The Good The bad and the very F Ugly

[Pirlo 813]

Jack Grimes may have had 100% DE, but the number of times he handballs to team mates under the hammer is ridiculous. It's as though the footy is a hot potato and he thinks he has 0.0001 seconds to get rid of it...

Doesn't drill it, on that point. He floats it in the direction of a player, regardless of where they are or who is around them.

[Buzzy 992]

Yeah Toumpas had a bad night, Bail looked right off the boil and for an AFL footballer, Tyson has one of the sloppiest handballs going around and hasn't sorted out those random brain fades yet - not too worried about him though.

I'm also not sure how much improvement Viney has in him. We need him to fire.

We look slow. We're a slow team. And a dumb team. The footy IQ just doesn't seem to be there in most of our players.

Garlett looks better than I remember. Big win there.

Goddamn our forward line was crowded and messy tonight. Need to give Hogan space to run and jump.

Round 1 without Dawes is going to be tough.

Forgettable night. NAB challenge or not, we need to develop a winning culture and this was VERY winnable.

[WERRIDEE 5,479]

Hogan to me isn't quite ready for AFL.

He spent the year not getting any footy into him. I would think a month at Casey get some easy goals would do him good. He looked overawed and underdone in a game that was at 40% the intensity of an actual match.

Wouldn't be surprised if he isn't in the team for round 1.

Are you joking? He wasn't that bad, who is going to replace him? McKenzie?

[Mondê 525]

Good
1. VandenBerg's game. See a lot of Michael Barlow in this guy. Well researched and smart recruiting (touch wood)
2. Hogan. Just glad he is on the park and getting through full games.
3. Jeffy. So creative, makes things happen out of nothing. Exactly what we need

Bad
1. Basic footskills, lack of team work
2. Clumsy tackling and giving away far too many unnecessary frees in dangerous areas, which mind you were absolutely there.
3. Inability to turn clearances into scoring opportunities

Ugly
1. Our kick-in set up. Has been deplorable for the best part of a decade. I can't remember the last time we have managed to turn a kick in into a scoring opportunity.

[Lucifers Hero 39,856]

Hogan had two set shot scoring opportunities from the 50metre line but passed both off inside the 50. Is he not capable of kicking the distance?

Lets give him the benefit of the doubt - Maybe he still has a sore foot form the freo game.

[Webber 10,468]

Is Hogan REALLY that good?? Hnmm dropped sitters last week and today?

What I was wondering. I'm sure he'll be in round 1, but undeserved and looking largely NQR at this stage. Rusty? Nervous? Too keen to make an impact? I guess the only way is up!

[Barney Rubble 1,576]

What I was wondering. I'm sure he'll be in round 1, but undeserved and looking largely NQR at this stage. Rusty? Nervous? Too keen to make an impact? I guess the only way is up!

I think he will be named CHF for round 1 (with Dawes suspension)

Maybe Pedo will come back in to the forward line. Frost I think is still more suited to backline.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Pig Dog

[Deestroy All 14,266]

The Good:

The 1 Amigo and Vandenhoogenkamp

The Bad:

The game plan, the skills and the majority of players.

The Ugly:

Jack Godfrey, I mean Viney, Jack Viney.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

The Good:

The 1 Amigo and Vandenhoogenkamp

The Bad:

The game plan, the skills and the majority of players.

The Ugly:

Jack Godfrey, I mean Viney, Jack Viney.

I think this will become the elephant in the room if things don't improve.

[Lucifers Hero 39,856]

The Very Good: Garlett's 4 goal haul - a feat no Dees player managed in 2014

The Good: Lumumba, Garlett, VanD and Watts had good games.

The Bad: Not being able to recognise or stop the momentum swing.

The Ugly: The Leadership Group didn't function.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Lucifer's Hero

[Mad_Melbourne 877]

The Good:

-Defensively we were good, keeping a team to below 80 points should create opportunities to win 100% of the time

-The amount of play we had, it was promising to see our team have more than the balance of play and really should have won by 20-30 points

-Christian Salems defensive efforts (apart from one which i can recall where he was far to far in front of his opponent)

-Ben Newton, more often than not if he was in the passage of play moving forward we got a scoring opportunity

The Bad:

-Simple disposal errors, Frost, Tyson, Hogan especially.\

-losing a game that on the balance of play we should have won

-not capatalising on the domination in the first quarter

-Daniel Cross was far too slow, was meant to be playing on Zaha most of the time

-Our sweeper at the contest was continually getting sucked into the play, often we went to handball out the back and there was no one there, this is a major error and one that will be addressed by Roos for sure.

(EDIT: last two the bad)

Edited March 20, 2015 by Mad_Melbourne

[Coq au vin 755]

Too often opposition players who are tackled by a MFC player are able to effectively pass to another opposition player while they are in the grip of our player. Watch Chris Judd tackle: he grabs the ball or their arms and prevents this from occurring. It's no good putting a player on the ground if they are able to effectively pass it off.

