Three Things I've Learned - Round 22 Edition

[Eastdog]

Once the Round 22 match against Sydney Swans is completed, let us know the three things you learned after watching the match.

Be constructive but be honest.

[GVGjr]

Bump

[1eyedog]

1. I don't know if the answer is a big forward target but we have no-one to kick to down the line. Ever.
2. Austin is not an AFL footballer and I now know that Talia and Roberts should be played ahead of him at every opportunity.
3. There can be no question after today that the umpires baby the top teams and players in the competition. Nuff said.

[Greystache]

1. The AFL competition is as choreographed as any Hollywood action sequence.

2. The overriding theme for the game was selling to the Sydney public their 2 billionaire forwards are primed and ready to tear the finals apart. The regular and utterly blatant favourable decisions in their favour was tantamount to match fixing.

3. I left during the 3rd quarter and can't see myself going to another AFL game in the foreseeable future. It's no longer a sporting competition and is instead just a series of contrived marketing events. I'm done with it.

[Remi Moses]

1. Horrible interpretations
2. The likes of Austin, Jong, Stevens aren't good enough .
3. Thank god the seasons nearly over

[Maddog37]

1 Slow starts are habit now.

2 Austin tries very hard but........

3 Cordy wasn't entirely horrible.

[ledge]

1 our match committee has no idea on playing against tall
Key forwards you need tall backs.
2 we haven't gone anywhere in 3 years.
3. I am over the one sided commentary , AFL and umpiring that looks after certain teams

[F'scary]

1. Jong & Austin are not up to AFL standard. Sorry, but that is the way it is.
2. Encourage Higgins to take up his free agency - second round draft pick compo (about pick 25) will be overs.
3. Cordy is lucky Jong & Austin were playing today.

[bornadog]

1. Minson is still the best tap ruckman and we will need a few years before we have a replacement.

2. The kids are the future with Hrovat, Macrae, Stringer, Bonti (although looked tired today) doing the grunt work today.

3. Roughead - not sure if he will make it as a Fullback.

[PedroArvy]

1. Even though our contested ball was good they beat us by 10 goals.
2. Because we don't have big players down back and up front that can stop quality opposition.
3. Cordy seems to have improved. Can't believe I'd ever say that, so there is hope.

[Bulldog4life]

1.The worst umpiring I have seen this year. The tiggy touch wood frees Sydney received in front of goal were unwarranted.

2. I do not think that Austin should be retained next year. His first quarter was shocking.

3. I never like leaving early but did at the 12 minute mark of the last quarter. The quickest I have ever got out of the carpark.I'll have to remember that.

[lemmon]

1. Cordy will make it. It's only taken half a decade on the list but we've decided he is finally a ruck and it looks to be his saving grace
2. I'm just as excited about Hrovat as any of the kids, doesn't waste a touch
3. The midfield is set, time to get the two bookends right.

[F'scary]

I was too harsh on Cordy above - play him again as first ruck next week is my more considered opinion.

[GVGjr]

Cordy is worth having on the list
Johannisen has some real talent but just needs to polish his skills.
A key mobile defender is a requirement in the draft

[LostDoggy]

1. If its a Swans / Hawks GF (not much choice) I will be barracking for the hawks. Really over the Swans and their armchair ride.
2. Something is wrong with our structure, the swans forwards got one on one opportunities all day, our forwards were often playing against on 2 or 3 opponents.
3. The rules change eg chopping of the arms depending on who the player is.

[Go_Dogs]

1. Cordy is benefiting from a year in the VFL - I thought he was reasonable today and think he can build on his 2014 over the next 12 months and perhaps become a pretty important bloke, who can play a pretty important role in our side as our midfielders enter their prime.

2. We need to address the backline, I get a feeling it will involve Roberts, Talia and Young who all look to be finishing the year well in the VFL - add in Wood and it does look a better balance - but we need them to all hit the ground running 2015 - and drafting a couple of defenders, being one key defender and Zaine, hopefully gives us the right mix and balance moving forwards.

3. Having just one of Tippett or Buddy would be great....Sydney, if you don't win the flag this year, something is seriously wrong.

[LostDoggy]

1. Please, I hope it's obvious that Austin isn't up to the standard. Having a 'handy backup' is like having a second torch. His upside is where he is at now.
2. The draft and young trades must be used over the next two years to establish the 2017+ list. No high-priced recruits.
3. Tom Campbell is a good learner. He rucks just like Minson.

[SonofScray]

1. Talia & Roberts are the most important players on our list now. They make it, a flag may wag. They flop, we'll struggle for years.

