2 hours ago, Gorgoroth said:

Spewin I cant get into the big smoke today. No idea how this will fall...

We need to stop them from starting fast.  That I think is the challenge. Make it an arm wrestle early, dont leery them get their tails up. 

C'mon Dees!

I thought you were out in the Western suburbs?

19 minutes ago, FireInTheBelly said:

What are the chances of that with nicholls?

True ...scrub that 

On 7/20/2017 at 8:09 PM, Skuit said:

 

 

9 minutes ago, Maldonboy38 said:

Huge game today. Should be very close with some sore bodies at the end of the game. Both teams look evenly matched, with our forward line stronger on paper then their defence, which might prove the difference.

Jack W 150. Have a look at his career highlights on the MFC website / app. Sometimes we forget just how good he can be.

Jack T. Welcome back. I hope you play a belter and slot into our 22 moving into finals.

Jack V. I reckon he is going to tear this game apart. 

Dees by 13 points in one of the games of the year. Petracca BOG. Hogan 4, Watts 4, Garlett 3, Hannan 2. 

Don't forget Oliver - his 20th birthday. With all the big "ins" it will take the spotlight and pressure off him - he will perform...BOG - OLIVER!

The pessimistic Demon in me will make an appearance here but I'm not sure how much we will get out of our ins. Jack and Salo especially. They might be slightly underdone.

That being said, Hoges and Gawny are getting their mojo back. With Jeffy, Jack and Hoges in, we have our first choice forward line in (with the surprising addition of Plugger McDonald in there). 

Finally, I get to see my boy Jack Trengove back! So happy for the kid. He might be out of the side in two weeks (ala Grimesy last year) but at least we are less likely to die wondering now. 

Oh and...

GO YOU MIGHTY DEMONS!

Don't underestimate port this will be close, less than 10 points either way. 

They have some serious outside speed that will cut us open if our pressure and contest isn't on point. 

Watts and Salem are huge inclusions because their kicking will make stopping our forward line a bit task for an undersized power backline. 

I think we have more depth in the middle and as such I'm backing us if the game is an arm wrestle but port are very capable of kicking a burst of goals if we slip up. 

I think we will be working very hard to make transitioning as difficult as possible through pressure and numbers, and try and score off turn over. 

Ryder vs gawn will be an interesting battle that I suspect will be a bit of an arm wrestle. I expect gawn to spend time drifting forward and trying to make Ryder accountable. 

Despite losing a couple of games I think we've played quite well without our injuries and still getting into those good winning positions late in games. I think today will be no different

i do think if one team is going to smash the other I feel it's more likely we get right on top of them. I can't see them dominating us the way I think we can dominate them. 

Dees by 4 points 

2 hours ago, Biffen said:

Strange move by the AFL to put football on at the MCG at 2pm on a Saturday.

Innovative and bold-I wonder if it's something they copied from the NFL or Basketball ?

2:10pm in fact... even stranger.  I recall there used to be some sport played back in the day that also started at 2:10pm and was only played on Saturdays and at grounds all around Melbourne... something called VFL, whatever that was.

2 hours ago, Demon77 said:

With 3 Jacks coming in you would go a long way to winning.

We can only hope for a full house at the 'G...

4 hours ago, --coach-- said:

Working hard in the Bahamas, will be early in the AM at game time on this side of the world, please refrain from giving away the result on here until I've woken up and watched the reply. Cheers ?

Sorry that things are so tough for you atm coach. Hang in there.

Easy 10 goal win coming up.

Hogan to kick 8.

Trengove 30 possessions.

Too good to be true?

2 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

We have never won on a return game from Darwin... we will find out today if thats just cos we have been such a poor team for many years or if the trip drains the players.

Although we have changed a quarter of the squad from last week, four of those guys are returning from injuries and haven't played in a few weeks at least.  The other guy hasn't played AFL in a year.

Interesting times ahead.

Why is it that we think these interstate trips drain the players? They are not crossing any international datelines and they are not exerting themselves in any way (most probably stack a few Z's)... it's just a four and a quarter hour flight and just a 30 minute (I think) time difference.  Does this mean we will be excusing Garlett if he has a bad game, because he flew back from Perth just two days ago?

5 minutes ago, hardtack said:

Why is it that we think these interstate trips drain the players? They are not crossing any international datelines and they are not exerting themselves in any way (most probably stack a few Z's)... it's just a four and a quarter hour flight and just a 30 minute (I think) time difference.  Does this mean we will be excusing Garlett if he has a bad game, because he flew back from Perth just two days ago?

Its a really good point you make, however there is something in the travel thing as its been known to effect other clubs and codes as well, however i have no idea why? Does anyone else know what the science says? In the Darwin case i think its more to do with playing in the humidity and the effect on the body recovery that has, see Adelaide last night after half time.

1 minute ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Its a really good point you make, however there is something in the travel thing as its been known to effect other clubs and codes as well, however i have no idea why? Does anyone else know what the science says?

Well, it could be said that most of the interstate teams lend a lie to the theory, as they have at one time or another been able to consistently win on the road and follow up at home.  I'd be more inclined to think it's the time and effort spent playing in extremely humid conditions that drains the players, rather than the travel component.

I feel like there is heaps at stake here. I suspect I'm primed to be euphoric or crushed, with not much in between. This is the strongest side we've fielded since round 1 arguably, against a top 4 side, at home. A win keeps us in touch with the top 4, a loss could see us tumble out of the 8.

I won't say "no excuses" because we are playing against a good side - getting outclassed again is a possibility. But our best is good enough to beat this mob. I'll be bitterly disappointed if we don't bring something close to it.

Win this game and our finals chances go through the roof.

Lose and all is not lost, the worst result would be a loss and more injuries and suspensions.

Im hoping DL will not go into meltdown and start potting individual players left, right and centre when the inevitable run on happens and they get 3 or 4 goals in a row. Hang in there, this team never lays down, and fights on till the end. Go Dees.

I think we are better than them but they have form which we certainly don't. 

Theyll get the jump on us and win unfortunately. 

Even if we lose we are still a massive chance for finals 

if we win you can nearly lock us in. 

Time to fire up dees. 

1 hour ago, Abe said:

A few of the power supporters tipping us which is interesting. I must admit I've never really been sold on them, they've beaten a lot of average teams 

Their win against West Coast 2 weeks ago probably their best for the year.

1 hour ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

I thought you were out in the Western suburbs?

Moved out further west to the country  two and a half years ago.

We will win if:

1. We kick straight

2. Port score more points than goals; and

3. we are in front at the end of the first quarter.

35/65 game but let's hope it marks a resurgence and that the path to September becomes the Boulevard of Our Dreams !!

5 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Their win against West Coast 2 weeks ago probably their best for the year.

I watched that game (don't judge me!). I'm unsure what that says about Port as West Coast were very average that day.

3 x Jacks and 2 x Christians. Full house right there, Surely that means something  

 

What's the weather doing in Melbourne today?

Perfect day for footy at the mighty g today in the traditional time slot.  Today I want to see a win, no injuries, no stupid incidents and no reports.  

Perfect day for our forward line to kick a winning score. Would love to see trenners play well and hogan kick some goals. 

Need to come out and make a statement. Apart from the Doggies game, we have never been in control from the start. Allowing the opposition to kick themselves into a 3 goal lead by quarter time hurts us big time, especially with percentage playing a pivotal role to determine the top 8.