Autopsy Dogs 77 lose to Pies 89

[LovevShaqBB13]

I think the negativity is being amplified by what's happened over the season and to a larger extent since the 2021 GF.

We had a horrendous start to the year but in the 5 matches we've lost since then we've been in positions to win all of them and yet we lost all of them in largely the same way, either missing easy shots or leaking goals from the back half and that was same the issue last year, nothing has changed.

There is no shame in losing but there is shame in losing the same way over and over again and that is what is so frustrating. Our system is so predictable that good teams carve us up week after week. We either kick a point or fail to bring it to ground inside our 50 and within a flash the opposition is having a shot at goal or they chip it around until they can find a way through the corridor. Our pressure forward of centre is non-existent and teams are capitalising on it.

The other thing is the stubbiness of the coaching staff (largely Bevo), backing a system week after week that is clearly not working at a standard for a top 8 team, gifting games to players that shouldn't be at senior level to just bizarre positional changes such as Lobb to the wing or refusing to put Macrae in the centre.

Think about how Melbourne scored against us the second half of the 2021 GF, there have been two full pre-seasons since then and yet the same issues plague the team.

Im of the belief that Bevo has the buy in from the players and club that the system that theyve been using since 2016 works, which it does when facing game plans from 16 era or bad teams. It got them to a grand final why wouldnt they continue to use it? Which is why Bevo has been re-signed.

The issue now is the game has evolved again and we've been left behind trying to build a team and list for an outdated game plan. All of a sudden collingwood are happy to get rid of Treloar, Grundy, Stephenson, Poulter (who got games under buckley) is suddenly delisted by Macrae.

Collingwood value completely different facets of the game than we do. Uncontested marks, free open play and chain forward handballs instead of feed it back to a kicker from the back of a stoppage kick long down the line and ask naughton, JUH, English to take pack marks.

Collingwood do not rely on inside 50 volume "territory battle" that bevo always speaks of, they value efficiency and ball movement.
Collingwood had their best forward for the last 5 seasons out tonight who was their only recognised key forward and we struggled to stop them scoring.

I could go on forever but I believe the team has strong values and a common goal which is fantastic but too much energy focused on the wrong things is leading to our stagnation.

 

[LovevShaqBB13]

A Rankine type would be epic. Hopefully Charlie Clarke makes it.

From what ive seen wouldnt put any money on it

 

[Norm De Guerre]

If Macrae is not playing inside, he needs to be on the wing. He is being wasted at half forward. He is one of our few mids who can hit up targets inside 50.

Isn't this why Macrae is playing the role of hf/mid hybrid?

I just dont think that Macrae has the pace to play as a dedicated winger and the likes of Josh Daicos would just have too much for him. His best position is clearly at the coal face. However we've seen time and time again that we just cannot go with a starting rotation of Macrae, The Bont and Libba through the middle. It's one, one placed mid too many.

Once the ball is forced out wide from a contest where we like to have an extra, then teams with better foot skills than ours tend to open us up. With their more efficient and cleaner skill sets. This is an issue where there is no obvious solution. Other than win it at the coal face and hope that our suspect skills dont fail us when we get first use of the ball. As they did on a number of occasions during critical phases of tonights game.

Im sure you can tell me otherwise, but I suspect that this is why Treloar and Daniel seem to be used in preference at stoppages. It's also why the Smith form/position conundrum needs to be sorted out. We desperately need the run and carry of his best football through the midfield. Because other than JJ their isn't anybody waiting in the wings who can take on the role.

 

[Bulldogs85]

From what ive seen wouldnt put any money on it

Something was Said about Arthur Jones last year I wouldn’t write off Clarke just yet

 

[Dogs Rule]

The most galling thing about tonight was not the loss, expected a 5-6 goal loss, it was the run on.

Not a God damn thing has been done since the 2021 GF to address opposition run-ons, not a God damn thing. That's what gets on my nerves the most and I've had it. That's what lost us the match tonight.

Collingwood get a run on before half time and in the blink of an eye 20 odd point gap becomes 5, then in the third that margin is obliterated and it's witches hats stuff.

Great to get within 12, but mid 2nd to early 4th was the most infuriating part by far. Lost my patience, it drives me nuts.

Keep up the first quarter and especially the first part of the second and we win easy, but yet again we drop right off, go missing and screw it up completely with half the side little more than passengers.

 

[Struggle]

This run on wasn't so bad in my book because we got good shots through JUH that he just butchered. He nails one or two that he should have and its game on again.

