Post Match. Pies down to Giants. All comments.

[think positive]

I said prior to the match that it was way too early to be playing a game,and that’s exactly how it looked.The players looked like they were playing a practice match in early March,which is when they used to play practice matches.
Hopefully this was just a one off,but there were some bad signs out there ,like the backline which was way too loose,and the forward line which struggled to take a contested mark all night.

agree with it all

and the practice match i did go to I mentioned our woeful kicking for goal!

we kick straight we win!

thats painful

next

[Greening gold]

No Howe and Murphy was pivotal. Selecting Dean was not the right one. Should have been Frampton. Dead right. Noble before Dean. Frampton should also have been out there.

The only question to which Ash Johnson will ever the answer is "Who is Mrs Johnson's little boy?"

Schultz was useless - three behinds, including sitters.

[slangman]

Poor kicking for goal the biggest takeaway from tonight.
We had periods where we had the majority of play but didn’t capitalise on the scoreboard whereas GWS made us pay virtually every time they had the opportunity.
11.12 v 18.4 off the boot tells the main story imho.
The amount of times that we had the opportunity to either consolidate or wrestle back momentum should give us cause for optimism going into next week but if our kicking for goal doesn’t improve significantly then all of the structural elements of the game will again be tested.

As a side note, BT and Richo have very low footy IQ’s for guys who have played so many games.
They are truly awful to have to listen to considering CH7 and the radio stations refuse to broadcast in sync.
A person who doesn’t know anything about the game could provide better insight than those two…..my god they are terrible!!!!

[Magpietothemax]

I said prior to the match that it was way too early to be playing a game,and that’s exactly how it looked.The players looked like they were playing a practice match in early March,which is when they used to play practice matches.
Hopefully this was just a one off,but there were some bad signs out there ,like the backline which was way too loose,and the forward line which struggled to take a contested mark all night.

I do remember in Fly's first season, in 2022, that we lost several early games in the season because our defence was far too loose. At that time, it was because our defence was pressing forward too much. Tonight it just looked like a systemic breakdown as GWS players just found themselves inexplicably marking the ball uncontested in our D50.
However, our lack of midfield pressure was a major factor in allowing GWS to dismantle our defence.
Not sure why Dean was asked to contend with Hogan; Darcy should have gone to him instead.
Our atrocious kicking for goal was also an independent factor in demoralising team energy and undermining the drive to get the ball forward.
It will be fascinating to see how we respond to this loss. I saw too much last year to lack any faith that we will think our way through this, and that our players will respond to his defeat with both justified anger and resilience.

[shawthing]

I said prior to the match that it was way too early to be playing a game,and that’s exactly how it looked.The players looked like they were playing a practice match in early March,which is when they used to play practice matches.
Hopefully this was just a one off,but there were some bad signs out there ,like the backline which was way too loose,and the forward line which struggled to take a contested mark all night.

I think you're absolutely right Doris. But to be fair to the Giants they are a formidable young team of real giants. We still have too many midgets. We got away with it last year, but unless we play with last year's fanaticism we will be nowhere near the flag this year. There are 14 teams with a real chance of making the eight. Unless we improve on last year we will struggle. This is just why back-to-back is so hard to do. Do the players have the hunger still? They might say they do, but unless we improve our game by at least 20 percent this year it won't happen.

We'll give it 5 or 6 rounds, but if we are 2-4 or even 3-3 after that then it will be a dogfight to even make the eight. Too many good young teams if they all fire.

[Mr Miyagi]

Heavier than usual training load. Short term pain, long term gain. Think of the big picture, we’ll be fine.

[Raw Hammer]

I hated seeing smiles and laughing and secret hand shakes in the last quarter while we were still losing by 40+.
That shows me they’re still pretty happy with last year, which they have every right to be, but they need to switch on with a 2024 game face.

