Jump to content

Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Demonland

BARKING MAD by The Oracle

By Demonland, in Match Previews

Recommended Posts

Demonland    14,911

Demonland
Posted

There was so much hype proliferating about Melbourne’s prospects for season 2019 a mere four months ago, that one could be forgiven for thinking anyone contemplating the prospect of a bottom four finish for the Demons at the time was barking mad. That however, is the prospect that they face at the moment and a loss to the Bulldogs on Sunday would make it a virtual certainty. 

The club’s downward spiral after several years of moving steadily on an upward trajectory has been well documented if not well understood. The factors leading to its demise have also been discussed and debated ever since the opening round debacle on the MCG at the hands of Port Adelaide. I don’t propose to go into them here except to bring up the element of continuity.

One of the main ingredients in successful teams in our competition is the ability to achieve coherence in play from week to week meaning that teams that have changes forced upon them on a regular basis both between and within games will ultimately fail. This has been the lot of the Melbourne Football Club in 2019 and when we look at that injury list we can get an understanding of the disaster of a season that has confronted the team. The silver lining in the future may well be that a number of individuals who might not otherwise have received their opportunity as early as they have done this year but the fact remains that the continuity that can ensure that teams play well to their game plan has not been in place this season.

And so on to Marvel Stadium against the Western Bulldogs who have been almost as flakey as the Demons this year.

The two sides look evenly matched on the ground that Melbourne is visiting for the first time this year. It’s also a ground at which they have enjoyed recent success against their opposition and though the Dogs have struck a rare vein of form beating ladder leaders Geelong and finals aspirant Port Adelaide in Adelaide after coming close to victory over Collingwood, I’m not convinced about them. 

The tightness of the stadium strikes me as suiting Melbourne’s style of play far better than the MCG these days. Who knows, they might even discover ways of kicking goals from 35 metres out on a ground of this configuration given that they still have the ability to win the midfield clearances and get the ball inside their forward fifty metre arc. They simply need to finish things off.

I’ve been clamouring all year for more of the Maxy/Preuss combination but my pleas have, until now, fallen on deaf ears. It might now be forced heavily upon the selectors by virtue to injuries to the likes of Tom McDonald and Tim Smith (strangely, the latter isn’t even on the club’s injury list but he missed last week and was with the rehab group at training this week) which, together with Preuss’ form against the Blues, makes him a big chance to play up forward on Maxy’s return. In his previous games in that role he kicked two goals in both matches. When he’s up there in the forward line, his teammates stand taller.

So you can call me barking mad but I can see an upset brewing and accordingly, I’m tipping the Demons to get the better of the Bulldogs on Sunday and win by 25 points.

THE GAME  

Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, Sunday 14 July, 2019 at 3.20pm  

HEAD TO HEAD  

Overall Western Bulldogs 76 wins Melbourne 88 wins 1 draw   

At Marvel Stadium Western Bulldogs 9 wins Melbourne 8 wins  

Last Five Meetings Western Bulldogs 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins  

The Coaches Beveridge 0 wins Goodwin 3 wins   

MEDIA  

TV – Channel 7 Fox Sports3 live at 3.00pm

Radio –  TBA

THE LAST TIME THEY MET  Melbourne 18.11.119 defeated Western Bulldogs 10.9.69   at the MCG, Round 17, 2018      

The Doggies provided tough opposition until the main break but in the last half, Max Gawn put on a clinic in the ruck and gave his midfield an armchair ride as the team coasted to a 50 point victory. The Bulldogs however, did badly miss their hero, Marcus Bontempelli.

THE TEAMS    

WESTERN BULLDOGS   

B Jason Johannisen Jackson Trengove Hayden Crozier
HB Taylor Duryea Zaine Cordy Easton Wood
C Lachie Hunter Bailey Smith Patrick Lipinski
HF Matthew Suckling Josh Schache Sam Lloyd
F Aaron Naughton Marcus Bontempelli Tory Dickson
FOLL Tim English Josh Dunkley Jack Macrae
I/C Toby McLean Ed Richards Roarke Smith Bailey Williams 
EMG Bailey Dale Dale Morris Rhylee West Lachie Young 

NO CHANGE

MELBOURNE

B Jake Lever Steven May Neville Jetta
HB Michael Hibberd Sam Frost Christian Salem
C Jayden Hunt Jordan Lewis Nathan Jones
HF James Harmes Christian Petracca Bayley Fritsch
F Mitch Hannan Braydon Preuss Angus Brayshaw
FOLL Max Gawn Jack Viney Clayton Oliver
I/C Kyle Dunkley Jay Lockhart Alex Neal-Bullen Harrison Petty  
EMG: Jay Kennedy Harris Oscar McDonald Corey Wagner Josh Wagner

IN Max Gawn Neville Jetta Jake Lever Oscar McDonald Corey Wagner Josh Wagner

OUT Marty Hore (collarbone) Tom McDonald (knee) Sam Weideman (calf)

Injury List: Round 17

Jake Lever (knee) – available
Neville Jetta (knee) – available
Max Gawn (ankle) – test
Harry Petty (concussion) – test
Marty Hore (collarbone) – 2-4 weeks
Billy Stretch (foot) – 3-4 weeks
Jake Melksham (foot) – 4-5 weeks
Tom Sparrow (knee) – 4-5 weeks
Tom McDonald (knee) – TBC 
Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – TBC
Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – TBC
Jeff Garlett (shoulder) – season 
Joel Smith (groin) – season
Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season
Guy Walker (shoulder) – indefinite

