Post match: Pies lose another thriller. All comments please.

[jackcass]

WE really have to beat the weagles next week, no iffs or butts, it will be our version of Ports game tonight, an absolute, season defining, line in the sand game, we must come out breathing fire next week, no two ways about it. !

See, that's the attitude that sets people up for a fall.

Can't afford another honourable loss.
This isn't cricket.
It is life and death!

I'm not an advocate of the honorable loss theory, never happy to lose.

That doesn't mean I can't acknowledge the efforts of the team.

And that doesn't mean I'm dismissive of the team that beat us. Despite the ladder position, Port are widely considered a very good team. Most experts had them locked into the top 4 before the season started and just because they've struggled to get their best 22 on the field, just because they've struggled to recapture last years form, people are all too quick to dismiss them as easy beats and spew vitriol upon our team when we don't.

[jackcass]

Reading through this thread is more frustrating than watching the game. It used to be just during the Game On threads that the Einsteins displayed their ignorance; now they come to post-game discussions to display their spectacularly stupid ramblings.

Blame Jesse White, blame a 19 yo second gamer for not being experienced enough. Blame Bucks for not being able to scratch another three points out of a young team. Criticise Grundy for having the guts to front up so soon after a hospital stay.

Here's a tip: just stay off your computers after a loss.

Stands and applauds!

[inxs88]

Don't know why we continually lose the same way through dumb decision making, awful coaching and poor kicking

Feels like the last 4 years have all been the same

Just gutted, don't see a Premiership coming in a while, or real signs of progress in this group - same things are happening again as the last 3 years

Flat

It's called class and composure, and we don't have it. Can't have the likes of Toovey, Brown and Frost all playing together with only Moore, Langdon and Williams to help. Need Reid and Scharenberg so badly in defence it's not funny. We get ZERO composure out of D50, and very little inside F50. This team needs to evolve to weed out straight out blue collar and balance it with more class. JDG will help...

100% correct. As they say in the classics "you can't polish a turd"> No matter how many efforts are made the following shall occur:

1. Cloke shall never improve his kicking
2. Toovey shall average 8 possessions, 40 % kicking efficiency, his opponent shall kick 3 and the scribes like "Robbo" shall be effusive in praise
3. Fasolo shall miss goals and tackles in high pressure games
4. Blair shall look busy and intense but remain out muscled and bustled
5. N Brown/Frost shall combine for 12 possessions with lots of skyballs
6. White shall kick the ones we don't need and miss the one's we do need
7. Bucks shall make all players with class/skill: eg. Sharenberg, Kennedy, Karnezis, Dwyer etc. jump 67 hoops before getting selected.

[Museman]

Sunshine and lollipops(aka people with FA idea) mantra seems to be losing is good.

Surprise more teams aren't trying to do it, after all...it's character building...lmao do people believe that crap, It must mean you are on the right track...you have to do it, you don't get good otherwise Ohh and it just means you are young...how old was port tonight again?

Sorry people losing...breeds losing...nothing else...and acceptance of it breeds a losing culture.....

Congrats S&L if it's losing you want it's losing you got and you are in part responsible.

[qldmagpie67]

Nice to see the usual trolls death ride everything Collingwood after a loss yawn.
Actually I don't know how to feel about tonight's loss.
I feel port were the better side all night but we had chances to win it late in the 4th when Pendles off the ground hits the post (one of our 4 posters for the night)
Don't understand playing Grundy in place of Marley thought it would have been ideal to give Shazza a game.
Moore looked much better down back and seemed at home there. Early doors he was caught out by Westoff to often but I'm not going to blame the kid for the loss he has played 2 games and is getting experience.
The past 3 weeks for mine come down to 1 thing experience under pressure and we don't have it yet.
Our forward line is out of sorts and I think this is due to Elliott being down on form. And I can't remember him being left one out deep in the forward 50 which had become normal prior to that.
This loss hurts but everyone knew this period of 4 games was our hardest patch of the season. 2/2 was hopeful/wishful thinking but 0/4 will be disastrous.
The travel to Perth the back play the Hawks then travel again on short turn around against a team with everything to play for and losing a former coach there's some perspective.
I think changes have to come but not for all th reasons some on here think.
We need to rest a few like Moore and give us some fresh bodies and minds.
Greenwood becomes very important now his body and experience will come in handy.
Don't think we will see 2 rucks again it doesn't suit our team balance or playing style at all.
Here's something to think about folks we had 4 posters tonight anyone of them just misses instead of just hitting and we win by 3 and many in this thread aren't sited.
Onto next week and hope for much improvement.

