Post Match. Cats outclass Pies - all comments

[hermie]

heard a stat today Leon has more tackles inside 50 than anyone else which means he is not getting out of there to often,as for Barham i went to the vfl last week and if he can stop kicking the ball to the opposition he will get a game it was shocking even with no pressure still turned it over.

[ThePieMind]

Have you been living under a rock for his entire career?

Explain to me why he was worse than the others.

Give me some objective facts - not HISTORY.

Your are just using him as the "whipping boy" otherwise.

He wasn't necessarily worse than others tonight, like O'bree or Dawes or Macaffer or Jolly or Steele or Wood.

Leon has more natural ability, skill and match winning potential than any of the afore mentioned. It is becasue of this fact and the fact that he continues to never show these attributes in games where we need them over a long period of time all the time is the reason why I and so many others rip into him. More is expected from him than he has delivered. He is giving us 30% of what he is capable of, that is too frustrating to ignore anymore.

Ok we're on the same page - he wasn't the worst, and so shouldn't be the "whipping boy".
And we all have very high expectations of him, it is frustrating, so lets give him sometime in the VFL to find some form and/or time off to recover from injury(as suggested by Culprit).
In either case LEON is not finished, which I hope we also agree on.

If he plans on performing like that against quality opposition for the rest of his career then he IS finished. If he is injured then drop him and get him right but I am not interested in watching him deliver crap anymore.

FINAL WORD: He leads inside 50 tackles - which is an important stat, that even his critics can't disparage. Mick loves defensive pressure, which is why he keeps him in the team, despite lack of goals.
But Mick should rest him because I suspect he is injured

[hermie]

good call he doesn't seem to be moving freely but Dick didn't do much in vfl last week bit scatchy

[chrisjjj]

Can some one please explain why LEON needs to be singled out - Did he cost us the game - am I missing something

Equally bad performances were evident for more than half the team.

I know he is an easy target but he was one of many tonight.

Have you been living under a rock for his entire career?

Explain to me why he was worse than the others.

Give me some objective facts - not HISTORY.

Your are just using him as the "whipping boy" otherwise.

You a f$%#ing clown!!! He can't play finals now he can't play home and away what can he do??? VFL, to find form or F&*K OFF!!!
PS not singled out but one of the main offenders. He was singled out before the game and did not answer!

[hermie]

I didn't get to see the game who played on Steve Johnson and how did they go?

[Neil Appleby]

Still pretenders, I just cannot believe it. The second half was just as pathetic as the Prelim Final. Am I overreacting?

I think I just saw 22 gay footballers, someone call Hutchy.

^
That's a shit for brains comment. Where are you mods?
Considering the week we've had re gay players, how could anybody make a call like this?

[1eyedpie]

FINAL WORD: He leads inside 50 tackles - which is an important stat, that even his critics can't disparage. Mick loves defensive pressure, which is why he keeps him in the team, despite lack of goals.
But Mick should rest him because I suspect he is injured

Just out of curiosity would any one know the stats of Leon's tackling in the forward 50? i.e. how many goals has he scored from holding the ball decisions or is it purely just pressure when opposition sides coming out of defence and they turn it over?

I know he is applying pressure and tackles but you would expect more from a forward.........like a few goals every week!

[ThePieMind]

Can some one please explain why LEON needs to be singled out - Did he cost us the game - am I missing something

Equally bad performances were evident for more than half the team.

I know he is an easy target but he was one of many tonight.

Have you been living under a rock for his entire career?

Explain to me why he was worse than the others.

Give me some objective facts - not HISTORY.

Your are just using him as the "whipping boy" otherwise.

You a f$%#ing clown!!! He can't play finals now he can't play home and away what can he do??? VFL, to find form or F&*K OFF!!!
PS not singled out but one of the main offenders. He was singled out before the game and did not answer!

Calm down Nancy.

Find me a player that can lead inside 50 tackles, with speed and freakish goals scoring ability and then we can talk.
Mick is not stupid, turnovers inside 50 are gold - and that's why LEON is so valuable.

Get it!

[This Random Guy]

Had that sinking feeling about 5 to 10 minutes into the game. We weren't playing the game that got us to where we are, and we lacked the intensity (and the confidence?) that was going to be required to beat the cats.

I think this game was lost before the bounce.

