WHITE by The Oracle

I find it difficult to believe that Melbourne's weak, lifeless and uninspired performance at AAMI Stadium yesterday was better than its average at that venue over the course of the past decade.

Coming off a draw against a top four outfit in Collingwood on Queens Birthday, the effort was totally unacceptable - as insipid as its white guernsey which, from the outset, signalled the team's surrender of the four premiership points on offer.

Mick Malthouse's sneering assertion that the Melbourne's Round 12 blockbuster encounter is the club's Grand Final was vindicated by the sheer lack of any heart, spirit or purpose. Apart from a brief period in the third quarter, you could barely detect a pulse.

The attitude of the playing group seemed more like that of a group of blokes having a meaningless hit out on an end of season football trip to Adelaide than playing in a game where a win would have kept its season alive. They showed no signs of preparation for this meeting, no focus, no run, no purpose.

There has been so much made of the club's hoodoo at this ground that one expected this young team to come out switched on and ready to play. Instead, it began in the now customary fashion of surrendering the initiative from the very beginning. The team was smashed at the clearances from the first bounce. By half time, the Crows led in that department by a massive 30 to 13 and this was reflected on the scoreboard when they led by 41 points.

After the main break one or two of the players decided to put their bodies on the line and a comeback of sorts was mounted. As usual, it was all too little too late.

The team was outcoached and outplayed and, given Casey's miserable defeat last week, I'm not sure if there's anything more that the match committee can do but meekly surrender again because that is exactly what the team did at AAMI Stadium.

Melbourne 1.3.9 3.5.23 8.6.54 11.7. 73

Adelaide 4.6.30 9.10.64 10.19.79 16.21.117

Goals

Melbourne Bate 4 Bruce Dunn Green 2 Jetta

Adelaide Tippett 4 Jaensch 3 Walker 2 Dangerfield Griffin Henderson Johncock Maric van Berlo Vince

Best

Melbourne Bate Trengove Bruce Grimes Green Scully

Adelaide Goodwin Johncock Tippett Vince Sloane Symes

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

Adelaide Mackay (ankle)

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Adelaide Nil

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Adelaide Nil

Umpires Ryan Armstrong Jeffery

Crowd 34,422 at AAMI Stadium

Most disappointing performance. Whilst the game was full of ineffective disposals, slip-ups and negative play, the third quarter fight back to reel the margin back to 25 points, having gone in at half-time 41 points down - was really the only positive for the day.

Although, for the record Melbourne kicked 5.1 to 1.9 in that quarter. Granted there were less scoring shots by Melbourne (6 to Adelaide's 10).