Jump to content

Featured Replies

Unfortunately no real hope at the minute. Still coming to terms with the complete car wreck. I'm sure in time once the smoke settles the optimism will come round but at the minute 2019 is still firmly in mind. 

 

I think they will be pretty angry after the events of 2019 and work their butts off in the off season to make amends.

Add some recruits to address our needs in wingers and forwards and a bit of luck with guys like Vanders and Joel Smith as well as some natural improvement from our still very young midfielders like Oliver, Brayshaw, Petracca and Viney.

Ill back them in.

This BS certainly doesn't give me any hope:
https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2019-09-03/brayshaw-a-better-player-after-2019

“Obviously everyone would have preferred to have won, but I think there’s a lot of value in becoming a more rounded player and person, which is what I think we’ve got out of this year. It’s absolutely been a year of growth for everyone, not just me but coaches and players, and hopefully it’s that growth that propels us next year. I really believe that this is the hard year that will really set us up to be better next year. People will hear that and think, ‘Well we’ve had decades worth of bad years’, but I think we took some serious steps forward in areas that don’t really corollate exactly to wins. That will certainly go a long way to helping us become a better team and ultimately winning it all.”

PUKE!

 

Ok what gives me hope? Tough question. My fear coming into 2019 was that a few players in 2018 played "above themselves" through high confidence and gun players being at close to peak form. The worry was that a drop off/injuries to those key players would expose those lesser quality players and they would get found out quickly. It appears that happened in the worst possible way this year. 

We had major injury issues over the summer to key players that lead to them having an extremely poor fitness base, the confidence of some of the fit players were destroyed early on and those average players really rose to the surface exposing how poor our depth is. 

So what gives me hope is this. We SHOULD have the opportunity to ensure all our key players are given as close to a full pre-season as possible. We have Darren Burgess coming on board who is highly rated world wide to assist in preparing our players better. So really there is no reason (barring bad luck) for us to not have close to our best team available for round 1 next year. 

We will finally have Lever and May playing together with May now fully aware of what is expected of him. Jetta will be back, although admittedly slowing down, while Hibberd should be over his niggles that held him back. 

The middle and forward line is the major question mark, it's like the two lines were on completely different planets. This was an awful problem as we won enough of the ball and got it inside enough but we were so easy to score against on the rebound and even when we had multiple entries we still couldn't get anything out of it. The ball would go up the other end ONCE and we'd concede a goal. 

So I'm choosing to fall on the side of hope with this. That the club has/already has dedicated critical analysis of not only our major failings in that area, but what teams did to curtail our effectiveness and what we can do to counter it. 

I'm also backing on players who had bad years not doing it two years in a row, Tom McDonnald looked like he was finally coming good just as he got injured, while Viney himself would be the first to admit he was poor this year. Weids showed what he could do in the finals last year, but failed to develop this year. Maybe 2020 will be his year.

Pick 2/3 also provides us with a great opportunity to either get some top grade talent in our look to use it as leverage to improve our best 22 immediately. 

2019 was an utter failure but it can be used for future success if done right.

 

Edited by Pates

Nothing gives me hope right now. Hopefully Alan Richardson amd a few new players may help, but no guarantees!


I hope

a full squad train with intensity. The only injuries occur at training as players compete for positions.

Goodwin has confidence of full squad and no one is gifted  games. Ie no favourites.

i am able to get finals tickets and watch the Dees go all the way.

No hope for next season. Maybe hoping that we get smashed the first 5 weeks and that Goodwin gets sacked and God help us if Alan Richardson takes over.  Literally nothing to look forward to. We're a bottom 2 side next year. Terribly skilled and terribly slow and terribly coached. 

5 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

No hope for next season. Maybe hoping that we get smashed the first 5 weeks and that Goodwin gets sacked and God help us if Alan Richardson takes over.  Literally nothing to look forward to. We're a bottom 2 side next year. Terribly skilled and terribly slow and terribly coached. 

Love it. Comedy at its blackest.

 
On 8/29/2019 at 5:57 PM, DeeSpencer said:

FB: Jetta   May   Frost
HB: Salem  Lever  ######
C; Langdon   Oliver  #####
HF: Melksham  T Mc  #####
FF: Fritsch   Weid/Petty  ####
Foll: Gawn  Petracca  Viney
Int: Brayshaw  Harmes  and any of the rest of our depth players.

To bounce back hard I really think we need to fill 5 spots, with Langdon filling one. 

The Geelong team we beat in the finals last year added 5 new players to their line up and went from elimination finals to top of the ladder:

Rohan - trade
Dahlhaus - free agent
Atkins - mature recruit
Jordan Clark - first round draft pick
Miers - 2nd year player

All quick, all good 2 way players and a mix of skills. We've got guys like Lockhart, Baker and Chandler who could break out with good summers. We've got the chance to nail a draft pick or two. Skills will be important and especially at least one good goal kicking option but we don't have to work miracles to find the missing pieces to help the current team bounce back.
 

Good post DS. You've missed Hore who deserves a spot on the HBF and probably Hibberd (maybe depth). 

Salem is not a defender for mine. They need to find another spot for him or is lack of accountability / capability to defender in the air and on the run will sink him and us. 

Agree Lockhart will find a spot and am hopeful for Baker (but not confident). Doubtful on Chandler but hope to be wrong, ditto Dunkley. 

Joel Smith, if he remains and get's fit has some real X factor and can add pace and courage at both ends. 

Also, I'm hopeful that Sparrow and Jordon show enough to be at least semi-regulars too. Footy department would be confident of this I'm sure. The value of that confidence is to be proven. 

