GAMEDAY: Rd 09 vs Port Adelaide

[Rocknroll 1,005]

That game last year haunts me still. 

 

Dominate the first quarter. Miss easy shots. Look like 2018.......then we were cut open. They target gawn and no one helps. Then made to look slow by 18 year old first gamers. 

 

[jnrmac 20,189]

1 hour ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

If we kick the first few goals then stay in front from there, we should win. 

I think if we are ahead at the final siren we should win

 

 

 

Unless Gray kicks a goal after the siren again.....

[loges 6,767]

1 hour ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

If we kick the first few goals then stay in front from there, we should win. 

Look forward to these pearls of wisdom every week. Should start a match day column Ethan's Pearls

[Diamond_Jim 12,629]

7 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

By the way serious question, where is watts. I know he had that leg injury but what has happened to him?

did a search and could not come up with much except that he was doing light training back in early March.

His wikipedia entry is of almost biblical proportions compared to most.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Watts_(footballer)

[BigFez 1,462]

10 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

Surely May has to take Dixon. If Oscar is on him Charlie will just dominate. 

I have no idea what to expect tonight, but if the players target Gawn like they did last year then I hope the boys are ready to defend him. 

By the way serious question, where is watts. I know he had that leg injury but what has happened to him? 

 

Apparently he is "finding touch".  He is available to play, but I suppose after such a nasty injury he will take some time to be ready.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

Anyone else feeling quietly confident about tonight's game?  I know that's not a normal feeling for Melbourne supporters as we probably have a closer relation to the feeling of dread, but I think we can knock these guys off.  That's not to say they aren't a good side but it feels like we match up pretty well on paper.

Dixon has been in red hot form, but we brought Steven May to the club for this very purpose.  He is the perfect match up and I can see him continuing his excellent form tonight in keeping him relatively quiet.

And while they've only had a few days to work on it, I'm hoping we have a few different plans up our sleeve for the centre square and how we rove to Gawn's taps.  Brisbane planned very well for it on Sunday and with Lycett out of the side, we need to take full advantage.  If we can at least break even then we win.  It's as simple as that.

[BigFez 1,462]

8 minutes ago, Rocknroll said:

That game last year haunts me still. 

 

Dominate the first quarter. Miss easy shots. Look like 2018.......then we were cut open. They target gawn and no one helps. Then made to look slow by 18 year old first gamers. 

 

Made us look weak and stupid and laughed in our faces.  I hope the players remember that match as clearly as I do.

[Ethan Tremblay 31,084]

Luke Jackson’s new haircut, keep a look out for it. 

[Wiseblood 24,637]

1 minute ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Luke Jackson’s new haircut, keep a look out for it. 

Clearly channeling the ghost of Nathan Carroll with his new look.

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,294]

4 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Anyone else feeling quietly confident about tonight's game?  I know that's not a normal feeling for Melbourne supporters as we probably have a closer relation to the feeling of dread, but I think we can knock these guys off.  That's not to say they aren't a good side but it feels like we match up pretty well on paper.

Dixon has been in red hot form, but we brought Steven May to the club for this very purpose.  He is the perfect match up and I can see him continuing his excellent form tonight in keeping him relatively quiet.

And while they've only had a few days to work on it, I'm hoping we have a few different plans up our sleeve for the centre square and how we rove to Gawn's taps.  Brisbane planned very well for it on Sunday and with Lycett out of the side, we need to take full advantage.  If we can at least break even then we win.  It's as simple as that.

I'm surprisingly confident. Even prior to the Lions game (which I always felt could go either way) I've felt we will win the next 3 games.  

I think Port are overrated and we are playing much better footy than them. 

I expect May to totally blanket Dixon. 

[dl4e 5,851]

There is no reason why we can't win this game. We have lost to geelong and bears by under a goal so are near the mark and I rate port worse than those teams. Lets hope we can remember how to win games.

[Young Blood 2,635]

Even though we lost on Sunday there was still a some signs of the confidence this group has in one another to compete and stay in games even when we've been outplayed. We were untidy with the football and clearly beaten around the ball but we still had a chance to win.

I haven't watched any Port games this year but they seem the same inconsistent team of they have been for some time. I think we're a better road team then they are and have a better list on paper. I hope we really come out aggressive and set the tone early tonight.

[Lucifers Hero 40,375]

Our plan assumes Max will win the hitout so we take attacking positions at stoppages but we have no plan B to defend or block the exits if the ball goes to ground. 

Without a plan to counter the op dominance on ground ball gets at stoppages it will be Sunday all over again: win hitouts, lose clearances. 

Various teams beat us this way.  Port is one of them. 

Would really like to see some of our mids on the defensive side of their op.  Port had +1 at stoppages vs Lions and were beating them (except on the scoreboard) until Lions astutely evened the numbers at the stoppages to stop the exits.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Lucifer's Hero

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,910]

10 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Our plan assumes Max will win the hitout so we take attacking positions at stoppages but we have no plan B to defend or block the exits if the ball goes to ground. 

