Jump to content

Are you happy with a 2-2 start?  

59 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.


Recommended Posts

Posted

i've been to every game this year. it's the most in a row i've seen us for some time - i think the most games i saw in a row last year was three.

that third quarter was the worst for the year, without doubt.

however, i actually only tipped us in one of these games; the win against carlton. and i actually had freo finishing 9th when i did a ladder predictor thing at the start of this year; with their experience and an actual forward set up, they were always going to be significantly better this year.

on the whole i'm okay with our start to the year - if you told me that hibberd would not have played a game, frost would've played 1 (i thought both were clear best 22), gawn effectively two and a quarter, and hogan and lewis 2 a piece, i think on the balance of things i'd be 'okay' with a 2-2 start to the year. 

i had us down as a 10-12 record this year, and i wonder whether we can get to 10 wins if the big man misses the minimum of the next 11. gawn is going to be a massive loss for the vast majority of the season.

i really do worry that we're going to amount to nothing better than ordinary over the next 5-7 years, sort of like we were under daniher, where we were good enough to make finals six times in nine years but never really truly threaten to be a premiership chance.

really amazed by the start to the year for oliver, petracca, very impressed by anb, stretch, and super excited by hunt. watts has been really good after the bizarre preseason shenanigans, and the same goes for jetta and garlett - the latter's hard work up the ground has been exemplary. 

really disappointed by the start to the year for weideman and hannan after a reasonable first game, neither have been anywhere near it in the last two games in particular, i didn't agree with making viney co-captain and something clearly ain't right with the boy, brayshaw, tyson, and melksham have some of the worst disposal imaginable, and hogan, vince, and particularly lewis owe the team big time after getting rubbed out for extended periods of time.

we're a game and a half off the quarter mark of the season. it's a super even year this year, and i'm still actually reasonably excited about how the rest of the year could pan out, but also utterly terrified it could all fall in a hole too.

  • Like 4

Posted

The issue is that we have a real tough stretch now in the next 6-7 games. I think we'll struggle to be +5 wins after 10. Pressure on next 2-3 games massive - however, would love to stop the Tigers bandwagon ongoing currently to get our momentum back

Posted

Have been waiting for a post/thread like this. I agree with the premise.

Most of Dland voted that we'd lose to stkilda round one, the whole planet tipped us to beat Carlton and in round 3 the Cats were warm favourites to win.  Essentially we have been favourites to win two of our first four matches and that is what we have done; just not in the order that many had predicted.

Despite this, having seen the position we've put ourselves in, I am not happy with a 2-2 start as we are already seeing how even this year could turn out to be.  We've had a chance to put some distance between ourselves and the chasing back and it hasn't gone our way.

Two losses can be the diffence between finishing second and finishing fifth, finishing seventh and finishing ninth.  While before the season started 2-2 might have sounded appealing- its difficult to be pleased about it having seen these matches play out.

  • Like 1
Posted

Also, I do agree that I do think the list is short a genuine superstar to have a chance for a premiership over nxt few yrs. looking at Fyfe today, he's the sort of A grader we need.

love Jones and Viney as individuals  - but they are B+ not A class and not elite

  • Like 4

Posted

We have let slip a golden chance to be 4 and zip. 2 and 2 is not a disaster though.

I said it in the post match thread, but it is so even this year. The supposed worst teams can still get you on their day, and the best sides are definitely beatable.

  • Like 1
Posted

My expectation was that we'd lose to Geelong and be 3-1 and even despite injuries should have been able to beat freo at the g so I am disappointed. 

Hopefully it fires the boys up to roll the tigers next week 

  • Like 2
Posted

The problem is that yesterday's third quarter was season killing, because it revealed an absolute inability to maintain a defensive game plan under pressure. We are arguably the most brittle and easily exposed team in the AFL, and the good teams will exploit it mercilessly. No real advance on last year as I see it. 

  • Like 4

Posted
35 minutes ago, Webber said:

The problem is that yesterday's third quarter was season killing, because it revealed an absolute inability to maintain a defensive game plan under pressure. We are arguably the most brittle and easily exposed team in the AFL, and the good teams will exploit it mercilessly. No real advance on last year as I see it. 

Our defensive game plan relies on pressure and a lot of our players drop off and stop applying it when the opposition has momentum because they go into self preservation mode and worry about themselves 

  • Like 1

Posted

i'm just absolutely shattered because 3-1 would have looked so much better than 2-2. What works in our favour is that there are a lot of other teams underperforming who we thought would be in our position.

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Webber said:

The problem is that yesterday's third quarter was season killing, because it revealed an absolute inability to maintain a defensive game plan under pressure. We are arguably the most brittle and easily exposed team in the AFL, and the good teams will exploit it mercilessly. No real advance on last year as I see it. 

