POSTGAME: Rd 01 vs Western Bulldogs

[Fritta and Turner 4,522]

May had 4 kicked on him, Burgo has been gone 5 minutes  and we have Injuries Galore, still kicking points, Kozzie cant get the ball, Gawn/Oliver gave away 13 free kicks,  Bowey looks smaller (time to go to Spec Savers?)......and wait for it, we got absolutely dominated in the coaches post game presser...

Good win Dees

[Guest]

15 hours ago, DEE fence said:

Thought the Dogs supporters were weak for not turning up.

But can you really blame them? Were the roles reversed, and for round one we had to face the team that thrashed us in the GF and watch the unfurling ceremony etc., would you wanna be there? I know I wouldn’t. Add that to the Weds night thing and that’s an even bigger bunch of nope. 

[Pulp Fritschon 764]

15 hours ago, John Crow Batty said:

We are still kings for marks inside 50. Last night 17-6 to add to the 48-14 from last seasons finals campaign. That’s an incredible 65-20 in four games. Forwards are spreading well and midfield working hard to get forward. Ben Brown has also made a huge difference. Greg Stafford has done a great job since becoming forward line coach. 

Yes spot on. How good is our connection inside 50 these days. No more just bombing it like the old days. 

[Watson11 2,241]

2 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

Statistics don't always tell the truth.

When Harmes was on Bailey Smith he quite often lost him in the contest and Smith had a very good day, although he too can't kick. He also butchered the ball in critical moments going inside 50.

I agree statistics don't tell the truth.  You need to put them in context.  Smith had 33 disposals but I thought he had a poor game.  I don't recall Harmes being on Smith at all, and if he did it would have been covering for someone else.  Smith played as an inside mid most of the night against Tracc and Oliver, and frankly he was ripped apart. When he went outside he matched up on Jordon.  Tracc/Oliver had 21 score involvements. The dogs had 16 scores total.  Smith is the one who gets lost at stoppages, not Harmes. 

At stoppages Harmes primarily picked up Dunkley, but if he wasn't around he picked up Libba/Bont/Macrae.

 

 

  

[Mazer Rackham 14,971]

8 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I thought Harmes was easily worst on ground until 10 mins to go in the last quarter.

He cannot afford to have another game like that if Luke Dunstan is breathing down his neck.

Ahhhhhh .... depth. (Lights cigar and sips cognac.)

 

7 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I actually thought the Doggies supporters were pretty loud during their run of goals, if I had to guess probably a 60/40 split our way? Maybe I'm being too generous too them but I was sitting in the Southern, sorry - Shane Warne, Stand so wasn't surrounded by as many Melbourne supporters as in the Northern Stand.

I was sitting behind a family of Doggie supporters who were very loud during their run of 8 and very quiet otherwise. They left halfway through the last. Is it wrong that as a newly arrogant supporter of the premiers that I felt sorry for them?

[Mazer Rackham 14,971]

3 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

But can you really blame them? Were the roles reversed, and for round one we had to face the team that thrashed us in the GF and watch the unfurling ceremony etc., would you wanna be there? I know I wouldn’t. Add that to the Weds night thing and that’s an even bigger bunch of nope. 

The spoils of war. History is written by the victors. Etc. It's good to be premiers.

[binman 43,755]

20 hours ago, DEE fence said:

'Just one beer/drink' is one of the most oft told lies in English or any other language.... just sayin 

Sums up why I stopped drinking.

[58er 6,560]

5 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

Totally re: the crowd. I was in the MCC which is always a high MFC proportion but the roar for us was enormous, whereas the Dogs' noise really only came from their cheer squad in the Ponsford.

I'm sure the low(er) crowd was due to Dogs supporters not turning up.

The 10 day break is nice but there's not a huge difference between 7 and 10 days, and at any rate it's Round 1 so we could probably deal with a shorter break better now than in Round 22, for example.

I estimate (from forward pocket Punt  Rd end in Gt Sth Stand lower level ) that Demon fans were 50,000 and Dogs the 8,000 rest.

