Three things I have learned-round 9 v GWS

[Twodogs]

Give me three dudes. And dudettes.

[GVGjr]

3 things you have learned from today's game.

[bulldogtragic]

1. We need to target another key forward in the off season. An injury to Boyd and week off to Redders and our forward line (like against North) is non existent.
2. There's a lot to work with in Bailey Williams.
3. Dale Morris needs to play another 5 years.

[AndrewP6]

1. We're in for a rough trot until we get some of our best 22 back.
2. Bailey Williams can be a player.
3. I still haven't forgiven Callan Ward.

[Bullies]

1. We need a big forward
2. Adcock should Captain the 2's
3. We should have been beaten by a lot more. Luckily they only had 2 on the bench for 3 quarters.

[Go_Dogs]

1. GWS may not play a prelim this year, but they're getting very close to being a serious threat - will be interesting to see how they go over the balance of the season

2. Agree on the call re Bailey Williams - he's been impressive and I'm confident he can be a long term player for us (funnily enough, remember saying the same about Webb last year and he can't break into the side at the moment...)

3. We have some tired/sore players and we may limp into the bye given our injuries have increased the load on some who probably weren't anticipated to shoulder as much of the load so early in the season

[bornadog]

1. Take out 5 or 6 of your best players and it is hard to cover for them.

2. Bloody Redpath and Boyd, as if injuries aren't enough but to be rubbed out.

3. We have recruited some tough players, but they can't kick long and accurately.

[GVGjr]

3. I still haven't forgiven Callan Ward.

So you just learned that today? I'd challenge that.

[Mantis]

1/ There may have been a valid reason why Collins slid as far as he did.

2/ We need some more pace and class in the midfield.

3/ Our forwards need to work harder to keep the ball down there... 5 inside 50 tackles is pathetic.

[AndrewP6]

So you just learned that today? I'd challenge that.

Well, OK, I had that reaffirmed today.

[always right]

1/ There may have been a valid reason why Collins slid as far as he did.

2/ We need some more pace and class in the midfield.

3/ Our forwards need to work harder to keep the ball down there... 5 inside 50 tackles is pathetic.

Harsh....Collins is 18 or 19. Sure he's not ready yet but not too many 18 year old KPD's are. Reserve your judgement.

[lemmon]

Harsh....Collins is 18 or 19. Sure he's not ready yet but not too many 18 year old KPD's are. Reserve your judgement.

Is he going to get considerably more agile? Cameron is special but Collins looked very one paced today. Not writing the kid off but it hurts his chances of making it

[Bulldog4life]

Considering our outs the result was not a disaster

Even though better on the day the bounce of the ball seem to favour GWS too

Bailey Williams played an impressive game

[GVGjr]

Harsh....Collins is 18 or 19. Sure he's not ready yet but not too many 18 year old KPD's are. Reserve your judgement.

Agreed, he's still 18, won't be 19 until December so he's got plenty of time on his side. In 2 or 3 years he could be a genuine key defender.

[EasternWest]

3. I still haven't forgiven Callan Ward.

For what?

[azabob]

For what?

Ask Robbo.

[chef]

For what?


Ditching us i guess.

[Mantis]

Harsh....Collins is 18 or 19. Sure he's not ready yet but not too many 18 year old KPD's are. Reserve your judgement.

Yeah, he is just a boy.. But all the reasons on why he would slide were clearly evident today.

I'm not selling him on that game, but there wasn't much ( anything) to get excited about.

[EasternWest]

Ask Robbo.

I asked him. He just said: "no cash".

[S Coast Simon]

Feel for Collins poor guy played on Cameron in his first game. I believe that was a mistake by the coaches as he had already beaten Patton before

Morris is getting better

GWS got the bounce of the ball today. Sometimes things just don't go your way.

[Remi Moses]

Blimey, rediculous early call on Collins

3. We need some dash and kicking ( suckling and JJ back will help)
2. Australian rules is having no impact in western Sydney
1. Basil Zemphlis is useless

[AndrewP6]

For what?

