CHANGES: Rd 06 vs Gold Coast

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,100]

31 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

Spargo likely to miss with a rolled ankle - Old Dee will be devastated 

Disappointing he’s not in contention.

I thought our forward line has been too tall.

[Lil_red_fire_engine 10,132]

On 7/6/2020 at 6:34 PM, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

‘Thin ice’ was perhaps too dramatic, but while he’s a talent, he’s still very raw.  Will be a good player, but no rush at this stage.

6 tackles and is watched more at stoppage than any player on the park. Not getting much ball yet but when he does its quality. Unless his pressure acts drop he plays. 

[dazzledavey36 48,643]

8 minutes ago, big_red_fire_engine said:

6 tackles and is watched more at stoppage than any player on the park. Not getting much ball yet but when he does its quality. Unless his pressure acts drop he plays. 

Agree, 

He's showing up a lot of our more senior players with his defensive pressure. The likes of Melksham can hang his head in shame.

[Chelly 738]

1 hour ago, DemonOX said:

If Bennell doesn’t get picked based on the below this week then Goody can pack his bags. 
Weid should be picked too  

 

Of course, most Demons supporters want to hear how Harley Bennell is tracking, and Egan said he was impressed with the 27-year-old’s outing.

“He had really good balance in his game – offence and defence,” he said.

“He used the ball really well which he always does, and I think he finished with close to 35 possessions, so he was obviously around the ball a lot.

“He’s really calm and composed, and always makes the right choice. It was a really classy performance from him.”

 

Of course 35 touches by a classy disposer of the footy isn’t good enough for our selectors.

[Go the Biff 3,124]

My wishlist for this week

Out (all forwards) :
AVB - want to see a sign of a bloke completely out of form ? Watch him overrun the ball four times. He's out of touch
Hunt - like his uncle Andy Moir, Jayden will play one good game then disappear for weeks. His next good game isn't due for a while yet
Melksham - effort was deplorable. His best is quality. Dropping him may make in realise he's not a walk-up start & needs to put in more

In :
Weideman - desperately need him for structure if nothing else. Also, even when he's not clunking marks, he's rarely outmarked
Bennell - even with 50% game time offers more than my three omissions currently. Play him at half forward

Jones - also primarily at half forward. While I still don't rate his field kicking, he is a scoring threat from anywhere around the 50.

I've still got serious reservations about Smith as a footballer but I suspect the FD is wedded to this defensive mix. With Hibberd over the last two weeks showing that the "Hibberd role" doesn't need to be taken by anyone else just yet, I'd leave Rivers in, freeing up Harmes for a midfield role. I thought Pig was immense on Sunday.

[Pates 9,536]

2 minutes ago, Go the Biff said:

My wishlist for this week

Out (all forwards) :
AVB - want to see a sign of a bloke completely out of form ? Watch him overrun the ball four times. He's out of touch
Hunt - like his uncle Andy Moir, Jayden will play one good game then disappear for weeks. His next good game isn't due for a while yet
Melksham - effort was deplorable. His best is quality. Dropping him may make in realise he's not a walk-up start & needs to put in more

In :
Weideman - desperately need him for structure if nothing else. Also, even when he's not clunking marks, he's rarely outmarked
Bennell - even with 50% game time offers more than my three omissions currently. Play him at half forward

Jones - also primarily at half forward. While I still don't rate his field kicking, he is a scoring threat from anywhere around the 50.

I've still got serious reservations about Smith as a footballer but I suspect the FD is wedded to this defensive mix. With Hibberd over the last two weeks showing that the "Hibberd role" doesn't need to be taken by anyone else just yet, I'd leave Rivers in, freeing up Harmes for a midfield role. I thought Pig was immense on Sunday.

Don't disagree with the outs, I just wonder if we will bring Jones in given he didn't play in the scratch match due to soreness. 

Pig's return to form has been one of the few lights (along with Petracca), I'd be looking at dropping Lockhart and bringing back Jetta.

As a different thought (and throwing the magnets around a bit) we could bring back Oscar (cue collective groan from D-Land) and shift Smith into a forward role allowing us to stay with the three you've dropped, along with Lockhart for Jetta.

