POST GAME DISCUSSION

[Adam The God 30,120]

16 minutes ago, Undeeterred said:

There was so much to like about today. Firstly, I'm definitely a WTF are those selections culprit and I'm totally happy to have got it wrong.

A few general thoughts:

• the chemistry is sensational and there's a real sense on field of these guys playing for each other. They will all come through the age brackets around the same time and in a few years that will play out very nicely for us.
• I think we won the BenKen/Howe trade. LOL Jeremy
• Do you think Treloar regrets not expanding the job search beyond Collingwood and Richmond?
• Freeing Hogan up to go back or chase kicks through the centre square, has worked wonders for him. Truly his best position and he will be Carey-esqe. He'd also be mental to go to Freo next year, let alone the year after.
• Speaking of best positions, why have we been facking around with Jack Watts for so long playing anywhere other than as a running, marking forward?
• I didn't think Bugg did a lot, but then saw 29 touches and 9 tackles. He's a bit rough around the edges but good on him
• Hunt certainly didn't look out of place
• Wagner is so composed - wonderful.
• Dom Tyson is getting back to his best, so too bad haters
• Lumumba is amazing when he lowers his eyes. Why has he been bombing it for 2 years??
• Dunn and McDonald were really, really excellent today. Dunn's bullet passes were sensational and McDonald's defensive work was first class. Garland and Grimes are done.
• Brayshaw is underdone and makes way for Garlett
• Frost played his best game for us and brought a huge amount to the table. Just needs to kick goals.

I wonder if Clarry will make way for Jeffy. Give him a week's rest. Brayshaw needs to keep playing.

[Undeeterred 3,118]

3 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

Perhaps. Today was the first time this season he troubled the scoreboard though. I think they have worked out the forward structure better.

That's definitely true as well. I was horrified at the thought of he and Frost playing in the same team, but it actually worked really well. They are both more mobile than they look.

[leave it to deever 17,511]

15 minutes ago, fndee said:

  2 hours ago, pinkshark said:

Great work Dees.  [censored] fantastic.  Confidence is such an important thing.  Its SO important we get this.  These boys are playing for one another.  I haven't seen that for so long in a Melbourne side.  We had to win that game and we did.  The players realised this and went out and did it.  You little beauty!

Great observation. The love shared after a goal was great to see. These guys are sem to be connecting as mates and not just players.

[3Dee 1,153]

also when Tyson got dumped after kicking a goal (by Toovey?) loved how Viney & co went at the scum, finally standing up for each other. This is a new team.

[Undeeterred 3,118]

Just now, AdamFarr said:

I wonder if Clarry will make way for Jeffy. Give him a week's rest. Brayshaw needs to keep playing.

I thought Brayshaw because he is playing as a full time forward and it doesn't suit him. He doesn't seem to be quite ready to play in the midfield yet.

My straight reaction was Garlett for Brayshaw because that would be like for like, and Vince for, probably, Hunt (even though he was very good today). 

But giving Clarry a rest does mean we can give Hunt the confidence boost of another shot at it, and not make him feel like he's been dropped. He was great for a first gamer and I think we need to harness the enthusiasm of these kids as much as we can.

[jnrmac 20,053]

The pies have only won 3 out of the last 14 regular season games. They are actually playing some pretty bad footy....I reckon that has slipped under the radar a bit....

[Adam The God 30,120]

8 minutes ago, 3Dee said:

also when Tyson got dumped after kicking a goal (by Toovey?) loved how Viney & co went at the scum, finally standing up for each other. This is a new team.

As they should have. But, you're right, it was good to see. Viney is bloody awesome. Leading the way.

[DeeSpencer 25,444]

1 minute ago, 3Dee said:

also when Tyson got dumped after kicking a goal (by Toovey?) loved how Viney & co went at the scum, finally standing up for each other. This is a new team.

I wonder what would happen if we played a Watts type these days (and we probably wouldn't, although imagine a Stretch or Hunt) and they were dumped in a gang tackle. I think we'd get a much stronger response than back in the day.

Was great to see Kent and Viney get straight in to Toovey.

[monoccular 17,413]

3 hours ago, Nasher said:

My biggest concerns at selection: Hunt and Wagner both in, and Pedersen and Frost both in. LOL

Glad I added the caveat of "I assume they know what they're doing"!

I too was concerned having a first and a second gamer on the HBF.  Both awaited themselves well.  Congratulations!

