Post Match v Cats...all comments here thanks!

[collie dog]

Christiansen is a brilliant player IMO & Motlop is more than handy.

And Vardy is their number one ruckman. Menzel could have been a superstar small forward. But the Geelong outs didn't intrigue me as much as the new players. Where do they get them all. It's like an endless procession of brilliance year after year. Everyone says Geelong has to drop down the ladder but every year they keep finding new stars. And Chris Scott (unlike his brother Brad) can actually coach!

[collie dog]

Good Point about getting the Ball Forward but I don't see many other ruck man that do that

Actually now you mention this -

Just overall, and in general play... so many times our boys should just be belting it fwd, or kicking it off the ground when the balls propping around on the ground, and our players are under enormous pressure trying to pick it up. Saw this numerous times last night when we should be just knocking it fwd but instead, don't, try to pick it up, and either get swamped, or cough it up.

Hawthorn did it all the time against Fremantle on Friday night, and their teammates knew it was coming - it's all about numbers to the contest.

I agree completely about the Hawthorn style on Friday. One thing I noticed comparing us to them last night was how much space the Hawthorn game plan creates. For some reason our players get sucked into where the ball is and try to gang tackle the ball carrier. The ball slips out and the opposition run away with it. You watch the Hawks (and Freo in round 1 against us), there is always two options outside the pack with players prepared to move the ball on at all costs. It seems we believe stacks on the mill (or mucking as Patrick Smith calls it) is a good tactic. It's just ugly football. That is what hurts as much as anything at the moment. We are playing UGLY.

[RudeBoy]

Positives:
Effort was great all night.
Elliot is a star
Maxwell was at his best
Fasolo was good
White was very good

Negatives:
Cloke gives us nothing if he can't mark
Swan (injured or not) should be dropped
Ball is finished
Young is simply not good enough
Grundy needs to get more of the ball - take a few marks
Beams is lazy - kicks to no one too often

The future:
Witts should play alongside Grundy
Adams - after his suspension - should be played the whole game
Reid is needed up forward to relieve pressure off Clokes
Kennedy to replace Blair
Brown's return will strengthen the defence
Freeman, Seedsman, Scharenberg and Williams will improve us immeasurably

[MattyD]

So having slept on it, I am back to being philosophical again.

Whether we are going through a 'rebuild' or a 'reno' is debatable. But it seems more like a rebuild to me. The side is so very different.
How much time does Ball, Maxy and Swan have left? And there are just so many new and young players.

But overall, I think we did good. No, I'm not happy we lost but I'm pleased with the side's effort. We almost beat them. When we were five points down with a couple to go, I think everyone got a little excited and Geelong supporters would have been crapping in their pants.

I've whinged and whinged about umpires for what seems like forever and I don't know how I have the strength to even mention them, but I just can't help myself. I am fully aware as a Collingwood supporter of 41 years that I am psychologically damaged by umpiring and I can't undo the damage. But last night there was some serious BS in the umpiring department. And there is an obvious pattern: almost no frees to Collingwood in the first quarter, no frees in our forward line and deliberate momentum changing 50/50 (and downright dubious) frees or ones that are missed. Enough said.

But our skills also let us down by everyone. Maybe that's partly because some of the kids need more time but our 'elite' midfield look underdone for whatever reason. Ball, Beams, Pendles, Swan.

Anyway, overall, despite the poor skills and umpiring, I saw improvement last night and we gave a strong Geelong team a fright. And for that I'm pleased.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

The thing is, often we're trying too hard to try and control (win) the ball from pack congestion, with numbers, when there is still a high % of error once possession has been gained i.e u get the ball, but you're surrounded and have little, or no time to move the pill on with any assurance and quite often can turn it over, due to lack of options (because they're all trying to win the pill), or lose tempo trying to create these options (from breaking away from the pack, and/or losing possession due to over commitment).

That's why smacking the ball on off the deck, into space, away from congestion (and where your outside runners are waiting for it) is a smart ploy, also it keeps the game flowing and is far more attractive to watch (bonus). No but seriously, I'd like to see us doing a LOT more of this.

[MattyD]

One thing I thought Geelong did particularly well was the volleyball taps. They did that many times. It got the ball quickly and directly to their teammate who had space. Rather than taking the time to try and grab it and control it.

[Brenny]

^ I generally agree with that. But the thing that really gets me is the fact we won the flag in 2010 with the youngest team ever to do it.

Geelong won in 2007 (their first) and seem to have barely dropped a beat. They should contend for their 7th year in a row.

They get a new coach and you wouldn't even tell.

How is it, they can lose a few players and then recruit to fill a few holes so they don't fall off.

Then there is us, who have the youngest team to win a flag in 2010 and we lose so many and then have to rebuild. We get a new coach and turn over pretty much the whole team and coaching staff.

That's what I really struggle to get my head around.

Is our coaching staff average, what is it? How can our ball use and skills be so poor.

[HAL]

One thing I thought Geelong did particularly well was the volleyball taps. They did that many times. It got the ball quickly and directly to their teammate who had space. Rather than taking the time to try and grab it and control it.

One what?

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

One thing I thought Geelong did particularly well was the volleyball taps. They did that many times. It got the ball quickly and directly to their teammate who had space. Rather than taking the time to try and grab it and control it.

