PyreneesPie wrote:I don't see it as megalomania - more of a refusal to give in or to give up.
Germany, May 1945
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Agree. It's quite weird really. You think by now that we would've worked out to man up and be prepared for those shorter, precision kicks. Zone defence does not work against the Hawks - only in close pressure, which we did display for short periods tonight - unsettles them.swoop42 wrote:
We seemingly lost to them the same way we have for the last 7 years with not enough pressure on the ball carrier
They won the uncontested by 35 and that's game over I'm afraid with their ball use ability and forward line.
The stuff we keep hearing about being a "grunt side", etc. are a denial of reality. Our kicking skills are so poor that we need almost superhuman intensity just to break even. That's just unsustainable for a whole season. Just think of how many tackles it required for us to scrape home against Sydney last year, in the midst of their 0-6 start.Magpietothemax wrote:...
Our kicking skills were also poor, but in my view this was not the major reason that we lost.
What is the reason for this total lack of intensity? ...
Echoing my thoughts and posts of the past 4 seasons.Doc63 wrote:Penldes looks like a player who knows he has played his last final.
What an absolute wast of one of our greatest ever players.
This all makes absolute sense to me Rude Boy. However, don't blame it all on Cox. As another poster said, one of the cardinal rules of footy is to have someone at the feet of the big guys and there were too many occasions when there was too few players there for us tonight.RudeBoy wrote:It's round one, and often these performances can be deceiving, but phuck me, we looked ordinary tonight.
I've been saying for a while now that our fortunes depend on Cox. Oh dear, I wish that wasn't the case. I've never seen a more embarrassing performance from a player in 6 decades following the Pies. We played with one man dowqn all night. He was a complete liability. He needs to be dropped and not returned to the side until he takes 10 marks for successive weeks in the VFL.
Obviously, we are missing some class in Elliott, De Goey, Wells and possibly Fasolo. However, it seems to me that our leader, Pendles, is in serious decline. Also Varcoe seems to be in the same boat. I've thought Reid was cooked 3 years ago.
We have a number of work horses, but not a single absolute game changer of the ilk of Dusty or Danger. Back in 2010 we had the likes of Swan, Pendles, Daisy and Dids who were all absolute champion players all capable of turning a game and lighting up the place when the chips were down. On tonight's form we don't have a single one. I had high hopes for Hoskin-Elliott, but he needs to do more. Young Stephenson took some time to adjust to the pace of the game, but he showed some promise collecting 16 disposals in his first outing. Murray looks a goes, but there wasn't anything else to get excited about.
Message for Bucks - ffs, drop Cox, move Moore to the forward line and Reid back to defence.
At least we fought it out, but we were structurally phucked because of Cox. Change the team around and we can still bounce back next week.