We should have won that game. It really is as simple as that. We should have won.
67 to 46 inside 50s
33 to 22 scoring shots.
Clearly we missed way too many shots, shots which were not just gettable but should be kicked well over 50% of the time. But it goes deeper than just missed shots.
Discussing this at the game, our forward 50 entries were so difficult, we just made very hard work of getting it into our 50 and going for goal when we did get it in there. In contrast, North waltzed into their forward line and it looked so much easier. A tonne of work to do on getting the ball inside 50. We get a lot of inside 50s, but quality inside 50s, not so much. Yes, opposition teams flood, what's new, but there were spaces in the forward line at times and no-one leading into the space.
Down back the example talked about above when Zurhar kicked the winning goal was indicative of the way our defence has been playing all year. Where were the defenders, why was it so easy for Zurhar to run through the pack, find space and time and then take the shot? Add to that the way most of our defenders go up for the spoil, spoil it to the front of the pack where there are half a dozen opposition players and not one Richmond player. Has been happening all year. You want to score against Richmond, just wait at the front of the pack and you can get a cheap possession because there will be no-one there for Richmond. Our positioning around packs has been woeful this year. How did Jack Dyer describe it - always where the ball isn't.
North played reasonably well but the loss is on us, we lost that game. The pressure was just non existent. Without that pressure, and with our terrible record at clearances, we are no chance of beating anyone, as proved today when we lost to one of the worst teams I've seen in years.
Must do something about the midfield, we let way too many clean clearances go. Opposition teams get the ball, spread and get quality inside 50s against us way too easily.
There seems to be little or no on-field leadership this year. I don't know what it is. Never liked co-captaincy and like it even less now. But I notice less talking and less setting up for clearances and the like. Much work to do here too.
Umpiring was the usual Dog's Breakfast. It was a mess all over the place. Umpires calling frees and pointing the wrong way and everyone is confused because none of them can work out who was getting the free. Just woeful. Players tackled and clearly holding the ball, not paid, then a player gets tackled with no prior and suddenly it is. Players grabbed without the ball and its play on, another player gets barely touched and its holding the man. Woeful.
Docklands. What can you say about that place? It is weird. There is no atmosphere there. The whole stadium just seems to suck the life out of a game of football. Doesn't help that they had about two thirds of the top deck unavailable. No wonder only 22k turned up. Have to go to that sh!thole again next week too. Not so bad this week I suppose, it was an away game, but next week I lose my usual seat on level 1 and will have to trudge upstairs to level 3 for a look at the game (can't they get some sort of arrangement for reserved seat and reserved bay members at that craphole?). There really is something drastically wrong with that place, my daughter said it feels like a shopping centre.
One last thing which has been p!ssing me off for a long time. The coaches' press conferences. You listen to the coach answer the questions, but you can't hear the questions. I even turned captions on and the captions couldn't make sense of the questions. How about a roving microphone at press conferences, or even 2 roving microphones so you can swap each question? This is pretty basic, you see microphones in the audience at question time at all sorts of events, but a microphone amongst a small group of journos at a press conference is clearly too difficult for the AFL. Bunch of amateurs.
DS