For abandoning the club that gave him a career in favour of the almighty dollar.

[The Underdog]

For abandoning the club that gave him a career in favour of the almighty dollar.

Like Tom Boyd?

[SonofScray]

Like Tom Boyd?

It is perfectly fine when they come to us. That is part of the deal when you follow the FFC and not the Callan Ward Football Club.

[westbulldog]

This 25 point loss is not a disaster considering our outs.
Without a tall forward target we struggle just as we did against North.
The plastic oranges are a smug lot.

[SonofScray]

-25 point result was probably a sign that the defensive system is pretty resilient to personnel changes. Its going the other way and taking care of the other areas of the ground that really fall away.

[EasternWest]

For abandoning the club that gave him a career in favour of the almighty dollar.

Gimme a break.

[Ghost Dog]

Feel for Collins poor guy played on Cameron in his first game. I believe that was a mistake by the coaches as he had already beaten Patton before

Morris is getting better

GWS got the bounce of the ball today. Sometimes things just don't go your way.

Any alternatives for Cameron? It could have been a much worse loss. Shouldn't have been such a bad loss, considering the easy misses.

[Ghost Dog]

Is he going to get considerably more agile? Cameron is special but Collins looked very one paced today. Not writing the kid off but it hurts his chances of making it

Nah. Back our conditioning team in to give him a good chance. TB and TC are so much more mobile now than when they started. Long way to go.

[Ghost Dog]

1. Have some doubts about our gamestyle's sustainability. Tackling was way way down today.
2. Even when we lose, we can keep scoring which is a good sign, given our outs.
3. Most of us could see this coming. Given that, would have liked to see Honeychurch play. Why not give Wally or Libba a rest?

[AndrewP6]

Gimme a break.

So you don't agree. That's fine.

[AndrewP6]

Like Tom Boyd?

I'm sure they have similar feelings. It's just that I don't care what they feel.

[GVGjr]

So you don't agree. That's fine.

You know that the club seriously low balled him with their first offer and waited until long after GWS came calling to make a revised offer? Had we gone in with a reasonable offer to start with I'd think things might have been very different.

[Sedat]

3. I still haven't forgiven Callan Ward.
I still haven't forgiven James Fantasia

[The Bulldogs Bite]

1. We have a need for 1 more classy mid who sues it well/makes good decisions, and a need to get rid of an inside mid.

2. You just can't cover the injuries we have against top sides.

3. Williams looks a player - I don't mind his work in traffic, perhaps a spot on the wing beckons? Not sure on his defending just yet.

[bulldogtragic]

I still haven't forgiven James Fantasia

Yep, and I won't. Talk about reckless, arrogant, stupid stuff up of epic proportions. And for the administration to go along with it, not do anything about GWS and then get unders in compo compared to Scully. A bad chapter in our history. Ward got way, way more than the offer, got offered a club captaincy, marketing role as a famous face and the shot at 10 premierships in a row with the AFL generosity at the start of GWS. One party was at fault, the other got all his Christmas' at once.

[S Coast Simon]

Just think it was a bit rough Collins playing on their best forward. It is tough for the coaches but thought Morris on Cameron would have been better. Don't get me wrong I love what is happening at the club. Haven't been this excited for years

[anfo27]

1. Hunter' kicking needs a lot of work. i mean a lot of work! Anything over 30m and it could go anywhere.

2. Bailey Williams looks a player. I like what i've seen so far.

3. A trained monkey could coach a team full of top 10 talent. Seriously Peter Rhode could coach that team to a flag. The AFL will hand them the keys to a dynasty and nobody in Western Sydney will know who they are. You need to earn a premiership not handed multiple just so you can collect your bonuses every year Vlad & Gill.

[AndrewP6]

You know that the club seriously low balled him with their first offer and waited until long after GWS came calling to make a revised offer? Had we gone in with a reasonable offer to start with I'd think things might have been very different.

Sure, they didn't manage it well, but Ward in the end had to choose between loyalty to club and money. We know what he chose.

