How can we measure success this year?

[Stripes]

This year will be ugly in terms of losses and ladder position but there'll be a long-term silver lining if the cubs should ability at AFL level. They'll come good in a couple of years while in the meantime bottom finishes means we can collect more top talent from early picks (pick 4 is still a top pick while picks 27 and 44? are decent) and smart trading (to gain another decent pick).

Our biggest problem with trading is our lack of depth MT. We always start well behind the better teams as we just don't have the cattle to spare so if we get a good pick it is always at the expense of a much needed talent. Other teams have good players that can't break into teams because of better players taking their position but if one of our players can't make the team they are usually ordinary at best meaning other teams will only take them if they cost them little to nothing.

To gain trade value we need overall depth and multiple players of similar ability all fighting for the same position. Something we haven't had for years now...

Stripes

[the_boy_jake]

Our biggest problem with trading is our lack of depth MT. We always start well behind the better teams as we just don't have the cattle to spare so if we get a good pick it is always at the expense of a much needed talent. Other teams have good players that can't break into teams because of better players taking their position but if one of our players can't make the team they are usually ordinary at best meaning other teams will only take them if they cost them little to nothing.

To gain trade value we need overall depth and multiple players of similar ability all fighting for the same position. Something we haven't had for years now...

Stripes

Agree Stripes - you get a knock on effect of your second tier mids looking great because they are picked up by the oppositions third and fourth best opponents. The Kane Johnson effect.

[mightytiges]

Our biggest problem with trading is our lack of depth MT. We always start well behind the better teams as we just don't have the cattle to spare so if we get a good pick it is always at the expense of a much needed talent. Other teams have good players that can't break into teams because of better players taking their position but if one of our players can't make the team they are usually ordinary at best meaning other teams will only take them if they cost them little to nothing.

To gain trade value we need overall depth and multiple players of similar ability all fighting for the same position. Something we haven't had for years now...

That's true Stripes and over the years we've continually fallen for such fringe players of good sides giving up good picks for them only for their deficiencies to be exposed once outside they cross over. However the Club may need to make a bold decision at the end of the season and trade a senior player who is just a B-grader at their peak with their trade value at a maximum to try and score another first rounder (perhaps off GC17) and find the next A-grader who will be apart of our next premiership. We missed the boat with Tucky as his trade value diminished by the time we tried to trade him and now we are just waiting for the season to end so we can delist him. 

[mightytiges]

It may be wishful thinking for Hardwick's first year given where we are at and our young list but after last night it for just reaffirms for me that even if we went 0-22 as far as results I would walk away from this season happy if by round 22 more and more Tiger players are just doing the fundamentals of footy right both individually (with the ball) and just as importantly as a team (without the ball). Last night was another example of us for most of the night playing as 18 individuals versus a not so great but well drilled opposition.

* Our players should purposely be kicking to their teammate's advantage with every disposal. Even at training doing circle work with no pressure there's no excuse to just lazily kick aimlessly towards a teammate on the lead. If you can't do it often enough then bye-bye.

* Our players automatically should be spreading to the spaces to where the ball should go.  The Blues really cut us open with their spreading from the corridor out to the wings. No wonder the uncontested mark stat at half-time was 11 to 41  . As soon as they got possession they switched a kick back to CHB to set up again and then the rest would sprint and spread out to open up space. Our guys were often caught 20m behind the Carlton player on their spread. What was worse was when we had the ball the Carlton players were still spreading to the right spots and leading Tiger players to that spot .

* No player after taking a mark or receiving a free should have their back to the play and unnecessarily slowing down the play by holding onto the ball until all his teammates are manned up. Our defenders are the worst culprits and then they multiply the slowness of play by poor disposal and decision making  .

* Remembering there's a new kick-in rule and you no longer have to wait everytime for the goal umpire to wave the flag. Once again we are too slow moving the ball.

* Switch the play straight away if the down-the-line kick is to congestion. In modern footy the team without the ball wants the down-the-line kick to create a 50/50 contest which gives them a chance to win back the footy. We need to keep our discipline, maintain possession and switch quickly. Probably the reason we don't is we again have defenders who aren't good kicks nor have the confidence to do it and find a teammate. The Blues on the other hand would instantly and instinctively switch the play every single time. So well drilled and disciplined. They didn't need think music.

* We should always have a Richmond player front and square of a aerial contest and not having every Tiger going up in a pack trying to take mark of the week. Get numbers to the fall of the ball.

* Last but by means least work on our bloody goalkicking within the "Vee". It's simply not good enough to accept supposedly League footballers not making the distance from 40m out or shanking kicks OOTF.