To sum up my Ins and Outs would be:
IN: Weid, Bennell, Omac, Jetta
Out: Melksham, Hunt, AvB, Lockhart

It would look something like this:

B:      Jetta                O McDonald               Hibberd

HB:   Lever                May                             Salem

?    Langdon         Viney                          Tomlinson

HF:     Hannan           T McDonald             Bennell

F:        Pickett            Weideman                Fritsch

R:       Gawn              Harmes                        Petracca

Int:     Brayshaw      Rivers           Smith                 Oliver

[Coq au vin 754]

7 minutes ago, Pates said:

Don't disagree with the outs, I just wonder if we will bring Jones in given he didn't play in the scratch match due to soreness. 

Pig's return to form has been one of the few lights (along with Petracca), I'd be looking at dropping Lockhart and bringing back Jetta.

As a different thought (and throwing the magnets around a bit) we could bring back Oscar (cue collective groan from D-Land) and shift Smith into a forward role allowing us to stay with the three you've dropped, along with Lockhart for Jetta.

To sum up my Ins and Outs would be:
IN: Weid, Bennell, Omac, Jetta
Out: Melksham, Hunt, AvB, Lockhart

It would look something like this:

B:      Jetta                O McDonald               Hibberd

HB:   Lever                May                             Salem

?    Langdon         Viney                          Tomlinson

HF:     Hannan           T McDonald             Bennell

F:        Pickett            Weideman                Fritsch

R:       Gawn              Harmes                        Petracca

Int:     Brayshaw      Rivers           Smith                 Oliver

Jones is an example of the problem not the solution. He bombs it into the fifty without looking. He’s a turnover king. He needs to retire. NOW.

[Coq au vin 754]

11 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Have to review Suns outfit first. (Assume Rowell is out). 

Defenders- Collins. Almost best FB in the league.  Harbrow. Great rebounder and user of the footy. Hanley
Mids- Greenwood, Holman, Miller and Swallow. Workers. Tough contested footy. Weller, Ellis, Anderson. Runners. 
Forwards- Talls. Day & King.  Smalls.  Bowes, Sexton & Ainsworth. 
 

so planning. Get another tall defender.  Can’t have Lever and Smith.  Need another tall forward. 
 

Defenders. 
Jetta. Omcd. Lever. Salem. May. Hibberd. 
Jetta in for Lockhart. Omcd in for Smith. if petty was fit, I’d play him FB. Lever play 3rd def & intercepts to help combat talls. Rivers shown good skills and run so keep in but start on the bench  

Mids. Need tough contested footy.  Whilst horrible for a few weeks, keep Oliver and Viney. Harmes stays in. Tomlinson to bench and rotate role.  Inside- Petracca. Viney. Oliver  outside - Brayshaw  Langdon. Harmes in rotation  

Ruck - Gawn (you bloody champion) 

Forwards. Balance needed. 2 talls. 3 opportunitists. One pressure small. Need to BRING IN WEID OR BROWN (and for 5-6 weeks). Keep Pickett. Melksham to play on Harbrow. Melksham on notice. Needs to show some dash & pressure. Sort through excess of mid sized half forwards. Bring in Bennell for skill and goalkicking. Out goes Hunt and Vandenburg. Didn’t do enough in last 2 weeks. 
 

Ins. Jetta. Omcd. Bennell. Brown/Weideman 

outs. Vdberg. Hunt. Smith. Lockhart. 
 

Bk- Jetta. Omcd. Lever. Salem. May. Hibberd. 

Mids - Langdon. Viney. Brayshaw.
Gawn Petracca  Oliver  

Fwd  - Hannan. Tmcd  Melksham   Pickett  Brown/Weideman. Fritsch  

int  Rivers  Harmes Tomlinson Bennell 

 

Melbourne will lose by fifty points at least.

[Pates 9,536]

9 minutes ago, President Dee Trump said:

Jones is an example of the problem not the solution. He bombs it into the fifty without looking. He’s a turnover king. He needs to retire. NOW.

