Why do we always play so poorly against the best sides?

[yellowandback]

Seems to me we always play poorly against our best opposition.
Cats, Bombers, now Swans.
Why can't we bring our A game against the top 4?
What will we do against the Hawks this Saturday?
A Game for a win or a highly competitive loss?
Or are we just not good enough?

[Gigantor]

the crap teams let us bring our A game ,the top teams don't..we need to now make that leap into the top echelon

[bojangles17]

Where were you last week YB, noddy land....top sides are top sides coz they're top sides...we have 6 months to go before we are a top side, right now we are 2-3 players off it or a ruckman that can gather more than 2 kicks a game  and not be comprehensively owned at the cbd

[yellowandback]

Where were you last week YB, noddy land....top sides are top sides coz they're top sides...we have 6 months to go before we are a top side, right now we are 2-3 players off it or a ruckman that can gather more than 2 kicks a game  and not be comprehensively owned at the cbd

BJ no need to be a sanctimonious pr1ck. Get off your high horse and read the OP.
Each time we have played those sides Dimma has actually said we haven't put our best foot forward.
He has said we are not good enough but he has also said we didn't play well implying perhaps our mental application is below par against the best sides.
Get it? If not, that's fine, maybe someone can give you mail or how to properly read an OP, you get mail don't you?
My question is simple and valid - why can't we bring that A game against those sides.
We seem to buckle under that pressure.

[Chuck17]

Are Freo a top side, they certainly pile on the pressure

[Yeahright]

Because they are better than us

[Hellenic Tiger]

We are not at their level yet and we have some gaps in our list still.
Furthermore some of our supposed best players don't come to the party because they are petulant, lazy and ineffectual.
Lids I am talking to you pal. We have lost 6 times and you have been tagged out each time.
Hanging round with Grigg too much has made you outside, receiving and soft.

[Willy]

Valid question. We were much more competitive against the top sides last year, Freo aside. 

[pmac21]

You put that game at MCG different result

[Hellenic Tiger]

Geelong, Collingwood, Essendon.
Half our losses this year have been at the G.
Yes we do play better at the G but you need to beat the best at the G to make finals and challenge for a flag. We simply are not good enough yet.

[yellowandback]

Valid question. We were much more competitive against the top sides last year, Freo aside.

Yep. And yet last year we seemed to struggle beating or smashing those mediocre teams through the middle of the year.
Our lack of competitiveness against those top sides seems to have been the only setback to what has otherwise been a good year.

[bojangles17]

Where were you last week YB, noddy land....top sides are top sides coz they're top sides...we have 6 months to go before we are a top side, right now we are 2-3 players off it or a ruckman that can gather more than 2 kicks a game  and not be comprehensively owned at the cbd

BJ no need to be a sanctimonious pr1ck. Get off your high horse and read the OP.
Each time we have played those sides Dimma has actually said we haven't put our best foot forward.
He has said we are not good enough but he has also said we didn't play well implying perhaps our mental application is below par against the best sides.
Get it? If not, that's fine, maybe someone can give you mail or how to properly read an OP, you get mail don't you?
My question is simple and valid - why can't we bring that A game against those sides.
We seem to buckle under that pressure.

Not sure my response was worthy of being torn a new a hole YB , i was being candid rather than sanctimonious , clearly too much to expect same in return

[Hellenic Tiger]

Valid question. We were much more competitive against the top sides last year, Freo aside.

Yep. And yet last year we seemed to struggle beating or smashing those mediocre teams through the middle of the year.
Our lack of competitiveness against those top sides seems to have been the only setback to what has otherwise been a good year.

It's development as blokes lie Vlaustin, Conca, Ellis further develop and get another ruckman and KPP and we will improve even more. Some of the ingredients we have, some have to be acquired others have to be taught and learned either in the club classroom or through natural learning from playing and experience.

[lamington]

My theory is that our game plan is a bit stale, ie it's a rehash of 2012.

The way I see it people like Grigg were quite damaging last year but now that coaches of top 4 teams have studied our gameplan quite well, we get flogged/nullified quite effectively. I will concede that Vs Geelong, we did lose Maric and Vickery so that's when the floodgates opened.

Vs Collingwood, I think from memory Cotchin conceded that Swan and Pendlebury pretty much schooled himself and Deledio on being an elite midfielder?

Vs Essendon, well we just didn't turn up to play.

I do think we just need to mix it up a bit because if we rock up with an inflexible game plan and rely on individual talent like Hawthorn, then our top 18 will get flogged.  Obviously this is easier said than done.

[Judge Roughneck]

Because they are better than us

Qft