Jump to content

Match Preview and Team Selection - Round 22

Demonland
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Comrades,

Watch the Dees record a famous backs-to-the-wall win tomorrow!

Great ins which give us increased potency in attack with Kent and Hannan, better ball use particularly into the F50 with Melksham (who actually leads the comp with inside 50 efficiency and who is also one of the best one on one forwards in the game), some much needed urgency, speed and poise down back with Hibberd, and if nothing else some competitive relief in the ruck for a tiring Max with Weid.

In the entire time Goody has been at the helm, I can only recall maybe 4 or 5 games where we were clearly out of it. The fact is we have been a reasonable chance to win just about every game we’ve played over the last two years - and 10-15 minute patches of losses of concentration/dumb decision making have killed us. The fact that we have won the second most quarters in the comp proves that. Who could have imagined that only 3 or 4 years ago?

We are almost never out of the game and even when 4-6 goals down we almost always find a way to come back, even on enemy territory like against Adelaide in Adelaide (twice) and West Coast in Perth.  

Even as disappointing as last week was, we still came back from 5 goals down, kept Sydney goalless in the last quarter, and had a number of fairly easy opportunities to ice the game (Jones, Garlett, Brayshaw, Spargo, Hogan) - not to mention some easy shots early which would have changed the course of the game completely. It’s obvious we still struggle to ‘close the deal’ at times, which is not entirely unexpected for what is still a very young and maturing team. 

But our game style has held up against almost every single side - we just need to tidy up forward 50 efficiency (I actually think having Hogan out will help with lowering our eyes and not just bombing it long) and decision making at critical times during the game. That will come with maturity and as the group continues to gel.

Dees by 17!

Edited by BigRussian

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    • Shocked 1
     

    The hannan praise surprises me, i think he's had a rather poor year, and while he may kick a goal or 2 his defensive work has been pretty inconsistent. Maybe he might be pushed up onto the wing more, with fritsch playing back. I would almost prefer jones back instead of fritsch now hibberd is back as the 3rd tall intercept player. If they isolate AVB on McGovern like sydney did with aliir, he needs to sacrifice his game, 3 goals won't matter, McGovern will cut off a lot more.

  • Quote
    4 hours ago, drysdale demon said:

    I take it from that you do,good to see you have a couple of poodles agree with you.

    Welcome to Demonland. We have opinions on selection. 

    I would consider myself more credentialed than most on here but that doesn’t exclude others from providing their thoughts with respect. 

    If you have a problem with that you won’t like it on The Internet...

    And, lastly, match committee selection has been truly perplexing this season, occasionally horrible.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
     
    18 hours ago, Cards13 said:

    Blow hard. Just no need.

    Nah a blowhard was the 'supporter' behind me last weekend  who shouted 'go back to rehab vandenBerg, you spud' as Vanders made an error

    Was checking my moronmeter to see if he had put needle in red, but had to stop as my lovely little lady was all for turning around and decking him

    Demonland poster obviously

  • Quote
    • Haha 2
    • Sad 1
    4 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

    Desperately hoping for a Collingwood win today. That way we if we win tomoz, Port can’t go ahead of us and we’re in the finals.

    Two Port wins and 1 Sydney win means we’re going to be in a percentage battle with Geelong, and I’m not particularly interested in missing the finals by 0.5% again.

    Your worst nightmares are gone, @Bring-Back-Powell.

  • Quote

    On 8/18/2018 at 12:37 PM, BigRussian said:

    Comrades,

    Watch the Dees record a famous backs-to-the-wall win tomorrow!

    Great ins which give us increased potency in attack with Kent and Hannan, better ball use particularly into the F50 with Melksham (who actually leads the comp with inside 50 efficiency and who is also one of the best one on one forwards in the game), some much needed urgency, speed and poise down back with Hibberd, and if nothing else some competitive relief in the ruck for a tiring Max with Weid.

