Post Match. Swans thump Pies. All comments.

[BenBronx]

[BenBronx]

[neil]

AJ out thats two games as a substandard forward
Do we have a KPF that is ready to come in?
Sidey started slow last year so am willing to wait a while
Pendles should not be expected to carry the midfield
Markov is in poor form WHE didnt exist Crisp is not having the impact he has always had
Poor first game back from Howe

[inxs88]

I think we looked like an old side tonight, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise because statistically we are the oldest team in the competition.
Sidebottom at 34 had a shocker of a first half and was only marginally better in the 2nd Half.
Pendlebury at 36 looks slow and seems to have lost his disposal ability.
Jack Crisp 32 seems to have lost his mojo and isn't half the player he was last season. Maybe he isn't suited to playing the CHB position?
Howe 34 seemed short of a run, hopefully he will get better with that game under his belt.

Darcy Moore also looks to have lost his nojo with continuing to be too loose in defense leading to easy opposition goals.

I thought Maynard was brillent tonight with some typical strong attacking football and glorious foot passing. Other positives from tonight were Finn Macrae's brief time on ground showing that he is ready to be a regular serior player. Tom Mitchell is behind Finn Macrae in the pecking order I think based on Finn's form tonight. Darcy Cameron played well to be the best ruckman on the ground.

I think Fly McRae needs to make a statement and drop Jack Crisp for Ben Allan to get a game next week. Bring back John Noble who adds desparation to the team and has good disposal skills as a replacement for Markov (not Oleg's fault that an umpire had a brain fart and paid a free against him in the 2nd Quarter instead of giving him a deserved 50 meter penalty but Markov's not great for one vs one contests and his disposal is average at best) Reef Mcinnes in the team as a replacement for Ash Johnson, who needs to really dominate a couple of games in the VFL before being considered again. Ed Allan needs to be brought into the team to replace Sidebottom next week.

Collingwood can still recover this season to be a serious contender but they need to respond to the challenge of Saints at the G next Thursday.

Best you back your arguments with facts. Crisp just turned 30 and it's Ed Allan not dad Ben

[boom]

I'm hoping part of the explanation for the slow start is to try to peak later in the year in terms of fitness etc. Last season we were amazing out of the gates and then tapered off though still got it done thankfully. I'm not ready to buy into the narrative that the old players have irreversibly dropped off, our oldest player was the best player in the last quarter of last season. I'm more concerned that the team on the whole (including the young blokes) doesn't seem to be running both ways or applying the pressure that we have come to expect

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

never thought we should have unfirled the flag last night shoud have left it to next week v saints.
was really premature round 1.
not many premiership- teams do it that early they normally wait till round 3 or 4.

[Take_a_Screamer]

^^^ You can't get a perfect Aiden Begg when he is still developing.
He's been in the system a while, so if he can provide us a with forward focus, now is the time to try him...

I can see our team changing with 5-6 new players this year. Do not hesitate Collingwood, make the changes now and in the next few games (such as Fin Macrae in the side).

[lazzadesilva]

[quote="qldmagpie67"]As Jezza said there’s more questions than answers right now
There is recent history of premiership winners coming out them next season and really never getting started the following year
For mine the thing that really stands out is our lack of desperation
We aren’t sticking tackles, opposition players are running past our players to get lose balls or to get to contests, our kicking is horrendous at all parts of the ground.
I love stats because stats generally don’t lie
Here’s the damning stat from last night
We had 18 turn overs in our or exiting our defensive 50 a total of 13-5 (77 points)
Main Culprits
Moore 4
Markov 3
Sidey 3
Crisp 2

For those thinking things will be ok when Murphy comes back think again.
He isn’t the answer to all our defensive issues
Defence starts up the field which in our case is non existent and barely recognisable from what it was last year which masked some of our aggressive push up field style
Also Murphy is one accidental knock at training or a game from being done for good. (

[lazzadesilva]

[slangman]

Dean in the pre-season and in two tough senior games looks to have real game. I'd really like to see what he's capable of with another 30 games under his belt. I reckon there's a player there.

I'll back you there Laurie. I'm not sure why Dean is coping so much brunt of criticism after only two tough games. I thought Howe and Q and even Moore were even worse tonight. And don't get me started on why Markov played and Noble didn't. The Markov experiment is quickly coming to an end I think.

Dean is a bloody good kick I noticed last night, that will help

I think that Dean has had very poor support from his fellow defenders over the first two games.
He has been left exposed in 1-on-1’s without a 3 man attacking the contest in support. Moore has been very poor so far and as the leader hasn’t made it a priority to help out more.

I’m still waiting for an explanation from someone as to why and how McCrae hasn’t been able to get into the starting 22. FMD, he did more in 35min of game time than at least 7 others did for the entirety of the game.

For us to improve on 2023, it is imperative that at least 2 young players take the next step and become influential players.
McCrae looks ready to take this step but we need at least on of Reef, Ash, Allan etc to grab the opportunity that is available.

Special mention to Nick Daicos….don’t worry about the stats. His guy running and never give up attitude was fantastic to watch last night in what otherwise was a dirty night for the team.

[lazzadesilva]

Flag hangover + heavy/short preseason training load + opposition hungrier to beat us. I tipped us being 0-2 and here we are. It’s a long season, anything can happen.

In:Frampton, McInnes, McCrae.
Out: Johnson, ?, ?

Anything can happen, exactly. However it will not be the positive outcome we hope for unless some players have an “interest and attitude” transplant and start playing committed football again.

[shawthing]

Do we have a KPF that is ready to come in?

We don't have a single KPF at the club. Period.

[stoliboy]

I think we can turn it around.

Fly’s last two press conferences have been pretty good at identifying the problems.

However, looking ahead we could easily be 1 - 4 or 0 - 5 after the first 5 rounds. So we have to win next week against St Kilda. Lose that and we are going into the Grand Final rematch in Brisbane looking at a hiding.

It has been an incredibly frustrating last two weeks considering our last two years but we can do it.

[Culprit]

Watched the Saints last night and we will need to turn it around or we will be 0-3. It’s March so no panic stations yet.

[mgh3536]

I reckon we have got the best out of some good ordinary players over past couple years because of the system, now that our system is under pressure and being exploited by all the other teams we are exposed individually.

Cameron, Cox are not frontline rucks they are better than decent.

We are the oldest list which must have an impact against younger stronger opponents our veterans are Sidebottom, Pendlebury, Howe, Cox not known for their strength or physicality 3 are skilled and were elite now better than good.

This group of Elliott, Miocheck, Cameron, Hoskin Elliott, better than honest.

McCreery, Noble, Markov, Mitchel, and Lipinski previously were a crucial part of the high levels of pressure. Still, none of these are stars or highly influenced a game, but as a collective playing their role, very effectively.

We have won so many games by a few points and because we were able to manage the game, the opposition have gone to work and without an upgraded gameplan individual good players are being exposed against teams that have better individual personal...but additionally have picked apart our gameplan.

So lets see if we can recapture our frantic aggressive ball movement or an upgraded version of 2023.

No injuries from Swans game...