8 hours ago, McQueen said:

I'm coming over.... Where does pre-game beer and chicken wings get consumed by Demonland folk?

Heading over from the west. Pre game beers are where?

16 hours ago, McQueen said:

I'm coming over.... Where does pre-game beer and chicken wings get consumed by Demonland folk?

Lucifer's inn. On Wellington..Opposite Pullman hotel (the old Hilton). Right on Yarra park. Two minutes to gate 1 at the g.

In 5 years time.

13 minutes ago, binman said:

Lucifer's inn. On Wellington..Opposite Pullman hotel (the old Hilton). Right on Yarra park. Two minutes to gate 1 at the g.

In 5 years time.

???

See what you did there

??️

1 hour ago, binman said:

Lucifer's inn. On Wellington..Opposite Pullman hotel (the old Hilton). Right on Yarra park. Two minutes to gate 1 at the g.

In 5 years time.

Lucifer's Inn- great idea. On tap we have Lucifer's Lager, Demon Draught, Angus Ale, Petracca Pale Ale and a Clayton for the non-drinkers. All served in a beer Styne. When we lose it's Melbourne Bitter.

Edited March 20, 20196 yr by Dee Dubya
Addition

1 hour ago, binman said:

Lucifer's inn. On Wellington..Opposite Pullman hotel (the old Hilton). Right on Yarra park. Two minutes to gate 1 at the g.

In 5 years time.

Glad you added a timeframe to that. 

Otherwise I would’ve been wandering around for a while before abusing you. 

On 3/20/2019 at 7:50 PM, Demonland said:

THE WELCOME GAME by Whispering Jack

The Melbourne Football Club has moved forward in leaps and bounds since it last met Port Adelaide in a totally forgettable (for Demon fans) season opener on the MCG. 

That game, played on Sunday, 31 March, 2013 before a crowd of 22,924, was supposed to be a close encounter between two of the competition’s lesser lights from the previous season when the Power had finished 14th and the Demons 16th (ahead only of AFL newbies Gold Coast and GWS). It turned into a slaughter with Port taking the lead in the first minute with a behind to Justin Westhoff, followed a minute or so later with a goal to Hamish Hartlett and the deluge continued until the final siren blared as the scoreboard read, “Port Adelaide 19.19.133 Melbourne 8.6.54”.

From there Port Adelaide went on to play off in the finals and went down to Geelong in the Semi Final after beating Collingwood in a Qualifying Final while Melbourne finished in 17th spot with two wins, ahead only of the Giants and with a percentage of 54.07.

Plenty of water has flowed under the Swan Street Bridge after that fateful day with the club moving forward on an upward trajectory on an annual basis ever since. The top four finish after the finals last year left it close to football’s holy grail.

Close ... but no cigar.

The summer has been an unusual one for the Demons who encountered the unfamiliar territory of a late start to the pre season (due to them having gone deep into the finals) with plenty of players undergoing operations and hence, making late starts to their preseasons - and we all know how vital it is for the playing group to have a clear and uninterrupted run into a new season.

Notwithstanding, Melbourne’s summer remained full of hype standing as a legitimate premiership contender until the last few weeks when things began to go awry with two relatively unconvincing JLT performances and injuries and a suspension serving to dent the confidence of the supporter group, at least.

The game takes on even greater importance when one looks at what lies ahead beyond week one with games against Geelong, Essendon and Sydney to complete the first month. 

I’m going for Melbourne because it is playing at home which is exactly the right place for it to welcome in a new season. Port Adelaide doesn’t win at the MCG very often and I don’t think they can win what the AFL has dubbed “The Welcome Game 2019”. 

So are we doing a match preview and team selection thread this season or is this now a ‘pregame thread’?

22 minutes ago, McQueen said:

So are we doing a match preview and team selection thread this season or is this now a ‘pregame thread’?

I'm thinking to keep it all in the PREGAME Thread.

Going forward there will be a PREGAME thread in the work week leading up to the game which will include team selection.

Then there will be the GAMEDAY thread for everyone to [censored] about the game, the gameplan, the players, the coaches etc in real time.

Then there will be the POSTMATCH Thread where we can all slit our wrists and proclaim who should be sacked this week.

Rinse and repeat.

23 hours ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

https://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2019-03-20/vandenberg-ruled-out-of-round-1

F right off! 

Poor Vanders he really can’t take a trick. 

I love what he brings to the side so not a good start to our season really. 

Not to mention our stupid stupid stupid call to let Joel Smith to play out an irrelevant practice game and injure himself. Seriously dumb!

8 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Then there will be the GAMEDAY thread for everyone to [censored] about the game, the gameplan, the players, the coaches etc in real time.

Then there will be the POSTMATCH Thread where we can all slit our wrists and proclaim who should be sacked this week.

Rinse and repeat.

It's frightening how close to the truth those two statements are.

13 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

I’ve realised since writing the preview that today is the 7th anniversary of the passing of Jim Stynes. How sad it is that he’s missed out on the club’s improvement since then and that his family have missed out on having him with them.

Best wishes to the Stynes family on this sad occasion.

Well said. Sadly, there are so many ex MFC players (and staunch supporters) who are no longer with us who will not be sharing the joys of seeing the old club on the rise.  

