Jump to content

Featured Replies

Posted

Watching the Tigers-Power game today and the Lions-Roos game tonight, footy is a game on real intensity.  If we have not got real grit and energy and desire to win the footy, talent alone isn’t a factor. 

Loved the Martin-Prestia-Boak-PowellPepper grunt today and the Robinson-Zorko-Cunnington-Ziebell grunt tonight. 

Tackles

Head over the footy 

Smothers

Knock ons

Real hard chases and pressure

It made me question who are our MFC soldiers.  When the heats on, who gets it and looks for the contest. 

Oliver, Viney yes but who else? Jetta. Steven May showed recently his steel. Lockhart has shown me he has it. Others are harder to identify!

 

Couldn't disagree more to be honest.

We have plenty of 'grunt', and grunt isn't improving our delivery or use inside 50.

8 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Watching the Tigers-Power game today and the Lions-Roos game tonight, footy is a game on real intensity.  If we have not got real grit and energy and desire to win the footy, talent alone isn’t a factor. 

Loved the Martin-Prestia-Boak-PowellPepper grunt today and the Robinson-Zorko-Cunnington-Ziebell grunt tonight. 

Tackles

Head over the footy 

Smothers

Knock ons

Real hard chases and pressure

It made me question who are our MFC soldiers.  When the heats on, who gets it and looks for the contest. 

Oliver, Viney yes but who else? Jetta. Steven May showed recently his steel. Lockhart has shown me he has it. Others are harder to identify!

Harmes, the Jones boy & AVB (IF he returns).  Not sure he'll make the grade but Cwags hits in pretty hard also.

Would add ANB & Salem in there as well.  The latter two don't exactly body line the ball at every opp but that's probably not their forte'.  Both lay their fair share of tackles if my eyes aren't deceiving me.

 

8 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Watching the Tigers-Power game today and the Lions-Roos game tonight, footy is a game on real intensity.  If we have not got real grit and energy and desire to win the footy, talent alone isn’t a factor. 

Loved the Martin-Prestia-Boak-PowellPepper grunt today and the Robinson-Zorko-Cunnington-Ziebell grunt tonight. 

Tackles

Head over the footy 

Smothers

Knock ons

Real hard chases and pressure

It made me question who are our MFC soldiers.  When the heats on, who gets it and looks for the contest. 

Oliver, Viney yes but who else? Jetta. Steven May showed recently his steel. Lockhart has shown me he has it. Others are harder to identify!

I was at the Tigers-Port game yesterday and had these exact sentiments. It’s not so much grunt,  because we do have grunt players, but what really stood out was the constant running from the Tigers’ mids. Whether in attack or defence, they offer pressure and options: when they win a contest and break from it, there seems to always be 2 or 3 options. They also know where each other is - for example, I saw very few missed handballs or handballing to a stationary target.

Added to this, when you have a couple of legitimate marking forwards in Reiwoldt and Lynch, as well as some good half forwards and crumbers, it make the transition from back half stoppage to Forward 50 entry so much easier.

The Tigers play the game that we are trying to play, but without the ‘panic’. The intensity and ferocity of ‘panic ball’ is there, but clear heads, when it comes to distribution and decision making.

5 hours ago, 3183 Dee said:

I was at the Tigers-Port game yesterday and had these exact sentiments. It’s not so much grunt,  because we do have grunt players, but what really stood out was the constant running from the Tigers’ mids. Whether in attack or defence, they offer pressure and options: when they win a contest and break from it, there seems to always be 2 or 3 options. They also know where each other is - for example, I saw very few missed handballs or handballing to a stationary target.

Added to this, when you have a couple of legitimate marking forwards in Reiwoldt and Lynch, as well as some good half forwards and crumbers, it make the transition from back half stoppage to Forward 50 entry so much easier.

The Tigers play the game that we are trying to play, but without the ‘panic’. The intensity and ferocity of ‘panic ball’ is there, but clear heads, when it comes to distribution and decision making.

