On 27/03/2019 at 10:53, TGR said:

Narrow ground will suit us (team that aint good with spreading).

We embarrassed Geelong in the final...They should come out breathing fire.

We're not too flash at running either.

This ground notoriously exposes lethargic teams.

Geelong are far quicker by feet.

Hope some of our fellas wear gloves ?

  On 27/03/2019 at 20:42, beelzebub said:

We're not too flash at running either.

This ground notoriously exposes lethargic teams.

 

Huh? I never heard this. 

Not saying it's not true but why would a narrow ground that is not particularly l9ng, so therefore has a smaller area that most grounds, expose slow teams. Geelong might I guess because they like to bounce of hb, move ir through the corridor, and get it forward  quickly.  But the ground doesnt. 

We also like to move it from hb so should suit us fine

  On 27/03/2019 at 20:48, binman said:

Huh? I never heard this. 

Not saying it's not true but why would a narrow ground that is not particularly l9ng, so therefore has a smaller area that most grounds, expose slow teams. Geelong might I guess because they like to bounce of hb, move ir through the corridor, and get it forward  quickly.  But the ground doesnt. 

We also like to move it from hb so should suit us fine

It kinda works as a racetrack Bin. Because there's not quite the same area flanks/wing the ball gets moved straight up the corridor .  ..or near to ,more than almost every other AFL venue. The Kitties, it being their litterland, are very adept at this...very.

They also seem to have runners

Our history there is about as flash as our pace.

  On 27/03/2019 at 05:12, DeeZee said:

I’ll reserve my judgement until after this game, I’ve seen too much of Melbourne over the years to have blind faith .

Saw some disturbing things over the last 4 games that don’t exactly instill me with confidence.

It could all be injury and fitness issues and I hope they can step up to the plate but those sorts of things don’t usually resolve themselves overnight 

Understand your reservations, but you shouldn't confuse the fact some people choose to have a positive outlook with it being "blind faith". 

You'll find no one here actually has blind faith really, some (including myself), prefer to focus on the positives more than the negatives. In my case, because it simply makes the experience of following a football team more enjoyable and instead of looking to each game with anxiety, I look to each with excitement. I am a strong believer that happiness is a choice. It doesn't mean I or others have "blind faith" and are ignorant to our issues, we just make different choices. 

I feel this needs to be understood better on DL.

•  

  

  Paul Amy

   

  @PaulAmy375

   

Won't be a surprise if Jay Lockhart earns a debut for Melbourne after an excellent outing for Casey Demons in the practice match against Box Hill Hawks. The tough Tasmanian was a late addition to the rookie list. He's a rising player.

  On 27/03/2019 at 06:27, DubDee said:

what about the 4 games before that (beating WC, GWS, Cats, Hawks)?

we are a good team and we will come good. 

Interestingly DD that's the opinion too of most if not all commentators. 3 of the 4 prelim teams lost, Matthew Lloyd pointed out last night training didn't start till 7 December and he's not concerned about any of last years prelim finalists.

The main thing is to grab a few wins and then in second half they should be up and about.

Optimistic but lets see.

I saw the 2 MCG finals in 2018 - the talent is there for sure.

  On 27/03/2019 at 20:28, Lucifer's Hero said:

Technically we did but we had difficulty getting the ball out of the square or forward.  I haven't seen the replay - the positioning of our wingmen I noticed at the ground. 

I didn't mean to say it was a plan to be unaccountable, more that it made it difficult for us to defend when they got the ball out of the square.

My post was hypothesizing on what Lewis meant by 'positioning' when asked why we were smashed in the middle.  Would be interested in other people's theory of what he was referring to.

It looked to me like our defenders were actually too timid at coming up and getting to the ball ahead or with their opponents, whilst our mids were sucked to the contest and didn't hold their width. Rockliff, Boak, Westhoff etc seemed to be escaping out to the wing on a 45 degree run with their opponents stuck in the middle.

  On 27/03/2019 at 22:50, dazzledavey36 said:

•  

  

  Paul Amy

   

  @PaulAmy375

   

Won't be a surprise if Jay Lockhart earns a debut for Melbourne after an excellent outing for Casey Demons in the practice match against Box Hill Hawks. The tough Tasmanian was a late addition to the rookie list. He's a rising player.

Can't believe that. Saw the 1st half of praccy game and lockhart did almost zilchen. He must have had a big 2nd half????

  On 27/03/2019 at 04:50, Jones said:

Any chance for some positivity from Melbourne supporters?

How about getting behind the boys instead of acting like spoilt brats?

Yes Round 1 was disappointing but the last time we played Geelong we beat them in an Elimination final.

There is so much negativity going around atm from supporters it's quite ridiculous. 

It's round 2 FFS and we have a very important game coming up. Let's chuck the dummy out of the cot when it is Round 4 and we are 0-4.

Hmm we were playing a wee bit better back then. Since then four losses none of which we looked remotely like winning. 

  On 28/03/2019 at 02:17, dl4e said:

Can't believe that. Saw the 1st half of praccy game and lockhart did almost zilchen. He must have had a big 2nd half????

