And so it goes.... As usual!

[GVGjr]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

That's probably why I'm so dirty on Gia, because his was the easiest of the lot, and he's one of our best kicks, but he didn't even go back and kick it. When chances are at such a premium, you just can't piss away opportunities like that.

Pressure, fatigue or just a lack of confidence? I don't know what the answer is but it must be as frustrating for the coach as it is for us.

[angelopetraglia]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

I don't think we played badly. It was shades of the Prelim -- we match it with them in close, and we dominated possession. They couldn't even get out of their back half cleanly, and were kicking it out on the full pretty often.

It was Barcelona vs. Inter all over again. They don't want the ball, because that gets them out of position, they want to win back the ball ON THEIR TERMS, so they just sat back in their zone, waited for us to give the ball to them and hit us on the counter.

We just have to be smarter, and take our chances when it matters.

If we score goals instead of behinds, we win.

Agree. Good post. But AFL football never used to be like this. If you failed to create you had no chance.

That we are now comparing AFL to the world game is a great concern. I'm a great lover of the world game, but I loved that AFL is different. I loved the differences between the games. The tactics are merging into one.

Saint Football reminds me of the Catenaccio football that most world football fans despise.

[Missing Dog]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

No-one has pointed the finger at Eade yet. He had four quarters to change the game and did nothing but let the players play into the Saints hands.

[Rocco Jones]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

No-one has pointed the finger at Eade yet. He had four quarters to change the game and did nothing but let the players play into the Saints hands.

I actually thought Eade was strong/we were strong tactically for the vast majority of the game. You have to be patient with the Saints super counter attack style. Try to be too attacking/bomb it and they burn you. If we put away a few chances (can't really blame Eade) we would have had a strong enough lead to force them out of their holes.

We lost it in the last 15 minutes due to fatigue and errors. Eade can't kick/mark it for them.

[LostDoggy]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

No-one has pointed the finger at Eade yet. He had four quarters to change the game and did nothing but let the players play into the Saints hands.

To be fair, we were winning.

[KT31]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

To be fair, we were winning.

To be honest, we lost.

[Bulldog4life]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

I actually thought Eade was strong/we were strong tactically for the vast majority of the game. You have to be patient with the Saints super counter attack style. Try to be too attacking/bomb it and they burn you. If we put away a few chances (can't really blame Eade) we would have had a strong enough lead to force them out of their holes.

We lost it in the last 15 minutes due to fatigue and errors. Eade can't kick/mark it for them.

This seems to be a weekly occurence. A worry when we are only into round 6.

[Bornadog]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

I hate to say it, but it's Gia's fault. He kicks the goal from right in front instead of kicking into the player on the mark, we win. As simple as that.

and Gilbee nails it and we win it, and Grant nails it and we win it.

[Missing Dog]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

To be fair, we were winning.

Only on the scoreboard. In the 3rd they had more inside 50's.

IMO when we are restricted to 46 points in 120 minutes where we usually get over 100, then they won the tactical battle.

[Bulldog4life]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

and Gilbee nails it and we win it, and Grant nails it and we win it.

I was more disappointed with Grant's second shot on goal in the last quarter. He was about 55 to 60 metres from goal and decided to have a shot. He missed Everitt who was standing by himself in the pocket 30 metres from goal. A terrible decision seeing especially how he is not a super long kick.

[KT31]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

This seems to be a weekly occurence. A worry when we are only into round 6.

Especially as we are an aging side and need to get wins on the board early to rest players.

[Bulldog4life]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

Especially as we are an aging side and need to get wins on the board early to rest players.

Is this why we are fatigued I wonder?

[KT31]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

Is this why we are fatigued I wonder?

Part of it but I think the loss of Ward is underated.

[angelopetraglia]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

Is this why we are fatigued I wonder?

Was it fatigue or some stupid decisions and lazy skill execution. It didn't look like we run out of legs, more lost our heads.

Missed goals we should have kicked.

Passed when we should have had a shot.

When short through the middle of the corridor when we should have chose a better option.

etc.

[AndrewP6]

Re: And so it goes.... As usual!

Beaten by a better team on the night. We are still a good side but not playing at our best ATM. While disappointing, it's not the end of the world and we will get better as the season goes along.

We weren't beaten, we gave them the win. We stuffed around, wasted chances, and failed to capitalise on opportunities. The game was ours, and we gave it back. More than disappointing, it points to some deep-seated flaws within the group. The season is almost a third done, and we just keep saying we'll get better.