Post Match. Pies thumped by Cats. All comments, please.

[masoncox]

^^^^
The perth teams go east 10 times a season.
The Pies are in a bubble....next to the beach in a resort with no covid.
I mean seriously they are weak if that is the issue.
They are not tough enough full stop.
The only time we have won flags was when we had some quality skills players and some tough guys,
Pack of pussies we have.

[PyreneesPie]

We were also the only club that had to go into quarantine for a week,and we returned from the longest road trip in football,from Brisbane to Perth and then back to Brisbane.Do you really think that Geelong are a 68 point better side than us?

Doris, I went through, in my mind, the whole scenario of the two weeks for the team before the Geelong game. It was quite an exhausting exercise and mind-boggling.... differences encountered between time zones to Perth and back to Brisbane; different weather and playing conditions, crowd noise, crowd support; saying farewell to families and friends yet again; the different beds slept in, the different living environs; the extreme fluctuations in brain and body hormones - endorphins, testosterone, adrenalin, melatonin and cortisol; the delayed physical recovery time after the Eagles game.
After going through that in my mind, I came to the conclusion that it was no wonder the "well" was nigh on empty come the Cats game.

[tbaker]

That’s the sign of a team that’s physically and mentally spent.No coach could have saved them that night.

Agree Doris. They were asked to go to the well yet again and there was nothing there. Bucks said at the Copeland tonight they simply had nothing left to give.
I noticed Tay Adams had his elbow in a sling at the awards tonight. Our Copeland winner was off for all of the second quarter and obviously played with a restricting injury for the rest of the game. Couldn't have helped us in trying to gain effective possession of the ball at centre bounces especially.

fwiw, I agree too. I think they were more mentally spent than physically spent though, but the lack of mental energy/preparedness manifested itself physically once they were behind significantly on the scoreboard. They spent so much mental energy firing themselves up for a super performance against WCE, that following that win and the relief it brought, didn't or couldn't refocus mentally for what was needed against the cats, whom - make no mistake - similarly fired themselves up against us.

[5 from the wing on debut]

They choked.

[tbaker]

They choked.

...through extenuating circumstances

[doriswilgus]

We were also the only club that had to go into quarantine for a week,and we returned from the longest road trip in football,from Brisbane to Perth and then back to Brisbane.Do you really think that Geelong are a 68 point better side than us?

Doris, I went through, in my mind, the whole scenario of the two weeks for the team before the Geelong game. It was quite an exhausting exercise and mind-boggling.... differences encountered between time zones to Perth and back to Brisbane; different weather and playing conditions, crowd noise, crowd support; saying farewell to families and friends yet again; the different beds slept in, the different living environs; the extreme fluctuations in brain and body hormones - endorphins, testosterone, adrenalin, melatonin and cortisol; the delayed physical recovery time after the Eagles game.
After going through that in my mind, I came to the conclusion that it was no wonder the "well" was nigh on empty come the Cats game.

I agree with everything you’ve said there.Supporters tend to forget that the players are human beings too,they’re not robots.They can’t just perform at command.No one really knows what goes through their minds before a game or during a game for that matter.Psychology has a huge impact on how they perform from week to week.

[PyreneesPie]

They choked.

Choking is "analysis paralysis". Look it up. Our boys couldn't physically get the ball enough to suffer from that.

[PyreneesPie]

^ For sure Doris. The mind and the body interact in countless ways, on continual feedback loops, some of which is sub-conscious, is not instantly identifiable and controlled and can occur subtly and over time. So no, it's not just a matter having the "toughness" to withstand a challenge and perform on command when required and expected. That's one big difference between humans and robots

[PyreneesPie]

They spent so much mental energy firing themselves up for a super performance against WCE, that following that win and the relief it brought, didn't or couldn't refocus mentally for what was needed against the cats, whom - make no mistake - similarly fired themselves up against us.

Great point tbaker.
Interesting that you mention relief , because that is a kind of sedating emotion, which serves to relax both body and mind, lower cortisol etc once the "crisis"" is over and dealt with. It's more difficult and slower to switch the body back on to "fight mode" from such a lower base.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

Honestly most of the excuses above are just plain bull*hit, mind you I'm not surprised, you guys have been making up excuses for as long as I can remember.

