11 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

The game plan for all teams in the AFLW should be pretty simple, just get the ball forward, create pressure and opportunities.

No point trying to be fancy with your skills because at this stage very few players are up to it.

Also, Melbourne are terrible at getting the ball when it's on the ground, always half a second too late to react.

And we seem to stand off the opposition when they are first to the ball, don't stand back and put a hand in the air. Keep running in, as the opposition is just collecting the ball, run in and bump, make them spill the bloody thing. Don't wait for them to dispose of the ball as we stand with one hand in the air, guarding them like Netballers.

Ball on ground hesitant to decide whether to attempt to pick the ball up on the run or just kick it along the ground.  When in defence and we don't have support, kick it along the ground, closer to boundary, when one-out. 

Don't try to pick it up if you are a tall surrounded by 3 opponents.  Just keep the ball moving away from the opponents. soccer it. 

If we are forward, then try to get the ball to advantage.

1 hour ago, Rusty Nails said:

One horrible throw in and usual home crowd dubious frees cost them the match.   The ump threw it straight in right at the end there instead of towards the centre and gave them about a 20 meter advantage with the wind instead of 5 or so ??

it was more than one. there were a number that swayed 10 to 15m with the breeze. if players have to compensate for the breeze. why couldnt the umps?

Do the research! We've lost several close games because opposition teams win free kicks in front of goal! Its running at 80/20 over two seasons. I refuse to dump on the coaching panel when it is blatantly obvious that we are playing with an unfair handicap. I want women only to umpire women's games! Male umpires seem incapable of making difficult adjudications against women who are bending the rules! Jumping on backs... legitimate handballs... dragging the ball in... etc etc... Daisy is mauled every game... protection factor NIL!!!

12 minutes ago, --coach-- said:

Except it seems that many others are reacting the same or similar way. So perhaps it’s just a normal reaction to watching a club we are passionate about be the whipping boy for so long?

Each to their own I guess, but you got some good likes. Well done ?

Whipping girl....or whipping person.

2 minutes ago, Beetle said:

Whipping girl....or whipping person.

??? my bad ? 

39 minutes ago, Dees_In_October said:

Heartbreaking. I called it a few weeks back but I always hoped we could steal it.

The weaknesses we've had all season were the reason we lost tonight. Can't fault our effort though. No one can say we didn't put up a fight.

One day they'll stop using the AFLW to 'develop' umpires but for now, it's just part of the evolution of the competition. Still hurts though and makes a mockery of the players' efforts.

Thanks everyone, by the way, for the discussion here this season. It's nice to have a place to talk constructively (mostly!) about AFLW with other Demons.

I can't understand how they've been saying how great our midfield is.?  It's how we lost over the past few weeks. Fragile under pressure.  Poor hands in close, under pump.

We are too nice, when tackling, generally speaking.

They have to be told to get physical at Qtr time?  They should have been the mongrels in the game, from the first siren.  Not told to be at the 1st Qtr time address.

 

We have the wrong type leader Yet again,  to drive the physical meanness that winning Big Finals matches require.

I'm not finished yet... the commentary is atrociously anti MFCW... Throughout the first half the male commentator continually gloated that the Bulldogs only had to win to make the GF (that alone was not entirely true)... seeming to ignore that MFCW only had to win to make the GF!!!!

 

The Freo loss was bad, very bad and it got worse the next week against the Mo Hopers.  Losing to teams we should defeat is a Melbourne habit that I hope we shed soon...

4 minutes ago, waynewussell said:

Do the research! We've lost several close games because opposition teams win free kicks in front of goal! Its running at 80/20 over two seasons. I refuse to dump on the coaching panel when it is blatantly obvious that we are playing with an unfair handicap. I want women only to umpire women's games! Male umpires seem incapable of making difficult adjudications against women who are bending the rules! Jumping on backs... legitimate handballs... dragging the ball in... etc etc... Daisy is mauled every game... protection factor NIL!!!

You make your own luck.

Get in first, head down and you will win many frees. Get to the contest second, there is a good chance you will infringe.

 

We make our own luck being timid & conservative attacking the footy & player. So we make bad luck, 'old chap', as that saying goes.

I would rather give away a free from being aggressive at the play, rather that being timid and indecisive with the footy. 

Be aggressive at all times in the game, even in the last 2 to 3 minutes.

 

We had plenty of ball & opportunity, but we wasted the ball, time and again, in the first half.

3 minutes ago, Meggs said:

The Freo loss was bad, very bad and it got worse the next week against the Mo Hopers.  Losing to teams we should defeat is a Melbourne habit that I hope we shed soon...

It showed out in the Casey game during the first Qtr with the howling gale.  The pressure on our ball winner was 'hot', and we started to cough the ball up all the time.

Like it was a fur-ball.

The other clubs cottoned on, piling on the pressure on our mids.   Its been downhill skiing, since that game.

 

Melbourne sides Never;;; never seem to have enough strength & guts in the midfield's traditionally.. that's where you want your 'tough mothers', going in hard.

 

Our Mens team better not be like this this 2018.   Like past Melbourne midfield's of the past 25 years.

Terrible free kick paid for a doggies  goal. Robbed!!! 

