I think the sad part of the last few seasons is that we have become everything opposite to what Ross Lyon expressed when he first came to the club.
So, instead of being a "no excuses club", all we are these days are excuses.
Excuse 1: Our disposal is poor
Excuse 2: Our taller forwards are all injured.
Excuse 3: We can't cover for Neale in the midfield
Excuse 4: We have a young list
Instead of being an "Anywhere, anytime team", we basically can lose at home as easily as we lose away.
Instead of accepting the challenge each week, we shirk the challenge.
If you look at the Bulldogs, they are eerily similar to us, but they are genuinely living the above mantra(s).
No Stringer, no Higgins, no Caleb Daniel, no Dale Morris, no Wallace, no Tom Boyd!, no Libba!, no Liam Picken!,
No problem. just recruit well and develop the others on the list.
So yes, when you look at all the stats, we should have easily beaten St Kilda, Carlton and Essendon, but we cannot score. Ross Lyon has the ability to extract maximum effort from his charges, but he seemingly does not have the ability to inspire a player to be his best self. This is key.
Maybe next year with a healthy list, none of the above will matter, but I think we missed an opportunity when Taberner and Hogan went down - we might have promoted a young key forward from Peel (and maybe inspired him)
