Post match: Pies pipped again . All comments please.

[Johnno75]

I am angry more particular tonight than last week. Last week was even and it came down to luck but tonight we were the better team but The Hawks were more efficient going forward. Worse of all is having the smug Hawk fans laughing and admiting that we lost that game.

3rd Qtr killed us to have control and territory and only kick 2.9. Not only that but I absolutely blew a gasket with the Gunston no call holding the ball in the goal square that led to the Isaac Smith goal. Security had to calm me down I thought they were going to throw me out.

Also Rioli's free in the last, was that not leading with the head into the tackle, play on under new rule?

Great to see Steele back up there tonight. Thought we has been down a bit lately OK without staring but he was back tonight.

Crunch game on Thursday both teams facing 3 losses in a row.

[Dave The Man]

Quite Simple. Kicking 12.19 is Bloody Not Good Enough

[Brenny]

I'm actually pretty gutted with the loss tonight be honest.

I feel strongly that it was there for the taking. Considering we had Maynard and Moore in, who played their first games against a powerhouse, we were very good and stuck it right to them. I almost feel like we kicked ourselves out of the game.

I feel the best two games we have played all year were in the last two weeks.

Both have slipped through our fingers.

But, you get over it and you move on.

[Dave The Man]

Moore gave more in 3 quarters than Gault has in his entire career.

Problem is they never kicked to Moore and when Moore when for the Ball Fasolo Hogged it

[swoop42]

We were the better team and we blew it.

So bloody frustrating and tantalising at the same time.

Make the top 4 and keep improving and we can give the flag one almighty shake but to keep that hope alive we need to win next week without question but it's got danger game written all over it.

[ANNODAM]

LOL at those who thought we were a chance tonight.
Bent over & let them have their way with us again!

Same old, same old!

[swoop42]

Tonight showed we were a chance and a bloody big one at that.

They know we're coming.

[Jezza]

We were excellent last night but ultimately we blew it with our wasted opportunities in front of goal especially in the third quarter. I always find these losses to be shattering but however there was a lot to like tonight despite the wasted opportunities.

Great respect shown by both football clubs tonight in paying tribute to Phil Walsh so I think the ending was very classy from both sides. I also found the organic feeling of football tonight fantastic to watch. The whole match and the general atmosphere of the game was very old-school except for the lack of team songs for obvious reasons but I found it really refreshing to witness.

Moore and Maynard were decent for debutants and there's a lot that they can build on from that experience. Pendlebury, Crisp, Varcoe, Williams and Sidebottom were all outstanding tonight and they really led the way tonight extremely well.

I'm still amazed but ecstatic to see how much progress we've made this year, so that's a testament to Bucks and the playing group and you can sense that the club is building something very special but we're just not there though. I must admit the timing of it has surprised me but I think this has been a great season overall so far.

Next week's match against Port won't be easy especially in Adelaide but if we maintain that intensity as we've seen in the last two weeks then we're very much capable of beating them and really any side in the competition for that matter.

Keep remaining positive fellow Nicksters! This team is building something special!

[swoop42]

Positives >>>>>>>>>>> negatives in that game.

Focus on the inaccurate kicking and the loss of the game if you want. The real story from this game is that we were better than the Hawks. We didn't just hang on or get lucky, we convincingly outplayed them both in close and even with our ball use. We are a top 4 chance and with continued improvement some chance of going all the way. This was one of the best performances we've had in the last 4 years, hands down.

This following on from last week when we outplayed the Dockers for almost the entire game. We're not expected to be this good yet and with a young team we will be even better by year's end, who knows how far we can take it.

I'm excited!

In the cold light of day most would agree with you but in the few hours after a loss I want to get my venting on.

[Jezza]

LOL at those who thought we were a chance tonight.
Bent over & let them have their way with us again!

Same old, same old!

We were a chance and should have won that match barring inaccurate kicking.

I actually sense the tide is beginning to turn against the Hawks after years of them dominating us despite the narrow loss tonight.

[jackcass]

Moore deserves to hold his spot next week I reckon.

Yep, telling 4 possession 1 point game.

Attacked every contest he was apart of and created space for team mates to take marks. When he didn't mark it himself, he brought the ball to ground which allowed his team mates to crumb. He even tries to mark with two hands as opposed to one hand White. He'll be a great player. Reads the ball well and could well produce something special next week away from the pressure of the mcg and first game status.

Not disputing he'll be a ripper, just think he'll struggle to hold his spot if Grundy plays well tomorrow. His game tonight mirrored last week in the VFL, full of endeavour but not sufficient to merit senior games when better options become available.

[perthmagpie]

Now that's eight in a row. They were close in the 2011 prelim to beating us when we were one of the best two teams. Then they began to pass us. Then you could argue they began to own us. For the next three or four as supporters we expected them to beat us. In fact this week most of us expected to lose. Our average losses before tonight have been 42 points since 2012. Something is changing. Hawthorn are still premiership favourites but you can smell the change . You can almost taste it. We have almost caught them. The only difference is experience and finishing. That will come soon. We have been quite accurate in from of goal this year. Tonight was a waste. But where Hawthorn have owned us in important areas of the game we beat them tonight and we did it with power, pressure and hunger. We still don't have their finishing and I believe that is improving if don't use tonight as your only indicator.

I think it is clear we are coming. I'm glad we played two debutants. We need to continue to be brave as we are developing something amazing with our list and team for the long term. We are not there yet. The Club knows that. We need to keep investing in the top end talent we have brought in. Soon we'll see Greenwood, Scharenberg, Marsh and then Freeman next year. We have to be patient and be prepared to take one step backwards with selection this year to go two steps forward next year. It will cost us games against the best but it will set up our era.

Bloody exciting big picture. Can't wait to see more future tomorrow at Vic Park.

[jackcass]

Who was responsible for rioli and why wasn't he made accountable? that little prick kicked 5.

2 free kicks gifted by players other than his opponent, kicked another against Langdon, another against Toovey, another against Williams. But let's just slag off at Toovey, that'll be amusing.

Let's be blunt, jackcass - Tooves wasn't bad against Rioli particularly, he was bad against everyone tonight. I think he's playing with an injury (he seems to be slower over the last couple of matches than he was earlier in the season) but there's no getting away from the fact that (whatever the reason) his game stank tonight. I'd really rather they gave Marsh a shot and let Toovey have a chance to get his body right - there's a bit of a question about Marsh's disposal on occasion but he kicks the ball way further than Toovey and he's no less accurate than Toovey's been in recent games.

Not at his best the last 2 games but people just way too quick to look for scape goats. Elliott has been equally poor over the last 2 weeks but somehow it's all Toovey's fault. Fasolo was very ordinary early, yet it's Toovey's fault, Frost made a couple of glaring mistakes, yet it's Toovey's fault. Team defense is about the effort of the total. Most of Rioli's opportunities arose because our forwards and mids didn't execute properly, or contain the footy, or take their scoring opportunities, yet it's Toovey's fault. Very quick to look to blame.

How about we acknowledge that the team let themselves down and gave a very good side too many chances to get off the hook rather than scape goating.

[jackcass]

Moore deserves to hold his spot next week I reckon.

Yep, telling 4 possession 1 point game.

Attacked every contest he was apart of and created space for team mates to take marks. When he didn't mark it himself, he brought the ball to ground which allowed his team mates to crumb. He even tries to mark with two hands as opposed to one hand White. He'll be a great player. Reads the ball well and could well produce something special next week away from the pressure of the mcg and first game status.

Sounds like his efforts tonight we're very Blair like.

[Dave The Man]