2 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

You mean a repeat of last years strategy of picking our best possible 22 without risking injured/sore players? 
 

We’ve picked our first choice midfield and forward line, unfortunate a few defenders pulled up sore otherwise we would’ve picked them too. 

Really? 

The evidence seems pretty conclusive to me that my prediction on team selection was correct, but we'll have to agree to disagree given you don't find that evidence persuasive.   

And i'm pretty confident my prediction about the round one team will also prove correct.

We certainly won't be seeing any of the following players in round one - Weideman, Turner, Baker, Bedford or Chandler and likely not Hunt either. 

We've had our serious hit out. And it was at Casey last week in the practice match. Just as it was last year

 

38 minutes ago, binman said:

As i suspected, a repeat of last years strategy in terms of selections for the practice match and community series. 

Barring injury i expect the round one team will mirror the lineup against the roos.

With one exception - Lever in and one of Tomlinson or Smith out (i think Smith will ply round one)

Rivers won't play. PCL injury

regarding dunstan, i would presume he was 'st kilda fit' not 'melbourne fit'

7 minutes ago, binman said:

Really? 

The evidence seems pretty conclusive to me that my prediction on team selection was correct, but we'll have to agree to disagree given you don't find that evidence persuasive.   

And i'm pretty confident my prediction about the round one team will also prove correct.

We certainly won't be seeing any of the following players in round one - Weideman, Turner, Baker, Bedford or Chandler and likely not Hunt either. 

We've had our serious hit out. And it was at Casey last week in the practice match. Just as it was last year

 

We played our best available side last week. 2 players (Lever, Fritsch) were sore and 1 had covid (Viney)

We’ll play our best available side now, a week later. 3 players (May, Hibbo, Salem) pulled up sore, 1 is injured.

Then in round 1 we’ll pick the best side possible and of course a lot of fringe players will miss out. 4 of the 26 likely won’t play tomorrow unless there’s injuries or need for fresh legs late.

May, Salem and likely Hibbo (Smith and Hunt a chance to pinch his spot if he’s not cherry ripe) will come back. Just as Viney, Lever and Fritsch came back this week. 

2 hours ago, The Swimming Dee said:

Where is Luke Dunstan at?

Getting up to Melbourne Footy Club fitness? What a change.

Edited March 2, 20223 yr by Cards13

That’s a lot of our first choice defence out (May, Petty, Salem, Rivers, Hibbo) coming up against the best forward in the league.

40 minutes ago, dee-tox said:

So we'll be missing three 'running' defenders, Salem, Riv and Hibberd. Obviously, Hunt can play one of these positions but it will be interesting to see if we lose any run from our backline in this game.

We had a dream run with injuries last year, can't wait to see how we handle a few this season. 

1 hour ago, binman said:

As i suspected, a repeat of last years strategy in terms of selections for the practice match and community series. 

Barring injury i expect the round one team will mirror the lineup against the roos.

With one exception - Lever in and one of Tomlinson or Smith out (i think Smith will ply round one)

Fritta and Viney not making your round 1 side? Harsh but fair. Fritta needed to kick 7 last game he played. 

Dunstan must be being reprogrammed, have to remove that loose unaccountable Brett Ratten style from him!

18 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

That’s a lot of our first choice defence out (May, Petty, Salem, Rivers, Hibbo) coming up against the best forward in the league.

The rest of Carlton’s forward line looks very weak on paper though, hardly a goal kicker in the other 5 forwards

On 3/1/2022 at 8:24 AM, fr_ap said:

Winning one is hard enough, but this year will be much harder in my opinion. 

Our defensive positioning/game plan and sagging back seemed to catch most teams off guard last year - we can be sure they will all have detailed plans to beat it this year. Add in COVID outs, a few injuries presuming we don't miraculously avoid them again, and who knows. Most teams rely pretty heavily on their top 6 and we are no exception. A long injury or three to the group of Oliver, Petracca, Gawn, Salem, Lever or May would make it tough. 

Personally, I think we still look very vulnerable to very tall/resting ruck forwards (all of the big bags kicked against us last year fell into this category) and expect a number of teams to capitalise on this whilst also backing their half backs to handball through and around our speed forwards. Collingwood game last year shows the blueprint. 

As amazing as we were we had our fair share of luck last year. Winning one without it (or maybe without as much of it) is the test from here on out. 

There is a distinction between "plans" and "plan execution", like last year I think it's a difficult prospect for 80% of the competition. I cannot see a breakdown in our concentration and we know the system works. A lot of teams tried different things last year and the consistent comment was "Melbourne are just so disciplined and well structured behind the ball". If we don't go backward in this area opposition sides will again be held to low scores.

38 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

That’s a lot of our first choice defence out (May, Petty, Salem, Rivers, Hibbo) coming up against the best forward in the league.

The term "depth" is often overstated, but with our current list, we have legitimate depth in the backline. Tomlinson, Hunt and J. Smith have proven themselves at AFL level. 

To keep our current back 7 structure in place, I'd assume that Turner and Baker will play significant minutes. Looking forward to seeing how they go.

