My thoughts from last night

[liz]

In the 1st qtr the score was 7.3/1.5 just seeing that will drop your head a bit,now if it were 7.3 to 5.1 that score line [B]could[B] possibly have changed the entire game.

But the 1.5 score in the first quarter really reflects the way the ball was being brought into the forward line - ie with no system or direction. They just didn't create many genuine scoring opportunities, unlike the Roos who were taking straightforward marks on easy kicking angles.

[NMWBloods]

So our defence was up the pooper then? or was it our midfield?

BTW IMO if we had of kicked straight in the first qtr i think the game would have been entirely different.

Midfield was crap! Defence did their best in pretty difficult circumstances (also many goals came from around 50m).

In the forward line, I don't think it was poor kicking at goal, but rather limited good opportunities. J Bolton's miss may have made a difference in terms of team confidence.

[swansrule100]

It's an excuse for us against Norff because they're fitter than us atm, because they started their pre-season that much sooner.

?

i love to stick by the team throught thick and thin and am more likely to defend their awful perfomances than bag them. But i cant help but feel there is not one excuse in the world for that loss last night. I dont care about how the kangas are travelling and sorry if i underestimate them but that was a game we should of won. I think we showed at least for 2 and a half quarters we are the better team, so why the hell did we start so bloody woefully and then when we could come back , make stupid little mistakes. Its not good enough. I expect more from this team

[NMWBloods]

It's an excuse for us against Norff because they're fitter than us atm, because they started their pre-season that much sooner.

But you're right, it's not affecting WC. Probably because they're faster, more accurate around goals and hit-up targets better than we do. They also get an armchair ride from the umps. But hey -- why are we discussing those @#$%'s anyway?

Because being later in preparation is not a good excuse.

Also, fitness is irrelevant. We were finishing better and the 'Roos also have poor second halves, and fitness had nothing to do with a crap first half.

[Nico]

Agree. And they were s-l-o-w. Add in that our back six is unsettled atm , missing regulars like Tadhg, LRT and Dempster.
And (here's a startling thought) perhaps Laidley is a better coach than people have given him credit for, seeing the bunch of spare parts he has at his disposal.

I think a lot of people under estimate the loss of Dempster's close checking and back up and he does supply supplementary run to Tadgh and Mal. Yep our full half backline of last year is missing which is probably the key.

Depth is now tested and the ageing unfit Crouch and "hack and choker pretty boy" Bolton dont do much for our pace. Richmond wag at that game reckons he got a free because a Richmond player messed his hair up.

Until we get Dempster and Tadgh back I think we will really struggle down back. Laidley had his players almost on the goal line to keep Barry and Bolton J from running the lines.Onus is now on the midfield to pull their digits out and pull their weight to take pressure off the backs.

[GoSouth33]

Hard to know what to take out of last night. As Roosy said, the 'roos just played too well. A simple assessment but true. We tried hard at times, but gee, they were red hot.
They won the first quarter, we won the rest of the game, but the horse had bolted.
I'm amazed that so many of the Melbourne commentators had tipped the 'roos as wooden spooners this year.....at the moment they're looking like finalists although there's still a long way to go. Any side with tne likes of Archer, Harvey and Grant playing like that is always going to be tough to beat.
BTW, g'day Ozwombat. You'd remember me as the bloke that sent you those photos with David Murphy. Welcome on board! How's the face paint going? Hope all is well.

[NMWBloods]

I think a lot of people under estimate the loss of Dempster's close checking and back up and he does supply supplementary run to Tadhg and Mal. Yep our full half backline of last year is missing which is probably the key.

Yes, I was thinking last night that we were probably missing Dempster more than we had realised.

[hammo]

Midfield was crap! Defence did their best in pretty difficult circumstances (also many goals came from around 50m).

We're missing a lot of tackles down there at the moment. The Roos snapped some close range goals after Swans either fumbled or missed tackles which should have been laid. Bolton and Leo were under the pump most of the time but there were a few costly misses on their part.

There's a huge contrast with how opposition forward lines kick goals from good crumbing compared to our forward line which has limited crumbing ability. Last night also the Roos were clearing from defence too easily.

[NMWBloods]

We're missing a lot of tackles down there at the moment. The Roos snapped some close range goals after Swans either fumbled or missed tackles which should have been laid. Bolton and Leo were under the pump most of the time but there were a few costly misses on their part.

There's a huge contrast with how opposition forward lines kick goals from good crumbing compared to our forward line which has limited crumbing ability.

Yep - good point.

[liz]

Last night was the first time in a while I thought the defence looked really under pressure - mentally as well as physically - trying to clear the ball. Of course they have made mistakes before, many of which have led to goals, but yesterday there were signs of panic from the normally cool Bolton even.

It wasn't so much in the first quarter though - more in the second and third when they were still under the pump but had woken up to the fact that they had to shore up one end and hope to all goodness that the blokes at the other end could manufacture something.

[AnnieH]

i just finished watching the game again, and i'm still bloody disappointed. the shinboners were on fire, and the swans thought they were going to be easybeats. surprise, surprise, surprise.
goodsey still has something blocking his butt, and WHY ARE WE ONLY KICKING IT TO BBBH???? more than once last night, he was surrounded by four shinboners ... doesn't that leave at least two of our other forwards free?
all in all, too many stoopid ball handling errors and too many handpasses in heavy traffic. the swans should start aiming at turning up for more than a quarter of footy. swannies just didn't seem to want the win. that's bad.
hopefully they'll learn for next week

[ozwombat]

Gday there gosouth

the warpaints on vacation until finals time pubs dont let me in with it on lolol

lots happened since saw you last

thanks for the welcome

maybe i should drag out the warpaint again scare the crap outa them lolol

[liz]

iand the swans thought they were going to be easybeats. surprise, surprise, surprise.

You know that how.

Criticising their performance is one thing, but how can you see inside their minds?

[Nolie]

[url]..... (either that or we didn't care if we won or lost).

Maybe you have hit the nail on the head. They don't care ..as much. They have made two grand finals won the first one without being given credit, made a second one and got that credit. Maybe they think they've done enough. Climbed the mountain. Now its a bit ho-hum.

[SimonH]

Yes, I was thinking last night that we were probably missing Dempster more than we had realised.

Hear, hear.

There's also the issue that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. (If that weren't true, there'd be no 2005 flag.) Taking all 3 of LRT, Dempster and Kennelly out of our defence is more than 3 times worse than taking any of them out individually (if you get my meaning).