    In the entire time Goody has been at the helm, I can only recall maybe 4 or 5 games where we were clearly out of it. The fact is we have been a reasonable chance to win just about every game we’ve played over the last two years - and 10-15 minute patches of losses of concentration/dumb decision making have killed us. The fact that we have won the second most quarters in the comp proves that. Who could have imagined that only 3 or 4 years ago?

    We are almost never out of the game and even when 4-6 goals down we almost always find a way to come back, even on enemy territory like against Adelaide in Adelaide (twice) and West Coast in Perth.  

    Even as disappointing as last week was, we still came back from 5 goals down, kept Sydney goalless in the last quarter, and had a number of fairly easy opportunities to ice the game (Jones, Garlett, Brayshaw, Spargo, Hogan) - not to mention some easy shots early which would have changed the course of the game completely. It’s obvious we still struggle to ‘close the deal’ at times, which is not entirely unexpected for what is still a very young and maturing team. 

    But our game style has held up against almost every single side - we just need to tidy up forward 50 efficiency (I actually think having Hogan out will help with lowering our eyes and not just bombing it long) and decision making at critical times during the game. That will come with maturity and as the group continues to gel.

    Dees by 17!

    Not usually one to blow my own trumpet but just saying....

  • Quote
    • Like 2
     
    1 hour ago, drysdale demon said:

    Would be nice to, but I don't seem to have any spare time to do that.

    Any fishing reports DD, from down there?

  • Quote
    27 minutes ago, DV8 said:

    Any fishing reports DD, from down there?

    Not at moment the last 6 or so weeks have just been pretty crappy with strong northerlies blowing every day.

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
    Reply to this topic...
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • PREVIEW: Gold Coast

      The Gold Coast Suns find themselves outside of the top eight for the first time since Round 1 with pressure is mounting on the entire organisation. Their coach Damien Hardwick expressed his frustration at his team’s condition last week by making a middle-finger gesture on television that earned him a fine for his troubles. He showed his desperation by claiming that Fox should pick up the tab.  There’s little doubt the Suns have shown improvement in 2025, and their position on the ladder is influenced to some extent by having played fewer games than their rivals for a playoff role at the end of the season, courtesy of the disruption caused by Cyclone Alfred in March.  However, they are following the same trajectory that hindered the club in past years whenever they appeared to be nearing their potential. As a consequence, that Hardwick gesture should be considered as more than a mere behavioral lapse. It’s a distress signal that does not bode well for the Queenslanders. While the Suns are eager to remain in contention with the top eight, Melbourne faces its own crisis, which is similarly deep-seated but in a much different way. After recovering from a disappointing start to the season and nearing a return to respectability among its peer clubs, the Demons have experienced a decline in status, driven by the fact that while their form has been reasonable (see their performance against the ladder leader in the Kings Birthday match), their conversion in front of goal is poor enough to rank last in the competition. Furthermore, their opponents find them exceptionally easy to score against. As a result, they have effectively eliminated themselves from the finals race and are again positioned to finish in the bottom half of the ladder.

      • 1 reply
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 15

      As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

      • 276 replies
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Port Adelaide

      Of course, it’s not the backline, you might argue and you would probably be right. It’s the boot studder (do they still have them?), the midfield, the recruiting staff, the forward line, the kicking coach, the Board, the interchange bench, the supporters, the folk at Casey, the head coach and the club psychologist  It’s all of them and all of us for having expectations that were sufficiently high to have believed three weeks ago that a restoration of the Melbourne team to a position where we might still be in contention for a finals berth when the time for the midseason bye arrived. Now let’s look at what happened over the period of time since Melbourne overwhelmed the Sydney Swans at the MCG in late May when it kicked 8.2 to 5.3 in the final quarter (and that was after scoring 3.8 to two straight goals in the second term). 

      • 3 replies
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Essendon

      Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

      • 0 replies
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Gold Coast

      The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

        • Haha
        • Like
      • 145 replies
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Port Adelaide

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 16th June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Power.
      Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.
      Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

        • Thanks
      • 33 replies
      Demonland
    View All