TEAM SELECTION AND MATCH PREVIEW - ROUND 2

[Adam The God 29,658]

7 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Surprised to read Mitch Hannan is 189cm.  How many blokes can snap goals like he can at that height.

At 23 with real X-factor and great foot skills he could be a Hunt-like recruiting decision.  I like what he brings to the team and think he can cement a spot in the 22.  

He's a nice kick too. I wonder if they hold hopes of him joining midfield rotations in the future?

[Cards13 9,117]

2 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Odd that Richmond made 3 unforced changes while Carlton made none, and yet it was Richmond who won by 7 goals.

Old mother Hubbard?

[Skuit 10,002]

1 hour ago, A F said:

He's a nice kick too. I wonder if they hold hopes of him joining midfield rotations in the future?

I think it was mentioned at the time of recruitment.

Edit: Jason Taylor says: "He's played mainly as a forward for Footscray VFL, but he played midfield when he was at St Bernard's and was best on ground in their premiership win in 2015. He's got good power, he's a good size. We're not sure which area of the ground he'll develop but he's got a flexibility."

Edited March 31, 2017 by Skuit

[binman 42,118]

3 hours ago, ProDee said:

At 23 with real X-factor and great foot skills he could be a Hunt-like recruiting decision.  I like what he brings to the team and think he can cement a spot in the 22.  

Agree PD on both these points. Great golas kicking instincts and can kick with both feet, which is unusual for a lefty (and i love the fact he is a lefty - we have quite crew of lefties now, something i have no doubt was a delibertate focus in recruiting). I think the long kick in the first quarter that set up Garlett's first goal was right foot. 

I have watched the two interviews he has done with Burgan and he seems a really switched on, smart fella. It's great to have a good smattering of such players at the club.Also comes across as very level headed.

A really interesting selection. 

[Neitz the Great 555]

In other selection news over at the aints, I made a little adjustment...

"David Armitage (groin) and Nathan Wright (dropped (By Bernie Vince)) were the other omissions on Thursday night. Veteran Leigh Montagna, West Australian Blake Acres and 2014's top draft pick, Paddy McCartin, were named."

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,220]

10 hours ago, Demonland said:

Yes. Well you have been able to in the past. Have not been to the G in 2017. 

Edit: I believe the guest pass just gets you into the section where you sit. You may need to purchase a general admin ticket to get into the ground. 

Thanks for that DL, very much appreciated. 

You are correct with regards to needing a general admission as well as a guest pass. If worst came to worse I would have settled for level 3. 

Cant wait for tomorrow.

[Bitter but optimistic 22,123]

5 hours ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

Thanks for that DL, very much appreciated. 

You are correct with regards to needing a general admission as well as a guest pass. If worst came to worse I would have settled for level 3. 

Cant wait for tomorrow.

A word of caution Bombay. While I have also purchased guest passes on the day, sometimes against the big membership teams they must be pre booked. Good luck.

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,220]

2 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

A word of caution Bombay. While I have also purchased guest passes on the day, sometimes against the big membership teams they must be pre booked. Good luck.

Thanks BBO, level 3 is always an option but not the preferred one. 

[Chelly 808]

On 28/03/2017 at 6:47 AM, Demonland said:

BLUE SKIES

 

Twelve months ago, I was enjoying a holiday break cruising the North China Sea somewhere between the tip of South Korea and the Chinese mainland. We left Australia a few days after Melbourne's barnstorming come-from-behind victory over GWS and all was well with the world notwithstanding the ominous proximity to mad Kim Jong-un's battery of missiles. Thousands of miles away to the south east, the Demons were about to take on the Bombers' B team. I was supremely confident that the Dees were on course for a 2 - 0 start to the season.  

 

Suddenly, our ship sailed into a thick fog and we were enveloped in a misty grey-yellow shroud. You could barely hear the lapping of the tiny waves around us as we ploughed through the eerily silent waters. Internet communication via satellite was intermittent and limited. I picked up an early score that had Essendon leading 1.2.8 to nil but I wasn't worried. The next time I managed to get on line, it was Melbourne leading by two goals midway through the second quarter. We were on our way.

 

They had a trivia competition on board and the rules were strict - no cell phones. My confidence was up and I wasn't worried but a little over an hour later when I was back on line, I had to look twice as the ¾ time score flashed on the screen to show the Bombers leading by nine points. The fog was thicker than a pea soup. The air became frozen. I was literally overcome by a sickening feeling like sailing the Titanic through another dead ocean with an iceberg directly under the bow. 

 

There was never a satisfactory explanation given as to why Melbourne crashed so badly that day. The Bombers were the competition's easybeats copping defeat after defeat in the weeks and months that followed and it looked as if the Demons would be their only victim for the season until they triumphed over an injury depleted Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium in Round  21.

 

Some put it down to poor preparation in the week before the game while others claimed that Melbourne got ahead of itself, that the players had big heads and turned up lacking focus.

 

At the other end of that season in the second last round, Melbourne suffered another humiliation at the hands of a lowly team in Carlton when it needed a victory to maintain its finals hopes.  At least there was an explanation for that result - the young team was rapidly tiring after a long exhausting season. It was at least a plausible if not entirely comforting excuse for a loss to an opponent going through its own long string of defeats.

 

This time around there are no excuses whatsoever. There is nothing and nobody left to blame. All of the stars are nicely aligned and you simply cannot question, the current board, CEO, coach, conditioning staff, playing list, ground announcer or boot studder. There is no reason on the strength of the form shown by the team last week; the coolness, the calmness and the discipline that we saw from a team which shrugged off an early four goal deficit to blitz to a well fancied opponent with ten consecutive consecutive goals in the period before and after half time. 

 

The sort of form that is epitomised by four of your players (including a 19 year old who played 75% of game time) accumulating 30 touches or more and another nine clocking up at least 20 disposals when the team is down a player from before quarter time is irrepressible and simply can't be overturned in the space of a week. Even the loss through suspension of Bernie Vince who was one of the team's 30 possession men against the Saints - something that once might once have been regarded as catastrophic - is not a major problem when Dom Tyson is waiting in the wings to replace him.

 

Carlton toiled hard in the season opener against Richmond but was outclassed and saved by further ignominy thanks to its accuracy in front of goal. They won't have to contend with a Dustin Martin this weekend but instead, face an opposition with a multitude of mid sized runners led by the AFL's leading ruckman and some very classy talls at either end of the ground. The players have the right mindset and are now well and truly used to disposing of any hoodoo or curse they might encounter along their football journey.

 

I even checked the weather forecast in the region of the North China sea and am led to believe that it will be all sunshine and blue skies on Sunday. No fog, no hard rain.

 

The evidence is there for all to see - another hoodoo will bite the dust in the most emphatic manner.

 

Melbourne by 65 points

How true. They got ahead of themselves and thought they were millionaires. Everyone I met this week who talked football was talking us up but I hate it because it sets us up for a fall. I trust that the hype we've been gathering in recent months is having zero effect on the playing group.

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,220]

On 01/04/2017 at 10:50 AM, Bitter but optimistic said:

A word of caution Bombay. While I have also purchased guest passes on the day, sometimes against the big membership teams they must be pre booked. Good luck.

Just scored a guest pass Uncle Bitter's, I'm fed, well watered and pumped for the first bounce.

GO DEES

[Oliver Sholem 17]

Another one bites the dust.