[Mugwump]

Some people here seriously need to get a grip and this starts from the game on thread. For those saying the game was over in the first quarter in that thread should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves and for those who repeatedly said it was over throughout the night should be ashamed of themselves. I'm not usually one to pick up on these things and be irritated by them but tonight was unbelievable and staggering and these are the same people who love us one minute and talk up our chances but as soon as things fall apart they flip-flop at a rate I've never seen before.

Overall, I'm bitterly disappointed by this loss and it hurts far more than the losses we experienced against Fremantle and Hawthorn but what were people seriously expecting to happen. Did people really believe we were premiership contenders to start off with because if you did you're insane considering how young this side is to start off with. We've demonstrated remarkable improvement overall this year but tonight was no doubt a letdown and we lost it in several areas.

I think the changes (or lack of changes) was costly and Buckley will have to admit his error of going in with one extra tall at the expense of Marley going out which was of course beyond his control due to family reasons. Our players didn't adapt to the wet conditions at all tonight and they only started showing something towards the end when the rain eased off; and lastly our forward line was dysfunctional and non-existent. Frankly, we were flat all night and probably didn't deserve the victory in the sense that Port led for most of the match.

Tonight is a disappointing night but people need to settle down because we were never premiership contenders to start off with and secondly making the finals this year is a big pass mark for mine considering where we were this time last year.

The VFL on Saturday will be important for us and I'm sure we will see some changes especially after Broomhead's injury and Adams' likely suspension. Guys like Greenwood, Kennedy and Scharenberg all have a chance to make an impression and force their way into the side. Naturally I expect Marley to return who's absence tonight was huge as Wingard ran riot but didn't convert all his opportunities in front of goal.

The whole club should refocus, regroup and re-evaluate where they're at but it's not the time to panic. We have a chance to make our mark in the next two weeks against the Eagles and Bulldogs. Both are big challenges but ones we're capable of producing good results especially as these recent games have shown despite heartbreaking losses. I'm not going to call them 'honourable losses' but any losses is bad no matter the circumstance but we can take heart that we're not far off the pack despite three straight losses.

Yes, very well said Jezza, for a young bloke you make a lot of common sense, us ol Pies fans can be grumpy ol buggers eh. Seriously though, your spot on, only an imbeciile would have us hoisting the flag this season, it aint gonna happen, we are too young and raw, a very young developing team, that is taking babysteps. Its a long process, developing a team, the hard yards, the highs and lows, like the last three weeks, its a learning curve too, a process. We are miles better than last season, no doubt, but by gollly, tonights loss really did hurt, we really must do somethign about our forward line, or lack thereof, for the future, get that right ,and we will be contenders. It takes time and patience, and im afraid that patience is in short supply on Nicks, with Pies fans, and elsewhere.

All completely agreed. I was in an all-day work meeting and coudl not watch the game, so kept sneaking a look at the Game on thread. I truly thought that we were losing by ten goals. At the time we were 11 points down with over a quarter to play. I know footy's a roller coaster, but some control over the emotions helps, during the game and after a loss.

We are going places. There will be ups and downs, but even these past few disappoitning weeks still fill me with hope for the future. I'd rather be us than almost any other side at the moment. Watching a bright future starting to blossom is the best thing in footy.

[Cuthbert Collingwood]

I'm a Bucks fan, but he coached badly tonight, including at the selection table.

Yep, alarm bells went off once I heard "no changes", then Williams out.



Dyso

they knew about this change for some time. it was as good a time as any to see again how the grundy/witts combo would work. they competed well. we lost it in other areas.

Def lost it with the Moore selection, not the ruck duo

[E]

Only saw the second half of the game. Pies were tremendous and extremely unlucky to lose. Port's last goal was from a deadset hands in the back in the pies defender. That is paid 100% but not tonight. Pies couldn't get a bounce or a free but what's new about that.

Sidebottom is a magician. There's no doubt about it.

Last 3 games losses by 7/10/3. Disappointing but character building. The side is coming together well. And yep, 2016 we'll give it a shake.

To all you death riders, go and support another team ya muppets.

Well said.

''

Got to agree - I'm as gutted as the rest of you but you can't fault our effort and the improvement in our game plan this year. Previous seasons we would have put up the white flag when we were so far done at 1/4 time.

