25 minutes ago, BigFez said:

Gee I miss the training reports.  What the rules around attending training in the hub?  No chance I'm guessing?

Saty and his scooter are stuck in Echuca.

1 minute ago, loges said:

Pretty sure the 11 goal defeat wasn't 2018

Round 4 2018  - Sunday 15th April

Hawthorn 18.7 115 def Melbourne 6.12 48.

4 hours ago, Engorged Onion said:

 

Did you know Brad Green once 'played' with Manchester United?

And Todd Viney beat Boris Becker as a junior tennis player!

3 minutes ago, loges said:

Pretty sure the 11 goal defeat wasn't 2018

Round 4 2018

115 -48

Marks the start of Is Goodwin the right guy thread

28 minutes ago, BigFez said:

Gee I miss the training reports.  What the rules around attending training in the hub?  No chance I'm guessing?

Not unless you've got a MQ-9 Reaper parked in the garage.

4 minutes ago, loges said:

Pretty sure the 11 goal defeat wasn't 2018

I can remember it well.  I bet all of my Hawthorn mates because I was sure we'd gone past them.  One of the most depressing games I can remember.  All of this hope dashed by a team that was supposed to be rebuilding.  I suppose you get used to it as a Melbourne supporter.

4 minutes ago, BigFez said:

Round 4 2018  - Sunday 15th April

Hawthorn 18.7 115 def Melbourne 6.12 48.

beg your pardon for some reason I was thinking Geelong.

7 minutes ago, BigFez said:

I can remember it well.  I bet all of my Hawthorn mates because I was sure we'd gone past them.  One of the most depressing games I can remember.  All of this hope dashed by a team that was supposed to be rebuilding.  I suppose you get used to it as a Melbourne supporter.

Same. Was gutted that day and lost a few bets with friends as a result.

The Collingwood game in 2018 was similar, though less offensive on the scoreboard in the end. We were in good form and on a winning streak, but their midfield absolute ripped us apart that day. DeGoey started the game in the midfield and had a massive impact with 12 inside 50s, 10 of those leading to scores. We had a good run later in 2018, but we still got embarrassed by the Pies and it hurt.

I think some supporters may have glorified 2018 a bit over the years. We couldn't beat a top 8 team right until the end of the year and spent most of the year beating up on bottom teams. Had we been more competitive against top teams, we likely would've finished top 2 on the ladder and had an easier run in finals. It was still a good year, but not as good as some tend to remember it.

Edited July 17, 20205 yr by Lord Travis

7 minutes ago, loges said:

beg your pardon for some reason I was thinking Geelong.

That was the year Geelong beat us three points in round 1 with Max's missed set shot and then by 2 points in round 18 with Thuoy's set shot after the siren.

Weird looking back on some of the scores from that year.  Gees we could score back then.  Have a look at this patch.

But anyway I've gone off topic.  Bored waiting for the teams to be announced.

 

Edited July 17, 20205 yr by BigFez

1 minute ago, BigFez said:

Weird looking back on some of the scores from that year.  Gees we could score back then.  Have a look at this patch.

We won 20 quarters in a row and were the most potent team in the league! Seems another lifetime now

3 minutes ago, Lord Travis said:

Same. Was gutted that day and lost a few bets with friends as a result.

The Collingwood game in 2018 was similar, though less offensive on the scoreboard in the end. We were in good form and on a winning streak, but their midfield absolute ripped us apart that day. DeGoey started the game in the midfield and had a massive impact with 12 inside 50s, 10 of those leading to scores. We had a good run later in 2018, but we still got embarrassed by the Pies and it hurt.

I think some supporters may have glorified 2018 a bit over the years. We couldn't beat a top 8 team right until the end of the year and spent most of the year beating up on bottom teams. Had we been more competitive against top teams, we likely would've finished top 2 on the ladder and had an easier run in finals. It was still a good year, but not as good as some tend to remember it.