PreviewRd172019.png

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Go To Topic Listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Social Media

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles

    RED AND BLUEPRINT 2019 by Whispering Jack

    The rusty red of the McDonnell Ranges and the blue skies above them provided the perfect backdrop that summed up everything about the Melbourne Football Club’s 2019 season. It set out the perfect red and blueprint for the club’s horror year. The club’s previous season was one of great promise but it ended in a calamitous way in Perth with an 11 goal defeat at the hands of the ultimate premiership side, the West Coast Eagles in a game where the Demons’ first goal came early in the third quar

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    WINDY DAY FOOTY by KC from Casey

    Windy day footy has always been the domain of those who play the game hard: on days when the breeze gusts all over the place and the ground has been sodden by recent rains, the player needs to get all aspects of his game together and be hard of body and mind, to concentrate and attack the football. The Casey Demons came out on their own deck in such conditions and under a mainly sunny sky and gave it a crack for half a game but they lost sight of the fundamentals of playing hard in difficul

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    TRECIMATED by George on the Outer

    A little more than two months have passed since Melbourne met and came close to beating the reigning premier West Coast in the preliminary final replay over in the West. At the time, the Demons had three wins on the board and now, nine rounds later and going into this week’s match, they have managed to add a paltry two more wins to the ledger.  The Eagles, in contrast, have moved to within percentage of second spot on the ladder despite their loss at home this week against Collingwood. Whil

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    SAME STORY, DIFFERENT SONG by George on the Outer

    Melbourne was still suffering from the same old story - a lack of AFL capable players from which to choose at the selection table - and the Western Bulldogs got to sing their song again. But wait, that wasn’t the Doggie’s song we’ve been hearing for the last 30 years, it was some other concoction and no-one knew the words to it but whatever it was, they got to mumble it with gusto after a huge 8 point win! The sad thing is that the Bulldogs (or Footscray or whatever they choose to call

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    DOGGED by KC from Casey

    On Sunday, the Casey Demons met the Footscray VFL under the roof at the same venue where their nemesis took them down in the 2017 grand final and the result left them with the same feeling of disappointment - this time with a seven point defeat that ended the club’s four game winning streak and made things a lot harder in terms of playing in this year’s final series.   And, as has so often happened this year, the Demons let the game get away from them with but failing to take advantage of th

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    BARKING MAD by The Oracle

    There was so much hype proliferating about Melbourne’s prospects for season 2019 a mere four months ago, that one could be forgiven for thinking anyone contemplating the prospect of a bottom four finish for the Demons at the time was barking mad. That however, is the prospect that they face at the moment and a loss to the Bulldogs on Sunday would make it a virtual certainty.  The club’s downward spiral after several years of moving steadily on an upward trajectory has been well documented i

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    THE MELBOURNE WAY by George on the Outer

    Much has been made by the coaching staff of playing a “Melbourne way” style of play. The nail-biting finish by the Demons in the dying minute of the game could not have been any more the case in point.   Leading by a game-high 38 points late in the third quarter, and by five goals at the final change, this should have been the catalyst for a romp home to an easy win.   But that is not the “Melbourne way” and the supporters, especially those with a severe case of MFCSS (aka intense inse

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    PINK AND BLUE CAN’T KICK TRUE by KC from Casey

    The Casey Demons took on the Northern Blues at home on Saturday  in a game that was crucial in terms of their hopes for September and they took away the valuable four points on offer after some worrying moments. Most of those worries were self-inflicted as a result of some shocking inaccuracy in front of goal, sloppiness in play and a little bit of indiscipline that all combined to make the game a lot closer than it should have been. The final scoreboard showed the Demons winning the P

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    GO FIGURE by Sam the Stats Man

    In May last year, a rampant Melbourne side demolished Carlton by 109 points at the MCG. The Demons did as they pleased and ran rings against a young, abysmal Blues combination. The Dees led in virtually every key performance indicator, notably entering the inside 50 metre mark 63 times to 33 and the superiority of their attack was highlighted by a 74% shooting accuracy rate (to 47%).  A little more than a year later the two sides face each other for the first time since that rout and the ta

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews 1

    GORN AT THE GABBA by George on The Outer

    With Melbourne leading the Brisbane Lions in the second term, and the game in the balance, a Max Gawn ankle injury signalled that the Demons were as good as gorrnnn for the match. Without a suitable 2nd ruck and (once again) forced to use either Tom McDonald, Tim Smith or Sam Weidemann in the ruck the Demons found themselves without a forward line that could kick a winning score. Not that anything really changed, as the forward line has been completely dysfunctional all season and one

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    GAMBIT by KC from Casey

    The opening gambit of Saturday afternoon’s game told us everything about who would be its main players and who would come out on top. The Casey Demons were eager to turn the tables on the Box Hill Hawks who beat them in last year’s grand final and then gave them a first up mauling at City Oval, Box Hill. Kicking with the aid of a strong breeze in the opening term, Braydon Preuss’ first hit out went straight to the diminutive Jay Kennedy Harris who pounced with a 70 metre shot at goal that sailed

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    MURDER BY NUMBERS by Sam the Stats Man

    The respective ladder positions of this week’s combatants tell the story of one side on the rise and the other in steep decline. Since their most recent meeting which took place early last year, the Dees and the Lions have changed positions. They are opposed to each again on the former’s home turf with the locals in fine fettle after blowing St Kilda off the park at Marvel Stadium.  The Lions’ home ground advantage has been a major consideration so far this year. They have won five out of s

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

×
×
  • Create New...