On 23/04/2019 at 03:17, george_on_the_outer said:

yes he does, and he doesn't know how to lead. 

This is true.

Since we have not had a coach who played as a forward for most or all of Sams career with us, it is an indictment on our development of him and development of synergy among all forwards.

I understand the need for a blood letting, but if you watched Casey lose on the weekend ( to kids) you would realise there are not many kicking the door down to play. Sadly the better players were the whipping boys who many have said are not AFL standard.

C Wagner and Spargo need to be dropped.

Both caused momentum killing turnovers when the game was slightly on our terms in the first half.

If we get spanked this week, then it's time to start dropping a high profile player a week to give them a massive wake up call that's no longer 2018. T Mac, Hibberd and Lewis should be the first 3 casualties. 

I'm feeling surprisingly confident about this game. They've been labelled 'soft' among other things by the media. Our season is on the line here, either win or prepare for 2020... the choice is in the players hands.

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:30, Caligula's cohort said:

I'm feeling surprisingly confident about this game. They've been labelled 'soft' among other things by the media. Our season is on the line here, either win or prepare for 2020... the choice is in the players hands.

We know how that has previously worked out. We seem to have 4 or 5 line in the sand games a season.

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:32, jnrmac said:

We know how that has previously worked out. We seem to have 4 or 5 line in the sand games a season.

Melbourne seem to play better when they are underdogs. Season on the line, senior players playing for their career, the club under heavy scrutiny. Should be a cracker! 

If this doesn't put a rocket up them maybe I should get my friend to send another letter to Goodwin!

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:29, Bring-Back-Powell said:

C Wagner and Spargo need to be dropped.

Both caused momentum killing turnovers when the game was slightly on our terms in the first half.

If we get spanked this week, then it's time to start dropping a high profile player a week to give them a massive wake up call that's no longer 2018. T Mac, Hibberd and Lewis should be the first 3 casualties. 

Is that a genuine answer... as in - they're not aware and they don't care? 

I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think we're that far away.

We're getting the ball into attack more than enough times to kick a winning score but for whatever reason the forwards haven't 'clicked' just yet. From this point I think we're trying to put the pressure on, but if you go back and look, every time we try to hunt the opposition we end up with 2 or even 3 players trying to shut down 1, leaving too many free options for them to get out. Almost every single time this happens the opposition has scored the Chinese checkers goals.

If we can clean up the defensive pressure to stop them getting out the over the back goals will dry up. Turn those moments into turnovers and we're good. That's our backup route to goal, but obviously if the forwards start to get it together we should be winning more than we are now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no 'company boy', I'm as disappointed/[censored] off as the next man, I just don't think we're that far off.

In regards to the Tigers game though, I can't see how we can clean up these things in 4 days. Stranger things have happened I guess.

I sense a drubbing of 100+ points. We are a laughing stock again. I'm pretty close to losing interest in AFL.

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:05, titan_uranus said:

 

Pretty much every one of your comments on Weideman for the entirety of his career to date has been that he's not good enough and/or won't ever be good enough, but suddenly now he might actually be OK and it's the club's fault?

Not to mention the 10goal loss we may have tomorrow will see the AFL removing us from the Anzac eve fixture, which was another the sky is falling gem

We have to do something different to win tomorrow. We are getting beat the same way every week. All teams are pushing numbers back against us to stop us marking, knowing that we haven't got the crumbers or leg speed, and combined with our high press leaky defence, that we are easily opened up on transition. Im looking forward to what we do at selection and if there will be any pointers to a change up happening. But I'm going to be [censored] off if we just do a couple of like for like swaps, change nothing and the same thing happens again this week.

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:05, titan_uranus said:

I can't believe you'd consider dropping Hore, he was one of our best against St Kilda.

Good comments otherwise. As poorly as Hibberd and Fritsch are playing, I think we're better off at the moment in seeing if we can get form out of them in the AFL rather than subbing in more VFL-level players for them. That might not remain the case if they don't pick up form soon, though.

Agree with this.

The Sydney game is a good example. We were much better at defending the ground at the SCG and that put significantly higher amounts of pressure on Sydney. They weren't getting easy out the back marks and goals. Franklin only kicked 1 and whilst he had a few more shots, they were from 50 or on an angle (i.e. weren't all simple shots like most of St Kilda's were).

Pretty much every one of your comments on Weideman for the entirety of his career to date has been that he's not good enough and/or won't ever be good enough, but suddenly now he might actually be OK and it's the club's fault?