The whole Level 1 in the ground ( except the Ponsford Stand )were Dees fans. Great to have ground to ourselves almost.

Pretty well confirmed on TV later I reckon. 

I predict 75,000 minimum vs Bombers and we will do well to have an advantage in support if we don't prepare and get tickets plus get there early.

Don't dilly dally getting your tickets or getting to the ground GA, Demons members, AFL members or MCC Members.

Like in 1964 late round fixture at the G there was 86,000 I think. We won with  a big last quarter and we had to sit on the top level of the Northern Stand.

Heady days Dees.

 

[58er 6,560]

8 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I actually thought the Doggies supporters were pretty loud during their run of goals, if I had to guess probably a 60/40 split our way? Maybe I'm being too generous too them but I was sitting in the Southern, sorry - Shane Warne, Stand so wasn't surrounded by as many Melbourne supporters as in the Northern Stand.

More like 50,000/8,000 really.

In the lower level Gt STH Stand which is not normal the GA ticketing increased our support all around the ground. And our takeover completely of Level 2 with Corporates plus the total  domination in the MCC members makes a huge difference when you get that many Dees fans. 

We will be lucky to outdo the Bombers fans in Round3 if we are not careful. 

[Meggs 597]

Meggs finally getting around to watching the replay on Kayo and up to quarter time.  He’s still a bit hoarse from lots of yelling on Wednesday night.  But fmd, that flop and free to Weightman looks just as bad as it did on the night, atrocious decision.

[58er 6,560]

21 hours ago, tiers said:

Having watched round 1 I think I will keep on watching the Grand Final replays.

More exciting, better standard and we win by so much more.

It will take something really special this season to change my preference.

You have forgotten 2007/14 far too quickly. Winning with difficulties gives the side so much more dimension. 

[Demon17 5,202]

maybe isr beveridge sucking the oxygen out of the post game air, but I haven't seen the allusion to ' the Dees being a bit cocky ' as was floated by Jake Niall.

After Wednesday its just simply how good are the Dees with a seccond string of defenders. All class on the way the club carried of the flag raising and susbsequent performance.

Plenty of new/existing muppets about now that the story-starved media can fixate on for the next few weeks. 

[tiers 2,843]

33 minutes ago, 58er said:

You have forgotten 2007/14 far too quickly. Winning with difficulties gives the side so much more dimension. 

I attended the 1964 grand final so I have 57 years of misery to expunge from my memory. I also remember the lost years of 61, 62 and 63.

Easy wins by large margins to win a flag helps.

[58er 6,560]

On 3/17/2022 at 12:10 PM, S_T said:

I hope all the Smith doubters were paying attention.  He was very solid both with his defending and disposing the ball.  Watching at the game last night, while Brown lines up for our second goal, Gawn ran 50m to praise Smith after his efforts over near the members.  Great captaincy and the praise was very well deserved.

Lyon was also full of praise, saying just before the second quarter started "Joel Smith for me is the standout.  You wanna talk about whether they're hungry, a bloke that doesn't play in the grand final keeps them all honest"

One swallow ....please ......  but he was sound and played team footy not individual flying with everyone getting in their road etc. 

Disciplined and skilful on the night and promising start to 2022. Hope he gets an injury free run to show his craft. 

[58er 6,560]

15 minutes ago, tiers said:

I attended the 1964 grand final so I have 57 years of misery to expunge from my memory. I also remember the lost years of 61, 62 and 63.

Easy wins by large margins to win a flag helps.

I am also a 64 year supporter and couldn't get a ticket but we are risking too much good footy from this team possibly our best ever ( we don't really know now) Good as GF was and I was in Perth and still pinch myself but it's now and the future and 2021 to have fondest memories of. 

[58er 6,560]

On 3/17/2022 at 10:31 AM, Jaded No More said:

I am not sure the wing is JJ's jam. But understand he was there because Gus was playing defence. Poor Gus is just the 'plug a hole man'. Such a great team player.

