20 minutes ago, DeeZee said:

The amount of times they scored setting up through Sidebottom who seemed without a man all night on his wing was ridiculous 

He was Langdon's man. I was livid all game at the amount of space sidebottom found himself in

Sure, the F50 tackles were down but it’s hard to tackle when they take an intercept mark. I’m really not sold on Ben Brown - he’s just a liability if he doesn’t mark it. I’m also super disappointed in Petty. He’s a premiership defender who put Tabener to sleep last week yet he got towelled up by a 9 gamer.

I really feel what hamstrung is tonight was Melksham on Moore. Melksham had to play FF most of the night and he’s just not dangerous enough. Fritsch should have gone to the goal square. 
 

Pies are a good side, which I hate to admit, but if that game is played again next weekend I’d still say we win. We won all our big key KPIs but just couldn’t execute and we allowed them  to score too easily. Also, some of those F50 free kicks were disgraceful. Elliott was basically gifted 2 goals.

One other thought I had, do you think that Melbourne playing big finals in 2021 - all away from home and at smaller stadiums which largely 60-40 split Melbourne’s way, sheltered this team from the real heat of a big final at the G? If we play a Richmond or a Pies at the G in a final it’s going to be 95k and I feel it just gives those teams an extra bump.

I still think we’ll finish top 4. The equation is pretty simple for top 2. Win our last 2 and we make it (assuming Sydney doesn’t have two massive wins)

The amount of times our forwards (and Max) would fly in clusters towards the hail-mary deliveries coming at them, only to apply pressure on each other and inevitably bring the ball to ground to….nobody, was maddening. 
 

Our small forwards went missing tonight. 

Edited August 5, 20222 yr by Mel Bourne

The Pies had a huge win down back tonight with 49 rebounds vs our 25.

Our lack of forward 50 pressure?  Zone breaking down?  Pies just too good?  Other?

1 minute ago, Demon Dynasty said:

The elephant in the room for me tonight....

Clarry's lack of leg drive out of stoppage! What's happened to this aspect of his game?

He's a completely different proposition to the opp and so much more damaging for us when he brings this aspect of his game.  Looks like he's running up & down on the spot at times since his return.

Pies were sitting off our midfielders all night. Their tactic was to generate turnover here, that’s why we won so much ball and clearance- I think it’s by design. So Oliver had little chance in driving out of stoppage. 

How many goals did they get from tackles inside 50 holding the balls? I can recall 4 maybe 5? anyone have the official number?

Plain and simply put we didn't take our chances and apply scoreboard pressure when we had the game completely on our terms.

The got a sniff like any crook does and were very very efficient, capitalised on their chances and kicked unbelievably straight. 

Smash and Grab job.

Hope the players are hurting would rather this scenario play out in r21 than in a Prelim.

Take the learnings and move on to next week.

So many occasions where we bombed to the pocket rather than use a hit up target. Likes of Pickett and Langdon were often 15 metres clear and not used. 

I understand where there are no options we tend to go to the pocket to try and lock it in but players need to back their judgement and go with best option.

1 hour ago, Webber said:

Was clear to me early in the third that we would get run down. Their pressure game was building, and we were clearly failing to match it, gifting them extra confidence as their intensity overwhelmed us. Post-loading, this shouldn’t be happening. Why it is? Who the F knows! The biggest issue for me was their ability to carve us up through the middle and with space around the wings and flanks on the switch, almost running at will into a spacious forward line. We had zero answer for this, and they exploited it beautifully. 

After halftime we came out and had the ball in our forward line for 8 minutes with zero reward. They take it down and get a goal. They then got the next centre clearance and I knew we'd be pushing [censored] uphill for the rest of the game. If we took advantage of our opportunities maybe it would've been a completely different game but we didn't create enough solid opportunities from the time in our forward half either.

I'm furious with this loss, absolutely gutted.

Very hard sitting there tonight with that raucous booing mob of dingbats building to a crescendo as we wasted opportunity after opportunity. We are winning our share of the pill but just so wasteful going forward, backline and mids must be wondering what is the bloody point of all the effort to kick a bucket full of points or pick out their talls waiting to pick us off. Need to get another tall in there asap, we dominated possession yet got rolled by their slick ball movement and is there any chance that someone might pick up Sidebottom at some point in time. Not happy with the Magoos either.!!!!!!!

Watching Goody’s presser, I’ve never heard him that angry.

He was in control. It wasn’t a Neeld-esque meltdown. But starting with the line that ‘every coach, player and supporter of Melbourne has every right to be filthy with that loss’  was pretty telling.

