POSTGAME: Rd 15 vs Essendon

[Dr. Gonzo 24,368]

2 hours ago, layzie said:

Was the booing really that loud? It's easy to turn the mics up 

It was extremely loud at the ground. Felt like way more than 20k there that's for sure.

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, 4_Kent_Watts said:

 They never give me the [censored] unlike my Collingfilth boss who's gone on all week. Looking Forward to  Monday. I'm sure his Gob will be sewn  shut losing to Freo today. Mutt.

So you live with Carlton  and Essendon supporters and your boss is a Collingwood supporter. Boy, you must’ve done something heinous in a previous life. 

[The heart beats true 18,178]

17 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

Hey guys. Post game I have somewhat of a negative outlook based on what I've seen. Happy to be corrected on these points below:

- A complete lack of ability to put teams away. Whenever we are around 4 goals up, 1 goal more and the game is done but no. Every time this season we have had chances to put teams out of reach but we continue to give opposition clubs chance after chance after chance. We froze in the last 15 minutes.

- Goal kicking inaccuracy. Hopeless. Hopeless. Hopeless. Harmes, Fritsch, Jackson, the list goes on. If you can't kick straight you shouldn't be in the fwd line. Bottom line.
 

- Forward line sync. It's round 15 and we still have no idea which fwd line works best.

- Oliver's handballs and inability to take the first option and him either turning it over or caught with the ball did my head in ALL night. 

 

We didn’t freeze in the last 15 minutes. The last 3-4 minutes I thought we were exceptional. They threw everything at us, and we held our nerve.

I think it’s worth asking yourself what you expected? We are playing at about 50% of our capacity and winning.

We are one of the most watched teams in the league. Everyone wants to work out how to beat us. In that environment you don’t get a lot of free swings. We are doing what we can do.

Don’t be so hard on the team.

[Guest]

36 minutes ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Seriously...you think Covid is a bad virus??....I wouldnt want to catch whatever it is theyve got !

I believe it was a lighter strain of the Rage virus from ‘28 Days Later’.
 

As part of an Essendon club membership purchase, I believe they have made it mandatory to have one of those lab monkeys strapped to a gurney and exposed to violent imagery around the clock vomit blood in your face.☝? ?‍♂️ 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Colin B. Flaubert

[Adam The God 30,541]

 

1 hour ago, Caligula's cohort said:

Yes the stats indicate that, but from watching the game the Bombers were much better. Nuff said.

In the first half we murdered them in centre clearances. They fought back in the second half, but their clearances were rushed kicks straight to our defenders. They played straight into our hands in the second half. Parish in particular.

Edited June 26, 2021 by A F

[layzie 34,148]

Gruelling, very very gruelling. But I walk away pretty proud in this one. Much like after Sydney. Our form has dipped a little but we showed tonight that we can grind it out. Personally I love these games where you go into that last quarter thinking a goal will seal it but we just burn heaps of clock locking it in our forward line. To me the alternative of letting the other team score quickly and getting back in it straight away is worse. We really choked them out and if not for a 6-6-6 penalty I reckon would have had a takeaway at that centre bounce and locked it down again. It was hard, it was frustrating, we played poorly at times yes I know but we were toughest the longest in the end and that is what brought home the biscuits. 
 

First MCG game in over 3 years I’ve missed and it’s not a great feeling but you do catch some pretty interesting things on tv. Free kick count skewed our way but both Trac and Gawn were nudged in the back late in the last. These things don’t get recorded on the stats sheet but there’s an old saying especially in English Soccer that things tend to level up in the end. I thought we were so poor in that second quarter that when we got that gift for Jordan I found myself saying “l’ll take it, don’t care. No-ones going to talk about this bad decision in 5 years so who gives a stuff.”

Very nearly kicked ourselves out of it. And in that last I actually thought we could be up against it because as things in football levelling out, you might miss a bunch of chances while they take them. The ones thing that seems to be consistent in this game is that firing a bunch if blanks early isn’t reward for efforts .

But that stuff can be fixed and when you got a backline as strong as this one, you just feel safe. Like you’re being cradled in the arms of a Greek god. Or something like that.

May and Lever were outstanding. Lever absolutely pivotal in that last 10 mins. Rivers and Salem the Mr cool brothers. Really liked Hunty’s game tonight and Langdon. Most of us said he couldn’t kick or back into a pack, he does both of those better than most would think. 
 