That would have put him well in front of Viney who had zero minutes.

  On 27/03/2019 at 21:15, beelzebub said:

It kinda works as a racetrack Bin. Because there's not quite the same area flanks/wing the ball gets moved straight up the corridor .  ..or near to ,more than almost every other AFL venue. The Kitties, it being their litterland, are very adept at this...very.

They also seem to have runners

Our history there is about as flash as our pace.

2 in 30 years can only be described as disastrous bb. And we won't mention that other game, the blackest day in the history of the MFC 

  On 27/03/2019 at 20:42, beelzebub said:

We're not too flash at running either.

This ground notoriously exposes lethargic teams.

Geelong are far quicker by feet.

Hope some of our fellas wear gloves ?

I hope some of them wear boots with studs suitable for wet weather. The number of players slipping over last week was embarrassing.

Edited March 28, 20196 yr by La Dee-vina Comedia

  On 28/03/2019 at 02:38, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I hope some of them wear boots with studs suitable for wet weather. The number of players slipping over last week was embarrassing.

The more you think about that game it is hard to remember anything we did not mess up. Reminded me of the Neeld years. 

Edited March 28, 20196 yr by old dee

Looks like Lockhart will play.  Which means at least two changes (May being the other).

Who might Lockhart replace?  Given he is 176cm and we have Viney, 175 cm and Spargo, 173 cm, I don't think we can play all three vs Geelong.  Assuming Viney is fit to play it may be Spargo that misses out.  A bit unlucky if he does because he worked hard vs Port; just not strong enough to get a grip on opp and make a tackle stick, or to bump anyone.

I really hope Sparrow doesn't get dropped, he was one of our better players.

Feel for Stretch if he is overlooked again for a debutante.

Edited March 28, 20196 yr by Lucifer's Hero

 

Hmmm these rushing in of debutants reeks of panic. I hope I’m wrong. 

  On 28/03/2019 at 04:02, Jaded said:

Hmmm these rushing in of debutants reeks of panic. I hope I’m wrong. 

I will second that one. Saw plenty of Lokhart last year and isn't too bad but this selection surprises me.

  On 28/03/2019 at 04:02, Jaded said:

Hmmm these rushing in of debutants reeks of panic. I hope I’m wrong. 

Or could be a shot across the bow.....I.e.. a wake up to all and sundry...play, perform, put in...or push off !!

 

  On 28/03/2019 at 03:39, Lucifer's Hero said:

Looks like Lockhart will play.  Which means at least two changes (May being the other).

Who might Lockhart replace?  Given he is 176cm and we have Viney, 175 cm and Spargo, 173 cm, I don't think we can play all three vs Geelong.  Assuming Viney is fit to play it may be Spargo that misses out.  A bit unlucky if he does because he worked hard vs Port; just not strong enough to get a grip on opp and make a tackle stick, or to bump anyone.

I really hope Sparrow doesn't get dropped, he was one of our better players.

Feel for Stretch if he is overlooked again for a debutante.

Stretch can get the ball but his disposal is ordinary on his good days. Have you considered that Viney maybe out?

  On 28/03/2019 at 05:32, old dee said:

Stretch can get the ball but his disposal is ordinary on his good days. Have you considered that Viney maybe out?

I understand Stretch's limitations but I still feel for him the kid. 

Yes, have mentioned in several threads 'if' Viney does not play. 

Lockhart's VFL Dreamteam scores.

 

  On 27/03/2019 at 21:49, Smokey said:

Understand your reservations, but you shouldn't confuse the fact some people choose to have a positive outlook with it being "blind faith". 

You'll find no one here actually has blind faith really, some (including myself), prefer to focus on the positives more than the negatives. In my case, because it simply makes the experience of following a football team more enjoyable and instead of looking to each game with anxiety, I look to each with excitement. I am a strong believer that happiness is a choice. It doesn't mean I or others have "blind faith" and are ignorant to our issues, we just make different choices. 

I feel this needs to be understood better on DL.

I guess 50 years of following the Demons have made me a bit anxious.

I still get excited and hope for the best, but I’ve been let down too many times to be completely positive when there are obvious injury and form concerns.

Of course I’m hoping like hell that we win, but just being a realist on current form it’s going to be a difficult prospect down at Cat Park.

  On 27/03/2019 at 08:00, david_neitz_is_my_dad said:

Just saw the weather. Cold, wet and windy. That should suit us.

Yeah no outside run won"t hurt at all under those conditions!

  On 28/03/2019 at 03:39, Lucifer's Hero said:

Looks like Lockhart will play.  Which means at least two changes (May being the other).

Who might Lockhart replace?  Given he is 176cm and we have Viney, 175 cm and Spargo, 173 cm, I don't think we can play all three vs Geelong.  Assuming Viney is fit to play it may be Spargo that misses out.  A bit unlucky if he does because he worked hard vs Port; just not strong enough to get a grip on opp and make a tackle stick, or to bump anyone.

I really hope Sparrow doesn't get dropped, he was one of our better players.

Feel for Stretch if he is overlooked again for a debutante.

Are you serious?? Spargo one of our worst!!!!