Jump to content

Featured Replies

22 minutes ago, Josh said:

It's an actual talent to take Oliver, Petracca and Brayshaw combined with Gawn and be useless.

 

On paper that is the most talented starting midfield in the league, in practice on the other hand ?

They are overrated. Definitely not even close to being the most talented midfield. Gawn, Oliver and Brayshaw are all below average kicks.

 

Cheer up chaps

We're 17th.

 

And we had our best side on the park

 

?

Once again we are kicking to a forward line of small and medium forwards and surprise surprise we are getting routinely beaten in the air.  This is fundamental stuff. We are doing ourselves a disservice at selection and during the game. How many times was Gawn thrown forward? Especially with Nankervis off the damn ground. Maddening.

Even with the personnel we have, we can’t seem to find space in F50 like other sides. Our forwards don’t work for each other to provide space to lead into. The talent is lacking but the understanding also seems to be lacking.

Unable or unwilling to find the release kick or handball. Hand balling in circles and turning it over. Truly atrocious skills all day.

Feel sorry for Smith but if he is ever seen in defence again I’m going to throw up.

Oliver should hang his head after that. That kick at the end sums up his [censored] attitude. Someone, anyone, needs to pull him aside and give him a few home truths. He is a lazy footballer whose damage factor right now is zero.

Gus. I just don’t know any more

Viney will always be a B grader. He’s reached his ceiling and that’s what he is.

May was decent. He and Trac can hold their heads up. Hannan did his job.

 Overall, a really disheartening performance. Will be interesting to see what Goodwin says about it.

Actually, no it won’t.

 
1 minute ago, Watts the matter said:

Luckily we can look forward to a top 2 draft pick...oh wait.

North are going to be very happy with our no 1 draft pick


wow what a collection of cluster****s!! 

At times the intensity was there.  But gee, those lack of intent to properly execute the basic skills of footy.  That shows a lack of real focus in the minds of the players irrespective of talent.  The club has the talent to compete, we have enough good players to make the 8.  But we have a broken culture and leadership off and on the field combined with a lack of focus on skills. 

The question is why and why hasn't it been fixed.

If I was Goody, it would be back to basic, hitting targets under pressure, learning where to place the ball for advantage (we rarely do that). Teaching forwards to read the bloody ball as our midfield do a fast break (I could only see what was on tv, but how can the opposition continually be alone marking in our 50 from a centre bounce clearance) if they aren't kicking to where you want, run to where they are kicking it, and work out a better defensive system as there are always so many free players running around for oppo to move the ball to a better position and taught to keep running hard and not jog to the next content and then try to accelerate for the few metres when they realise the ball was still there and gettable.

At times today we played great footy, intense with pressure but then there is that shocking howler of a skill or stupid decision. (Few been named already).  I saw many great individual efforts from different players.  But they can't seem to realise they need to maintain it for the entire match.   Even with extra time we would not have won with our errors.   As they kill our momentum. 

Melksem, smith should go. Pickett needs to find his touch in the 2nd's or be taught to play in more space at times to get the release handball as he builds his confidence.

End of the year, we need a purge of assistants, bring in some class to guide goody.  The talent is there but its not been trained to succeed.   

 

23 minutes ago, SPC said:

I think the talent has been overrated and Goodwin can’t develop players

We had the best development man in the business . . . He pissee goody off last year it seems, perhaps because he told him how poor the structure was

 

Could someone who knows something about football please explain to me how is it that Weideman ( a tall forward that can kick straight) can't get a game in a team with a semi tall forward who is in poor form. Is he in the bad books for some reason or injured? With Hannan and Fritsch showing some good promise as 2nd string forwards,  and Kozzie running around desperate for some ground level ball  surely a tall forward would straighten things up a bit. Cant win finals by kicking bananas from behind the boundary line. Thank you. 


Clayton Oliver. As an earlier post suggested, “an arrogant lair”. I thought that he would be a superstar but his game is so predictable now. All opposition players know he will handball. 80% of his handballs are ineffective “ hit and hopes”. It’s about time he got the arze from the midfield.

Brayshaw’s 3rd in a Brownlow must have been one of the flukes of the century. The bloke plays like he couldn’t care less. Pizz him off to Freo.

Salem needs a rocket up him too. Rarely gets out of a canter. I think the apparition that was 2018 had some of these blokes thinking they were actually very good footballers. 