 

Tmac was great defensively. Then he fluffed two kicks coming out of defence and I had immediate PTSD.

We were lucky to play a side with only one really good tall forward. We will struggle with Lever and Salem against potent forwardlines. 

Hunt destroying floppy Weightman was wonderful. I loath that kid.

Surely you are saying we will struggle without Lever and Salem not WITH them.

Dont necessarily agree as Tmac Tommo Maysie and possibly Smithy can all play tall. Our Achilles heel is often our Lack of small defenders matching opposition smalls.

Reckon we got a bottle of self belief with our backline and all seemed to play their role once the mids proved too tough in the centre and our backs tightened up.

3.2 in a half ( 3.1 in the GF) is our mantra. And 11.5 is same as 10.6 in the GF also.  And look at the changes in personnel on the night and before.

[DEE fence 5,039]

7 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

 I thought ANB was superb playing more inside mid than I've ever seen him play before. 

I thought ANB has grown so much, last night was comparable to the day out he had in his 100th match. Bugger he missed that icing goal.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

A few observations after watching the first half replay....

👉 Defence was not the same without Lever but generally held up well under the circumstances.  Kudos to the guys playing back.  In particular Smith who i thought played a very solid first half.

👉 May appeared to have Naughton inside 50 much of the time in this half but when Naughton pushed higher up the ground May appeared to retain his spot as the last man back.  All good but then who was picking up Naughton as he pushed up the ground?  It would appear no one in this first half.  While i understand this is a difficult ask at the best of times, with most of our Premiership defenders out this task became even more problematic on Weds night.  Something to ponder over for the future as he is a very tricky match up both on the ground and in the air.  A direct match up when he pushes up the ground doesn't really come to mind at this point but it's something we need to put some work into for future encounters.  Anyone?

👉 English took front position against Max most of the time when Max pushed forward, resulting in a number of frees against Max for ITB.  One of which should have been a free to Maxy as the first push came from a Doggy defender behind him who cannoned him into English.  Of course that first push of Maxy was missed.  Would like to see Maxy work for the front possie on occasions to mix things up and hopefully force the free kick in front of goals also.

👉 The 2nd quarter tap outs were almost always to the punt road end and or slightly sideways and half the time straight into a waiting doggy sweeper.  Would have thought our two ruckman would wake to this earlier but seemed to be missed as our boys were often sitting out back.  I also felt too many players in the middle got sucked too close to the ball drop.  This meant when we did get the odd possession we were often hand balling to a player within three or four feet of each other were under immediate pressure and dumped off to another player in close etc etc.  There was very little handball to a player on a different line out wider / or a tap across/ forward in their direction for the quick transition inside 50 as they mostly werent there to give to (a la the GF). This resulted in a few turnovers in the middle, even when we got our hands on the ball first (which was pretty rare in the second) which helped the Dogs big time.  Probably only a set up tweak needed here which i'm sure the boys addressed at half time as things seemed to improve here in the second half.  No doubt some first game cobwebs happening.

👉  JJ had a mare and looked completely out of sorts in this first half.  I understand the want on here and possibly by the FD to stick with a winning combo but to me JJ has looked out of sorts since about 2/3rds of the way through last season with not many credits remaining at this point.  I would probably seriously consider Bedford as in front at this stage.  He just looked to have more speed and to be more at the pace than JJ for the most part.

👉  Harmes not far behind JJ.  Much of his not so great work happening around HB where he always seems out of sorts IMV.  Harmes much more suited to playing a bullocking role through the middle working off his opponent as a run with minder role when we don't have the ball on the likes of say a Macrae or a Bont.  Did a few good things in tight to redeem but overall i didnt like his game much in this first half.  Has plenty of credits though and the second half probably a different outcome from what i recall at the ground anyway.

👉  The big play maker for the Dogs across HB is of course the smallest fella on the field in Caleb.  His influence in that second quarter was immense and he was left to run amok without anyone checking him.  And not just across HB.  He pushes right up to the 50 meter arc at times as a key link man.  As a coach or coaching panel against the Doggies do you ask the question "Do we try and take away or at least limit what we know is a key strength and/or a part of the Doggy's DNA?"?

