WB Game Day V Melbourne R11 2021

[The bulldog tragician]

You learn more from these losses than putting on a clinic v the saints. However it’s hard to understand why our first qtr was so poor. Those kicking errors from the backline were not in the heat of battle or an intense last qtr.

It was really evident how we missed Treloar. We were back to that one paced midfield.

I thought Bevo was outcoached and didn’t understand the plodding and laborious zig zags across ground allowing them all the time in the world to set up. Sweet was outclassed, as you’d expect from a guy in his 5th game, even Weightman learnt footy isn’t always a lark and will be all the better for it.

The break they got from being switched on early proved to be a gap we couldn’t bridge.

I don’t think we could have played much worse so I don’t take out of it that we’re just not up to it. Even replacing the low key Scott and Hannan, who’ve clearly been playing certain roles for us, was another change, one too many I think with the injuries building up.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

They're interviewing Ray Chamberlain who is proving quite charming and endearing.

This confirms the worst night of footy ever.

You're getting soft. One bad loss, and you're finding positives with Razor... Give yourself an uppercut.

[Mantis]

They don't seem to have a weak link on their defensive effort do they.
And they win the same way every week by around the same margin.

They don’t, but you beat them with ball movement and/ or personal. And we were lacking in both areas tonight.

Whilst other teams can win with their ‘system’ and go with the one soldier in, one out set-up we aren’t at that team and missing key ingredients in what makes us a really good team hurt us tonight, but it won’t hurt us forever.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

We got spooked by the occasion, Covid, indigenous round, and by pressure like versus Tigers minus Covid and Doug Nicholls celebration/ unusual scenario.
The obvious retort is that with the hardness of Dunkley, the brilliance of Treloar and the return of Vandermeer/McLean/Martin/Richards/Jong we can address what we learn from this.

[jeemak]

I agree. If Bailey Smith doesn't do an impersonation of an 8 y old Auskicker tonight, maybe that changes the mix.
Jack did what Jack always does..and it 's reliable, and clearly sustainable I guess.
Jack gets 40 we win.. Jack gets 36.. we lose....
I know it's not as simple as that. But I think what MJP was trying to say is. Will the coaches ask you to do something different? If so, are you ready to take that on?
I reckon Melbourne were comfortable accepting that Jack could get 30 plus and still find a way to win. Would they have expected Jack to get 10 but keep Oliver silent? Doubtful...
That certainly would've given them some headaches..and made them spin some magnets...

He can only get the ball and distribute it to the options available to him and he just didn't have the options and support working with him to make him more effective. Jacko can be creative, but he looks his best when people work OFF him and it just didn't happen tonight.

Possibly we curtail Oliver if Jack puts work into him, but again, who generates the play given Libba was being well held? Oliver being curtailed doesn't get our hands on the footy given Libba was being masked well and played poorly. Someone actually had to get the footy.

[Sedat]

You learn more from these losses than putting on a clinic v the saints. However it’s hard to understand why our first qtr was so poor. Those kicking errors from the backline were not in the heat of battle or an intense last qtr.

It was really evident how we missed Treloar. We were back to that one paced midfield.

I thought Bevo was outcoached and didn’t understand the plodding and laborious zig zags across ground allowing them all the time in the world to set up. Sweet was outclassed, as you’d expect from a guy in his 5th game, even Weightman learnt footy isn’t always a lark and will be all the better for it.

The break they got from being switched on early proved to be a gap we couldn’t bridge.

I don’t think we could have played much worse so I don’t take out of it that we’re just not up to it. Even replacing the low key Scott and Hannan, who’ve clearly been playing certain roles for us, was another change, one too many I think with the injuries building up.

It might be something as simple as the lockdown. I've been flat as a tack the last few days and the players are human as well.

Travelling this week, ever with our dreadful record against Freo in Perth, will be a positive for the club.

[bornadog]

You learn more from these losses than putting on a clinic v the saints. However it’s hard to understand why our first qtr was so poor. Those kicking errors from the backline were not in the heat of battle or an intense last qtr.

It was really evident how we missed Treloar. We were back to that one paced midfield.

I thought Bevo was outcoached and didn’t understand the plodding and laborious zig zags across ground allowing them all the time in the world to set up. Sweet was outclassed, as you’d expect from a guy in his 5th game, even Weightman learnt footy isn’t always a lark and will be all the better for it.

The break they got from being switched on early proved to be a gap we couldn’t bridge.

I don’t think we could have played much worse so I don’t take out of it that we’re just not up to it. Even replacing the low key Scott and Hannan, who’ve clearly been playing certain roles for us, was another change, one too many I think with the injuries building up.

That first quarter killed us. For the rest of the game we kicked 45 points and they kicked 46 points.

