Scenario One - what I’m hoping happens:

BBB to kick two goals and because of his presence in the forward line, one of Spargo, Pickett or ANB get an extra crumbing goal, Fritsch & TMac also get an extra due to getting 2nd & 3rd defender, and a little less attention! Gives us 4 more for the game, makes the difference.

Scenario Two - optimistic view

Hopefully Port is one of those teams BBB likes playing, as shown by his 10 goals for North in another thread. If he could kick three plus tonight, would be great for the team and him!

The formula is simple. Once the media starts talking about a teams finals and/or flag chances, we beat them. When a team is on a hot winning streak, we beat them. If a team is sitting in the top 8, we beat them. Don't let a recent bout of flat form make you forget about how we have delivered against the comps best consistently this year. 

If we win tonight, it will only solidify my thinking that we are very well placed to win games in September. When the finals start, any losses we've had to bad teams will mean absolutely nothing. 

Port aren't that good. We're due to bounce back from some flat form over the past month. 

I predict Dee's by 4 goals and collective sigh of relief among the DL faithful. 

I don't mind if we lose (obviously I want to win, and think we will/should/can/please?!?), but I think the non negotiable, given last week and how this game sets up the trajectory of the next 6 weeks (i.e. a loss has us scrapping for a top 4, or 2 games clear if we win), is that we come out BREATHING FIRE from the first bounce!!!

 

54 minutes ago, loges said:

Surely Robbie Gray is a big out for them.

100% correct, number of times in a close game, he comes through with a clutch goal or three is a real lose for them.

1 minute ago, Smokey said:

I predict Dee's by 4 goals and collective sigh of relief among the DL faithful. 

Do we get a 4 goal lead and maintain it? Or heart palpitations and anxiety after being 4 goals down at 1/4 time  and 2 goals at half time?

3 minutes ago, Engorged Onion said:

Do we get a 4 goal lead and maintain it? Or heart palpitations and anxiety after being 4 goals down at 1/4 time  and 2 goals at half time?

You and I both know the latter is far more likely 

41 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Was this cut and pasted from the Port V Melbourne 2018 game day thread?

Don’t say I didn’t tell ya...!

2 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

I wish I could time-travel to this time tomorrow morning and I’d be reading the post-match thread  about how awesome it is to have buried Port. 

Time travel was discovered simultaneously at different points in history - however, for the Demons fanatic, maybe we don't want to go there? A win would be great - and we might travel back to something familiar that occurred in 1964. Then again ... 

 

Prediction: Once the game starts unless Port dont score at all, this thread will be full of negative wrist cutting BS from go to whoa. 

1 minute ago, Damo said:

Prediction: Once the game starts unless Port dont score at all, this thread will be full of negative wrist cutting BS from go to whoa. 

Never participated in a  game day thread after the first bounce, never will 

So have fun but Ill be putting this thread on ignore.

No what am I saying, ill be drawn to it just to watch!

Huge opportunity to make a resounding statement tonight. Super pumped!

I think the dip in form may be contributed to an increase in training load. I don’t know this as fact but it could well possibly be a reason. Since we’ve got the wins on the board I can see the fitness staff ramping up the training loads in preparation for September. That could be why our pressure has dropped slightly over the last few weeks. Once we nailed the wins against the dogs and lions I reckon a bit of forward planning has come into it to ramp up training, like a mini preseason to get the boys ready for the tail end of the season. 

14 minutes ago, Smokey said:

Never participated in a  game day thread after the first bounce, never will 

Good advice that many more should follow. Game day threads are practically unreadable.

2 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

Well at least Goody has acknowledged our fwd line is broken.

Would have been great if BB had the last couple of weeks to "settle" both him and the forward structure more generally. 

Better late than never, but he is now really doing it under pressure.

Delivery is going to be important. Mids need to lift. We need to kick straight. 