For me Caleb is a key part of how the Doggies tick and how they arrest / maintain momentum from their opponent.  Much of this is obtained on the counter.  Sure i would not be too worried in the opening salvo of the first quarter where its a bit of a turkey shoot in any match.  Let the players sort themselves and lets see who appears to be hot and who might be somewhat off early and review at quarter time or at least have option B up the sleeve.  In this case i would have looked to have Kozzie run with Caleb after they got on a bit of a roll on in the second.... say 3 goals, and just asked him to blanket him until half time.  Reset from there.  Kozzie was not that influential, other than a few opportune pressure cameos which sure, were very handy.  But i would have much rather seen him sacrifice his game a little from early on in the second quarter post the third goal and review at half time.

👉 Like to see Clarry hit the afterburners when he takes possession more often as we know he can... and look to break free of the congestion then head out wide or long.  Not a major issue.  Just a minor tweak towards more of this and a little less of the in close dinky hand offs to another player under severe pressure.  Tracc also on at least one occasion.... sold Clarry into trouble in the middle bounce when a quick kick forward was in the offing (in the second quarter).

👉  I thought Viney (both quarters in patches) and Tracc (especially in the second) were immense at keeping us in the arm wrestle early.  Ditto BBB.  Some fabulous timing of leads / leaps on his part along with his usual accuracy from distance.  Macca down back was also VG for mine and really steadied us under fire in the second. 

👉  Big Maxy on one occasion gave a block free to English in the middle bounce, but then when the favour was returned by English with 2 minutes to go to half time at a bounce just forward of the middle Max received nothing in return.  It would appear Max is severely behind the eight ball here by the umpiring fraternity, who will basically immediately call him on any apparent blocks but ignore them the other way!  This needs to be brought to the attention of the AFL by the FD immediately with examples shown given that the players are now unable to vocally remonstrate on field.

👉  The free to Weightman at the end of the 1st quarter gave the Dogs hope coming in to the 2nd and was crucial in their second quarter turn around.  They also received some very fortunate bounces from the middle ruck contests

👉  During patches of the second quarter we gave them way too much room coming out of our D50 and continued to do so as they moved the ball up the field.  This will only improve the opp's chances of converting and i just can't see any significant advantage that helps us here.  Once the ball hits our 50 arc players must simply close up the distance little by little with the pressure wick fully cranked by the time it's anywhere near the middle.  Rolling back as the opp finds hole after hole in our D as they waltz up the field to the middle and beyond is just asking for trouble and something most skilled / highly fit teams will just consider money for jam.  Allowing them to kick easy / consecutive goals on the run.  While i realise this situation doesn't usually last for more than a few minuets in short stints in particular quarters, it's when it moves beyond a few minutes / short stints IMHO that ends up seeing big runs against us, often resulting in teams gaining confidence  / belief that they are a show even if they're down by thiree / four goals etc in the early part of a match as we saw on Weds night.  Sometimes these runs won't be caused by this issue but i find more times than not this is our biggest Acchilles heal.  Yes teams are going to get a run on at times and there's nothing we can do.  Sometimes it might be simply fatigue that's causing the gaping holes and the opp's just having a great quarter or a purple patch over 10 to 15 minutes.  I get the momentum stuff but i still believe there's room for tweaking here.

👉   Someone received a 50 from Hannon at some stage in the second (Spargo / Gus!?).  Went forward and two fellas were sitting on the fat side of him....with plenty of leading room.  To me the best option was a lead from one of them (think it was Kozzie & Bowey) into that fat side.  Taking the kick from just outside 50 the kicker was never going to make it.  The Doggys were all looking for the kick to the top of the square and predictably thats exactly where we went and the ball spilled and was easily cleared as they had so many back.  A lead up from one of the smalls might have seen us taking a set shot from about 40 meters out on a not so tight angle for a crucial goal to pull back the lead further.  Instead both these blokes just turned their back and walked away from the kicker towards goal from the 40 / 50 area.  Opportunity missed IMV and would like to see some of the smalls (vs leaving it mostly up to Fritta for example) pull the trigger here a bit more when the space IS clearly there on the fat side and at least look to double back on the lead here a la Harmes to Fritta in the third quarter of the GF.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Demon Dynasty