Dogs deseved to make Gbut will get beat on current form

Conti didnt have an oponent and she nade us pay

The moment i knew the game was lost was when near the end we had 1 v 2 an instead of  kickimg the ball off the ground we bend down to pick up the ball and naturally got tackled with the winnining goal shortly after

Like the guys a digraceful effort against Collingwood sunk our season

2 minutes ago, Swampfox said:

The moment i knew the game was lost was when near the end we had 1 v 2 an instead of  kickimg the ball off the ground we bend down to pick up the ball and naturally got tackled with the winnining goal shortly after

We are really bad with the ball on the ground.

The disgusting umpiring just shows you shouldn't care, its amateur still.

Run into an open goal and miss from seven metres? There you have it.

3 minutes ago, dee-tox said:

Run into an open goal and miss from seven metres? There you have it.

Her look at me moment cost more than her prude

Hope she lrans therwise her nickname will become T Bugg

1 hour ago, Cassiew said:

Storm and Demons lost. Can it get worse? Next I’ll find out I’ve been sacked 

Yes.

Round 1 Melbourne vs Geelong.

Field umpires:

No.15 Mathew Nicholls.

No.18 Ray Chamberlain.

No.28 Troy Pannell.

 

 

how do you know cranston and hore won't be with us next year? Is this rumour or fact?

2 hours ago, Brownie said:

it was more than one. there were a number that swayed 10 to 15m with the breeze. if players have to compensate for the breeze. why couldnt the umps?

Cld have compensated by throwing it in on a slightly lower angle of ascent plus aiming a tad more to middle than usual.  If u watch that throw in that resulted in the ball getting out the back he threw it so high it went out of camera view for a little while.  No wonder the breeze took it.  Deliberate or otherwise it was a woeful throw in given those conditions and effectively resulted in the Dogs getting their last shot at goal opportunity.  Great that they pounced but with a different throw in the ball doesn't get out the back.

7 hours ago, Demon77 said:

Yes.

Round 1 Melbourne vs Geelong.

Field umpires:

No.15 Mathew Nicholls.

No.18 Ray Chamberlain.

No.28 Troy Pannell.

 

Panell is the one that gifted the bulldogs 20+ frees to about 5 in a SA game in 2016.  He did something similar in a JLT game recently but can't remember the lucky recipient team. 

He has his favourites and we are definitely not one of them.

And wasn't it Razor that paid all those dodgy 'rule of the week' free kicks against Max last year in the Saints game?

We are in for a tough time next Sunday, for sure.

10 hours ago, Cassiew said:

Storm and Demons lost. Can it get worse? Next I’ll find out I’ve been sacked 

Storm losing is never a bad thing. Hope your head is not too bad when you wake up.

51 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Panell is the one that gifted the bulldogs 20+ frees to about 5 in a SA game in 2016.  He did something similar in a JLT game recently but can't remember the lucky recipient team. 

He has his favourites and we are definitely not one of them.

And wasn't it Razor that paid all those dodgy 'rule of the week' free kicks against Max last year in the Saints game?

We are in for a tough time next Sunday, for sure.

I couldn’t watch the game last night LH and from reading all the comments above the umpiring seemed like an issue again.

Sorry, I should have added “ If we see those 3 whistle happy bozos officiating our opener next week” in my response to Cass’s “ could it get worse” comment. Knowing our luck we probably get at least one of them.

Was the umpiring really that bad last night?

 

Shite conditions

Shite kicking

Shite umpiring

Shite result.

Ultimately though - no one to blame but ourselves.

36 minutes ago, Demon77 said:

I couldn’t watch the game last night LH and from reading all the comments above the umpiring seemed like an issue again.

Sorry, I should have added “ If we see those 3 whistle happy bozos officiating our opener next week” in my response to Cass’s “ could it get worse” comment. Knowing our luck we probably get at least one of them.

Was the umpiring really that bad last night?

 

The thing that has been carried over from mens to womens so well is the art of ducking into tackles. 

The rolling of shoulders to pull the contact high. Dropping to your knees when you know your going to get caught. I watched a bulldogs player fall on her arse and get paid a high contact free.

Making an effort to dispose of the ball properly goes out the window if you can just drop to you knees. Worst result for the player is a ball up.

It's a blight on our game.

We get to watch the master next Sunday.

Yep the umpiring was bad and we also blew it again.

Shattered. 

Had a dream last night that we actually won and had to reconcile such a gut wrenching loss again this morning. At least as MFC supporters we are well versed in such emotional battles. 

Agree with everything written so far re; umps, wind, our own worst enemies, poor defensive marking in that last play, etc so won’t re-hash. 

HOWEVER. One thing that made my blood boil last night was that scrunchy-wearing, J.Selwood wannabe, knee-dropping Carney for the dogs. And some of her mates. More than several important frees including a goal as a result of the old arm-lift/knee drop in the tackle that our girls could do nothing about whilst mid-tackle. 

Sure, the girls adjusted their tackling later in the game, but it is just so hard to alter whilst the frigging knee-buckling is happening. I even saw Daisy give a rare frustrated spray to Carney after one particularly cynical milking of a free.

i nearly vomited when the female commentator (not sure who it was?) said “oh the dogs are just getting more frees because they’re going in harder and lower” when it was 14-3 frees or whatever it was. EXACTLY- drawing free kicks incessantly! 

At best, it’s not in the spirit of the game, at worst it’s CHEATING. 

J.Duckwood has a lot to answer for! GRRRRRRRRR ?