Sick of this rubbish. Sick of the mantra of the outdated 'Bloods' 'we need to be harder at the ball' narrative, which drags us back to crash and bash, skills-averse, body-smashing, initiative-stunting football. Skills let us down in the first half, when we dominated clearances, contested balls, and inside 50s. Better field kicking, not handballing to teammates wearing a defender, and accurate finishing should have had us seven goals in front.
Kennedy and Parker are so one dimensional. Lloyd accumulates but creates nothing. Papley is busy but ineffective. Aliir is wasted at FB, where his intercept and line-breaking run is constrained. Reid is just so exasperating. A decent mark, but woeful kick.
Honestly, I was worried that Gawn was going to contract leather poisoning and carpal tunnel syndrome last night. I'm sure that I saw Sinclair curled up in the fetal position at the back of the interchange shelter early in the fourth quarter. He needs time to get over the niggles and the PTSD. McInerny shouldn't have been out there last night, Blakey needs time in the NEAFL, as does Ronke. And I wonder whether we could invoke a warranty on Thurlow? Maybe get Gazza back?
For next week . . .
Out: McInerny, Ronke, Blakey, Thurlow, Sinclair
In: O'Riordan, Mellican, Rose, Cameron, Stoddard
Reid to play FB, Aliir to CHB. McCartin forward
Rose McCartin Jack
Franklin Dawson Papley
Florent Kennedy Heeney
Cameron Jones Parker
O'Riordan Aliir Mills
Reid Rampe Mellican
Int Lloyd, Cunningham, Hewitt, Stoddard
Longer term: time to recharge the coaching panel. Is Kirk offering much beyond cro-magnon "Bloods" exhortations? What has Johnson brought to the mix? I'll excuse Cox, as he hasn't had the opportunity to work with a genuine ruck yet.
Get Grundy, Smith and McVeigh off the list at the end of the year.
Look to move Kennedy, Parker, Jack, Franklin off over the next two years. Possibly let go of Lloyd as well.
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