Three Things I've Learned - Round 21 Edition

[Eastdog]

Once the Round 21 match against North Melbourne is completed, let us know the three things you learned after watching the match.

Be constructive but be honest.

[bulldogtragic]

Three, give or take.

[F'scary]

1. Don't be optimistic before the game when your team is an also ran and they are up against a team trying to seal a place in the finals at the pointy end of the season.
2. We rely too much on too few, still. Other players just don't bob up to play a blinder if one of the regular winners is down on the day.
3. We have been over rating our list recently. There is a lot of chaff there. What magic wand can be waved to change things quickly?

[always right]

1. Really disappointing second half. We have a number of blokes who don't want to have the ball in their hands kicking for goal.
2. If anyone wonders why Grant hasn't been getting a game, that performance today said everything. Fricking get involved.
3. We really missed Macrae's creativity.

[Mofra]

1. Darley generally prefers to kick the ball low and accurate - I was impressed with him today. Might be a decent bargain find.
2. Bonti really needs a pre-season or two to get anywhere near his potential, ran out of gas today.
3. We are in a world of hurt when Murphy retires

[Greystache]

1. We can't defend. For all the talk of a defensive focus, it hasn't improved at all. We're never going to get off the bottom of the ladder conceding easy goals the way we do.Why we're not trying to develop key defenders is confusing.

2. We have a massive number of players who can't mark or kick for goal. Even more concerning is many of them play forward.

3. We should have chased trades for Minson and Grant when their market value was over inflated. We'd get nothing for them now.

[Go_Dogs]

1. Despite some signs of improvement recently, we still have poor skills across the board.
2. We work way to hard for our goals, our set up and inability to put a ball to a team mates advantage combined with poor kicking for goal kills any momentum we get.
3. Despite a defence, contested ball focus we still concede way too many goals in short bursts.

What a disappointing day.

[Remi Moses]

Our second quarter summed us up
Dominate and not put the score on the board

Sick to death of seeing Norf players dive, play act . It's a blight on the game.
They seem to have the most of any side.

We've got some list cloggers, hello Austin ( got out bodied by someone skinnier than Cordy)
Grant's was playing for a new contract last season . Pulled the wool over our eyes.

[bulldogtragic]

1. I learned i'm now confused about this group. I know steps forward and back, but the team out there today was very bad across the board as a team (not some individuals). I just don't know what to make of things...

2. I learned that calls to play Minson in the forward line will never occur again.

3. I've never, ever, ever, ever seen any VFL or AFL team go from boarder line elite skills (against GCS) to absolute rubbish most other weeks. I always expect effort and I'm happy with that, wiin or lose at this stage. But the difference in skills is a major dead weight and a part from not knowing how it happens, but even if it is less prevalent gong forward, we are not going anywhere any time soon. It's genuinely baffling.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

1. The loss of Macrae simply showed how few class players we have.
2. Apart from Murphy our defence was terrible today.
3. It might be time to bring in Roberts and Talia for Roughy and Austin who were both very poor today.

[bornadog]

1. I have learnt posters blame the same old players week in week out even if they play well.

2. Convinced North actually don't have any supporters, despite a membership figure of 40,000

3. Convinced umpiring has ruined our game - now I am sounding like a broken record.

[LostDoggy]

1. I'm so glad I don't go for Melbourne. I felt sick for their supporters at the end of that game and I see no daylight ahead for their team.

2. Bontempelli - what a star just love the kid

3. We need to focus on drafting for defence. Lever, Duggan, Goddard - whomever Dalrymple rekon's is best available but we need some serious depth back there.

[PedroArvy]

1. I agree with bulldogtragic, I sense a darkness over this group, a despair, a void.

2. The back line is fragile and held up by two veterans in Morris and Murphy. I don't see anyone else coming through. Where will it be when they retire soon?

3. The search for a strong marking full forward has been fruitless - Jones, Redpath and now Campbell have all failed.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

1, The forwards are ball hungry, too often today saw Campbell, Crameri & Stringer leading to each other and flying for the same mark

2, Our young guys are buggered!

3, I cant see Grant, Gia, Boyd going around next year (sorry Matthew but your skills are poor and I see Wallis, Smith, MaCrae, Tutt, Hrovat & Honeychurch ahead of you now)

[whythelongface]

1. We look a very tired outfit and are ready for a break;

2. Our set shots for goal are deplorable - there were about 4 or 5 goals that we missed that were genuinely gettable which would have made an impact on the game.

3. Whilst the future looks promising there will still be some short turn pain as this outfit is moulded into a genuine finals contender. I hate these losses (as we all do) but they do show up the weaknesses in our list that need to be addressed.

