Not one to make excuses, but I think unless Collingwood are going through a rebuild like North, the QB match (and the follow up) - will always be one of our toughest games of the year, no matter where we are on the ladder. It's the only solace I'll take looking ahead, after that final quarter. Along with May returning.

If you looked at the fixture at the start of the year, you'd think we'd be more likely to beat Brisbane and Geelong, than we were to beat Collingwood & Sydney. Traditionally far better matchups for us, fresh after the bye. Let's hope the team comes out hungry and fit.

Edited June 13, 20222 yr by John Demonic

While im including Macca in this as he does make a significant difference up forward imv...

After 3 losses to top 8 clubs (in a row) is it too simplistic to be saying... "No May, No Melbourne"?

4 minutes ago, Demon Dynasty said:

 

After 3 losses to top 8 clubs (in a row) is it too simplistic to be saying... "No May, No Melbourne"?

Yes.

2 hours ago, Maldonboy38 said:

 

I can't remember a single 45 degree kick into the corridor that took a risk. There might have been 1 or 2 but I can't remember them. Salem and Bowey usually star at this but kudos to the Pies who shut that avenue completely.

 

Owning the corridor used to be our thing! Now we have trouble defending it and when we do get a chance to go through there, we play safe. This is also contributing to the lack of forward 50 marks and what Goody refers to all the time: connection.

Go wide and you let opposition teams get numbers back and makes scoring more difficult.

Edited June 13, 20222 yr by dee-tox

MFC-Note to self, do not debut players on QB.

Just awful is all I can say. Our season is in serious trouble. How many times they kicked to a Collingwood player in our forward was embarrassing 

Edited June 13, 20222 yr by Cassiew

3 hours ago, dee-tox said:

Owning the corridor used to be our thing! Now we have trouble defending it and when we do get a chance to go through there, we play safe. This is also contributing to the lack of forward 50 marks and what Goody refers to all the time: connection.

Go wide and you let opposition teams get numbers back and makes scoring more difficult.

We’ve definitely lost our dare, the players have regressed to being afraid to make a mistake. I’m all for playing intelligent football in looking for the short out player, but the difference is last year we would then have Petracca, Oliver, Viney, and others look for that inside corridor option that opens the play up. It’s now very stagnant, slow, and predictable. 

If Turner had not been concussed and Max had not been playing injured then the result would have been closer as it threw our structures out of whack and the Pies smartly capitalized on this. Petty also looked hurt after a big clash in the third as well. 

Mitch Brown had to be moved to defense to cover Turner and then when Max went off in the third, Cox sat in the hole in our forward line and grabbed everything because Ben Brown was double-teamed and Fritsch was well-held. Why on earth our mids kept bombing it into the forward line in the third and fourth quarters is beyond me, that was a stupid tactic and it cost us momentum and ultimately the game. 

The competition is very close and every team knows us very well. Once our game plan came apart at the seams as the injuries mounted the momentum started changing, McCrae changed tactics and the result was inevitable. Good coaching by the Pies. 

But we head into the bye at the pointy end of the ladder and the two weeks break should be really good for us to put a better team on the park in a couple of weeks

The annoying thing is mihocek was in doubt all week with a knee injury. Would have been handy if he was out.

Well Melbourne players playing for Casey certainly know spots are up for grabs

8 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

The annoying thing is mihocek was in doubt all week with a knee injury. Would have been handy if he was out.

Well Melbourne players playing for Casey certainly know spots are up for grabs

And it would have been handy if we had of played May but, no, we had to shoot ourselves in the foot for the sake of our ‘culture’. 

I had a “we’re officially stuffed” moment when Mitch Brown materialised in the back line. TMac he definitely ain’t. Actually, that’s true with him in the forward line too. 

Gee it would be nice to go a full game without Petty getting smashed. He’s our most important defender at the moment with May out and Lever down.

17 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

The annoying thing is mihocek was in doubt all week with a knee injury. Would have been handy if he was out.

Well Melbourne players playing for Casey certainly know spots are up for grabs

Mihocek was in doubt, Collingwood started with 5 behinds on the board, I don't really know how much more could have gone right for us other than some of the rough decisions we copped.

I'd be concerned if in all 3 games we had been smashed from the 1st bounce. The fact that we've got out to 4-6 goal leads and have been reeled back in, it feels less of a concern. You don't get out to those leads unless you're doing many things right. Those things don't include ethereal concepts such as being hungrier than the opposition, losing dare, not being confident, or the opposition has worked you out, etc.  You don't get reeled back in, because you lose those ethereal concepts either...

Edited June 13, 20222 yr by Engorged Onion

That was gross yesterday 

Now going to direct my attention to the Socceroos

1 minute ago, chook fowler said:

Now going to direct my attention to the Socceroos

Mihocek wouldn't have kicked four on Redmayne!

Thought Turner  showed quite positive signs for a first gamer and will only benefit from the experience. Seemed to read the play ok and had some competitive body size.

47 minutes ago, dee-tox said:

Mihocek wouldn't have kicked four on Redmayne!

That was infuriating until he actually saved it. I honestly thought the dancing on the line would prevent him from being nimble enough to jump left or right. Whatever works!

Edited June 13, 20222 yr by John Demonic

1 hour ago, Engorged Onion said:

I'd be concerned if in all 3 games we had been smashed from the 1st bounce. The fact that we've got out to 4-6 goal leads and have been reeled back in, it feels less of a concern. You don't get out to those leads unless you're doing many things right. Those things don't include ethereal concepts such as being hungrier than the opposition, losing dare, not being confident, or the opposition has worked you out, etc.  You don't get reeled back in, because you lose those ethereal concepts either...