2. The AFL is a touring sideshow akin to the Harlem Globetrotters. We are the Washington Generals.

3. There will be a day when our fans riot.

[Hotdog60]

1: I feel as though I've grown tired of the whole season and in fact I will swap my Fox footy channel for the movie after the Dogs game this week. Couldn't really give a stuff who's playing in the finals.
2: I should have kept with the VFL stream instead of watching the first quarter of the AFL.
3: We need a key defender before any forwards otherwise we will find it hard to contain sides.

[westdog54]

1. It's amazing what happens when you play a ruckman as a ruckman.
2. The Swans have bought themselves a premiership.
3. The AFL couldn't give a flying **** about us.

[LostDoggy]

1. I find it incredibly interesting that Buddy left Melbourne due to his celebrity and that he would encounter less disturbance interstate, yet SS still NEED to pay a premium to get the same calibre of player as Vic clubs would.

2. Sydney is f*#king beautiful and actually has beaches unlike Melbourne, yet SS still NEED to pay a premium to get the same calibre of player as Vic clubs would.

3. Biggest city in Australia, successful team, draft academy, Australian of the year, yet SS still NEED to pay a premium to get the same calibre of player as Vic clubs would.

I'm not saying that I prefer Sydney over Melbourne, but I am 100% confident that at least 1 in 10 players in the AFL would, they already have enough of a competitive advantage in attracting players (straw poll of draft camp Footscray or Moore Park?) I'm not after SC assistance but after seeing Tippett and Buddy dominate, and stolen from other clubs infuriates me and surely must embarrass the AFL!

What Gill knows is that Vic keeps this game alive an in 1 or 2 more years shit is going to come to a head, and Vic supporters will strike, and talk with their feet, then good luck getting us back!

[Ozza]

1. We are the all time best at giving up the first goal of a quarter inside a minute.
2. JJ needs to add a left foot kick to his game. He can play, just needs some polish.
3. We have become super conservative with the ball in recent weeks against the good sides. Half of the problem is that our movement/leading patterns are super-conservative and we avoid the middle of the ground.

[Sedat]

1. I don't know if the answer is a big forward target but we have no-one to kick to down the line. Ever.

Not since Cheesy anyway :D

[whythelongface]

1. We love to give teams a 4 to 5 goal start and play catch-up. It must be some sort of strategy. Message to coaching staff - it ain't working;

2. We love to go in undersized in defence to help the opposing team gain an advantage, as clearly they all need it. Message to coaching staff - it ain't working;

3. Looking at the table it appears we have only beaten one top 8 team - Richmond (I could be wrong). I know improvement doesn't always reflect on the scoreboard and ladder position, but I don't think we have improved since last year.

[bornadog]

3. Looking at the table it appears we have only beaten one top 8 team - Richmond (I could be wrong). I know improvement doesn't always reflect on the scoreboard and ladder position, but I don't think we have improved since last year.

Yes only Richmond. Twice beaten by Essendon by 8 points and came within 13 points of Geelong, the rest have thumped us.

[1eyedog]

Yes only Richmond. Twice beaten by Essendon by 8 points and came within 13 points of Geelong, the rest have thumped us.

We beat Collingwood and we were in it up to our eyeballs in our first game against Norf.

[whythelongface]

We beat Collingwood and we were in it up to our eyeballs in our first game against Norf.

Collingwood aren't in the eight.

I would have expected a lot more from a team that is apparently on the rise.

[bornadog]

We beat Collingwood and we were in it up to our eyeballs in our first game against Norf.


Collingwood aren't in the eight.

I would have expected a lot more from a team that is apparently on the rise.

Yes I was looking at the current 8

[Mantis]

3. Looking at the table it appears we have only beaten one top 8 team - Richmond (I could be wrong). I know improvement doesn't always reflect on the scoreboard and ladder position, but I don't think we have improved since last year.

We are less reliant on our older players (Minson, Griffen) this year as opposed to last when they carried us.

We are getting better contributions from our younger players (Hrovat, Stringer, Macrae, Bont)

Issue is that we have seen no real improvement in the players who are aged 20+ which means we are coming from a long way back.

[1eyedog]

Collingwood aren't in the eight.

I would have expected a lot more from a team that is apparently on the rise.

They were before the Richmond game and really they've been in the 8 all year.

[whythelongface]

They were before the Richmond game and really they've been in the 8 all year.

Same could be said for the GC for the most part of the year. Yet seeing how far both Collingwood and the GC have fallen off over the last 6 to 8 weeks really just goes to show that, for the most part, we have been disappointing.

[Murphy'sLore]

1. We kick high and loopy when we should kick low and straight (to a teammate); and we kick too low when we should kick high (through the goalposts).

2. Hrovat has composure.

3. With the AFL and the umpires dead set against us, maybe we should just bail out of the AFL altogether and focus on being a powerhouse VFL side.

[whythelongface]

We are less reliant on our older players (Minson, Griffen) this year as opposed to last when they carried us.

