What they're saying down at Moorabool Street (in an alternative universe)

[Queanbeyan Demon 6,836]

Their cheap jibes

• Melbourne have been genuinely pathetic any time the heat has been put on them and thats exactly whats going to happen come finals, isn't really a side to fear provided we play our best footy.
• If Bulldog's beat Port Friday night, and we're backing our selected 22 to get the job done against Melbourne (whoever that is).
• Melb is a more talented version of StkILDA.
• Just want to see whole team improvement and focus each game from here on in. And to give Melbourne some mental demons heading into September.

Their compliments

• Melbourne are the big threat in finals this year with a full strength team.
• Gawn/Jackson vs Stanley/Blicavs is a definitie win to Melbourne. Gawn will have 45 hit outs, 20 disposals and 6 clearances on the weekend.
• The Dees have some genuine guns that worry me - Petracca, Gawn, Oliver can all dominate.
• Dees are primed to take the silverware. Few injuries and seem to have got their junk together.

Their arrogance

• We'll trounce the Dees.
• We lost to Melbourne at the G by 25 points with no Danger and no Cameron. They don't fill me with any sort of fear. Overrated imo.

Player match-ups

• The key to this game is making sure that Leever is accountable. May will play close attention to Hawk so whoever plays on Leever needs to draw him away from Hawkins and if Leever doesn't follow, then his opponent needs to be utilised.
• Must not put O'Connor on Oliver. If you see that at the start of the game just ring Sportsbet and put everything on Melbourne.
• Stanley is playing well at the minute, Smashed Marshall and he plays well against Gawn.
• I'm sure they will have a tagging job for O'Connor, most likely Oliver or Petracca.
• Although Oliver gets a lot of the ball, his passing and goal kicking won't hurt you on the score board, I'd tag Petracca instead.
• Looking forward to seeing May and Hawkins battle it out.
• I have to say Stanley is playing the best I have ever seen him play. He won't dominate Gawn in the hit-outs, but his other work around the ground is going to test big Maxy to the core.
• I think Petty will get the job as he's very agile and should be able to hang with Cameron.

Everything else

• Could Fort be our Clark Keating? Dees look pretty top heavy to me.
• On paper it looks like we are chasing the win.
• Last time we played Melb in round 23: Us:24.11.155, Deez:6.8.44 Differences from the last time we played the Dees: In: Parfitt Cameron Rohan Dangerfield Simpson Out: Clark Duncan Z.Guthrie Narkle Stewart. Compared to Melbourne's changes.... In: Smith Petty Harmes Brown Bowey Out: Hunt Jetta Jones Jordon Melksham.
• Cameron is our forward line basically. I mean potentially we could have the best forward line especially with the last two Coleman medallists , but at the minute it’s not dynamic. Close & Dahl are not goal scorers, Sav is a joke, Hawkins is glued to the boundary line. Higgins doesn’t score much. We are 7th of the top 8 teams for scoring and in 7 games we haven’t scored more than 70 points. 
• Hawkins has not exactly starred in finals in recent years; Rohan has a poor finals record; Dalhousie is not a goal kicker; so a lot - too much in fact - depends on Cameron.
• I wouldn’t mind Hawkins being rested this week simply so that he avoids suspension ahead of finals. He’s been getting a little frustrated over the past few weeks, and I can just see if he gets poor delivery this week, Dees defenders will rib him, and he’ll lash out with a dumb elbow or poor tackle or something. We must have him for finals.
• Might as well rest him until the grand final (if the Cats make it) just to be safe.
• My fear for Geelong is that a team will get a hold of is in the midfield for a quarter or half and expose our backline.
• Geelong’s forward line is a stagnant mess. Cameron is the exception.
• Melbourne is very susceptible to pressure which is why they've lost to some average, low skilled teams. We pressure them, we win.
• Melbourne is a super talented team but how can they lose to teams like Adelaide, Collingwood and Hawthorn? Pressure.
• Letting Salem distibute the ball from the back unchecked would be a mistake.
• Salem's been off the boil for the past month or two because teams are clamping down on him.
• Lever will try and intercept everything just as Taylor did for GWS the other week.

