SCALPED

[Demonland 66,923]

SCALPED by The Oracle

 

Melbourne suffered yet another Etihad reversal in its up and down 2011 season when it was monstered by the Western Bulldogs to the tune of 64 points.

The Demons opened brightly and held sway for the first ten minutes of the kicking two of the first three goals and dominating possession. They could have been further in front but for some recklessly stupid football. A couple of unforced errors caused turnovers, allowing the Dogs to regain their composure early and to ultimately take control of proceedings.

From there it was virtually a one way street with the bigger, stronger and vastly more experienced Western Bulldogs completely dictating terms and providing a masterclass in how to best the Demons in confined spaces. That's not a difficult thing to do. Rodney Eade needed only to consult a replay of Melbourne's earlier visits to the same venue when it was closed down by North Melbourne and St. Kilda. 

The Demons were not assisted by their poor disposal and the fact that four shots at goal managed to hit the woodwork at times when they were desperately trying to get back into the game. 

The team has now lost at the Docklands three times this season to out of form teams. 

The pre game positive for the Demons was the fact that the coach and match committee stuck fat with the policy of adding youth to the team makeup when Sam Blease was included in the team mix to replace the injured Joel Macdonald (whose presence would have been handy on the half back line). The club resisted the temptation of bringing in some of the more experienced names who remain at Casey and while this strategy will, in all likelihood, pay its  dividends in the long term, this was to be a game in which experience would out over youth.

The Bulldogs' big guns in Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen, Matthew Boyd, Callan Ward, Daniel Giansiracusa and even spearhead Barry Hall were all in top form and with superior tactics, better disposal , some early assistance from the umpires who awarded some puzzling free kicks in front of goals and wiser heads in the coach's box the scene was set for a Demon scalping.

There was little joy for Melbourne with most of the young brigade subdued. On top of that Brad Green, Brent Moloney and Colin Sylvia were all well covered as was Tom Scully who struggled under a tag and possibly the weight of publicity after continuing to be in the media headlights. 

By the end of the night, the team was in complete disarray and the Bulldogs, who little over a month ago were monstered themselves by the West Coast Eagles to the tune of well in excess of 100 points, had a picnic in the final term. 

Ben Hudson, who had been struggling in the VFL until recently for (and was well beaten at Williamstown by Max Gawn before the youngster made his AFL debut) won hands down in the ruck against an out of sorts Mark Jamar in his second game back from a lay off (how often does that happen?) giving his team the advantage from the stoppages. 

The Doggies were more desperate in the contests for the football and that gave them sufficient edge in the middle part of the game to prevent any chance of a Demon comeback and to ultimately set up a big win. 

For Melbourne, kudos go to youngsters Jack Trengove and Jack Watts whose development continues at a great pace and Ricky Petterd who was dangerous up forward and treated the fans to what will go close to winning Mark of the Year. Jordie McKenzie and Nathan Jones worked hard in the middle but lacked support in the tough going with too many of their teammates missing in action. For the club, it was again a case of one or two steps forward followed by yet another step back.

Melbourne 2.4.16 4.9.33 7.13.55 8.15.63

Western Bulldogs 4.5.29 8.9.57 13.10.88 19.15.127

Goals

Melbourne Howe Petterd Watts 2 Sylvia Trengove

Western Bulldogs Giansiracusa 4 Hall 3 Dahlhaus Griffen Higgins Ward 2 Cooney Gilbee Grant Picken

Best

Melbourne Trengove Watts McKenzie Petterd Jones Martin

Western Bulldogs  Griffen Cooney Ward Boyd Giansiracusa Dahlhaus Picken

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

Umpires Farmer Rosebury Mollison

Crowd 25, 916 at Etihad Stadium

[Guest watts04]

its our mediocre culture, we r pss poor

build us up n we let u down every time

get me malthouse = he demands effort

[Jerry Lundergard 404]

Cale Morton - Rubbish

Umpires - Rubbish

Etihad Stadium - Rubbish

Our attack on the ball - Rubbish

Jurrahs intensity - Rubbish

Our forward pressure - Rubbish

Giving up when it gets to hard - Complete F**king Rubbish!!!!

[Forest Demon 4,681]

its our mediocre culture, we r pss poor

build us up n we let u down every time

get me malthouse = he demands effort

Beginning to get you point...and find it hard to disagree

[Guest Checker]

Ventured out to shittyhad stadium with the old man tonight for the first time since 07, and for a while there I found myself trying to figure out why I hate the ground so much. The food is hardly more expensive than the G, we could see perfectly from the top level and were comfortable in our seats, and there was no trouble accessing the venue on public transport. Unfortunately it didn't take me long to realize that the only reason I despise Etihad Stadium is that the Demons never show up.

[nutbean 8,837]

we were putrid

[640MD 3,089]

Cale Morton - Rubbish

Umpires - Rubbish

Etihad Stadium - Rubbish

Our attack on the ball - Rubbish

Jurrahs intensity - Rubbish

Our forward pressure - Rubbish

Giving up when it gets to hard - Complete F**king Rubbish!!!!

Woefull display, very disappointed,two wins then no backbone just seemed to give up !

How many more games will we win very few I would suggest, not up in Darwin after the bye !

