Jump to content

DIRTY HANDS by The Oracle

Demonland
in Match Previews

Featured Replies

Posted

Melbourne ends its week of humiliation on Sunday with a trip across Bass Strait for a game against a team it has not beaten since Methuselah played in the Under 9s.

To make things worse, North Melbourne is riding high after two solid wins, carrying few injuries and playing at its home away from home. The Kangaroos areĀ chock full of confidence but on top of that are unlikely to treat an opposition with the same disrespect that the Demons showed Essendon in their encounter last Saturday (and for that matter, when they met last year).

Melbourne was caught napping against Essendon when its expected midfield dominance failed to eventuate despite the fact that big Max Gawn dominated the ruck duels. Despite this, the Bombers won the ball out of the clearances and were also given far too much latitude on the outside by an undisciplined unit. I can only suppose that the Demons believed their own publicity after earning kudos from a virtually unblemished pre season and a come from behind win in the season opener against the Giants - achieved through some discipline on the ground including a willingness by all and sundry to go down and get their hands dirty.

Coach Paul Roos has a lot of thinking to do with regard to how he can get his charges back into the headspace they occupied up until the Bomber debacle. It won't be easy if you consider the game starts at the first bounce and the opposition midfield will be a much tougher proposition than the one that beat it comprehensively last week.

And that is where the challenge begins and it does so on the shoulders of the tallest man in the team. When the teams met last year Todd Goldstein gave big Max Gawn a football lessonĀ amassing 50 hit outs and nearly doubling him in the possession count. The differential was enormous and it reflected in the overall dominance of the Kangaroo midfield. If Gawn has pretensions to becoming a top of the range exponent of the art of ruck work then he needs to take some big scalps and none could be bigger than the man he faces this week.

In order for the team to have a chance of winning, the midfield will have to take the ball away more often from the stoppages and when they do, they must hit targets.

The task is not beyond them but much will depend on whether the team is shell shocked, whether it has the desire to turn things around and to get its hands dirty.

For this assignment, North in Hobart will be a tough proposition and I'm therefore tipping them to win by 25 points.

THE GAME:Ā North Melbourne v Melbourne on Sunday 10 August, 2016 at Blundstone Arena at 1.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD:

Overall North Melbourne 78 wins Melbourne 83 wins 1 draw

At Blundstone Arena North Melbourne 0 wins Melbourne 0 wins

Last five times North Melbourne 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins

The Coaches Scott 3 wins Roos 0 wins

MEDIA

TV - Fox Footy 1pm

RADIO - SEN, ABC

THE BETTINGĀ 

North Melbourne to win $1.30 Melbourne to win $3.50

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

North Melbourne 19.13.127 defeated Melbourne 14.8.92 at the MCG in Round 2015.

North led by seven goals to two at the first break in a game that threatened to be a complete blowout but the Demons made a spirited comeback and by close to three quarter time threatened to snatch the lead. The Kangaroos steadied with a late goal to take a 10-point lead into the final break and ran out comfortable winners in the end.

THE TEAMS

NORTH MELBOURNEĀ 

B: M.Firrito R.Tarrant S.Wright
HB: S.Atley S.Thompson L.McDonald
C: N.Dal Santo D.Wells B.Jacobs
HF: J.Ziebell J.Waite B.Harvey
F: S.Higgins D.Petrie L.Thomas
FOLL: T.Goldstein B.Cunnington A.Swallow
I/C: B.Brown T.Garner S.Gibson J.Macmillan
EMG: T.Dumont Ā L.Hansen A.Mullett

IN: S.Thompson

OUT: L.Hansen

MELBOURNE

B: N.Jetta T.McDonald T.Bugg
HB: M.Jones H.Lumumba C.Salem
C: B.Vince D.Tyson J.Harmes
HF: J.Watts A.Vandenberg B.Kennedy
F: D.Kent J.Hogan J.Garlett
FOLL: M.Gawn N.Jones J.Viney
I/C: C.Oliver Ā L.Dunn S.Frost B.Stretch
EMG: J.Grimes C.Pedersen J.Wagner

IN: L.Dunn S.Frost B.StretchĀ 

OUT: A.Brayshaw C.Garland C. PedersenĀ 

Ā 

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

Featured Content

  • WHATā€™S NEXT? by The Oracle

    Whatā€™s next for a beleagured Melbourne Football Club down in form and confidence, facingĀ Ā intense criticism and disapproval over some underwhelming recent performances and in the midst of a four game losing streak? Why, itā€™s Adelaide which boasts the best percentage in the AFL and has won six of its last seven games. The Crows are hot and not only that, the game is at the Adelaide Oval; yet another away fixture and the third in a row at a venue outside of Victoria. One of the problems the Demons have these days is that they rarely have the luxury of true home ground advantage, something they have enjoyed just once since mid April.Ā 

      • Thanks
    • 2 replies
    Demonland

  • REPORT: Gold Coast

    From the start, Melbourneā€™sĀ performance against the Gold Coast Suns at Peoples First Stadium was nothing short of a massive botch up and it came down in the first instance to poor preparation. Rather than adequately preparing the team for battle against an opponent potentially on the skids after suffering three consecutive losses, the Demons looking anything but sharp and ready to play in the opening minutes of the game. By way of contrast, the Suns demonstrated a clear sense of purpose and will to win. From the very first bounce of the ball they were back to where they left off earlier in the season in Round Three when the teams met at the MCG. They ran rings around the Demons and finished the game off with a dominant six goal final term. This time, they produced another dominant quarter to start the game, restricting Melbourne to a solitary point to lead by six goals at the first break, by which time, the game was all but over.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
    • 0 replies
    Demonland

  • CASEY: Gold Coast

    Coming off four consecutive victories and with a team filled with 17 AFL listed players, the Casey Demons took to their early morning encounter with the lowly Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium with the swagger of a team that thought a win was inevitable. They were smashing it for the first twenty minutes of the game after Tom Fullarton booted the first two goals but they then descended into an abyss of frustrating poor form and lackadaisical effort that saw the swagger and the early arrogance disappear by quarter time when their lead was overtaken by a more intense and committed opponent. The Suns continued to apply the pressure in the second quarter and got out to a three goal lead in mid term before the Demons fought back. A late goal to the home side before the half time bell saw them ten points up at the break and another surge in the third quarter saw them comfortably up with a 23 point lead at the final break.

    • 0 replies
    Demonland

  • PREGAME: Rd 17 vs Adelaide

    With their season all over bar the shouting the Demons head back on the road for the third week in a row as they return to Adelaide to take on the Crows. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
    • 135 replies
    Demonland

  • POSTGAME: Rd 16 vs Gold Coast

    The Demons did not come to play from the opening bounce and let the Gold Coast kick the first 5 goals of the match. They then outscored the Suns for the next 3 quarters but it was too little too late and their season is now effectively over.

      • Sad
      • Like
    • 231 replies
    Demonland

  • VOTES: Rd 16 vs Gold Coast

    Max Gawn has a massive lead in the Demonland Player of the Year award ahead of Jake Bowey, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Kysaiah Pickett. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

      • Thanks
    • 41 replies
    Demonland
View All