Seems like ages since we last played.

I was getting used to the 6 day breaks. The players looked cooked last week so i am sure they are happy to have had 9 days to regroup for this game.

Hoges back, Garlett back... Great news. I dont expect a swag of goals from Jesse this week unfortunately. Not many players can have the amount of time off that he did and expect to dominate straight away. Jeffy should be primed though and i reckon he could kick a few if the supply is there.

Sadly, i dont think it will be. I can see us being dominated in the center with so many of our best 22 out of the guts. Normally i would predict a thumping in these circumstances, but we have shown time and time again that this is going to be a rare thing. (Thank goodness)

Still, i predict a Bloos win by a few goals. You win games in the center and they surely have us covered today.

GO DEES !

I wasn't at all confident last week and after so many 6 day breaks and tough games we ran out "looking tired" and played accordingly. I am feeling much better about today's match and believe we just might nudge them. Critical for our season. The supporters know it, the club knows it and I'm sure the players know it.

It's do or die games like these where we drop the ball. Everyone is bringing up things like breaking curses such as beating St Kilda, North, Etihad etc. Want to break a curse Melbourne? Win this crucial game where we are favourites!

This is it Melbourne. Win and win well, anything is possible. Lose and we're struggling with the pack with one of the tougher runs home....

We're up against it with injuries but sadly neither the fixture nor ladder care. So please Dees, win!

Pretty crazy. 

Win and Port lose we go 4th. 

Lose and Weagles win and we're out of the 8!

 

 

Make the ground tremble Dees fans when Jesse kicks the first goal of the game! The blokes been through so much this year, I don't expect him to make an impact straight away but I hope he'll just enjoy being out on the G again. 

Wow I just saw the time in Melbourne, Game Day thread starting early! 

12 minutes ago, Domgus Petrogan said:

Pretty crazy. 

Win and Port lose we go 4th. 

Lose and Weagles win and we're out of the 8!

Wow that's just made this game even bigger. I know there's the whole one week at a time philosophy but being 4th at this stage with so many injuries would be massive. 

Big game for our season! I am hoping we see Vince and Lewis spending alot of time in the middle. As said above this is where the game will be won, in the centre. Very happy with our changes especially Garlett, Kent and obviously Hogan back in. Our big advantage is that Carlton do not score big so if we come to play I think we are better than evens to get up. Go Dees

This better not be another Round 22 of last season, when we were still a finals chance and they beat us.

Not feeling good about today, but that usually means we win.

40 minutes ago, GoDees1984 said:

Big game for our season! I am hoping we see Vince and Lewis spending alot of time in the middle. 

No need to hope, they will play the entire game in the midfield otherwise we will get crushed in there.

We are stacked with half backs (Wagner, Hunt, Hibberd, Smith, Melksham) so both guys can be set loose on the ball.

%.

Come on Dees!!!!!

Today could very well be our season defining game.

Time to regain the momentum, top 4 spot up for grabs. Big game. Need to man up Simpson and docherty. No cheap kicks out there today

 

go dees

Trying to pick winners this season has completely done my head in, so I'm going with my heart today.  Dees by a skinny margin and sitting 4th spot at the end of the weekend.  How nice would that be?

21 minutes ago, KC from Casey said:

Today could very well be our season defining game.

 completely agree. We have won games we were rank outsiders, now a game at should win, even with the injuries. But I cant see it happening.  Too many holes in the midfield.

Or backs match up well, individually our forwards are better than their back 6, but their back 6 collectively are playing great footy. 

It's the midfield where we will lose the game. Unless Gawn beats Kruezer and beats him well and we hold Gibbs, Murphy and Cripps to average games I thibk they will be too good in that area.

Need a poo emoji for today. Gonna be a long lead up

blues have nothing to play for apart from pride and we have so much. And we will be fired up for hoges. We finally had a long break, so those factors should just get us over the line despite injuries. 

Dees by 40 points+. Jesse to kick 5 or 6. Don't underestimate our midfielders. This is the chance for some youngsters to stamp themselves as mids in their own right and not as mere understudy's to Viney, Jones and Tyson.  Oh, and we need the WCE to be on song today too.

Was reading Carlton bigfooty page not only are they extremely confident they will win easy, they think the AFL Is corrupt for us having 8 day break to there 6 days, fail to mention our 3 six day breaks in a row 

Huge reward if we win.

Tactical smarts and how we rotate the midfield will get the W for us.

We managed without Maxy for 10 weeks. Just like then, we just have to find a way.

21 minutes ago, brendan said:

Was reading Carlton bigfooty page not only are they extremely confident they will win easy, they think the AFL Is corrupt for us having 8 day break to there 6 days, fail to mention our 3 six day breaks in a row 

By the sound of it not just confident but quite dumb also!

How does it equate to a 6 day break for them when they played last Saturday?

 

I don't subscribe to the excuses of our injuries. Frankly, with Hogan and Garlett back (and Watts returning next week), and Joel returning to the backline, our injuries only apply to the midfield (where we have Gawn back)!

We are not as injury-riddled as some apologists make out and the temporary loss of our co-captains, Salem and Tyson will be managed innovatively as we did with Gawn. All players know what is on the line with fourth position beckoning (provided The Eagles beat Port) and I am sure that Lewis and Vince will step into the breach to forge our destiny!

Dees to beat the Blues.

A strange sense of deja vu

Dees by 22 in a tussle.

Carlton will want the game played their way and might have the fit cattle to do it

We'll gradually wrestle the play back to 'our' game in the end.

Not thinking pretty . .. but a 3-4 goal win. That'll do

12 minutes ago, CBDees said:

I don't subscribe to the excuses of our injuries. Frankly, with Hogan and Garlett back (and Watts returning next week), and Joel returning to the backline, our injuries only apply to the midfield (where we have Gawn back)!

We are not as injury-riddled as some apologists make out and the loss of our co-captains and Tyson will be managed innovatively as we did with Gawn. All players know what is on the line with fourth position beckoning (provided The Eagles beat Port) and I am sure that Lewis and Vince will step into the breach to forge our destiny!

Dees to beat the Blues.

No co-captains, Tyson, Watts ,Salem sounds pretty riddled to me.  But then I'm not the Black Knight from Monty Python's Holy Grail.

4 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

This better not be another Round 22 of last season, when we were still a finals chance and they beat us.

Not feeling good about today, but that usually means we win.

It's all between the ears.