Re: RD 19 : Blues Lose To Frockers (Aftermatch Angst)
Reply #27 –
No McPharlin & no Pavlich and they made us look ordinary in the end.
We had some good passages of play across the first three quarters but they flexed some muscle in the last and pulled away like good sides do. They are a top 3 team and will be a real show come finals time.
We have to face facts here, our wins this year have mostly been against teams below us on the ladder and we have been shown up by those above us even if the margin at times has been only a kick.
The vast majority of Blues fans had some real enthusiasm & expectation when Malthouse arrived. He was expected to get more out of the players that Ratts did and he took them to nearly a prelim final. However, Malthouse has had time to assess our list and now stated we are around 14 players off where he believes it should be.
There is no point in getting upset or angry right now, it is what it is and if we were honest with ourselves we would of known that we still aren't ready to challenge the upper echelon of the ladder just yet. We are not far off it and subject to what happens in the trade & draft period, we could be right back in the hunt in 2014.
Many people have questioned aspects of our game & playing list and they are all quite valid. We don't have the full skill set, we don't have the mental edge just yet, we aren't fit enough right now and we don't have the cattle. To expect us to challenge professional teams like Hawthorn & Sydney with the list we have is living in dreamland.
It was a pretty good game of footy tonight and there were some positives for the future (eg. Tuohy kicking 3 & Watson providing a target up forward) but in the end, the difference in class & talent came home to roost.
Lastly, there was a handful of regular senior players who were virtually passengers tonight and for that reason, will come under more & more intense scrutiny as the end of the season draws closer by the week..