Actually I think you would find that Jones has in the past been one of our better kicks inside 50 WHEN HE LOOKS TO PASS, I agree that he does go the long bomb too often but when he takes that pause and breath that Tim Watson was talking about with Lyon he actually delivers pretty well.

Compare that to Langdon, Oliver, Tomlinson, Harmes, Viney (and basically the entire list), who even when they do look to pass they generally turn it over.

Anyway, I don't see him in our best 22 but there's much worse depth out there.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Pates

[Go the Biff 3,124]

23 minutes ago, Pates said:

Don't disagree with the outs, I just wonder if we will bring Jones in given he didn't play in the scratch match due to soreness. 

Pig's return to form has been one of the few lights (along with Petracca), I'd be looking at dropping Lockhart and bringing back Jetta.

As a different thought (and throwing the magnets around a bit) we could bring back Oscar (cue collective groan from D-Land) and shift Smith into a forward role allowing us to stay with the three you've dropped, along with Lockhart for Jetta......

I don't see anything in Smith that would make a forward aside from the fact that he can jump. I know he kicked four in a low pressure pre season game but a couple of them he got standing on one leg alone in the goal square. Baffles me why people think he's a solution up forward.
Nev I'm not sure about. Despite what some track watchers tell us, I reckon he was playing hurt last year. For about five years he'd been one of the best one on one players in the comp. Last year he was getting beaten in one on ones by players who previously weren't fit to tie his bootlaces. So if he's back to pre-2019 Nev, get him in. But if he's still lacking the zip & power he displayed last year & the limited displays of 2020, I'd not be bringing him back.

And as said, I'm convinced the FD have determined to settle this defensive lineup. So I don't see Nev or OMac getting a look-in just yet.

On Jones, if he's still not fit I'd think (shudder) ANB would get a run for workrate & pressure on the young Suns defenders. Won't help our disposal issues though. Further with Jones, other posters have mentioned his habit of mindlessly bombing it in and they're right. However I reckon this occurs mainly when his bringing the ball out of centre clearances. Forward of centre I believe he's a bit more judicious with his "shot selection". Which is why I'd play him at half forward.

[Dr. Gonzo 22,398]

I posted this in another thread with some long-winded rationalisations

In: Jetta Jones Weideman Bennell OMac/Brown

Out: Viney/Brayshaw Smith Lockhart Vandenberg Hunt

This is what I would do this week to try and address some of these issues;

1 An extra key forward into the side - whether that is Weid or Brown or even Jackson we need another big body down there to at least compete if not take the mark. I would go with Weid bur we have the option of playing both Weid and Brown, moving TMac to defense and dropping Smith

2 following on from 1, Joel Smith should be dropped. Simply not good enough especially in a key defensive post. Maybe as a 3rd tall but we already have Lever in that role. Smith should be injury insurance for Lever and nothing more. We can either move TMac into defense if we bring in 2 key forwards or drop Smith for OMac if we bring in only 1 key forward.

3 Bring in Bennell. I don't care if he's underdone or if he needs to work on his defensive efforts. Other small forwards get games with continual poor defensive efforts without offering anywhere near the upside Bennell brings. Whether he comes in for Hunt, VDB or Melksham, take your pick. I'd bring him in for Hunt at this stage, he did nothing the last 2 games

4 bring in Jones - for all his faults Jones does have some composure and is a relatively decent kick. He can come in for one of VDB or Melksham. Melksham has been rubbish so far but he offers more upside than VDB as he has the capacity to kick 3 or 4 goals. Therefore I'd being in Jones for VDB

5 start Harmes in the middle. He was unsighted on Sunday until moving into the middle in the last where he was one of the reasons we got going. Viney or Brayshaw can make way for him at the moment. Petracca is currently our best player and Oliver for all his faults can actually win the ball. Oliver is on thin ice too but he is preferred over Viney at this stage who has hit a wall

6 bring Jetta in - Harmes to the middle makes way for Jetta in defence. Similar to Jones he offers composure and a relatively decent kick coming out of defense. He doesn't have a laser kick by any means but he often makes the sensible choice which is why he has such a high DE%

7 - If Brayshaw plays over Viney give him more time in the middle - i haven't noticed Brayshaw much this year which could be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective. I think he deserves an opportunity to at least show what he has, I think he's the type of player who thrives on the responsibility

Another consideration is ANB in for Lockhart. I'm not wedded to this one though but if we are going to play Lockhart it needs to be forward of centre.

