From The Age article (ps: I have been saying this all year.. It's blindingly obvious but the Panglossian posters just ignore facts):

"Against teams outside the eight this year Melbourne have a percentage of 160.8. Against teams in the top eight they have a percentage of 66.

That is a crazily big gulf and feeds the idea of the team as flat-track bullies. They have been labelled that and while these numbers point in that direction, in truth, it's not really very fair.The problem is not that Melbourne win the ball nor that they can score, it is the inability to stop the ball going the other way.

This is the point that Melbourne can’t defend. Actually, the point is that Melbourne don’t defend.

Melbourne cannot hold the good teams up. They win the ball against teams good and bad but the good teams get them on the outside. The good teams close down the space on the player with the ball, slow Melbourne up and try to force the turnover. When they have possession of the ball they then play keepings off and chip-kick the ball around."

That's the blueprint on beating Melbourne. That's how the Eagles play. Lets see if 'head in the sand' Goodwin can match Simpson today.

 

Edited August 19, 20187 yr by jnrmac

On 8/15/2018 at 7:15 PM, Wunders said:

It's funny that our strength is our ruck/midfield dominance/ability to clear the ball forward, yet we love to play a lose behind play somewhat limiting our dominance by allowing the opposition to outnumber us in our forward line.

If i was a coach i would be evening the numbers up in our forward line most of the time, to give our dominance the best chance to be successful (i.e., quick tap to a midfielder at a center bounce and long kick long to an even numbered forward line).

It's not funny. It's pig-headedness by the coach.

21 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

From The Age article ("I have been saying this all year.. It's blindingly obvious but the Panglossian posters just ignore facts):

"Against teams outside the eight this year Melbourne have a percentage of 160.8. Against teams in the top eight they have a percentage of 66.

That is a crazily big gulf and feeds the idea of the team as flat-track bullies. They have been labelled that and while these numbers point in that direction, in truth, it's not really very fair.The problem is not that Melbourne win the ball nor that they can score, it is the inability to stop the ball going the other way.

This is the point that Melbourne can’t defend. Actually, the point is that Melbourne don’t defend.

Melbourne cannot hold the good teams up. They win the ball against teams good and bad but the good teams get them on the outside. The good teams close down the space on the player with the ball, slow Melbourne up and try to force the turnover. When they have possession of the ball they then play keepings off and chip-kick the ball around."

That's the blueprinnt on beating Melbourne. That's how the Eagles play. Lets see if 'head in the sand' Goodwin can match Simpson today.

 

And yet people keep bringing up the stats about our points against is better so our defence is fine! For anyone that watches us play, our team defence is lazy beyond belief.