[LostDoggy]

1. Key back, or mid in the draft? Still no idea.

2. Put Roughy in the medical room already for Christ's sake. It's just sad.

3. Don't even think about offering Austin a spot on the list in 2015. He's a park footballer list clogger.

[KT31]

1.Austin will be mentioned in the Ecker's forum very soon.
2.A key backman is needed just as much as a key forward.
3.We seem gun shy about having a shot when running into goals from the 50 metres out.

and if I may have a fourth and this is not just from our game,

The teams in the top half of the ladder get a far better run from the umpires than those in the bottom.

[Mantis]

1/ Tom Campbell shouldn't play as a deep forward, that was embarrassing... And if he finished high up in our 20m sprint the rest of the team must have been drunk that day.

2/ Bar a couple of players we are the worst handballing team in the game.. We just continually put players under pressure.

3/ The fall from grace for Minson is grand... AA one year, laughing stock the next.

Could easily add another 4 or 5 in.

[LostDoggy]

1. Backline leaks and leaks. Without Murphy mopping up it would have been 80 points. Roberts in Austin out.

2. Get rid of the red jumper and shorts - yet to see us play well in them!

3. Most dogs players goal kicking is deplorable. Grif, Dal, Minson. So frustrating to work so hard and then not hit the scoreboard. We really should have been in front at half time and right back in the game.

[LostDoggy]

1/ Tom Campbell shouldn't play as a deep forward, that was embarrassing... And if he finished high up in our 20m sprint the rest of the team must have been drunk that day.

Thought the exact same thing when he was lumbering after Thompson? (I think) in the first quarter.

[G-Mo77]

1/ Tom Campbell shouldn't play as a deep forward, that was embarrassing... And if he finished high up in our 20m sprint the rest of the team must have been drunk that day.


Really? That's scary!

Anyway I've always thought we can't play Tom and Will in the one team. They're both rucks, not forwards. A few were mocking Ben Brown yesterday, not sure why, he'd be a great fit for us.

[Scorlibo]

1/ Tom Campbell shouldn't play as a deep forward, that was embarrassing... And if he finished high up in our 20m sprint the rest of the team must have been drunk that day.

Agree with that, he was a liability in the forward line.

[Mofra]

Agree with that, he was a liability in the forward line.
It's been said a number of times, but he really is a no. 1 ruckman and that's where he will make his name as a footballer.

The biggest issue is he rarely leads to the ball carrier and tries to rely on size. Nathan Grima is smaller than him and gave him a bath.

[always right]

Yet Campbell has been of value in previous games...not necessarily by clunking marks but by crashing packs and creating opportunities for our small forwards. That wasn't evident yesterday however.

I wouldn't be writing him off as a lost cause just yet.

[G-Mo77]

Yet Campbell has been of value in previous games...not necessarily by clunking marks but by crashing packs and creating opportunities for our small forwards. That wasn't evident yesterday however.

I wouldn't be writing him off as a lost cause just yet.

I don't think he's a lost cause at all, I don't think anyone does. I think he'll be a pretty solid ruckman, just not comfortable having him as a forward.

[jeemak]

I don't think he's a lost cause at all, I don't think anyone does. I think he'll be a pretty solid ruckman, just not comfortable having him as a forward.

What I found troubling yesterday was that there didn't seem to be any strength in his attempts to mark the ball in a contest, which has been something he's brought to much of his senior football to date.

It was really disappointing not to see him at least impose himself physically over Grima at any stage.

[Remi Moses]

Really disappointed with Tom yesterday, and he is not a forward .
It's time this was acknowledged.

[soupman]

Really disappointed with Tom yesterday, and he is not a forward .
It's time this was acknowledged.

I don't think anyone is saying he is, even within the club. However he has shown in the past he can have an impact up forward as a resting ruckman. He is capable up there, but was atrocious yesterday.

[Go_Dogs]

I don't think anyone is saying he is, even within the club. However he has shown in the past he can have an impact up forward as a resting ruckman. He is capable up there, but was atrocious yesterday.

Agreed. His job is to contest, bring the ball to ground.

I assume he's under direction to stay deep as the long bomb get out, but if he isn't halving the contest and Dahl/Hunter weren't positioned well to crumb or at least tie it up and create a stoppage it gets rebounded too quickly.

[Scorlibo]

I think he has shown some capability as a marking forward previously, but he never looked like taking a grab yesterday, and this really exposed how incapable he is once the ball hits the ground. He and Minson are too similar to be played in the same team, and for that reason I'd expect the Campbell-Cordy transition to come to pass next year. Not perfect timing for Will, because I believe he still has some time left as a number one ruckman, but we can hardly hold Campbell back much longer.

[craigsahibee]

1. Those turds from Arden St are a bigger pack of divers than The Azzuri.
2. I have learnt not to blame Mark Austin. It's not his fault he gets selected to play.
3. I knew it already, but it was confirmed again on the weekend how lucky I am not to follow that filthy, disgusting organisation known as the Melbourne Football Club.