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

3 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

The pies have only won 3 out of the last 14 regular season games. They are actually playing some pretty bad footy....I reckon that has slipped under the radar a bit....

They were putrid, after quarter time they probably had more control of the game they just couldn't convert while we took our chances.

[monoccular 17,413]

7 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

I wonder if Clarry will make way for Jeffy. Give him a week's rest. Brayshaw needs to keep playing.

I don't think Jeffy will be ready for a few weeks and there is no need to rush rushing him.

But Vince should squeeze some unlucky bugger out. 

[jnrmac 20,053]

43 minutes ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

There's plenty to say about the game today. 

Best game of their career for Frost, Bugg, Wagner and Hunt.  Admittedly for Hunt and Wagner that's not such a stretch, but true nonetheless. 

If Frost had given the return handball instead of U-Turning and getting nailed in a tackle Watts would have equaled last year's goal tally in round 4.  As it is we'll have to wait another week.  By this of course I mean that Watts is in great form and we're loving it. 

In the same vein, how good is the chemistry right now between our tall forwards?  Watts 17 disposals 8 marks and 4 goals 1, Hogan 18 disposals 9 marks 2 goals 2, Frost 19 disposals (!!!) 5 marks 1 goal 2 and Pedersen 20 disposals 5 marks 2 goals.  That is massive.  Hogan is loving the freedom of playing CHF while the others rotate through FF and it must be hell on the defence to try to match up when they are constantly switching around through FF, CHF and wing the way they did today. 

I am so happy with the look of Wagner and Hunt as the two rebounding HBFs.  They are still very raw and need a lot of polish, but the signs are very good.  If Hunt improves in his second game as much as Wagner did then he'll look great next week. 

It's easy to focus on the big improvers, but I have to mention the efforts of the usual suspects as well.  Viney is leading the way on field. Jones was the workhorse we expect him to be, Tyson is getting his mojo back, the great wall of Dunn, Jetta and TMac were as strong as ever and Gawn is backing up his talk in the pre-season and making a big claim to being one of the best rucks in the league. 

Also a big thumbs up to Lamumba.  I think it's pretty clear that the coaches sat him down after round 2 and told him the long bomb was no longer going to be part of his game.  Last week you could see him setting up for it and then changing his mind and actually hitting targets.  This week he did it better, was more fluid and all of a sudden his disposal is becoming really damaging.  If he keeps this up he's going to give the B&F a very good shake. 

Wow.  That was just a really complete team performance.  If we play like that every week we'll go really close to playing finals. 

Agree it was a real team performance. Loved the gut running. Loved the pressure in the first half. The Pies ratcheted up the pressure in the 3rd but we withstood it well. A lot of composure. Hunt was great in his first game and Wagner and Harmes were good as well. 

It is fantastic to see pressure, effort and trust. They really trust each other and honour leads etc. Something we haven't seen in a decade. Was very comfortable half way through the second quarter that we had this game won. I have never felt like that with a Melbourne side.

[binman 42,629]

57 minutes ago, Frosty Demon said:

I wanted a bigger win

i thought we gave them six goals. i guess they needed help

So did i. I backed them at $17 to win by more than 39.5. Hogan and Jones both missed sodas in the last and owe me 500 clams

[BrisbaneDemon 1,572]

2 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

As they should have. But, you're right, it was good to see. Viney is bloody awesome. Leading the way.

The venom Viney was spitting at Toovey was amazing, blokes that like make your team mates walk taller. Viney was into Taylor Adams all day, Adams was smashed today, another bloke who wouldn't even consider talking to us when he wanted out of GWS

[DeeSpencer 25,444]

Watching the replay there's a heap to work on in the middle quarters and I presume the replay will show both teams (and the umps) were largely asleep in the last.

But I like the way we responded quickly to goals from the Pies and held tough down back. 

1 thing we stuffed up in the middle quarters was leaving the contest far too early. The other related thing was just trying for too much champagne ball movement instead of getting the balance between switching and taking the fast long kick to advantage and winning it down the line.

The first 40 minutes wasn't footy, it was a training drill. 

After that when the footy started we had to readjust to doing the things that we do well and finding the balance. 

[Adam The God 30,120]

10 minutes ago, Undeeterred said:

I thought Brayshaw because he is playing as a full time forward and it doesn't suit him. He doesn't seem to be quite ready to play in the midfield yet.

