I base my comment on Trewin around a few moments in games where I think he has been beaten more by a lack of experience and exposure than by any physical or mental weakness. I also find him to be an excellent prospect, but I believe in the shorter term that Neville would tighten things up immediately. How you bring on youth in critical defensive areas is a difficult challenge. You have to expose yourself and weaken yourself in order to become stronger - but in key defensive roles that can cost you games.

I am finding Danzaki offers something extra every game - making us less reliant on DWH to fire. I also think that we should rely on DWH to fire on all cylinders like most teams rely on their strikers. For us, we are starting with a more inexperienced striker who needs to find confidence (and a little more touch would be nice) rather than an experienced and accomplished striker who might need to regain form. So far this season DWH has stepped up from last season. He has to continue to do that throughout the season to reward Moon for his selection - I think he can do that.

For Kudo - it is actually the trust that Moon knows what he is doing rather than blind hope that he can score. Moon has proven himself in many ways so far as he continues to learn is craft. I trust that he has chosen someone who can fit into the role he was selected for and I certainly have no reason yet to doubt his judgement on incoming players.

Not a dream without some foundation in reality. We can continue as we have been and struggle into finals on the back of mixed results; we can continue as we have been but converting chances more regularly (without any change of personnel) and we are a genuine contender for top 4, or we see Kudo show why Moon selected him and DWH continues to improve and we are title contenders. I do not look for anything less than those options.

If we continue as we are we will struggle into the finals, is about right. I agree.

My thoughts at this stage is that we still do not have the quality to achieve much better, despite the optimistic predictions.

I hope I am wrong.

You’re such a pessimist 

Maybe to those that wear orange tinted glasses.

Groundhog day is upon us.  For the majority of last season you panned the team and doubted we would make the finals. We finished fourth and missed third by a point.  This season we are playing better than last and you are still looking at the team through poo coloured glasses and doubting we can make the top 4. 

 Is this some kind of superstition you harbour - be pessimistic so you don't put the mockers on the team?  If it is, please continue, it's working a treat.:P

I said from the start I’m not prepared to make a prediction until I’m ready and now I have whether it’s to your liking or not. Last year was ugly, but neither then or now did we head down the title contending route. The side this season is at least more entertaining but I’m not happy to applaud mediocrity despite some being satisfied with that. When is the club going to get serious about putting real quality on the park rather than squadies Hingert, Brown and the like? When is the club going to be fair dinkum about being real title contenders? Year after year that ambition doesn’t seem to be demonstrated in their thinking or actions. I’m going to enjoy this season irrespective and will continue to offer my opinion, good or bad. So suck it up baby! 😉 

I am calling out in defence of Paulc on this.

He has high expectations for our top flight professional league, we know he speaks from a solid football background, and he wants the whole league to be better quality when we win than us winning something playing less impressive football.

We do not have the best players in the league in all positions, and some teams seem to be much more solid across the entire field (or at least in the positions that draw your eye to a game).

Fair call for his opinion. I don't think he is being overly negative or pessimistic this season. And remember he did correctly give us a definite chance of being fourth last year :P.

No doubt I will find it harder to pin him down to a chance of us being top four or even three this season.

For my part, when I say we are potential title contenders I am thinking Champions more than Premiers. I don't think we have clicked well enough yet this season to look like we will beat every team, every week - just again that I know we can beat every team even though we haven't played them all yet (that's my fine orange tint). We have to be more clinical in our finishing before I can hope us to be Premiers.

We are also a bit weaker in the middle third this year either by strategically playing more defensively and sacrificing the middle, or because other teams are playing better through the middle. We are being put off our game too often when I don't think the opposition we have faced should be able to do that - suggesting that our less experienced players are still building the confidence to do what we have all seen them capable of doing.

It is a fantastically entertaining prospect this season - with the competition itself largely refreshed and improved in quality as we have all noted with some excitement. We have a team exhibiting the skills, if not the pedigree again, to win any game. We have a coach who is learning, but has already shown the courage, willingness and vision to actively pursue a game. And the style of football we are playing is indeed more entertaining.

I tend to agree with Paulc,shock horror!
We are competitive and have a good chance of being in the top four ,based on having a good solid  team more than great players individually.
But do we have enough quality to make the difference in big games?

The next few weeks will reveal more

hey paulc well countered and from a outsiders perspective I agree.

Who have you beaten and who have you lost to. That tells the story, not your position on the table. Beat the few teams , in this comp, that are any good and you will be thought of more highly.

The reason for a league table is to objectively measure the results of a team. So far Brisbane sits in 3rd with a game in hand.  That works for me.  Where we end up at the end of the year is another matter.  Being "thought of more highly" is not a result I care about.

