Post Match. Pies pipped by Hawks. All comments please.

[Magpietothemax]

Maybe this is the catharsis our boys need. After this loss, a truly devastating one (should never have lost to them, Hawthorn are an inferior team this year..their inferiority was palpable throughout the game, they only won due to our amazing accuracy in shooting ourselves in the foot)...we now have nothing to lose. Nothing to lose means freedom...freedom to move the ball lightning fast like we used to, by hand and foot, through the centre whenever we see fit. Our defence is strong...we have established fantastic defensive structures across the team. that has been the one highlight across the last horrible 3 or 4 weeks. It is the offensive ball movement that has been gutted, but not by injuries (most injuries have occurred in defence). Tay Adams will be a huge inclusion when he returns, Stepho out is big, but does not explain the failure to transition the ball forward with aggression and daring. Our skills have fallen off the cliff, but skills don't just evaporate into thin air. It is the team synergy. We are being suffocated by lack of confidence. Tell the team: take it on. You have nothing to lose. Go for it. It's backs to the wall, like 2018.

[PyreneesPie]

OK the next 2 weeks or so we are gong to be rank outsiders, underdogs, friendless, as opposed to last 3 weeks we have been hot favourites. This takes pressure of us, cos nobody expects us to win. I reckon Bucks should throw caution to the wind, tell our guys, as new coach Shaw is doing to got our and actually enjoy their footy again, start playing with flair, some imagination, go for broke, take risks, like, it may just work. ! And could we play any worse than what we are now, if we did take the game on more have a real crack for the fun of it. ? Its worked for Norf and Carlton.

Totally agree!!! I really hope that he doesn't come down on them like a ton of bricks. They need their morale to be boosted and to get some joy out of playing again. I've mentioned this before, but have you noticed how great goals just don't get the players excited like they used to. JDG kicked some pearlers tonight, but he may as well kicked it out on the full with the enthusiasm that those around him showed.
Just go out and enjoy it boys, like Piesnchess recommends. Nothing to lose now.

[PyreneesPie]

Maybe this is the catharsis our boys need. After this loss, a truly devastating one (should never have lost to them, Hawthorn are an inferior team this year..their inferiority was palpable throughout the game, they only won due to our amazing accuracy in shooting ourselves in the foot)...we now have nothing to lose. Nothing to lose means freedom...freedom to move the ball lightning fast like we used to, by hand and foot, through the centre whenever we see fit. Our defence is strong...we have established fantastic defensive structures across the team. that has been the one highlight across the last horrible 3 or 4 weeks. It is the offensive ball movement that has been gutted, but not by injuries (most injuries have occurred in defence). Tay Adams will be a huge inclusion when he returns, Stepho out is big, but does not explain the failure to transition the ball forward with aggression and daring. Our skills have fallen off the cliff, but skills don't just evaporate into thin air. It is the team synergy. We are being suffocated by lack of confidence. Tell the team: take it on. You have nothing to lose. Go for it. It's backs to the wall, like 2018.

Exactly... say no more.

[shawthing]

Last comment from me for the night. If we want a blueprint on how we can jazz up our game plan just take a look at how DeGoey scored the goal of the night. He ran through the centre bounce and caught the tap from Grundy running at full pace (like Swanny used to do all the time). And then didn't try to muck around with the footy, he simply kicked it long through the big sticks. Sadly, we gave up the next goal just as easily because apart from DeGoey all our midfielders stand around flat-footed. Maybe we need to get Swanny down to instruct them, but then Bucks never did like the Rat Pack did he.

[PyreneesPie]

For all of you who want Clarkson - FWIW IMO, no bloody way.

He got lucky in 3 prelims which they went onto win flags.

He assaults opposition supporters.

He turns up to under 9s games and tell kids to get *&^ked

He verbally abuses journaists

He instructs his players to play physically well outside the rules

He has ethical malnutrition issues.

He has lost his last 4 finals.

No, no, no no and No.

This is great kymbo5!!!

[David]

It was a significant improvement on last week, and that’s something. Some players stood up well (a really encouraging debut from Quaynor, and Aish shpwed us how much we missed him last week), but the side still has major structural problems. Cox needs to go back to the VFL to get his form back; at least Mihocek had a good game, but Reid’s absence hurts all of a sudden. Still not sure about Daicos; looked a bit lost out there at times. Brown did some great things. I have a feeling we’ll respond strongly against West Coast, but will it be enough?

[masoncox]

35 to 57 inside 50's
Another slaughter.
All other stats relatively even.
Our mids are a disaster.

[PyreneesPie]

Last comment from me for the night. If we want a blueprint on how we can jazz up our game plan just take a look at how DeGoey scored the goal of the night. He ran through the centre bounce and caught the tap from Grundy running at full pace (like Swanny used to do all the time). And then didn't try to muck around with the footy, he simply kicked it long through the big sticks. Sadly, we gave up the next goal just as easily because apart from DeGoey all our midfielders stand around flat-footed. Maybe we need to get Swanny down to instruct them, but then Bucks never did like the Rat Pack did he.

Excellent post shawthing. Just quietly, I think Bucks has a soft spot for the wonderful Swanny. I think it was Heater he couldn't cope with!

I noticed in the dying minutes, with the ball coming out of our backline, there there was absolutely no movement down the field. They were all just standing there, perhaps wondering which way they should go.
JGD needs to be held up as the example this coming week of how we want the mids and forwards to show some belief in themselves. Yep, sometimes he mis-fires, but most of the time, especially when he plays on, he does miraculous things.

