Observations after a year away...

[Macca68]

Well, after a year in London I watched my first game since Rd 3 2002 on Friday night...I made the following observations...

**We are not as bad as some people would have us believe however...

** We are a team badly lacking in confidence(huge understatement I know). It seems we are so scared of losing that we dont have the courage to take the risks required to win games rather than 'not lose them'. This is a very worrying sign in my opinion.

** We need to run harder. We looked flat footed at times which was very evident and badly exposed by the Pies.

** It is time certain developing players stepped up and did their bit for the team. We cant label Fiora and Tivendale promising forever...these guys MUST deliver now!!!. While Fiora was ok (just) the other night we cannot continue to accept the below standard level of output we are currently receiving from these guys.

**Danny Frawley's decision to leave Dave Rodan in the back pocket for the entire game was a complete and utter disgrace. We were desperate for a crumbing forward and our best option was chasing Leon Davis all night up the other end of the ground. Disappointing that Rodan wasn't moved up forward after half time...I won't however criticise Frawley for anything else, unlike some others. Lets hope Krak is reday for the Bulldogs game.

**Clinton King - sorry but you need to find some confidence bud, you were pathetic - what has happened to Kingy???. Coburg beckons...

** Matthew Rogers needs to be played in the forward pocket or for Coburg...his decision making and field kicking are below average.

**Chris Hyde - Oh dear.....I heard him referred to as a poor mans Greg Tivendale....this guy tries hard but is not up to it....not even close I'm afraid.

**Greg Tivendale - Fumbles way too much under pressure....The spotlight is on Tivvers now - perform or else.

**Wayne Campbell is a brilliant player and leader. I have nothing but admiration for Cambo. Ditto for AK and Gas.

** Mark Coughlan - having heard alot but seen very little of Cogs I was very impressed with his hardness and composure. This kid can play....very well. Also very impressed with Chris Newman.

**Johnson and Blumfield will both be terrific players for us this season once they settle in. Hopefully very quickly!!

**Richo - tried his guts out...pity about the goalkicking.

Look its easy to panic and say 'all is lost' after one round but I think we will see consistent improvement this year...Lets bloody hope so anyway!!!

In order not to be disappointed we all must have realistic expectations of where we are at as a team...the next 3 weeks will be very revealing I think.

 

[Rosy]

Welcome home macca

Your post raised something that we've been discussing at home recently

"Realistic Expectation"

That's really a tricky one. I believe it is reasonable to have the high expectations I have.
Last season was abyssmal, lack of team spirit, injury poor form etc, but I would certainly be hoping that was something to write off as "one of those seasons" rather than accept that is our true standard.

Surely our list should be competitive. We gained 2 players this year in Blumfield and Johnson who i'd hope to improve dramatically now they've had their first run in the yellow and black.

I think it's far from realistic to expect to be cellar dwellers again, and to me if that is how our season panned out it would indicate major troubles.

What are other peoples 'realistic expectations' for this year?

I think we have the team to play finals, and more importantly I hope the club think that too.

 

[JohnF]

I tipped Richmond would finish 7th this year. But i think we will do well to finish anywhere from 9th to 6th. I don't think we have what it takes to match it with a Brisbane, Adelaide, or a Port Adelaide however other than that I think we are in the pack with most teams.

Hopefully we can remain injury free, bring back Chaffey, Holland, Krakouer and Ottens (is that wishful thinking? will he be back this year?) and form a reasonably solid team.

A few comments on some players. King is finished. Rogers is finished. Houlihan never started. Tivendale is finished. I wouldn't mind a D. Kellaway in the side when he can take on some soft star from an opposing team, like a Nathan Brown next week. However, i think he would be next to useless in trying to stop Voss, Mcleod or Buckley at this stage of his career. Would also like Schulz to be given a go this year. Fiora might become something but he needs another year in the gym. Hopefully Pettifer does something this year.

I was pleased to see Ray Hall have a decent match. And I was also pleased with Newman's game. I thought Hyde did a few ok things, not sure about his future though.

 

[Koalalill]

I think we have a good chance to make the eigth. Somewhere between and 6-8 seems realistic. We arte going to miss Otto terrbily but that is reason I'd throw Schulz in.

Again it was the middle tier players who disappointed on Friday. Having said that there were some good signs in the 1st half. I thought our tackling and in particular gang tackling on the last line was really good. Remember for most of last season it was non-existent.

I agree with Macca, King was woeful and should be back at Coburg next week. He is 25 and is physically not strong enough - harsh call maybe but unfortunately the truth IMHO. As for Hyde I have tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but I just don't think he is :
1) Physically strong enough
2) Mentally tough enough
3) Skilled enough for AFL football.

And I don't think we are in position to have him in our team.

 

[gustiger12]

At the end of the weekend a 28 point loss doesn't look to bad. What is more concerning is that the Doggies towelled the Pussies at Colonial Stadium.

After watching the Lions it all could be academic anyway. Wonder if Lethal could get bored with winning premierships and enticed back to Victoria at the end of the year????