[Cards13 9,117]

5 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

But can you really blame them? Were the roles reversed, and for round one we had to face the team that thrashed us in the GF and watch the unfurling ceremony etc., would you wanna be there? I know I wouldn’t. Add that to the Weds night thing and that’s an even bigger bunch of nope. 

WalkingCivilWeakness? 😉

[DEE fence 5,039]

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

A few observations after watching the first half replay....

👉 Defence was not the same without Lever but generally held up well under the circumstances.  Kudos to the guys playing back.  In particular Smith who i thought played a very solid first half.

I think Brayshaw was key,  going down back and picking up Salem's role, 1st test of the season for the club passed with flying colours. I can understand why Goodwin was so effusive with his praise for the defense. 

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉 May appeared to have Naughton inside 50 much of the time in this half but when Naughton pushed higher up the ground May appeared to retain his spot as the last man back.  All good but then who was picking up Naughton as he pushed up the ground?  It would appear no one in this first half.  While i understand this is a difficult ask at the best of times, with most of our Premiership defenders out this task become even more problematic on Weds night.  Something to ponder over for the future as he is a very tricky match up both on the ground and in the air.  A direct match up when he pushes up the ground doesn't really come to mind at this point but it's something we need to put some work into for future encounters.  Anyone?

Left field -  Tmac, Tmac used to do a great job on Riewoldt, who was murder in the air. Keeping Naughton to 4, I would almost say is a pass though for May, Naughton is just a brilliant player, Only player apart from Bont I would take straight into our starting 18. I also really thought that Smith had a brilliant game, his closing speed and size is scary and if he continues to improve ,he might have a role to play, as Naugton's timing in the air is as good as a Russian Ice skater high on 02 boosters.

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉 The 2nd quarter tap outs were almost always to the punt road end and or slightly sideways and half the time straight into a waiting doggy sweeper.  Would have thought our two ruckman would wake to this earlier but seemed to be missed as our boys were often sitting out back.  I also felt too many players in the middle got sucked too close to the ball drop.  This meant when we did get the odd possession we were often hand balling to a player within three or four feet of each other were under immediate pressure and dumped off to another player in close etc etc.  There was very little handball to a player on a different line out wider / or a tap across/ forward in their direction for the quick transition inside 50 as they mostly werent there to give to (a la the GF). This resulted in a few turnovers in the middle, even when we got our hands on the ball first (which was pretty rare in the second) which helped the Dogs big time.  Probably only a set up tweak needed here which i'm sure the boys addressed at half time as things seemed to improve here in the second half.  No doubt some first game cobwebs happening.

For me cobwebs - also see post clearance contest wins (as per the thread ' Centre Clearances - Considered Analysis Requested'), that said I think the Doggies read Maxy better than most teams - I actually think Bevo put a lot of work into the Ruck, and as he mentioned before he had his minor wobble, they went with a different ruck plan of pinch hitting ruckman. What he didn't mention, which was probably the key part of the plan, was that they reckon they would be able to shark the tap. 

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉  JJ had a mare and looked completely out of sorts in this first half.  I understand the want on here and possibly by the FD to stick with a winning combo but to me JJ has looked out of sorts since about 2/3rds of the way through last season with not many credits remaining at this point.  I would probably seriously consider Bedford as in front at this stage.  He just looked to have more speed and to be more at the pace than JJ for the most part.

I agree, didn't run the same he did 1st half of 21, but he must have done enough in training, will be interesting to watch. I thought Hunt need to do more as well, I want Rivers back urgently.