Did you miss " might" . We will never know with the game plan of bombing it long and high. That is quite obviously not high on his skill list. Why bother playing a guy who cannot operate in that environment. Either change the delivery or change the player. 

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:49, leucopogon said:

I sense a drubbing of 100+ points. We are a laughing stock again. I'm pretty close to losing interest in AFL.

I have had that feeling since saturday.

  On 22/04/2019 at 07:22, Demonland said:

I'm interstate. Thanks for starting the thread. 

Where is the Werridee team?!?!

  On 23/04/2019 at 03:47, picket fence said:

I can just see Selection Committee playing loser mentality and making 3  changes where 

6 or 7 would be closer to the mar

6+ changes would be catastrophic for any team.

  On 22/04/2019 at 22:41, grey wolf said:

Seems obvious to me .. but not Goody et al... that we need to restructure the forward line to hold it in there longer... you can’t have Trac, Melksh, Preuss, Weed and TMac as 5 of your 6."... too big too slow too inflexible .. I’d keep Preuss as the big target and also to ruck in the forward half so Max helps out the wall.. make a choice between  Trac and Melksh ... make a choice between TMac and Weed ... then you have 3 smalls for pressure ... Jeffy, Hunt, and Corey or Spargo, Stretch, and Lockhart, or Sparrow, ANB and Chandler ... Jeff Farmer, Aaron Davey and Keeny Emselle.... at least show the supporters the coaches are trying!!

Off the smoke gw? Your worst (most coherent) post ever. 

  On 23/04/2019 at 02:31, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

In my view, our backline would be looking a lot better if our forward line functioned properly. There is insufficient pressure in the forward half which allows the opposition to deliver the ball quickly and easily to their forwards. Playing Richmond's forwards is a tough ask, but if our forwards placed more pressure on their defenders, it would make the job of our defence a lot easier.

Agree. Our forward half would also look a lot better if our kids could lower their eyes and hit a target.

  On 22/04/2019 at 21:57, SPC said:

We are again the laughing stock! Had mates into me all weekend.. 

They're not mates.

They're d*$#ks. 

Or are you 12 years old?

Or are they Hawthorn "fans"?

Edited April 23, 20196 yr by pitmaster

  On 23/04/2019 at 06:39, Radar Detector said:

Agree. Our forward half would also look a lot better if our kids could lower their eyes and hit a target.

But goes two ways - there has to be a target to hit. Thus the lack of connection that Goodwin has referred to. A combination of players being down on form, down on confidence and not having enough time together.

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:29, Bring-Back-Powell said:

C Wagner and Spargo need to be dropped.

Both caused momentum killing turnovers when the game was slightly on our terms in the first half.

If we get spanked this week, then it's time to start dropping a high profile player a week to give them a massive wake up call that's no longer 2018. T Mac, Hibberd and Lewis should be the first 3 casualties. 

Agree with your outs. Garlett and Lockhart to come in.

I'm also open either to TMac out (rested if he is genuinely playing hurt as he appears) and T Smith in; or TMac to defence to find touch and Fritsch to go forward.

  On 23/04/2019 at 04:48, FireInTheBelly said:

I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think we're that far away.

Me neither, but I do think it's going to take us the first half the season to sort out.

THE BRIGHT SIDE by Whispering Jack

I don’t often agree with Dermott Brereton but he came close to the mark last week when he labelled Melbourne a “team of downhill skiers” that works much harder offensively than it does defensively.  And he was looking at the bright side of the team’s game plan.

That proposition has been clear since before the season started. It was obvious from the first JLT game against Richmond when the team leaked multiple goals in a short space of time as players gave metres away to opposition forwards. The same thing applied when the team went forward - there were no desperate acts to keep the ball in the forward regions.  This has been a feature of Melbourne’s game ever since.

And nothing was more emblematic of that style of play (or embarrassing) than the way the Demons finished off their game last Saturday against the Saints.

With 1 minute and 10 seconds left on the clock, the St Kilda was leading by 28 points. The ball was kicked into the Saints’ forward pocket where the two tallest Demons, Max Gawn and Braydon Preuss, were standing among a group of half a dozen as the ball descended on the waiting pack. 