One whole post

It doesn't look likely that we will play them rd.1 in the finals now, but this will be an important test for both sides.

I think Melbourne will certainly go in very strong favourites. We simply don't have the midfield they do and although we seem to find ways to win, without key defenders Touhy and Stewart we will struggle to get that run off the backline. Hopefully Atkins and Rohan will be back to put the heat on the Dees a little and release O'Connor to play more defensive in the middle and Rohan to force a defender to chase him all over the field.

I simply don't think the defensive side of our midfield will hold up unless we get the balance right. Their backline has improved and that's a threat. Jake "Pull My" Lever and Steven "Holding the Man" May are both playing well and deserve respect. If we bomb it blindfolded into the forward line like we did vs GWS and like our 1st quarter vs Saints they will star with Ed "Not Karl" Langdon just running it out at will.

Their forward line is still whacky though. Bayley "Needs a Proper Haircut" Fritsch is having a purple patch and would have been a good matchup for Stewart. Not sure who runs with him now. Ben Brown is still a bit of a decoy player so he doesn't worry me much. The rest of them are pretty good. Not sure about jake Milkshake or Charlie Cargo though.

Max "The Personality" Gawn is still a legend, despite his umpire's pet reputation. Clayton "Kicks Like Cam Guthrie" Oliver is scary prolific. Christian "One Console at a Time" Petracca and co. are way better at their best than our guys.

I think they have answers to any question we put to them. Big test. I'd say they win by 25 pts.

[rpfc 28,262]

Thanks QD.

Gawd I would love to send Geelong to Port first week and then back to Adel to go out in straight sets to WB or GWS…

[BDA 22,735]

17 minutes ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

I wouldn’t mind Hawkins being rested this week simply so that he avoids suspension ahead of finals. He’s been getting a little frustrated over the past few weeks, and I can just see if he gets poor delivery this week, Dees defenders will rib him, and he’ll lash out with a dumb elbow or poor tackle or something. We must have him for finals.

If there's one player who deserves to be suspended for finals its Tom Hawkins. Avoided suspension for elbowing May earlier in the season and avoided suspension for slam tackling the St Kilda player last week. HIs luck can't hold much longer.

[Diamond_Jim 12,539]

32 minutes ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

Melb is a more talented version of StkILDA.

liked this one

[McQueen 17,864]

Gawn the umpires pet?

Goodness me… what gives them that opinion. Max is the most interfered with and not rewarded player in the league at times. 

[FarNorthernD 5,861]

I assume there is a Geelong version of MFCSS but they just expect everything to go right?

[Jaded No More 68,867]

God I hate them. Hate their coach hate their players hate their supporters. 

[gs77 4,052]

"Melbourne have been genuinely pathetic any time the heat has been put on them and thats exactly whats going to happen come finals, isn't really a side to fear provided we play our best footy."

This goose has no f-ing idea.

[Jaded No More 68,867]

4 minutes ago, gs77 said:

"Melbourne have been genuinely pathetic any time the heat has been put on them and thats exactly whats going to happen come finals, isn't really a side to fear provided we play our best footy."

This goose has no f-ing idea.

Yep we beat 16 of a possible 17 teams this year. Can’t take the heat. Disgraceful. 

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

Love these threads.... Thanks Queanbeyan D.

I like these incredibly insightful player analogies ....

Max "The Personality" Gawn is still a legend, despite his umpire's pet reputation. Clayton "Kicks Like Cam Guthrie" Oliver is scary prolific. Christian "One Console at a Time" Petracca and co. are way better at their best than our guys.

This guy has the insight and personality of a postage stamp.

Then goes on to say Melb will win by 25 ..

[John Demonic 5,747]

Grimes has made a career out of holding the man/cheating. May is about as clean as you can get at that height in a wrestling contest 1 on 1. Only bettered by Harris Andrews imo

What does "one console at a time" Petracca mean?

 

[Guest]

Bayley "Needs a Proper Haircut" Fritsch

Now I’m angry. 
To be fair, dude’s right. But only WE get to say it!