[5 from the wing on debut]

They choked.

Choking is "analysis paralysis". Look it up. Our boys couldn't physically get the ball enough to suffer from that.

I don’t need to look anything up. I meant what I posted and it is accurate. There is more to it than you have stated. Spend some time reading research papers on choking in sports, where the root causes and manifestations are considered, and then comment.

I don’t mean to be rude but it’s my belief that supporters such as yourself are a very large part of the reason for the continually poor performances of our club when it really matters. Set up a standard where failure is accepted and then when it occurs, tell them how special they are for trying in those really hard circumstances.

Had Geelong not eased off with half a game remaining to save themselves for their next game, we would most likely had our worst performance in a final in over 100 years. Why was that the case? According to you and those like minded it was because they were so tired that they couldn’t even stand on the mark. Why were they so tired that they couldn’t stand on the mark, or even run, right from the opening bounce? Because they were tired. Why were they tired? Because they had to do what professional athletes all around the world do.

I didn’t hear it but I understand that at the Copeland, Buckley talked about how tired the team was and that they were spent. If that is correct, it is a cop out seeking to paper over a problem with the preparation. In other words, it serves two purposes. First, we didn’t perform badly in the circumstances. Second, it’s not my fault.

It’s no wonder Buckley is just about the record holder for the longest serving player/coach in the AFL without winning a premiership. Compare him to a successful coach and player such as Sheedy. In terms of results, Sheedy had 3 premierships as a player and 4 premierships as a coach. As a young coach in 83 his Essendon team made the GF for the first time in many years &Hawthorn smashed them. At the GF dinner that night the players and supporters were happy, laughing and joking, so pleased that they had made the GF. Sheedy was livid and disgusted with that attitude and behaviour. He took the microphone and blasted the lot of them. The room was left in stunned silence. The bar was set for the future though. Back to back premierships over the next two years. And, in the first of them, one of the best come from behind last quarter wins you will ever see. That sort of thing happening in a final at our club is just a dream.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

It’s no wonder Buckley is just about the record holder for the longest serving player/coach in the AFL without winning a premiership.

There is no 'just about' about it, he is the record holder...

[5 from the wing on debut]

It’s no wonder Buckley is just about the record holder for the longest serving player/coach in the AFL without winning a premiership.

There is no 'just about' about it, he is the record holder...

It’s not his fault.
He was tired.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

It’s no wonder Buckley is just about the record holder for the longest serving player/coach in the AFL without winning a premiership.

There is no 'just about' about it, he is the record holder...

It’s not his fault.
He was tired.

Oh got ya - it's all good then, nothing to see people.. move along

[PyreneesPie]

It’s no wonder Buckley is just about the record holder for the longest serving player/coach in the AFL without winning a premiership. Compare him to a successful coach and player such as Sheedy. In terms of results, Sheedy had 3 premierships as a player and 4 premierships as a coach. As a young coach in 83 his Essendon team made the GF for the first time in many years &Hawthorn smashed them. At the GF dinner that night the players and supporters were happy, laughing and joking, so pleased that they had made the GF. Sheedy was livid and disgusted with that attitude and behaviour. He took the microphone and blasted the lot of them. The room was left in stunned silence. The bar was set for the future though. Back to back premierships over the next two years. And, in the first of them, one of the best come from behind last quarter wins you will ever see. That sort of thing happening in a final at our club is just a dream.

It would be interesting to see what sort of reception Sheedy would get if he repeated this performance forty years on, in a different time and society. I have a feeling many would tell him to f**k off.

Obviously, we have entirely different, ingrained points of view and attitudes and neither of us will be swayed by the other's arguments because of this. I'll continue to support the Pies from my perspective, (which stems from the essence of who I am and I imagine it's the same for you). This means that I will take umbrage at anyone who I believe is attacking the team "unfairly" ie not taking all factors into consideration. So be it.