WB Game Day V Melbourne R1 2023 - Saturday March 18, 7:25PM, MCG

[anfo27]

What a disaster that was! Was really interested tonight to see how our defensive tactics would work. I read during the week what our plans were defensively this year & I was horrified. Watched tonight & nothing has changed!

How can we still not defend the centre square? Does Bevo come under some heat?

The more time goes by the more i start to believe that most of the 16 premiership was maccas hard work. Every season we get worse & worse defensively.

Not all of it was Bevos shocking anti-defensive tactics. Once they blitzed us in the 2nd term we were rattled for the rest of the night. Sure we needed the run tonight & will be better for it but how the heck do we fix this anti-defence?

[angelopetraglia]

Pickett is such a vulgar little shit stain.

The weird thing is if you kicked him in the stomach in retaliation for what he did to Smith (when a kick in the guts is what he fully deserved for going a vulnerable player's head) you'd get six weeks, because kicking is bad - right?

He'll only get a week. But hopefully one day he gets his.

One sad part of the modern game is that little taunting players like Pickett can get away with that behavior without fear of any real retaliation. Imagine what would have happened to him if he was carrying on like that in the 1980s. He would have been hit into tomorrow. But my guess is. If he knew players could actually hurt him if he carried on like a goose, he wouldn't. He just ain't that brave.

[Eastdog]

I love the passion SOS. Sooner or later if things keep going the way they are something has to change.

[anfo27]

Bloke is a coward. Always looking for the cheap shots and pulling unsportsmanlike stuff after the fact. Deserved a proper hiding.

The 2016 dogs would have clobbered him everytime he got the ball. Nobody went near him after the initial scuffle.

[angelopetraglia]

What a disaster that was! Was really interested tonight to see how our defensive tactics would work. I read during the week what our plans were defensively this year & I was horrified. Watched tonight & nothing has changed!

How can we still not defend the centre square? Does Bevo come under some heat?

The more time goes by the more i start to believe that most of the 16 premiership was maccas hard work. Every season we get worse & worse defensively.

Not all of it was Bevos shocking anti-defensive tactics. Once they blitzed us in the 2nd term we were rattled for the rest of the night. Sure we needed the run tonight & will be better for it but how the heck do we fix this anti-defence?

It is a valid perspective.

It was interesting to listen to Easton Wood talk about this on the podcast lately. Basically Macca instilled that hard edge mentality. It probably went too far. He lost a lot of players and was a bit of a one trick pony with the mentality. But all he wanted was players to be hard and crack in. It definitely had an impact. Macca was just brutal on those he didn't believe "cracked in".

Then Bevo comes in and releases the shackles. Play with confidence, play to your strengths, take the game on, take your man on, don't just defend get the ball if you can, take risks. But that hard edge was still instilled into the playing group.

I don't think it was Macca. I don't think it was just Bevo. It was the combination of Macca into Bevo. Bevo put a finishing layer on Maccas brutality. The extreme difference is part of what made that team great.

[jeemak]

Bloke is a coward. Always looking for the cheap shots and pulling unsportsmanlike stuff after the fact. Deserved a proper hiding.

I'd love a shenanigans law in footy. After clear acts of cowardice a team gets to officially lodge a claim of shenanigans to be judged by a random collection of anonymous voters. If the claim is adjudicated as valid, then retributions can be enacted.

Retributions need to be non-life threatening and geared towards humiliation rather than physical maiming. In the case of Pickett this evening a period of time prone without oxygen sufficient to engender sever panic would have been suitable - without intervention from his team mates. Just enough for him to show everyone that he's as shit scared as we all would be if that was done to us.

[jeemak]

What a disaster that was! Was really interested tonight to see how our defensive tactics would work. I read during the week what our plans were defensively this year & I was horrified. Watched tonight & nothing has changed!

How can we still not defend the centre square? Does Bevo come under some heat?

The more time goes by the more i start to believe that most of the 16 premiership was maccas hard work. Every season we get worse & worse defensively.

Not all of it was Bevos shocking anti-defensive tactics. Once they blitzed us in the 2nd term we were rattled for the rest of the night. Sure we needed the run tonight & will be better for it but how the heck do we fix this anti-defence?

It is a valid perspective.

It was interesting to listen to Easton Wood talk about this on the podcast lately. Basically Macca instilled that hard edge mentality. It probably went too far. He lost a lot of players and was a bit of a one trick pony with the mentality. But all he wanted was players to be hard and crack in. It definitely had an impact. Macca was just brutal on those he didn't believe "cracked in".

