THE RETRO ROUND by George on the Outer

[Demonland 64,419]

We have seen it all before…

Yes, a wonderful idea to showcase what used to be in football. 

Big crowds, umpires who knew how to apply the rules and not opinions, high marks, skilful players.

But for the Melbourne supporters their retro is what it has been like for the past 10 years. Losing games, end on end, year after year.  Opportunities squandered in front of goal. VFL standard players running around at the MCG. Just more of the same, and the game against Collingwood was no exception.

Six set shots inside 50, no goal.

Collingwood seven unanswered goals either side of half time, five of those from Melbourne turnovers.

A total of 49 points from turnovers out of 70 for the opposition.

More score in the last quarter, than in the previous 3, but only when the game was lost.

30K spectators turn up (we can forgive a bit for the weather).

Yes, just like the old days, just like last week, just like the previous years. 

Why do we bother turning up to watch the same show and expect a different result?

In an appalling display of AFL football, both sides failed to score a major until Harrison Petty dobbed a goal in the dying seconds of the first quarter.  This meant Melbourne had won the quarter (big deal) and then they even extended the lead to 11 points mid-way through the 2nd. 

Then the retro started as Collingwood piled on seven unanswered goals, in the next 45 minutes to lead by 6 goals at ¾ time. Courtesy of multiple Melbourne turnovers, but in true retro style, by repeating the same mistakes again and again.

While most fans only ever “see” the end result, the midfield have a lot to blame for with this type of loss.  Consider Clayton Oliver, 7 critical errors.  Brayshaw 6, Harmes 3.  That’s 16 from those 3 players alone. 

Now compare with Collingwoods mids: Treloar, Sidebottom, Phillips, Pendelbury and Adams.  5 players and their total errorr ... five!

The much touted Gawn v Grundy match probably saw Grundy take the prize for the day, but only just.  It was when the ball hit the ground, that Melbourne were found wanting.  And that extended to all around the ground, as not a single Collingwood player had less than double figures in possessions.  

Melbourne in contrast had 4 who barely troubled the statistician. 

Well Melbourne came out and scored more in the final quarter, than it had for the previous 90 minutes.  But as the team was already six goals down on a cold and wet day, it was to little effect.  To top it off Steven May hobbled off with yet another hamstring injury, nothing new for the Melbourne supporters, as they had seen similar throughout the year. 

Christian Petracca looked lively up forward on multiple occasions, but just faded away for most of the intervening periods.  Bailey Fritsch provided the only genuine target in front of goals, with 10 marks, but then couldn’t convert, especially at critical times to finish the game with only 1.4.

This was again a typical retro moment for the Demon fans.  We had no less than six set shot kicks inside 50 for not a single goal.  Convert just a couple of those and the match is won. 

Collingwood, just like Richmond the week before were kicking majors from the boundary and outside 50.  We simply are unable, and multiple times just plain unwilling to take a shot when the chance arose. 

Jake Melksham was simply horrible, to match his equally horrible game from the previous week. But to harp on about it is not worthwhile, because the “bikkie barrel” is truly empty. 

The following players are due to pull on the boots at Casey this week: Hore, ANB, Jordon, J Wagner, Preuss, Keilty, Lockhart, Spargo, Stretch, Chandler, Maynard, Bradke and Bedford.  Hore will surely come in to replace the injured May, but of the rest who is worthy of senior selection, that hasn’t already been tried and failed, or just simply not ready?

If there was any doubt about the state of that bikkie barrel, consider we played OMac as a forward and back-up ruck.  And while he acquitted himself very well, including kicking his first goal in an AFL game, we simply have no others available to do the job.  We are already playing a 19 year old at FF, and one player who wasn’t on the list until half way through the season.

Questions must be asked about the coaching staff this week. 

The centre bounce set up saw one Melbourne winger dropping back to cover the HBF who was running into the middle, and so creating an extra in defence.  It was happening from the first bounce, but as the game evolved, it saw the Collingwood winger in Sidebottom standing on the wing all alone, unattended, no doubt because the Collingwood coaches saw it happening as did the Melbourne fans.  Small wonder he had 23 uncontested possessions out of his 28! 

To top it off at the final bounce of the game, both the Melbourne wingers stood 10m behind their Collingwood opponents on the wing as the ball was thrown up.  What in heavens name would possess any coach to adopt this tactic? 

But the Melbourne fans have seen it all before.  This week, last week and long into the past. 

The pity is that we will see it again next week as well.  

Melbourne are the only side that can create a retro than goes forward as well as back!

Melbourne 1.4.10 2.6.18 3.8.26 7.11.53 

Collingwood 0.5.5 5.6.36 9.8.62 10.10.70 

Goals  

Melbourne  Brayshaw Fritsch Gawn Hunt O McDonald Petracca H Petty  

Collingwood Mihocek 4 Pendlebury Varcoe 2 Crisp Thomas 

Best 

Melbourne Brayshaw Petracca Harmes Frost Oliver Fritsch 

Collingwood Sidebottom Mihocek Howe Treloar Brown Pendlebury 

Injured 

Melbourne May (hamstring) 

Collingwood Daicos (concussion) 

Reported 

Melbourne Nil  

Collingwood Nil  

Umpires Shane McInerney, David Harris, Andre Gianfagna 

Official crowd 31,903 at the MCG