POSTGAME: Rd 05 v Hawthorn

[old dee 23,791]

18 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Bit of an odd win in the end, being only 4 points up 5 minutes into the last quarter but winning by 50. But as @bing181 said, we started turning the game around from quarter time. We only lost one quarter, the first, and from then on we got better at most things. And we did it without 3-4 best 22 players.

We are going to lose a game at some point this year through inaccurate goalkicking. It's inevitable IMO.

Lever kept us together early. Petty struggled all day but Lever was just fantastic. He's taken his game to a really high level this year and although he's still prone to a dropped mark or clanger kick here or there, overall he is just integral to our improvement.

Thought Rivers had a shocking first quarter but then rebounded back excellently. Hibberd also got back to 2018 form. I reckon at least part of the reason we brought him in for Jetta was to replace some of May's rebounding, as we'd otherwise have Petty and Jetta who are both pretty dour.

TMac is showing us what is role is going to be when B Brown and Weideman are ready to come back. He'll push higher up the ground, give us an option that isn't Gawn when coming out of defensive 50, and be a general aerial threat for opposition mids. 

Poor old Jones had a mare. He'll get his 300th next week but with the pressure of May, Fritsch, B Brown and Weideman all getting ready to return, spots are tight.

Banking these early wins is just critical if we want to have a serious crack at it this year. We've still got the Dogs x 2, Richmond, Port in Adelaide, West Coast in Perth, Geelong in Geelong and Sydney. We're not going to win them all, but with these five wins we're allowing ourselves to have those bad games during the season and, hopefully, not completely fall apart.

Agree with your first para TU, if they start like that next weekend we won’t see which the Tigers went.

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

2 hours ago, Demons11 said:

I took Max at $51 before the season. Started ?

Thats a great price. I think Petracca beats him though....20 -13 last year. Ruckmen always seem to poll less. They can both blow games apart tho

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

Good luck knowing who will lead our goalkicking this season.. Pickett and Fritsch are on 10, Trac is on 7 while Weideman / Ben Brown could reel them all in fast.

[Cards13 9,117]

4 hours ago, Megatron said:

Just off topic. Is a bit of Dementia kicking in with Dermie?

Seeing the way they/he played in his era, the forcing them back on the field after being concussed, D Frawley etc, it might be a possibility and probably not a laughing matter even if he is dismissal of the Dees.

[4_Kent_Watts 888]

Just wanted to say I'm now  down zip 5 betting against us. Thanks Dees for continuing to take my money.  Willing to put up a large sum for a victory next week.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

1 hour ago, Docs Demons said:

It is just around the corner when he will take a game by the "you know whats" and announce himself big time. Not far away my demon friends.

I think he's running at about peak for this year but he might have another gear DD, you never know.

Another pre-season to improve the core & upper strength a tad more and he should start clunking a number of these marking attempts.  The fact he is getting to so many of them though at this early phase is bloody exciting.

The benefits of his improving match fitness /hardness, combined with his natural athleticism, appear to be holding him in good stead as the season progresses.  hoping this will also see him mark and kick the odd goal on occasions before season is out.  That would be a great bonus to have up forward when he isn't rucking.

[Dame Gaga 2,453]

Waited for the last quarter with frustration and trepidation. From what I observed at the ground, Melbourne had been playing better than Hawthorn, but just couldn't score! Trepidation because I worried the mental doubts would creep into the players' minds like so many times before and Hawthorn would pounce. 

After Mitch Brown's second goal I got an SMS from a mad Demons supporter - "It's effing happening!!" 

Yes my friend, it was. Last week it rained. This week it was raining goals. Sitting behind the Melbourne Cheer Squad is the best place to be when the ball comes sailing through the middle of the posts. The roar, the joy, the chants. The love. Someone behind us was yelling out "I love you Trent!" " I love you Hibbo!" "I love you Kozzie!" Love all around. Children were smiling and jumping up and down. They have probably never seen so many goals in a quarter. They were so excited. 

Max is a giant among men. When he was resting in the goal square the Cheer Squad members were bowing in his presence. We cheered his every move. Give us a wink Max! We all love you!

The whole quarter went by in a blur. Everyone played like a champion. I shall have to watch the replay to convince myself what I witnessed was real. It was magnificent.

[Mdemonski3 174]

1 hour ago, deanox said:

I thought Melksham was average. He made really good use of it when he had it, but I felt he was lucky to get it, if that makes sense. He didn't appear to work really hard to get to those positions, he didn't win his own ball, etc.

I didn't watch him purposely all game, so maybe he was working really hard and that's why he ended up in those spots, but I didn't see it.

Wrong. He put in some really strong defensive efforts today (something he has not always done in the past)

reckon he got a rev up about this prior to the game and with our new and improved coaching staff probably told they needed to lift to keep a place.

big improvement this week - he was very important for us today 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

3 minutes ago, Dame Gaga said:

Waited for the last quarter with frustration and trepidation. From what I observed at the ground, Melbourne had been playing better than Hawthorn, but just couldn't score! Trepidation because I worried the mental doubts would creep into the players' minds like so many times before and Hawthorn would pounce. 