No points up for grabs in this game but it will offer us another opportunity to work our systems towards making them an automatic response. I find it very enjoyable to watch the team play, not just because they are a winning team but because they look to enjoy it so much. They are enjoying not just their own success but look to enjoy their teammates play and support.

Had a look at the team sheet and was surprised at my response to have 5 best  premiership players missing from the defence. Looked over the team.... worked through the defensive players and thought... "Yeah, They can do the job. Look forward to seeing how they go." Then I thought ahead and had a similar reaction if this team was named in R1. Strange, after all these years to have great confidence in the depth of the list.

It is an old cliché, I know, but I expect a game of two halves against Carlton with both sets of coaches trying a few things. I think we will run out with our best available 18 at the opening bounce as will Carlton. The first quarter, quarter and a half both teams will be looking to test out their structures and play proactive footy. After that I could see some changes made so that the coaches can have a look at a few different setups and rest a few players.

Kossie to spend a bit of time in the center with Bedford/Chandler/Spargo up forward. Would not be surprised to see Brayshaw, Sparrow and Harmes line up at a center bounce a few times. Jordon/Baker/Hunt to run a wing? Baker off Half back?

I do not expect to see all of these at the same time but the positional changes will be slotted into the existing structures to see how the players respond under the conditions.

Look forward to this game and even more to Round 1 vs. the dishlickers.

 

37 minutes ago, sisso said:

The rest of Carlton’s forward line looks very weak on paper though, hardly a goal kicker in the other 5 forwards

Oscar  Mac can swing into attack and kick a Bag!🤩

Edited March 2, 20223 yr by picket fence

3 hours ago, Sydee said:

Interesting selections 

What happened to S May ?
 

MELBOURNE

B: J.Bowey 17 J.Lever 8 J.Smith 44
HB: J.Harmes 4 A.Tomlinson 20 J.Hunt 29
C: A.Brayshaw 10 J.Viney 7 E.Langdon 15
HF: S.Weideman 26 T.McDonald 25 T.Sparrow 32
F: B.Fritsch 31 B.Brown 50 A.Neal-Bullen 30
Foll: M.Gawn - C 11 C.Petracca 5 C.Oliver 13
I/C: L.Jackson 6 C.Spargo 9 T.Bedford 12 J.Jordon 23 O.Baker 33 K.Pickett 36 K.Chandler 37 D.Turner 42  

Emerg: B.Laurie 16 B.Howes 22  M.Brown 38 J.McVee  41 

Notable absentees: Harrison Petty, Michael Hibberd, Trent Rivers, Christian Salem

And Steven May😱

On 3/1/2022 at 10:19 AM, binman said:

Agree on all of the above.

The other thing i'd add is we are a systems based team. And with a flag under our belt we have proof positive that the system works, so we have complete team buy in thta system (not that we didn't have it last season). 

But also another year to cement that system, so it becomes completely automatic. Every player coming into the team understand the system and know what role thay have to play in it. I think that was a huge factor in the Tiger's run of success. 

 

 

As a case in point; during the Nort game Hibberd had possession in the backline and was looking down field and to his right. Sizing up his options he decided against anything further down field and wheeled left and kicked in one motion to Ed Langdon. He didn't look first, he knew Langdon would be there. I've started to see this in other plays and this is the confidence in team mates to be where they're needed to be at any given moment. I've banged on about belief for many years and once you have it in the coaches, the players, the system and the plan it's very difficult to breakdown on any sort of consistent basis. Of course the other knock on of this is speed of movement. 

You know we're not taking a game seriously when Harmes is named on a back flank.

On 3/1/2022 at 8:24 AM, fr_ap said:

Winning one is hard enough, but this year will be much harder in my opinion. 

Our defensive positioning/game plan and sagging back seemed to catch most teams off guard last year - we can be sure they will all have detailed plans to beat it this year. Add in COVID outs, a few injuries presuming we don't miraculously avoid them again, and who knows. Most teams rely pretty heavily on their top 6 and we are no exception. A long injury or three to the group of Oliver, Petracca, Gawn, Salem, Lever or May would make it tough. 

Personally, I think we still look very vulnerable to very tall/resting ruck forwards (all of the big bags kicked against us last year fell into this category) and expect a number of teams to capitalise on this whilst also backing their half backs to handball through and around our speed forwards. Collingwood game last year shows the blueprint. 

As amazing as we were we had our fair share of luck last year. Winning one without it (or maybe without as much of it) is the test from here on out. 

Sorry, l think this is nonsense for several reasons:

1. we beat everyone in the top 8 last year, usually by big margins. None of those players are going away and our game plan is better than anyone’s:

2. We have improved our replacements, and many players who would walk into almost all other sides will miss out on our best 22 eg Smith, Dunstan, Hunt, Dawe, Weideman. There is considerable upside on our list considering it’s youth and talent eg Jackson; and

3. this means of course we have ready-made replacements in the wings should there be injuries or lack of form; 

Whilst most clubs will say this at this time of year, we are in a very very strong position to go back to back , and internal competition and our elite coaching staff will ensure there is no complacency. 
 

