Melbourne v Sydney - unofficial match report

[tess 19]

6 - Matthew Bate

5 - Paul Johnson

4 - Chris Johnson

3 - Brad Green

2 - Lynden Dunn

1 - Colin Sylvia (Although I want to see more)

Wheatley, Garland & Davey were unlucky.

Colin Sylvia gets a vote?

Colin Sylvia got a vote from me.

A vote to be traded at seasons end for a late 2nd round pick.

[IWAP 168]

Went to the game, but had trouble seeing play on the other side of the field - so may not have had the best picture of the overall game

but my votes are:

Bate - 6

Wheatley - 5

Green - 4

Miller - 3

Dunn - 2

C.Johnson - 1

Apologies to P.Johnson, Garland and Davey

[no cigar 0]

Well, for what it is worth, this was the only game I have seen this year and followed the corresponding game in Canberra last year for me. The difference was remarkable. I spent most of the game last year with my head in my hands and most of the game yesterday feeling pretty good. Sure, we lack a couple of quality players but the effort is there and although the midfield was probably beaten on the day, they had a real crack and contained Sydney in close for long periods of the game, no small achievement. The backline still looks undersized to me but showed enough to suggest they will be OK. The work of CJ, Wheatley and Green coming out of defence was first class and I reckon we just need to add a big body to help out Warnock, Garland and Frawley ( who is still some way off but is nevertheless very quick for a bigger defender). The forward line was too congested all day, probably reflecting our inability to get the pill in quickly. PJ just needs to believe, he could be terrific. Miller, Bate, Green and Bruce on occassions, Flash and Wonna can all be dangerous I reckon and it might be a rose coloured view of the world but I think it looks OK for the future.

Our problem is more in the middle and on yesterday's evidence is all about skill. The players are doing the right things, they are just making silly errors and silly decisions at times. Sydney's ball movement at times was so much sharper than ours through the middle. The best skills we have belong to Bruce and Macca and at this stage it isn't enough.

Other positives were obviously Dunn's job on Goodes who was way below his form in recent weeks. Brock was just OK, I think the ground was too big for him, White, Jamar, Jones weren't bad. On the other hand, Bode doesn't look up to it and I reckon Sylvia has a long way to go - for all his tough approach he squibbed it a couple of times yesterday.

Nevertheless I was proud of the team yesterday. They were up against a very good team in very good form and had a real crack. We aren't competitive when the game is hot yet but there were enough signs for me to conclude that there is a lot of upside to this group.