Well this is different we have a 7 day break and time to recover, that will be a bonus.

Minimal changes maybe Jetta injured and bring in Hibberd or Lockhart. Brown was good and late in the third he went down back and took some telling marks when GWS looked to be getting on top. I suspect Smith was on the bench or up forward so he stays. Cover for McDonald Tiipenwooty down back would have been Nev's role. Jackson had some Hamstring tendon damage so it was always going to be a 6-8 week injury so I wouldn't rush him back. Not sure who I would drop for Sparrow and Harmes so if it aint broke don't touch it

 i believe there is plenty of scope for change .This is a team where so much is left to so few .With the exception of May Langdon Oliver Petracca Gawn and Viney you could drop just about anyone without making any real difference ,.I drove home last night wondering how we won and in the end put it down to the 2 gift goals from Mumford which showed that there is still some things right in the universe .harmes jackson hibberd tmac hannan and sparrow should all come under consideration .

13 hours ago, wizardinoz said:

Smith is badly out of form. Only had 4 disposals this game compared to his regulation 5. 

He done is job defensively, GWS had 3 big blokes plus Green and between Smith, May, Lever and Tomlinson I can’t think of one contest where they were out marked.  
 

No way Harmes comes back in.  Unfortunately he has offered nothing this year and does not deserve a spot

14 hours ago, JTR said:

In Lockhart, Harmes

Out Jetta, Smith

Nearly ... in Lockhardt, Harmes and Smith rotating forward; Picket could be managed for a rest. 

14 minutes ago, Demons11 said:

He done is job defensively, GWS had 3 big blokes plus Green and between Smith, May, Lever and Tomlinson I can’t think of one contest where they were out marked.  
 

There were clear breakdowns in communication throughout the game though. Uncontested marks without a defender in sight. Players getting out the back. At times the defense looked very brittle.

It shouldn’t hurt us against a dysfunctional team like Essendon. But it’s a risk. Whether it requires a change in personnel I don’t know. But Smith looked very shaky until the last quarter.

1 hour ago, drysdale demon said:

Which team do you actually support and why are you wasting time being on this site?

I'm here for a balanced discussion. The Facebook page of the official melbourne fc page is a real reflection of the tolerance and patience levels of fans.  On here though, people seem to speak far too glowingly of a team that has been consistently inconsistent.  

I'm not here to be positive, I'm here to discuss wherethe list is at and what we need to do to win a flag. Not just be an 8-12th team

Don't understand all the suggestions for ANB and Hunt and/Pickett out??

Was I watching a different game last night?? We had Speed and used it to good effect!

Plus they all kicked goals as a result of their Speed

In 2nd Qrt, Pickett and Hunt affected a clearance from D50, Petracca won the HtB free and the ball was kicked forward to Hunt who tapped onto Pickett  -  end to end by these 2 blokes

 

6 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

I'm here for a balanced discussion. The Facebook page of the official melbourne fc page is a real reflection of the tolerance and patience levels of fans.  On here though, people seem to speak far too glowingly of a team that has been consistently inconsistent.  

I'm not here to be positive, I'm here to discuss wherethe list is at and what we need to do to win a flag. Not just be an 8-12th team

There’s having balanced discussion, and then there’s sinking the boots into the club at every opportunity. You’re the latter. 

1 hour ago, Pollyanna said:

Interesting that the coach thought the best place for ANB, aerobically fittest at the club, was on the bench with rookies Pickett and Baker when the heat was on in the final minutes.

Saw this and thought exactly the same

But then again, they'd done a heap of work before that and potentially was a case of get them off if spent and try to lock down

9 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

I'm here for a balanced discussion. The Facebook page of the official melbourne fc page is a real reflection of the tolerance and patience levels of fans.  On here though, people seem to speak far too glowingly of a team that has been consistently inconsistent.  

Citing facebook as a realm for balanced discussion. Still chuckling. Thanks doc - I just wish you had insight into your own posts - they would probably cheer you up a bit. 