After Mitch Brown's second goal I got an SMS from a mad Demons supporter - "It's effing happening!!" 

Yes my friend, it was. Last week it rained. This week it was raining goals. Sitting behind the Melbourne Cheer Squad is the best place to be when the ball comes sailing through the middle of the posts. The roar, the joy, the chants. The love. Someone behind us was yelling out "I love you Trent!" " I love you Hibbo!" "I love you Kozzie!" Love all around. Children were smiling and jumping up and down. They have probably never seen so many goals in a quarter. They were so excited. 

Max is a giant among men. When he was resting in the goal square the Cheer Squad members were bowing in his presence. We cheered his every move. Give us a wink Max! We all love you!

The whole quarter went by in a blur. Everyone played like a champion. I shall have to watch the replay to convince myself what I witnessed was real. It was magnificent.

 

Dear Diary,

 

;)

[Deebymistake 779]

2 hours ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

Things are going too well for us.   5-0 with a handful of guns to return in the next week or two.

Expect a Covid outbreak from hotel quarantine that completely derails the AFL season in a  year we are flag contenders.

Man, talk about dampening the mood.  Why not go knock over a few old people or steal lollies from kids while you're at it!

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

Just now, Deebymistake said:

Man, talk about dampening the mood.  Why not go knock over a few old people or steal lollies from kids while you're at it!

 

Thats not a bad idea actually...

[pinkshark 950]

17 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

I think he's running at about peak for this year but he might have another gear DD, you never know.

Another pre-season to improve the core & upper strength a tad more and he should start clunking a number of these marking attempts.  The fact he is getting to so many of them though at this early phase is bloody exciting.

The benefits of his improving match fitness /hardness, combined with his natural athleticism, appear to be holding him in good stead as the season progresses.  hoping this will also see him mark and kick the odd goal on occasions before season is out.  That would be a great bonus to have up forward when he isn't rucking.

he runs around like he 'knows' he belongs.  he wants to impact.  he doesn't care its afl senior footy.

[John Demonic 5,796]

4 hours ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

Channel 7 reporting.....

"Melbourne is 5-0 heading into Anzac Eve and they have decided to drop former captain Nathan Jones on the eve of his 300th game..."

"When asked "wtcf" by a plethora of reporters today... coach Simon Goodwin quoted long time supporter @leave it to deever and said "why rush it??"

You have to be effffffing kidding me... ?‍♂️

Nah we'll play him as a sub for his 300th. The media will rip into us all week, fractures will open up between the playing group and coaches, we'll lose every game for the rest of the year and finish 6-16 in the bottom 2 without a 1st round pick.... But at least we'll beat Richmond on Anzac eve 

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by John Demonic

[Adam The God 30,259]

I thought Hawthorn's outnumber at the stoppage and our extra behind the ball hurt us early in the game. I'm looking forward to watching the replay to see if we changed things up after half time, but I'm pretty sure we kept the status quo there.

Really impressed that we put them away like that in the last.

Max's goal kicking gives me the [censored], but that was a beautiful kick from outside 50, but around the ground he was simply superb. His contested marking was absolutely elite and McEvoy just couldn't go with him.

I've been saying all year that our poor kicking for goal is going to cost us. We should have been 4 or 5 goals up by half time and certainly by three quarter time. We kick like that next week and we're no chance against Richmond. We must nail those regulation shots from straight in front. The pleasing thing is that we're generating so many of these shots and our poor kicking for goal has only cost us percentage so far.

Felt our forward half pressure was absent in at least the first quarter, but we slowly lifted our work rate after that. 

Petty took a while to gel with Tommo, Lever and Hibbo back there, but after a really good spoil and then an excellent contested mark, he mostly held his own. Needs to be stronger in the 1v1s, but didn't look too vulnerable up the ground against a lead. I worry about Riewoldt or Lynch's smarts on him next week though.

I don't think it's fair to say we only played a quarter. We failed to capitalise on our dominance in the second and third quarters, but did just enough. 

I did wonder at quarter time where our goals were going to come from, but we seem to be able to generate big scores simply on slingshot, with run and carry. Max and Jackson are important for this as when we have nothing short, those two at least halve the contest inside 50 and give us a look at a score or a stoppage.

Langdon, Hunt, Hibbo, Gus and even Jordon really give us good spread from the contest and dynamism with their willingness to take on the game. Another solid performance from Hunt, which is noticeable. Jordon got a bit more of it this week and Hibbo gave us really good run early when we were struggling to work hard enough to provide options for the switch - he'd simply break the lines.

Salem's disposal by hand and foot was dreadful for most of the day. He's got to do better given these are uncontested possessions he's getting. ANB struggled too. His position might be in trouble from Bedford. That said, he did have 7 inside 50s (equal second most on the ground), so maybe not. Brown and Melksham mostly did their jobs, but Weideman or BB will make way for Mitch. 

I would give Tom McDonald the three votes today, just narrowly edging out Max. He may not be hitting the scoreboard as much as he did in 2018, but his work rate, willingness to get to contests, impact them and often take the mark is vital for the way we're playing. He really deserves huge kudos for the professional way he's approaching 2021. Well done, Tom. I thought you were gone. Keep playing like this and you're a keeper.