[bulldogtragic]

Sure, they didn't manage it well, but Ward in the end had to choose between loyalty to club and money. We know what he chose.

I like the concept of loyalty in sport, I'm a romantic too. But when the club you're at is disloyal to you, you should be loyal in spite of their actions? No. We made a bad faith offer and were forced to take our medicine. For me, that was the beginning of the end for Fantasia & Garlick. The only silver lining of the entire clusterf... was getting Jackson Macrae.

[Doc26]

Just think it was a bit rough Collins playing on their best forward. It is tough for the coaches but thought Morris on Cameron would have been better. Don't get me wrong I love what is happening at the club. Haven't been this excited for years

Also thought the Collins matchup on Cameron was a wrong call from the start. Morris on Cameron, their most damaging forward, would've been the logical choice today.

[SonofScray]

I like the concept of loyalty in sport, I'm a romantic too. But when the club you're at is disloyal to you, you should be loyal in spite of their actions? No. We made a bad faith offer and were forced to take our medicine. For me, that was the beginning of the end for Fantasia & Garlick. The only silver lining of the entire clusterf... was getting Jackson Macrae.

That's all true.

I think it is reasonable for fans to wish him a significant amount of ill. I certainly do. Footy is still very much about us v them, and I don't have any time for them. May his career be bereft of any meaningful success and contain an abundance of sporting heartache and misfortune.

[The Underdog]

I'm sure they have similar feelings. It's just that I don't care what they feel.

I hate Cal for leaving too, but it's a swings and roundabouts kind of operation and it's only going to get worse.

[LostDoggy]

1. No-one is better placed than us to win multiple flags in the next 5 years. GWS is our main competitor and had every advantage today but our competitiveness under the circumstances was most encouraging.
2. Bont is seriously building into a big year.
3. Under fire, younger players who strengthened their claims today as best 22 players for mine include Bailey Williams, Tom Campbell, Toby Maclean and Caleb Daniel.

[Twodogs]

I like the concept of loyalty in sport, I'm a romantic too. But when the club you're at is disloyal to you, you should be loyal in spite of their actions? No. We made a bad faith offer and were forced to take our medicine. For me, that was the beginning of the end for Fantasia & Garlick. The only silver lining of the entire clusterf... was getting Jackson Macrae.

Fustercluck.

[ratsmac]

I learned that

1. GWS have a lot of skillful players but they also get some arsy goals.
2. We have held up pretty well until today with our first choice players out.
3. Letting Heath Shaw play unaccountable football doesn't keep the football in our forward 50 for very long.

[LostDoggy]

1.No one gives a flying #$%&* about AFL in the Western Suburbs of Sydney.
2.Even with all our outs,our competiveness could not be questioned.
3.Let the baby have it's bottle,for we will only get better as the year goes on.

[Templeton31]

My old man and I drove up to Homebush for the game from Canberra. My 3 things I learned -

1. Spotless Stadium is a seriously short ground. Reminded me of playing Primary School footy when our Captain could line up for goal from CHB. We really struggled to find space and it was the worst week to have no Redpath/Boyd.

2. As others said not many people following the Giants. Those who were there were keen supporters who knew AFL (i.e. not latte sipping theatre goers) but there wasn't many of them. Even if the game had been in Canberra it would have got 13K.

3. Most games we dominate clearances and contested ball. When we break even, like we did on Sunday, our problems with clean delivery into the forward line and general forward structure are exposed. This was especially so with Redpath/Boyd missing and in comparison to Giants forward line with Cameron and StevieJ. But we are getting better at forward line entry and will be more so when some of our outs return - Johannisen, MBoyd, Suckling, Redders, TBoyd. Also will be better on a bigger ground.

[whythelongface]

1. There is only one sporting team that looks good in orange and it isn't GWS. Their guernsey is hideous (I didn't just learn this but it looks a lot worse in the flesh than i remember)

2. We missed both Redpath and Boyd in a big way yesterday. Redpath for structure and Boyd for leadership.

3. Our game is built around clearances and tackles. When this part of our game is off we really do struggle to gain any sort of momentum.

