Analysis This is the worst start in our 116-year VFL/AFL history

[Tiger_4_Life]

Really good!

But the only difference was that our rebuild pretty much already finished then. We had Rance, Cotchin, Dusty, Grimes, Edwards, Riewoldt, and Astbury already on the list.

This time though, I feel like our rebuild has barely started. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t think our recent draftees are the level of that group of youngsters we had.

We're probs 1 year behind 2009...we can't discount Hopper, Taranto, Bolton, Floss, Balta
I'm sure some of our young guys will come on too. People hated Edwards for years as well

 

[Bird Man]

you thought it was bad now... our next two games will have Richmond saying ...

 

[Drunken Wookie]

But how can you run around like headless chooks at a professional level?
When WCE were starting the start of their horror run, they had a ton of injuries as well. Not quite as bad as us, but it was quite bad. Everyone said that they won't be as bad once they get players back.

Players came back and they didn't get any better. They have had 2-3 years of being terrible and no where near the level they need to be. It's taken a once in a lifetime superstar number 1 draft pick to raise them from the grave.

100 point losses happen. I understand that. But for 2 weeks in a row? And the 2nd loss was worse than the first? No. That's purely effort and not buying into wanting to work hard.

Work hard and the loss is 40 points. Not 119.

I think you're discounting how important executing a gameplan is at AFL level. Watch oppo just running rings around us it's not because we've given up, they know where to run, when to spread, who the outlets are. They know where players are going to be and where supports going to come from because they've trained and played with a group of people over a span of time. Our midfield. Just look at it. Prestia came back after a long injury lay off and dropped weight, he's not going to immediately impact. We're relying on Dow, a kid most had written off to carry our midfield.
Could we go harder at times? Yeah but I think there's a perceived lack of effort that comes from us getting cut up when it's more of a product of us having no connection, no leadership and relying on players that should be developing in the 2's to stand brownlow medallists.

The teams in survival mode, nows not the time to be questioning their effort imo.

 

[loser 81 2 16]

the board are still patting themselves on the back and championing other things now, weve moved on from football

A surprisingly measured and insightful comment
And yes, a fish does always rot from the head.

I still feel it's a bit early to say we are having a disaster.
But if it does eventually prove to be, it will 100% be the responsibility of the board...as it always is...and should be.
Yet you'll find most boards/shareholders...the overwhelming majority...doing everything in their power to avoid that responsibility...water it down...but not the perks of course.

This board lost me, when their first response to being challenged (and at that time they deserved to be questioned), was to change the rules, and make it harder in future for anyone to challenge again...very BAD form...imo.
Very corporate...like most of the AFL these days.