It's an issue that has persisted since the Bailey years unfortunately. That they scored 7 goals in a row at one stage yet only won by 2 points suggests the game was lost rather than being won. It's tough to digest. It's very difficult to gauge if we've improved on last year because the start to the season is similar. We're 1 game ahead of where we were yet it's debatable if we've played better football. 3 games in a row have been very ugly and if we beat Richmond...well, the season starts will have been identical barring win loss record. 

My primary concern now is that the wheels fall off. Being such a young team, slumps are to be expected. I can see us going on a rampage and winning a lot of games in a row but I suspect it'll be too late.

I think another year for the likes of Petracca, Oliver and Co to develop wouldn't be the end of the world.  It would make it rough for the club and PJ to do their job effectively,  but I've always thought finals was just that little bit too high an objective for this squad. Yesterday showed me we're probably 30-40 games as a team away from winning games like that and last week.

Edited by praha
Posted

The spotlight must be on Goodwin. 

The game collapsed during the 3rd q and we still only lost by 2 points

should have won by 6 goals

what happened to allow 7 goals through us?

Posted

We have an A grade mid. His name is Clayton Oliver. He's played less than 20 games, gets tagged every week and is still our best player. In another 20 games he'll be elite.

We are very young and are learning it's an even competition. I think the players are learning the hard way, and in the long run that may be very, very good for us.

I would have loved to pinch yesterday but it might be the making of us yet. 3-1 better reflects our effort, but if 2-2 teaches us we have to take our chances and work smarter and harder than I'll take it.

  • Like 3
Posted
2 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

We have an A grade mid. His name is Clayton Oliver. He's played less than 20 games, gets tagged every week and is still our best player. In another 20 games he'll be elite.

We are very young and are learning it's an even competition. I think the players are learning the hard way, and in the long run that may be very, very good for us.

I would have loved to pinch yesterday but it might be the making of us yet. 3-1 better reflects our effort, but if 2-2 teaches us we have to take our chances and work smarter and harder than I'll take it.

Fair assessment. Not a good look on the 2 Captains though...

Posted

I think we have far more talent on the list than the thread starter, although I agree with some of his sentiments.

You get multiple threads like this when you lose. 

If we beat Richmond and get on a roll the bounce will be back in the step of most. 

22 rounds is a lot of footy.  I'm not going to react like a roller coaster to every loss or missed opportunity.

  • Like 5

Posted

I reckon I could pick out so many missed opportunities yesterday that cost us the game. The late goals in the 2nd qtr, the missed goals of Harmes and Watts (although I 'don't consider that Watt''s fault) in the 3rd and the complete lack of composure at critical times in the last.. Harmes and Weeds misses in the last put additional pressure on, and this one was a real heartbreaker which we Demons aren't used to because we are just used to losing.

You blokes and gals have the right to be disappointed no one is denying that, but the reality is we really missed Gawn, Freos big bodies smashed us in the middle in that 3rd quarter.

The MFC just needs games - I know a lot of you will consider this a cop out. But our list is young, our forward line yesterday I rekon was incredible we kicked 100 pts. I was more disappointed with how we leaked goals

We need a lot of things to go our way to make finals, this year is going to be so close and competitive, and just like the club you just need to cop it on the chin and move on.

 

Posted (edited)

Some important statistics:

We're 5th for points for, but 14th for points conceded.

We started bleeding the moment Gawn went off vs Geelong.

Given the situation, the fact we can still score is encouraging. 

Look at the team stats we're not doing too badly.

  • 2nd for disposals
  • 1st for marks
  • 7th for tackles
  • 5th for disposal efficiency

We are being let down in other areas but we are statistically a very solid mid-to-top side. We make rookie mistakes in games and get outmuscled by experienced players, but we'll bounce back from that.

I don't think it's acceptable given we were in a winning position in both of those losses, but it's to be expected.

Our ability to find the ball has been very encouraging. We get so much of it. Then there is a 5-10 minute period in which the opposition absolutely dominates and goes on a tear. Happened vs Geelong and vs Freo.

We are still very well placed, and are a very good chance to beat Richmond.

If we've learnt anything the past 2 years, it's that this team shows up on the big stage. We'll bring our A-game next week. I'm fairly confident of that.

Edited by praha
  • Like 1
Posted

To answer the tag question, is 2-2 acceptable? A resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Posted

One quarter.  It's one quarter at the moment that is hurting us.  In our wins we were able to cover it - we had a poor first term against the Saints and a shocker in the third against Carlton.  Against Geelong we had a poor last quarter and we all know what happened yesterday.

We are doing most things right - our attacking intent and ability to hit the scoreboard has been good.  We are winning more than our share of the football and getting plenty of inside 50s.  You could argue that our zone defence is still taking a little time, but it's seemingly these lapses in concentration for a quarter that are hurting us.  I could handle 3-1, but we shouldn't have allowed ourselves to get rolled yesterday.

When we look at our side we can see further improvement - Neal-Bullen and Salem have flourished, Hunt has taken the next step, Garlett is playing his best footy for the club, Oliver has had an amazing month and so on.  When others catch up or get themselves back into form then we'll add further consistency.