I guess that means my squad would look like this

FB Jetta May Lever

CHB Salem TMac/OMac Hibberd

C Tomlinson Petracca Langdon

CHF Jones Brown/TMac Hannan

FF Pickett Weideman Fritsch

Foll Gawn Harmes Oliver

I/C Melksham Bennell Viney/Brayshaw Rivers

https://demonland.com/forums/topic/48397-garry-lyon-melbourne-supporters-are-gutted/?do=findComment&comment=1832077

 

Edited July 7, 2020 by Dr. Gonzo

[Deecisive 1,651]

i would prefer to see melksham rested, his kicking at goal and forward pressure has been woefully, and giving away stupid frees and 50 meter penalties is not smart either. Weid for melksham.

Bennell has to be given a chance, he should replace Hunt on the forward line

I really am not sure about Smith, he did his job most of the time, but gave away some dumb frees, the main problem with our backline is they all like to jump up and punch the ball, no-one likes to stay on the ground which results in the opposition getting easy goals when the ball goes over the back. these guys need to either trust each other more rather than competing with each other. rightly or wrongly our backline has not given up a lot of goals so i would tend to keep it as it is.

I must say i am bemused by our bombing the ball into the forward line, and how often we kick it straight to an opposition player, with no melbourne player around to mark or challenge. I often wonder how come the opposition players can read the ball but our players cannot.

Tom Mc needs to be given more room so that he can lead up the field to mark as that is his strength, unfortunately we are kicking it onto his head when he is surrounded by opposition players. our forwards need to disperse and not bunch up, giving players down the field more options to kick to in their own players in the forward 50.

Pickett's a keeper, yes he did not get a lot of touches but he was in there chasing and was starting to look dangerous. i think he will settle down once he gets a goal or two. He needs the experience working and bonding with the team.

Vdberg i would rest and bring in Jones again to play in the forward line, Jones is not the fastest, but he is able to mark and kick better than many for goal.

May on his kickouts, he did some nice kickouts but a couple of times he kicked the ball to Gawn who had 3 or more players on him. I would have thought that would have left a few melbourne players to run around by themselves and would have been a better option. But May still kicked it to contests where we were outnumbered.

Lastly Oliver, he is a brilliant player, but his turn over with no pressure on him in the dying minutes of the game was heartbreaking not only for Oliver but the whole team. As a team we need improve our disposal efficiency, especially in those instances where players are not under pressure and turn the ball over, if we could cut that out we would win games.

 

[Older demon 2,166]

The report from the scratch match as stated earlier praised Harley and Weid, was solid in their comments about New, and mentioned Brown played down back at CHB for balance. If you really want to make a statement and rest a player who was down in the pre season and hasn't fired a shot then Lever needs a rest as much as Hunt and AVB. Nibbler also got a mention for a serviceable hit out.

My concern is a feature of the Gold Coast game last week was the tackling pressure they put on Geelong and we clearly don't tolerate pressure well. A leading marking forward in Hawkins was the key to the Cats success.

[Go the Biff 3,124]

3 minutes ago, Older demon said:

My concern is a feature of the Gold Coast game last week was the tackling pressure they put on Geelong and we clearly don't tolerate pressure well. A leading marking forward in Hawkins was the key to the Cats success.

Excellent observations

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,150]

4 hours ago, big_red_fire_engine said:

6 tackles and is watched more at stoppage than any player on the park. Not getting much ball yet but when he does its quality. Unless his pressure acts drop he plays. 

Yes, he’s in my team.