We are getting better contributions from our younger players (Hrovat, Stringer, Macrae, Bont)

Issue is that we have seen no real improvement in the players who are aged 20+ which means we are coming from a long way back.

Good points. I suppose I am looking at the overall results but when you analyse it a bit more our younger brigade have shown significant improvement, which out of anything statistics/ results etc. is more relevant as they are the ones who will be taking this club forward over the next few years.

[DISHLICKERS]

1. We will continue to crack in and this group is resilient.

2. We will go back to work Monday.

3. Our foot skills are shocking and going backwards. Everyone is yelling for a key forward but I say we would not know how to play to one and we would kill his career with our foot skills.

[Mofra]

3. Our foot skills are shocking and going backwards. Everyone is yelling for a key forward but I say we would not know how to play to one and we would kill his career with our foot skills.
There is no doubt our footskills are poor, but some of that is due tot he lack of genuine target up the ground. There are times where players tend to hold the ball a little more or dish off to a player in just as much pressure because there is no target presenting up the ground.

If we had a leading animal who makes 3, 4, 5 leads any time we gain possession (Riewoldt is the master of repeat leading) we would often have the opportunity o dispose of the ball a little sooner and under less pressure which would help our overall disposal efficiency.

[LostDoggy]

1 - Hrovat really impressed me. An interrupted preseason this year and he will become really dangerous.

2 - Roughy is really struggling. 1 or 2 of the frees to Tippett were soft, but the others were clearly there. Too slow off the mark and too slow to react meant he had no other option but the chop the arms.

3 - This is possibly a thread in itself, but we have far to many players who take the safe option. Especially in the back half. Having said that, we only have one good user of the footy back there (Murphy). I lost count of the number of times Austin, Picken, Morris or Roughy had the ball and just refused to even look in the corridor let alone try and find target in there. In the second half especially the middle of the ground was open on numerous occasions, but we went the sideways/backwards safe option.

Could be instruction from the coach, could just be lack of confidence or maybe we just can't afford to have 4 or 5 blokes who are average kicks at best playing in our backline.

[Bulldog Joe]

Same could be said for the GC for the most part of the year. Yet seeing how far both Collingwood and the GC have fallen off over the last 6 to 8 weeks really just goes to show that, for the most part, we have been disappointing.
The drop off from Collingwood and GC shows how young bodies get tired.

I think we are basically out on our feet because it is the young guys who have given us momentum this year and they really have nothing left until they get an extended break.

While many supporters have a sense of doom and gloom, I look back on the end of 2007 when we got some absolute floggings over the final 7 rounds.
I believe that the group of young players we have unearthed over the last 4 seasons really provide the nucleus of a very good footy team.

Hrovat was terrific and our best for mine against the Swans.

[Happy Days]

1. The new game day host is a babe

2. Austin's deficiencies continue to weigh heavily against the team. Not only does he go to ground 95% of the time but now he gives away ridiculous free kicks for no reason too! His temperament is very sub par.

3. The formula to beat us is still prevalent; sweat on the turnover and kill us dead going the other way. And would it kill someone to sit in the hole and not leave poor Dale one on one all the time? I saw All Australian club legend and vaunted leader Matthew Boyd bitch it on no less than 3 occasions when it was his turn to go for the intercept.

[ratsmac]

1. If its a Swans / Hawks GF (not much choice) I will be barracking for the hawks. Really over the Swans and their armchair ride.
2. Something is wrong with our structure, the swans forwards got one on one opportunities all day, our forwards were often playing against on 2 or 3 opponents.
3. The rules change eg chopping of the arms depending on who the player is.

I put this down to our slow play. We played into the swans hands. Long kicks down the line all day. They wait for the spoil, win the crumb and they spread quickly kicking to 1 on 1's. We had no one taking the game on. No one was trying to break the line and get the kick over their zone. We put the cue in the rack a couple weeks ago.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

I put this down to our slow play. We played into the swans hands. Long kicks down the line all day. They wait for the spoil, win the crumb and they spread quickly kicking to 1 on 1's. We had no one taking the game on. No one was trying to break the line and get the kick over their zone. We put the cue in the rack a couple weeks ago.

Slow play maybe but also the added talent in comparing a top 4 team in the Swans to us as a bottom 4 team.
How would Franklin and Tippet go in our team?
Even without Kennedy the Swans still had far more depth than we had in the mid field particularly with Griff held to an ordinary game. We need to continue to unearth young talent like Bonti, Macrae, Stringer and Hrovat to become a force once again.

[Mantis]

Even without Kennedy the Swans still had far more depth than we had in the mid field particularly with Griff held to an ordinary game. We need to continue to unearth young talent like Bonti, Macrae, Stringer and Hrovat to become a force once again.

They were also missing Bird & McGlynn.

[LostDoggy]

They were also missing Bird & McGlynn.

They did have Austin though.