[pietillidie]

Ugly, but not unexpected. You don't have to be too far off it to be run over by a sharper, better-prepared outfit. Far better now than later, and far better to get the feedback early while dropping a game to a top team away rather than dropping a clear winnable.

It's far too early to tell if this was easing in with an ageing team with a later start, or if the weaknesses in the list we've long known are going to be harder to overcome.

Don't forget, the veterans and thereabouts players need to be on top of their game to maintain the level, while our best players were just as off the level and will obviously go up some gears. The errant disposal and being caught perpetually behind is a sign of being underdone.

Hold your horses for now, as much as the fear is understandably there.

[Magpietothemax]

Heavier than usual training load. Short term pain, long term gain. Think of the big picture, we’ll be fine.

Is this speculation, or based on inside knowledge?

[Mr Miyagi]

Heavier than usual training load. Short term pain, long term gain. Think of the big picture, we’ll be fine.

Is this speculation, or based on inside knowledge?

Skipworth talked about it at a media presser. Shorter preseason too.

[The Black and White Lion]

No injuries right. Could have been worse. Fly’s face before half time said it all. He already knew to be real concerned about v the result at that point. We got some junk time goals to get off the bottom rung of the ladder. At least no major injuries right?

Despite all the gloom Dean got through and will be better for it. Pendles under done but somehow had an influence late in the game. Cameron was close to our best player with Sidey and WHE. The Daicos bros were serviceable as was Maynard.

Game pressure aside, it’s amazing how the scoreboard lies. We only lost by 32. WHE nails a sitter and Ash misses a finger and the score is 20points. Elliot and Schultz nail their set shots in the third quarter and it’s 8points. Lipinski and it’s 2 points. And with a bit of luck you never know.

Taking away nothing from GWS however they looked the better team for most of the night and deserved the scoreboard win

[Magpietothemax]

In support of all those posters who have underlined the decisive impact of our horrific kicking accuracy for goal, I agree that this was huge.
If one or two of those had gone through, it just changes utterly the dynamic and the mental energy of the game.
As the opening games have proven, the issue of momentum will be king this year. Surges of momentum have led to streaks of 8 consecutive goals (Carlton), and 6 (Richmond). It almost seems that the key this year will be to unravel the secret of momentum.
One self-evident component of momentum is kicking straight. Kick one or two, and the belief kicks in.
Our horrible lack of accuracy destroyed the possiblity of gathering momentum.
Our opponents kicked straight, and as a result, they were always able to seize momentum.

[David]

Really poor finishing in an otherwise fairly even contest. I think the scoring shots tell the story of the night: Giants took all their chances; we took few of ours. A few good performances, but neither Cox nor Johnson were at AFL standard, and Schultz and Elliott weren't great either. Pendlebury hardly sighted. Noble was good when he came on, and Dean was good in his debut, so there were some positives here and there.

I doubt we'll be going back to back if we can't find a way to get our forward line working. It can't all be on Mihocek.

[Piesnchess]

No pass mark for Dean from me. I dunno who he was on but whoever it was played better than him.

Jeezus, bit hard on the kid, FMD, first game , been injured for ages, this is just horseshit, give the kid a break.

[Magpietothemax]

I doubt we'll be going back to back if we can't find a way to get our forward line working. It can't all be on Mihocek.

Absolutely.
We must recall however that last year, McStay only played about 50% of the season. So last year, we found a way to share the load in F50.
I think in this game, Checkers seemed to be the sole combatant because:
a) our midfield pressure and dynamism was way down
b) Cox was unable to drift forward and play a role as a marking threat
c) goal kicking accuracy was appalling from most of our other forwards
Yes, the inability of AJ to impact was also a significant factor, but i think that the lack of midfield energy was far more the reason for us to lack so much venom in F50. Our mids, when at their best, play a crucial role in creating chaos in our F50.
This game reflected for us I think more than anything a lack of team cohesion and system. Hopefully, just cobwebs that this loss will blow away.