I remember that one too, it came just after that streak I just posted.  We were flogging everyone so that loss came out of the blue.  We had no answer for De Goey and even the big muppet Mason Cox kicked 5!  

6 minutes ago, BigFez said:

Weird looking back on some of the scores from that year.  Gees we could score back then.  Have a look at this patch.

A whopping % of 236.4 in those 4 games BF...yep I’m bored also.

11 minutes ago, BigFez said:

That was the year Geelong beat us three points in round 1 with Max's missed set shot and then by 2 points in round 18 with Thuoy's set shot after the siren.

Weird looking back on some of the scores from that year.  Gees we could score back then.  Have a look at this patch.

But anyway I've gone off topic.  Bored waiting for the teams to be announced.

 

Yes, I was at the first Geelong game and then in Thailand at a sports bar when they beat us after the siren. I think it p'd me off too much. Knew we'd smash them in the finals, should have beaten them 3 times that year.

Had a good win the week before against North, it was very Melbourne like to then come out and get smashed by Hawthorn. 

Edited July 17, 20205 yr by Ethan Tremblay

34 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Saty and his scooter are stuck in Echuca.

Where's Echuca, anything outside of Inner Melbourne, I'm lost

Been told some watched them train at Manly, but were kept at a distance

Assume Gold Coast will be the same

I noticed they went indoors for 'craft' this week, assume to practice some set ups away from eyes

Goody used to take them to a private school oval or the like for these type of sessions, when we used to have footy in Melb, if anyone can remember that

1 hour ago, Grimes Times said:

worked against GCS

Yes and no. If we had gone into that game with Tom as the one key forward and he went down we would have had no key forwards!

19 hours ago, Biffen said:

Perfect Half forward or Pocket in his decline.

He has been a battering ram and a finisher for more than a decade.

We now need a sharp shooter.

He's too slow for that role. They'll run off him.

6 minutes ago, A F said:

He's too slow for that role. They'll run off him.

Doesn't leave him too many positions then. 

17 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

Yep and then 3 grabs to Hawkins on a flank not long after....not paid.

One of the most biased games of umpiring i've witnessed.

Couldn't agree more re: the commentary team Rjay.  How the hell Chanel 7 ever got the coverage back is beyond me.  Certainly don't deserve it and never earned it at any point in the last 20 years or so.

They have no idea, offer no added value and very rarely cover any nuances of the game or players.

The inane platitudes and focus of Bruce on mostly the stars (in his eyes) drives me up the wall.  Zero criticism at any stage of any officials and their decision making.  Anything controversial (throws, obvious pushes in the back gone uncalled and holding the ball getting a free run tonight vs tight interpretation last week for example) mostly never gets a mention.

In future i am going to turn those idiots off and just watch the game in blissful silence.

Money and they probably pitched the idea of live sport being free to the masses, instead of pay per view. It's never about merit in these things, it's always about money. 

16 hours ago, Caligula's cohort said:

IN: Jones, Tomlinson and Smith in I reckon. 

OUT: Tmac, Jetta and Melksham. 

May to play forward, Smith to play on Gunston down back, Lever and Omac minding M.Lewis and O'Brien. 

Jonesy to replace Melk in the forward line. 

We need Tomlinson in, as the Hawks have 2 gut runners in Smith and Scully, and he can relieve Gawny in the Ruck. 

Oofa doof. That's a dangerous idea. Gunston way too clever for Smith. And they may well play Smith down back in place of Jetta, but I wouldn't be playing May forward. The backs need continuity together, not the shuffle of the deck chairs every week.

47 minutes ago, BigFez said:

That was the year Geelong beat us three points in round 1 with Max's missed set shot and then by 2 points in round 18 with Thuoy's set shot after the siren.

Weird looking back on some of the scores from that year.  Gees we could score back then.  Have a look at this patch.

But anyway I've gone off topic.  Bored waiting for the teams to be announced.

