Sharp Axes

[Sedat]

Re: Sharp Axes

I think it should read perhaps they're not as good as the club thought.

Spot on. We have internally been bullish about being in contention since 2020. The trajectory was trending positively 12 months later, but the 8 minutes of madness in the 2021 GF has psychologically destroyed this playing group and I reckon the coach as well.

Ultimately yesterday's loss will not hurt - we needed to be fully exposed as a club and playing group. Even if we respond on the weekend and sneak into the finals, the mask is now off.

[Mantis]

Re: Sharp Axes

I don't think this is new news for many posters on here - our lack of two-way defensive running and our lack of F50 pressure has been repeatedly highlighted on woof as major problem areas for us.

I’ve been strong on our transition defending over the past few years and it’s getting worse. Lots of finger pointing & jogging. It’s endemic within our team, and led by our on-field leaders.

[angelopetraglia]

Re: Sharp Axes

Massive hypothetical.

If Libba doesn't get knocked out against the Hawks. Do we win that game? Do we win yesterday? Is Libba worth a goal against the Hawks and 8 points against the Eagles?

Is that the sliding door moment? Would have Libba staying healthy for these two games just delayed the the inevitable, what we are now seeing laid bare?

[Mantis]

Re: Sharp Axes

Massive hypothetical.

If Libba doesn't get knocked out against the Hawks. Do we win that game? Do we win yesterday? Is Libba worth a goal against the Hawks and 8 points against the Eagles?

Is that the sliding door moment? Would have Libba staying healthy for these two games just delayed the the inevitable, what we are now seeing laid bare?

Would hate to see what our season would’ve looked like if we’d lost Libba or Bont for a considerable period of time… too much has been left for too few in the middle and we’ve just shuffled the deck on the perimeter due to injury and form.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: Sharp Axes

Massive hypothetical.

If Libba doesn't get knocked out against the Hawks. Do we win that game? Do we win yesterday? Is Libba worth a goal against the Hawks and 8 points against the Eagles?

Is that the sliding door moment? Would have Libba staying healthy for these two games just delayed the the inevitable, what we are now seeing laid bare?

We would have won both

Thats how good I believe Libba is - but instead it has exposed some glaring problems

We have the pieces to re-jig relatively quickly but as Mantis and others allude to - our defensive transition and efforts are far too selective - we want the game on our terms far too much and thats pretty frustrating to watch when we dont roll our sleeves up

[kruder]

Re: Sharp Axes

Chris Grants message on Whateley was basically nothing to see here move on.

[azabob]

Re: Sharp Axes

Chris Grants message on Whateley was basically nothing to see here move on.

The last 15 seconds of the interview make me think we make finals he stays, we miss he goes.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Sharp Axes

Chris Grants message on Whateley was basically nothing to see here move on.

Sure we can move on. Him first.

[jeemak]

Re: Sharp Axes

I don't think this is new news for many posters on here - our lack of two-way defensive running in midfield and our lack of F50 pressure has been repeatedly highlighted on woof as major problem areas for us.

It's literally the reason why we kick to congestion near side on entry. To try and give our forwards the best opportunity to keep the ball inside F50.

[Grantysghost]

Re: Sharp Axes

It's literally the reason why we kick to congestion near side on entry. To try and give our forwards the best opportunity to keep the ball inside F50.

Was talking to a coaching mate about this exact thing yesterday.
We setup from wing stoppage with the forwards ready to ensure the territory gain against the boundary.
I watched English get it and he knew the plan and kicked it right down into that pocket. Territory is the plan.



The Eagles defenders all knew it too from their positioning.

[MrMahatma]

Re: Sharp Axes

The last 15 seconds of the interview make me think we make finals he stays, we miss he goes.

Was hard to read that final answer. He seemed pretty firm that Bevo stays, but then talks about "hard calls". He said they'd make "hard calls" if necessary about 10 times in the interview. What's a hard call? Sacking Bevo? Moving on our entire Assistant panel? Trading out a couple of "stars"? Making 12-15 list changes? Changing the captain? Paying over the soft cap to get the best support?

[azabob]

Re: Sharp Axes

Was hard to read that final answer. He seemed pretty firm that Bevo stays, but then talks about "hard calls". He said they'd make "hard calls" if necessary about 10 times in the interview. What's a hard call? Sacking Bevo? Moving on our entire Assistant panel? Trading out a couple of "stars"? Making 12-15 list changes? Changing the captain? Paying over the soft cap to get the best support?

Agree it was hard to read, but I was surprised by it considering how firm he was during it Bevo is the man.

As finals are still alive nothing but positivity will be coming out of the club.

If we lose Saturday night, this time next week will be interesting.

[MrMahatma]

Re: Sharp Axes

Was talking to a coaching mate about this exact thing yesterday.
We setup from wing stoppage with the forwards ready to ensure the territory gain against the boundary.
I watched English get it and he knew the plan and kicked it right down into that pocket. Territory is the plan.



The Eagles defenders all knew it too from their positioning.

Your drawing kind of looks like a dog laying dead on its back. Which is quite accurate.

[1eyedog]

Re: Sharp Axes

There's many ways a club might over-rate a list and there can be no doubt that we expected to play finals this year and in addition thought we were in good shape to finish top 4. I was thinking about the Rohan Connelly article and I was wondering how we / the media actually assess our list's ability to achieve these goals?

If you look at the number of high draft picks in the team, the potential of particular players and the snippets certain other players have provided us previously, I can see why the club and the media had high expectations this year. The Connelly article is interesting because for the first time yesterday in the post-match presser Bevo actually alluded to 'a handful of players is not going to get it done'. We know who these handful of players are. He also mentioned that you have to devise a plan based on the 23 you have. We know we have a suspect bottom 4 and have had for years. Reading between the lines was he indirectly hinting at the broad gap in ability / potential / smarts / mental toughness across our list?

When reviewing the list now I'm wondering if Bevo is seriously contemplating for the first time not so much the raw football ability of the list, but their ability mentally and intellectually to stick with the program for four quarters. We may have a list that looks dynamite on paper in terms of talent and potential, but we may also have a list that are either mentally weak and can't roll out the plan, or are simply not smart enough to play their required role across four quarters. This might be far harder to discern, especially for those in the media / us supporters. Doesn't excuse Bevo though.

If this is the case Bevo needs to identify and acknowledge it ASAP and devise a new plan to suit the cognitive ability of the players because they're not picking up what he is throwing down.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Sharp Axes

That’s be Bevo’s third game plan this year. Being that busy he should get a pay rise.