Match Day Thread Rnd. 5. Sydney V GWS. SCG. 19.25 pm.

**stevoswan** · 23rd April 2017, 10:19 PM

As I said once before, getting Buddy was a masterstroke and we would have been mad not to do it but the reality is, post Tippett's recruitment, it turned the league and the footy world against us and we have been made to pay. It's caught up with the club and players and they look mentally drained and exhausted after fighting it manfully for four years. The 'Spirit of the Bloods' may have finally been broken. The next few weeks will give us the answer to that........I swear if I ever saw Mike Fitzpatrick in the street I would punch his fu**ing lights out.

**Velour&Ruffles** · 23rd April 2017, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by stevoswan

I swear if I ever saw Mike Fitzpatrick in the street I would punch his fu**ing lights out.

I wouldn't urinate on him if he was on fire.

That said, I WOULD urinate on him if he wasn't on fire.

**SeanM** · 24th April 2017, 12:10 AM

To be honest I don't think Mike Fitzpatrick or the footy world being against us has much to do with our poor form.

Melbourne clubs face a lot more scrutiny and ridicule when they under perform. I don't think soaking Mike Fitzpatrick in petrol and setting him on fire is going to make much difference to us now. Or regretting not resigning Mumford three years ago. It is all in the past.

**stevoswan** · 24th April 2017, 02:04 AM

I'd still punch his lights out........

**Flying South** · 24th April 2017, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by Ludwig

Reg will be 31 in June, Smooch 29. I've not suggested that Smooch be dropped. It's not an age problem with Reg, more that we need players to drive the ball out of defence and Reg is not that kind of defender. He doesn't have the playing style that we require to become a more rebounding side out of defence rather than a staunch defensive side that can repel one opposition thrust after another. We need players that can kick well and run.

The main point I have been making is a change in mindset. We may well be able to make the finals this year with a good run, but I don't think it will matter in the end. It's far more important to find the right mix of players that can work together to play the kind of football that can match it with the best. I think we can do a rebuild on the run, but it has to start now.

Let's not do a Hawthorn and pretend we are still a championship side. We are rebuilding, but have a lot more tools in the shed to do it with than Hawthorn do. If we do it right, we can be back with best very quickly.

Can you imagine Horse going to training and saying "guys we are 0-5, you have no chance to win the flag. By the way we are dropping some you senior guys because we have no faith you can turn the team around. But stick around as we need you to play reserves and help rebuild the club."

The problem is not with our backline. No one could defend against the speed of entry they are facing. Wave after wave. The midfield is the cause of all our problems. We are missing a couple of quality inside midfielders that can take the heat off Hannebery and Parker. Their bodies are broken after years of being the best with little support around them. Hewett is trying but we have nothing after that. Lloyd and Cuuningham can't play inside, Robinson keeps getting injured, Foote not up to it and Florent is still developing. Is there any more???? Certainly don't want to destroy Heeney and Mills by throwing them inside the packs. No one should under estimate the physical toll they endure week after week. We are missing Mitchell and even McGlynn provided some inside grunt. Jones would love the physical nature of the midfield trenches, but we need to find another quality young inside midfielder. I wonder if we had our time again would Powell-Pepper have been a better choice. Recruiting one may be our best option.

**YvonneH** · 24th April 2017, 08:29 AM

The result could have been a lot, lot worse in terms of scoreboard pressure.
1st quarter - down by 10 points
2nd quarter - down by 32 points
3rd quarter - down by 22 points
4th quarter - down by 42 points

We broke even in the 1st and 3rd quarters (loss by 10, won by 10)

I know the final score is what counts but like I said before it could have been a lot worse.

**mattybloods** · 24th April 2017, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by Flying South

The midfield is the cause of all our problems. We are missing a couple of quality inside midfielders that can take the heat off Hannebery and Parker. Their bodies are broken after years of being the best with little support around them.

