SQUAWKING by Whispering Jack

This match report on the Round 20 game between Melbourne and Hawthorn opens with a definitive statement:

"Forget about all of this baloney about Melbourne being scarred by tanking talk.

That controversy was five years ago, and to raise it now simply smells of a club looking for excuses."

The excuse-making and squawking after last week's pathetic capitulation to the Brisbane Lions was hopefully an aberration on the part of Demon coach Paul Roos which will not be repeated. He may not have been aware of it, but his comments would open up old wounds and allow some to approach their soap boxes and raise old agendas that need to be set aside if the club is to progress.

Moreover, telling players publicly that they are wounded by a long gone event that happened when only 20% of the current list was at the club (including some of its better players who are by no means haunted by the experience) is likely to be counterproductive. It certainly turned out that way in the game against Hawthorn.

The Hawks dominated from go to whoa and at times, toyed with the Demons whose play was still very much defensive and stilted in style and which contained the fair share of hesitation, skill errors and turnovers. Thankfully, some of the changes to the line up necessitated by last week's fiasco, gave the team a harder edge and we saw less of the bumbling and stumbling that highlighted that performance.

Of course, that was a necessity given that the Demons were playing the top of the ladder Hawks rather than the lowly Lions of a week before. In the end, Melbourne lost by 50 points but it was one in which it would have succumbed by double that only twelve months ago.

The team once again failed to score even ten goals and there was little to suggest any impending improvement in its forward potency. Chris Dawes continues to disappoint as the team's only true key forward. He did have an interrupted preseason but he doesn't seem to be playing with his earlier zest and needs the back up of at least one or two other effective talls up forward if there is to be improvement in this department. Max Gawn's return to the team after a strong month in the VFL was a promising start.

Again, quoting from the above article:

"Five of Melbournes first seven goals came from direct kicks to the space in front of the goalsquare, and yet that particularly option seemed the one they were least inclined to take.

"Instead, there were numerous passages of play where Melbourne second-guessed itself. At one point in the second term Chris Dawes came streaming up the wing, marking beautifully on the lead. His first instinct was to then turn around and kick it 45 metres backwards, prompting booing from the Members Stand."

... and ...

"There were even instances where Melbourne players were in the clear within 30 or 40 metres of goal, and rather than taking the shot, they looked to handball to a teammate under even more pressure."

Clearly, none of this has anything to do with what might have taken place in the "vault" at the Junction Oval or how a team that lost 11 out of its first 12 games in Dean Bailey's second season as coach and which culminated in an expression of dismay by the tanking accusers that Melbourne had the temerity to lose its last game of the 2009 to top-of-the-ladder St. Kilda. To suggest otherwise is, at best, indulging in fantasy.

The Demons were well served by its usual midfield guns in Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson while Neville Jetta continues to shine and demonstrate why he is easily the club's most improved player. As mentioned above, Gawn helped to improve the forward set up and Aidan Riley had a real impact when he was substituted into the game.

One expects the club will continue to give its young players every chance for the rest of the season instead of those who have been around, had their chances and failed to deliver in the past. One also hopes that somehow, the team will play with some more positivity when going into attack from now on as it would, at the very least, give the club's success-starved fans something to look forward to for the remainder of the season and beyond.

Melbourne 2.1.13 4.5.29 7.8.50 9.11.65

Hawthorn4.4.28 10.8.68 15.8.98 17.13.115

Goals

Melbourne Gawn 2 Dawes Frawley, Kennedy-Harris Kent Riley Tyson Viney

Hawthorn Roughead 5 Breust 3 Hill Smith 2 Hale Lewis Puopolo Schoenmakers Shiels

Best

Melbourne Tyson Jetta, N. Jones Howe Gawn Cross

Hawthorn Lewis Shiels Roughead Smith Hodge Birchall

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Hawthorn Nil

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

Hawthorn Nil

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Hawthorn J Roughead for tripping D Tyson in the second quarter

Umpires Nil

Hawthorn Ben Ryan, Jeff Dalgleish, Nicholas Foot

Crowd 37,082 at the MCG

I will say this, despite the margin, this is a much better performance than last week's disgrace.

We are still hopeless offensively, but at least we played hard and tackled to hurt.

As a team we are about 20% talent 80% trying hard and failing.

Better than last year's 1% talent (Jones) and 99% garbage.

Also we halved the losing margin from last year. Hooray.

