Match Preview and Team Selection - Round 22

[Pates 9,536]

One of our major deficiencies last week was the ease in which they took the ball out of our forward line. This was largely due to our bizzarely pathetic entries but also due to low forward pressure, something that at one stage this year were being praised for. 

Spargo, Hannan, Kent, and Weeds need to make sure that the eagles are never given easy exits. The dimensions suit our game style in Perth than the G and we’ve clearly gone for pace with the inclusions so we have to make sure we use it. 

[layzie 28,483]

2 minutes ago, Pates said:

One of our major deficiencies last week was the ease in which they took the ball out of our forward line. This was largely due to our bizzarely pathetic entries but also due to low forward pressure, something that at one stage this year were being praised for. 

Spargo, Hannan, Kent, and Weeds need to make sure that the eagles are never given easy exits. The dimensions suit our game style in Perth than the G and we’ve clearly gone for pace with the inclusions so we have to make sure we use it. 

It has to be all about forward pressure this week. I was hoping Garlett could be part of it with his speed but they clearly don’t feel he can get it done. 

[Pates 9,536]

2 minutes ago, layzie said:

It has to be all about forward pressure this week. I was hoping Garlett could be part of it with his speed but they clearly don’t feel he can get it done. 

Agreed, I can only hope that was a major focus at training all week. It would’ve been interesting to be a fly on the wall for the team meetings, you would think that was something heavily discussed. 

On Sunday we will find out.

[DeezNuts 624]

Bring your scuba gear, we’re about to be given a bath....

[Chook 14,388]

7 hours ago, DV8 said:

... they reckon lightning never strikes de one club,  two weeks running.

It’s struck us for 53 years in a row. What’s another week?

[drysdale demon 4,143]

9 hours ago, jumbo returns said:

Ily DD

Where's Drysdale, btw?

On the Bellerine between Portarlington and Ocean Grove

[drysdale demon 4,143]

8 hours ago, rpfc said:

Seriously? 

Who the F are you?

I take it from that you do,good to see you have a couple of poodles agree with you.

[jumbo returns 6,484]

34 minutes ago, drysdale demon said:

On the Bellerine between Portarlington and Ocean Grove

Lovely part of the world 

Batten down the hatches tomorrow, if the weather forecast is any indication

Sorta glad we're playing on a fast track tomorrow......

[640MD 2,743]

Buy your membership. You can say what you like and vent any anger, you have paid for the privilege. If your not a member of the club there is no right. 

On this site if you don’t agree. Don’t read it!   Easy stuff.

personel vindictive comments are a waste of time. 

I post what I like, makes me feel better!

i do not give a flying eff what anyone else thinks about me. 

However I do enjoy reading the differing opinions on how or why we lost or won. They are always more thoughtful than I can put together. Hope we win no expectations.

Go dees

[drysdale demon 4,143]

3 minutes ago, jumbo returns said:

Lovely part of the world 

Batten down the hatches tomorrow, if the weather forecast is any indication

Sorta glad we're playing on a fast track tomorrow......

Yeah, looks like it is going be a crappy weekend weatherwise, it could be a good thing playing in perth

[JV7 2,339]

Gees I can't for tomorrow... Don't worry making finals, our finals series has begun. 

This club has been through hell & back since we played finals, the amount of [censored] we've gone through... Multiple rebuilds, multiple coaches, losing club legend after club legend, fined for tanking, wasted draft picks, losing scully, trengoves injury, mitch clark failure, missing finals by the smallest margin in history, 186, mulitple 100 point losses & even more 10 goal losses.

We are the laughing stock of the competition & rival supporters "here Melbourne goes again".

It stops tomorrow. These players need to stand up & be counted. If they wont do it for themselves then do it for us fans who have lived through it year after year, unlike the players this isn't a job or profession... It means more to us, we've been here long before they have & we'll be there long after they've gone. So for godsake do it for us if for nothing else.

