Cincotta for Kennedy maybe. Lord would have had a crack, Binns would have been brushed aside and Moir is fit enough to play a whole game.
Would have been much better than playing half fit, out of form, underdone players. Think 100 years of history has proven that time and time and time again. Those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Rule 101, play finals with a fit side. Results are always alot better. You've been around long enough to know that. If young blokes are in form they play and will often again play well.
I may be the odd man out then. I'm disappointed, but not perplexed. Certainly not angry....not even hurting.
It was what it was. Once the injuries hit us our season virtually ended. Folks will say we were off before that, but we were sitting in second having crushed Geelong and were being talked up as premiership favourites. It wasn't just injuries that had players missing games, but the fact that players were forced to play with injuries and the cumulative effect of that meant the season would finish pretty much as it did.
Do folks think that if Binns, Lord, Moir and Cincotta had played we would have won. We couldn't beat St Kilda with those 4 playing and Cincotta who seemed an obvious matchup for someone like Zorko was dropped. So obviously it was considered that he had gone off the boil from the shut-down roles he'd performed in previous weeks. At best it might have made a slight difference to the start. Some might say we came back and they started to panic. There was an element of that, but we were never going to win. They eased off and then had to comeback and seal the game...which they did. Brisbane had the game won and were looking to next week. Our last three goals were junk time goals. Two to Pittonet says it all.
But if TDK had played all the game??? We were at the point where it was considered that he was a major weapon but the doubt was on the ability to see out the game. If we're going to count out players because there is a doubt over their fitness and ability to see out the game as some have argued....then surely he doesn't play at all. That wouldn't have gone well. The fact is we had no idea how long he would last, or how he would perform after a lay-off. That he did well is a credit to him, and the sooner we get him on a long term deal the better.
So... not angry. Not hurting A bit disappointed. That's all a bit of a waste of time...what's done is done Moved on already...but maybe hoping and expecting some changes around the caoching structure and football department. Looking forward to the trade and draft periods and a more settled side in 2025....because time is running out for this group, and major changes will take us back a few squares.
Playing Binns, Lord, Moir and Cincotta would have made us more competitive. Blokes fit enough to actually get to contests. Not thinking we were winning at all but would have been more competitive. Might have been 30-0 instead of 60 with a few bloke's actually switched on. At least you'd feel some chance from there rather than hopeless. As for not beating the Saints, remember the Saints very comfortably beat Geelong the previous week. They had found their form. The 4 bloke's would have blended in with some coming back. It would not have been totally the previous week's side.
A big part of the problem. Parents living through their kids rather than celebrating their progress. But there are a whole range of other issues. Rows of young kids bored to the teeth waiting for their race throw or jump. The dramatic drop off rate as kids are lost to the sport in their teen years. The sport today is a shadow of itself in the 60s and 70s Thankfully we have a few elite who succeed. But many a potentially good athlete has been lost to the sport.
I gave up the LA's a long time ago. Too many power trips. LA's has been a great base to developing athletes. While many drop out we are doing a lot better with athletes coming through the system too. Our strength in athletics mostly in the more technical events.
I found coaching kids restrictive. My coaching blossomed once I stopped coaching young juniors as I could really expand my range as a coach. I was a lot better coach once I did that. Managed to get 5 athletes to represent their country from different countries, last one an Aussie in 2022 World Champs in Oregon with the oldest female ever. COVID sadly screwed her race, but, she was there at 49yo. Now at my age I am just focussing on masters athletes. An excuse to travel every year...lol. My masters have won 42 medals at World level, 23 gold.
Their system is pretty unique. Early polls don't show a lot of movement...yet. But it's not the percentages that count. It's winning the states and the electoral college votes that go with them.
She's getting well ahead in Michigan and Wisconsin. If she get Pennsylvania and there no way Trump wins as it will get her exactly the required 270. It is close there with Harris about 1% in front on the averages fo the many polls there.
Realistically you wouldn't vote for Trump over Harris on trumps track record. All she has to do is play everything with a straight bat and she'll win u less the people in America are really dumb.
I like owies but he's no Eddie betts. I know once bitten twice shy, but his 2023 was actually better than his 2024. Kicked 27 goals off 18 games rather than 33 off 23.
Not a huge difference. Just shows he's a consistent goalkicker.
Still not a hope he was going to play well after that long out. I had him dropped for that reason a few weeks ago, bar the part where we ran out of players. He was struggling in the VFL quite a bit before he came back. Probably should not have come back.
👏👏👏👏 And just on players returning from injury, look at Papley's stats, 2 goals, 4 scores assists in the last qtr, elite. If you want it enough you'll get, they (the midfield especially early) just didn't want it.
That's one and didn't miss alot with repeat injuries.Swans weren't bringing back multiple half fit, underdone players and leaving other out of form ones in. We should have played our fittest possible side. Blokes we had weren't fit enough to get close to anything when the game was hot. Young blokes would have been able too, applied a bit of pressure rather than allowing the likes Zorko to do what he wanted. Makes a huge difference. Many not have won but would not have been 60-0 either. Would have made them work for it a little more.
Only.the fittest succeed in finals. Proven.for over 100 years.As thry say, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. 80% fit gives 20% output.
This season was just a total f up by all concerned at the top from the fitness bloke to.poor team selection.
SF's, Hawks beat Port, GWS beat Brisbane. Probably not hard to pick those two.
PF's, Sydney beat the Hawks, GWS beat Geelong. Cats have struggled this year when another side has put it on them. They got a soft touch the other night. Wish we got that. Sydney are more beatable than 8 weeks ago but I reckon they still win at home.
After yesterday's QF Sydney v GWS could go either way. Sydney have experience at GF level but GWS did have a big lead near 3/4 time yesterday. Sydney wouldn't want to do that again.
Still building. Voss said he was sub twice because he wasn't ready to play a full game. Ability is great but obviously need to work the tank. Made a great sub playing 45 minutes though but can't do that permanently.
With a full list and everything going right in regard to form and injury we are a chance to beat Brisbane at Brisbane. The side that lost to St.Kilda would never have stood a chance. We rolled the dice on a hail Mary but in all reality, it was never going to happen.
Need a few of the younger ones blending in with some of the seniors returning, not so much one side or the other. Only 100% fit sides are going to have the best chance of success. No sure we were winning anyway but might have prevented a 60-0 start.
Not if we start with the pissweak intensity we started with last night.
A few different blokes might have a different intensity, win or lose. At least they'd be fit enough to compete when the game was hot. Would not have been a 60-0 start.
There's a few on here who defended the team selection and still trying too. Hate to say it, it was a huge error. Hawthorn showed what youngsters can do in a final.
Do you really believe those changes would have made the difference in what was a smacking before our opposition clearly took the foot off our throat with nothing to gain. Its possible those changes see us lose by even more with the kids being scarred by a 15- 20 goal loss? Just because we will never know doesn't imply they are correct selections. The club needed to risk all to have any chance and when that fails of course you can argue what if they did this or that but the reality is we entered the finals in poor health and regardless who we picked as sub or at MC in this game we were cooked before the ball was bounced.
We need to be very active in the offseason and make a few ballsy decisions to improve on this year
Would have made quite a difference win or lose. Some pace and run from blokes 100% fit would not have seen a 60 to nil start. We had blokes underdone and half fit that, for that reason, couldn't get into the game when it was hot. Fit blokes make a big difference. You have been following footy long enough to know that, surely.
