What a waste of a season!

[monoccular 17,427]

13 minutes ago, Bates Mate said:

Richmond premierships 2017,2019,2020

Geelong premierships 

2007,2009,2011.

Give me hope but 2016 Bulldogs, 2018 wce have me slightly concerned 

 

 

 

Melbourne 2021 2023 2024 2025 sounds OK.    Can be done with the right application and flexible game plan. 

[DeeZee 7,392]

The fire and intensity were missing all year.

Even though we all wanted to see them win one live, there was just something missing this year.

Edited September 10, 2022 by DeeZee

[Deenooos_ 647]

It is time to regroup and implement those cultural changing ways again like we did in 2021, we seem to have gone away from that a bit this year.

Too much was against us, expectation, being hunted, embarrassing May incident, key player injuries.

There won’t be as much expectation on us next year and that should suit us. People calling for Salem to be dropped are mad. He was impacted too severely by his injury all year. A full preseason and he will get back to his 2021 form. Same with Lever, the amount of times he’s rolled his ankle this year I can’t even count lol.

We are still one of the best teams in it, we just couldn’t get a break this year and it all caught up to us.

Roll on 2023!

Edited September 10, 2022 by Deenooos_

[Kent 2,909]

1 hour ago, Tough Kent said:

For me, this is not about being bitter or angry. I love this team. They will forever be my sporting heroes. This is just my own honest assessments and views on our 2022 season.

 

I started to worry after the trade and draft period. We brought in a one player, a fringe player from St. Kilda who could potentially crack our 22. “Don’t worry. The improvement will come from within!” we were told. Teams don’t stand still. That Geelong side we beat in the prelim are an 8 goal better side this year due to changes in personnel and a tweak in their game plan. I believe that we just thought incremental improvement would happen.

 

Into the season. We were winning, but there were worrying trends. Failure to bury teams. Drop offs in games. Lack of cohesion going inside 50. Scoring was labour intensive. “That’s okay. We’ll click when it matters” we all thought.

 

Then we started to play the good teams. Teams that were ravenously hungry. Teams that had studied us intensively for 2 years and had worked us out. Teams that out-hunted us, and ran across the top of the ground a lot better than us. Teams that knew that if they stayed in games against us, they could run over the top of us. Did we have a Plan B for such occasions? I’m not sure.

 

The football world could see the issues. Lack of skill execution under pressure. Lack of cohesion going forward. Lack of reliable focal points in attack. Drop off in our pressure game. What was done about it in the second half of the year to buck these trends? Nothing. Goodwin was stubborn. He backed in his game plan. He backed in his core group of players. And by the time it got to last night, we were forced to play banged up players and players in questionable form because it was too late to bring in options from Casey.

 

I am glad the season is over. Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy the year at all. My heart was telling me we could win the thing, but my eyes and brain were telling me something different. The players said all the right things about being hungry, but Sydney showed us last week what it means to be truly hungry for 4 quarters. It is so hard to go back to back.

 

Am I excited for next year? Bloody oath! We finished 5^th in a year where our forward line was broken. We led in 7 of our 8 losses by 20 plus points. When it mattered, our important players were banged up and not at their best. I believe that with a few changes to 22 after an aggressive trade period and some adjustments to the game plan, we can challenge again in 2023.  

Thanks TK Great post with a good mix of hard analysis and optimism

[layzie 33,796]

1 hour ago, Dee Zephyr said:

I’m sorry, but the “I’ve spent (enter amount here) on membership/s” really [censored] bugs me.

A lot paid up in 2020 and got absolutely nothing out if it. There’s also a lot that probably can’t afford memberships, still get them and don’t whinge about it. 

That line may have flown when we were going no-where and not getting a bee's diaphragm near finals but after two top 4s and a flag it doesn't wash does it.

[dl4e 5,851]

Mentally fatigued. In fact it has been that way since early in the season. And it is not just the players but the coaching group as well. There is no dynamism there. They thaught what worked well last year would work again. Well  it didn't and was probably never going to.

[NeveroddoreveN 1,034]

39 minutes ago, Deenooos_ said:

People calling for Salem to be dropped are mad. He was impacted too severely by his injury all year.

