Practice Match - Melbourne v Hawthorn @ Casey Fields

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,762]

I can't understand why people think it's good we played Hawthorn in the pre season.

All it achieved was killing any confidence, momentum and goodwill with supporters. Possibly cost some potential membership.

Would've much preferred to play a GWS or a GC or a Brisbane as they're the teams we need to learn to beat and have a chance to beat. Match practice against the reigning premiers, a team we won't get near to in rd 19 seems like a waste of 120 minutes to me.

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,108]

I can't understand why people think it's good we played Hawthorn in the pre season.

All it achieved was killing any confidence, momentum and goodwill with supporters. Possibly cost some potential membership.

Would've much preferred to play a GWS or a GC or a Brisbane as they're the teams we need to learn to beat and have a chance to beat. Match practice against the reigning premiers, a team we won't get near to in rd 19 seems like a waste of 120 minutes to me.

Even against the weaker sides pressure will go up in round 1. Sorting out who can handle it against the best today is certainly better than finding it out in a couple of weeks those who can't. A win today would have created confidence but potential to get ahead of themselves. They have 2 weeks to learn from today, get it out of their heads and move on.

Anyone who decided to not buy a memberships based on a shellacking against the premier team are exactly the same type who will be first to queue up if we beat the saints.

I could not attend today. I am struggling to work out who did not play from the published squad and who the sub was (on and off). If anyone can enlighten please.

[Brett Lovett 0]

Agreed BBH.

But I'm just glad we didn't get a priority pick last year.

That would have been really unfair to the other teams that plan to thump us by 80 points this year.

[Still Waiting 94]

One day some of the posters on here will wake up to reality and stop making pathetic, repeating, soft, excuses for poor efforts by our players. Until we get at least 9 or 10 players running hard at the ball at any one time, we will remain easy beats. A couple of our young "guns" need a poke in the back with a pointed stick. 5 or 10 minute efforts will never cut it at this level. Membership won't get near 40,000 with efforts like that. Simply not acceptable to those who know a bit about footy at AFL level.

[waynewussell 5,220]

I left 5 minutes into final term. I wasn't prepared to watch Gibson tear us (another) new one! A few observations ...

Thought we played selfish today from early on... case in point, Trengove marks at 45 early in first, Blease is wider but closer and well clear, running into pocket. Trengove sees him but elects to go back and take the shot.

I think it went OOB on the full. Now Trenners, Blease needed you to show some faith. A goal to Blease at that point would have lifted him, given him a shot in the arm.

Our short kicking was very ordinary.

Spencer has to stop looking at the opposition ruckman as he contests the centre bounce. I'm surprised the umps aren't pinging him more often. He's a big lump of a lad who needs to get up as high as he can at the jump. I thought Fitzpatrick was more effective at the centre bounce when he took it.

The foreign legion were still among our best on the day. Vince, Cross, Michie and Tyson were good to very good at times.

Georgiou must be elevated. He can play on blokes that are taller than him. Strauss struggles on taller opposition. We need Georgiou while Garland is on the sidelines.

Thought Trenners and Grimes made too many errors of judgement today.

Dunn was our best out of defence but they all reverted to kicking long to the boundary, hoping for a throw in.

Umpiring on holding the ball was ludicrous. I think it should be mandatory for AFL umpires to have played 50 games of senior football, somewhere, before getting a gig. Let them see how impossible it is to get the ball out when four or five blokes are piled on top holding it in.

[waynewussell 5,220]

The only two from the squad who did not play were Hogan and Bail. Viney and JKH came on in second half for Terlich and Blease (I think)

[Akum 2,660]

Lara Bingle could have coached them today, the result would have been the same, except she has better legs than Bruce but not so much up top.

Sorry ... Cam Bruce has a better rack than Lara Bingle??

[Redleg 40,818]

I would suggest the only positive out of today are these guys didn't play:

Hogan, Dawes, Clark, Garland, Gawn, Kent ... and Viney got a few minutes.

