THANKS BUT NO THANKS by George on the Outer

[Demonland 73,140]

Thanks, but no thanks!

In a round where the club was supposed to thank their fans for the support during the year, the Melbourne Football Club chose to do otherwise with a 53 point loss to a team that sat 15th on the ladder. 

Don’t give us cheap jumpers that can’t be sold in the Demon shop.  Don’t give us vouchers to shop there, give us something on the field, which is why we come to the football in the first place.

It was a disgraceful performance, which started with a disgraceful team selection on the Thursday night.  It is all good and well to bring in a player like Kade Chandler to give him a taste of senior AFL football, when there is nothing left in the season.  But it was reprehensible to bring back a swathe of sub-standard players en-masse and expect anything other than a complete drubbing.

Put simply, players that have been tried and tried again and have failed, failed yet again.  And to bring them in alongside another group of players who ordinarily would not be expected to play senior football, meant that nearly ½ the side on the field was incapable of producing the skills necessary to play at this level. 

Thanks for that. 

We come along to watch NQR players?  Might as well go to the local footy.

Sydney scored its first goal within 30 seconds of the game commencing, then followed it up with another 2 before the Demons managed to find the big sticks.  Like the week before and the week before that, the Sydney scoring came from the opposition players being unmarked behind the ball.  All the Melbourne mids go in and at the ball, without realising that only one of them can actually get it.  If they do win the contest, then the first option is to handball to someone who is already surrounded by the opposition. 

Does the coaching staff seriously think this hasn’t been noticed by the opposition coaches?  All they have to do is sit outside, wait for Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw to get the ball, and it will either be handballed to them directly, or to the player standing right next to them. 

Max Gawn accumulated 52 hit outs and yet Sydney led the clearance count all game.  That is the result of this flawed approach. 

And let’s not forget that Sydney hadn’t won a game for 7 weeks! 

Thanks for that. 

Doing the same thing week after week and expecting a different result. That’s an inspiration to join up for next year.

Melbourne managed to claw back a couple of goals to be six points down at the first change, but then like the week before and the week before that, failed to bother the goal umpire for another two quarters. 

Thanks for that. 

The fans really like turning up to see their side not scoring for half the game. 

Suddenly other activities seem more attractive than the football.

Like last week the rain made conditions slippery.  Experienced players know to stay down in marking contests, because the ball will come out the back. 

Sydney fielded the youngest side in the competition this week, yet they knew how to play the conditions right. Time and time again Melbourne players flew against each other only to watch the ball slip over the back to the waiting Swans. 

Time and time again Melbourne players tried to pick the ball up off the ground instead of just kicking it forward. Time and time again the Demons choose handball instead of just a scrubby kick out of defence, away from the goals or away from congestion. This played into the Sydney game style as they were able to keep up the pressure and ensure the inevitable turnover. 

This time Sydney would like to thank the Demons for playing exactly as they expected, and had done all season. 

Up forward the sole consistent performer was Jake Melksham, who despite 3 goals, does that and nothing more.  Zero tackles for the game and an unwillingness to chase and pressure his opponent just sees the ball heading down the other end on a regular basis. 

Surrounded by  ANB, C Wagner and first gamer Chandler, the Demon forward line was non-existent save for Bayley Fritsch. 

But then it was easy for Sydney to drop Rampe back on him as no one else was any serious threat, and Petracca was moved further up the ground to try to provide some spark. 

Sydney were also helped by the Melbourne mids who are unwilling to attempt to kick for goal, instead choosing to head for the pockets or kick short to non-existent targets. 

The game itself just fizzled out, with Sydney kicking 5 in the final quarter to send their fans off after the game with high-fives and thanks for sticking with them.

In contrast the Melbourne players couldn’t get off the ground fast enough.  Hollow messages and hollow gestures to fans that have suffered through 50 years of the same are seen exactly for what they are. When the on-field performances match those of the words bandied about, then they will have meaning. 

The true damage of this and previous performances will be shown next year when the membership numbers plummet.  

When the membership team come calling the response from many is likely to be thanks but no thanks!

Melbourne 3.1.19 3.3.21 3.7.25 5.12.42 

Sydney Swans 4.1.25 7.3.45 10.3.63 15.5.95    

Goals 

Melbourne Melksham 3 Fritsch Neal-Bullen 

Sydney Swans Reid 3 Dawson McCartin Menzel  Papley Rowbottom 2 Bell Blakey 

Best 

Melbourne Melksham Oliver Viney Gawn Hibberd Brayshaw 

Sydney Swans Florent Reid Blakey Kennedy Parker Mills 

Injuries  

Melbourne Max Gawn (hamstring soreness) Christian Salem (leg) 

Sydney Swans Nil 

Reports 

Melbourne Nil 

Sydney Swans Nil 

Umpires Stephens Findlay Glouftsis 

Official crowd: 23,700 at the MCG