THE LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK

[Yossarian 1,808]

I was harsh on Bennell last week but did not see much wrong with his game tonight. Would anyone like to highlight the issues? Played tighter. Pressured well. When he got possession used it well. Granted a slipped tackle and low possession count but a back pockets job is not to rack them up.

Watts ran himself ragged but needs to play more to his strengths and lead aggressively into space. He needs to learn to demand the ball. There were signs of that last year but they seem to have disappeared. Confidence will come but will struggle for round 1 unless a big showing next week.

Agreed. I thought he did well for the little I saw of him, he's not a bash and crash player but still pressured well and had good disposal in his few opportunities, not really worried about his performance at this stage.

Same goes for Blease, first game back after preseason and didn't get on until the second half. He didn't break the game open and made a few silly errors like turning his back on the play which allowed Daisy Thomas to get an easy mark but other than that I thought he applied good pressure and went hard at it for the time he was on.

Watching the reply definitely tells a different story to the stats I was going off last night. How funny was Col Garland, what a champ.

So impressed with Troy Davis, some terrible disposal but his strength and ability to collect the ball cleanly was really impressive.

[mollydee 22]

The things I like are that we are finding new players, which is going to mean pressure for spots in the team and that we are aggressive at every contest.

We were even more professional on the mark, where we now jump up and down, trying to put the kicker off. It shows we are thinking and that they have been taught that you can have an impact at every stage of a game.

It's been one of my frustrations for years that we've been very poor at marking the mark when opposition marks and free kicks are awarded . Often the player would stand and take his kick from the mark with no pressure ,

even running on and gaining much ground.

At the Queen's Birthday game 4 years ago , an absolutely standout feature to me was Collingwood's defensive pressure in every way. In particular, if we were awarded a mark or free kick , a Collingwood player would run

at full pace from wherever to stand the mark and force our guy back. I was really upset that our guys were having it done to them, but were not reciprocating. I believe that was the year Neeld started at Collingwood .

It was SO GOOD seeing our boys applying that sort of pressure last night.

[mollydee 22]

Actually Molly I was wrong sorry. I just watched Buckleys Press Conference and they left the roof open all day before the game and it was raining. Then closed it for the game. So yeah, it would of been slippery as. I apologise and heres the answer for you

No need to apologise . Actually , that makes the way they handled the ball for the majority of the game look really good !

[rpfc 27,573]

It was a good effort.

Although, in the second half it was Melb U/24 vs Coll U/24...

Still, Magner will be starting Round 1 and I hope Couch is too - he reminds me of Woewodin, he does...

[Yossarian 1,808]

Have to give points to David Misson for how the boys are performing as well. Four quarters, they never backed off, never stopped running and never stopped applying pressure.

[Hells Gates 505]

Have to give points to David Misson for how the boys are performing as well. Four quarters, they never backed off, never stopped running and never stopped applying pressure.

And never got any soft tissue injuries.....

[Yossarian 1,808]

And never got any soft tissue injuries.....

True that.

[Sir Why You Little 34,658]

Garry Lyon would have enjoyed what he saw last night.

[Demon Stalwart 255]

Its way to early to get carried away last night , but , I have not enjoyed watching a game by Melbourne like lasts nights for such a long time it was like a breath of fresh air. If the players had their kicking boots on it could have been a wipe out , however the most encouraging thing I took from last night was the pride the Dees showed and that was after they had kicked away only to see the pies come back at them especially with that disapointer 9point goal on the siren.

The Commentators were all just waiting in the final Quarter to see Melb back their bags and head home for the night .

But the boys didnt give in they fought back and ended up taking out the game . If Melbourne can show that heart all season we will certainly get Value for money , but I will still not expect a superb season , but I certainly hope for a better one then we have seen over the past few years under Bailey

Edited March 4, 2012 by Demon Stalwart

[Guest djdemons]

Hopefully you'll be a Dees member no matter what the outcome of the bet is!

Yeah I will be a memeber regardless of the outcome but a free memebership comming from a Filth supporter is better than all my christmas and birthday present put together.

Go Dees

[Sir Why You Little 34,658]

Its way to early to get carried away last night , but , I have not enjoyed watching a game by Melbourne like lasts nights for such a long time it was like a breath of fresh air. If the players had their kicking boots on it could have been a wipe out , however the most encouraging thing I took from last night was the pride the Dees showed and that was after they had kicked away only to see the pies come back at them especially with that disapointer 9point goal on the siren.

The Commentators were all just waiting in the final Quarter to see Melb back their bags and head home for the night .

But the boys didnt give in they fought back and ended up taking out the game . If Melbourne can show that heart all season we will certainly get Value for money , but I will still not expect a superb season , but I certainly hope for a better one then we have seen over the past few years under Bailey

Yes "The never say die attitude" is always good to learn even in NAB Cup games. Top Teams kick low scores against each other usually. Goals are hard to get. The last Q was most pleasing. Practise winning Demons.

[jnrmac 19,131]

It's been one of my frustrations for years that we've been very poor at marking the mark when opposition marks and free kicks are awarded . Often the player would stand and take his kick from the mark with no pressure ,

even running on and gaining much ground.

At the Queen's Birthday game 4 years ago , an absolutely standout feature to me was Collingwood's defensive pressure in every way. In particular, if we were awarded a mark or free kick , a Collingwood player would run

at full pace from wherever to stand the mark and force our guy back. I was really upset that our guys were having it done to them, but were not reciprocating. I believe that was the year Neeld started at Collingwood .

It was SO GOOD seeing our boys applying that sort of pressure last night.

These little things are what the good teams do. Every little bit helps. From a pat on the back to a shout of encouragement to manning the mark properly. I am really pleased to see it as well because it means they are thinking out there and working for each other. Have rarely seen it in the past few years...