Now that we've got some quality forwards back in Papley, Rohan (swinging to backline) and Heeney (also through midfield) we should get Jack back in the middle. He's not a small forward and we need another hard head over the ball

**Nico** · 24th April 2017, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by stellation

Heath using "retard" was disappointing, and he seems to genuinely regret it. From what I can gather he has always been a buffoon, but has also always been the first guy to put his hand up to be involved in any community engagement activities at both of his clubs and I imagine this betrays little more than a poor choice of words.

One thing we need to be mindful of if we're going to be pointing fingers at clubs is why he was so upset with Tom- Heath and Luke Parker were wrestling, and then Tom put Heath in a head lock to drag him off. That's completely out of line, and we would be livid if someone did it to one of our players.

Didn't we get a 50 metre penalty for Papley's indiscretion? Needs to pull his head and concentrate on his form. He made some horrible mistakes, that one included.

**Ludwig** · 24th April 2017, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by Flying South

Can you imagine Horse going to training and saying "guys we are 0-5, you have no chance to win the flag. By the way we are dropping some you senior guys because we have no faith you can turn the team around. But stick around as we need you to play reserves and help rebuild the club."

The problem is not with our backline. No one could defend against the speed of entry they are facing. Wave after wave. The midfield is the cause of all our problems. We are missing a couple of quality inside midfielders that can take the heat off Hannebery and Parker. Their bodies are broken after years of being the best with little support around them. Hewett is trying but we have nothing after that. Lloyd and Cuuningham can't play inside, Robinson keeps getting injured, Foote not up to it and Florent is still developing. Is there any more???? Certainly don't want to destroy Heeney and Mills by throwing them inside the packs. No one should under estimate the physical toll they endure week after week. We are missing Mitchell and even McGlynn provided some inside grunt. Jones would love the physical nature of the midfield trenches, but we need to find another quality young inside midfielder. I wonder if we had our time again would Powell-Pepper have been a better choice. Recruiting one may be our best option.

Totally disagree with this.

Firstly, no one has to say anything about our current ladder position or our chances of winning a premiership. I think everyone knows the score and expects that there will be changes. It would be a very rare event indeed for a club to perform the way we have and for the coach to do nothing.

JPK, Hanners, Parker and Jack have been doing the bulk of the inside work for several years. Their bodies shouldn't be broken more than any other inside midfielder. They have had plenty of support over the years. There's not an apparent explanation for why these players should have played well throughout last year, but then drop off so much 6 months later. Hanners and Parker are at the peak of their careers. It doesn't seem to have affected Joel Selwood who is the same age as JPK and has been even more of a battering ram over the years, nor Matt Priddis, nor Trent Cotchin (older than either Hanners or Parker) who is having a great year, nor Rory Sloane, who has taken a step up even though he no longer has Dangerfield to help out.

George Hewett has been spending most of his time in the midfield this year taking a lot of the heat. He's up there in the stats for CPs and tackles with JPK. We have rotated a lot of other players on ball as well. We have been missing Heeney, who would have picked up some of the void left by Tom Mitchell. But this is just one midfielder and shouldn't make such a big difference.

I have been suggesting for weeks now that we don't need to play all of Jones, Lloyd and Mills in the back line. At least 2 can play through the midfield. Newman can take the kick ins, if he plays, which frees up both Lloyd and Mills, who take on this role most of the time.

I know we have been short of personnel due to injuries this season. This is usually when the senior players step up to pick up the slack for the young players who have come in to their places, but this has not been the case so far. The players are not making excuses. They are just saying that they have to play better. I don't think any of us know the reason for their drop off.

My point has been that we should face the reality of our situation and use it as an opportunity to look ahead beyond this season to develop the team that can compete for another flag. If we are to make a comeback this season, it's certainly not going to happen doing what we've been doing so far this year.

**Dosser** · 24th April 2017, 12:10 PM

I guess my fear is that if it becomes apparent that we are putting this season on ice and are going for a rebuild (whatever that may look like) then some of our stars may feel the desire to look at clubs that are closer to the premiership 'window'. I know that most of them are on contracts, but we have seen that that only means we have better bargaining power with the suitor if the player really wants to go. I wonder how a rebuild would make Zac Jones feel, as he sees his brother in a team that is on the way up at the moment?