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉  Harmes not far behind JJ.  Much of his not so great work happening around HB where he always seems out of sorts IMV.  Harmes much more suited to playing a bullocking role through the middle working off his opponent as a run with minder role when we don't have the ball on the likes of say a Macrae or a Bont.  Did a few good things in tight to redeem but overall i didnt like his game much in this first half.  Has plenty of credits though and the second half probably a different outcome from what i recall at the ground anyway.

I was down on Harmes years gone by, but he had a great finals series and role in r23 that he has credits in the bank for 2 more rounds, but if he drops off the way he did at times last year would love to see Dunstan. '21 really did change my mind on Harmes though and I used to be critic, I felt like he demonstrated good coachability and adapted a lot.  

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉  The big play maker for the Dogs across HB is of course the smallest fella on the field in Caleb.  His influence in that second quarter was immense and he was left to run amok without anyone checking him.  And not just across HB.  He pushes right up to the 50 meter arc at times as a key link man.  As a coach or coaching panel against the Doggies do you ask the question "Do we try and take away or at least limit what we know is a key strength and/or a part of the Doggy's DNA?"?

The thing is our zone and marking ability (contested/intercept) is so strong we nullify what he does, am still in favour of sticking to our D style. It comes back in over his head and I'm not ready to sacrifice our zone defensive style. would rather do a few things very well than try and do everything. If Caleb could kick it 45-55 then I might have different ideas but as brilliant and brave as he is, and I respect him, his short kicks don't hurt us because he is not releasing other players in a way that gets through our zone often enough for the dogs to win. 

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

For me Caleb is a key part of how the Doggies tick and how they arrest / maintain momentum from their opponent.  Much of this is obtained on the counter.  Sure i would not be too worried in the opening salvo of the first quarter where its a bit of a turkey shoot in any match.  Let the players sort themselves and lets see who appears to be hot and who might be somewhat off early and review at quarter time or at least have option B up the sleeve.  In this case i would have looked to have Kozzie run with Caleb after they got on a bit of a roll on in the second.... say 3 goals, and just asked him to blanket him until half time.  Reset from there.  Kozzie was not that influential, other than a few opportune pressure cameos which sure, were very handy.  But i would have much rather seen him sacrifice his game a little from early on in the second quarter post the third goal and review at half time.

I also am a fan of Kossie doing a bit in the middle and maybe this is an idea. I actually thought Kossie's pressure acts were Davey and Uncle like and upset the Dogs' carry, to me 'cameo' is faint praise. I did like how Kingy highlighted on 360 how Kossie is taking 'wickets' this year.

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

 

👉  I thought Viney (both quarters in patches) and Tracc (especially in the second) were immense at keeping us in the arm wrestle early.  Ditto BBB.  Some babulous timing on his part along with his usual accuracy from distance.  Macca down back was also VG for mine and really steadied us under fire in the second. 

Viney fit is a weapon, and he is our much needed hard man, watch the 2nd Gus and Gawny with Viney. and a fit Viney is now running on the top of the ground. Clearly ahead of Harmes and Dunstan while fit. As others have mentioned working better with Clarry now. Petracca is a blessing, it is like having Christmas 27 times a year.

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉  Big Maxy on one occasion gave a block free to English in the middle bounce, but then when the favour was returned by English with 2 minutes to go to half time at a bounce just forward of the middle Max received nothing in return.  It would appear Max is severely behind the eight ball here by the umpiring fraternity, who will basically immediately call him on any apparent blocks but ignore them the other way!  This needs to be brought to the attention of the AFL by the FD immediately with examples shown given that the players are now unable to vocally remonstrate on field.

He had two eyes and both his hands on the ball, a shocking free, he does not get a good go. I almost think there is a Maxy tax as well, for just being so dominant, there is not another ruck who gets such a hard time, even that dog Mumford.

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉  The free to Weightman at the end of the 1st quarter gave the Dogs hope coming in to the 2nd and was crucial in their second quarter turn around.  They also received some very fortunate bounces from the middle ruck contests

How I loved our Captain walking up and calming Smith down from dissent, never stops being a leader. Weightman will only have so many flops in the bank.