1 minute ago, Dr.D said:

I'm here for a balanced discussion. The Facebook page of the official melbourne fc page is a real reflection of the tolerance and patience levels of fans.  On here though, people seem to speak far too glowingly of a team that has been consistently inconsistent.  

I'm not here to be positive, I'm here to discuss wherethe list is at and what we need to do to win a flag. Not just be an 8-12th team

Dr D cool your jets a bit then, its hard to have a balanced discussion with someone injecting so much emotion into their posts.

It is more than likely our last game for the year and the difference between winning and losing is immense. If we don't win against Essendon all hell will break loose and the whole club will be de-stabilised. I know some people want this but I personally don't.

If we win as we should and head into the off season feeling we can push for top four next year we can retain players and maybe even attract more. The club is in a better position.

So at this stage not many changes. There was a lot to like last night from players that offer good depth. Spargo, Baker and Hunt played well. This is our Grand Final. Lets just win it. 

10 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

I'm here for a balanced discussion. The Facebook page of the official melbourne fc page is a real reflection of the tolerance and patience levels of fans.  On here though, people seem to speak far too glowingly of a team that has been consistently inconsistent.  

That isn’t even close to true.

Facebook is almost entirely hysterical/superficial fluff. 

No forum is perfect but Demonland is far and away the best for intelligent discussion.

Hard to fathom the disrespect shown to AVB. Some posters just don't watch closely or take the time to review their pompous opinion pieces without first watching a replay. To those posters I say, watch the first half of the third quarter for verification that No 22 plays an important role... I won't tax your flagging concentration skills by asking you to watch a full replay.

As for Smith in the back 6... master stroke by the coaching panel (given who else is available) and quite clearly a case of make it work or we will pass you by. He is making important shut-down efforts that the lazy watcher just doesn't notice!

26 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

I'm here for a balanced discussion. The Facebook page of the official melbourne fc page is a real reflection of the tolerance and patience levels of fans.  On here though, people seem to speak far too glowingly of a team that has been consistently inconsistent.  

I'm not here to be positive, I'm here to discuss wherethe list is at and what we need to do to win a flag. Not just be an 8-12th team

I wouldn't call any of your posts balanced, you do seem to be in a fair amount of pain though.

14 hours ago, Dr.D said:

you'll come around. The dees will lose to the bombers next week and I'll just be shaking my head at people like you that start venting weeks after when the season was really lost. 

Is there anyone on Demonland who doesn't think we stuffed our season up in Cairns?

You've said you're after balanced discussion, but you don't seem to show any balance in your own posts.

13 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

The defensive structure was mostly ok, one terrible breakdown that led to a walk in goal but otherwise the positioning was good, but in terms of nailing intercept chances, winning the ground balls and using the ball it was horrendous. We gifted so many goals with dropped marks, awful defending once the ball hit the ground and turnovers.

None of Tomlinson, Jetta or Smith looked up to it and Lever was his typical hot and cold self.

I'd be happy to swap all 3 of those for Hibberd and 2 of Wagner (who didn't do a lot wrong), Lockhart and Hore. Doubt we'll see 3 changes but something has to shift there.

In terms of the mids and forwards I don't know how much to change. LJ for Brown has to be a chance but maybe we don't rush the big fella back for a one off game and let Brown face his old side.

I think Hunt and Vanders might be the most shaky. Baker is hardly a lock either. I'm assuming Melksham is off limits for whatever reason but most likely goes back to the forward line. Sparrow and Harmes the options.

Would have thought Baker did more than enough last night to hold his spot.

As usual, I don't agree on your assessment of Tomlinson. In a season where instability and a lack of cohesion has been as detrimental to our performance as anything else, I don't know if I can agree with swapping Tomlinson for Wagner (two games) or Hore (zero) at this stage of the year. Not the time for experimenting.

Who played on Daniels?