Then Bevo comes in and releases the shackles. Play with confidence, play to your strengths, take the game on, take your man on, don't just defend get the ball if you can, take risks. But that hard edge was still instilled into the playing group.

I don't think it was Macca. I don't think it was just Bevo. It was the combination of Macca into Bevo. Bevo put a finishing layer on Maccas brutality. The extreme difference is part of what made that team great.

All I'm reading here is jeemak was right when he said that Bmac had a huge influence over our playing style in the early Bevo years and everyone who derided him owes him an apology (or just BT, I'd be fine if only BT said sorry).

[EasternWest]

I'd love a shenanigans law in footy. After clear acts of cowardice a team gets to officially lodge a claim of shenanigans to be judged by a random collection of anonymous voters. If the claim is adjudicated as valid, then retributions can be enacted.

Retributions need to be non-life threatening and geared towards humiliation rather than physical maiming. In the case of Pickett this evening a period of time prone without oxygen sufficient to engender sever panic would have been suitable - without intervention from his team mates. Just enough for him to show everyone that's he's as shit scared as we all would be if that was done to us.

Have you been drinking?

[angelopetraglia]

All I'm reading here is jeemak was right when he said that Bmac had a huge influence over our playing style in the early Bevo years and everyone who derided him owes him an apology (or just BT, I'd be fine if only BT said sorry).

Ha ...

[jeemak]

Have you been drinking?

Insufficiently - and that's actually the truth!

I'm still able to put my silly thoughts to paper. The behaviour of Pickett tonight will prove what's wrong with the MRP/ tribunal, and there's nothing that can be done about it outside of fantastical scenario bullshitting.

[anfo27]

It is a valid perspective.

It was interesting to listen to Easton Wood talk about this on the podcast lately. Basically Macca instilled that hard edge mentality. It probably went too far. He lost a lot of players and was a bit of a one trick pony with the mentality. But all he wanted was players to be hard and crack in. It definitely had an impact. Macca was just brutal on those he didn't believe "cracked in".

Then Bevo comes in and releases the shackles. Play with confidence, play to your strengths, take the game on, take your man on, don't just defend get the ball if you can, take risks. But that hard edge was still instilled into the playing group.

I don't think it was Macca. I don't think it was just Bevo. It was the combination of Macca into Bevo. Bevo put a finishing layer on Maccas brutality. The extreme difference is part of what made that team great.

Agree 100%

How do we correct this?

At present we are the worst team without the football. Love what Bevo has given us over the journey but is this in his wheelhouse to fix? Do we need the best defensive assistant coach then?

At present its round 1 & all that crap about 'oh its only round 1' stuff is just that crap! Its how we lost. Those anti-defence tactics will not get us anywhere. Can defensive philosophy be changed after 1 game?

[angelopetraglia]

Insufficiently - and that's actually the truth!

I'm still able to put my silly thoughts to paper. The behaviour of Pickett tonight will prove what's wrong with the MRP/ tribunal, and there's nothing that can be done about it outside of fantastical scenario bullshitting.

Yes. It would be nice that his penalty was to go back in a time machine. Do the same shit acts. Then have to play the rest of the game against Diesel Williams, Dipper, Roger Merrett, Rhys-Jones, Dermie and Leigh Matthews. That would be nice.

[bornadog]

Insufficiently - and that's actually the truth!

I'm still able to put my silly thoughts to paper. The behaviour of Pickett tonight will prove what's wrong with the MRP/ tribunal, and there's nothing that can be done about it outside of fantastical scenario bullshitting.

Maybe he gets cited for this too

[angelopetraglia]

Agree 100%

How do we correct this?

At present we are the worst team without the football. Love what Bevo has given us over the journey but is this in his wheelhouse to fix? Do we need the best defensive assistant coach then?

At present its round 1 & all that crap about 'oh its only round 1' stuff is just that crap! Its how we lost. Those anti-defence tactics will not get us anywhere. Can defensive philosophy be changed after 1 game?

We actually won the contested ball today by 16 and we had 5 more clearances. It is not just the hard edge of winning the ball. It is our ability to defend without the ball in hand as you said. I don't think Macca's teams were very good at that either. We would win the contested ball stats yet still lose.

It is our defensive shape and player profiles. It is hard to change during the season. That is what is so alarming after round #1. What have we been doing all offseason?

[angelopetraglia]

Maybe he gets cited for this too

It is chook lotto. Who knows what will happen. But he deserves weeks. No place for that in the modern game.