I REALLY "WANTED" Hawthorn in the finals last year.

[mjp]

2024 Finals - we drew the Hawks. We had been playing "....VERY well...." - I actively wanted the game and couldn't wait. Sadly:

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#1: Hawthorn KILLED us in the mids...and it started with MEEK

Hawthorn’s midfield was exceptional, particularly in contested possessions and clearances.

Lloyd Meek had 46 hitouts - usually I wouldn't care about stop numbers but the eye test was 100% in Meek's corner...it was as if he brutalised us and we really weren't up for the fight. Hawthorn 'seemed' to own stoppages - usually 'our game' - and when someone takes your one-wood, it's hard to get off the tee!

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#2: Richards and Treloar. WOW!

Ed aka TED in my house was unbelievable last year...and he started on FIRE with five early clearances and of course - the assist for Aaron Naughton's first goal.
To say he faded was an understatement though - only two additional score involvements for the game.
Adam Treloar looked like the WORST version of himself - when he gets into that 'professional footballer' mode and does 'nice things' but all the grit and grind seems to disappear...also known as Collingwood Adam Treloar.

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#3: Jai Newcombe WOW

When you come in averaging 24 touches and decide in your first final to rack up 35 disposals and 9 marks...well, that's the kind of stuff you WANT from your key players...I was well sick of him by q4.

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#4: Bont

When you need your skipper to 'stand up' and he has 4 touches in the second and third q combined - just one touch in the second quarter and three handballs in the third- whilst the oppo piles on nine goals to two during that time, well...His lack of influence left a massive leadership void in the Dogs’ midfield and compounded the struggles of his teammates.

#5: The Jamarra Controversy
Maybe we'll never know the truth, but supposedly in the week leading up to the final, Jamarra took an unsanctioned trip to Bali without informing the club and missed a mandatory training session. Again, rumours have the coaches wanting to leave him out - the leadership group wanting him to play (or maybe it's vice verca??) and, well...he started on the bench and was...POOR. Supposedly this all caused tensions with Bevo, Bont and - somehow - Rory Lobb - and the team that ran out was not a united group.

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My question is simple. Setting #5 aside, have the group actually got the (call it what you will) 'PRIDE' to do something about all this stuff on Thursday. I see English, Bont, Richards, Liber and Treloar (if he plays) as having big points to prove against these blokes...don't check now, but they are the names of our BEST PLAYERS.

Stand up.

[Happy Days]

Because I’m an idiot and because literally anything is better than doing my job I actually watched some of the EF back yesterday.

As much as all of the above is true in the cold light of day a lot of criticism deserves to go to Bevo for some insane personnel decisions as soon as the Hawks bit back. Just after Truck kicks a goal to more or less level the scores we front up to a centre bounce with Liberatore and then no shit Naughton, Weightman and Gallagher as our midfield set up. Bont got hidden forward to let this play out. I know the game felt like it was slipping away and with the season in the balance you have to act quickly but that’s the sort of panicked magnet moving that Twitter is so ready to accuse him of, and showed a total lack of composure. Throw in somehow straight up not picking West and going with an unfit Harmes over Macrae at selection (as well as whatever was and is wrong with Jamarra) and it’s pretty clear our coach didn’t put us in a position to win.

I think if we play properly and are coached and selected rationally we should win.

[Mofra]

Hawks' pressure was exceptional that night, and in the last two rounds they have been exceptionally poor - like, West Coast Eagles poor.

I expect them to come out breathing fire but we had no Rhylee West, no Matt Kennedy, and Liam Jones and Libba looked tired by that stage of the year.

This is now our biggest game for the year and if we lose this.... we're not contenders.

[jazzadogs]

Hawks' pressure was exceptional that night, and in the last two rounds they have been exceptionally poor - like, West Coast Eagles poor.

I expect them to come out breathing fire but we had no Rhylee West, no Matt Kennedy, and Liam Jones and Libba looked tired by that stage of the year.

This is now our biggest game for the year and if we lose this.... we're not contenders.

Bont and Treloar were both carrying injuries that night too, unconfirmed but my opinion.

But we also got brutally outplayed and outcoached. I agree, this is a big test of the pride in our group - our first game against the Demons post 2021 we failed the test. I hope we don't fail this time.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Hawks' pressure was exceptional that night, and in the last two rounds they have been exceptionally poor - like, West Coast Eagles poor.

I expect them to come out breathing fire but we had no Rhylee West, no Matt Kennedy, and Liam Jones and Libba looked tired by that stage of the year.

This is now our biggest game for the year and if we lose this.... we're not contenders.

All true yet my take is this game is more an opportunity than a test.
Meek out, Will Day out and Treloar back with our excellent midfield.
We have a chance to get out of their slipstream, like they were in ours last year, and stay on top of them.
I think the Hawks know what's coming, but that won't do them any good if they miss goal opportunities.