Lockhart played the role on oppositions forward pocket / small forward earlier in the season, and I thought was improving and the guy you could rely onto stay down!

So for me ins:

Lockhart for Jetta

Hibberd if fit for Smith

 

16 hours ago, adonski said:

In: Harmes, Lockhart, Hibberd 
Out: Viney (Geelong), Jetta, Smith

Viney no chance.      You have to get real.   Stop Dreaming !

24 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Is there anyone on Demonland who doesn't think we stuffed our season up in Cairns?

You've said you're after balanced discussion, but you don't seem to show any balance in your own posts.

Would have thought Baker did more than enough last night to hold his spot.

As usual, I don't agree on your assessment of Tomlinson. In a season where instability and a lack of cohesion has been as detrimental to our performance as anything else, I don't know if I can agree with swapping Tomlinson for Wagner (two games) or Hore (zero) at this stage of the year. Not the time for experimenting.

Baker did play well but I think at least one if not both of Harmes and Sparrow are needed to beef up the on ball rotations and speed. 
 

Tomlinson’s the least likely of the 3 defenders I named to go out, but he’s still no good. Smith and Jetta more likely to make way and they haven’t played all that much. Apart from May, Riv and Salem the backline were disastrous in many aspects, hard to say there’s any cohesion worth keeping. 

1 minute ago, DeeSpencer said:

Baker did play well but I think at least one if not both of Harmes and Sparrow are needed to beef up the on ball rotations and speed. 
 

Tomlinson’s the least likely of the 3 defenders I named to go out, but he’s still no good. Smith and Jetta more likely to make way and they haven’t played all that much. Apart from May, Riv and Salem the backline were disastrous in many aspects, hard to say there’s any cohesion worth keeping. 

I don't think "disastrous" is a fair assessment at all.

Lever continually cut off GWS chains with spoils and intercepts. The missed kicks and dropped marks turned what should have been an excellent game into an average one, rather than an average one into a shocker.

I agree that Smith/Jetta aren't really assisting with cohesion, that comment was more directed at Tomlinson.

If we want to get Harmes/Sparrow back in for midfield rotations, which is probably a good idea, I'd be looking at one of vandenBerg, Hunt, Melksham or ANB. Spargo/Pickett are the true small forwards, whilst the other four seem to play minor roles in our forward half. I'd suggest Harmes would offer more with the spot that each of those first four have. 

3 hours ago, waynewussell said:

Hard to fathom the disrespect shown to AVB. Some posters just don't watch closely or take the time to review their pompous opinion pieces without first watching a replay. To those posters I say, watch the first half of the third quarter for verification that No 22 plays an important role... I won't tax your flagging concentration skills by asking you to watch a full replay.

As for Smith in the back 6... master stroke by the coaching panel (given who else is available) and quite clearly a case of make it work or we will pass you by. He is making important shut-down efforts that the lazy watcher just doesn't notice!

thought smith did a great lock down job AVB put in the hard yards when it was needed

14 hours ago, DemonLad5 said:

Does Jackson play if fit? 

I don't reckon I'm equipped with the intel to answer that question but I love what Jacko brings to our team already.

He is a very dynamic talent, to the point where it's almost like picking two guys for the price of one.

I am genuinely surprised with what he's been able to do in his first year.

I think we'd be crazy to bring Jackson in after a long lay-off, especially considering it's likely our last game for the year. Instead, give him every opportunity to get fit and hungry for a brilliant 2021.

Bring in Tom Mac as need a forward who can mark & kick goals ....we got zero goals from Weiderman & Brown 

4 hours ago, P-man said:

There were clear breakdowns in communication throughout the game though. Uncontested marks without a defender in sight. Players getting out the back. At times the defense looked very brittle.

It shouldn’t hurt us against a dysfunctional team like Essendon. But it’s a risk. Whether it requires a change in personnel I don’t know. But Smith looked very shaky until the last quarter.

The brittleness came from the mids not taking a man, they key backs all kept their respective opponents very quiet