The big concern for me is the attitude of Elliot - his reaction to JDG kicking that soccer goal was poor - he needs a dose of reality at the moment.

We're not far away my friends - just need a dose of luck and a bit of polish and we will go close to winning a flag (maybe even this year).

I saw that too and thought exactly the same thing. Would love to know what is going on.....

[John Wren]

Yep, alarm bells went off once I heard "no changes", then Williams out.



Dyso

they knew about this change for some time. it was as good a time as any to see again how the grundy/witts combo would work. they competed well. we lost it in other areas.

Def lost it with the Moore selection, not the ruck duo

westhoff and wines' first halfs hurt us.

interesting the sunshine & lollipop accusations have been trotted out again. we lose to bona fide top four teams in freo and hawthorn and then come up short in another game we probably should have won. in years past we'd have gine down by a lot more than that. we're travelling so much better than most anticipated. i get the disappointment - who isn't - but i'm not sure why the misery.

[DT]

There are so many positive signs coming out of the club this year and I can't just focus on an individual match even though I swear my head off at the TV on nights like last night. If you looked at Bucks sometimes he was frustrated with some dumb footy that we played. But as has been said by some we are a young team and need to learn lessons about positioning and how to overcome different challenges. In that context the team is learning a lot very quickly. The fast tracking of the team is phenomenal and a credit to the excellent learning environment at the club.

Let's be honest, this year is a development year but what a great one to watch whereby we are in the mix to play finals while getting critical games into young players and moulding a great squad.

Unfortunately Port were a bit too good on the night and we lacked the experience or nous to overcome them.

Let's hope that Greenwood is ok for next week as we desperately need a bit more experience.

Go Pies!!!

I think we'll beat the Weagles next week too

[Culprit]

It's frustrating when I see basic skill errors and in saying that it comes from pressure or perceived pressure. We lost by a kick but as a team WOW we have a lot of positives. I never thought we would do much this year and have been proven wrong. Our ladder position is irrelevant in the big picture. We are a developing team with quality players out. A young team is heard to build up each week yet we do it. Slow out of the blocks but built up.

Oh I am a labeled a S a d S a c k which I cannot type as words as mods have changed that term. The thought police are on the loose. I should be more negative. OK Jane White has to go and obviously that is why Darcy is playing.

Looking forward to each game win or lose, we have some quality youngsters who are being developed and led by a champion. Need a few more 25 year Olds and I am looking forward to the trade period as well.

[woftam]

Take a chill pill people. Most on this board thought we would finish somwhere between 6th to 10th. We still will.
But we are being very competitive against the best the competition has while still blooding plenty of youth. We are not getting blown away at all thus far.
Yeah losing sucks. But our time is not this year. It was never going to be.
Future is bright. We need to be patient.

[think better]

Grundy 203
White 196
Witts 209
Brown 195
Moore 199
Cloke 196
Frost 195

Schulz 193
Ryder 196
Lobbe 200
Westhoff 199
Trengove 197
Homsch 192
O'Shea 197
Clurey 193


They actually had +1 talls so that wasn't why we lost.

They may have had more talls, but our talls just weren't functioning (apart from frost, brown) Some tall guys can play in these conditions and some just aren't as up to it.....

That's a completely different discussion but it's a justifiable decision to include Grundy and to suggest it was bad coaching is wrong.

I think the problem was not about the size of the dog in the fight it was about the size of the fight in the dog!

Just for comparison Westhoff at 199 cm got 25 possessions, kicked a goal and had 7 score involvements.

[melliot]

Haven't read the whole thread. But IMO . .....

Lost it at the selection table.

7 talls in the side. On a dry day I'd be worried it was too top heavy and exposed for lack of run and ground ball ability.

On a clear night with dew on the grass. Or if anyone bother to check the weather new rain was likely, the tall side was always going to be exposed.

[Johnno75]

The selection of the extra tall was bizarre given the conditions and forecast. Bucks mentioned they knew about Williams so surprised Kennedy didn't come in.

I was worried about a let down and that happened early. We were pretty good after qtr time only conceding 4 goals. In 1-2 years when all these kids are between 50-100 games we will find a way to win the games we have lost over the past few weeks. In the scheme of things we are not going to challenge this year so this is a good learning experience, although last 3 games has been difficult to watch when the games are so tight.

Found another in Maynard.