[Happy Days]

I went home after work and watched the replay, knowing we lost, on PURPOSE. I deserve a medal.

1. Even if Redpath and/or Boyd (and/or Crameri) not being there hurts our structure, the fact that we can't combat it and get anything out of JAKE F'N STRINGER as our #1 target seems a huge problem. Jake was bad but oh man the skills going forward were worse. Special shoutout to Lachy Hunter, who's ball use is starting to bug me (about a 0.3 on the 2010-14 Boyd Scale atm). Not to excuse the forwards totally; Stringer and Dickson literally kicked over 100 goals between them last year, they shouldn't have that little impact just because a mediocre tall guy isn't in the team with them.

2. Too early to go too hard on Collins, but is it on Roberts? Thought he was pretty bad, a number of times caught flailing an arm instead of putting his full body into a marking contest. Collins looks fantastic but probably needs to shed some mass.

3. I don't hate Cal Ward but I definitely miss him.

[KT31]

fustercluck.

snafu.

[1eyedog]

My old man and I drove up to Homebush for the game from Canberra. My 3 things I learned -

1. Spotless Stadium is a seriously short ground. Reminded me of playing Primary School footy when our Captain could line up for goal from CHB. We really struggled to find space and it was the worst week to have no Redpath/Boyd.

2. As others said not many people following the Giants. Those who were there were keen supporters who knew AFL (i.e. not latte sipping theatre goers) but there wasn't many of them. Even if the game had been in Canberra it would have got 13K.

3. Most games we dominate clearances and contested ball. When we break even, like we did on Sunday, our problems with clean delivery into the forward line and general forward structure are exposed. This was especially so with Redpath/Boyd missing and in comparison to Giants forward line with Cameron and StevieJ. But we are getting better at forward line entry and will be more so when some of our outs return - Johannisen, MBoyd, Suckling, Redders, TBoyd. Also will be better on a bigger ground.

5 metres longer than Etihad.

[F'scary]

5 metres longer than Etihad.

But is that fence to fence? The boundary line seemed to be way inside, just like Waverly in its last years.

[1eyedog]

But is that fence to fence? The boundary line seemed to be way inside, just like Waverly in its last years.

Good question.

[S Coast Simon]

I had a look at the ground because I noticed in the game that from our kick ins it seemed very crowed and the pockets are not very deep at all. It is like no other ground as it is not rounded at the goals it is almost v shaped at the ends

[Templeton31]

5 metres longer than Etihad.

I am really surprised by that. Maybe the lack of crowd and 'boutique' nature of the ground makes it seem smaller? Maybe Giants were defending space better than I realised thus making for more long kicks? Dunno.

[Twodogs]

I am really surprised by that. Maybe the lack of crowd and 'boutique' nature of the ground makes it seem smaller? Maybe Giants were defending space better than I realised thus making for more long kicks? Dunno.


Could it be the seating and size of the roof infrastructure at Etihad makes it all look a little bigger?

[1eyedog]

1. GWS have been seriously pumping teams up there all year (The Hawks by 75 pts etc.). We are extremely well-drilled and Bevo is a sensational coach for limiting the damage to 25 pts.

2. If GWS can beat the Hawks by 75 pts and us by 25 pts then we should be able to beat the Hawks by 50 pts when it counts.

3. I am astounded how many A graders aren't getting a game up there. Jmac get on the blower and start the dissent!

[Twodogs]

1. GWS have been seriously pumping teams up there all year (The Hawks by 75 pts etc.). We are extremely well-drilled and Bevo is a sensational coach for limiting the damage to 25 pts.

2. If GWS can beat the Hawks by 75 pts and us by 25 pts then we should be able to beat the Hawks by 50 pts when it counts.

3. I am astounded how many A graders aren't getting a game up there. Jmac get on the blower and start the dissent!

We would have beaten them too, if it wasn't for those pesky umpires!