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Featured Replies

Posted

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 themselves this week) are now within 1 game of the final 8 while the Demons languish near the bottom of the ladder, with the Blues nipping at their feet.  Were the teams really that far apart?  Or is the difference between making finals this year coming down to a couple of decisions either way in the matches?

Probably all of the above, as Melbourne had plenty of chances to kick goals, or as coaches love to say “take on the game”, but few Melbourne players did exactly that.  Errant handballs, inability to kill the ball in defence, unwillingness to kick the ball through the sticks, giving the responsibility to others, just meant those chances were squandered.

It is truly, truly frustrating for the fans to watch such rubbish, and have now been watching exactly the same for the past 16 weeks.

Yes a lot can be sheeted home to the injuries that the club has faced.  We still have the longest list of players unavailable of any clubs, and that has forced us to play sub-standard players to fill the gaps.  Worse is that the injuries have happened to “first 22” selections for long periods of time, and even when those players have returned, they are far from being in touch with the game.

Todays example was Neville Jetta.  The ever-reliable Neville, who never loses a contest, who saves the unsavable. Not today.  Likewise Jake Lever, who was all at sea in his first game back after yet another inj

Losing key forwards Sam Weidemann and Tom McDonald (on top of the missing Tim Smith)  meant we had a 19-year-old player in Harrison Petty, with the grand total of seven games under his belt, and having played as a backman during his time at the club, facing up at full forward! That is how desperate this club is for a body to fill the role.  That he did remarkably, and kicked three goals to boot, and took 5 marks is a true credit to the youngster.  He will get the job again next week because we have no-one else but he has earned it for next week.

The game was really a close battle all the time with barely a point separating the two sides at the first and second change.  The Dogs opened that to 6 points at ¾ time, but that was only courtesy of 1 goal 8 behinds.  Without the work of the backline, ably led by Stephen May, they really didn’t get an unpressured shot on goal.  It kept us in the game.

And in fact the Demons hit the front in the final quarter, but then the forwards ( because we don’t have any) were unable to kick a winning score, managing 2 goals 5 behinds.  Just a couple of those should have won the game, but when we have ANB and Mitch Hannan just running around and not doing much other than running around, then the Demons were never going to be winners.

Finally we got to see the Preuss/Gawn combination and it worked a treat.  This will continue, as we have no other options available, but it is still a good outcome.  Sadly we have too few in the middle who can take advantage of this dominance, with Angus Brayshaw way, way off his best with only 12 touches, and Clayton Oliver down to 17 for the game.

That was in sharp contrast to the four Bulldogs players with over 30 touches, including Dunkley (of the other brother variety) with 39 disposals including 24 contested possessions.

We were forced to use Jordan Lewis in the middle again, and he did a good job at keeping Bontempelli quiet, but it means we are losing the grunt that we have had before.  Once again this is a sign that there is something wrong with the likes of Brayshaw, that we are not using him around the ball, but we have no-one else.

Critics here will call for this player or that to be dropped, but while there were some very, very ordinary performances in this game, the fact is still unanswered….who would you bring into the side to replace them?  JKH, Wagner x2? Or others that have been tried and failed when given the chance earlier in the season.

Our stocks are at an all time low.  Yet, we just lost out in this game with a squad of beaten up players with too good a smattering of NQR’s filling the g

If only one thing is certain, then it is that when we have a half decent group on the field, it will be The Grand Old Flag that will be sung instead of some concocted drivel….but equally that will probably not happen again until next year.

Melbourne 3.2.20 6.4.40  7.7.49 9.12.66

Western Bulldogs 3.3.21 6.5.41 7.13.55 10.14.74

Goals

Melbourne Petty 3 Fritsch 2 Dunkley Hunt Lewis Petracca

Western Bulldogs Dunkley Lloyd R Smith 2 Hunter Richards Schache B Smith

Best

Melbourne Gawn Viney Salem May Petty Harmes

Western Bulldogs Dunkley Hunter Duryea Macrae Lloyd Bontempelli

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs McLean (hamstring)

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

Umpires Dalgleish, Williamson, Mitchell

Official crowd 26,781 at Marvel Stadium

ReportRd172019.png

  • Demonland changed the title to SAME STORY, DIFFERENT SONG by George on the Outer
 

Featured Content

  • AFLW REPORT: Collingwood

    Expectations of a comfortable win for Narrm at Victoria Park quickly evaporated as the match turned into a tense nail-biter. After a confident start by the Demons, the Pies piled on pressure and forced red and blue supporters to hold their collective breath until after the final siren. In a frenetic, physical contest, it was Captain Kate’s clutch last quarter goal and a missed shot from Collingwood’s Grace Campbell after the siren which sealed a thrilling 4-point win. Finally, Narrm supporters could breathe easy.

    • 1 reply
  • CASEY: Williamstown

    The Casey Demons issued a strong statement to the remaining teams in the VFL race with a thumping 76-point victory in their Elimination Final against Williamstown. This was the sixth consecutive win for the Demons, who stormed into the finals from a long way back with scalps including two of the teams still in flag contention. Senior Coach Taylor Whitford would have been delighted with the manner in which his team opened its finals campaign with high impact after securing the lead early in the game when Jai Culley delivered a precise pass to a lead from Noah Yze, who scored his first of seven straight goals for the day. Yze kicked his second on the quarter time siren, by which time the Demons were already in control. The youngster repeated the dose in the second term as the Seagulls were reduced to mere

    • 0 replies
  • AFLW PREVIEW: Collingwood

    Narrm time isn’t a standard concept—it’s the time within the traditional lands of Narrm, the Woiwurrung name for Melbourne. Indigenous Round runs for rounds 3 and 4 and is a powerful platform to recognise the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in sport, community, and Australian culture. This week, suburban footy returns to the infamous Victoria Park as the mighty Narrm take on the Collingwood Magpies at 1:05pm Narrm time, Sunday 31 August. Come along if you can.

    • 9 replies
  • AFLW REPORT: St. Kilda

    The Dees demolished the Saints in a comprehensive 74-pointshellacking.  We filled our boots with percentage — now a whopping 520.7% — and sit atop the AFLW ladder. Melbourne’s game plan is on fire, and the competition is officially on notice.

    • 4 replies
  • REPORT: Collingwood

    It was yet another disappointing outcome in a disappointing year, with Melbourne missing the finals for the second consecutive season. Indeed, it wasn’t even close, as the Demons' tally of seven wins was less than half the number required to rank among the top eight teams in the competition. When the dust of the game settled and supporters reflected on Melbourne's  six-point defeat at the hands of close game specialists Collingwood, Max Gawn's words about his team’s unfulfilled potential rang true … well, almost. 

    • 1 reply
  • POSTGAME: Collingwood

    Thank god this season is over. Bring on 2026.

      • Thumb Down
    • 379 replies

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