Kick a bloody goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LostDoggy]

Good point on Mitch. On the whole his year has been very good, and still has prime years to deliver. Eagle may however need to cede his spot for a younger guy who offers more long term prospects.
If Eagle is contracted you'd think he'd play on.. but would have to accept that he will be a depth player only in 09.

All the other players are culpable in missing, BUT they all bring other attributes to the game: Mitch breaks packs and is physical, Boydy is an in and under player who gets the hard ball etc.

Eagle's MAIN and ONLY contribution to the team these days is supposed to be line breaking kicking. Kicking. Long. With his left foot. That's it. That's all he does. If he can't kick 45 metres from directly in front on his preferred foot from a set shot, he brings ZIP to the team except take space from another contributing player (thus playing 21 against 22).

I've always loved the Eagle, and he was a rock when the team was going through its dark days, but surely even he must concur that the end is nigh.

[Dogs 24/7]

I don't think many would argue that Eagletons form and value to the team has wained substantially this season and we all know it's not likely to improve if he plays into 2009.
But despite all this I still think it was better to have played him than not last night.
We needed run and carry and really there was no one else that could have played any better. Ward is an exciting prospect but given his tender years he just wasn't ready for a big finals series. The most likely guy to come in for Eagleton was in fact Farren Ray despite him putting in a stinker against Hawthorn.
Rather than taking the easy option and pointing the finger at Eagleton after almost every loss I think the fact that he was never under any real sustained threat of being dropped during the season shows that we actually had a playing list that is very light on for viable senior players at the business end of the season. This might or might not be attributable to some list management issues throughout the season that we didn't address but that is a question we can all ask at another time.
I do agree with the underlying sentiment that it wouldn't be a good time for Eagleton to be out of contract and even if he has another season to go he will have to accept a vastly diminished role next season.

[Dogs 24/7]

Eagle is a senior player and that goal was a gimme. Senior players should not miss those and it cost us vital momentum and possibly the game.

Boyd also missed what should have been a goal as well along with Minson and Hahn as some others have pointed out. In defense of the bald one set shots haven't been a strength of his for many years. I agree that its not a good sign when an older player who builds his game around kicking penetration is coming up short on vital shots. Eade will need to make some hard decisions in the next week.

[Sedat]

Rather than taking the easy option and pointing the finger at Eagleton after almost every loss I think the fact that he was never under any real sustained threat of being dropped during the season shows that we actually had a playing list that is very light on for viable senior players at the business end of the season. This might or might not be attributable to some list management issues throughout the season that we didn't address but that is a question we can all ask at another time.
I do agree with the underlying sentiment that it wouldn't be a good time for Eagleton to be out of contract and even if he has another season to go he will have to accept a vastly diminished role next season.

Nobody is taking the easy option, just that none of us were born yesterday and we have seen plenty of football to know intensity of effort when we see it. Last night we saw players put their bodies on the line for a knock-on, or to shepard a team-mate, we saw some players run to the point of exhaustion to provide a target for their team-mates further up the field, we saw some amazing spoiling efforts when in seemingly hopeless positions, we saw tackling of such ferocity that Geelong's very best players were rattled into panicky disposal, we saw some players pick and choose the right option on almost every single occasion and dispose with precision.........and then we saw the Eagle, who did none of the above consistently.

It's far too east to say we are all just Eagle-bashers.

[Dogs 24/7]

It's far too east to say we are all just Eagle-bashers.

You seem to have taken my comment personally which you shouldn't have. Thread started out as those missed opportunities that frustrated us all and admittedly Eagleton was one of the main contributors that didn't nail home his chance. In that little run there was 5 other players that missed as well but none of them get the focus that Eagleton does.
I certainly don't regard you as an Eagleton basher.

[FrediKanoute]

Late 3rd quarter & early last quarter when we had the momentum & a great opportunity to put scoreboard pressure on a Geelong side I felt would have cracked & we friggin well blew it!

Eagleton - set shot 45 metres out directly infront - Didn't make the distance.
Minson - set shot on a 45 degree angle 35 metres out - 1 point.
Hahn - on the run from 45 metres out directly infront - 1 point.
Boyd - set shot 24 metres out on a 45 degree angle - Out on the full.
Minson - set shot 45 metres out on a slight angle - 1 point.
Higgins - on the run from 45 metres out almost directly infront - Out of bounds.

I really felt the first miss by Eagleton to be the one that was crucial.

Completely agree. We didn't score a goal after that besides the 5 further opportunities you mentioned. It was a free shot on goal well within kicking distance which a guy like Eagle should have buried.