Will we win enough for DB to keep his job, I doubt it hope we are looking hard and talking hard to his replacement,, I am [censored] off !

[Trisul 654]

Cale Morton - Rubbish

Umpires - Rubbish

Etihad Stadium - Rubbish

Our attack on the ball - Rubbish

Jurrahs intensity - Rubbish

Our forward pressure - Rubbish

Giving up when it gets to hard - Complete F**king Rubbish!!!!

[Dockett 32 1,213]

I don't think Jurrahs right.

[Deemort 28]

You are probably all right but just goes to show a week is such a long time in football. We were all laughing and commenting how the bomberblitz site was in meltdown and now I get home from the game to read this crap. All correct and warranted, but crap reading. Just goes to show you where we are as a club. The distance from our best to our worst is absolutely massive, hence the threads and comments on this site from week to week. So so disappointing. The first ever time I got Medallion Club tickets and I copped a down week. Shitful viewing.

[Kento80 83]

I'm deadset sick of it. I'm sick of not wanting to watch the rest of the game. I'm sick of feeling stunned by how bad they play sometimes. I'm sick of losing at Etihad. I'm sick of kicking more behinds than goals. I'm sick of missing goals that should be kicked. I'm sick of a lack of urgency. And most of all, I'm sick of the team I love being a joke to everyone else.

[QueenC 74]

Beginning to get you point...and find it hard to disagree

Well it's getting hard to miss given he's posted it in nearly all threads tonight.......

[Tatu 416]

Got stuck at a gathering with some part-time bulldogs supporters, would love to do that again NOT!

The problem i have with this match is, i could pick the result before the first bounce. with the small amount of vision we got of the warm-ups, i could tell the motivation wasn't there. when is this horror year going to end?

[Kento80 83]

I didn't learn anything I wanted to learn.

[Samsara 65]

You are probably all right but just goes to show a week is such a long time in football. We were all laughing and commenting how the bomberblitz site was in meltdown and now I get home from the game to read this crap. All correct and warranted, but crap reading. Just goes to show you where we are as a club. The distance from our best to our worst is absolutely massive, hence the threads and comments on this site from week to week. So so disappointing. The first ever time I got Medallion Club tickets and I copped a down week. Shitful viewing.

This is the most difficult thing as a supporter this year. I remember last year we had quite a few honourable losses. I don't mind losing (as much) when we have a crack and fall a bit short (like StKilda this year). However, this year when we lose, it's a shocker. When we win, it's normally comprehensively.

Melbourne has bipolar disorder this year. And it's becoming difficult to deal with the constant swinging from being up to being down.

[DirtyDees DDC 171]

The problem i have with this match is, i could pick the result before the first bounce. with the small amount of vision we got of the warm-ups, i could tell the motivation wasn't there. when is this horror year going to end?

We lost that match before the game started, for 2 reasons.

Jack Watts made a comment in a news report earlier this week stating we need to pick a side that is suited to the smaller ground at Etihad. Instead, we swap a new outside player like Blease for a hard nut like Macdonald, and we pick more outsiders like Bennell and Morton.

We looked stuffed. This was our fourth game in eighteen days and we were coming off a very tough encounter with Richmond. A report on the club website this week said the conditioning staff were working overtime to get the players ready for each match. Every club is battling fatigue this year. Even Collingwood, the fittest team in the league, is resting players.

We also had a very young side which included our top 7 draft picks from 2008 and 2009. Isn't that what we want to see each week - the club developing the players? The will struggle with consistency but I prefer to see them get game time ahead of Warnock and Dunn atm.

I'm still disappointed, but not surprised. The saddest part was another poor performance in front of a big TV audience. We should save those games for Foxtel.

[45HG 1,539]

Good post DDDDC.

The other point I'll raise, not that it excuses a lack if endeavour, but their best players were starring in preliminary final teams before most of our best players had played a game. When those guys click into top form it's not hard to imagine them doing a job, especially considering aforementioned reasons.

[btdemon 475]

We lost that match before the game started, for 2 reasons.

Jack Watts made a comment in a news report earlier this week stating we need to pick a side that is suited to the smaller ground at Etihad. Instead, we swap a new outside player like Blease for a hard nut like Macdonald, and we pick more outsiders like Bennell and Morton.

We looked stuffed. This was our fourth game in eighteen days and we were coming off a very tough encounter with Richmond. A report on the club website this week said the conditioning staff were working overtime to get the players ready for each match. Every club is battling fatigue this year. Even Collingwood, the fittest team in the league, is resting players.

We also had a very young side which included our top 7 draft picks from 2008 and 2009. Isn't that what we want to see each week - the club developing the players? The will struggle with consistency but I prefer to see them get game time ahead of Warnock and Dunn atm.

I'm still disappointed, but not surprised. The saddest part was another poor performance in front of a big TV audience. We should save those games for Foxtel.

+100

I said the same in the "Harden Up" thread.

[DirtyDees DDC 171]

I also think the guys at Footscray that hurt us last night will not be there in 2 years time - Giansiracusa, Murphy, Boyd, Morris, Hall, Gilbee and Ward.

The guys that stood up last night - Trengove, Petterd, and Watts - they will be better players for us in 2013/4.