Was this the Kick up the Arse we Needed

[bornadog]

With the amount of hype pre round one, with an NAB Cup win, the non stop stories of Bazza, premiership favourites, etc, does any one else think the players got ahead of themselves.

I feel the loss to Collingwood brought us back down to earth and showed that to be a top class team, you have to work harder, infact for the whole game. The players may have been over confident and thought we can just stroll out and win. Collingwood were determined to knock us off our perch and we were ripe for the taking. Hopefully the players have learnt something

[LostDoggy]

Yes. I totally agree with you. :)

[LostDoggy]

Not really, there was a range of factors - including missing players, a few having an off day, and Collingwood being able to study our gameplan well while we televised during the NAB cup.

I am confident we will knock that smirk off their faces the neaxt time we meet

[Go_Dogs]

If we need a kick up the arse, I'm very concerned.

Surely by now the playing group are aware that the only way we are going to win games is when we work our butts off defensively.

We haven't achieved anything yet (winning the NAB Cup is nice, but in the scheme of things it means nothing) and there is a lot of hard work to be done to get ourselves back into the Top 4, and give ourselves a chance at the GF.

It won't just happen. I'd be shocked if the players were under any illusions that it would 'just happen'. No clear answer at my end (and I haven't seen the game, so not sure how much I really know at this point) but it's very worrying that it seems a large portion of the team just didn't rock up to play and apply themselves in the manner they have to, (and know they have to!), to win games - especially games against other high quality sides.

Defensive pressure and work rate are non-negotiable. We are meant to be a mature side, yet we are up and down, up and down. I felt the finals last year we showed some maturity and signs of moving on from these sort of performances, but apparently not.

[cinder]

Yes and no. The media may have factored into it but the glaring thing to me seemed to be our usual inconsistency. How can we have so many players starring one week, and so down on form the next? I dunno what it is, but it is something they'll need to rectify!!

[chef]

We shouldn't need one, but hopefully it is.

[LostDoggy]

Didn't Collingwood smash Geelong by over 100 points on '07?

That woke the sleeping giant then, lets hope history repeats.

[LostDoggy]

Has consideration been given to overtraining the players?
________
BLONDE SWEDISH (http://www.****tube.com/categories/324/swedish/videos/1)

[Sedat]

Didn't Collingwood smash Geelong by over 100 points on '07?

That was in 2008, and the Cats were 8-0 at the time. If we want to compare ourselves to the best in the business, Geelong have lost 10 matches in total since the end of the 2006 season - they seem to be a self-motivated playing group who does not require a kick up the arse to get them going. This might be a tad harsh, but when comparing ourselves up against the top tier (which I believe we should be doing in 2010), we still fall short because our intensity of effort (especially defensively) is not as consistently applied as the Cats (or the Saints in 2009 for that matter). Our uncompromising defensive intensity was there for all to see in the NAB Cup GF and in the last 2 weeks of our 09 finals campaign (and the last 2 finals in 08 for that matter). If the playing group needed any further proof that this intensity equates to victory more often than not, yesterday's result provided it.

[LostDoggy]

God i hope not. We should all be mature enough to know that most of the premiership hype came from the media.

These are the games that need to be won. If one positional change like Morris can throw the team out like that then we're in trouble. FWIW i think that was only a contributing factor. The players have the experience, we have the talent and the key forward. Now it's time to harden the hell up and switch on at the start of a match and don't switch off until the end, otherwise it'll never happen.

[Mantis]

Has consideration been given to overtraining the players?

Do you know something we don't?

[LostDoggy]

Has consideration been given to overtraining the players?

It looked that way to me as well, they looked tired and lethargic when compared to the way the pies were full of run and vigour, when we got to within a few points we simply stopped as if the guy's were spent. Or in another conspiracy theory has the dreaded virus that put The Glove out, been spreading through the camp?

I do not know for sure either way, but I was at training last Wednesday and I was surprised by the amount of work they were doing, they were hard at it for a long time. Yesterday, they just did not look as though they were right or switched on for some reason.

As for the kick up the date they needed, it probably will help to refocus, but isn't it about time that we do not have these lapses and therefore won't have to have a kick up the donut.

There's always next week:)

[bornadog]

As for the kick up the date they needed, it probably will help to refocus, but isn't it about time that we do not have these lapses and therefore won't have to have a kick up the donut.

There's always next week:)

We are not use to being the hot favourites for the big one, so my thread is asking whether it was lost due to the mental side. We have the talent, the players, but didn't look like it for two of the four quarters, ie first and last.

[MrMahatma]

Maybe. This was always a 50/50 game anyway, so better to lose that rather than this coming week. We've a history of getting kicks up the bum in games we really never should lose.

[EasternWest]

Maybe. This was always a 50/50 game anyway, so better to lose that rather than this coming week. We've a history of getting kicks up the bum in games we really never should lose.

So, so true.

Oh, on a side note, whenever I see your username I can't help but think of Dr Manhattan from Watchmen. So i have this mental image of you as giant, blue and omniscient. And nude.

[LostDoggy]

I watched most games on the weekend, our game was of high quality to the rest of the comp. Slow getting out of the blocks, a problem we suffered from last year, but even though we lost, I believe we are heading in the right direction. As Richo suggested on the wekend, Dale Morris was a bigger loss than we think!

[Mofra]

Yes.

I'm not going to get carried away by a round 1 loss to a possible grand finalist; we played awfully yet still managed to work our way into the match in the 3rd quarter. Our workrate was well down and flu or not we have been given a wake up call. Heaven help Richmond this weekend.

[LostDoggy]

Yes, but we shouldn't need one.

Having said that, 20/21 win seasons only come along every so often, I'm not greedy, we don't need the perfect season, just the perfect series, and even then, it doesn't even have to be undefeated as long as we win the bloody Grannie (I don't think Brisbane ever finished H&A top 2 in their three-peat years).

I mean, if we're only going to beat Collingwood once this year I'd rather it be closer to the pointy end than in Round 1.

[LostDoggy]

Yes, I think it was. I have posted on another thread that this was a reality check. Like it or not, the media has hyped us up this last 2 weeks, and whilst we (see players) should be mature enough to ignore it, it must be very difficult for all concerned. Don't they say footy is played 90% above the shoulders? One game does not define a season........ someone needs to tell those Pie supporters this!

[LostDoggy]

Of course when we lose we will still all look for a positive. But for me, winning wouldve been beneficial to keep up our confidence and keep it up throughtout the whole year.

[LostDoggy]

If we need a kick up the arse, I'm very concerned.

Surely by now the playing group are aware that the only way we are going to win games is when we work our butts off defensively.

We haven't achieved anything yet (winning the NAB Cup is nice, but in the scheme of things it means nothing) and there is a lot of hard work to be done to get ourselves back into the Top 4, and give ourselves a chance at the GF.

It won't just happen. I'd be shocked if the players were under any illusions that it would 'just happen'. No clear answer at my end (and I haven't seen the game, so not sure how much I really know at this point) but it's very worrying that it seems a large portion of the team just didn't rock up to play and apply themselves in the manner they have to, (and know they have to!), to win games - especially games against other high quality sides.

Defensive pressure and work rate are non-negotiable. We are meant to be a mature side, yet we are up and down, up and down. I felt the finals last year we showed some maturity and signs of moving on from these sort of performances, but apparently not.

I have to agree here, hopefully a minor glitch or a bit of flu etc. We need to show consistent form and WORKRATE across the board.