Outs: Lockhart, Kossi, Smith, Hunt, Tomlinson

Ins: Jetta, Jones, Oscar, Bennell, Weideman

Edited by ProperDee

Hunt does not have the nouse to be a forward, let alone the kicking skills. I'm not sure he's good enough full stop. If we are going to struggle up forward, at least get games into Jackson and Bedford. 

And as for Tomlinson, I suspect my initial thoughts were right. Weak as pi55.

 

 

Listened to the podcast with Glenn Bartlett during the week.

Thought he was doing ok till he scoffed at the question about there being pressure on Goody considering our garbage record over the past 18 months. Came across as arrogant and dismissive of the growing anger from the supporter base.

The excuse for last year was injuries etc. An aberration they said. With the best injury run I can ever remember we look to have given north a top 3 pick while managing to go backwards on even last years form. 

 

There is something unfixable about this club. Spent the day concreting and only remembered the game was on a few minutes ago. Realised the best way to spend my weekends was Demon free. Think I will take that approach every week now. The club has a mountain of a task to retain my 3 memberships next year. Im sure i wont be the only one.

 

Pathetic performance. I can't stand watching crap like that. So players are just terrible and not up to it. Melksham has to go 


I'd be binning this gameplan pronto. It doesn't work. We need to get better players as well. I don't want to see anyone here defend one player that isn't Petracca or Gawn. We were horrible, worst team in the league.

1 minute ago, ProperDee said:

Clayton Oliver. As an earlier post suggested, “an arrogant lair”. I thought that he would be a superstar but his game is so predictable now. All opposition players know he will handball. 80% of his handballs are ineffective “ hit and hopes”. It’s about time he got the arze from the midfield.

Brayshaw’s 3rd in a Brownlow must have been one of the flukes of the century. The bloke plays he couldn’t care less. Pizz him off to Freo.

Salem needs a rocket up him too. Rarely gets out of a canter. I think the apparition that was 2018 had some of these blokes thinking they were actually very good footballers. 

Outs: Lockhart, Kossi, Smith, Hunt, Tomlinson

Ins: Jetta, Jones, Oscar, Bennell, Weideman

I think I would make a statement and drop one of Oliver or Brayshaw and bring in one of the young mids, Dunkley, Jordan or Sparrow and we have to bring in Weideman, let’s see what he has got. 

1 minute ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

Give yourself a thrashing dazzle - you’re upsetting @Satyriconhome  

The coach is fine - Saty knows!!

The coach coaches then during the week, he sends them out at the weekend and watches them make appalling skill errors and decisions for AFL Standard players, knowing it will reflect on him, as it always does, rather than the the players who have practiced and practiced, but still make the same appalling errors

Am I right in hearing our first draft pick goes to Norf this year? Say it ain't so. 

14 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Woah. Why single out those 3? There are only about 3 who CAN kick/not turnover.

Talking midfield champ, read the full quote. 


“Was 2018 the outlier?“

Right now that looks like a resounding, emphatic, unequivocal, yes.

That was unacceptable by every measure.  

If the gameplan works, why do we only play it for short periods?

Why do we persist with players who frankly cannot cut it?

Why dont we show commitment to shut down opposition when they get going?

Why do we make such appalling decisions and skill errors?

Oliver should be dropped - he cost us at least 2 goals directly (handball to smith on his boots from 3 m away) and that woeful kick in the middle.  He gets the ball and his panic release makes him a liability.

Too many passengers, not enough pressure, not enough commitment to deliver on the plan.

Trac was a gem, Hibbard best game in ages.

It is really hard to feel anything good after that.  It is a [censored] time right now, and it would be nice to barrack for a team that actually cared.

1 minute ago, Return to Glory said:

Am I right in hearing our first draft pick goes to Norf this year? Say it ain't so. 

Yep. Likely no 1

 
4 minutes ago, faultydet said:

There is something unfixable about this club. Spent the day concreting and only remembered the game was on a few minutes ago. Realised the best way to spend my weekends was Demon free. Think I will take that approach every week now. The club has a mountain of a task to retain my 3 memberships next year. Im sure i wont be the only one.

 

Definitely would have preferred to be out in the fresh air than the last 2 hours of viewing. 

8 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Execution, execution, execution. That Oliver turnover in the last minutes summed it all up.

Nothing to do with Goodwin or the coaches, nothing to do with the system, everything to do with the players' failure to be able to execute even simple kicks/handballs, yet alone under pressure.

Petracca one of the few exceptions.

I agree to an extent and have posted as much - but what changes did Goodwin swing midgame when it was obvious we were going down again. Smith forward?