Did Eddie just say there's 72 000 at the G?!?!?!!?!?

Commentary on fox was condescending and putrid.

Fat ed and Derm were the main ones with huddo and Johnson ok.

Geez I can't wait till will turn our performance around.

We have gone up the ladder.

Much better performance this week than last week.

Jetta was great and was cramping in the last quarter. When he was off the ground they showed him vomiting.

He gave it everything.

Gawns game was good and Riley was too when he came on.

Not terrible second half

Gotta take our limited chances in front of goal FFS.

JKH 4 touches

Watts shows no heart, he had a bigger smile on his face than the hawthorn players.

After a performance like that just shake hands and get your gutless butt down the tunnel.

Talent isn't the issue it's will and mongrel. the skill errors are coming about because they are putting each other under pressure by not doing the 1%er's and working for each other. The job of many being done by only a few!

Commentary on fox was condescending and putrid.

Fat ed and Derm were the main ones with huddo and Johnson ok.

Geez I can't wait till will turn our performance around.

Agree. I posted exactly the same on another thread. Just gives you the sh-ts.

Thought Hawthorn took their foot off the pedal in the final term. Really disappointed we couldn't even kick 10.

Kicked more than 4 goals. More than double that actually. Unlucky Tony Shaw.

More than halved the howlers from last week and cracked in hard all day. No easy possessions. Pretty much all even in the second half which against a team like Hawthorn is a great effort. As a contrast, the Bulldogs got blown away in their second half.

Far too many easy goals leaked out the back which I'm sure Roos will address. Composure in the forward half is still an issue.

Gawn the obvious highlight. Terrific game from the big fella who is going to be a big part of the next successful Melbourne side, which hopefully is only a few years away.

Overall, a lot more to be happy about than last week.

Barry played his best game for the club

Gotta take our limited chances in front of goal FFS.

Would be good if Frawley could kick straight.

Had to laugh when I saw Macca mark is50 and was nearly crying with laughter when he took his kick for goal. Poor bugger.

JKH 4 touches

That's terrible.

I don't understand why our guys don't take the game on when they have the footy instead of second guessing themselves and ducking back into traffic and putting their team mates under the pump in the process. Also the amount of times we are flat footed and end up kicking the ball up the ground to a pack instead of maintaining possession is ridiculous and so easy for the opposition to defend.

We should be seeing what we could get for Watts in the off season. Doesn't matter how skilled or talented he is, he just doesn't have the mentality to make it. Too much jogging, too much spectating, too much hesitation and putting his teammates under pressure - he's just not good enough for this level.

Gawn's game was excellent, our mids worked really hard despite being outclassed and Nev Jetta is a legend.

However I was really happy with Dom Barry's game - he had 17 touches, had a hand in a goal or two and didn't look out of place. I'm not going over the top and saying he will be a player for us but the kid did his role well and contributed to the side, something I wasn't sure he had the capacity to do at this stage of his career.

And yeah the commentary today was absolutely pathetic. They treated the entire game as a joke and made no effort to hide it. Chatted over the top of Melbourne passages of play and actually called the game when Hawthorn had possession.

Brad Johnson is just an annoying little plonk. Zero premierships last time I looked. Back in your box you giggling fool.

And Dermott just shouldn't be let anywhere near a microphone for Hawthorn games.

Thanks for now making this thread all about Watts instead of encouraging discussion about the game as a whole. Obsessed.

The Melbourne members end of the ground was packed with Hawthorn, 1 to 5, I reckon. I guess I don't begrudge those who have given up, but it seems unfair to think that those of us who still go week in week out, will reap the same reward when the tide eventually turns our way. The MCG is our ground and we were severely outnumbered. Gives me the shits.

He already said losing doesn't bother him years ago, what do you expect?

Why anyone would kick it to mcdonald inside the forward 50 to have a shot for goal is beyond me.

Riley did well when he came on, hard at the contest. Max needs to stay up in the forward line, this at least meant we have forwards beside Dawes there which made it a little easier. Kennedy-Harris and Dom need to continue to be played, they need to learn. It will stand them in good stead for next year.

Winners are grinners chook, oh hang on we FU£%ING lost.

Edited August 9, 201411 yr by DemonOX

I will always support our players, but we must look at what Watts can buy us. I was pleased with his game today, in that he had quite a few touches that counted. However, I look at Reilly's impact and I say... that was better!

Edited August 9, 201411 yr by waynewussell