45 minutes ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

The Gaz Man needs to make a disclaimer about his own administrative/political record at the club before he starts hoeing into the current version.

You just know in your guts that he is pizzed that the club doesn't come grovelling to him cap in hand to 'solve' their problems. 

I don't mind him having an opinion (as he is entitled to). I just wish he would be a bit more reflective of his own time there as a kingmaker before passing himself off as SEN's resident authority on the Demons.

 

I think you are being pretty unfair to Gary Lyon. He never wanted the involvement after the '186' game. He responded - reluctantly-, to his dying mate Stynes' call. It would have been extraordinarily difficult to refuse. As for the results of that involvement, does anyone actually think that Lyon didn't try to do his best for the club and his mate?When things don't work out, everyone involved look like they are fools or incompetents.

I listen to the SEN breakfast show for about an hour most days and all I have heard Lyon claim about Melbourne, is that he has a personal interest in and keeps a closer eye on the Demons than he does with other clubs, (for example, he has mentioned that he drops by training). I have not heard anything from him that could be classified as a destructive comment about the team, he has largely stated what all Melbourne supporters are aware of, but most other fans would not know.

That is the other thing that needs to be borne in mind, he is not just talking to Demon fans.

 

Edited May 14, 20178 yr by xarronn
correction

Hats of too goody and the coaching crew, I was highly critical of his coaching style and over possessive game preference. But like a great tactician should he tweaked the style to his troops and the balance between kicks and handballs was near to perfection. 

I was @ the game last night and ive never been prouder of this football club there has been an emense amount of pain this club has endured over the years, but what I saw last was the unearthing of a special crop of players.

???????????????

#DEMONNATION

Just now, Win4theages said:

Hats of too goody and the coaching crew, I was highly critical of his coaching style and over possessive game preference. But like a great tactician should he tweaked the style to his troops and the balance between kicks and handballs was near to perfection. 

I was @ the game last night and ive never been prouder of this football club there has been an emense amount of pain this club has endured over the years, but what I saw last was the unearthing of a special crop of players.

???????????????

#DEMONNATION

You must have been in a small group Win4theages!

surprised you got out of there alive or were you vey quiet?

7 minutes ago, xarronn said:

 

I think you are being pretty unfair to Gary Lyon. He never wanted the involvement after the '186' game. He responded - reluctantly-, to his dying mate Stynes' call. It would have been extraordinarily difficult to refuse. As for the results of that involvement, does anyone actually think that Lyon didn't try to do his best for the club and his mate?When things don't work out, everyone involved look like they are fools or incompetents.

I listen to the SEN breakfast show for about an hour most days and all I have heard Lyon claim about Melbourne, is that he has a personal interest in and keeps a closer eye on the Demons than he does with other clubs, (for example, he has mentioned that he drops by training). I have not heard anything from him that could be classified as a destructive comment about the team, he has largely stated what all Melbourne supporters are aware of, but most other fans would not know.

That is the other thing that needs to be borne in mind, he is not just talking to Demon fans.

 

Me too xa

Bloody fantastic      must win against North  next week.    WE now have the confidence that we can beat any one.  With a bit of luck and extra effort we could be 8 0     Every game we have played we should have won  had Geelong on toast  had Richmond on toast        Freo and hawks the less said the better

Should be a season defining win           Very proud   bald demon member here !!!

 

Full credit to Simon Goodwin for this one. If feels like the first time in long time that we went in against a specific opposition rather than just playing our game and hoping it will prevail. It was still our 'game', but we played it according to the opposition, and the team was extremely well-drilled and executed exactly where it needed to. Perhaps the training wheels are off, and we're ready to put all the elements together now and chase results? The flakiness at the top may have given us enough of a sniff to pull the trigger.

Someone previously brought up the notion of smart vs dumb intensity (apologies to the poster who've I've forgotten). I've enjoyed our manic moments this season but this match demonstrated the difference. We dialed it back just a fraction from 11 but applied a consistent and grinding high-level of intensity almost all day to strangle them out of the contest. It felt like watching a seasoned football team apply the screws. We gave them no time and space and the Crows had no idea what to do.

Everyone played their role, but we still had a number who didn't contribute all that much. The difference is what we've all been waiting for: our touted elite young talent all firing at the same time. Viney, Oliver, Petracca and Salem. I'm reminded of Brisbane of the early 00s somehow - not just a functioning midfield brigade, but a potential future midfield comprised of out and out individual champions. Yes, we have Hogan, and Hunt and other young talent, but we've shown what we can do if this core all clicks at once.

And can we just leave Bernie as a full-time stopper? Is having a dedicated tagger uncouth nowadays or somehow perceived as a weakness or negative/defensive football? Bernie has proven again that he is really good at it, it works, and is probably now his most useful 'position'. Let the opposition distract themselves working out how to shake it. And Tmac. What to do? He's the type of forward we need - not just as a pinch-hitter but when Hogan is around as well. The thought of Omac and Frost leading our defence to date would have been a horrifying one. But I'm not sure that having Tmac back there makes it really any less so. 

The match reports have all referred to us coming back from 26 points down. This barely even registers with me anymore.

 

I noticed Jetta went off toward the end of the last with what looked like a leg injury....any reports?

2 minutes ago, Wadda We Sing said:

I noticed Jetta went off toward the end of the last with what looked like a leg injury....any reports?

he was hobbling right at the end.

Our luck will turn and I think it did when Jayden Hunt got up off the floor in the sheds. It was great to see him up and about.

 hopefully we've got all of our injuries out of the way now

Can anyone recall any costly turnovers we had in the back half that resulted in a goal? I honestly couldn't recall one?