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

  • FEATURE: 1925

    A hundred years ago today, on 2 May 1925, Melbourne kicked off the new season with a 47 point victory over St Kilda to take top place on the VFL ladder after the opening round of the new season.  Top place was a relatively unknown position for the team then known as the “Fuchsias.” They had finished last in 1923 and rose by only one place in the following year although the final home and away round heralded a promise of things to come when they surprised the eventual premiers Essendon. That victory set the stage for more improvement and it came rapidly. In this series, I will tell the story of how the 1925 season unfolded for the Melbourne Football Club and how it made the VFL finals for the first time in a decade on the way to the ultimate triumph a year later.

      • Thanks
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • PREVIEW: West Coast

    Saturday’s election night game in Perth between the West Coast Eagles and Melbourne represents 18th vs 15th which makes it a tough decision as to which party to favour. The Eagles have yet to break the ice under their new coach in Andrew McQualter who is the second understudy in a row to confront Demon Coach Simon Goodwin who was also winless until a fortnight ago. On that basis, many punters might be considering to go with the donkey vote but I’ve been assigned with the task of helping readers to come to a considered opinion on this matter of vital importance across the nation. It was almost a year ago that I wrote a preview here of the Demons’ away game against the Eagles (under the name William from Waalitj because it was Indigenous Round).  I issued a warning that it was a danger game, based on my local knowledge that the home team were no longer easybeats and that they possessed a wunderkind generational player in Harley Reid who was capable of producing stellar performances playing among men a decade and more older than he.  At the time, the Eagles already had two wins off the back of a couple of the young man’s masterclasses and they had recently given the Bombers a scare straight after their Anzac Day blockbuster draw against the then reigning premiers.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
    Demonland
  • NON-MFC: Round 08

    Round 08 of the 2025 AFL Season kicks off on Thursday with a must-win game for the Bombers to stay in touch with the top eight, while the struggling Roos seek a morale-boosting upset. Friday sees the Saints desperate for a win as well if they are to stay in finals contention and their opponents the Dockers will be eager to crack in to the Top 8 with a win on the road. Saturday kicks off with a pivotal clash for both sides asthe Bulldogs look to solidify their top-eight spot, while Port seeks to shake their pretender tag. Then the Crows will be looking to steady their topsy turvy season against a resurgent Blues looking to make it 4 wins on the trot. On Election Night a Blockbuster will see the ladder-leading Pies take on the Cats, who are keen to bounce back after a narrow loss. On Sunday the Sydney Derby promises fireworks as the Giants aim to cement their top-eight status, while the Swans fight to keep their season alive. The Hawks, celebrating their centenary, will be looking to easily account for the Tigers who are desperate to halt their slide. The Round concludes on Sunday Night with a top end of the table QClash with significant ladder implications; both Queensland teams are in scintillating form. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

    • 66 replies
    Demonland
  • PREGAME: West Coast

    The Demons hit the road in Round 8, heading to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium. With momentum building, the Dees will be aiming for a third straight victory to keep their season revival on course. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
    • 492 replies
    Demonland
  • REPORT: Richmond

    The fans who turned up to the MCG for Melbourne’s Anzac Day Eve clash against Richmond would have been disappointed if they turned up to see a great spectacle. As much as this was a night for the 71,635 in attendance to commemorate heroes of the nation’s past wars, it was also a time for the Melbourne Football Club to consolidate upon its first win after a horrific start to the 2025 season. On this basis, despite the fact that it was an uninspiring and dour struggle for most of its 100 minutes, the night will be one for the fans to remember. They certainly got value out of the pre match activity honouring those who fought for their country. The MCG and the lights of the city as backdrop was made for nights such as these and, in my view, we received a more inspirational ceremony of Anzac culture than others both here and elsewhere around the country. 

      • Love
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • CASEY: Richmond

    The match up of teams competing in our great Aussie game at its second highest level is a rarity for a work day Thursday morning but the blustery conditions that met the players at a windswept Casey Fields was something far more commonplace.They turned the opening stanza between the Casey Demons and a somewhat depleted Richmond VFL into a mess of fumbling unforced errors, spilt marks and wasted opportunities for both sides but they did set up a significant win for the home team which is exactly what transpired on this Anzac Day round opener. Casey opened up strong against the breeze with the first goal to Aidan Johnson, the Tigers quickly responded and the game degenerated into a defensive slog and the teams were level when the first siren sounded.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland