Jump to content

  • Podcast: No Merger Podcast &      
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Demonland

AINT THAT A CRYING SHAME by The Oracle

By Demonland, in Match Previews

Recommended Posts

Demonland    20,812

Demonland
Posted

It’s a crying shame that we happen to be playing against the resurgent St Kilda just as they have managed to overcome a rotten patch of form with an upsurge in momentum resulting from the sacking of its coach and the appointment of a new one.   

The Saints had a purple patch at the start of the season winning four of their first five games (including the one against the sloppy and sluggish Demons in Round 5) before collapsing into the sink hole that led to them parting ways with coach Alan Richardson and his ultimate replacement by caretaker Brett Ratten. 

In accordance with the standard when that happens, the Saints suddenly came alive and comprehensively beat the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium last week just as the Doggies were starting to make a play for the finals.  

Meanwhile, Melbourne’s nightmare season continued to roll along with another inaccuracy-marred performance that saw it roll over again in the final quarter of a very winnable game against the West Coast Eagles. Had it been able to win those matches this season, it might still have been within striking distance of the finals but instead, it sits behind Carlton which some weeks ago was languishing on the bottom before the sacking its coach.  

Once again, the season’s statistics are misleading and unhelpful because, while the Demons are streets ahead of the Saints in most of the game’s key performance indicators, they are so ineffective at converting such apparent advantages into wins on the scoreboard. The numbers don’t even bear repeating because, on a weekly basis, they favour the Demons against their opponents but when the players hit the ground, they spray their own set shots at goal and then watch the ball move the other way with efficiency that leads to easy goal scoring situations.   

The casual observer is left to opine that the club’s brains trust has miscalculated the ways to use the 6-6-6 system to the team’s advantage.   

The team that runs out onto Marvel Stadium on Saturday night will be well below the best that Melbourne can put on the field but let’s face it - there are others who have been badly hit by injuries and they manage to keep performing and win games. The Bombers are a case in point. 

Which means that the Demons have been exposed for a lack in depth players as well as the spirit and football nous required to win games.  

It ain’t happening at the moment and it won’t happen on Saturday night.  

Prediction St Kilda by 9 points.  

THE GAME St Kilda v Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday 27 July 2019 at 7.25pm    

HEAD TO HEAD    

Overall St Kilda 93 wins Melbourne 121 wins 1 drawn    

At Marvel Stadium St Kilda 8 wins Melbourne 5 wins   

Past five meetings St Kilda 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins  

The Coaches Ratten 0 Goodwin 0 wins   

MEDIA    

TV - Channel 7 Live at 7.00pm Fox Footy Channel Live at 7.20pm    

RADIO - Triple M 3AW ABC

THE LAST TIME THEY MET     

St Kilda 15.5.95 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 at the MCG, Round 5, 2019  The Saints ran the Demons off their feet on the outside and that told on the scoreboard despite getting the ball inside their forward 50 metre arc. Both sides had 20 shots at goal - the difference between the teams at the end? 40 points!  

THE TEAMS   

ST KILDA  

B Nick Coffield Nathan Brown Shane Savage
HB Callum Wilkie Jake Carlisle Hunter Clark
C Jack Billings Sebastian Ross Jack Newnes
HF Jack Sinclair Josh Bruce Ben Long
F Jack Lonie Tim Membrey Doulton Langlands
FOLL Rowan Marshall Blake Acres Jade Gresham
I/C Luke Dunstan  Nick Hind Ben Paton Jack Steele
EMG Josh Battle Darragh Joyce Matthew Parker Bailey Rice 

IN Ben Long

OUT Matthew Parker (omitted)

MELBOURNE

B Michael Hibberd Jake Lever Neville Jetta
HB Jordan Lewis Sam Frost Christian Salem
C Nathan Jones Clayton Oliver Oskar Baker
HF James Harmes Harrison Petty Jayden Hunt
F Christian Petracca Tim Smith Bayley Fritsch
FOLL Max Gawn Jack Viney Angus Brayshaw
I/C Oscar McDonald Alex Neal-Bullen Corey Wagner Josh Wagner
EMG Kyle Dunkley Marty Hore Braydon Preuss Sam Weideman 

IN Oskar Baker Oscar McDonald Tim Smith

OUT Jay Lockhart (omitted) Steven May (hamstring) Braydon Preuss (omitted) 

Injury LIst: Round 19

Tim Smith (calf) – available
Oscar McDonald (illness) – available
Jack Viney (concussion) – test
Harry Petty (ankle) – test
Jake Melksham (foot) – test
Marty Hore (collarbone) – test
Sam Weideman (calf) – test
Billy Stretch (foot) – test
Tom Sparrow (knee) – 2-3 weeks
Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – TBC
Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – TBC
Tom McDonald (knee) – season
Jeff Garlett (shoulder) – season
Joel Smith (groin) – season
Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season
Guy Walker (shoulder) – indefinite

PreviewRd192019.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

    OVERPOWERED by George on the Outer

    In a dismal display against Port Adelaide, Melbourne showed it had learnt nothing from their previous week’s loss to Brisbane. Port, in contrast, after losing to St.Kilda, addressed their failings, and as a result made the Demons look like a second-rate side.  Melbourne failed to score a goal in the first quarter, and the first time it seriously troubled the goal umpire was saved until a minute before half-time.  Did it get any better?  No with their meagre three goals for the sec

