Selection? What a cop out!!!

[mjp]

So - I had to go and calm down for a few hours after the game (my 2x whippets have still not returned to the lounge-room for fear of more furniture being upturned) - but I am reading a heap on the forum about the 'problem' today being the selection of Hayes and Young over Trengove and Lipinski.

Sorry guys and gals, but that is just abject rubbish.

Cripps and Sammy Seaton had 50 touches between them at HALF TIME. We have SENIOR PLAYERS in the midfield - yep, Bont, Macrae, Hunter etc - who continue to want things on their own terms. At some point someone had to actually lift their intensity and attack on the contest to meet that brought by the opposition.

I will acknowledge that (yet again) critical turnovers and missed goals played a huge part in the result - and there really is no excuse for the misses by Gowers and Toby (particularly when you consider the improvement shown by Casboult over the past 3 years demonstrated by that remarkable kick in the last q) but we can only go to that well so many times.

Hayes and Young had nothing to do with this. Blame the blokes in the centre square who were simply beaten to the ball in the contest...Cripps was EPIC (can I say 'I taught him that'), Seaton and Fisher (I taught him that too!) were willing lieutenants and that's how the game was won (and done).

This was about effort, concentration and willingness to run - they had it, we didn't. We have been reading our own publicity about stoppage wins and contested ball and rolled up to work today thinking it was going to be easy.

[Mantis]

With due respect the selection of the side was disgusting. Carlton play a very tall team and have players who can actually mark the thing, they aren’t Sydney who have Franklin (who isn’t strong overhead) and Reid and treacle slow team.. we didn’t have Suckling who has been immense at helping out our defence this year. Throwing Lachlan Young to the wolves will do shitloads for his confidence. Wood is a shadow of his former best, Cordy is at best a 2nd or 3rd tall and is getting exposed.

Our midfield got smashed, but why didn’t we put Dunkley on Cripps (like we did late last year, and who was quite effective), why did we put Williams and Gowers into our primary midfield rotations when Libba was sucking eggs at HF?

The lack of accountability in the midfield was there for all of us to see, but we were set up to fail given our line-up & both teams form lines.

[mjp]

With due respect the selection of the side was disgusting.

The EFFORT of the players was worse.

Wouldn't have mattered who we picked if the mids - our best players - wont compete.

[wb_age]

The EFFORT of the players was worse.

Wouldn't have mattered who we picked if the mids - our best players - wont compete.

I don't blame the midfield for a drop in effort, you cant literally rove to the opponents tap at each centre bounce.

Tim English should not be playing until he has some gains in the weight room, been rag dolled week in week out

[G-Mo77]

I don't blame the midfield for a drop in effort, you cant literally rove to the opponents tap at each centre bounce.

Tim English should not be playing until he has some gains in the weight room, been rag dolled week in week out

He got pushed around but held up today I think he broke even on hitouts and was pretty good around the ground as well.

[mjp]

I don't blame the midfield for a drop in effort, you cant literally rove to the opponents tap at each centre bounce.

Tim English should not be playing until he has some gains in the weight room, been rag dolled week in week out

This is just wrong. We won the clearances vs the 'Pies and lost the hitouts by > 40.

If you have decided to blame the non-selection of Trengove - who has not played a useful game as a ruckman in our colours - then that is just a fantasy. I wish we had another ruck option but we dont. We have got people screaming for Lewis Young as the saviour down back on the game-day thread then bemoaning English getting pushed around...give me a spell.

Effort is effort. We didn't bring it.

[wb_age]

This is just wrong. We won the clearances vs the 'Pies and lost the hitouts by > 40.

If you have decided to blame the non-selection of Trengove - who has not played a useful game as a ruckman in our colours - then that is just a fantasy. I wish we had another ruck option but we dont. We have got people screaming for Lewis Young as the saviour down back on the game-day thread then bemoaning English getting pushed around...give me a spell.

Effort is effort. We didn't bring it.

So we break even in the clearances against the pies, imagine if we had an actual ruckman?

Rather than break even, likely won the clearances convincingly.

Also note, Trengrove is not the solution, nor Boyd, nobody on the list that fixes this issue

[Grantysghost]

This is just wrong. We won the clearances vs the 'Pies and lost the hitouts by > 40.

If you have decided to blame the non-selection of Trengove - who has not played a useful game as a ruckman in our colours - then that is just a fantasy. I wish we had another ruck option but we dont. We have got people screaming for Lewis Young as the saviour down back on the game-day thread then bemoaning English getting pushed around...give me a spell.

Effort is effort. We didn't bring it.

We lost the clearances v the Pies 33-26 (Centre 10-7 Stoppage 23-19)

[Grantysghost]

The EFFORT of the players was worse.

Wouldn't have mattered who we picked if the mids - our best players - wont compete.

Why not have both . Poor performance and poor selection. Bevo admitted the mids were "cooked" in the last quarter of the pies game, so I'm a little unsure why we didn't account for that better. Gowers and Williams ok I certainly acknowledge they tried something there that didn't work but are we that bereft of talent we couldn't replace some of our tired mids the coaches knew were spent pre game? Jong and Lipinski played well against pies.
Agree midfield was the biggest reason we lost ultimately, but to say selection is a cop out I disagree with. The senior coach is actually admitting the area of the ground that cost us the most, (the other being a midget defence in my opinion) was "cooked".

[soupman]

Bevo admitted the mids were "cooked" in the last quarter of the pies game, so I'm a little unsure why we didn't account for that better. Gowers and Williams ok I certainly acknowledge they tried something there that didn't work but are we that bereft of talent we couldn't replace some of our tired mids the coaches knew were spent pre game?

Even more confusing is that if we were trying to address our midfield "freshness" concerns why didn't we bring in Lipinski who is playing and training to be that midfielder and instead brought in Hayes who is a half forward flanker that doesn't play the role we need to fill.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Do you really think so?

Yesterday looked to me that Libba, Dunkley, McClean etc all had the $?@& it’s like if you want to put those kids in the midfield ahead of me, why would I try or even give a &$@!

Yes what was dished up yesterday was what I saw last time that BMac had control of the side.

And really do you blame them?

[angelopetraglia]

Agree that our mids just didn’t turn up. We got absolutely smashed in there for really the first time this year.

But you can’t excuse selection. We were the youngest team picked this round. Why? We gave the Blues 20+ games on average per game and they played 11 players under 50 games. Why did we play some more mature players to replace two hardened veterans in Suckling and Duryea?

[SonofScray]

We showed Carlton no respect, from the selection to the siren.

Two debutants had their moments, but gifted 3 goals from direct turnovers and never looked like providing an effort that could turn the tide. Not a knock on them individually, but we didn't arm ourselves well at all. I think we saw this game a fairly soft entry to AFL footy for them, with others able to carry the burden. Burnt. Badly.

Completely conceding the ruck and asking so much of English is genuinely bat shit crazy. Far too small in the back half.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

We showed Carlton no respect, from the selection to the siren.

Two debutants had their moments, but gifted 3 goals from direct turnovers and never looked like providing an effort that could turn the tide. Not a knock on them individually, but we didn't arm ourselves well at all. I think we saw this game a fairly soft entry to AFL footy for them, with others able to carry the burden. Burnt. Badly.

Completely conceding the ruck and asking so much of English is genuinely bat shit crazy. Far too small in the back half.

I think you'll find we gifted something like 11 or 12 goals from turnovers.

[SonofScray]

I think you'll find we gifted something like 11 or 12 goals from turnovers.

Haven't checked the stats. I counted 4 direct turnovers, ie we give them the all, that player goals. Comfortably another 5 where goal came within 5 possessions of the turnover.