[Hiss]

Gutless useless effort . Typical crap when we are put under pressure. We still have this wobble syndrome at our Club which means we can get beaten without any warning on any day. And that parade of suits on the ground before the game was sickening. I can see why some people would do anything to keep a job!

[uuuuu..... The LoneSTAR]

The cats were ready for us tonight!
They had a plan & executed!
With our game, the only way we can win or be competitive is if we tackle our guts out & keep that intensity up ALL night! A tough ask after a smashing 1.5 months of footy!
PLUS I said it a few weeks ago - you can't bomb inside the forward 50m against quality opposition!

As for Leon, put him on the ball or give him a spell!

[Raw Hammer]

Funny how Carlton can defeat StK and Geelong. It comes down to their superstar, Chris Judd. Our 'evenness' is still our downfall. We don't have a Bucks anymore to drag us over the line. No matter how good Swan or Didak, etc. play, they rarely play awesome football when the team is struggling. They either all play well, or none of them. Also, has Swan kicked a set shot goal since his 2006 goal-scoring purple patch? I'm serious.

[Neil Appleby]

I'm disappointed with this result for many reasons.
While I expected to lose, I hoped it would be under 4 goals and in the 3rd I thought we had a real go at meeting that.
We found out a few things tonight and that's what we needed to to know.
The Good
Reid: top game. The heir to Presti's crown
Beams: a ripper......the only player they had no counter to
Thomas: now a real performer. Tried his guts out but ran out of support.
Ball: the grunt we have been missing
Macaffer: missed two crucial goals but adds hardness at the contest; a plus.
Johnson: a crucial link man. Tried hard and was one of the few to run and break the lines.
Swan: looked a bit tired tonight but it would have been over at half time without him.
The Bad
Shaw: has been a bit off for a few weeks I reckon. Worst game for the year tonight.
Davis: about what we have come to expect in big games. No impact whatever
Wood: Not worth a game. After tonight, any game he gets is a plus for the opposition
Cloke: no impact in the biggest game of the year.
Dawes: ditto
Didak: average; looked ok when we were flying. Dids is a front runner I'm afraid. Big games prove this fact.
Where we can improve
Medhurst: will bring a little class and poise
Fraser: couldn't be worse than Wood. His inclusion must be a plus.
Dick: in our best 22 when fit. The Cats looked vulnerable for pace in the late 2nd and early third Q. Dick can kick. Barham cannot.
Presti: surprised he was left out. Must play when fit.

Tonight we were made to look ordinary for much of the game. Our high scoring game was once again too easily shut down (as it was against the Saints) and too many of our players were ineffective on the big stage under suffocating pressure.

Shown up as Pretenders
Davis: if he's not fit he shouldn't be there. Sorry, but defensive tackles aren't enough. How many big game failures does it take before the selectors see reality?
Shaw: looked flustered and unsettled all night. Made unforced errors and blamed others. Lack of leadership. Very poor effort.
Pendlebury: good in patches and did some nice stuff in close. When the game was there to be won, had no impact. Gets a lot of unwarranted praise for mine. From a leader we needed a lot more.

Have made progress this year, but still not good enough against the benchmark. Time to tweak to game plan so not panic stations just yet.
The Worry
The forward line: do we have enough improvement to make up the 6 goals?
Cloke: can he impose in the really big games? Tonight's game suggests he can't against the best opposition.
Dawes: wasn't helped tonight by the delivery but still must be a question mark.
If Cloke and Dawes/Anthony are held, too much falls to the small forwards. We will lose when Cloke and Dawes can't take marks inside 50. What can we do about this? Not much.......nobody else is breaking the door down as a key goal kicking forward.

Can Geelong play better? Maybe.
Can Collingwood? Definitely, but our hopes in 2010 rest squarely on the shoulders of two men and although it may seem unfair, they need to rise to the occasion. Come on down Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes.

[neil]

The delivery into the forward line was not good Macaffer should play HBF not forward.
Leon was terrible and should be dropped and he has about 200 games more experience than Macaffer and Sidebottom so they have an excuse.
Dick or Medhurst in depending on how they have recovered from injuries.

Its amazing how Fraser is now wanted!
Beams was great Wellingham was poor but did improve as game went on
Didak did OK and did go for some hard ball gets.

[Piesnchess]

Leon Davis does not perform in big games, and that is the bottom line.