2 way running should be the first thing coached into players

Why do we always lack in that area?

5 hours ago, 3183 Dee said:

I was at the Tigers-Port game yesterday and had these exact sentiments. It’s not so much grunt,  because we do have grunt players, but what really stood out was the constant running from the Tigers’ mids. Whether in attack or defence, they offer pressure and options: when they win a contest and break from it, there seems to always be 2 or 3 options. They also know where each other is - for example, I saw very few missed handballs or handballing to a stationary target.

Added to this, when you have a couple of legitimate marking forwards in Reiwoldt and Lynch, as well as some good half forwards and crumbers, it make the transition from back half stoppage to Forward 50 entry so much easier.

The Tigers play the game that we are trying to play, but without the ‘panic’. The intensity and ferocity of ‘panic ball’ is there, but clear heads, when it comes to distribution and decision making.

Great call.

I feel like a lot of that stuff stems from trust in each other on field. We don't seem to have much of that for some reason. Very few players shepherd, even less move to useful spots when they don't have the ball. We seem to have no idea what each other is going to do. This is the reason we crowd the ball so much, fly for the same marks and bomb it inside 50. Less 'chaos ball' and more trust next year thanks Goody.

 
10 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Great call.

I feel like a lot of that stuff stems from trust in each other on field. We don't seem to have much of that for some reason. Very few players shepherd, even less move to useful spots when they don't have the ball. We seem to have no idea what each other is going to do. This is the reason we crowd the ball so much, fly for the same marks and bomb it inside 50. Less 'chaos ball' and more trust next year thanks Goody.

I think that you’ve nailed it regarding the trust - of course, part of that can be put down to this year’s team being so disjointed through injuries, so there has been very little consistency in the team personnel. It’s not necessarily injuries to key players that have hurt us the most this year, more that most weeks there have been enforced changes which have disrupted the flow.

Just now, 3183 Dee said:

I think that you’ve nailed it regarding the trust - of course, part of that can be put down to this year’s team being so disjointed through injuries, so there has been very little consistency in the team personnel. It’s not necessarily injuries to key players that have hurt us the most this year, more that most weeks there have been enforced changes which have disrupted the flow.

For sure. We've used more players than any other team this year, nearly the whole list. That's a big part of it for, but I think the chaotic game style also doesn't lend itself to trust as far as what's going to happen and what players are going to do. Bit of a deadly combination between those two factors. I hope we can get our coaching setup all sorted as early as possibly, have them nut out the style a bit more clearly and then spend the preseason hammering it into the players so it becomes more 'automatic' and they develop that trust.


We have plenty of grunt and intensity, but we lack the smarts, game style and cohesion to capitalise on our hard work.

If we manage to work out how to efficiently move the ball, our grunt and intensity will stand us in good stead.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • GAMEDAY: Collingwood

    It's Game Day and the Demons face a monumental task as they take on the top-of-the-table Magpies in one of the biggest games on the Dees calendar: the King's Birthday Big Freeze MND match. Can the Demons defy the odds and claim a massive scalp to keep their finals hopes alive?

      • Haha
      • Like
    • 280 replies
  • CASEY: Collingwood

    It was freezing cold at Mission Whitten Stadium where only the brave came out in the rain to watch a game that turned out to be as miserable as the weather.
    The Casey Demons secured their third consecutive victory, earning the four premiership points and credit for defeating a highly regarded Collingwood side, but achieved little else. Apart perhaps from setting the scene for Monday’s big game at the MCG and the Ice Challenge that precedes it.
    Neither team showcased significant skill in the bleak and greasy conditions, at a location that was far from either’s home territory. Even the field umpires forgot where they were and experienced a challenging evening, but no further comment is necessary.

    • 4 replies
  • NON-MFC: Round 13

    Follow all the action from every Round 13 clash excluding the Dees as the 2025 AFL Premiership Season rolls on. With Melbourne playing in the final match of the round on King's Birthday, all eyes turn to the rest of the competition. Who are you tipping to win? And more importantly, which results best serve the Demons’ finals aspirations? Join the discussion and keep track of the matches that could shape the ladder and impact our run to September.