So… Norm‘s curse? I’m running out of ethereal concepts here.

1 hour ago, Nasher said:

I had a “we’re officially stuffed” moment when Mitch Brown materialised in the back line. TMac he definitely ain’t. Actually, that’s true with him in the forward line too. 

Gee it would be nice to go a full game without Petty getting smashed. He’s our most important defender at the moment with May out and Lever down.

I hope May is suitably chastened.

 I don't miss the morning after a loss ☹️

What's worse, I dreamt of us losing, but this time we lost to the Swans (again?). Ugh. Gross. Give me zombies/falling etc any day. 

It really is a lot easier when you're winning!

14 hours ago, Swooper1987 said:

Gawn, Turner, Petty all shot which gives an alibi.  Jackson shouldn't escape criticism for his poor effort when asked to step up.  Tracc really struggling.  Two weeks to get it right.

I liked what I saw from Turner early, made a couple of errors but did some really nice things and attacked the ball hard. Such a pity he copped that head knock.

It's amazing how quickly things turn to [censored] as soon as Goodwin signs a new contract. First 2019, now 2022. Sure he can't run around and kick the ball for the players, but he has presided over the declining standards over the past two months, played unfit and out of form players, and failed to accept the need to change a game plan that has been worked out by every other team.

Failing to rest players through rounds 9 and 10 was a horrible, horrible error of judgement. Did it matter if we beat North by 5 or 8 goals, if we were in a better position through rounds 11 - 13?

I'm amazed that so many people are fixated on us are giving up quarter time leads. In recent weeks we have had 1.6, 1.5 and 0.5 kicked against us in the first quarter. If those teams had kicked straight we would have deservedly trailed on each occasion. We've plain and simply been poor for the entirety of the past three weeks.

The first player I would drop is Lever. He offers no leadership, can't / won't defend his opponent, and offers nothing with ball in hand. He spends more time lying on the ground than standing next to his man. He is playing like 2019 Lever with the arrogance of someone who thinks he is untouchable because he was good in 2021. Playing Turner was the equivalent of playing Petty in 2018 - you're just hoping to fast track a player who simply isn't ready.

I'm sick of players such as Sparrow, Spargo and Salem who hold the ball up for 10-15 seconds looking for the perfect kick, then dink a 15 metre kick sideways. Take responsibility yourself instead of lumping it on your teammate. By the time we are finally ready to go down the line all our forwards have led and are out of position, and the opposition have flooded back. No wonder we end up turning it over. 

Sparrow, Spargo, Bowey, Jackson all need a rest. Petty and Gawn injured. Langdon and Salem underdone. Harmes, Neal-Bullen, Lever MIA. Forward line abysmal. We're in a world of trouble. At the moment we look more likely to miss the 8 rather than finish top 4. Goodwin and the supposed leaders of the club have ten days to turn around this sinking ship.

 

 

My key takeaways after taking the night to ruminate...

• Our structures around the ball seem to have disintegrated... is it fitness?
• Our tall forward depth is shallow as a small pond
• Ben Brown cannot hold a mark to save himself
• Too many dump kicks resulting in turnovers... reminded me of 2019/2020
• Trac and Gawn need a rest, bad
• Jordon, Gus and Viney can hold their heads high... Oliver too, obviously
• Bedford must come in, maybe Van Rooyen too.

It can turn around quickly.

8 minutes ago, poita said:

It's amazing how quickly things turn to [censored] as soon as Goodwin signs a new contract. First 2019, now 2022. Sure he can't run around and kick the ball for the players, but he has presided over the declining standards over the past two months, played unfit and out of form players, and failed to accept the need to change a game plan that has been worked out by every other team.

Failing to rest players through rounds 9 and 10 was a horrible, horrible error of judgement. Did it matter if we beat North by 5 or 8 goals, if we were in a better position through rounds 11 - 13?

I'm amazed that so many people are fixated on us are giving up quarter time leads. In recent weeks we have had 1.6, 1.5 and 0.5 kicked against us in the first quarter. If those teams had kicked straight we would have deservedly trailed on each occasion. We've plain and simply been poor for the entirety of the past three weeks.

The first player I would drop is Lever. He offers no leadership, can't / won't defend his opponent, and offers nothing with ball in hand. He spends more time lying on the ground than standing next to his man. He is playing like 2019 Lever with the arrogance of someone who thinks he is untouchable because he was good in 2021. Playing Turner was the equivalent of playing Petty in 2018 - you're just hoping to fast track a player who simply isn't ready.

I'm sick of players such as Sparrow, Spargo and Salem who hold the ball up for 10-15 seconds looking for the perfect kick, then dink a 15 metre kick sideways. Take responsibility yourself instead of lumping it on your teammate. By the time we are finally ready to go down the line all our forwards have led and are out of position, and the opposition have flooded back. No wonder we end up turning it over. 

Sparrow, Spargo, Bowey, Jackson all need a rest. Petty and Gawn injured. Langdon and Salem underdone. Harmes, Neal-Bullen, Lever MIA. Forward line abysmal. We're in a world of trouble. At the moment we look more likely to miss the 8 rather than finish top 4. Goodwin and the supposed leaders of the club have ten days to turn around this sinking ship.

 

 

Lever seems to lose the plot when May is out of the team. Not that he was having a blinder early in the year anyway.