All most of us want is atleast a final, just to be apart of it & dare to dream if only for a short while. I hope a player or official is lurking here & passes this on to see what it means to us. Go Dees

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

While for 2018 we rank highly on Hitouts and Clearances, imo the Clearance/Hitout ratio is a more meaningful measure.  We haven't done well in our significant losses (which happen to be to teams now above us on the ladder):

Total Team Clearances to Total Own Ruck Hitouts:

That shows the 'smart' teams/coaches don't try to dominate the ruck contests and win the hitouts but instead rove to Max and neutralise our greatest asset.  (The Coll ratio is closer because they had Grundy to neutralise Max).

Added to that hey have not let us play on our terms.  Their constant winning strategy/tactics have been: neutralise Max, control possessions and a spare man in defence.  Simpson has been paying attention!.  Yesterday he said: "The really, really good ruckmen, you're just trying to nullify,"   Also, note how WCE beat Richmond.  They dominated uncontested possessions with short, precise kicks denying them contests.  It is exactly what Hawthorn, Collingwood and Sydney did to us. 

So, winning all the stats we pride ourselves on: hitouts, tackles, contested possessions, i50's won't help tomorrow if we don't have a counter plan to the above.  Simpson can see the template to beat us and has shown (in their game vs Rich) he has the tactics to stop us playing on our terms.

I can't imagine our club isn't alert to all this!  I just hope they have some strategies to stop West Coast using the above template to beat us.

 

[old55 21,213]

There's 8 "forwards" in that line-up. TMac, ANB,  Spargo and VDB.  Add Weed, Melksham, Kent and Hannan. And that's not counting Petracca.  That's a lot.

The 7 "backs" are OMac, Frost, Jetta, Hibberd, Salem, Lewis and probably Fritsch.

Mids: Gawn, Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, Jones, Tyson and probably Petracca.  That's not enough.

Some of those forwards are going to have to play significant midfield minutes to keep a balance, particularly if Fritsch is part of the back 7. It will be interesting to se how that works.

Edited August 18, 2018 by Fifty-5

[old55 21,213]

I'm confident we'll be very competitive in a big match against 2nd on the ladder on their home turf even with 3 of our best 5 missing.

[junk 342]

I think Garlett's and JKH time is up. Neither can seem to be consistent. 

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

1 hour ago, Fifty-5 said:

I'm confident we'll be very competitive in a big match against 2nd on the ladder on their home turf even with 3 of our best 5 missing.

I don't think there is any doubt we are competitive against any side including WCE but can we be competitive for 4 quarters and can we win when we aren't allowed to play the game on our terms - see my post #290 above?

We need to win a 'big match', if only to get the monkey off our back (and the small matter of getting us into the finals).

Edited August 18, 2018 by Lucifer's Hero

[titan_uranus 22,219]

I like the changes.

The questionable ones are whether Kent/Hannan are better than JKH/Garlett. Personally I'd have only made one of those changes, but I understand why both were made at a time when our forward pressure has to be excellent if we want to win.

The remaining changes (Weid for Hogan, Melksham for Pedersen, Hibberd for Hunt) all make perfect sense.

I can see our forward line kicking a decent score, but it won't matter unless we pressure their defenders incessantly for four quarters or else their ball movement will lead to them outscoring whatever we put on the board.

[DV8 2,271]

3 hours ago, Chook said:

It’s struck us for 53 years in a row. What’s another week?

sshhhh, don't tell them. or the odds will never rise.

[DV8 2,271]

3 hours ago, drysdale demon said:

On the Bellerine between Portarlington and Ocean Grove

Do you ever mull oway the time, down there dd?

[Demonland 64,391]

Great to see the Perth papers running a 4 day old story of Bartlett saying the Dees aren't mentally weak as their lead story on the back page. 

[DV8 2,271]

46 minutes ago, ENYAW said:

I think Garlett's and JKH time is up. Neither can seem to be consistent. 