Hibbo did a reasonable job on Stringer, he got off the chain a couple of times but I wouldn’t trust anyone else to guard him, good work son. Gus was excellent first half, kept his eye on the ball. I thought we looked at one point early on like we’d forgotten the basics of the game and our synergy was in the toilet but we just have to have faith in those moments. For the most part we see it through. We just needed to bank this one and we did, I’m not gonna criticise it one bit. We came up against a team on the rise that can really put you to the sword if you’re not careful. 

Viney underdone, hope the hitout helps though. We need that man firing again. Thought the lack of another key tall was a bit surprising. It seemed like the only looks we could get were snaps form close range or 40 metre shots (Granted, ones we should be kicking)

Anyway as mentioned before I got a headache the size of 2 metre Peter. Bed. Have a great night DLers, back on the winners kist. 

 

 

 

[Fork 'em 7,008]

Lever and May holding the joint together ..... Again.
Guns that they are.

God damn the forwards make hard work of it.
Proper good sides make you pay.
We should be flogging teams but aint for poor kicking.

And Kozzie aint no Cyril Rioli.
So lets get that comparison out've our heads.
He puts plenty of pressure on but does precious little else.
Any set shot on goal he gets is a 50/50.

[layzie 34,148]

14 marks inside 50 doesn’t suggest a huge lack of connection between the mids and forwards. It suggests inaccuracy. 

[Dr.D 1,771]

34 minutes ago, binman said:

I wondered exactly the same thing.

And I suspect this is actually very likely to be the case. It is what teams in flag contention do if they can.

There is no other point in tbe season where it is possible to put significant training loads into the players.

I reckon they dialled up the loads after the lions game and right up to this game.

And from this point it is all about maintenance and being cherry ripe for finals.

You've got to be joking. Sure we've locked in finals but we are still a 50/50 of making top 4. I'm not sure if you've seen the draw but Port, Dogs, Brisbane and Geelong all have very easy draws and would be favourites to win most, if not all of their remaining games whereas I have us down for 4 wins/4 losses with losses against WCE, Dogs, Port and Geelong. Not to mention an inability to beat your Adelaides and Collingwoods of this league means every game is going to be tight. 

[binman 44,201]

3 minutes ago, layzie said:

14 marks inside 50 doesn’t suggest a huge lack of connection between the mids and forwards. It suggests inaccuracy. 

They had 5 I think.

Not much connection there 

[Mel Bourne 4,534]

 

4 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

Any set shot on goal he gets is a 50/50.

 

His set shots are sitting at 7.10 at the moment. 50/50 would be preferable.

Most pleased with the win, but it's a concern that our under-performers tonight all occupied the forward line.

Kozzie aside, Fritsch, TMac and ANB were all flat as pancakes. Makes you wonder how we even got up.

Very curious about next week's selections now.

[Fork 'em 7,008]

After the game with Steven May.
God love 'im.

https://www.facebook.com/MELBOURNEfc/videos/204366084788887

[adonski 12,613]

16 minutes ago, A F said:

 

In the first half we murdered them in centre clearances. They fought back in the second day half, but their clearances were rushed kicks straight to our defenders. They played straight into our hands in the second half. Parish in particular.

Parish had one of the worst 37 touch games you'll ever see. He's not a fan of coming up against bigger bodies.

[Adam The God 30,541]

48 minutes ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

That’s the point tho, Fritsch is on the nose atm. TMac is showing signs of 2020 form and is playing really high up. Brown can compliment both by playing as the leading player out of the square

We certainly struggled to keep a forward deep and as a result, Essendon often played their anchor as deep as we do behind the ball. No doubt Brown would help keep that anchor accountable. 

42 minutes ago, Fanatique Demon said:

We were exposed when Essendon took the ball through the centre of the ground. Similar to how Adelaide beat us. Other teams will have noticed this and we need to rectify the problem before the GWS game.

And just like the Adelaide game, if our defensive transition is off and our forward pressure, it allows teams to move the ball through the corridor. That's not some special plan. We didn't defend that well enough and any team that is allowed to play the corridor will be dangerous. 

Agree we need to rectify it. 