I agree...it was madness to drop Bowey though for him.....Was clearly in better form than Salem/going harder/more impact both times he was dropped this season.

There are too many favorites within the team that do not get dropped due to form.   Spargo/ANB/Hunt/Sparrow/Harmes/Hibberd/Melksham/Salem/BB just to name a few....almost half the team were out of form for long periods with a winning Casey team having players bashing on the door all year.   Very few even got to emergency.

As much as i liked seeing Hunt/Melksham perform coming up to finals, i knew we were in real trouble when basically sublime games from both actually got us the double chance.

And i have no idea why Smith was named emergency last few weeks....he had shown very little at Casey....could name half a dozen that were in better form.   If i was the guys striving to get a game in this team, i would feel angry and pretty disgruntled.

What does it actually take to replace out of form players over long periods?   Bedford/Bowey and Tomlinson all got dropped after poor performances yet we see 20 + weeks of some guys that just seem to get blind faith they will turn it around.

Our selection policy is really poor, particularly considering Goodwin stated that the guys that missed out would drive that hunger this season....If only they actually had a chance to!

One last thing i recall Goodwin saying that all players were being trained how to play multiple positions.....i literally saw one move all year and it took until 4 minutes to go when our season was all but gone. Petty would have given BB some much needed assistance had we pulled this move off weeks ago.  We had backups that could have taken Petty's spot, either Turner or Tomlinson both in good form.  We would have lost only a little in defence and may have been functional going forward as clearly Petty is the best mark in our team who actually reminds me a little of Naughton.

Oh i forgot we did try Spargo wing i guess.....We are way too easy to play against with the lack of coaching moves from the box.  There seems to be very little creativity, and honestly it looked like it sucked the life from the players trying to win every game in a slog ultimately.

[Diamond_Jim 12,578]

Salem is a microcosm of a bigger issue but it is a good example.

His status probably justified coming straight back into the senior side. After two games it was apparent that the instinctive touch was not there. That was the time for a few games at VFL level to get his touch back.

Instead we played him week in week out. Sure he had a couple of serviceable games but he was well below his best.

[Maldonboy38 6,402]

I, too, am angry and disappointed, and also feel those 'wasted year' vibes. Like many other Demonlanders I can see the need to

• tweak the gameplan
• recruit, develop or trade in a power forward who can mark
• recruit, develop or trade players with classy kicking skills

With this list we must win two flags minimum. Otherwise it is definitely a waste (for example, Essendon 2000 only won 1 flag)

But no way is this really a time to change everything, kick out players, pour vitriol onto our coaches, footy dept personnel and club. We were 2nd after the Home & Away rounds and played in the semi-final. That rates the season as a low level success in my book.

At this moment in time we are a great club - it's that simple. Every position of significance (President, CEO, Head Coach, Head of football, Captain, AFLW captain etc...) is filled with a person absolutely and abundantly filling their role. As an exception, perhaps the new fitness bloke doesn't get a pass this year.

This is my brain talking. My heart wants to grab a piece of timber and smash someone's head in, probably starting with Lever or Kozzie. 

[KLV 1,765]

1 hour ago, Tough Kent said:

For me, this is not about being bitter or angry. I love this team. They will forever be my sporting heroes. This is just my own honest assessments and views on our 2022 season.

 

I started to worry after the trade and draft period. We brought in a one player, a fringe player from St. Kilda who could potentially crack our 22. “Don’t worry. The improvement will come from within!” we were told. Teams don’t stand still. That Geelong side we beat in the prelim are an 8 goal better side this year due to changes in personnel and a tweak in their game plan. I believe that we just thought incremental improvement would happen.

 

Into the season. We were winning, but there were worrying trends. Failure to bury teams. Drop offs in games. Lack of cohesion going inside 50. Scoring was labour intensive. “That’s okay. We’ll click when it matters” we all thought.

 

Then we started to play the good teams. Teams that were ravenously hungry. Teams that had studied us intensively for 2 years and had worked us out. Teams that out-hunted us, and ran across the top of the ground a lot better than us. Teams that knew that if they stayed in games against us, they could run over the top of us. Did we have a Plan B for such occasions? I’m not sure.

