MATCH THREAD - West Coast vs Swans round 17

[Nico]

I don't understand why some of these players cannot kick any more? McVeigh/jack just to mention a few. It looks like Pyke's just about gone, maybe time to return to Canada. Nankervis shows promise, but it not at AFL standard just yet. Future looking grim, which is grossly unfair re the AFL trading restrictions. The forward efficiency was about 40%, Blakney is our forward coach. Would he be the worst forwards coach in AFL history???

Considering he didn't play forward in his career. An AFL oxymoron.

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I thought in the last quarter we may have turned the corner. We could easily have been blown away. Our unsighted midfielders had a go and there was a bit of a game style quite foreign to us. If we get our full team back over the next few weeks we will become competitive again. Provided we oust those who don't want the hard finals footy.

[crackedactor]

What has never played forward got to do with anything????? His job is the forward coach regardless of where and when he played. Maybe he needs to coach the backs/reserves or whatever, if he has never played in the forward line. But this is not my decision to make.

[gumby_bolts]

Quick thoughts.
Mitchell 10 disposals and 5 tackles in a quarter. Can that please be the last time he is a sub.
McVeigh has to be injured, his drop in form has been startling.
Good on ya Jetta, fingers crossed the crowd put him off thinking of moving home just yet.
I thought Xavier did pretty well and Rampe was excellent.
Shuey threw the ball at least five times by my count.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Damage was done in the first half and then we showed a little bit when the sting was out of the game. We are off the boil big time, all those underwhelming victories where we " bank the 4 points and move on " pointed to this happening I suppose, but it's still startling to see us unravel the way we are. Effort was okay in patches today but our ball use, basic errors, stupid game plan, all add up to us being a crappy side ATM.

[ugg]

Playfair is the forwards coach Blakey the backs

I can't help but think if Reid has nailed those two set shots early on whether it would have been any different. We came out with intensity and tackled well but got no reward for it and then they fully capitalised on our turnovers

[barry]

Pretty clear Jetta's message: stick it up your cracker, you red-necked racist KKK members booing Goodes

I think we can rule out west coast as his desired destination.

[Doctor]

I can't help but think if Reid has nailed those two set shots early on whether it would have been any different. We came out with intensity and tackled well but got no reward for it and then they fully capitalised on our turnovers

I agree completely. I think it would have completely changed the way the game played out.

[annew]

Playfair is the forwards coach Blakey the backs

I can't help but think if Reid has nailed those two set shots early on whether it would have been any different. We came out with intensity and tackled well but got no reward for it and then they fully capitalised on our turnovers

And Playfair was a crap forward, poor Buddy being coached by Playfair

[mcsquirta]

We are off the boil big time, all those underwhelming victories where we " bank the 4 points and move on " pointed to this happening I suppose, but it's still startling to see us unravel the way we are.

This reminds me of the Nick Smith interview that did the rounds this week. The one thing that grabbed me was him saying "we need to work on our Communication more". I didn't know whether he meant on- or off-field... now I'm pretty sure he means Off-field (coaching) communication - whether he knows it or not.

Coaching all across the board is seriously anemic... and I say that with love.

[barry]

These losses are bad but we are outright 4th and have an easy run for the rest of the year. We just need to find a way to win those and build to full strength.

Its a long shot, but the opportunity is there.

[dimelb]

Back from the Riser and feeling fairly happy, mainly because at no time in the last two weeks did I think we would win this game. And when Buddy went out, the thought was, well let's see what the youngsters can do.

Nanka had a good game, kept Nic Nat honest and worked himself into the ground. Great attitude. Despite the naysayers, I was pleased with BJ tonight. He worked hard, including going in hard to tackle, spoiled a couple of things with over exuberance, but gave it his best shot, and his best is very good. Xav had a couple of clangers, but on the whole has potential and I hope we keep him; the free he conceded for supposedly pushing was a dud ruling, went in with his body, I hope he keeps developing. Heeney of course is beyond praise.

The old blokes weren't bad, apart from McVeigh who had an off day and has become a bit inconsistent. Reg is having a good season, did the necessary again today. Pyke was good but tired, needs to work his way back into condition. Shaw was good today and I agree with the poster who said he should play in the midfield; he did some good stuff in there today, and his goal was a just reward. Goodes is still in our starting 18, is dangerous and keeps the defence on their toes. Josh was solid and hard working, Hanners was quieter but tightly tagged, likewise Parker. Sammy had a horrid game in front of goal. He and a few others should be working on it.

The defence worked their butts off tonight, produced their share of clangers which show up there like nowhere else, but they ran well together. Rampe was good, Jermy worked hard, Smithy seems to be inching back into where he should be.

The skills, the MOST BASIC skills, are still lamentable: kicking with REASONABLE accuracy, marking, positioning to receive - these are all pretty basic and our efforts do not look like a genuine grade team. Defence needs attention: there were far too many easy marks inside 50 by WC tonight, and you can't get away with that when you're playing against blokes like Kennedy, Le Cras, etc.

Lots of room for improvement. Otherwise us fans will save lots of money in September!

[Doctor]

Longmire must be furious, I think the way he has set us up had merit, it's the skills that are letting us down.

I completely agree. I thought the shape and the instructions made a lot of sense. We just couldn't execute, especially early. I know the Eagles eased off a bit, but the passage we had when we started kicking straight showed that if we had played the way we were set up to play, we'd have been right in it.

[ugg]

And Playfair was a crap forward, poor Buddy being coached by Playfair

Alastair Clarkson was an average player while Michael Voss and Tim Watson were champions of the game. Being a great player doesn't necessarily make you a great coach

[crackedactor]

should be gone

And Playfair was a crap forward, poor Buddy being coached by Playfair

Strange that the AFL website interview Blakney to talk about our forward line who had the same amount of forward entries as Hawthorn last week. Why did they not interview Mayfair.? If he is the forward coach, though I am not 100% sure,its time for him to move on.

[goswannies]

Alastair Clarkson was an average player while Michael Voss and Tim Watson were champions of the game. Being a great player doesn't necessarily make you a great coach

Hafey, Sheedy, Jeans all fairly ordinary to serviceable players. Coaching records speak for themselves