I like to think that for those who remain on the planet we carry forward the hopes and dreams of all those who have stepped behind the curtain.

They are still with us in mind and spirit.

My father sits with me in the stands at the MCG despite his passing 30 years ago, just as my youngest son will sit with me when I move on to red and blue heaven.  

There is continuity and a universality associated with belonging to the MFC.   

6 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

It's frightening how close to the truth those two statements are.

I forgot to mention that the PREGAME Thread will be divided into those that say relax we've got this by 100 points and those that think we shouldn't even turn up for [insert reason/excuse here].

On 3/19/2019 at 7:24 PM, Brownie said:

He copped a rough time living in Southpark

 

Word is that should Port win, they will be singing this instead of the club song.

 

3 hours ago, binman said:

Lucifer's inn. On Wellington..Opposite Pullman hotel (the old Hilton). Right on Yarra park. Two minutes to gate 1 at the g.

In 5 years time.

Great name!! ?

The ruck dual will be interesting.

Port now have Lycett, a premiership ruckman so shouldn't be underestimated.  He and Vardy completely neutralised Max in the prelim with one or other sticking to Max like glue wherever he went on the ground.  So our middfield fell away and the defence was under the pump from the get go.  Max could more than hold his own quite easily with one of those but not both.

Lycett will take WCE tactics to Port.  He and Ryder (or Westhoff) shadow Max and wear him out.  Hopefully, our mids have learnt to feed off Lycett etc if they get on top of Max.  And our backs and forwards can't rely on Max to intercept or mark.  Thankfully, Fritsch is in the side to help out at both ends of the ground if needed.

I think we will win but it won't be a walk in the park.

Edited March 21, 20196 yr by Lucifer's Hero

5 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

The ruck dual will be interesting.

Port now have Lycett, a premiership ruckman so shouldn't be underestimated.  He and Vardy completely neutralised Max in the prelim with one or other sticking to Max like glue wherever he went on the ground.  So our middfield fell away and the defence was under the pump from the get go.  Max could more than hold his own quite easily with one of those but not both.

Lycett will take WCE tactics to Port.  He and Ryder (or Westhoff) shadow Max and wear him out.  Hopefully, our mids have learnt to feed off Lycett etc if they get on top of Max.  And our backs and forwards can't rely on Max to intercept or mark.  Thankfully, Fritsch is in the side to help out at both ends of the ground if needed.

I think we will win but it won't be a walk in the park.

Great observation and summation. 

I really think with Ryder & Lycett running around for the Power we need to go with Pruess & Gawn... 

I am worried about our pace. Port will inject a lot of it this week. I hope they don't run us off our legs.

We will need to win contested ball and not turn it over and apply plenty of pressure if they have it, to force a turnover possibly from the new boys.

 

1 minute ago, Redleg said:

I am worried about our pace. Port will inject a lot of it this week. I hope they don't run us off our legs.

We will need to win contested ball and not turn it over and apply plenty of pressure if they have it, to force a turnover possibly from the new boys.

Agree... Brisbane showed that we are not great as yet in the area of speed and stamina. 29 degrees with a possible thunderstorm........ not the best footy weather

My MFCSS is at full alert

Port don't have anything like the depth of midfield we do especially with Wines out so hopefully we can wear them down in the contest and dominate from centre bounces. I agree it will be a worry if its a fast transition game because that's where we are most vulnerable. 

13 hours ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Does anyone think we will spring a surprise by selecting Petty over Frost? 

Hell, no. 

26 minutes ago, sisso said:

Port don't have anything like the depth of midfield we do especially with Wines out so hopefully we can wear them down in the contest and dominate from centre bounces. I agree it will be a worry if its a fast transition game because that's where we are most vulnerable. 

Provided our midfielders do not bomb the ball recklessly forward, just because they earned a statistic. It is their responsibility to hit targets eyes up, and it is the targets' responsibilities to move to receive. Seeem pill. 

People actually thinking we will play Preuss?

3 hours ago, hemingway said:

Well said. Sadly, there are so many ex MFC players (and staunch supporters) who are no longer with us who will not be sharing the joys of seeing the old club on the rise.  

I like to think that for those who remain on the planet we carry forward the hopes and dreams of all those who have stepped behind the curtain.

They are still with us in mind and spirit.

My father sits with me in the stands at the MCG despite his passing 30 years ago, just as my youngest son will sit with me when I move on to red and blue heaven.  

There is continuity and a universality associated with belonging to the MFC.   

Robbie still patrols the wing!!

26 minutes ago, david_neitz_is_my_dad said:

People actually thinking we will play Preuss?

Preuss was recruited for games such as the one against Port where they play two ruckmen. Predicted temp is 29 degrees.

Will Preuss play.... I have no idea. I think the selection committee would love to play him but I also suspect they have doubts about his ability.

If Preuss doesn't play it means Weideman is the relief ruckman against a specialist ruck.

The other scenario is that our midfield set up for losing the ruck duel when Max is not there and you just play a big body (who??). This seems to work for many teams.

Any chance that Port will walk off the field before the first bounce when they see: Gawn, Viney, Oliver and Gus walk to the middle??