 

The football world could see the issues. Lack of skill execution under pressure. Lack of cohesion going forward. Lack of reliable focal points in attack. Drop off in our pressure game. What was done about it in the second half of the year to buck these trends? Nothing. Goodwin was stubborn. He backed in his game plan. He backed in his core group of players. And by the time it got to last night, we were forced to play banged up players and players in questionable form because it was too late to bring in options from Casey.

 

I am glad the season is over. Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy the year at all. My heart was telling me we could win the thing, but my eyes and brain were telling me something different. The players said all the right things about being hungry, but Sydney showed us last week what it means to be truly hungry for 4 quarters. It is so hard to go back to back.

 

Am I excited for next year? Bloody oath! We finished 5^th in a year where our forward line was broken. We led in 7 of our 8 losses by 20 plus points. When it mattered, our important players were banged up and not at their best. I believe that with a few changes to 22 after an aggressive trade period and some adjustments to the game plan, we can challenge again in 2023.  

Reading this has made me feel a bit better, you’ve articulated exactly how I feel, especially this:

“My heart was telling me we could win the thing, but my eyes and brain were telling me something different.”

I think the expectations we had on our team made the season harder to enjoy. We finished home and away Second on the ladder, it should have been a great time for supporters! 

I like the optimism of your last paragraph, I agree there is good reason to be excited about 2023 💙❤️💙❤️💙

 

[DeeSpencer 25,687]

Wasted year is harsh. Back to back is bloody tough for any club yet alone a small club not used to success with a short preseason, nomadic training ground and unreliable fan base.

Hawks 09, Dogs 17, even the Cats super team never did it.

The teams who have done it, Hawks 14/15 honestly didn’t beat much and were just a mile clear on talent, and Richmond 2020 with a 17 game season of 17 minute quarters.

Our season took a massive hit when Salem and Lever both weren’t themselves. That’s 2 elite players that make our backline elite.

Then our next path to success is rucks and Max wasn’t himself and LJ had the go home stuff.

Our final path to success is the midfield and Tracc cops a broken leg and Oliver’s season sure wasn’t helped by his thumb exploding. 

[Bers 11]

8 hours ago, Supreme_Demon said:

Just as I am sure many of us here are...I am still in a blind rage after losing to the Brisbane Lions.

What an absolutely disgraceful waste of a season!

Especially after winning the first 10 games of the season and hoping to go back to back as Premiers.

What a pathetic end to the finals too.

Dumb turnovers and decision-making and dumb coaching.

I spent over $500+ on a Melbourne Demons reserve seat Redlegs memberships and also bought finals tickets. Only to be served up a big steaming pile of excrement by the players and coaches.

To go out in straight sets is a utter humiliation.

The players and coaches should be ashamed on themselves for that.

No more pats on the back for a "good effort" by the players. We cannot accept such a disappointing end to the season.

We as Melbourne members and supporters should not tolerate this if we want to be a serious AFL Club that demands success. Clubs like Hawthorn, Geelong, Sydney and Collingwood wouldn't accept this.

The Melbourne Football Club needs to know that we as supporters and members won't put up with this type of garbage.

From now on anything less than a Premiership is a failure.

It is going to take me an extremely long time to cool down after this gigantic embarassment!

I demand a Flag next season!

Rant over.

I’m so embarrassed by that performance. I thought those days of being heckled for rolling over when it really counts was over. Getting trashed by Lions supporters is horrific, especially after belting them on their home patch. No fight, spirit, where’s the frenetic attack on the footy gone? It actually puts me off footy, I think I’m just about done with this team!  

[At Least I Saw a Flag 5,242]

I had zero expectations of us winning the flag this year. We would have been thrashed by Jee-long next week. However I thought that reaching a Preliminary Final would have been an acceptable year.

The capitulations in both finals, particularly last night, were unacceptable. And Turner being the only debutant or the season. So yes, a waste of a season. 