      • Clap
      • Like
    • 216 replies
  • PREVIEW: Collingwood

    Having convincingly defeated last year’s premier and decisively outplayed the runner-up with 8.2 in the final quarter, nothing epitomized the Melbourne Football Club’s performance more than its 1.12 final half, particularly the eight consecutive behinds in the last term, against a struggling St Kilda team in the midst of a dismal losing streak. Just when stability and consistency were anticipated within the Demon ranks, they delivered a quintessential performance marked by instability and ill-conceived decisions, with the most striking aspect being their inaccuracy in kicking for goal, which suggested a lack of preparation (instead of sleeping in their hotel in Alice, were they having a night on the turps) rather than a well-rested team. Let’s face it - this kicking disease that makes them look like raw amateurs is becoming a millstone around the team’s neck.

      • Like
    • 1 reply
  • CASEY: Sydney

    The Casey Demons were always expected to emerge victorious in their matchup against the lowly-ranked Sydney Swans at picturesque Tramway Oval, situated in the shadows of the SCG in Moore Park. They dominated the proceedings in the opening two and a half quarters of the game but had little to show for it. This was primarily due to their own sloppy errors in a low-standard game that produced a number of crowded mauls reminiscent of the rugby game popular in old Sydney Town. However, when the Swans tired, as teams often do when they turn games into ugly defensive contests, Casey lifted the standard of its own play and … it was off to the races. Not to nearby Randwick but to a different race with an objective of piling on goal after goal on the way to a mammoth victory. At the 25-minute mark of the third quarter, the Demons held a slender 14-point lead over the Swans, who are ahead on the ladder of only the previous week's opposition, the ailing Bullants. Forty minutes later, they had more than fully compensated for the sloppiness of their earlier play with a decisive 94-point victory, that culminated in a rousing finish which yielded thirteen unanswered goals. Kicks hit their targets, the ball found itself going through the middle and every player made a contribution.

      • Like
    • 1 reply
  • REPORT: St. Kilda

    Hands up if you thought, like me, at half-time in yesterday’s game at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs that Melbourne’s disposal around the ground and, in particular, its kicking inaccuracy in front of the goals couldn’t get any worse. Well, it did. And what’s even more damning for the Melbourne Football Club is that the game against St Kilda and its resurgence from the bottomless pit of its miserable start to the season wasn’t just lost through poor conversion for goal but rather in the 15 minutes when the entire team went into a slumber and was mugged by the out-of-form Saints. Their six goals two behinds (one goal less than the Demons managed for the whole game) weaved a path of destruction from which they were unable to recover. Ross Lyon’s astute use of pressure to contain the situation once they had asserted their grip on the game, and Melbourne’s self-destructive wastefulness, assured that outcome. The old adage about the insanity of repeatedly doing something and expecting a different result, was out there. Two years ago, the score line in Melbourne’s loss to the Giants at this same ground was 5 goals 15 behinds - a ratio of one goal per four scoring shots - was perfectly replicated with yesterday’s 7 goals 21 behinds. 
    This has been going on for a while and opens up a number of questions. I’ll put forward a few that come to mind from this performance. The obvious first question is whether the club can find a suitable coach to instruct players on proper kicking techniques or is this a skill that can no longer be developed at this stage of the development of our playing group? Another concern is the team's ability to counter an opponent's dominance during a run on as exemplified by the Saints in the first quarter. Did the Demons underestimate their opponents, considering St Kilda's goals during this period were scored by relatively unknown forwards? Furthermore, given the modest attendance of 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park and the team's poor past performances at this venue, is it prudent to prioritize financial gain over potentially sacrificing valuable premiership points by relinquishing home ground advantage, notwithstanding the cultural significance of the team's connection to the Red Centre? 

      • Like
    • 4 replies