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, John Demonic said:

Grimes has made a career out of holding the man/cheating. May is about as clean as you can get at that height in a wrestling contest 1 on 1. Only bettered by Harris Andrews imo

What does "one console at a time" Petracca mean?

 

Reference to a Cash Converters ad featuring Tracc buying a gaming console. 

[Wrecker46 2,963]

Max the umpires pet. Now I've seen it all. I can't work out what half the rucking decisions that go against him are for. Neither can he.

[Guest]

Max the umpire’s pet? 🙄

 Do they see how many times he gets clipped behind the ears and punched in the back of the head when trying to mark it in packs on the wing? 🤔

[Engorged Onion 10,215]

4 minutes ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

Max the umpire’s pet? 🙄

 Do they see how many times he gets clipped behind the ears and punched in the back of the head when trying to mark it in packs on the wing? 🤔

1000% - I cannot fathom how a universally lauded player (finally for MFC) does not get the rub of the green.

Much like Carey in my junior days ' You can't touch him umpire, he's a protected species!' - now THAT should be Max.

[rpfc 28,262]

6 hours ago, gs77 said:

"Melbourne have been genuinely pathetic any time the heat has been put on them and thats exactly whats going to happen come finals, isn't really a side to fear provided we play our best footy."

This goose has no f-ing idea.

[radar 1,865]

What are they saying now?

I sat thru 186. Woulda loved to have been there with the free/fifty and goal. 

[MT64 1,144]

5 hours ago, radar said:

What are they saying now?

I sat thru 186. Woulda loved to have been there with the free/fifty and goal. 

That last piece of play deserved a full house crowd. Oh the whinging and booing from the home team supporters would have been priceless.

[Flag Favourites 3019 115]

From Big Footy,  21 pages of grief -

- Our fortress is now a sandcastle.

- I don't even have any analysis to give for what I just watched. I just feel deflated.

- The lack of attacking intent in the final quarter is an utter embarrassment to the football club. Can take losing on the siren or being overrun in the last quarter but the refusal to try and score to put the game to bed was cringeworthy.

- Bye-bye Rhys.

- What a terrible morale boost going into finals, choking a 44 point lead, losing 3 out of 4 qtrs and demonstrating that we have no clue what to do in a close game with minutes left on the clock. We had players back, so how the hell was Gawn basically able to mark uncontested when he was their biggest threat in the f50 at that time? Our achilles heel yet again is dominant ruckman, Gawn killed us in the 2nd half.

- How the fu** do you leave Max Gawn almost completely unmarked 15 metres out directly in front with 30 seconds left on the clock?!!??!!

- That was the most pathetic, weak effort of the year. A complete and utter disgrace.

- The cats completely [censored] the bed. To lose 2 of the last 3 at GEELONG tells you all you need to know about this team. We’re not up to it. I hope I’m wrong, but I won’t be. Losing tonight wouldn’t have worried me; but losing like this is not acceptable. DISGRACE.

- you know each year when you have that moment where you think "we cant win the flag" ? yeah..I just had that moment.

- This is literally the worst timing I’ve ever seen to have such a deflating loss like that.

- Lever and Gawn murdered us. Too arrogant and lazy that last quarter. Did everything we could not to win it

- I dont care what anyone says or thinks about that performance, we played 1 good quarter and stopped completely after thinking our sh*t didnt stink at half time, this is an area we are renowned for, mental fragility and dissappearing players, Rohan was absolutely woeful tonight and gave away free after free trying to take mark of the year and Atkins was just as bad, no awareness, constant chipping backwards when you have guys ahead of the ball, no brains, its this sh*t that makes supporters lose their ******* minds, i for one wont buy into the "oh we put the cue in the rack" [censored], we were thumped by a far better side apart from 10 good minutes.

- Biggest choke since Greg Norman at the 1996 US Masters. Heck, Chuck Norris wouldn't have been able to find half our players who were missing in action that last quarter. Pissweak. Better come out swinging next week against those Port flogs.

- Gawn played one of the all-time great individual quarters.

- Dads army cooked by the end of the year again, we need more oldies for next year.

- Port will beat us unfortunately.... to have a home crowd will be such a huge advantage.

- Their midfield is miles better than ours.