Now, the game was all but over and the four premiership points were already in St Kilda’s pocket but that doesn’t mean that the defence suddenly had the licence to be the bystanders as Tim Membrey marked without the pressure of the two tall Demons, one punching from behind and the other moving across to force a contest. But it didn’t happen and what made it worse was the lapses in the following minute that enabled a mark on the siren and another goal to Jack Billings. 

That was the difference between Melbourne and St Kilda - the lack of concentration and application for the full 100 minutes. It also marked the difference between the team Friday night performances last September and what is the shell of that side today. 

It was hard to watch the Easter Sunday game between Geelong and Hawthorn and to realise that what is virtually the same team personnel wise, eliminated both of them from the finals last year. 

Despite all this, the result of this game is not cut and dried. The Tigers only beat the Swans by 22 points at Marvel Stadium which was also Melbourne’s winning margin against the same team on their dung heap. 

Miracles have been know to happen at this time but only to those who look on the bright side and make them happen. In Melbourne’s case that might be the case if  every player reverted to their 2018 mindset and worked harder defensively when the ball is in both halves of the ground.

THE GAME  

Richmond v Melbourne on Wednesday 24 April 2019 at 7.35pm at the MCG  

HEAD TO HEAD  

Overall Melbourne 75 wins Richmond 105 wins Drawn 2  

At MCG Melbourne 63 wins Richmond 70 wins Drawn 1  

Past five meetings Melbourne 2 wins Richmond 3 wins  

The Coaches Hardwick 2 wins Goodwin 0 wins

MEDIA  

TV - Channel Seven Mate Fox Sports Live at 7.00pm  

Radio -  TBA

THE LAST TIME THEY MET  

Richmond 15.12.102 defeated Melbourne 8.8.56 in Round 5, 2018 at the MCG  

The Tigers played with the Demons for three quarters and then turned on the afterburners in a matter of moments to win by 46 points.

THE TEAMS  

RICHMOND   

B Nathan Broad David Astbury Dylan Grimes
HB Nick Vlastuin Shane Edwards Bachar Houli
C Brandon Ellis Dion Prestia Kamdyn McIntosh
HF Daniel Rioli Jack Ross Jason Castagna
F Jack Riewoldt Tom J Lynch Dustin Martin
FOLL Toby Nankervis Josh Caddy Kane Lambert
I/C Liam Baker Noah Balta  Jack Higgins Sydney Stack
EMG Shai Bolton Jack Graham Connor Menadue Ivan Soldo 

IN Jack Riewoldt

OUT Shai Bolton (Omitted)

MELBOURNE

B Marty Hore Sam Frost Jordan Lewis
HB Bayley Fritsch Michael Hibberd Christian Salem
C Nathan Jones Jack Viney Jayden Hunt
HF James Harmes Sam Weideman Christian Petracca
F Alex Neal-Bullen Tom McDonald Jake Melksham
FOLL Max Gawn Clayton Oliver Angus Brayshaw
I/C Jeff Garlett Jay Lockhart Tim Smith Billy Stretch 
EMG Declan Keilty Oscar McDonald Tom Sparrow Corey Wagner 

IN Jeff Garlett Jay Lockhart Alex Neal-Bullen  Tim Smith Billy Stretch

OUT Neville Jetta (knee) Braydon Preuss (shoulder) Charlie Spargo (omitted) Corey Wagner (omitted) Josh Wagner (omitted) 

Injury List: Round 6

Braydon Pr euss (shoulder) – 1 week
Steven May (groin) – 4 weeks
Mitch Hannan (knee) – 4-5 weeks 
Jake Lever (knee) – 4-5 weeks 
Jay Kennedy Harris (knee) – 4-6 weeks
Joel Smith (groin) – 4-6 weeks
Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – 4-6 weeks  
Neville Jetta (knee) – 10-12
Kade Kolodjashnij (concussion) – TBA 
Guy Walker (shoulder) – indefinit e 
Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season

  On 23/04/2019 at 06:39, Radar Detector said:

Agree. Our forward half would also look a lot better if our kids could lower their eyes and hit a target.

Like Spargo?

  On 23/04/2019 at 07:02, praha said:

Like Spargo?

That's a fair comment. When he does get the ball he seems to use it well, except when he needs to kick long. But he doesn't get the ball enough and he doesn't seem to know how to defend. It's that last part of his game that needs serious improvement.

  On 23/04/2019 at 06:50, bing181 said:

But goes two ways - there has to be a target to hit. Thus the lack of connection that Goodwin has referred to. A combination of players being down on form, down on confidence and not having enough time together.

100% agree with that too.