Without a plan to counter the op dominance on ground ball gets at stoppages it will be Sunday all over again: win hitouts, lose clearances. 

Various teams beat us this way.  Port is one of them. 

Would really like to see some of our mids on the defensive side of their op.  Port had +1 at stoppages vs Lions and were beating them (except on the scoreboard) until Lions astutely evened the numbers at the stoppages to stop the exits.

Not sure if this is referring to a football strategy or the Queensland government's Covid plan.

[hardtack 10,659]

2 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

So what quarter will most of Westhoff's obligatory 5 goals occur?

The 5th, hopefully.

[jnrmac 20,189]

49 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

did a search and could not come up with much except that he was doing light training back in early March.

His wikipedia entry is of almost biblical proportions compared to most.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Watts_(footballer)

The probably just cut and paste the Demonland threads on Watts

 

[whatwhat say what 22,976]

weren't scores level at the end of q3 in round 1, 2019, and then they ran all over the top of us in the last with their bevy of young talent time?

i want to see harmes go straight to boak - he's been back to being their best mid for the last two seasons after being deployed as a half forward for a couple of years previous

how do we stop charlie? don't let him get the ball - if we win the contested footy, get it forward, kick goals with our mountain of f50 entries, it'll go a loooooooooong way to us winning

[Deemented Are Go! 3,684]

4 hours ago, Josh said:

Game day, bit weird. Getting through the border checkpoint tomorrow is gonna be a bit dicey...?

What’s in the smoker today, Josh?! ??

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

44 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Anyone else feeling quietly confident about tonight's game?  I know that's not a normal feeling for Melbourne supporters as we probably have a closer relation to the feeling of dread, but I think we can knock these guys off.  That's not to say they aren't a good side but it feels like we match up pretty well on paper.

Dixon has been in red hot form, but we brought Steven May to the club for this very purpose.  He is the perfect match up and I can see him continuing his excellent form tonight in keeping him relatively quiet.

And while they've only had a few days to work on it, I'm hoping we have a few different plans up our sleeve for the centre square and how we rove to Gawn's taps.  Brisbane planned very well for it on Sunday and with Lycett out of the side, we need to take full advantage.  If we can at least break even then we win.  It's as simple as that.

I agree Wise. I really like the way we are fighting games out and we are never out of the picture now. We seem to have fixed some massive issues we had in 2018 and it still needs a lot of tweaking, but all the basics seem to be there now. Port have only had 1 more day to recover and they have to travel, so it evens out. Our fitness seems to be starring at the moment, with the EPL wizard now on our side. Touch wood the younger guys will stay the course in this game. The midfield battle and clearances would seem to be the key, but with a hopefully dryer ground, we might sort this out a bit better. We had several players down last week, Harmes, Gus, Bennell and a few others and still nearly pinched it. Heres hoping.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,356]

2 hours ago, Deespicable said:

Does anyone else find it amazing that we went with the four smallest forwards on our list in Rd 1 against a tall Eagles side, reverted to a one-pronged tall attack against Richmond (Rd 5, game four I think)  and now we are going with three talls up forward for a night game. Does that sound like Goody has clarity about what structure to go with to you?

Thankfully the weather forecast for Brissy is great for tonight so our bigs should be able to hold on to their marks, unlike last week when the greasy conditions spelt disaster for them.

Goody is too rigid!

Hang on, he's changing the setup - Goody has no clarity!

[roy11 3,894]

1 hour ago, BigFez said:

Apparently he is "finding touch".  He is available to play, but I suppose after such a nasty injury he will take some time to be ready.

maybe doing some light work such as swimming, If i recall correctly that's one of the things he likes. 

[DemonOX 8,802]

1 hour ago, Wiseblood said:

Anyone else feeling quietly confident about tonight's game?  I know that's not a normal feeling for Melbourne supporters as we probably have a closer relation to the feeling of dread, but I think we can knock these guys off.  That's not to say they aren't a good side but it feels like we match up pretty well on paper.

Dixon has been in red hot form, but we brought Steven May to the club for this very purpose.  He is the perfect match up and I can see him continuing his excellent form tonight in keeping him relatively quiet.

And while they've only had a few days to work on it, I'm hoping we have a few different plans up our sleeve for the centre square and how we rove to Gawn's taps.  Brisbane planned very well for it on Sunday and with Lycett out of the side, we need to take full advantage.  If we can at least break even then we win.  It's as simple as that.

Yep I had a feeling that we could win this one after last weeks game against the lions which is highly unusual for me. 
 

My main worry is the tactics in the centre and the ability of goody to change it up within the game. He just doesn’t seem to be able to counter tactics of oppo coaches during the game. He seems to need a week to think about it. It’s very concerning. 

[Nelo 813]

Win this game and we are locks for the top 8. 

[BW511 2,688]

No doubt the Power will come at us physically, so it will be a case of who can get settled first and revert to playing footy.

Brisbane and the Power seem to have a similar arrogance around the ball, we need to just crush that from the get-go

[Bates Mate 4,510]

1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

The probably just cut and paste the Demonland threads on Watts

 

No mention of his love of swimming