[ILLDieADemon 804]

Lets hope this was a dose of reality for the boys and they put in 110% in round 1 against Saint Kilda.

[picket fence 17,035]

Jimmy Toumpas ... was outclassed by better opposition as was most of our side.

As he was this week, last week and much of last year!

Reality Bites hard .

[RalphiusMaximus 6,019]

Just got back. I stuck around for half of the Casey game as well to let the traffic subside a little.

The AFL website summary says the difference was the efficiency of the Hawks forwards. Any comments from those who attended??? Did not mention inability to get the ball etc.

Dunn, Vince, Cross, Howe and Spencer named as our best players.

The AFL website is full of it. The Hawks were not in any way efficient in the forward line. The score should have been a lot worse. The differences were all further down the ground.

just curious how a few players went today as i couldn't watch the game

Jack Trengove - Played his usual game. Got the ball by workrate rather than speed, repeat efforts, tackles etc.

Jack Watts - Worked his ass off off the ball but was rarely rewarded by teammates. I don't know whether he is breaking too soon or they are too slow to spot him, but they almost never pass to him when he runs into space.

Jack Viney - Had a bit of a go at the end of the Hawks game,then was looking pretty damn good for Casey. His kicking is actually pretty good medium range.

Jimmy Toumpas - Needs to learn his limitations. If he were to keep things simple he'd be a great player with those skills, but he tends to try to do too much, like thread the impossible pass or take on two tacklers.

any info would be greatly appreciated

Overall:

The wind was swirly and made it hard to spot up passes. Oddly enough the Hawks handled it a lot better, who'd have thought? I suspect this also contributed to the poor set shots we saw from both sides. It died down as the game went on, and finally settled across the ground for the Casey match.

I don't think we had a single player beat their opponent today. The Hawks were that dominant. The two aspects that really stood out were their cleanness and their trust in each other. Both were significantly better than ours and it showed.

We very rarely took a loose ball in one grab, and this killed us at bounces and throw-ins. We very often had first hands, but the initial fumble and off0balance grab left the player vulnerable and they were swamped. The Hawks in contrast took the ball cleanly almost every time, and this gave them time to hit the next target.

On the trust issue, we once again were seeing multiple Demons going for the ball and spoiling each other. We frequently saw two players come from opposite directions and crash into each other while their opponents stood back and picked up the free ball. This was also the case with the Grimes/Frawley collision, everyone flew at the ball and nobody stayed down to pick up the crumbs. The other aspect of this was in their overall setup. When the Hawks attacked, we sent everyone back to defend, leaving nothing upfield to pass to when we won the ball (sound familiar). By contrast, the Hawk forwards generally stayed forward of centre. Not only did this give them targets on the break, but it put instant pressure on our back-passes. More often than not when we went th long outlet ball to the rear the player was outnumbered and under pressure instantly. I honestly think that this play needs to be retired, as our opponents are already on to it and have an effective counter in place.

It was also interesting to note how close to the line they go in terms of free kicks. I think if they were to get an Umpire in a bad mood they would be giving them away all over the ground. They lay tackles a moment before their man takes the ball, lots of holding around stoppages that they aren't getting pulled up for, bumps and tackles that you would expect to be pulled up. They seem to have a very good idea of what is going to be called and what isn't, and go as close as they possibly can to being penalised.

Performances of note?

I thought Fitz picked himself up a bit as the game went on and kept presenting on the wing. He wasn't much use in the forward line though, and as has been noted missed an absolute sitter.

Howe was his usual self. He attacked the ball hard, marked on the lead, kicked a couple of goals.

As I said above, Watts really worked hard to present and just wasn't being rewarded by his teammates. He once again failed to apply any tackling pressure, although I did see him lay a pretty good bump at one stage.

Vince took a few very nice marks in defence, which is always good to see.

