answers to the bolded part.
Bevo is stubborn. I've always said it's part of what delivers out-of-world results (2016 and largely 2021) but also regular failures (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023).
What has evolved / changed? There's always little things, but the core principles of HOW we play remain the same i.e. flicking the ball around, no tag, defenders playing in front, extra forward up at stoppage, player flexibility, second ruck (although that finally changed this year).
I have zero confidence he can or will change the nucleus of how we attack and defend. Out the back goals have been the norm for years, as has being sliced through the middle of the ground, as have mid-forward connection struggles and bulk I50 entries for modest to little return.
He is who he is. We won the flag in 2016 and were a goal away from doing it again in 2021, but everybody has an expiration date.
I don't see the issue as being the list.
It is a competitive list and all the top teams have role players doing their job who are not and will not be stars.
My issue is game plan where we continually have a congested forwardline limiting the options for forwards to lead.
It requires someone to almost take mark of the year every quarter because there are very few options to lead up and take uncontested marks within goal scoring distance.
We switch and switch until we turn it over and then the opposition has an unimpeded run towards their goals.
It has never been a sustainable method, but we persist with it.
This is on the head coach.
Yep bang on Sedat.
Melbourne didn't win yesterday because their forward line was a thing a beauty, it won because their defence was excellent and their leaders stepped up when it counted. I was at the Geelong game and it was like I was transported back to 2022 with the way we defended the turn over that night, how many games do you win when you give up more than 85 points? I'm more down on the forward line in regard to pressure, Port got so many easy goals that started deep in our back half the other night.
I know the stats don't show it but even against Port we lost centre clearance at the wrong time and were unable to get a stop when it counted to allow us to build some momentum in the game.
We could get the best forward line coach in the country but it wouldn't matter because for what ever reason we haven't been able to defend for a number of years now.