  • Like 4
Posted
2 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

The spotlight must be on Goodwin. 

The game collapsed during the 3rd q and we still only lost by 2 points

should have won by 6 goals

what happened to allow 7 goals through us?

Rubbish, and you know it.  Stop trying to drum up some negativity towards a coach who has been in the job for 4 games.  

  • Like 3

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Demonland Forums  

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles  

    TRAINING: Wednesday 18th December 2024

    It was the final session of 2024 before the Christmas/New Years break and the Demonland Trackwatchers were out in force to bring you the following preseason training observations from Wednesday's session at Gosch's Paddock. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS TRAINING: Petracca, Oliver, Melksham, Woewodin, Langdon, Rivers, Billings, Sestan, Viney, Fullarton, Adams, Langford, Lever, Petty, Spargo, Fritsch, Bowey, Laurie, Kozzy, Mentha, George, May, Gawn, Turner Tholstrup, Kentfi

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Monday 16th December 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers braved the sweltering heat to bring you their Preseason Training observations from Gosch's Paddock on Monday morning. SCOOP JUNIOR'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I went down today in what were pretty ordinary conditions - hot and windy. When I got there, they were doing repeat simulations of a stoppage on the wing and then moving the ball inside 50. There seemed to be an emphasis on handballing out of the stoppage, usually there were 3 or 4 handballs to

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports 1

    TRAINING: Friday 13th December 2024

    With only a few sessions left before the Christmas break a number of Demonlander Trackwatchers headed down to Gosch's Paddock to bring you their observations from this morning's preseason training session. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS PLAYERS IN ATTENDANCE: JVR, Salem, McVee, Petracca, Windsor, Viney, Lever, Spargo, Turner, Gawn, Tholstrup, Oliver, Billings, Langdon, Laurie, Bowey, Melksham, Langford, Lindsay, Jefferson, Howes, McAdam, Rivers, TMac, Adams, Hore, Verrall,

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Wednesday 11th December 2024

    A few new faces joined our veteran Demonland Trackwatchers on a beautiful morning out at Gosch's Paddock for another Preseason Training Session. BLWNBA'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I arrived at around 1015 and the squad was already out on the track. The rehab group consisted of XL, McAdam, Melksham, Spargo and Sestan. Lever was also on restricted duties and appeared to be in runners.  The main group was doing end-to-end transition work in a simulated match situation. Ball mov

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Monday 9th December 2024

    Once again Demonland Trackwatchers were in attendance at the first preseason training session for the week at Gosch's Paddock to bring you their observations. WAYNE WUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Looks like very close to 100% attendance. Kelani is back. Same group in rehab. REHAB: Spargo, Lever, Lindsay, Brown & McAdam. Haven’t laid eyes on Fritsch or AMW yet. Fritsch sighted. One unknown mature standing with Goody. Noticing Nathan Bassett much m

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Friday 6th December 2024

    Some veteran Demonland Trackwatchers ventured down to Gosch's Paddock to bring you the following observations from another Preseason Training Session. WAYNE WUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Rehab: Lever, Spargo, McAdam, Lindsay, Brown Sinnema is excellent by foot and has a decent vertical leap. Windsor is training with the Defenders. Windsor's run won't be lost playing off half back. In 19 games in 2024 he kicked 8 goals as a winger. I see him getting shots at g

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Wednesday 4th December 2024

    A couple of intrepid Demonland Trackwatchers headed down to Gosch's Paddock for the midweek Preseason Training Session to bring you the following observations. Demonland's own Whispering Jack was not in attendance but he kicked off proceedings with the following summary of all the Preseason Training action to date. We’re already a month into the MFC preseason (if you started counting when the younger players in the group began the campaign along with some of the more keen older heads)

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports 2

    BEST OF THE REST by Meggs

    Meggs' Review of Melbourne's AFLW Season 9 ... Congratulations first off to the North Melbourne Kangaroos on winning the 2024 AFLW Premiership. Roos Coach Darren Crocker has assembled a team chock-full of competitive and highly skilful players who outclassed the Brisbane Lions in the Grand Final to remain undefeated throughout Season 9. A huge achievement in what was a dominant season by North. For Melbourne fans, the season was unfortunately one of frustration and disappointment

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    AFLW Melbourne Demons 3

    TRAINING: Monday 2nd December 2024

    There were many Demonland Trackwatchers braving the morning heat at Gosch's Paddock today to witness the players go through the annual 2km time trials. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Max, TMac & Melksham the first ones out on the track.  Runners are on. Guess they will be doing a lot of running.  TRAINING: Max, TMac, Melksham, Woey, Rivers, AMW, May, Sharp, Kolt, Adams, Sparrow, Jefferson, Billings, Petty, chandler, Howes, Lever, Kozzy, Mentha, Fullarton, Sal

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports 1
  • Tell a friend

    Love Demonland? Tell a friend!
×
×
  • Create New...