N. Jones, as always worked his ass off in the middle.

There was much more to like about the reserves, as usual. When I left they were a couple of goals up despite being monstered by a much bigger Box Hill lineup. We saw a great play where Viney took the ball on the wing, spotted up Barry at CHF who hit a nice pass to the advantage of JKH who overhauled his man to take the contested mark and kick a goal. Panozza was having a really good game (pretty sure it was him). I can't be sure as it was on the far wing, but I think I saw Hunt run from HB to HF, burning off all comers and then nailing a pass to the FP. These kids really do look like they have the class we desperately need, and I hope they can bring themselves on this year and make a spot for themselves in the firsts.

Also, I have to ask. Was that Stretch in #50 playing for the scorps?

Edited March 8, 2014 by RalphiusMaximus

[ILLDieADemon 804]

I can't understand why people think it's good we played Hawthorn in the pre season.

All it achieved was killing any confidence, momentum and goodwill with supporters. Possibly cost some potential membership.

Would've much preferred to play a GWS or a GC or a Brisbane as they're the teams we need to learn to beat and have a chance to beat. Match practice against the reigning premiers, a team we won't get near to in rd 19 seems like a waste of 120 minutes to me.

That's pretty true, players and supports came into this game with a lot of confidence for 2014, now we are all walking away thinking "here we go again". If we had played one of these teams that you suggested and beat them or play competitive against them everyone would be very positive about round one.

I just hope this was a wake up call and the boys train twice as hard for round one.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,019]

That's pretty true, players and supports came into this game with a lot of confidence for 2014, now we are all walking away thinking "here we go again". If we had played one of these teams that you suggested and beat them or play competitive against them everyone would be very positive about round one.

I just hope this was a wake up call and the boys train twice as hard for round one.

I don;t mind a reality check. We got to see exactly what we are doing wrong and how far we have to improve to play with the big boys. I'd rather know now and assume the coaches were taking notes than not know and be shocked when we get done like that during the season.

[DeeZee 7,361]

Yes it is a reality check, but im sure the boys will be very disappointed, and want to atone for it by training their butts off,and beating the saints round one.

[hardtack 10,514]

I have heard a bit about Howe - did Fitz do anything? Who else was on the forward line?

I knew it wouldn't take long

Hey mono, my comment and "yawn" was directed at Mr White... nothing to do with our performance, but plenty to do with the predictability of many on Demonland.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,019]

Also of interest possibly. While sitting on the grassy knoll, Alex Georgiou came out and sat with a group of friends a few feet away. While he was chatting, a little boy walked up and stood staring intently at him for about 30 seconds, looking very much like a hunting dog on point before walking up and having the following conversation:

Random Kid - "are you a player?"

AG - "yes I am"

RK - "What's your name"

AG - Alex"

RK - "Alex what?"

AG - "Georgiou"

RK - (after a pause for thought) "Can you sign my ball?"

AG - "Sure"

[Robot Devil 1,895]

Also of interest possibly. While sitting on the grassy knoll, Alex Georgiou came out and sat with a group of friends a few feet away. While he was chatting, a little boy walked up and stood staring intently at him for about 30 seconds, looking very much like a hunting dog on point before walking up and having the following conversation:

Random Kid - "are you a player?"

AG - "yes I am"

RK - "What's your name"

AG - Alex"

RK - "Alex what?"

AG - "Georgiou"

RK - (after a pause for thought) "Can you sign my ball?"

AG - "Sure"

I imagine Jack Watts has that exact same exchange frequently.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

I can't understand why people think it's good we played Hawthorn in the pre season.

All it achieved was killing any confidence, momentum and goodwill with supporters. Possibly cost some potential membership.

Would've much preferred to play a GWS or a GC or a Brisbane as they're the teams we need to learn to beat and have a chance to beat. Match practice against the reigning premiers, a team we won't get near to in rd 19 seems like a waste of 120 minutes to me.

Someone had to play them. Edited March 8, 2014 by Clint Bizkit

[Goodvibes 3,596]

I've decided to run with the, I didn't see it, therefore it didn't happen approach.

[Sir Why You Little 36,963]

Just watched Roosy's post match press conference.

I feel better

Please watch before contemplating suicide.

