My thoughts on the game....

[CureTheSane]

Weird game this one, isn't it?
I was pretty down on the boys in the second 1/4 and then found myself thinking they'd done an OK (but still average) job towards the end.

So who will Roos give a pat on the back to?
Craig Bolton is one who deserves a pat, and maybe Maxfield and Goodes.
There might be one or two more, but only 4 or 5 from the whole side is pretty dissappointing.

Jude drives me nuts - he's stupid, then does something good.

Warfe really tries, but can't play well enough.

Barry Hall seemed lazy or maybe had forgotten how to lead, until he picked up a bit later.

Kennelly I have always had my doubts with, but though after todays game he will do quite well if he can repeat and improve on todays work - never be a star though.

Saddo was way too quiet, perhaps bad coaching keeping him on a player who was beating him. Rebuilding years, remember Roos? try a few things

Davis, Willo, Fosdike, Schuable, Ball & Crouch were all OK in small bursts, but overall average.

One thing I have been on about for a while is a team councellor.
How important is this?
Just look at the 1st half and you'll know why.

They were not there to play.
We really need someone to get them in the right frame of mind before the game.

Maybe with all Roos' comments about rebuilding, and "it wouldn't have mattered if we lost" in public are not having a good effect on the players...

[Jimmy C]

Overall, I'd say your spot on with everything you've written. While the boys put in a gutless first half, its hard not to lose sight of the whole re-building stage we'll see happen over the course of the remainder of the year-some ups with lots of downs.

Did anyone here seriously expect us to beat the Crows? They're a finals side, coming off a loss to a side who are arguably in the same shape as us. Tipping us to win this game was a fantasy concept. Having said that, a harder contest for 4 qtrs would have been preferable to some of the slop on display.

On the positive side, I was happy to see Ball on the park, and, without the benefit of seeing the last two matches, he appears to be getting better (going by reports here). Maybe he's better suited to the forward line atm.

Bolton C really impressed me. Schneider looks like becoming a fan favourite also. I was glad to see Maxi put in a very solid "Captain's" performance today. Goodes was pleasing as usual.

Our biggest problem is that we don't seem to have all of our cylinders firing at once. Opposition players left in space, no talk between players, too much crowding/flooding, no clearly defined "spine" in the team. Same old mistakes from some of the usual suspects. Will this improve? One hopes so.

[swan_song]

Jeez....we're inconsistent now in games, rather than week to week. This is such a LAME excuse for poor performance in that they're kids and will be up and down, from week to week. What's been happening these past umpteen years...it's been the same inconsistent performances with a much more experienced list. We need a different attitude throughout the club, which hopefully with Roosie and Ireland, we'll get -- a positive attitude that we EXPECT to win, especially home games, and with good reason not just wishful thinking. But it may take a while for the old swannie mediocrity to be flushed through. Yesterday in the first half the players looked as though they'd been partying late into Sunday morning and needed an hour of football to shake out the cobwebs...they were slow, fumbling and indecisive, lacking football brains and skills. How many times did they go to Hall who had to beat 2 or 3 crows, with kicks falling either short or over his head, when other options would have been much smarter.

One good thing is that the way we've played these past two games, we're going to get some good pickups in the draft.

[sharp9]

Add to that players not leading hard and fast (to get away from their marker!!) Brereton suggested that this was because they had so little faith that their team mate could actually work out the geometry required to put the ball where the lead was going.

I have to agree. Maybe Hall leads too early? Usually the backman is climbing all over him by the time the ball gets there and if you watch the replays (focused on him) you will see that he is often slowing down or stopped as he goes to take the mark.

A couple of exceptions yesterday were when he took marks nearly in the centre square.