DERAILED

DERAILED by Whispering Jack

There's a certain sameness creeping into Melbourne's 2012 campaign. It starts with the team striving hard but playing patchy football punctuated by some glaring mistakes for one and a half quarters. Then the wheels fall off for the next one and a half quarters so that by three quarter time, we've all given up the ghost and might as well head homewards because the game's over.

And when it's really over the statistics tell a lamentable tale. The Tigers ran all over the Demons from the midpoint of term two when the scoreboard had Melbourne up by a goal. This was the pivotal time in the game when the Richmond midfield really took over, lifted a notch and ran over a soft languid opposition.

Whereas hitherto the Demons were in the game despite multiple skill and decision-making errors, suddenly it was the superiority of the Tiger on ball division that allowed them to change the dynamics of the game and to turn it into a one horse race. Melbourne looked a spent force and played that way until the final siren sounded to end another tragic day's play. 

The statistics that mattered overwhelmingly favoured Richmond which led disposals 427-268, inside 50's by 65-30 and tackles 75-53. Melbourne came close in contested ball but the remaining statistics indicate deep seated problems in the way the team is structured and that virtually nothing is being done during game day when the wheels start falling off to turn the game back into the team's favour.

That happened predictably at the mid point of the second quarter when the Richmond midfield simply took over and ran their Melbourne counterparts off their feet. I have been watching the midfields of the other clubs in various matches over the early rounds and even the new franchises are already superior to that which is being presented by the Demons which is nothing short of shambolic. Even in the days of tanking, things were not so bad there and, unless some run can be introduced to help Nathan Jones, things will only get worse.

It's a major worry that the club's season has effectively been derailed after just three rounds. I have nothing more to add.

Melbourne 2.3.15 5.6.36 6.6.42  11.8.74

Richmond 4.4.28 6.8.44 15.11.101 20.13.133

Goals

Melbourne Clark Dunn Howe Trengove 2 Jones Sellar Watts

Richmond  Cotchin Miller 3 Conca Deledio Nahas 2 Grigg Houli Jackson I Maric Martin Riewoldt Tuck Vickery

Best

Melbourne Howe Frawley Jones Watts

Richmond Grigg Tuck Conca Foley Nahas Cotchin

Injuries

Melbourne Jack Grimes (concussion)

Richmond Nil

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Richmond Nil

Reports

Melbourne Jack Grimes for rough conduct on Daniel Jackson

Richmond Nil

Umpires Schmitt Armstrong Mitchell

Crowd 49,826 at the MCG