I feel really flat after this game. Not devastated, not embarassed, but a constant feeling that we let a fantastic opportunity slip.

[Mofra]

Terrible kicking cost us the game, including a few turnovers in the 2nd that weren't under real pressure.

[bornadog]

[Higgins - on the run from 45 metres out almost directly infront - Out of bounds.

.

Higgins also missed another one he should have nailed, plus in the last quarter decided to have a ping at an unguarded goal and sprayed it. His kicking since the ankle injury has been woeful.

I also noticed, our kicks were not long and penetrating. Last quarter Eagle has it about 55metres out directly in front and decides to go completely side ways to Murph, who was no closer and under pressure, instead of looking forward.

Third quarter there were many more chances but Geelong completely flooded. We tried all sorts of ways to get through but coughed up the ball - Cooney pass, stratight out bounds, Johnno to Murph. Murph in front 50 metres out, plays on and gets caught.

So many chances, so many stuff ups.

[Sedat]

You seem to have taken my comment personally which you shouldn't have. Thread started out as those missed opportunities that frustrated us all and admittedly Eagleton was one of the main contributors that didn't nail home his chance. In that little run there was 5 other players that missed as well but none of them get the focus that Eagleton does.
I certainly don't regard you as an Eagleton basher.

I didn't take offence to your original comment at all.

Eagleton was not our worst last night but that is hardly the point. He is a vastly experienced AFL footballer, and he did not deliver when a simple opportunity presented itself at a critical moment in the game. Kick the goal and we are 3 goals in 6 minutes and making an almighty rush. The frustrating thing is that he can make 55 metre bombs on the run in junk time look like shelling peas but when there is something significant at stake, a simple set shot from 40 metres dead in front proves to be beyond him. When it was game-on, he missed targets, put team-mates under unneccesary pressure, missed tackles, did not chase opponents with all his might. He did a few nice things, kicked a good goal to keep us in it in the 2nd, ran hard to receive on occasions (although he rarely runs as hard the other way).

Ultimately we're talking about a 12 year AFL veteran of 200+ games at the highest level. We will only become a genuine premiership contender until such a time that Eagleton is forced out of the side by a more talented youngster who works as hard when we don't have the ball as when we do.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

It was pathetic.

Eagleton and Minson choked big time, and certainly the others did too.

Geelong were shitting themselves and were WAITING for us to take control and run away with the game. FFS, Bartel kicking straight to the opposition and Ablett indecisive/getting caught - we had them by the balls and SHOULD have won the game.

The forward line will need some changes for next year. Hahn may have had a good season and kicked 6 against Essendon, but against Hawthorn and Geelong when we needed him most he was absolutely terrible. Not suggesting he should be traded, but we can't afford to have him, Minson and Johnson doing nothing up forward.

[MrMahatma]

Eagleton deserves a spray.

The thing is, his was the easiest goal. He's the most senior player. PLUS, his was first.

He kicks it, and then all of a sudden there's less pressure on the other guys, not to mention the rest of the team grow an extra foot in confidence, and the cats feel the heat.

Just like Grant playing on to Hudson in 98, this was THE crucial moment of the game IMO. Kick the goal and it's a whole different story.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Higgins - on the run from 45 metres out almost directly infront - Out of bounds.

I thought that was a clever piece of play (if we're thinking about the same thing).

He wasn't 45 mteres out, he was about 65 metres out with a defender back almost in the square on his own, another bloke up his arse and no-one to hand it off to.

If he kicks for goal he turns it over, if he stops and holds it up he gets caught so he bombs it to the boundry line and gives us another shot at it.

[SonofScray]

I thought that was a clever piece of play (if we're thinking about the same thing).

He wasn't 45 mteres out, he was about 65 metres out with a defender back almost in the square on his own, another bloke up his arse and no-one to hand it off to.

If he kicks for goal he turns it over, if he stops and holds it up he gets caught so he bombs it to the boundry line and gives us another shot at it.

Yep, you can see him motion that was his intention in the replay. Can't say whether or not it was a great decision though, smart footy maybe but as a fan I'd like to see him take that extra yard, load up and send it through- sometimes you just need to take the game on and go for glory.

[LostDog]

Did anyone else notice Hills poor attempts actually non attempts to spoil in the back line cost us 2 goals

[Sedat]

One last word on the Eagle. Clinton Young is Hawthorn's designated outside finisher and clinically slotted home 2 goals on Saturday night, one of which was from 55 metres. That's his role in the side and he did exactly what was required of him. Our designated finisher did not do what was required, and it hurt our chances for victory at a critical point in the match.