Post Match. Pies down to Cats - All comments please.

[think positive]

We could have made a game of it in the last quarter,but kept missing the goals.Wells twice and DeGoey once spring to mind.All in all it reminded me of our performances from recent years,dogged,determined,but lacking skill,especially up forward.We need to throw everything at Lynch next year,because this forward line just isn't going to cut it.

Spot on, and play the future

[masoncox]

To be fair, Geelong flooded and didn't allow us fluent entries. It was a frustrating game optically. We could not get a clear kick away. Wells was not up to AFL standard today.

We never went man on man in the forward line.
We always had a 5 or sometimes a 4 man forward line.

[kymbo5@yahoo.com.au]

Not just missing Hawkins, they had Menzel out also.

The Pies haven't lost their fight. The year will have ups and downs, this was certainly the latter. We'll be up again soon enough and that touch of luck we so desperately need that a lot of posters here are referring to will come. We will get our pay day(s).

[WarrenerraW]

Today was a huge step backwards. Our forward line was completely dysfunctional and offered SFA. Our skills were were nothing short of a disgrace often resulting in turnover after turnover. There's no excuse for not hitting targets when you're under no pressure, and you're not going to win games of football by trying to handball yourself to victory. All of what we achieved the past few weeks was undone by scrappy ineffective football.

The cats were no great shakes either, if I was a cat fan id be pretty disgusted with that effort by them, only had Hawkins out, compared to our injury ravaged list, not to mention being two guys down in rotations in the second half. plus they had two days extra rest. they were nothing to rave about.

I'm just hoping we had a crap day and can bounce back firing next week. The cats weren't pretty but played better when they needed to and when the game called for it. We resorted to playing scrappy, ugly football that relied on too much handball and long bombs into the forward 50.

[Pies4shaw]

[Mossi]

We were never going to win with two guys down, Moore off was a huge loss, then Phillips. Least we fought it out, didn't get smashed, we have a lot of players sidelined, imagine Reid and Pendles in today, with Moore playing it out, be a different result, id love to play these pricks with our best team available. ! Umps were totally shite, shades of queens birthday last year, we need to lodge a complaint ,but eddie wont do it, never does. Anyway, I'm proud of the boys, lot of turnovers errors, but we fought it right out, we are on the right track, just need better luck on the injury front, finally.

Spot on! I was surprised we were a chance to run all over them even with two players down....... It was not a bad plan just did'nt kick straight, and with two players down including our best runner it was uphill all day long. Reload against Saints.

[lanstro]

I'm a bit glass half full about this result actually. It's a long season ahead, and I think this was a good learning game for the young blokes.

We got smashed in the first quarter, probably unsettled from losing the captain and several changes to the squad. Still held on to be only 8 points behind.

We then worked our way back into it - roughly broke even second quarter (but the junk time goals hurt), and then won the general play in the second half despite being down 2 on the bench. Phillips especially was missed as the game opened up in the last.

Needed a bit more class in the F50 but otherwise the system worked alright.

I think this game gave us a great view as to where our team sits:

Weaknesses are disposal efficiency off HB, and no true marking forward. Also shows we don't have much depth at the club unfortunately - Pendles was badly missed, and the weakest 2-3 players in the squad have quite poor foot skills.

Strengths are that the 'structure' seems to work well, the handball game is still decent, and some of our mid-tier players are taking the next step to be top-grade (Crisp, WHE, Treloar, Shaz).

So that leaves us around the middle of the pack. How well we go this season will depend on how much our young guys can improve. If Cox can take more marks and actually shoot for goal, Murray, Appleby and Brown improve their kicking and Mayne/Crocker, Thomas, Phillips de Goey keep improving in general then we should sneak into the 8 for a bit of valuable finals experience. Otherwise my concern is that if these young guys don't get anywhere then we don't seem to have the depth of quality in the twos to step up.

[PyreneesPie]

D/E: Appleby 86.7%, Shaz 82.8, H-E 81.3

!

I very much like that young Appleby. He looks like a tough customer. Commentators had him down and out at one stage, but he picked himself up and went on with it.

With him gaining experience, along with Murray, Shazz growing in confidence, Crisp becoming far more experienced, Howe being so consistent, we have the potential of a very good backline. I don't believe it was the backline's fault that we lost today, it was more turnovers in the middle of the gorund.

[Magpietothemax]

Thought our defence was magnificent today. Desperation plus. Howe, Schaz, Appleby, Dunn,all distinguished themselves with their manic commitment.
I thought our midfield likewise did well. Constrained absolutely their much glorified opponents.
After that magnificent third quarter, fatigue set in. You can't win such a gruelling, tight contest when you give your opponents two extra men.
What killed us was our inaccuracy of delivery. As someone else observed. as we lost confidence in our ability to hit targets, we retreated to a very defensive strategy which suffocated us in the first half. It was hard to climb back from there two men down.
I have to say, once again injuries are ravaging us. Moore down, Phillips down (who was playing well)...when it comes down to it, this is why we lost today. In everything else, we matched them. it is just nightmarish.

[SwansWay]

What did everyone make of Adams and Thomas today?

[Magpies035]

[think positive]

[SwansWay]

I think if it weren't for Mayne, we may have had a few extra goals kicked against us. Wells did look thick through the hips. He must have fitness issues as last year he was an automatic in when available whereas this year they've left him in the seconds for a month. With the money he's on, he's got to get in shape.

[slangman]

[Piesnchess]

Oh and was that Crisps best game, he gave his all, as did Treloar, and young Brown shows shades of his dad, never gave up. To be fair to Wells, that was his first game for a long time, cut him some slack I reckon.