[Earl Hood 6,082]

I am not sure it is a good idea to be playing the Hawks at this stage. We are trying to build confidence into the playing group, we have two good performances against the 7 and 3 finishers last season. Why play number one now? The Hawks are flying, no injuries, everyone is up and about and they are keen to overawe everyone early to get the psychological advantage on everyone. In short we could get smashed, like they have done to the North and Brisbane and a lot of good MFC vibes shattered. Not sure why we agreed to this match really.

Just a reminder. I did predict this carnage and I was pilloried at the time by some. But my point was not the effect of a poor scoreline but the dent to our momentum, player's confidence in themselves and each other, and of course the effect on supporters and memberships. I believe the final non NAB practice matches were negotiable between the clubs. We made a bad choice in my mind. After tackling two finalists we should have been taking on a mid ranking side to build on our preseason momentum. From the posts I have read so far there are zero positives coming out of today just more self doubt!

And Shyte in such a professional game how can one team be so far ahead of almostveveryone else? I know they are good but really!

[DemonFrog 1,354]

So when does the 2014 season finish again?

[DemonOX 8,782]

Lets c how we go rd1 when we haven't played in NT the week before and r not playing the reigning premier.

We will definitely not go into rd1 overconfident.

Remember we do have a coach who KNOWS what he is doing and what needs doing. We r in good hands.

As someone once said "it's not going to happen but it will happen".

Edited March 8, 2014 by DemonOX

[Nasher 33,607]

Just watched Roosy's post match press conference.

I feel better

Please watch before contemplating suicide.

How's "we know where we're at" compared to "I didn't see that coming"?

[DeeSpencer 25,444]

I left 5 minutes into final term. I wasn't prepared to watch Gibson tear us (another) new one! A few observations...

Thought we played selfish today from early on... case in point, Trengove marks at 45 early in first, Blease is wider but closer and well clear, running into pocket. Trengove sees him but elects to go back and take the shot. I think it went OOB on the full. Now Trenners, Blease needed you to show some faith. A goal to Blease at that point would have lifted him, given him a shot in the arm.

Our short kicking was very ordinary.

Spencer has to stop looking at the opposition ruckman as he contests the centre bounce. I'm surprised the umps aren't pinging him more often. He's a big lump of a lad who needs to get up as high as he can at the jump. I thought Fitzpatrick was more effective at the centre bounce when he took it.

The foreign legion were still among our best on the day. Vince, Cross, Michie and Tyson were good to very good at times.

Georgiou must be elevated. He can play on blokes that are taller than him. Strauss struggles on taller opposition. We need Georgiou while Garland is on the sidelines.

Thought Trenners and Grimes made too many errors of judgement today.

Dunn was our best out of defence but they all reverted to kicking long to the boundary, hoping for a throw in.

Umpiring on holding the ball was ludicrous. I think it should be mandatory for AFL umpires to have played 50 games of senior football, somewhere, before getting a gig. Let them see how impossible it is to get the ball out when four or five blokes are piled on top holding it in.

I was down that end. The kick to Blease would've been in to the breeze slowing it down. Not to mention the Hawks expertly guard (ie. cheat) on the mark. And Trengove isn't the fastest getting back off his mark, steadying and drilling the kick (as a floated kick would've been cut off). Not to mention Blease isn't a great player to have sitting under a high ball.

To me it was a case of a limited player in Trengove weighing up the option and taking the one he thought was right in the circumstance. Definitely didn't think it was selfish.

One thing our players will struggle with is doing what is safe under the game plan and doing what is right. Sydney under Roos were great at getting the ball just outside 50 and hitting up short leads to get a reasonable shot on goal. So Trengove marking at 50 would be told to be patient. But that's obviously overruled if you have a quick attacking option. Same with down back. Working the ball methodically is obviously plan A. But at times a linking handball to a runner would be much better. Hawthorn's ability to take an intercept mark and give a handball to move play on was amazing today.

Pretty much after an ok first quarter we lost confidence today. Which is probably why it's best to have Paul Roos coaching who will work hard to build confidence back for round 1. If I was coaching I would've blasted them all by now.