2 hours ago, Demon Dynasty said:

👉  During patches of the second quarter we gave them way too much room coming out of our D50 and continued to do so as they moved the ball up the field.  This will only improve the opp's chances of converting and i just can't see any significant advantage that helps us here.  Once the ball hits our 50 arc players must simply close up the distance little by little with the pressure wick fully cranked by the time it's anywhere near the middle.  Rolling back as the opp finds hole after hole in our D as they waltz up the field to the middle and beyond is just asking for trouble and something most skilled / highly fit teams will just consider money for jam.  Allowing them to kick easy / consecutive goals on the run.  While i realise this situation doesn't usually last for more than a few minuets in short stints in particular quarters, it's when it moves beyond a few minutes / short stints IMHO that ends up seeing big runs against us, often resulting in teams gaining confidence  / belief that they are a show even if they're down by thiree / four goals etc in the early part of a match as we saw on Weds night.  Sometimes these runs won't be caused by this issue but i find more times than not this is our biggest Acchilles heal.  Yes teams are going to get a run on at times and there's nothing we can do.  Sometimes it might be simply fatigue that's causing the gaping holes and the opp's just having a great quarter or a purple patch over 10 to 15 minutes.  I get the momentum stuff but i still believe there's room for tweaking here.

I think it's a plan to drop back and set up the zone. Normally our zone is great, this I felt (as others have mentioned) is because Lever wasn't there in his General role. Zones are super tricky to perfect and we had gaping holes with the change of cattle. I am prepared to forgive on this occasion but will keep this in mind going forward. Personally I still think we are best practice on zone defense.

Many thanks for your great thoughts, gave me something to bounce off. 

Edited March 18, 2022 by DEE fence
some typos-probably didn't get them all...

[Deemania since 56 6,716]

18 hours ago, picket fence said:

Or better still Smith with his Ariel Acrobatics would be worth seeing!!

Still agree with you on this one, picket - very strongly. He is not the type to interfere with teammates but instead, to lead and play lateral forward opportunities. Maybe one day....a real potential contributor to the effective work of Fritta on the other side.

[leave it to deever 17,517]

On 3/17/2022 at 8:12 AM, WalkingCivilWar said:

look down on the plebs

Gee thanks 

Enjoy our charcuterie plate and pinot?

Don't mind me, I'm just jealous having to fight the kids to gain control over the telly.

 

[von 1,572]

13 hours ago, Demon17 said:

maybe isr beveridge sucking the oxygen out of the post game air, but I haven't seen the allusion to ' the Dees being a bit cocky ' as was floated by Jake Niall.

After Wednesday its just simply how good are the Dees with a seccond string of defenders. All class on the way the club carried of the flag raising and susbsequent performance.

Plenty of new/existing muppets about now that the story-starved media can fixate on for the next few weeks. 

That comment was weird. When he alluded to us being a team of individual performers compared to Richmond who are all about system I immediately thought about every interview last year where each player deflected questions about themselves to praise others and highlight the team and the system we play or as we call it the Melbourne way. He genuinely just pulled that comment out of his [censored]. Not to mention, system shone through with our team still putting the choke on without any backline. 

[dees189227 12,398]

16 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Ahhhhhh .... depth. (Lights cigar and sips cognac.)

 

I was sitting behind a family of Doggie supporters who were very loud during their run of 8 and very quiet otherwise. They left halfway through the last. Is it wrong that as a newly arrogant supporter of the premiers that I felt sorry for them?

Being in the members I had a dogs guy in front of us with his Melbourne mates and in front of him was 2 dogs fans. I did comment it's brave them sitting there. The mate just walked out during the final quarter. I think he was a bit annoyed because he didn't even say goodbye to his mates, the 2 guys in front left early but did turn around and say well done just to good. 

[leave it to deever 17,517]

16 hours ago, binman said:

Sums up why I stopped drinking.

Reminds me of that old Dudley Moore film Arthur when someone tells him a good woman could help him stop drinking to which he replied....

 

" She would have to be a very strong one."