Post Match. Pies thumped. All comments.

[warburton lad]

A very fine effort from Hawthorn- we were clearly outplayed.

The Krueger miss from 10 metres out (and his subsequent concussion) was emblematic of the season.

Rest Sidey next week and bring him back for Pendlebury's 400th.

Perhaps they both could retire that night??

We are about to see how ruthless McRae's Collingwood is.

Some tough decisions most certainly have to be made on the list and the style of play.

Of the five walk-up starts not playing tonight: McCreery, Schultz, Mihocek, Cox and Mitchell, only two are aged under 30 years of age...

Jiath, Demattia, Steene, Harrison, Allan, Macrae, Dean, Eyre, Frampton have all shown glimpses- might be time to give some of these kids a look at senior footy.

Not sure Ryan, Begg or Bytel will make it...

Our draft hand this year is very shallow so some judicious trades for young and quick mids and people like Josh Battle and perhaps Mason Wood as a tall, strong wingman would be great.

Long road ahead.

[Haff]

The list profile is an interesting one. There’s just no top end young talent aside from Daicos. Hine hasn’t got a non father son right in 10 years and even that record isn’t great.

[piedys]

Also haven’t had a game make me that mad in a long time. Unwatchable for most of the game.

Totally putrid: players and coaches. Screaming at TV at this absurd bewildering shitfesta unfolding...

That was just a little wake up call to anybody who thought Whorethorn's slaughter of us in July 2023 was "a fluke"...
Just like the Buckley years - Bitchell and %$^%$ sitting on the bench laughing at us - the reigning premier.
Yes, these arsewipes sitting in 13th spot, strolling around, doing as they please; walk in the park, taking the absolute PISS....

Our worse loss under Craig; and obviously the most insipid effort.
I'll keep saying it - if Buckley was coaching efforts like this - you'd all be screaming for his head.
The skill level is just beyond appalling; back to the Buckley years of bombs away and kick-in-hope... officially 18th in the AFL.
F*ck me - what do they actually DO at training all week, other than guzzle their own bathwater by the gallon?
I WANT to name players, but I won't - just to keep the peace for now.
Let's just say the salary cap shouldn't be an issue going into 2025; the only player who can get an increase is Darcy Cameron.
The rest can thank your managers you still have a contract to save you...

I stated weeks ago, that this list was cooked. Which it is.
And that's okay - it achieved what it was assembled to do so last year. Just.
I'll say it again - thank CHRIST we won 2023. It was taxing, ugly, but cannot be taken away from us.

Any player who wants OUT - no worries - there's the door; pick a new club. *Daici need not apply

Bottom four finish in 2025 is a forgone conclusion; anybody who thinks we'll magically bounce back to demand a spot in next years finals is seriously delusional.

Hine and his annual arse-reaming of us at trade time has gone too far; he must be terminated by the conclusion of H&A season, prior to next Draft period.
We have sweet **** draft currency to deal with, thanks to that Schultz disaster.
Nothing against Schultz, but you'd presume he now regrets the abrupt move back to Victoria.
We now have to poach UFA players in October to cover up the leaking shitshow which our list has become.

Both Bolton and Leppitsch are punching above their weight; abject failures as senior coaches - time for these two yes-men to hit the bricks as well, they bring NOTHING.

In other news - Fuxtel and their arsehat "commentators" are getting disconnected next week at mine, and won't be returning for 2025, like a good percentage of our list.

[doriswilgus]

The list clearly needs a rebuild,but Hine is definitely not the man to do it.He is way past his prime.His best recruits were over a decade ago,and has done nothing since then.He needs to go for the good of the club.

[Gerry Cooper]

Does anybody at this club know how to defend 1 on 1, anybody?

Not that I can see. I wish we could. Our coaching panel seems to have forgotten that all attack is essentially based on a strong defence. We proved that over the last two years. At the moment we are playing attacking defenders with limited defensive capabilities. As a result we get found out when these players are called on to defend. The same goes across the other lines too. It would be interesting to see Nick Daicos get assigned a man and be told to beat him, instead of him running around trying continually to be the unaccountable wizard playmaker. Lack of a defensive plan is only part of the issue though. There is a lot more to be said for sure.

[ANNODAM]

I don’t get how HAW won 3 flags in a row less than 10yrs ago & are looking the goods to be challenging again so fkn soon?

How are they recruiting so well?
How is it they have a history of finding players to top up their list?
How can a team with such shit colours be so successful?

[What'sinaname]

I don’t get how HAW won 3 flags in a row less than 10yrs ago & are looking the goods to be challenging again so fkn soon?

How are they recruiting so well?
How is it they have a history of finding players to top up their list?
How can a team with such shit colours be so successful?

Because they make tough calls.

Got rid of Hodge / Mitchell even though they knew they had a few years left.

Got rid of Clarkson - a 4 times premiership coach.

Were happy to trade out Franklin.

We should be telling Pendles - this is it mate, if you want to play on, you'll have to find somewhere else.

[piedys]

We should be telling Pendles - this is it mate, if you want to play on, you'll have to find somewhere else.

He's out there busting his arse, with a torn bicep, while younger arseholes on more coin than him, run around dog trotting.

Pendles isn't the problem on-field; he just won us a 2nd flag this century not 10 months ago, with a cool head in the dying minutes of that GF.

[Johnno75]

Lack of a defensive plan is only part of the issue though. There is a lot more to be said for sure.

No doubt but when you have guys like Markov and WHE (but not limited to these 2) running into the contest in D50 and leaving the blokes behind them open, then we wonder why MacDonald and Bruest kick 4 goals each.

[What'sinaname]

But he is part of the problem. He is embarrassingly slow.

Even on a wet, sloppy ground, he looked slow. That's a huge concern. It's one the reasons teams are racking up so many uncontested possessions. They chip around knowing we don't have the leg speed to keep up.

And then they find a seam and it's an easy F50 entry.

As I said, the Hawks are uber successful as they make tough decisions. We don't.

[ANNODAM]

Lowest first half score ever?

[doriswilgus]

Bizarre that our season was on the line today and the players played like they did.Clearly they are satisfied with the one premiership.Hubris strikes its head again at Collingwood.Graham Wright swanning off to Italy for six months during the season is a prime example of that.

[Piesnchess]

^

Spot on, Pendles has busted his guts for the team, year after year, he gave his all in last yrs GF, the General, as you say a club legend,he may well decide to retire end of season, with Sidey, and we should all thank them for their magnificent service to the Club. If some of our guys showed half the courage he does, we would not be in this position.

[What'sinaname]

^

And therein lies the problem. We should be telling him to retire, not the other way around.

Hence why Hawthorn is successful in modern football while we live off the accolades of club pre 1960.

[Haff]

Had time to breath.
It is what it is. I guess we can take heart at Geelong bouncing back. Difference is through they seem to recruit and draft really well.
If we are blessed next season with injury then this list +/- a few will perhaps sit in the bottom half of the 8 but then the cliff comes. I guess the question is, do we just take the leap now or wait for the inevitable fall?