[Garbo 1,550]

Really missed a key target up fwd tonight with McDonald and fritsch not getting near it. For all our fantastic defending we simply couldn’t get value for our fwd 50 entries. Unless brown is injured he has to come back in. If for nothing more than to free up tmac 

[Jjrogan 1,444]

10 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

You've got to be joking. Sure we've locked in finals but we are still a 50/50 of making top 4. I'm not sure if you've seen the draw but Port, Dogs, Brisbane and Geelong all have very easy draws and would be favourites to win most, if not all of their remaining games whereas I have us down for 4 wins/4 losses with losses against WCE, Dogs, Port and Geelong. Not to mention an inability to beat your Adelaides and Collingwoods of this league means every game is going to be tight. 

psychology is a funny thing. Supporters of those 4 teams you mention probably look at the fact we are two games clear on top of the ladder and pencil them down as a loss also (or at most 50/50 which they probably are).  

[Dr. Gonzo 24,368]

1 hour ago, Webber said:

Was at the game. None of the comments here dissing the Essendon supporters is unfair. They are/were ABSOLUTELY FERAL! I knew this about them going in (there’s a reason I never got taken to Windy Hill as a boy), but somehow forgot….COVID memory weirdness maybe. No doubt the most bizarrely aggressive/aggrieved/irrational supporter group going around…..still!
Good that we won, ugly and all that, but we’re simply going nowhere in finals if the current attacking/goal scoring dysfunction isn’t sorted. At the moment, our defence alone is what’s winning us games, and that’s not going to be enough at the pointy end, I don’t care how good it is. The reason we’re not having any ‘big’ wins, is because we just don’t have the scoring capability to put teams to the sword. Add to this that our disposal efficiency/skill level has dropped away noticeably (includes set shot inaccuracy and distance issues), and we need to find better, sharper, fresher form in general.
The good thing is we’re still on top and have 8 more games to do so. Without it however, we’re not getting anywhere near the silverware. 
Steven May and Gus Brayshaw best on by some margin for mine. 

Were sitting on top of the ladder, 12-2 and two ganes clear of second but we're not getting anywhere near the cup? Sure we can play better but come on, credit where it's due. We towelled up the Lions and Dogs less than a month ago, Port, Geelong, West Coast woukd he 50/50 games at worst.

[Adam The God 30,541]

Watching the first half replay now and I underestimated how good May was.

At the ground I felt he ran under the ball too often, but his second quarter was elite.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,368]

55 minutes ago, Wadda We Sing said:

There should be an inquiry on Twitter as to how so many Essendon supporters got into the ground......and why they should ever be allowed back??!

Seriously...you think Covid is a bad virus??....I wouldnt want to catch whatever it is theyve got !

Mate you should try living near them! I'm right smack bang in the middle of Bomber heartland, only a 5 minute drive from Windy Hill.

[Fork 'em 7,008]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Mate you should try living near them! I'm right smack bang in the middle of Bomber heartland, only a 5 minute drive from Windy Hill.

Poor choice of castle location.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,368]

35 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

Lever and May holding the joint together ..... Again.
Guns that they are.

God damn the forwards make hard work of it.
Proper good sides make you pay.
We should be flogging teams but aint for poor kicking.

And Kozzie aint no Cyril Rioli.
So lets get that comparison out've our heads.
He puts plenty of pressure on but does precious little else.
Any set shot on goal he gets is a 50/50.

Mate he's what, 19? Give him a break, pretty much helped get us over the line against Brisbane a few weeks back.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,368]

32 minutes ago, layzie said:

14 marks inside 50 doesn’t suggest a huge lack of connection between the mids and forwards. It suggests inaccuracy. 

Yeah but 10 of them went to Spargo ?

[Kick_It_To_Pickett 3,293]

36 minutes ago, layzie said:

14 marks inside 50 doesn’t suggest a huge lack of connection between the mids and forwards. It suggests inaccuracy. 

I know this bloke playing out at Casey tomorrow who has amazing accuracy…he takes a decent mark too…you reckon we should have a word to him and see if he can play next week?

[faultydet 7,623]

Was out all night as designated driver while my lovely wife got tanked with her mates.

Beating the bombers made a crap night much, much more bearable.

While I can't comment on the umps, I can certainly echo @dingwith F.O essendon.

 

When are we going to deliver the kind of powerhouse performance that you would expect from a flag favorite? Does our style of play even allow for a flogging?

 

[Fork 'em 7,008]

8 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Mate he's what, 19? Give him a break, pretty much helped get us over the line against Brisbane a few weeks back.

One game from about the last 6.
All I'm saying is the comparisons with Rioli are abit ... Off.
Drops marks he shouldn't and misses goals he shouldn't.
Rioli would have gobbled those up when he was 19.