We shall see, but l will be delighted to repost this at the final siren in September when we win our second in a row, this time at the mighty MCG. 

1 hour ago, Dees2014 said:

Sorry, l think this is nonsense for several reasons:

1. we beat everyone in the top 8 last year, usually by big margins. None of those players are going away and our game plan is better than anyone’s:

2. We have improved our replacements, and many players who would walk into almost all other sides will miss out on our best 22 eg Smith, Dunstan, Hunt, Dawe, Weideman. There is considerable upside on our list considering it’s youth and talent eg Jackson; and

3. this means of course we have ready-made replacements in the wings should there be injuries or lack of form; 

Whilst most clubs will say this at this time of year, we are in a very very strong position to go back to back , and internal competition and our elite coaching staff will ensure there is no complacency. 
 

We shall see, but l will be delighted to repost this at the final siren in September when we win our second in a row, this time at the mighty MCG. 

You're right, we'll never lose again. What was I thinking? 

...

I'd forgotten what a circle jerk it could be in here; apparently pointing out that we had luck and no injuries last year, and that we might not be so lucky again whilst the opposition may improve, is an affront to the psyche of our supporters.

I never said we were crap - far from it, rather that sterner tests may be coming. 

We will get an early (albeit inconsequential) preview tomorrow night with 5 of our premiership 6 defence out of action. Don't be surprised if you don't like what you see. No Salem alone changes our ball movement and setup enormously. 

'we won by a lot last year, therefore we will keep winning this year'

'we could do the job even with our 2nd stringers in'

'other teams will improve, but we will of course improve more'

Do you realise how ridiculous you sound? In no world are Joel Smith, Hunt, Daw, Weideman, Baker and Chandler walking into the best sides of our closest competition. Dunstan spent half of last year out of a bottom 8 side. Our depth is good - they can't all be stars - but we're one of 18 strong teams and we are not infallible.

All that said, I'd love for you to be right and quote the hell out of me after Grand Final Day. We have as good a shot as any team, but it's a long year with a lot needing to go right. That's all I'm saying. 

On 2/28/2022 at 4:47 PM, Demondan75 said:

This bloke is going to be there (only if his mum says it ok).

This makes me laugh. Even his mate is holding him back from doing some real damage. As the Irish say "eejit"

8 hours ago, picket fence said:

And Steven May😱

I we would play Tmac in defence on McKay snd Weid 2nd ruck with Gawn and Dogga at CHF and changing in ruck with Weid on occasions . 

1 hour ago, 58er said:

I we would play Tmac in defence on McKay snd Weid 2nd ruck with Gawn and Dogga at CHF and changing in ruck with Weid on occasions . 

Not the worst idea going around🤔

8 hours ago, fr_ap said:

You're right, we'll never lose again. What was I thinking? 

...

I'd forgotten what a circle jerk it could be in here; apparently pointing out that we had luck and no injuries last year, and that we might not be so lucky again whilst the opposition may improve, is an affront to the psyche of our supporters.

I never said we were crap - far from it, rather that sterner tests may be coming. 

We will get an early (albeit inconsequential) preview tomorrow night with 5 of our premiership 6 defence out of action. Don't be surprised if you don't like what you see. No Salem alone changes our ball movement and setup enormously. 

'we won by a lot last year, therefore we will keep winning this year'

'we could do the job even with our 2nd stringers in'

'other teams will improve, but we will of course improve more'

Do you realise how ridiculous you sound? In no world are Joel Smith, Hunt, Daw, Weideman, Baker and Chandler walking into the best sides of our closest competition. Dunstan spent half of last year out of a bottom 8 side. Our depth is good - they can't all be stars - but we're one of 18 strong teams and we are not infallible.

All that said, I'd love for you to be right and quote the hell out of me after Grand Final Day. We have as good a shot as any team, but it's a long year with a lot needing to go right. That's all I'm saying. 

I never said we would never be defeated again. That is absurd. No doubt you said it in jest. I agree we may well struggle against the Blue in view of those who are not playing, but l somehow doubt it. I think we will win by 30 points or more. The Blues are still pretenders. 
 

The rest of your post is not even worth refuting. I do not believe in personal abuse on-line, and it is rarely seen on Demonland. Clearly you have snuck thru the controls.

11 hours ago, dworship said:

There is a distinction between "plans" and "plan execution", like last year I think it's a difficult prospect for 80% of the competition. I cannot see a breakdown in our concentration and we know the system works. A lot of teams tried different things last year and the consistent comment was "Melbourne are just so disciplined and well structured behind the ball". If we don't go backward in this area opposition sides will again be held to low scores.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face" - Mike Tyson. Bang bang bang!

GO DEMONS!!

13 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

regarding dunstan, i would presume he was 'st kilda fit' not 'melbourne fit'

It took Ben Brown a season + a preseason to fully transition to being a dees player at our standard

Dunstan will need some time also im sure