Yep, and this is the same thing I'm talking about, with knocking it on off the deck. Need to use all the tools available, and be a bit creative.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

^ I generally agree with that. But the thing that really gets me is the fact we won the flag in 2010 with the youngest team ever to do it.

Geelong won in 2007 (their first) and seem to have barely dropped a beat. They should contend for their 7th year in a row.

They get a new coach and you wouldn't even tell.

How is it, they can lose a few players and then recruit to fill a few holes so they don't fall off.

Then there is us, who have the youngest team to win a flag in 2010 and we lose so many and then have to rebuild. We get a new coach and turn over pretty much the whole team and coaching staff.

That's what I really struggle to get my head around.

Is our coaching staff average, what is it? How can our ball use and skills be so poor.

On that, I'd give our coaching staff a tiny bit of grace, but only when you compare it to our 2010 flag team... which despite everything else, must be right up there, with the worst kicking premiership winning teams of the modern era.

[the pie guy]

I know I bang on about Goldsack, but seriously another 11 possession game ??? Does a few things well and then disappears. I cant wait for some troops to arrive, ie Brown, Freeman, Karnezis, Williams, Broomhead, Oxley, Seedsman, etc, and hopefully Scharenberg.

Overall far from a disgraceful performance.

Blair, as always, gives his all but I cant see improvement moving forward, whereas Kennedy and others have so much more upside.

Dwyer was obviously playing injured, shame, because we could have used more drive from him.

White was much better but as a leading big forward not as a KP, will be an asset once Reid comes back.

Frost and Langdon, both tried hard and will keep improving, but both fumbled when alone in space, pressure from good sides will make you do that. No worries, both learned a lesson and will be better for the run.

Maxwell, back to his best and still valuable.

Ball. still not at his best, but 14 contested possessions!!!

Cloke, not good, but I seem to remember that Presti. also made some great forwards look ordinary. The facts are that good back men sometime get the better of great forwards, having said that, it was not Lonergan alone that beat Cloke. Most of the time it was also a second backman. What hurt was that we kept pumping it to a contest where he was being double tagged.

Swan, was again poor but we all suspect there is an injury.

Sidebottom, I feel he is much maligned in that some expect him to be an elite player, he is not and may never be. He is however a very good player, and again showed it. 29 possessions, at 72% efficiency wasn't that bad.

Harry good effort and run.

Young, has always been an outside runner, we knew that when we got him, so the plan is to get him the ball, simple. Made some kicking mistakes.
disposals not up to his standards yesterday.

Caf, getting to be a seriously good tagger.

Elliott, brilliant, but the best thing was his crumbing goal, I hope he realised it is what he has to look for.

Fasolo, first game back, will get b.etter

[Beast]

^ I generally agree with that. But the thing that really gets me is the fact we won the flag in 2010 with the youngest team ever to do it.

Geelong won in 2007 (their first) and seem to have barely dropped a beat. They should contend for their 7th year in a row.

They get a new coach and you wouldn't even tell.

How is it, they can lose a few players and then recruit to fill a few holes so they don't fall off.

Then there is us, who have the youngest team to win a flag in 2010 and we lose so many and then have to rebuild. We get a new coach and turn over pretty much the whole team and coaching staff.

That's what I really struggle to get my head around.

Is our coaching staff average, what is it? How can our ball use and skills be so poor.

You can pretty much say the same thing about Hawthorn...
So no matter how we all try to spin it our recruitment is not what its talked up to be, our coaching staff is nowhere near the best in the league, our medical department is bordering on amateur and our man-management is appalling.
But it's not all doom and gloom - we're the greatest when it comes to bombarding our members with worthless e-mails.

[Culprit]

We lost the game at the selection table as well as our poor skills with the ball.
Swan and Grundy to the Magoos.

63000? Well that just goes to show that all those pretend memberships mean sweet FA as the people are voting with their feet over game scheduling and refuse to simply attend.

[MattyD]

We lost the game at the selection table as well as our poor skills with the ball.
Swan and Grundy to the Magoos.

63000? Well that just goes to show that all those pretend memberships mean sweet FA as the people are voting with their feet over game scheduling and refuse to simply attend.

I agree we lost because of poor skills. Not sure about selection table though, who else could they have played? I do wonder why they put players out there who are injured ie. Swan, Pendles, etc.

But I always find it amusing when someone says 63,000 is not a good crowd.
It is an excellent crowd. If Collingwood had won both games from rounds 1 and 2, like Geelong, there would have been some more, for sure. And if we all honestly thought we were top 4 material, there would have been more.

I agree game scheduling is part of it, but not the main reason. If we had played three teams outside the top 8 in our first three rounds and won all three convincingly and then we played an unbeaten Geelong, we would have got more people to the game. Our players would also be fresh and warmed up and would be building. The scheduling does tick me off because it affects our player's bodies. But is that the main reason less people don't go? Maybe but I think there's lots of reasons. We are a team in rebuild and everybody knows it. It's going to take time.

[MattyD]

One thing I thought Geelong did particularly well was the volleyball taps. They did that many times. It got the ball quickly and directly to their teammate who had space. Rather than taking the time to try and grab it and control it.

Yep, and this is the same thing I'm talking about, with knocking it on off the deck. Need to use all the tools available, and be a bit creative.

Yes, but we'd probably get done for a throw if we tried the same thing! lol