Pretty happy with the effort all round

 

[LovevShaqBB13]

Something was Said about Arthur Jones last year I wouldn’t write off Clarke just yet

Arthur showed a great deal this year over a few games but he had 2 touches in the vfl today. By no means is he a certainty to play 50-100 games for the club.

Clarke has struggled to adjust to the environment and id say would be a way off making a debut.

 

[Proffessor]

Like a few others I'm struggling to understand the level of negativity.

Collingwood are a top side, very much in form, and for a large part of the game we were playing all over the top of them.
Sure, we didn't capitalize like we should have when we had the ascendency, but we played some pretty awesome football at times.

In the end we went down by 2 goals, a margin arguably less than the impact of their rub of the umpiring green in tonight's match.

And this with a team that is far from a full strength settled unit.

So as frustrating as losing a game we could have won is for all of us, there are certainly plenty of positives to take away from tonight's match.

By the way, for those having a go at the Bont. The amount of holding and general interference he receives is almost as unbelievable as the lack of protection he receives from those blokes with the whistles. For him to still influence games week after week under that sort of duress, is damn near superhuman.

 

[hutchy31]

I think the negativity is being amplified by what's happened over the season and to a larger extent since the 2021 GF.

We had a horrendous start to the year but in the 5 matches we've lost since then we've been in positions to win all of them and yet we lost all of them in largely the same way, either missing easy shots or leaking goals from the back half and that was same the issue last year, nothing has changed.

There is no shame in losing but there is shame in losing the same way over and over again and that is what is so frustrating. Our system is so predictable that good teams carve us up week after week. We either kick a point or fail to bring it to ground inside our 50 and within a flash the opposition is having a shot at goal or they chip it around until they can find a way through the corridor. Our pressure forward of centre is non-existent and teams are capitalising on it.

The other thing is the stubbiness of the coaching staff (largely Bevo), backing a system week after week that is clearly not working at a standard for a top 8 team, gifting games to players that shouldn't be at senior level to just bizarre positional changes such as Lobb to the wing or refusing to put Macrae in the centre.

Think about how Melbourne scored against us the second half of the 2021 GF, there have been two full pre-seasons since then and yet the same issues plague the team.

Eloquently put.

Someone tattoo this to someone who is near Bevo and the footy club every day.

This list might not be a flag list, but we’ll never ****ing know until something changes from the inadequate approach the club has had for multiple seasons now.

I applaud those of you who say things like “all we need is a couple of those simple set shots to go through and we’re in this” because I’d love to have that optimism. But imo there’s a lot of selective memory there - Collingwood bashed us up tonight when the game was there to be won, and I’m baffled if people think otherwise.

Plus, how many times do we have to miss those simple set shots before someone at the club does something about it?! It’s brutal to watch guys being paid to kick a ball being incapable of kicking a ball. Ffs work on your craft, it’s baffling that this continues to be accepted.

 

[hutchy31]

Im of the belief that Bevo has the buy in from the players and club that the system that theyve been using since 2016 works, which it does when facing game plans from 16 era or bad teams. It got them to a grand final why wouldnt they continue to use it? Which is why Bevo has been re-signed.

The issue now is the game has evolved again and we've been left behind trying to build a team and list for an outdated game plan. All of a sudden collingwood are happy to get rid of Treloar, Grundy, Stephenson, Poulter (who got games under buckley) is suddenly delisted by Macrae.

Collingwood value completely different facets of the game than we do. Uncontested marks, free open play and chain forward handballs instead of feed it back to a kicker from the back of a stoppage kick long down the line and ask naughton, JUH, English to take pack marks.

Collingwood do not rely on inside 50 volume "territory battle" that bevo always speaks of, they value efficiency and ball movement.
Collingwood had their best forward for the last 5 seasons out tonight who was their only recognised key forward and we struggled to stop them scoring.

I could go on forever but I believe the team has strong values and a common goal which is fantastic but too much energy focused on the wrong things is leading to our stagnation.

Thoughtful post, but what this boils down to is that either the game has passed Bevo by or he’s too inflexible to change, right?

Apologies if I’ve misinterpreted this, but the lack of evolution of this team in recent years is imo at the heart of why we’re nowhere near the top teams.

 

[tonzdogs]

Truth?

The loss was on English. You say. yeah all his fault. You clearly weren't at the game watching him bust his nut back to help the defenders, and then push just as hard forward.