My straight reaction was Garlett for Brayshaw because that would be like for like, and Vince for, probably, Hunt (even though he was very good today). 

But giving Clarry a rest does mean we can give Hunt the confidence boost of another shot at it, and not make him feel like he's been dropped. He was great for a first gamer and I think we need to harness the enthusiasm of these kids as much as we can.

Fair enough. I disagree about the forwardline not suiting Brayshaw though. I think he's so dangerous. He's clever and has elite disposal. He created so many chances today and looks reasonably dangerous one out. But the beauty of Clarry is he allows Brayshaw to play full time in the forward line and develop further.

Roos and co really have turned this club around. We are allowing blokes like Petracca to work up a head of steam in the VFL; ANB getting 30 odd every week and still can't get a game; and midfield talents like Brayshaw now have the luxury of playing whole games forward and developing. It's terrific. Isn't two weeks a long time in footy?

And yeah, I'd give Hunt another run next week.

[Timothy Reddan-A'Blew 5,065]

42 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

you left out dion, mr leg

...and any love for Jakey M?

[The Backyard Charizard 1,202]

Just now, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

...and any love for Jakey M?

I think most, including myself, are probably guilty of forgetting he is even on the list sometimes...

He is no depth player on his day either... I am excited by what lies ahead over the next few years!

 

[Adam The God 30,120]

13 minutes ago, monoccular said:

I don't think Jeffy will be ready for a few weeks and there is no need to rush rushing him.

But Vince should squeeze some unlucky bugger out. 

Yeah, it sounds like Jeffy will miss another week. Would love to have him back in next week though.

[titan_uranus 24,970]

Great team performance. No passengers, no clear best player and no major failures.

Hunt and Wagner stood out and showed all of us who queried their joint selection were wrong to do so.

Frost played his best game; still makes a lot of errors and fumbles too much but keep improving and he holds his spot.

Hogan and Watts are now working together as leading forwards. They lead away from each other, they make space for one another (Hogan's remembered how to run after the Essendon shocker). The whole team is developing chemistry but those two especially.

Loved Kent's game. The past fortnight has been a great response to his pathetic display vs Essendon. I've never seen him run as fast as he did today, he got on his bike defensively to do the role Garlett would normally do. I loved it. Really great game from him.

Thought Dunn, McDonald, Jetta and Lumumba were a great defensive unit too. Lumumba is so much more useful when he lowers his eyes. Jetta destroyed Fasolo, Dunn destroyed Cloke (that doesn't take much in 2016, it seems). 

Shout out to Pedersen too. 20 possessions, all over the ground, solid hands, and he ran himself into the ground. We now have four key forwards (Hogan, Watts, Frost, Pedersen) who are willing to run all day, lead up and down the ground, chase, tackle etc. Throw Garlett, VDB and Petracca into the mix and it's shaping up nicely.

Still a few too many fumbles, turnovers, silly mistakes, poor free kicks and lapses in concentration for my liking but that's now 3 out of 4 games with commitment, team work and effort. It's coming together. Need to back it up against Richmond but if we do that the confidence and belief will solidify.

[Demonland 71,311]

SUDDENLY, THE CUP RUNNETH OVER by George on the Outer

All of a sudden the Demons are blessed with a bounty of riches!

Despite the heartache of a last gasp loss to North last week, they have bounced back in an emphatic fashion to completely obliterate Collingwood, and send them spiraling toward the bottom of the ladder.

Much rested upon this match for the Demons; another loss would have put them in a similar position to the Pies, with both sides having just scraped over the line for their solitary win to date.

But that was not to be and a first quarter blitz of six goals to one solitary major from Collingwood, almost had the match sewn up at the first change. Another five straight in the second quarter should have sealed the game but a series of awful turnovers saw five of Collingwood's next six goals come directly from Melbourne errors.

The accuracy of the Melbourne forwards put plenty of breathing space between the two sides, with Jack Watts contributing four up to the major break, including two pearlers from on the boundary line.  

Even though Collingwood were pressing, it was these clutch goals that just kept on putting them “back in their box”.  Fortunately, they also provided some classic howlers in their backline to give easy goals to Jack Viney and Dean Kent.

The second half became much of a  slog with really no change to the quarter time margin, but again for the Melbourne supporters, it was comforting to see players still putting in for the whole game.  No more head-dropping as we are now seeing a new confidence building among the playing group.