[Mantis]

6/ We made Sicily & Scrimshaw look like the competitions best intercept defenders.

We sucked balls and the arrogance of the Horks supporters was extremely hard to tolerate as they pulled our pants down.

We need to win this game.

[hujsh]

All true yet my take is this game is more an opportunity than a test.
Meek out, Will Day out and Treloar back with our excellent midfield.
We have a chance to get out of their slipstream, like they were in ours last year, and stay on top of them.
I think the Hawks know what's coming, but that won't do them any good if they miss goal opportunities.

I think he's still in. He avoided suspension

[Sedat]

Geelong gave us a good smack in the mouth and reality check 2 weeks ago with regard to pressure at the ball carrier and also on our next links in the chain. It was a sign of maturity that we adjusted in-game and got the match back on our terms (if not the 4 points).

If we truly are one of the contenders this year, we will handle the Hawthorn heat early and adjust the game back on our terms just like we did against Geelong. Hawthorn have a lot of weapons on paper but so do we and our weapons have much better exposed long-term form in 2025.

[Rusty12]

They pulled our pants down indeed, and it was bad enough that the only excuse that makes sense is the rift and uncertainty, Marra could have caused. If, that is what happended.
Aside from that
Trelor was carrying an injury, 100%, he is still carrying it, but it is one player, it is not an excuse.
Too many senior players got handed that night, and too many passengers.

Pound for Pound Rating from the Elim Final: It is horrible reading.
Lobb - 10
Naughton - 4
Trelor - 5
Richards - 4
Freijah - 7
Truck - 5
JOD - 4
VDM - 5
Darcy - 5
Libba - 3
English - 4
Bont - 2
Harmes - 4
Daniel - 5
Dale - 2
Gallagher - 2
McNeil - 3
Bramble - 2
Jones - 1
Weightman - 1
Duyrea -2
McRae - 1
Marra - -10


This is a real, put up or shut up game for the dogs, we have the profile, we have the losses to top 8 teams by a combined few goals, we had the injuries and travel to start the season. It is at Marvel and not the MCG. I don;t want to hear about the Oppos pressure, you should expect the pressure, and deal with it, if you can't, then you are a pretender. The Oppos pressure, is NEVER an excuse for a loss.
Win or Pretend Doggies.

[Bornadog]

The only excuse I have for the EF was we had momentum in the home and away beating lots of contenders then we had the finals bye and we came out like limp dogs.

I just hope after this bye we learnt our lesson.

[my plums]

It felt like we started that game ok, then there was that disallowed Bont goal? And then that was it! Might be misremembering it. Never really revisit lost games...

[jazzadogs]

They pulled our pants down indeed, and it was bad enough that the only excuse that makes sense is the rift and uncertainty, Marra could have caused. If, that is what happended.
Aside from that
Trelor was carrying an injury, 100%, he is still carrying it, but it is one player, it is not an excuse.
Too many senior players got handed that night, and too many passengers.

Pound for Pound Rating from the Elim Final: It is horrible reading.
Lobb - 10
Naughton - 4
Trelor - 5
Richards - 4
Freijah - 7
Truck - 5
JOD - 4
VDM - 5
Darcy - 5
Libba - 3
English - 4
Bont - 2
Harmes - 4
Daniel - 5
Dale - 2
Gallagher - 2
McNeil - 3
Bramble - 2
Jones - 1
Weightman - 1
Duyrea -2
McRae - 1
Marra - -10


This is a real, put up or shut up game for the dogs, we have the profile, we have the losses to top 8 teams by a combined few goals, we had the injuries and travel to start the season. It is at Marvel and not the MCG. I don;t want to hear about the Oppos pressure, you should expect the pressure, and deal with it, if you can't, then you are a pretender. The Oppos pressure, is NEVER an excuse for a loss.
Win or Pretend Doggies.

In your time doing this ratings system, how many times would Bont have scored a 2? It was such a disappointing night from our leaders.

[The Adelaide Connection]

It felt like we started that game ok, then there was that disallowed Bont goal? And then that was it! Might be misremembering it. Never really revisit lost games...

Yep, that was it. There was also a blatant free kick not called on Darcy (he tried to run into the forward line and was dragged to the ground by Sicily). They went up the other end and scored and never looked back.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I want us to smack Hawthorn.

I want an edge. I want a clear and visible sign of retribution for what they did to us.

Nothing short of a win is a fail and it would flush our good start to the year given the challenging circumstances down the toilet. No excuse football this Thursday. Belt em.

[Rusty12]

In your time doing this ratings system, how many times would Bont have scored a 2? It was such a disappointing night from our leaders.

Never. Can't remember a 4, let alone 2