Selection next week will be fascinating. And brilliant to be going in 5-0 to ANZAC Day Eve on the big stage. Cannot wait. Don't hold much hope for victory, but if Petty can play with more assurance and we nail all our gettable shots on goal I give us a chance.

Edit. Also, the AFL app says Petty is injured. Any news there?

Edited April 18, 2021 by A F

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

2 hours ago, Brownie said:

I thought Bedford was great too. He seems to love hurting people and tackled like a machine. 

Our forward pressure was missing for the first half and I reckon he'd be awesome in the forward line with Pickett and Spargs.

I'd love to see Ben Brown back in but Weid played the better game and would tackle more than BB.

Jones has to play next week.

I think Jordan is ready for a rest and I still think Melksham is a skier.

 

Absolutely, agree with this. I can't see how he gets selected.

[Adam The God 30,259]

Oh, and I should say, there isn't a team I enjoy beating more than Hawthorn. You should have heard the arrogance of their supporters prior to the game, and you probably did.

Meanwhile, the wife was at home with the 5-zip boy waiting for an opportunity to turn him to her Hawks and we gave her nothing. You beauty.

[Adam The God 30,259]

6 hours ago, cookieboc said:

i wasnt at the game, was there more red and blue than poo and wee? sounded like it on the replays

Nope. We were comfortably outnumbered.

6 hours ago, Jaded said:

Can we talk about how good Langdon is? 
 

Gus is proving a pretty good wing partner the last few weeks too.

[Adam The God 30,259]

6 hours ago, Mdemonski3 said:

I was there and felt he must have forgotten he had switched clubs. He was very important for us in that last quarter. 

Where are all those muppets that kept saying we'd made a mistake in that trade? Some people just have no idea. A bit like a few of those Hawks muppets sitting around us today.

6 hours ago, Nasher said:

Wasn’t that a typical Frost game? I mean that in a light-hearted banter way, not a bagging way. It had everything, his desperate best and... the rest. I actually felt a bit bad when he kicked the clanger straight to TMac, but I also 100% expected it. Completely to script.

Contrast that with Lever’s game. Just wow. Hard to fathom how far we’ve come in defence.

And yes, Lever was brilliant down back. Tomlinson is playing such an important role there to allow Lever the second or third best tall/enables him to play his intercept game.

[Adam The God 30,259]

6 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

Great addition to our backline today.

Stepped back in with his old best form. Made a difference considering May is out. Great call by the club.

Yep Rivers did very well too.

I thought Rivers' first quarter was dreadful. Really improved after that though.

6 hours ago, Maldonboy38 said:

First 3 quarters we worked hard, but again our forward half field kicking and kicking for goal was appalling. Gut-wrenching, foul-language-producing, face-palming kicking that is killing me!

And then, we started hitting targets and kicking goals from everywhere. Not sure what the trigger was, or where the change came from, but very glad it did.

Another great team effort with great team footy to watch. Gawn, Langdon, Lever, Hibbo, Kozzie,. The best thing is we win significant moments. 

Love being 5-0.

IMO, Max nailing the goal from outside 50.

[Uncle Fester 2,848]

2 hours ago, A F said:

Tomlinson is playing such an important role there to allow Lever the second or third best tall/enables him to play his intercept game.

Thommo is incredibly underrated. He isn’t flashy but geez he does the basics well. Solid. Very very solid

[DEE fence 5,016]

7 hours ago, 4_Kent_Watts said:

Just wanted to say I'm now  down zip 5 betting against us. Thanks Dees for continuing to take my money.  Willing to put up a large sum for a victory next week.

If I see Titus tip the Dees against Richmond I will break both his kneecaps with a ball hammer

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by DaisyDeeciple
because I want to be clear this is a joke, I would sooner clean shoes with my tongue than commit gratuitous violence......i think.

[Jymothy 9]

12 hours ago, Mel Bourne said:

Don’t think it’s fair to label Jones as “cooked”. But next week is huge and we need our best 22, and on today’s performance I’m not so sure he’s in that team. 

This

[deanox 9,922]

8 hours ago, Mdemonski3 said:

Wrong. He put in some really strong defensive efforts today (something he has not always done in the past)

reckon he got a rev up about this prior to the game and with our new and improved coaching staff probably told they needed to lift to keep a place.

big improvement this week - he was very important for us today 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See this is where I wish we got more than just the top 5 on the telstra tracker!

[low flying Robbo 979]

If CJ’s head had hit the ground in that last quarter, Kossie would be getting a week off, but because it didn’t, Kossie wins a free for a good tackle... ??‍♂️

[640MD 3,376]

AF. Now I thought, Salem played a excellent game. Cleaning up the spills and being calm and collected 

but certainly agree

Tmac was massive getting back to his best ( I hope ). And Hunt in glimpses was ask returning to some good form. When he and Langton streak down the wings

i am reminded of Steven Stretch. 
all thoughts memories for last 3 quarters

we were terrible for the first.