Why can't "WE" just be CALM with the ball?

[mjp]

Great win on Friday night.

Have to admit though - didn't get a lot of joy watching that last 5-minutes...it was as if some of our players were just DETERMINED to give that footy back to Sydney.

- Williams gives to JOD. Who BOMBS it down the line to a 3v1 to West (great effort) ignoring the open Kennedy 25m away in space.
- West gets the ball. Could kick inside 50 and keep it skinny...instead, handballs to Hynes 2v1.
- JOD big spoil from the Maclean (McLean? Whatever) entry kick...but not oob - straight down the crumbers throat (Gulden). Thankfully, Cunningham missed a very easy goal.
- My main man Coffield. Marks the PKI...then decides it would be an awesome idea to kick - no-one on the mark at this point...the SWANS were DARING him to kick it - high in the air on Brambles head. Spoiled by the Swans...Bramble (somehow) dashes away...
- Bad handball by Bramble to Sanders. Sanders knows what he's doing though...clean below his knees, simple pop-up kick for Richards. MARK. OK. BE CALM.
- Richards handball to Dale...OK. I guess. Dale does...nothing. Tries to lace out / finger one (call it what you will) to Buku who is 3v1. Sydney win it (no shit) and forward handball their way down the ground...until Warner decides to ignore Gulden (dumb) and instead try for a 20m handball that Bailey Williams intercepts.
- Williams gives it to Coffield, who again decides to test out Sanders ground ball, who gives it to Kennedy...he knows what he's supposed to do and calmly kicks it to Dale. Perfect. Chill out.
- Kick to Sanders, LDL to where Bont gives a contest...stoppage. Perfect.
- Mills stuffs up the outlet handball and Richards intercepts...he calmly gives it to West who kicks it to Buku. BREATHE.
- Ooops - Buku says "Hold my beer - I know I could take 30 seconds here but instead I'm gonna blast it to renowned marking marking target VDM who is being tracked by the 20cm taller Blakey. No surprise, Blakey effects the spoil, VDM goes to ground and now the Swans have it again.

You seriously cannot make this stuff up.

Anyway, Sydney are going for it - they need 2x scores - and Sanders intercepts the long kick and gives it to Williams...who kicks to West - and FINALLY we have a player who realises the time of the game. Or does he? Rather than take his 30 then find a mark, he instead kicks a LOOOOOOOONG point and the Swans go coast to coast where McLean (Maclean) fluffs his lines and misses from 20m out.

Can someone - ANYONE - tell me what is going on out there?

If you want to know why we keep blowing close games, read through that sequence again. It was complete and utter chaos...zero leadership, zero control.

Also ZERO possessions by our best players - one mark by Sanders, one kick by Kennedy...I guess Williams had it a couple of times. No Bont, no English, no Liber, no Naughton, no Lobb...NONE of them.

[Grantysghost]

Here's my feel.

Low footy iq.

Freijah in that third qtr maybe two or three times late, controlled the flow. Called a slow play transition. This guy is a genuine superstar in all facets of the game including leadership.

I can't imagine for a second that the coaches would coach, ok there's 5 mins to go, don't take your full 30 when you're 55 metres out. These are the 5-10 percent moments that win or lose you BIG games.

I've always felt the Cats recruit smart players. I think we have now too. And given a dumb one to them (Baz)

Can we train that into them? You'd be the best to answer Mike.

[Sedat]

All of the above wasn't lost on Bevo - he made a point of mentioning our lack of calm late-on in the presser.

We aren't going to win silverware unless we take care of the little things. Good to learn the lesson and get the 4 points. But we need to learn the lesson.

[Hotdog60]

The Buku marks on 50 late in the game I said to my son Buku can kick this take your 30 and launch it. Then he rushes it and kicks it to VDM let my expletives flow.

[mjp]

Can we train that into them? You'd be the best to answer Mike.

I don't think you need to be smart to be able to go:

"Hey - were 2-kicks up with 3 minutes to play...giving them the ball back here is probably not in our best interests".

If the Swans blokes hadn't fluffed their lines they would have pinched it.

[Flamethrower]

We have too many low football IQ players who continue to attack at all costs thinking that if we keep scoring they'll never catch us.

They need to be taught that late in games when we are in front, the clock is our friend and we should use as much of it as possible. Take a full 30 seconds when in goal scoring range, and then hit a lead to rinse and repeat. Don't kick to contests where we are outnumbered unless it is to Darcy deep forward - make sure it is kicked to his advantage though. Don't take low percentage shots at goal where a point just hands possession to the oppo.

If in doubt get the ball in the hands of our high IQ players when we can which is the take home message from Friday night.

[Critter]

This is not something for which we train. Saw scenario training only once in recent years, at Skinner Reserve, and frankly it was a schemozzle.

[Sedat]

It's all Billy Gowers fault.

[jeemak]

It's all Billy Gowers fault.

Because we got away with it that one time we've been Good Time Charlies ever since!

To me this goes back to the dearth of on-field leadership we've experienced in this most recent era. We need leaders to develop across all areas of the ground.

[JanLorMill]

Is it too simplistic to say we just don’t have a slow mode? I just rewatched it those last few minutes and yes major errors. The Khamis one was poor and defending the swans kickout was just as bad.

[Rusty12]

Great Breakdown, maybe too good, as now I know I had completely blocked out, just how bad it was, pure trauma.

After the first 1-2 errors, where is the on-field leadership to pull everyone into line?

For the most part, I think the players involved there are experienced enough to do better, regardless of whether it is a focus at training. (Sanders, the one with the excuse, and did good).

Hopefully, got the lesson and the win.

[comrade]

Kings of chaos.

[Grantysghost]

I don't think you need to be smart to be able to go:

"Hey - were 2-kicks up with 3 minutes to play...giving them the ball back here is probably not in our best interests".

If the Swans blokes hadn't fluffed their lines they would have pinched it.

Well, heat of the moment and all. West shouldn't have even called for it. Just do the point to goals gesture.

Maybe we need to hold a sign up that says "dont fk it up".

[Bornadog]

Bevo talked about the last quarter on AFL 360 tonight and he wasn't happy with the skill levels and said we were lucky the Swans also didn't execute well either.

[westbulldog]

The Buku marks on 50 late in the game I said to my son Buku can kick this take your 30 and launch it. Then he rushes it and kicks it to VDM let my expletives flow.

Complete IDIOCY STUPIDITY and IMBECILITY by Buku. (and to VDM of all people )