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    DESPERATION OF THE MOMENT by Whispering Jack

    Melbourne’s recent win against Hawthorn highlighted how important Max Gawn’s ruck domination is for the team. A week later however, that domination continued but its effect was totally blunted by the Brisbane Lions midfield and, as a consequence, what could have been an easy win over a leading AFL contender turned into a disappointing but close loss and a sense of desperation now looms over the club as the halfway mark of the season approaches. This week’s opponent in Port Adelaide also und

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    THE FOUR POINT FAIL by George on the Outer

    Melbourne went down by 4 points in a thrilling finish against Brisbane, but they failed by more than the 4 points.     They also failed to score the 4 points necessary to keep them in the race for the finals, and now find themselves sitting 6 points outside the top 8, but effectively 2 games outside (even though they have a game in hand).   The Demons had more than enough opportunities to win.  Six very easy shots on goal failed to bother the goal umpire with a major and ultimate

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    NORTH OF THE BORDER PART 2 by The Oracle

    The travelling COVID circus moves north of the border yet again and, unless at some time in the near future, Papua New Guinea opens its borders, this could be the last time this phenomenon happens. And as fortune would dictate, the resurgent Demons are walking directly into the sights of the locals from the bright lights of Brizvegas to Carrara - the scene of some long-forgotten (and deservedly so) battles with one of the Lions’ former incarnations, namely, the Brisbane Bears. But unli

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    ON THE NOSE by George on the Outer

    One of the Hawthorn Football Club’s valued sponsors is Azep® Nasal Spray and given the thrashing handed out to the Hawks in today’s game, it would appear that they need a huge supply of the sponsor’s product because they are simply on the nose. This condition was caused by the sheer dominance of the Demons, led magnificently by skipper Max Gawn with 27 hitouts and 22 disposals including two clearances. Around him in the middle were Christian Petracca with 29 touches, Clayton Oliver (also on

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    THE PREMIER LEAGUE by Whispering Jack

    So the new man under the pump is Clarko, which demonstrates how sad but predictable the football media is these days. In an age where each AFL team’s form can be topsy turvy and unpredictability is the order of the day, the coach of a team that has played five out of the top six teams from the previous season and sits with a 3/3 win loss record is this week’s whipping boy.   This comes admittedly on the back of a bad fortnight from the Hawks who in recent years have exhibited an enormous

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    SUNSMART by George on the Outer

    If you don’t want to get sunburnt, you follow the Sunsmart rules.  Melbourne took the advice and with their season on the line, avoided getting burnt by the Gold Coast Suns, with a gripping 17 point win. It was a match that could have gone either way, with the sides within a kick of each other for all but the final minutes of the final quarter. Melbourne had stretched the lead earlier in the game to 18 points, but that quickly evaporated to a neck and neck race to the finish.  Finally,

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    NORTH OF THE BORDER by The Oracle

    The outcomes of Melbourne’s recent games against the Gold Coast Suns are a pretty good barometer of how the teams are faring. The Demons easily accounted for them twice in 2018, the last win being a 96-point cakewalk at the MCG in Round 20 when they scored a whopping 21.17.143 to 7.5.47. Ironically, Melbourne’s score of 9.3.57 at the first break that afternoon is leading its highest score for a full game to date this year by 3 points. In those days, they played fast, skillful football, moved th

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews 5

    PACK YOUR BAGS by George on The Outer

    The scene was captured by the TV camera’s before the match with a view of the Melbourne side’s bags packed next to the team bus to facilitate their flight up north to the AFL hub where they will play their next matches. However, on the basis of the efforts against Richmond, unless things change, and change rapidly, there will be some who will be told to pack their bags on a more permanent basis. Once again, the supporters got much the same story from this match against Richmond, as

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    SOUTH OF THE BORDER by the Oracle

    Thankfully they moved this week’s game from Sydney where the sun shines and the virus breeds ever so slowly and almost nobody returns a positive test. The change of fixture comes at precisely the right time to allow everyone in town to head to the MCG on Sunday at around 3:30pm, not to catch up with what’s going on inside the ground but rather, to do what’s fashionable for woke folk in 2020 — pulling down statues. It’s time for Kevin Bartlett and Leigh Matthews to go but you can’t touch Norm Smi

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    LESSONS IN LOSING by George on the Outer

    Turn up for the game and look like you want to win it.  Melbourne lost this game to Geelong, a game after a couple of extended breaks, looking like they were at the end of a 22 game season. Right from the start there was a lack of intensity across the board, as the Demons played exactly the type of game that the ageing Geelong list wanted. Geelong repeatedly played possession footy, to avoid having to run those ageing legs, something that Melbourne failed to exploit.  To use the oft quot

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    QUARRANTINO by Whispering Jack

    At a little after 4.00pm last Saturday, the MCG ceased to be the centre of the AFL universe. That was when the AFL’s el supremo Gil McLaughlin announced that the Bombers’ Conor McKenna had returned a COVID-19 positive result and declared that the game set for the following day between Essendon and Melbourne was postponed.  What followed was truly the stuff of a pulp fiction novel. We witnessed a suitcase load of mental gymnastics and spin calculated to let McKenna (and the Essendon Football

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

×
×
  • Create New...