 

Lever dominated that Crows game.   He looked amazing.

Then did his ACL next game and hasnt been the same since.

17 hours ago, Caligula's cohort said:

May to play forward

We've gone from last in the league for points conceded from defensive half turnovers last year to 4th this year. May is a big part of that. Can't see this happening unless it's a late in-game change as a desperation tactic.

 

9 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Agreed.  Master tactician.  Master coach.  Nearly always out coaches our box.

I'm just not sure this Hawks team can execute his tactics.

Look, I agree that Clarkson is easily the greatest coach of the modern era, but in the case where his team isn't capable of being able to execute his plan consistently, it would mean he hasn't been that masterful. If you know your team's not up to it to play the style you're promoting, it's idiocy IMO to continue with it.

Does Clarkson have another plan? Because the thing about his game style is that's it's very similar similar to Guardiola's at Man City in the EPL. It's about stretching the opposition's defensive formation by moving the ball quickly around the neutral or defensive zone and then exploiting the gaps in the zone with pace and precision. But it doesn't work in soccer either if the players aren't capable of consistently hitting targets either.

Guardiola's sides often have unlimited money to spend on the best players, but when their better players have been injured, they've really relied on fast attackers and blistering counter attack, but Clarkson's side, as you and others have noted, doesn't have the leg-speed to exploit this either, so for mine, I'm not really sure what Clarkson is aiming to do with his current team and the system they play. It's too easy to combat against and without weapons in any of the playing thirds, Hawthorn's current team will struggle over the course of a full season.

1 hour ago, Lord Travis said:

Same. Was gutted that day and lost a few bets with friends as a result.

The Collingwood game in 2018 was similar, though less offensive on the scoreboard in the end. We were in good form and on a winning streak, but their midfield absolute ripped us apart that day. DeGoey started the game in the midfield and had a massive impact with 12 inside 50s, 10 of those leading to scores. We had a good run later in 2018, but we still got embarrassed by the Pies and it hurt.

I think some supporters may have glorified 2018 a bit over the years. We couldn't beat a top 8 team right until the end of the year and spent most of the year beating up on bottom teams. Had we been more competitive against top teams, we likely would've finished top 2 on the ladder and had an easier run in finals. It was still a good year, but not as good as some tend to remember it.

I don't think many have glorified that year. I think most people on Demonland remind others when they're putting us down, that we did actually make a prelim and so it was not a failed year. 

And despite us not being able to beat a top 8 team until a depleted West Coast in Round 22 and GWS in Round 23, we still managed to beat Geelong and Hawthorn under enormous pressure in sudden death games to packed MCGs. 

It was a very good year of progress and for mine nobody is glorifying it, just pointing out that we made a [censored] prelim.

41 minutes ago, binman said:

Doesn't leave him too many positions then. 

It doesn't. I think Jones is midfield depth this year. I wouldn't have kept him on the list personally, but he may prove to be good cover in the back stretch of the season.

18 minutes ago, A F said:

Look, I agree that Clarkson is easily the greatest coach of the modern era, but in the case where his team isn't capable of being able to execute his plan consistently, it would mean he hasn't been that masterful. If you know your team's not up to it to play the style you're promoting, it's idiocy IMO to continue with it.

He is still experimenting but whatever plan he comes up with he has a limited/aging/injury prone list and I reckon he knows it.  I think he is coming to terms with his team's inability to change game plans at the drop of a hat. 

He spent big with top draft picks to get Mitchell and O'Meara but both have been dogged by serious injuries and they may never be as good as they once were.  He had one first round pick in recent years, used it on Burton (?) and traded him against his will for Wingard.  This all says he is trying to take a shortcut to the next flag.  

Not sure that patience nor player development are his strong suits at this stage of his career so the next few years will be interesting for them.  Maybe Lewis was right and he should hand over the reins to S. Mitchell.

Anyway, I reckon we will win.

Edited July 17, 20205 yr by Lucifer's Hero