Trade Smith, lol. How about play him in position before you throw the baby out.

And Bont not a captains arseh*le.. must have missed his 8 tackles (highest on the ground), 15 contested possessions (highest on the ground) his work rate back, but again you wouldn't have seen that eating your donuts on the couch.

So hobble off to bed u muppet.

Personal attacks huh? ‘Cause I’m speaking the truth??? We lost the game in the middle you fool. If we had a proper tap ruckman, or even if Lobb played no.1 ruck tonight, we win that. But you wouldn’t know, ‘cause you know bugger all about footy, not me

 

[NBates]

 

[PocketRocket08]

marcus not a captains arseh*le
do us all a favor and step down
when we need direction Missing in Action
this team will go nowhere as long as he is captain
HOW *EN MANY TIMES WILL WE GIVE HIM AN OUT?

STFU you fool.

 

[perro_loco]

Things aren't nearly as bad as the game day s**t posting thread would have it.

If there is a game style that we have always struggled against its teams that run and gun out of half back and Collingwood do it better than any side in teh game. We just dont have a counter for sides that move the ball at speed once it clears the contest. In the end it was a game where Collingwood's cleaner disposal and efficiency across the ground and in front goal the difference. It's just reality that they are better equipped and run deeper with with ball carriers who are willing to run forward of the ball and take risks by hand and especially by foot. The latter they use to cut a swath through opposition midfields. Pendlebury and the Daicos Bros are brutally efficient in this regard.

We on the other hand tend to run and gun by hand and often move the ball forward to a teammate who is coming at them, thus needed to turn, hook the ball around their body or handball backwards or wide. It's just an inefficient way of moving the ball forward.

When the game was swinging in the balance in the third they were kicking goals from all points of the compass and we were missing relatively easy set shots from well within the arc. That was the real difference.

Our forward line is finally starting to take shape the combination of JUH, Naughton and Weightman are finally getting separation and are becoming a nightmare for opposition backs. It's the next level where a lot of our issues arose. There is just not enough defensive pressure from the other forwards when the ball hits the ground. The big 3 can't do it all. Tonight it was glaring how quickly and cleanly Collingwood could whip the ball out of our forward line and in a straight line down the ground. This just exposes everybody next in line. This was particularly evident when the game began to slip away in the third.

It's not all doom and gloom. We had our chances and reverted to missing easy set shots and not being able to get a handle on a team inn the middle of a run on. However, this game could've easy blown out to 50+ points with 20 minutes to go. That we stayed in it worked hard to get the game back on our terms and got to within a couple of kicks against the best side in the competition is a positive in my view.

A lot of what you say is correct. Missing JJ and Jones is a big deal for us defensively. We need to get players that will improve on McNeil and Scott. BSmirh is playing poorly because he has no confidence. We are not tath bad but we are around 10% off the mark with the top 4. We can improve and be a threat if things start to fall our way.

 

[LovevShaqBB13]

Thoughtful post, but what this boils down to is that either the game has passed Bevo by or he’s too inflexible to change, right?

Apologies if I’ve misinterpreted this, but the lack of evolution of this team in recent years is imo at the heart of why we’re nowhere near the top teams.

Correct which makes it a complex scenario where our club is united which is what you ideally want, but handicapped by the game plan evolution at this stage.

 

[LovevShaqBB13]

View attachment 1731722

Didnt this ship sale round 2?

 

[TMoney22]

If Macrae is not playing inside, he needs to be on the wing. He is being wasted at half forward. He is one of our few mids who can hit up targets inside 50.

I agree, the lack of forward pressure and run from him and Smith hurt. I seen Knobel burst away from them far too many times. If Hunter could play wing well, there is no reason why Macrae can't.

Much prefer Macrae and Smith rotating on a wing and middle. A bit of rest up forward is fine but not all game.

 

[_Cerberus_]

Finally back from the game. Aside from that horrible middle period. Our start and finish were quite pleasing. Just frustrating we cannot sustain that run, and good ball use for a whole game. For a team whose number one focus in the offseason was improving the defence across the middle, we still get ripped a part when teams get a run on us. Been an issue since the Grand Final in 2021. So that is disappointing.

Watching Collingwood just stream across the middle of the ground linking up with fast and accurate handball chains, combined with hard running is a sight to see. Its like a linear line across the middle of the field that looks like this / or this \ from the defensive 50 line to the forward 50 line, a line of guys who have all broken off their opponents and are cheating ahead, as they cut across the field with the ball overlapping one another, running across to the fat/open side of the field. If the game was at the G, we may have been in more trouble.