For me the other great things are:

intensity at the contest - clearly a Neeld not negotiable. We finally have players who are prepared to throw their body over the pill

fitness - looks like we can run out a game

flexibility - we have some players that can work in a range of positions Sellar, Stef, Bate, Sylvia, Dunn, Watts, Howe. MN seems happy to move em around as well.

we won the contested possessions against the Pies as well as the tackles - Malthouse said that was a rare occurrance in the past two years and very commendable

momentum - for the first time in a long while we can carry some momentum into the season proper. We have been training like we want to play unlike training with DB where he spent time building up their bodies and not picking up a footy until February. This is critical if we are to win early games

Pressure - we are able to pressure their ball carriers and force turnovers. This requires a solid team commitment and we showed we can do it,

So a lot to be enthusiastic about without getting carried away. It looks like we will be a 'hard team to play against' which is what all our supporters want. Could be enjoyable at the footy this year knowing they are having a real dip - regardless of the final score.

[BIG JIM 508]

Mark neeld has done something to this club i have not seen in a long time which is bring back team spirit and fight we really do look like a new team out there and the boys over time with these type of wins will build the hunger that is needed to win flags and do whatever it takes to get there.

[Ned 156]

I don't even particularly care about beating Hawthorn. All I want to see is the same pressure as last night and some improvement in awareness and better execution. That will go some way to regaining our credibility as a club, the rest is just icing on the cake. Despite not having any interest in preseason games, I enjoyed last night a lot!

[Sir Why You Little 34,658]

I don't even particularly care about beating Hawthorn. All I want to see is the same pressure as last night and some improvement in awareness and better execution. That will go some way to regaining our credibility as a club, the rest is just icing on the cake. Despite not having any interest in preseason games, I enjoyed last night a lot!

Yes if next week against Whorethorn the gameis played with the same intensity, then i think we can all say that the preseason has been a success,& the new FD has prepared this list as best as it can.

[Alan Johnson 2]

Can't wait to see Jeremy Howe play a full game...total class every time he went near it last night (not that i was surprised). I reckon he's gonna catch some teams out this year...being matched up by the 3 or 4th best defender, he'll kick some goals.

On a completely different note did anyone else notice the Age article (Steely Dees ground pies) with the photo caption..."Heath Shaw spoils Michael Hartley"....Apparently the pies where playing themselves last night???

[Jaded No More 58,505]

Can't wait to see Jeremy Howe play a full game

Could be absolutely elite.

Phenomenal ball control at full speed, great disposal, obviously a ridiculously good mark. Everytime he does something, it is just brilliant.

I love underdogs, but I don't think we can let his path into the AFL fool us. He has everything required to be a top player.

[Pates 9,537]

I'm just re-watching the game the game now and there were a few things from Watts that I was very pleased with. For one thing he should've had two goal assists with Green and Petterd missing very getable opportunities that were created by clever play from him. Secondly he made an effort to shepard on a number of occasions, and in the mark that Petterd took to kick a goal in the 3rd term Watts made sure to keep Kieth out of the contest to allow Petterds run at it.

Now I'm not saying he was hugely influential but there are bits to his game that I'm pleased with that aren't put down in the stats. He has a long way to go, but when (and I have to doubt it will happen) it all comes together we will have one of the most dominant players in the competition,

Edited March 4, 2012 by Pates

[Striker475 696]

Can't wait to see Jeremy Howe play a full game...total class every time he went near it last night (not that i was surprised). I reckon he's gonna catch some teams out this year...being matched up by the 3 or 4th best defender, he'll kick some goals.

On a completely different note did anyone else notice the Age article (Steely Dees ground pies) with the photo caption..."Heath Shaw spoils Michael Hartley"....Apparently the pies where playing themselves last night???

I just caught that then. Dumb.

Who was the Dees player btw? Didn't recognise, was a pretty average photo tbh

[bing181 8,176]

Agree with everything here, hard not to! A few notable plusses for me re last night:

- the win is going to really help the "buy-in" for Neeld and the coaches on the part of the players. That's if anyone still needed convincing.

- the new blood around the place, the Magners, Crouches and Clarks have brought a new energy and attitude that helps lift everyone.

- including the "old hands". Green and Davey both looked like players who are rediscovering themselves and their footy.

- what we've been missing for so long has been senior players and leadership. We may still not have much of the former, but we're starting to see some of the latter. Jones played a solid captain's game last night, leading from the front and by example.

[Demon Dynasty 15,684]

Not that it effected the outcome but just curious. Can anyone please explain to me why Dunn was only awared 6 points for his super goal (yes he kicked it from a metre or so outside 50) with about 8 minutes to go in the last?

[Alan Johnson 2]

I just caught that then. Dumb.

Who was the Dees player btw? Didn't recognise, was a pretty average photo tbh

Tom Couch...I think

[cowboy_from_hell 2,390]

It was great to go to the family day today after beating the filth. I think all the good, bad and ugly's have been covered but one thing I seemed to notice that we played like the pies and they seemed to play like us last year. It was interesting to see the pies attempt to go through the corridor more and we should all know when it works it looks great but when it doesn't it is horrible. Seriously if the pies are planning on this all year the kicking skills of someone like maxwell and others are surely going to be tested a lot more this year.

[Bluelegs 36]

Not that it effected the outcome but just curious. Can anyone please explain to me why Dunn was only awared 6 points for his super goal (yes he kicked it from a metre or so outside 50) with about 8 minutes to go in the last?

I noticed that, none of the commentators brought it up, and neither did dunn or any other player. Maybe we were just looking at a bad angle?

[Deestroy All 14,262]

The free was inside 50 against Thomas, the mark has to be outside 50 for a SG.