Post match v Dogs....all comments here thanks

[Mossi]

Could'nt watch the game so had to put with anti collingwood or buldog hype commentating on any stream radio. Knowing the dogs style of play. When they are on fire they can make any side look bad. Could have been as simple as they had a great day out! They seem to have won critical contests Dids was well held and of course they were better around the contest + they played better we didn't kick straight. I hope the dogs go on with it! After today be interested to see if they have the legs

Look at the positives! In the end we had a great season, charged us up hoping for a good september, wasn't to be ..... makes the next succcess all the more sweeter...... bye 2006 hello 2007!!!!
Negatives I feel sorry for Bucks and Burns and hope they can hang in there another season

[Magpie Since 1986]

Just got home from the game and one word sums up our performance....
GUTLESS

Showed no heart or pride when we went behind, just laid down and died, absolutely shameful to watch. I haven't seen what it looked like on TV, but Rhyce Shaw in the middle of the ground, taking his eye of the ball and squibbing it instantly reminded me of 2003 and made me think he has learnt nothing in the last 3 years about putting his head over the ball. So many soft performances it is hard to believe.

[sq3]

While going from 15th to 5th is step in the right direction - the display today was something that we MUST learn from.

1. We MUST get a ruckman and let Josh play at CHF,
2. Buttifant better try and get his training right so the guys can actually run - they were so slow today that they were nearly witches hats,
3. Must get a skills coach - how many handballs and kicks missed targets.
4. We must get someone to teach these guys how to tackle.

We do have some great kids coming through - Daisy, Pendles, Isles, Cox, Toovey, JA - and they must be played next year.

Maxwell was woeful and Harry can replace him quite readily.

Richards must go - and Rocca must be close to the door as well - he is a real liability to the team.

We must trade and draft - but we do need some changes off the field as well.

[spoljar]

To be honest, we took very little form into this match! The reality is that our performances were covered up by cameo one quarter efforts over the past 6-7 weeks! Our second half of the season has been poor to say the least and rather than get stronger as the season went on, we were actually looking more and more tired!

The reality is that the Bulldogs again worked to their strengths! They were prepared to run, run and run and played on at every opportunity! We certainly looked good when we were prepared to run and break the lined in the first quarter but stopped to a crawl after that! For the rest of the match, we were just chasing bums all day!

And to all those idiots that still think West is overatted, please eat your words now. Basically 36 touches and 7 clearances meant that he was a player prepared to put the body on the line and dish out the in and under stuff!

[Culprit]

Give the dishlickers credit, they ran in packs and killed us.

To many passengers in Black & white this year.

[mandy]

I honestly don't know why I even come in here after a loss.

I'm sure most of the posters so far were either not at the game, or left before the final siren.

'nuff said.

[yadie05]

we had our best team on the ground, and they failed
just let themselves get rolled, didnt even make a fight back
pathetic, interesting to see who gets traded

[piedys]

When they are on fire they can make any side look bad. Could have been as simple as they had a great day out! They seem to have won critical contests Dids was well held and of course they were better around the contest

Yes, Dids was well "held" and well "driven into the ground" multiple times inside-50 without reward. And that my friends, is the only way to stop him.

And we went from 15th to 8th - not 5th. The ladder after rnd.22 counts for Jack. As Port Powder will recall until they made the leap.
Yes, this season was an improvement, but realistically, we ended up where we deserved after that pathetic 2nd half of the season.

I hope the dogs don't expect their scragging/drive players into the ground tactics to work in W.A. with home-town finals/umpiring.

Dyso

[MagpieGrant]

A terrible effort, really really terrible. But I think we need to distinguish between who had a terrible game and who had a terrible year.

The way I saw it was two players in particular who have had fantastic seasons but had very little impact. They were Swan and Didak. Because they have had great seasons no one on this board will rip into them and instead choose the usual scapegoats, namely Lockyer, Lonie, O'bree (who I might add was the main reason we started well), Tarrant and Rocca.

My other gripe is we were absolutely killed at the centre bounces, stoppages and any 50-50 contest. Once the doggies got their hands on the ball, they just ran with it in waves, whereas we managed somehow to fumble it and then either turn it over or they were able to force a ball up.

One comment by Chris Grant at the end of the game got me thinking and that was their leadership group was trying to make their new recruits into men. Perhaps everyone down at Lexus land is getting a little too comfortable and failing to put in the necessary hard work, I suppose we will never know the answer to that question.

[blackandwhite4life]

We couldn't win a contested ball to save our lives. That's the most disappointing stat because it shows desire and intensity; in our case a lack of it.

One factor that should be analysed during our review of the season is why teams like the Swans and the Dogs appear to have such close knit, tight playing groups. When everything is on the line, the desire to not let down your teammate seems to be greater in these clubs than ours.

The honesty ethic of the Swans is something to be admired and it obviously produces results. Maybe John Longmire could teach it to us?

[yadie05]

didds got the rough end of the stick for sure but not comiserating him cos he was still terrible

[westernpie]

Can we say we finished 5th?
Maybe after the H&A we did,but we got beaten by the 8th placed side today.
Wont we be ranked 7th or 8th now.Whats the deal?

[Magpie Since 1986]

Can we say we finished 5th?
Maybe after the H&A we did,but we got beaten by the 8th placed side today.
Wont we be ranked 7th or 8th now.Whats the deal?

Exactly, we didn't go from 15th to 5th, we went from 15th to 7th. 5th would imply we were actually better than any of the top 8 teams which is clearly not the case.

[Johnson#26]

Pathetic. No other word. Came at a good time, though, I'm sick of footy. Means nothing, but hey.

Good stuff Tarkyn Lockyer.

[Tannin]

Bahhh. What a load of hysterical, emotional, illogical cry-baby nonsense in this thread. Blaming the forward line for today's defeat is so ridiculous that the twisted logic of it wouldn't even occur to the damaged brain of a St Kilda supporter. How often did we even get the ball into the forward line?

Where we lost it was in the centre of the ground. First, foremost, and all the way. Face it Nicksters, the old midfield runners like Brodie, Licca, Burns and Bucks just haven't got what it takes to survive in the modern game, not as #1 starting midfielders. Add in our complete inability to get a ruckman who can actually ruck onto the park, and the disaster is complete.

Of course the forwards didn't do a lot; of course the backs got smashed. No forward line on the planet could kick a winning score with the ball fed to them, if at all, as badly as that. And no defense in the comp could survive either.

OK, I can understand the pain and anger, but for the love of Mike, make it reasoned and constructive pain and anger.