He ended positive as he should. We aren’t finished yet. But he usually pumps up the opposition as much as possible. He was clear on giving Collingwood their due, but he was unequivocal that we killed ourselves with our inability to finish.

Annoyed, can't sleep, but they were just more efficient, they absorbed our defence and were clean and beat us with leg speed on the counter.

Not sure playing the half forward press against them was the best option.

On the plus side, qualifying final at the G looking likely.

2 hours ago, D4Life said:

Should have been six in front at half time

Hard for Demons to get a free second half

Pies probably got 6 or 7 goals from frees

the last to Johnson unbelievably soft

Petty pushed him square in the back when he was already under the ball…..right in front of the umpire. Free kick every day of the week. Collingwood play a daring, high pressure game and we should’ve won by 4-5 goals

1 hour ago, praha said:

I am so angry at the club tonight for this alone. It was SOOO obvious. We looked like we had no idea how to play the ground.

The club needs to start flexing some [censored] muscle here. Even if we don't win this year. How many clubs have EVER played 6 consecutive games AWAY from their home during home and away

 

Our fault for selling a home game.

56 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Their forward line played us to perfection. Kept a player back deep (usually Elliot) so we didn't have May or Lever sitting back there as an anchor unopposed. They have no key forward but all of them are dangerous and they use them all so you have to man up on them, so Lever and Petty found it hard to go 3rd up and intercept. Elliot, Mihocek, De Goey, Johnson (never heard of him!) - they made us accountable.

coaching failure at so many levels

13 minutes ago, Demon Dynasty said:

The Pies had a huge win down back tonight with 49 rebounds vs our 25.

Our lack of forward 50 pressure?  Zone breaking down?  Pies just too good?  Other?

So many times we bombed in thinking it was a safe option but if they mark it then they are off. 

And this was a trend, the number of times we killed our own momentum with stupid kicks, seriously.

6 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

After halftime we came out and had the ball in our forward line for 8 minutes with zero reward. They take it down and get a goal. They then got the next centre clearance and I knew we'd be pushing [censored] uphill for the rest of the game. If we took advantage of our opportunities maybe it would've been a completely different game but we didn't create enough solid opportunities from the time in our forward half either.

I'm furious with this loss, absolutely gutted.

Spot on. We dominated field position for a good 8min in the 3rd and got zero reward, quite laughable really. Straight down the other end, goal. That's what turned the momentum.

2 minutes ago, Deenooos_ said:

Spot on. We dominated field position for a good 8min in the 3rd and got zero reward, quite laughable really. Straight down the other end, goal. That's what turned the momentum.

Kozzy should have nailed that goal early in the 3rd.  That’s when I knew. Collingwood were just not missing. 

Edited August 5, 20222 yr by CYB

16 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

Sure, the F50 tackles were down but it’s hard to tackle when they take an intercept mark. I’m really not sold on Ben Brown - he’s just a liability if he doesn’t mark it. I’m also super disappointed in Petty. He’s a premiership defender who put Tabener to sleep last week yet he got towelled up by a 9 gamer.

I really feel what hamstrung is tonight was Melksham on Moore. Melksham had to play FF most of the night and he’s just not dangerous enough. Fritsch should have gone to the goal square. 
 

Pies are a good side, which I hate to admit, but if that game is played again next weekend I’d still say we win. We won all our big key KPIs but just couldn’t execute and we allowed them  to score too easily. Also, some of those F50 free kicks were disgraceful. Elliott was basically gifted 2 goals.

One other thought I had, do you think that Melbourne playing big finals in 2021 - all away from home and at smaller stadiums which largely 60-40 split Melbourne’s way, sheltered this team from the real heat of a big final at the G? If we play a Richmond or a Pies at the G in a final it’s going to be 95k and I feel it just gives those teams an extra bump.

I still think we’ll finish top 4. The equation is pretty simple for top 2. Win our last 2 and we make it (assuming Sydney doesn’t have two massive wins)

Last year is pretty much irrelevant right now. If we can't win big games down the stretch against big clubs at the MCG then our flag suddenly loses worth. We lose everything we gained. To Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond supporters, deep down they still don't respect us as a club. We beat the Lions in Adelaide, Cats in Perth, and Bulldogs in Perth.

We need to start winning big games at the MCG. Otherwise were just the Lions 2.0.