10 minutes ago, Megatron said:

I think the dip in form may be contributed to an increase in training load. I don’t know this as fact but it could well possibly be a reason. Since we’ve got the wins on the board I can see the fitness staff ramping up the training loads in preparation for September. That could be why our pressure has dropped slightly over the last few weeks. Once we nailed the wins against the dogs and lions I reckon a bit of forward planning has come into it to ramp up training, like a mini preseason to get the boys ready for the tail end of the season. 

Burgess is a big fan of 'tapering' and Port had similar struggles this time of year when he was there. Wouldn't be a surprise if he's kept the same philosophy with us. We've also seen players do 'mini preseasons' during the year under him too.

Doesn't take away the worried about a couple of structural things, but does give a bit of hope that they were more about ability to properly implement them rather than willingness.

3 hours ago, BigFez said:

I had to re-stock on spakfilla last Saturday after an errant boot collected an errant water bottle and put a dent in an errant wall. 

Hoping I don't need to dig it out of the garage again tonight.

For me the drop in pressure has been a bigger issue than our forward line.  That same forward line seemed to be ok at the start of the year.  Hopefully it is a bit of a lapse and will return in the run home, and not something more serious.

 

Hopefully "Spakfilla" aint needed to fill a hole in the forward line tonight, and for that matter for the rest of the year!

1 hour ago, loges said:

Surely Robbie Gray is a big out for them.

Yep, he and Westoff used to send Christmas cards to our blokes thanking them for the lack of accountability paid!

3 hours ago, Webber said:

Having my best tipping year ever (2nd outright on Demonland, 211th of 584,687 countrywide), and haven’t tipped against us all year. Tonight I make the switch. Looking forward to my wheels falling off rather than the Dees. Go Redlegs!

I'm also having my bets tipping season in probably 15 years or more. The last time i did well, the dees were going ok. So no coincidence. 

I'm coming fourth in the Demonland comp webs, so snapping at you heels.

I'm on top of a couple of comps so in pretty good shape there. 

So i'm pretty motivated to tip correctly

I have still not put my tips in as I'm genuinely not sure about tonight's game.  We are a better teams, i'm convinced of that. And our system is perfectly suited to negate their game style, not least becuase our defence works best against set ups where one big is the key to the opposition forward structure 

The variable they worries me is not being sure if we are physically ready for the running, spread and pressure we will need to bring to make our system work. I need to ruminate some more.....

I want to see a ferocious Melbourne from the first bounce.

The achilles heel of Goodwin - getting the team up for the contest from the word go.

Im really on the fence with this one, Im tipping a Draw...... Unless of course we lose, and also of course if we win!?

Edited July 8, 20213 yr by picket fence

This will be my first and only post in this thread. I'll come back to read the post-game thread when the match is over. ?

Tonight will tell us everything we need to know about this team. Are they serious about winning a flag this year? Do they want to finish top 4? Or have we taken the foot off and fallen into a mental and physical heap?

We are yet to lose 2 in a row this year. Win and we are back to an even playing field for the top 4. Lose and top 4 is going to be almost impossible, given we have by far the hardest home run.

Edited July 8, 20213 yr by Jaded

1 hour ago, TickleMeTyson said:

Losses to a few bottom-eight sides is part of the journey (see premiers from past years). We have stepped up against the best every time this year, Dees by 29 points.

I think there via setting to be said about playing a team that is trying to beat you vs playing a team that is trying to minimise damage.

Sometimes the later can bring the game down to their level, while the former becomes a battle of skills and systems.

Edited July 8, 20213 yr by deanox

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

There is a direct correlation between the quality of opposition and/or what they've done in the previous weeks and our mindset and overall performance for the game.

There's also a correlation to last year. We haven't lost to a team which beat us in 2020, but have played generally poorly against those we beat - especially those we spanked. The boys have spoken about being embarrassed at the end of 2020, knowing that our list was as good as the best. Port delivered the biggest humiliation of all. The MFC might be out to prove a point.