Collingwood seem to have long passed their premiership window and are quickly heading for a long time in oblivion. Without Swan and Pendelbury injured, they lacked any real ball getting ability. Now with Cloke also injured and mostly disinterested, they don’t have too many other options up forward either.  A truly delightful situation!

Contrast that with the situation in which the Demons now find themselves. Despite some misgivings, the coaching staff introduced two new additions to the side in the past fortnight- Josh Wagner and Jayden Hunt. They held their spots admirably; Josh Wagner in particular with 24 possessions in defence.

And the backline is looking much more solid with each of the defenders working as a team to nullify the oppositionschances.  With Lynden Dunn back on the goal line the team just looks so much more stable.  It gives Tom McDonald the opportunity to take those critical marks and spoils in front, and Dunn's kicking gives more options to exit the defensive zone.  
If Nev Jetta could switch on some time before half time, the whole unit would be even better.  His position and role must be under threat from Jack Grimes next week following a good game at Casey.

And after a solid win like this one, it is such a contrast with the situation we faced last year and the year before and ... boom recruit Christian Petracca is in the background steadily mounting a solid case for a senior spot with Jack Trengove doing likewise. Even more satisfying is the fact that Jeff Garlett and  Aaron vandenBerg should be available for next week together with last year's best and fairest winner Bernie Vince returns from suspension ... and  we have Grimes and Viv Michie named among the best at Casey also in the mix.
 
Our cup filled up during this game. Confidence is building and the competition for places is getting seriously hot.  

If this translates into the ruthless game style that we saw during the first quarter of this match, then Richmond are facing another miserable result next week, to top off the shellacking they copped at the weekend against the Eagles.

That would really make out cup run over ...

COLLINGWOOD        1.2       6.5       8.10    9.13 (67) 
MELBOURNE             6.2       11.2    14.4    16.6 (102)

GOALS
Collingwood: Cloke 2, Sidebottom 2, Varcoe, Treloar, Sinclair, Fasolo, Moore
Melbourne: Watts 4, Tyson 2, Pedersen 2, Hogan 2, Viney, Frost, Kennedy, Brayshaw, Kent, Gawn

BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Treloar, Sidebottom, Adams, Langdon
Melbourne: Gawn, Viney, Watts, Wagner, Tyson, Jones, Bugg

INJURIES
Collingwood: Goldsack (illness) replaced in selected side by White, Reid (knee), Sinclair (concussion), Cloke (elbow)
Melbourne: Brayshaw (concussion)

Reports: Nil 

Umpires: O'Gorman, Meredith, Ryan

Official crowd: 47,558 at the MCG

[rolling fog 1,207]

19 minutes ago, 3Dee said:

also when Tyson got dumped after kicking a goal (by Toovey?) loved how Viney & co went at the scum, finally standing up for each other. This is a new team.

Couldn't agree more - that was a bloody brilliant display! Viney et al came in and made their presence felt!!

[mauriesy 7,256]

We'll have to watch out for Collingwood on Queen's Birthday now. It will be their one day of the year ... like a premiership for them.

[Undeeterred 3,118]

10 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

Fair enough. I disagree about the forwardline not suiting Brayshaw though. I think he's so dangerous. He's clever and has elite disposal. He created so many chances today and looks reasonably dangerous one out. But the beauty of Clarry is he allows Brayshaw to play full time in the forward line and develop further.

Roos and co really have turned this club around. We are allowing blokes like Petracca to work up a head of steam in the VFL; ANB getting 30 odd every week and still can't get a game; and midfield talents like Brayshaw now have the luxury of playing whole games forward and developing. It's terrific. Isn't two weeks a long time in footy?

And yeah, I'd give Hunt another run next week.

I said Essendon was maybe the loss we had to have, and I still reckon I'm right. I don't think we would have seen the effort of the last two weeks without it.

I think they got a real fright after that game, and it forced a few to pull the finger out and get to work.

The best thing is that the coaching department obviously have just kept the faith, are picking the right team, and it's working out.

[DeeSpencer 25,444]

Frost lining up from 55 on the boundary after the siren.... He has to kick a torp there. He can't get there with a drop punt.

Load up a big barrel Frosty!!!

Pedersen winning a kick and chase contest is testament to his increased fitness. He's just got to keep those efforts up!