[picket fence 17,172]

Good

1. VandenBerg's game. See a lot of Michael Barlow in this guy. Well researched and smart recruiting (touch wood)

2. Hogan. Just glad he is on the park and getting through full games.

3. Jeffy. So creative, makes things happen out of nothing. Exactly what we need

Bad

1. Basic footskills, lack of team work

2. Clumsy tackling and giving away far too many unnecessary frees in dangerous areas, which mind you were absolutely there.

3. Inability to turn clearances into scoring opportunities

Ugly

1. Our kick-in set up. Has been deplorable for the best part of a decade. I can't remember the last time we have managed to turn a kick in into a scoring opportunity.

Addendum!

Agree with all , Hogan yep good to see him on the park but in 3 Games Hasn't done much for mine!

Would much rather see him at CHF let him run wild and straight up the ground ala Nick Reiwoldt!

also noted the following

1. Mc Donald still doesn't know body on body footy, Joe Daniher outpositioned him many times have mentioned this aspect before.
2. Yep our kick out strategy is the worst in the AFL
3. We have a slow midfield
4. Jamar adequate at centre bounces but does not do enough around the ground
5. Our decision making and ability to handball to a player under extreme hammer is becoming legendary
6. Our run and spread are lacking
7. We take too long to kick the ball into our inside 50
8. Already Mentioned Garlett and Lamumba, the fact that these two were our best players closely followed by Dawes is telling and potentially dangerous
9. We have no Game Breaker at all at our club! Not one that can take a game by the throat and win it with skill, drive and conviction.
10. We lack a mongrel presence in our side. We have no legitimately "Tough" Players. The last one we had was Byron Pickett and in spite of the fact he was near finished when he came to us still made guys around him stand tall.

That will do for the moment but to reiterate WE LOST TO A RAG TAG OF A TEAM WITH MANY OF THEIR BEST OUT AND IF THAT IS THE PROMISE OF THINGS TO COME I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS,

How much does it cost to hire a RANGE ROVER for the weekend?

and

When do the chair lifts start at Hotham?

[Brayshaw Self 847]

I really liked Hogan's inside 50s

[rpfc 28,476]

Jack Grimes may have had 100% DE, but the number of times he handballs to team mates under the hammer is ridiculous. It's as though the footy is a hot potato and he thinks he has 0.0001 seconds to get rid of it...

There was one moment in the first where he could have turned about 45 degrees and kicked into our forward line from a centre clearance and instead handpassed it to Lumumba flat footed 4 metres behind him. HL tried to get some momentum up to kick it but ended up handpassing it to no-one.

Go forward, Jack!

He has forgotten now to play aggressive footy.

I have a stick figure of a bloke in my team, hasn't won a hard ball in his life, gets the footy from hard running, and when he gets the footy he pierces the opponents hearts with his decision making.

Gets it, loses his blokes footing with a shimmy, runs 15m, kicks it straight up the guts to a lead or has another bounce and backs himself, and then trusts his forward to win a one on one or two on two.

Roos played footy when he played footy, but he is coaching the footy out of these blokes, or maybe their confidence is so shot they don't believe they, and their temammates, are footballers anymore...

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,179]

Hogan to me isn't quite ready for AFL.

He spent the year not getting any footy into him. I would think a month at Casey get some easy goals would do him good. He looked overawed and underdone in a game that was at 40% the intensity of an actual match.

Wouldn't be surprised if he isn't in the team for round 1.

He's seriously lacking touch but took 6 marks and had a direct hand in 3 of our goals. I don't think he looked overawed I think he looks like he is trying too hard. Once it clicks there will be no turning back. Ignoring no Dawes Rd1 there is no way he wont play.

[Jaded No More 68,949]

He's seriously lacking touch but took 6 marks and had a direct hand in 3 of our goals. I don't think he looked overawed I think he looks like he is trying too hard. Once it clicks there will be no turning back. Ignoring no Dawes Rd1 there is no way he wont play.

I know he will play, but I don't expect him to do much for at least the next 3 months.

He did ok but he was playing on another kid and was beaten often in one on ones.

He also seemed frustrated which isn't great.

He should be enjoying his footy not trying to carry a forward line.

Don't get me wrong I see his star qualities and I think that as long as we don't ruin him in typical Melbourne fashion that he'll be a star. But I worry that we expect a lot from someone who hasn't played a game yet.

[Slartibartfast 17,307]

Roos played footy when he played footy, but he is coaching the footy out of these blokes, or maybe their confidence is so shot they don't believe they, and their temammates, are footballers anymore...

This is the big issue of the season to me.