2 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Btw does anyone think Josh Jenkins is an example of 'Built like Tarzan plays like Jane'. When i saw Oscar on him i was worried due to the bigger frame, yet Jenkins was bruise free today. 

Absolute soft.

Jenkins is Tippett Mark 2

22 minutes ago, The Reverend said:

Ya gotta love that smoky, peaty goodness!

I love my whisky from Glenfiddich to Dalmore, but you can keep that stuff. Battery acid. 

15 minutes ago, Skuit said:

Someone previously brought up the notion of smart vs dumb intensity (apologies to the poster who've I've forgotten).

@Akum

5 minutes ago, juzzk1d said:

Can anyone recall any costly turnovers we had in the back half that resulted in a goal? I honestly couldn't recall one?

no.  good point.  usually gift at least two or three each week.

Amazing effort. To think a 2pt loss to Freo and a 3pt loss to Hawthorn is all that has kept us from top spot.

That is our best game I can recall from a leadership POV. They were good early when we needed to start well, they were composed and helped reshape us when we got behind in the second. They were vital to retaining composure and maintain structures as they tried to come at us in the last. 

29 minutes ago, The Reverend said:

Ya gotta love that smoky, peaty goodness!

Excellent work

7 minutes ago, pinkshark said:

no.  good point.  usually gift at least two or three each week.

There were one or two - but not the usual 5 or 6.

1 hour ago, Demon77 said:

On the slow mo it looks like it took a funny deflection when the ball was near the post, I wondered the same.

His celebration makes me think it went through.

Every goal is checked

It would have been umpire's call

The only thing that stands between him and the Mazda is Sidebottom's freakish goal

Edited May 14, 20178 yr by jumbo returns

24 minutes ago, Skuit said:

If feels like the first time in long time that we went in against a specific opposition rather than just playing our game and hoping it will prevail. It was still our 'game', but we played it according to the opposition,

 

25 minutes ago, Skuit said:

And can we just leave Bernie as a full-time stopper? I

I think you answered your own question with the first part 'Skuit'...

It will depend on specific opposition.

I attended my first game at the Adelaide Oval which is an amazing venue & also extremely intimidating to opposition supporters...namely because there aren't many & also because Adelaide supporters are in a class of their own...I was in the Members so kept a low profile which interestingly allowed me to watch the game a lot more objectively...I have read some of the game forum & some posters comments which were made watching a Tv coverage however watching the game live a lot of these criticisms are unwarranted...a scrappy first qrt in a hostile environment...Adelaide comes back & don't underestimate the noise of the crowd ...it's like nothing I have heard before & then the second half when finally everything clicked ...every player contributed ...obviously we have stars & workhorses but everyone did their job & more ...of course there were stuff ups but honestly Adelaide looked second rate & the crowd around us attested to that ...there will be ups & downs in our season but we have a future ...a bloody good future....just as an aside a few of the Adelaide supporters that hung around were very complimentary about Melb & a fair amount hung around to cheer off Bernie Vince which I thought was a testament to Bernie .

13 hours ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

That was just awesome.  Adelaide couldn't get free ball, we just kept pressuring them.  Sixth time in the history of the club we've gone over 90 tackles.  Jacobs had 74 hitouts but we won the clearances and smashed them in centre clearances 18-6. 

How you pick the best players out of that I have no idea.  Pedersen was huge, Hibberd had 34 Disposals.  Viney had 30 and 12 tackles, Oliver 30, 10 tackles and a goal.  TMac turned the game when he went forward.  Petraccca in the midfield was unstoppable.  Vince tagger Sloan almost entirely out of the game. Jetta sat on Betts for all but five minutes, Salem had 31 quality touches...  Insane. 

This was what we've been waiting to see from this side.  Controlled ball-use in attack, hard-nosed uncompromising defence and versatility to change things up when we needed to.  If we play like that we can beat any side in the league.  We just need to see it every week now. 

Summed up beautifully RM.

Unfortunately missed the game, IQ failed and no replay on Fox until Thursday morning... aaarght! 

Anyone know where I can watch this replay sooner that doesn't involve an AFL Live membership?

2 hours ago, Biffen said:

 

My flag winning cricket team adopted"Dirty old Town" by the Pogues as our  unofficial anthem.

CLASSIC!!!!!

7 minutes ago, 3Dee said:

Unfortunately missed the game, IQ failed and no replay on Fox until Thursday morning... aaarght! 

Anyone know where I can watch this replay sooner that doesn't involve an AFL Live membership?

It was on fox replayed last night and this morning

12 hours ago, chook fowler said:

Can't remember a better win in my 60+ years of following this mob.

Agreed. One of the great wins. And 5 minutes into the last you could see there was no way we were going to lose.

Some random thoughts on the game:

• A serious comment: Oliver is already almost the best mid we have had for 30 years. His hands are incredible, his vision is next to none, his courage is unbelievable and his tackling is first class. But what really stands out is how quick his mind is and how this parlays into great decision making skills. That goal was an example. You could tell that even in the spit second he had he knew what he wanted to do before he got it in his hands. There are any number of less speculator examples, many of which involve him setting up scoring opportunities for team mates with great handballs
• Another serious comment: as good as Oliver is Trac might be better. Big call i know and in many ways they are different players with Oliver being more a pure mid. But good lord Trac has so much talent, is incredibly strong and is simply brilliant at setting up team mates for scoring opportunistic (he clearly values assists over shots on goal himself - and i have no doubt that is related to his basketball background as in bball assists is THE critical stat). Now i'm not saying he is or will be as good, but the player he most reminds me of is Leigh Matthews. He has similar explosiveness, strong thighs, strength,  low center of gravity, great hands, hits contests at pace and with ferocity and most all vision. And like Matthew (and Oliver) he has a very quick mind