 

 

[Deefensive Language 108]

On 7/6/2020 at 8:32 PM, dazzledavey36 said:

For a muscle bound wingman, he's incredibly soft. I'd be putting in the time into Oskar Baker instead.

https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/94395/tomlinson-a-rising-star

"Nick Riewoldt's been the player I've looked up to over the past few years, so I've been trying to replicate what he does on the footy field," Tomlinson told AFL.com.au

Boy, either priorities have drastically changed in 7 years or he's lost touch with his footballing identity.

Riewoldt was one of the most body-on-the-line courageous big guys the game has seen.

[Demon3 2,541]

I hear Adam Cooney on teh radio yesterday who i actually think has a pretty good way of looking at footy say Mitch Brown is as good a defender as he is a fwd..  maybe wotrh a try? 

[ManDee 7,073]

3 minutes ago, Demon3 said:

I hear Adam Cooney on teh radio yesterday who i actually think has a pretty good way of looking at footy say Mitch Brown is as good a defender as he is a fwd..  maybe wotrh a try? 

So no good down back either.

[Scipio 5,868]

48 minutes ago, Demon3 said:

I hear Adam Cooney on teh radio yesterday who i actually think has a pretty good way of looking at footy say Mitch Brown is as good a defender as he is a fwd..  maybe wotrh a try? 

According to the scratch match report he played down back for a bit, so maybe we'll see him come in and play a kind of swing man role. Maybe he and Weideman both will come in this week.

[Demon3 2,541]

16 minutes ago, Luther said:

According to the scratch match report he played down back for a bit, so maybe we'll see him come in and play a kind of swing man role. Maybe he and Weideman both will come in this week.

Its time to try a couple things.. even if its just a little refresh.. to make it look like teh coaches are seeing it like us. 

 

[rjay 23,855]

1 hour ago, Demon3 said:

I hear Adam Cooney on teh radio yesterday who i actually think has a pretty good way of looking at footy say Mitch Brown is as good a defender as he is a fwd..  maybe wotrh a try? 

Personally can't stand Cooney but he has played with Brown.

Was about to post...

Does anyone think Mitch Brown could be an option in defence?

[Scipio 5,868]

3 minutes ago, rjay said:

Personally can't stand Cooney but he has played with Brown.

Was about to post...

Does anyone think Mitch Brown could be an option in defence?

He's quite mobile and seems to position himself well in contests so I feel we could do much worse. As Demon3 said, it's the best time to try a different approach.

[Deemania since 56 6,119]

16 hours ago, Go the Biff said:

I've still got serious reservations about Smith as a footballer but I suspect the FD is wedded to this defensive mix. With Hibberd over the last two weeks showing that the "Hibberd role" doesn't need to be taken by anyone else just yet, I'd leave Rivers in, freeing up Harmes for a midfield role.

Good sense and a great opportunity for all three to start really shining. Rivers still impresses me with some classy potential; Harmes does need to be freed to the midfield and penetrate into and amongst the forwards at a shallower level - mobility, body strength, some closing speed, head-up delivery, spoils well and can mark if it is known from whence the ball arriveth on most occasions. Useful. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Deemania since 56

[Deemania since 56 6,119]

16 minutes ago, Luther said:

He's quite mobile and seems to position himself well in contests so I feel we could do much worse. As Demon3 said, it's the best time to try a different approach.

It may be worth a try but he is a forward and can score, subject to the compliance of the rest of the team. I'd suspect that Brownie is a little too light for a backline role, but faster and keeps closer than OMac. The skillset seems quite reasonable.

[Scipio 5,868]

7 minutes ago, Deemania since 56 said:

It may be worth a try but he is a forward and can score, subject to the compliance of the rest of the team. I'd suspect that Brownie is a little too light for a backline role, but faster and keeps closer than OMac. The skillset seems quite reasonable.

It's true that he's more slight than a lot of players of his height, but he has an additional 5cm and 8kg on Joel Smith, who hovers in that no mans land of being undersized for a key defence slot and not agile enough to lockdown the smalls.

I think at least trying Brown at CHB will straighten us up plenty and hopefully allow Lever to play his natural game, while May handles the number one forward. 

The fact that he can go forward when required and if match ups allow, would be a huge bonus IMO. At the moment we just don't have enough talls in the side to even think about swinging one back or forward.