We can certainly agree on one thing, our opinions will continue to be offered, good or bad.

And will always respect that difference. 👍 

I think it's reasonable to say that the last two games have highlighted that we still have an issue breaking down a well organised defense. It's something we've struggled with for a long time, and while the wins we've had this season had me thinking we might be done with that, it's clear to me now that it is still an issue. 
We also haven't seemed to be able to handle Newcastle and MacArthur pressing us, which I think led to a lot of longer balls to DWH in the hopes he'd beat Boogard and Topor for pace and get on the end of it. When that didn't work, we didn't seem to have that much of an alternative. 

Even in that game we won, playing a fantastic a game and DWH was substituted, immediately it could be seen that we had no comparative replacement. We had nothing meaningful in our attacks. I called this out at the time and proven to be correct in subsequent games. The question is what are we doing about it other than hanging our hopes on Kudo coming good? What’s the plan B to drag us away from this part of the mediocrity as it’s been evident for a while now.

PS: wasn’t DWH’s first touch horrific last game?

Kudo seems to be a very different type of player to DWH, so I'm not sure how Moon will tackle switching up the game plan when one is swapped out for the other.
Regarding alternative options, I am really surprised that Moon didn't at least bring on Alex Parsons against the Jets. He looked great in pre-season, so surely would have been worth a go.
Champness is obviously our main attacking option off the bench at the moment, but not much Moon could do when he's not eligible to play. 

Honestly think it was the same first touch - Dylan tends to like being on the left side of goal and dragging it inside across goal before shooting. Defenders have worked that out and offer him the outside line and when he tried to turn in they just took the ball off him 

Yep, I could see that too. He is less effective when he plays on the right and can’t turn so don’t know why he moves in that position  sometimes  (Moon?) other than to mix the attack and offer some variance to the game plan.

I also don't care about my team being 'thought of highly' by other teams' supporters.

I have watched my team play season after season and I can quite contentedly base their worth on how I see them combine to overcome both teams and individual players - either in moments or periods of games.

I see great moments in our play and know that if we can do that once we can do it more often. That is what I hang my expectation on - not the name on either the front or the back of our opponents shirts.

At what point in this season would you consider a victory over Mariners, for example, to be something worth achieving? Game 1 when they were written off for the season? Game 5 when they are on top of the table? Grand Final perhaps? At what point will you decide that the story has been told on a team? How they play on the day we face them makes a much better yardstick than who they are, and how good my team can be is displayed for all to see when we play well for a period in any game - if the viewer has the vision to see quality in moments rather than just who beat who at the end of the day.

'Who have you beaten and who have you lost to' tells no story at all if you don't take into account how each game was played.

Im not sure he is less effective on the right. 4 of his 5 goals have been from the right hand side of goal, 3 of those have been running from central areas into the right hand channel (one head from a cross, one where he cut onto his left first then back to the right, and one first touch shot), technically his best goal, the one against newcastle was from the right channel inside, his one goal from the left was cutting back across goal.

Yes, he did score from the right but coming from a central area is different than positioning himself on the right to start with. When opportunities for the team are really tight and hard to come by, he orchestrates himself a chance to score by starting and running on the left then cutting in, turning to shoot with his right. Running onto a through ball is less effective for him with good defences. 

Moon man struggles tactically tbh , needs to work out a way to get Kudo on the park and work with Danzaki /DWH and MacDonald.

Kudo needs to get on the park for at least half a game.
Was he acquired as an impact player? I doubt it. 
DWH has shown he has goals in him, but it's not because he has a sublime touch. He works hard, and throws himself about and that will bring some goals. And I like his endeavour. 
However Kudo must have better technical ability, otherwise why bring him here, so let's get game time under his belt.
Yes apparently he is not yet 100% fit but surely he's got a full half in him.

Agreed

Sounds like they might be releasing some more/another black kit, based on the latest Facebook/Twitter posts. 

Excellent the black kits are always the best kits!

I am also hoping the club consider loaning JCP to Wello now that Devere is out injured. JCP needs more game experience and wello need defenders, perfect opportunity while trewin is playing well and Neville is due back anytime. 

Black kit = take my money

I'm all for helping Wellington out if need be. 
second fav team.
beautiful country 

Fowler has gotten in a bit of trouble in India according to the TWG site.

"The former Brisbane Roar boss is currently serving a four-match ban for being abusive to referees and, after this week's 1-1 draw with Hyderabad, was accused of abusing rival players after his team conceded a last-minute equaliser."

SFC at home on Saturday the 6th