On 9/4/2019 at 8:53 AM, binman said:

Love it. Comedy at its blackest.

not sure if you watched this season or not? 


sorry I forgot the question !!!!!!!!

Is anyone up to date about Aaron Van den Berg and Joel Smiths ability to commence Pre-season training? Please aim me to the correct thread if there is Learnings about this. 

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: Brisbane

    It’s Game Day, and the Demons are back on the road with a massive challenge ahead — facing the reigning premiers, the Brisbane Lions, at their Gabba fortress. The Lions are licking their wounds after a shock draw in Tasmania last week, while Melbourne’s season hangs in the balance. Can the Dees defy the odds and pull off a miracle to keep their razor thin finals hopes alive?

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 68 replies
    Demonland
  • NON-MFC: Round 10

    The Sir Doug Nicholls Round kicks off in Darwin with a Top 4 clash between the Suns and the Hawks. On Friday night the Swans will be seeking to rebound from a challenging start to the season, while the Blues have the Top 8 in their sights after their sluggish start. Saturdays matches kick off with a blockbuster between the Collingwood and Kuwarna with the Magpies looking to maintain their strong form and the Crows aiming to make a statement on the road. The Power face a difficult task to revive their season against a resilient Cats side looking to make amends for their narrow loss last week. The Giants aim to reinforce their top-eight status, while the Dockers will be looking to break the travel hoodoo. The sole Saturday game is a critical matchup for both teams, as the Bulldogs strive to cemet their spot in the top six and the Bombers desperately want break into the 8. Sundays start with a bottom 3 clash between the Tigers and Kangaroos with both teams wanting to avoid the being in wooden spoon contention. The Round concludes with the Eagles still searching for their first win of the season, while the Saints look to keep their finals hopes alive with a crucial away victory. Who are you tipping and what are the best results for the Demons?

      • Thanks
    • 169 replies
    Demonland
  • PREVIEW: Brisbane

    And just like that, we’re Narrm again. Even though the annual AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Round which commemorates the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture to our game has been a welcome addition to our calendar for ten years, more lately it has been a portent of tough times ahead for we beleaguered Narrm supporters. Ever since the club broke through for its historic 2021 premiership, this has become a troubling time of the year for the club. For example, it all began when Melbourne rebranded itself as Narrm across the two rounds of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round to become the first club to adopt an Indigenous club name especially for the occasion. It won its first outing under the brand against lowly North Melbourne to go to 10 wins and no losses but not without a struggle or a major injury to  star winger Ed Langdon who broke his ribs and missed several weeks. In the following week, still as Narrm, the team’s 17 game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Dockers. That came along with more injuries, a plague that remained with them for the remainder of the season until, beset by injuries, the Dees were eliminated from the finals in straight sets. It was even worse last year, when Narrm inexplicably lowered its colours in Perth to the Waalit Marawar Eagles. Oh, the shame of it all! At least this year, if there is a corner to turn around, it has to be in the direction of something better. To that end, I produced a special pre-game chant in the local Narrm language - “nam mi:wi winnamun katjil prolin ambi ngamar thamelin amb” which roughly translated is “every heart beats true for the red and the blue.” >y belief is that if all of the Narrm faithful recite it long enough, then it might prove to be the only way to beat the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Sunday. The Lions are coming off a disappointing draw at Marvel Stadium against a North Melbourne team that lacks the ability and know how to win games (except when playing Melbourne). Brisbane are, however, a different kettle of fish at home and have very few positional weaknesses. They are a midfield powerhouse, strong in defence and have plenty of forward options, particularly their small and medium sized players, to kick a winning score this week after the sting of last week’s below par performance.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 11 replies
    Demonland
  • REPORT: Hawthorn

    There was a time during the current Melbourne cycle that goes back to before the premiership when the club was the toughest to beat in the fourth quarter. The Demons were not only hard to beat at any time but it was virtually impossible to get the better them when scores were close at three quarter time. It was only three or four years ago but they were fit, strong and resilient in body and mind. Sadly, those days are over. This has been the case since the club fell off its pedestal about 12 months ago after it beat Geelong and then lost to Carlton. In both instances, Melbourne put together strong, stirring final quarters, one that resulted in victory, the other, in defeat. Since then, the drop off has been dramatic to the point where it can neither pull off victory in close matches, nor can it even go down in defeat  gallantly.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
    Demonland
  • CASEY: Footscray

    At twenty-four minutes into the third term of the game between the Casey Demons and Footscray VFL at Whitten Oval, the visitors were coasting. They were winning all over the ground, had the ascendancy in the ruck battles and held a 26 point lead on a day perfect for football. What could go wrong? Everything. The Bulldogs moved into overdrive in the last five minutes of the term and booted three straight goals to reduce the margin to a highly retrievable eight points at the last break. Bouyed by that effort, their confidence was on a high level during the interval and they ran all over the despondent Demons and kicked another five goals to lead by a comfortable margin of four goals deep into the final term before Paddy Cross kicked a couple of too late goals for a despondent Casey. A testament to their lack of pressure in the latter stages of the game was the fact that Footscray’s last ten scoring shots were nine goals and one rushed behind. Things might have been different for the Demons who went into the game after last week’s bye with 12 AFL listed players. Blake Howes was held over for the AFL game but two others, Jack Billings and Taj Woewodin (not officially listed as injured) were also missing and they could have been handy at the end. Another mystery of the current VFL system.

      • Thanks
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • PREGAME: Brisbane

    The Demons head back out on the road in Round 10 when they travel to Queensland to take on the reigning Premiers and the top of the table Lions who look very formidable. Can the Dees cause a massive upset? Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 284 replies
    Demonland