The game plan stunk up big time, and in that first quarter we turned it over and never caught up

[jeemak]

Their mid pressure on our mids was red hot early. I reckon we corrected and got on top of this after half time, but their defensive set-up and ability to protect D50 is brilliant. It not just May/Lever, it's their wingmen (Brayshaw, Langdon) their mids working hard the other way and their mid sized defenders as well.

Yeah good points. Our poor decision making and poor execution of skill with the footy definitely played into their hands. It seemed that when we went back we went too deep and conceded too much ground, and when going forward kicked it too shallow and enabled too many intercepts and defencive punches when there was a bit more space behind us to run into.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

He can only get the ball and distribute it to the options available to him and he just didn't have the options and support working with him to make him more effective. Jacko can be creative, but he looks his best when people work OFF him and it just didn't happen tonight.

Possibly we curtail Oliver if Jack puts work into him, but again, who generates the play given Libba was being well held? Oliver being curtailed doesn't get our hands on the footy given Libba was being masked well and played poorly. Someone actually had to get the footy.

Don't disagree. But given Libba was well held, and not giving us drive.. how do we deal with this going forward. I reckon we've got to go WW1 and create a stalemate. Who, or more accurately, where was our Butcher General Haig strategist who says we're gonna strangle you by sacrificing someone and preventing you from breaking our system down.
And it probably doesn't have to be Macrae.. but boy it would probably rally the troops if it was. He obviously can lay a tackle, does his work well in the trenches too.

[jeemak]

You learn more from these losses than putting on a clinic v the saints. However it’s hard to understand why our first qtr was so poor. Those kicking errors from the backline were not in the heat of battle or an intense last qtr.

It was really evident how we missed Treloar. We were back to that one paced midfield.

I thought Bevo was outcoached and didn’t understand the plodding and laborious zig zags across ground allowing them all the time in the world to set up. Sweet was outclassed, as you’d expect from a guy in his 5th game, even Weightman learnt footy isn’t always a lark and will be all the better for it.

The break they got from being switched on early proved to be a gap we couldn’t bridge.

I don’t think we could have played much worse so I don’t take out of it that we’re just not up to it. Even replacing the low key Scott and Hannan, who’ve clearly been playing certain roles for us, was another change, one too many I think with the injuries building up.

You make good points, though not sure you can pin the labourious plodding and zig-zagging on the coach. Everyone knows Melbourne sets up the ground really well defencively, I am pretty sure the messaging throughout the week would have been the opposite of plodding and zig-zagging but after a few butchered kicks early our will to switch quickly and run at the Melbourne defence was impacted.

[jeemak]

Don't disagree. But given Libba was well held, and not giving us drive.. how do we deal with this going forward. I reckon we've got to go WW1 and create a stalemate. Who, or more accurately, where was our Butcher General Haig strategist who says we're gonna strangle you by sacrificing someone and preventing you from breaking our system down.
And it probably doesn't have to be Macrae.. but boy it would probably rally the troops if it was. He obviously can lay a tackle, does his work well in the trenches too.

I wanted it to be Smith. I'm really worried about him because of anyone his effort seems conditional a lot of the time and he needs to get his hands dirty more often.

But we need to face reality, if we have thinned out stocks like we do (and they're elite stocks) at the moment then everything needs to go well until they come back. We still don't have defenders like Lever or May, and won't for the rest of the year and this is our lot.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

It might be something as simple as the lockdown. I've been flat as a tack the last few days and the players are human as well.

Travelling this week, ever with our dreadful record against Freo in Perth, will be a positive for the club.

The Freo game now shapes as super important. Don't care if it's ugly, we need to bank the 4 points. Top 2 looms vital, to avoid all prospects of an interstate final.

[jeemak]

Cooney is having to put a whole bunch of props and now his hands and T-shirt to hide his boner after that result.

[MrMahatma]

Lots of reasons to be glass half full. No Martin. No Treloar. No Dunkley. No Wood
Lots of reasons to be glass half empty. We always struggle against Melb. May and Lever. Gawn. Choking!

We just need to learn and beat them in finals. We had a bad night and way too many inexperienced players. Meanwhile our match winners didn’t get it done (Bont with 30 touches and we didn’t win?!).

Annoying match. We need to prevail cause we’re predictably poor in big matches at the moment.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I wanted it to be Smith. I'm really worried about him because of anyone his effort seems conditional a lot of the time and he needs to get his hands dirty more often.

But we need to face reality, if we have thinned out stocks like we do (and they're elite stocks) at the moment then everything needs to go well until they come back. We still don't have defenders like Lever or May, and won't for the rest of the year and this is our lot.

If we can't rely on our midfield to control the game, with Dunks and Treloar out for 2 months, then I reckon Bevo and his crew have some work to do to try and tweak our game plan and personnel to get through til the cavalry return.
I'm not sure B. Smith is the one I want negating: he is a metres gain beast when he performs as he has done in 90% of his games.