[slangman]

Maybe this is the catharsis our boys need. After this loss, a truly devastating one (should never have lost to them, Hawthorn are an inferior team this year..their inferiority was palpable throughout the game, they only won due to our amazing accuracy in shooting ourselves in the foot)...we now have nothing to lose. Nothing to lose means freedom...freedom to move the ball lightning fast like we used to, by hand and foot, through the centre whenever we see fit. Our defence is strong...we have established fantastic defensive structures across the team. that has been the one highlight across the last horrible 3 or 4 weeks. It is the offensive ball movement that has been gutted, but not by injuries (most injuries have occurred in defence). Tay Adams will be a huge inclusion when he returns, Stepho out is big, but does not explain the failure to transition the ball forward with aggression and daring. Our skills have fallen off the cliff, but skills don't just evaporate into thin air. It is the team synergy. We are being suffocated by lack of confidence. Tell the team: take it on. You have nothing to lose. Go for it. It's backs to the wall, like 2018.

Exactly... say no more.

I hope so....but tonight I also hoped, after last weeks disaster.

My (and many others) hope is diminishing to the point of non existence unfortunately.

Game style change, stevo being and idiot, recruiting Beams, conditioning, hubris, lack of hunger, division within the player ranks....I don’t know what it is but all season the feeling just hasn’t been there.
Apart from one great game and a few okay games, we have been a shadow of last year. The fact that we have been second for the last 2 months whilst playing so lethargically is evidence that something isn’t right.
At our best we are the best team in the AFL, but for some reason we haven’t got anywhere near our capabilities this year.
I have no doubt that heads will roll at seasons end if we don’t make at least the PF.
This list we have should be performing far better than it has this season.

[RudeBoy]

This is more than a bit of a form slump. Something is wrong within our club. I don't know what it is, but our whole team are not playing with the vim and vigour we have come to expect.

I honestly can't see us getting anywhere near the Eagles next week.

What we lack imo, is genuine on field leadership. Pendles is a great role model, but he aint no leader in the heat of battle. We need a warrior. Adams is probably the only one who could do that. Let's hope his return sparks a much fiercer effort.

After promising so much, its hard to be positive at all about the remainder of the season.

[Jezza]

I've been seething for hours. I was seething from the halfway mark of the second quarter when I came to the realization that we were no better than last weekend. Lost my will to yell or cheer for the boys tonight and just sat in my seat quietly for the rest of the game.

I'm completely lost for words as to what has happened to us since the bye. Contrary to what some have said, I don't think our performances were that bad before the bye. Sure we weren't playing brilliantly, but our best was still being demonstrated when it mattered.

Something has been amiss since the bye, and I don't think it's going to be easy to turn around. Was hoping for a huge response tonight, but we got nothing of the sort. The players looked physically knackered in the final quarter and couldn't keep up with the Hawks. The rest of the season is going to be a tough slog unfortunately.

IQ was the highlight of the night. Nice to see our first debutant of the year, and he put up a good first performance. He deserves to stay in the side for next week.

Dreading next Friday night

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

Agree we should never have lost to Hawthorn tonight. They are a shadow of the team they were a couple of years ago, but then we’re a shadow of the team we were last year. Having Howe and Adams not out there is affecting our leadership on the field and losing the spark in our forward line in Stephenson has sapped our ability to score goals. There is no easy fix easy here. We have players who just do enough to win games against mediocre opposition, but then if the opposition puts us under enough pressure, we crack. It doesn’t help having players like Treloar and others who kick soda pops up in the air. We don’t look for targets in our forward line and our forwards don’t present meaning it takes some inspired shots at goals by De Goey to break a goal kicking drought. The greatest worry we have is that our main injuries come from the backline yet the players we have brought in are holding the backline together. Only Stephenson is missing from the forward line so it’s difficult to see where the improvement is coming from. And as others have said we lack physical pressure in the midfield. Sier hasn’t come on this year after his breakout season last year and Wills can’t get his body right. Without Adams we get out bodied at the contests. There is no ready fix until we get our best players back. Until then we have no choice but to keep playing Brown, Daicos and Quaynor.

[eddiesmith]

1 win from 12 attempts...Buckley is Clarkson’s bitch

[Magpietothemax]

This is more than a bit of a form slump. Something is wrong within our club. I don't know what it is, but our whole team are not playing with the vim and vigour we have come to expect.

I honestly can't see us getting anywhere near the Eagles next week.

What we lack imo, is genuine on field leadership. Pendles is a great role model, but he aint no leader in the heat of battle. We need a warrior. Adams is probably the only one who could do that. Let's hope his return sparks a much fiercer effort.

After promising so much, its hard to be positive at all about the remainder of the season.

Agree, something is wrong. You have identified it as onfield leadership. I don't believe that this is it. I believe that it is something else. A mindset issue, which is sapping our confidence to take the game on. We would never have lost this game, even with the personnel who lined up tonight, if we had simply had the ball skills that we have demonstrated in the past, and therefore know that we possess. Our confidence since the bye has been rockbottom, and we have retreated into an ultra defensive standing pattern.
It is above all else a confidence issue.

[Magpietothemax]

This is more than a bit of a form slump. Something is wrong within our club. I don't know what it is, but our whole team are not playing with the vim and vigour we have come to expect.

I honestly can't see us getting anywhere near the Eagles next week.

What we lack imo, is genuine on field leadership. Pendles is a great role model, but he aint no leader in the heat of battle. We need a warrior. Adams is probably the only one who could do that. Let's hope his return sparks a much fiercer effort.

After promising so much, its hard to be positive at all about the remainder of the season.

Agree, something is wrong. You have identified it as onfield leadership. I don't believe that this is it. I believe that it is something else. A mindset issue, which is sapping our confidence to take the game on. We would never have lost this game, even with the personnel who lined up tonight, if we had simply had the ball skills that we have demonstrated in the past, and therefore know that we possess. Our confidence since the bye has been rockbottom, and we have retreated into an ultra defensive standing pattern.
It is above all else a confidence issue.