- If thats how you finish the home and away...game over.

- Dangerfield had zero touches in the last quarter. When he goes cold, he gets hypothermia.

- Some important things to consider. 1. Melbourne had a full fit list, we have some very crucial important players out such as tuohy Duncan Stewart. Would the game have been different if we had them? 2. The Melbourne midfield is a genuine superstar engine room, ours is not. This will potentially be a huge problem. It simply lost us the game in the end.

- Clayton Oliver has been superb both times we've played them this year; he annoys me - probably only because he is so good - but right now in 2021 he is one of the best mids going around. Gawn's last quarter was match-winning.

- Petracca and Oliver are superstars. Guthrie and Dangerfield have been just as dominant. You also have to take into account Smith and Menegola's form line since the bye.

- We lost this game because we have an old side who are feeling it. This is why we did so well last year with a shortened year and quarters. We would have played in another grand final had the season repeated. But the season does not go for 21 weeks, it goes 26 weeks and that is why Scott has a 40% finals record.

- I'm honestly pretty surprised by how good they've become, even though I've begrudgingly rated Oliver and Petracca for a while. They can play better than tonight, too; Fritsch, McDonald, young Luke Jackson; they have some weapons; Pickett is a major pain in the [censored] too. They'll take some beating.

- They are young as well. Average age of their best 22 is 24.7 years. Only one player over the age of 30 and he's not even in their best 22 anymore (Hibberd). lol, it's no wonder they could have played out another quarter had there been one tonight. Demons have an ominous feel about them. If they don't win it this year, they will have another good crack it over the next few years.

- Two key things happened. 1. Melbourne got on top in clearances/possessions big time. 2. When we started to get a bit of the ball we didn't really try to score.

- Oliver is the kind of player you can build a great team around. He's a monster, absolutely relentless. He shows what we really lack in the younger players on our list.

- Incredible effort by Melbourne. We didn't lose that game, they won it. In the first quarter they had us. We did well to stand toe to toe. The 10 minutes of scoring in the 2nd was nice. People spoke about how professional Geelong were in coming back against st Kilda. Well we weren't playing a top two team like Melbourne were. Thier effort around each contest was frenetic for the whole game. The exact sort of stuff we struggle with. Port do the same thing but not to that intensity. It's going to be an interesting finals.

- Missed the game but if I was a Dee I'd take a lot from the game. Coming into the finals knowing we gave a major competitor 6+ goals start and overran them on their home ground would give them a real boost in confidence. Had a gander at the stats, seems Cameron didn't do a lot.

- Despite what many on here have said, Melbourne were the better team all night. They were inaccurate early on, and then some sheer brilliance from Paddy, Sel and Stanley, for a 15 minute period in the second, took us 39 points up at half time. If we had of played that frenetic way all night, then absolutely we would have been kicking ourselves for losing. As it stands, we played that way for 15 minutes, and the rest of the time we played conservatively.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Flag Favourites 3019

[Pates 9,660]

Surprisingly that’s quite complimentary of our team and not one of them mentioned the 50m penalty. Also very happy that they recognise they’re “dad’s army”. Their fall of the cliff will be quite something I think, they might hang in there next year but they have very little coming through. 

[—coach— 3,496]

Hats off to them, very fair comments there

[Yokozuna 1,004]

That was actually good reading, fair and concise.

I did attempt to watch the Scott press conference, but I only got 2 minutes into the 10 minute presser before I turned it off.

I know he was talking “coach speak” and trying to deflect and be as positive as he could, but when he starts with a line about being in control of the game and questioning the umpires (yes he did mention our deliberate was strange, but that was one of many that wen their way), I turned off. They controlled the game for 15 minutes. For the rest of the game we were better than them and played our style. 

Does goody talk that annoyingly or am I biased and don’t notice cos he is our coach?

[spirit of norm smith 16,276]

Media saying controversial 50 against Close!!!! Wtf

. No cats supporters should question it. 
it was a dumb thing to do and deserved the 50. Everyone knows it.  

[Queanbeyan Demon 6,836]

I watched the Scott pressa. He's a problem. Bizarre. They will never win a premiership with him as coach.