JKH >>>> JGlt

one consistently contests, all the time. has a go. full of courage. team first player.

[jnrmac 18,914]

1 hour ago, JV7 said:

Gees I can't for tomorrow... Don't worry making finals, our finals series has begun. 

This club has been through hell & back since we played finals, the amount of [censored] we've gone through... Multiple rebuilds, multiple coaches, losing club legend after club legend, fined for tanking, wasted draft picks, losing scully, trengoves injury, mitch clark failure, missing finals by the smallest margin in history, 186, mulitple 100 point losses & even more 10 goal losses.

We are the laughing stock of the competition & rival supporters "here Melbourne goes again".

It stops tomorrow. These players need to stand up & be counted. If they wont do it for themselves then do it for us fans who have lived through it year after year, unlike the players this isn't a job or profession... It means more to us, we've been here long before they have & we'll be there long after they've gone. So for godsake do it for us if for nothing else.

All most of us want is atleast a final, just to be apart of it & dare to dream if only for a short while. I hope a player or official is lurking here & passes this on to see what it means to us. Go Dees

You're not listening. Goodwin says that the players ignore history and are trying to create their own "narrative". I get that to a certain extent but clubs are made up of lots of history. One of the tragedies about Melbourne's past 54 years is that we have dumped a lot of that history - and I mean the good players and people who have been the fabric of the club - through a failed merger and multiple dumped administrations. To the point that there is hardly anyone at Melbourne now in any senior capacity that has lived through the 'history' of Melbourne.

I get why lots have had to go but if you ignore history completely there is a void that supporter feel acutely but the club, players and administration don't.

[jnrmac 18,914]

43 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

I like the changes.

The questionable ones are whether Kent/Hannan are better than JKH/Garlett. Personally I'd have only made one of those changes, but I understand why both were made at a time when our forward pressure has to be excellent if we want to win.

The remaining changes (Weid for Hogan, Melksham for Pedersen, Hibberd for Hunt) all make perfect sense.

I can see our forward line kicking a decent score, but it won't matter unless we pressure their defenders incessantly for four quarters or else their ball movement will lead to them outscoring whatever we put on the board.

Garlett had to go. Was unsighted before his first kick half way through the last qtr. (Yes he was burned by Petracca in the opening minute that would have been a certain goal)

Nowhere near enough pressure and infuriatingly never even contests in a one on one. Stick a fork in him.

Not a Kent fan but when he came back last time was full of pressure and played well. Will do well in front of his home town (well WA) crowd.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,567]

21 hours ago, Die Hard Demon said:

I thought the last round capitulation to Collingwood in 2017 was a wake up call.......?

I think we just have to accept that this team is and always will be mentally soft.

Missing out last year was a wake-up and to some extent our percentage and performance against the also-rans this year has been the response to that.  I recon winning so easily to GC the week before Sydney was the worst possible lead up game.  Would have had a sedative effect.

I also think we need to differentiate lacking composure and knowing how to handle changing momentum in match situations from being mentally soft, which to me infers a lacking in resolve and giving up.  One is a confidence thing and the other is an attitude and character thing.  I'd agree that on many occations this year we have suffered from the former, but the only time we looked close to surrender was against Hawthorn.  My veiw is that the mental toughness of this group is evident in their willingness and ability to pick themselves up off the canvas and fight another day.  We keep doing this and the confidence and composure will come over time through experience and shear brute force.

So who on this forum thinks our key players like Oliver, Jones, Brayshaw, Gawn, Harmes, McDonald, Melksham, Hibbard, Jetta are 'mentally soft'?  And who would be prepared to say it to their face?

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,100]

Desperately hoping for a Collingwood win today. That way we if we win tomoz, Port can’t go ahead of us and we’re in the finals.

Two Port wins and 1 Sydney win means we’re going to be in a percentage battle with Geelong, and I’m not particularly interested in missing the finals by 0.5% again.