Earlier in the preseason I was shouted down when I questioned Roos and his coaching tactics but I've seen very little in the practice games that leads me to believe Roos knows how to coach a team to kick goals. It's well documented that he reduced the scores against us last year and it's now better known that we kicked the lowest average score for years. From memory we never kicked 100 points last year and scored 6 goals or less 6 times. That's pathetic however you slice it. Like everyone I hoped that with the inclusion of Hogan and Garlett, the introduction of some new mids and a year under their belt we'd see a significant improvement in our scoring capacity.

My impression is that most teams are now concentrating on fast ball movement to break zoning and the press and that this started in the middle of last year. Teams such as Richmond and Carlton who had shocking first half years in 2014 improved dramatically when they started to move the ball quicker. Brisbane punched above their weight last year to the surprise of many and they relied on fast ball movement.

The most disappointing feature of our play this preseason has been the lack of any dare. We stop, look, hesitate, kick backwards and allow the opposition to zone back and make scoring difficult. So far I'd have to say that Roos has failed to teach us to kick goals even with Hogan and Garlett added to our attack.

And just for the record this is not new to Roos. He won a premiership based on stoppage work and defense despite having a forward line containing Goodes, Hall, O'Laughlin, Davis and O'Keeffe. I just wonder if he is capable of changing his mind set. I can't help but believe we are much better than we are showing.

Just some random other comments:

1. I think many are over rating Vandenbergs game. It was ok but a long way from good.

2. I think people are underestimating Grimes game who was good all night but very good in the first half.

3. I was particularly disappointed in Newtons game. I held hopes - now I have doubts.

4. On viewing I thought Tyson was poor last week because despite his ability to find the ball his disposals have little impact. I then looked at the stats and saw he had an 81% DE and dismissed my thought. But for a bloke that gets it so well he does so little with it.

5. I'm struggling with the concept of Frost as our second ruck resting forward.

6. We seemed completely unable to find any space with the ball. We were outnumbered all night. Poor workrate I would have thought and a lack of desire to win. Strange given our history and the fact that there are alternatives to most players in the team.

7. At least the first half of last year we could make it difficult for the opposition to score but last night Essendon got goal side of us regularly and their forwards found space and provided options. That was a worry.

8. I think we miss Bernie Vince a lot. He has the ability to get on the outside and dispose well. He has a bit of flare which is something we are very short of.

All in all it was a thoroughly disappointing performance from a team that has some very well credentialed people working with it. I agree with Webber who made the point that what we saw last night is what we are. Preseason or not, we are not going to suddenly stop experimenting against the Suns and magically play much better footy as a result.

The fear of another long cold winter is starting to settle on my psyche.

[Bobby McKenzie 2,385]

The bad things have already been mentioned many times over. My good was Jack Watts showing real aggression and physicality. That's great to see. Garlett and Lumumba too helped to cheer me up on a bleak afternoon's footy.

[Elusive Tunbridge 795]

Agreed, Bobby. I also thought Jesse started to work into the game later on, and will be much better for the run - he knows now that he will have to deal more effectively with FBs who try to monster him. I was happy with Frost's game too, and certainly wouldn't write him off as a relief ruck just yet. They've only just started to train him for this role, and it will take a while. In the meantime we have fast, aggressive young tall who's willing to have a go whatever we ask of him.

But if we can replicate yesterday's teamwork throughout the season, we'll get first crack at the draft for sure.

[Jesse Christ 2,884]

Good-

Tom McDonald- Gives his all, improving disposal, running machine

Jeffy Garlett - pickup of the year, Carlton stuffed up

Lamumba- served me and many others some bitter humble pie. Gun.

N. Jones- Mr Consistant.

Bad-

Tyson- disposal regressing

Viney- seems rushed and lacking composure. Iffy disposal, enough said.

Garland- try kicking it forward for once.

Bail and N.Jones- good work unstuck by very basic skill errors.

Ugly-

Stop-start football

Hospital handballs

Lack of run

Losing to that disgraceful organisation

Loss of confidence.

[praha 11,240]

The good:

Bergs

Nate Jones

Jeff

Watts

Hogan second efforts

Dawes taking marks

McDonald

Frost

H

The Bad:

Handballs to stationary targets

Bail, Toump and Viney costly errors

Dropped sitters

Losing another match after leading in the 4th

Dumb football

The ugly:

Me paying $17 for chips, nuggets and a beer

[HEMLOCK 39]

Hogan had two set shot scoring opportunities from the 50metre line but passed both off inside the 50. Is he not capable of kicking the distance?

watts is also keen to pass it off at every opportunity

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

watts is also keen to pass it off at every opportunity

That's my only criticism of his game.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,054]

Ugly

1. Our kick-in set up. Has been deplorable for the best part of a decade. I can't remember the last time we have managed to turn a kick in into a scoring opportunity.

It was an early game against the Hawks several seasons ago I think. Massive kick-in to a ruck contest near the wing. Our ruck tapped it to the back of the pack where Bail swooped on it and ran into the 50 for a point.