We feel so slow and inefficient for the most part in comparison.

Doc got wrecked hard by Elliot all game. Shows we badly need a small lockdown defender, just as badly as we need a tall one, in the couple of years ahead. Stuff loading up on interceptors which we like to do. Get some honest man on man defenders down there.

Thought Gards was admirable in the second half, clearly struggled to move with what looked to be a painful foot injury. I would expect him to miss some game time. Lost his guy on the lead a couple of times, but he didn't quit.

The forward line, its kind of weird. One one hand you can say its coming together, and our three main forwards did their job and kicked bags tonight. And I was actually quite happy with it. But on the other hand, you could say it was inefficient for too long a period where we could make nothing happen when the game was running away. The forward part of the ground needs a little more consistency. Cody got some goals and a bit of the ball, but Quaynor flogged him for the most part in between his hot start and finish. Think Cody ate dirt like 3 times at least when he was easily bumped to the ground in a marking contest. Gym time!

Our forwards needed more support tonight as barely anyone else kicked a goal outside of the main trio.

Thought defence played alright, minus Doc. It was the team defence in the middle of the park where we lost the game. After playing so well for the opening quarter and a bit. At least we did not let it continue to blow out.

Anyone else feel like Bont missing massive goals in third quarters with the game and momentum on the line, is now a curse? I feel like every time he misses those in that period, teams suddenly open the flood gates on us. Has to be the third or fourth time I have seen it happen, where Bont misses a simple shot and then teams go on a run.

Clearly we are well behind the top 4. But we are still in and amongst the next batch of teams. It is clear those small, quick, clean and hard running teams, with a solid defender are our kryptonite at the moment. Cats, Port, Pies etc.

Oh well, on to next week. Swans have been up and down this season. But are still hard to beat at home. A classic 8 point game for us in terms of finals placings.

 

[Libbaaaa]

So much for that sell out, so many empty seats on bottom and middle tier.

 

[Snarls Barkley]

What has happened with Bailey Smith been poor the last few weeks

Looks very unsure of his role.

Played very well as an inside midfielder for a few games in the middle of the year, has been bad since Treloar came back in. Not sure what the answer is with him, can be such a difference maker when he is playing well but does not look like finding that kind of form.

 

[Shadow89]

Hey guys,

Sorry for the intrusion, just wondering, what the hell has happened to Bailey Smith

3

Bailey Smith

Age

24

Ht

185cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

8.5

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

3.8

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

19.8

5star

K

9.6

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.2

4star

CL

3.2

4star

D

14.8

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

3.4

5star

CL

1.6

4star

?

Is it Bevo moving him around too much, as he looked dominant on a wing/inside mid in the few games he was there - but is an absolute shadow of himself since then?

Genuine superstar in the making, and then completely different player most of this year. Anyone have insights to what might be going on? Appreciate any responses

 

[MrChristo]

I mean, seriously, what's wrong with this place?!
We are where we are, right?
Forget St. Kilda, we're a top 5 side.
Collingwood are clearly in the the 2.
(I'm all for actual reasoning, but it's not like most of this crazy thread will care...)

They are the one team I don't think we can beat so don't anyone be surprised if it's a Dog v. Magpie GF...

...and that was a close of a game as we'll see. Absolutely 50/50.
We're right in this, yet anyone reading (and clearly posting in!) this thread thinks it's a disaster?!
Madness.

 

[Bulldogs85]

Hey guys,

Sorry for the intrusion, just wondering, what the hell has happened to Bailey Smith?

Is it Bevo moving him around too much, as he looked dominant on a wing/inside mid in the few games he was there - but is an absolute shadow of himself since then?

Genuine superstar in the making, and then completely different player most of this year. Anyone have insights to what might be going on? Appreciate any responses

Just looks like he is badly out of form

 

[MrChristo]

Hey guys,

Sorry for the intrusion, just wondering, what the hell has happened to Bailey Smith?

He's a kid in his early 20s who's lost confidence. (For various reasons).
He doesn't run hard enough defensively to play on a wing but his pace and vision is vital to us breaking through zones.
His kicking had never been much good.

How many players at Geelong who are his age are getting a regular game?

 

[darklake]

Jamarra is my new favourite non pies player after tonight

He's awesome isn't he.