42 minutes ago, Deestar9 said:

Goody said it perfectly in the presser …every supporter..coach & player should be filthy with that loss . I’m always super positive but to see our team so dominant & not capitalise on the scoreboard was galling. Of course they’re always going to get the “rub of the green” but really with our dominance..shouldn’t have mattered. As the reporter in the presser said…if you looked at the stat sheet ..should have been a 4 to 5 goal win to us. If we showed half the intent they did it would have been a 10 goal win. So angry. It will also be a very long time till I go to another game against the Pies. It is so unpleasant from the very start. If we don’t pick up our attitude…it doesn’t look promising! 

Should  perhaps have discussed how his gameplan failed

40 minutes ago, Beetle said:

Aaaah classy bunch of supporters are the pies. Officially overtaken Essendon as my number one. I’ve never been more on edge at a game with constant baiting and antagonism right through to the train ride home. Called a few out and they immediately went to water. A real bunch  of pack mentality heroes. I’m completely livid at this point in time. We SHOULD have won that game, but didn’t.

I come away from the game however confident that we will win the flag PROVIDED we continue to fix the forward line. I pray Tom Mac comes back in at some point in time  he is crucial. 

The Pies won this game on slingshot football and you don’t win finals playing that style plain and simple. Their ability to drop back and run forward got us in the end, but Im going to put my balls in the line and say I cannot foresee anyone going with us at the G come finals time.

Maybe I’m delusional…

 

Let them have their day nothing is won in August, filthy with the loss don't get me wrong.

 

49 minutes ago, Beetle said:

Aaaah classy bunch of supporters are the pies. Officially overtaken Essendon as my number one. I’ve never been more on edge at a game with constant baiting and antagonism right through to the train ride home. Called a few out and they immediately went to water. A real bunch  of pack mentality heroes. I’m completely livid at this point in time. We SHOULD have won that game, but didn’t.

I come away from the game however confident that we will win the flag PROVIDED we continue to fix the forward line. I pray Tom Mac comes back in at some point in time  he is crucial. 

The Pies won this game on slingshot football and you don’t win finals playing that style plain and simple. Their ability to drop back and run forward got us in the end, but Im going to put my balls in the line and say I cannot foresee anyone going with us at the G come finals time.

Maybe I’m delusional…

 

10 minutes to go in the final quarter, crowd at a fever pitch, less than a goal in it and this slob of a nuffie sitting near us decides to have a go at my brother for taking the Lord's name in vain! My sister said she felt like we were in a zoo and I said yep let's get out of here so watched the last 10 minutes in standing room up the back.

4 minutes ago, Deenooos_ said:

Spot on. We dominated field position for a good 8min in the 3rd and got zero reward, quite laughable really. Straight down the other end, goal. That's what turned the momentum.

We weren't ruthless enough that's for sure. With the amount of clearance ball we were getting i can't believe we couldn't convert it into a high percentage of goals.

Our footy smarts by our small fwds tonight wasn't great just all over the shop.

I think we are now recognising the importance of the one and only t - shirt Tommy McDonald, our most important Fwd.

8 minutes ago, CYB said:

Kozzy should have nailed that goal early in the 3rd.  That’s when I knew. Collingwood were just not missing. 

Kozzy had a mare tonight unfortunately.

There's usually one or two moments (at least) in a game where you think at the time... "was that the turning point?".  There was probably about eight or more this evening lol.

Kozzie was directly involved in at least four of them from what i witnessed.  He also did not lay one tackle, had only one 1 percenter, only 3 score involvements and kicked only the one joe-the-goose goal.

On a positive note his pick up / play through the middle / wing at one stage and lovely short pass over the top to tracc was one of the few highlights.

Edited August 5, 20222 yr by Demon Dynasty

52 minutes ago, Deestar9 said:

Goody said it perfectly in the presser …every supporter..coach & player should be filthy with that loss . I’m always super positive but to see our team so dominant & not capitalise on the scoreboard was galling. Of course they’re always going to get the “rub of the green” but really with our dominance..shouldn’t have mattered. As the reporter in the presser said…if you looked at the stat sheet ..should have been a 4 to 5 goal win to us. If we showed half the intent they did it would have been a 10 goal win. So angry. It will also be a very long time till I go to another game against the Pies. It is so unpleasant from the very start. If we don’t pick up our attitude…it doesn’t look promising! 

I just watched McRae's presser and it was interesting the contrast with Goody's who usually is pretty straight bat. What impressed me about McRae was how he referenced what Collingwood wanted to do, how it wasn't working and the they changed things at half time. Goody I feel is unable to adapt and change and has too much faith in the Melbourne way prevailing

Need more from CP5. Has provided nowhere near the drive of last season. Contested possessions, marks, tackles and scoring way down on last season.