The only thing to hope for for the remainder of the season is to hope that neither the filth nor Geelong win. I think that the Swans are the only other team capable of winning the flag.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Winners at last

[The heart beats true 18,123]

I think in 40 years we will still look back and think ‘how did we lose 2 finals on the G to interstate sides?’.

For me I think you have to go back to the middle of the year. The game plan began to be exposed, until the formula to beat us solidified.

Simon is a systems coach. He backs in his system every time. Once it was exposed we couldn’t do it for 4 quarters teams got a lot of confidence they could outwork us. I think we assumed at some point it would click. That’s the learning for the footy department. Make it click. Work on it. Don’t expect that it will.

I hope it’s the making of a more adaptable side.

[cantstandyasam 700]

3 minutes ago, Winners at last said:

I had zero expectations of us winning the flag this year. We would have been thrashed by Jee-long next week. However I thought that reaching a Preliminary Final would have been an acceptable year.

The capitulations in both finals, particularly last night, was unacceptable. And Turner being the only debutant or the season. So yes, a waste of a season. 

The only thing to hope for for the remainder of the season is to hope that neither the filth nor Geelong win. I think that the Swans are the only other team capable of winning the flag.

This year was wasted because we lost our structure. Too much faith in BBB who this year hasn't  delivered, as he couldn't take marks under pressure, didn't lead or if he did got ignored. T.oo often he'd be on the wing kicking it forward to a forward line without him in it. Fritsch shouldn't be our key forward, he is a 3rd tall  and a good one at that. We played with a resting ruck as a CHF for no  result for too long this season. No TMac or another tall at CHF. We are too predictable.  May kicking out to the left, bombing it to a pocket and not lowering the eyes and not dropping a short one in our forward 50. The only player who does is Spargo and they stupidly played him off a wing. Jackson is still developing and not yet a forward, think of him as a very tall ruck rover. I think it will be madness to help Collingwood with there salary cap problems and take Grundy when he isn't a ruck/forward and create a problem for us unless we prepared to change rucks off the interchange. Gawn is too unreliable a kick and we stuffed up the season because we just can't kick goals. I'm still flabbergasted that we don't have a bona fide forward and kicking coach. Our window is now. We will rue the day unless we fix our kicking issues, our predictability and our reluctance to make moves. I'd like to see Turner play Petty's role and Petty to play forward. He is our best swingman. I love how he plays the game. We must not play Melksham and Hibberd, they are not our future. Promote some young talent who have good habits and add a new dimension to the team. Goody is too loyal to his team and too stubborn to tinker with his game plan. He should've said to May months ago, stop kicking out to left every kick out etc.........be more disciplined (May and Kossie) and everyone lower your eyes when going into the forward 50.  We must spend the summer learning how to kick the ball under pressure and score goals not points!!!!!!! Last year was brilliant, but I want to be at the G like all Dees supporters to when we win it here and really if they had addressed these issues we could've, it's so disappointing!!!!!!

[Kent 2,909]

2 hours ago, Tough Kent said:

For me, this is not about being bitter or angry. I love this team. They will forever be my sporting heroes. This is just my own honest assessments and views on our 2022 season.

 

I started to worry after the trade and draft period. We brought in a one player, a fringe player from St. Kilda who could potentially crack our 22. “Don’t worry. The improvement will come from within!” we were told. Teams don’t stand still. That Geelong side we beat in the prelim are an 8 goal better side this year due to changes in personnel and a tweak in their game plan. I believe that we just thought incremental improvement would happen.

 

Into the season. We were winning, but there were worrying trends. Failure to bury teams. Drop offs in games. Lack of cohesion going inside 50. Scoring was labour intensive. “That’s okay. We’ll click when it matters” we all thought.

 

Then we started to play the good teams. Teams that were ravenously hungry. Teams that had studied us intensively for 2 years and had worked us out. Teams that out-hunted us, and ran across the top of the ground a lot better than us. Teams that knew that if they stayed in games against us, they could run over the top of us. Did we have a Plan B for such occasions? I’m not sure.

 

The football world could see the issues. Lack of skill execution under pressure. Lack of cohesion going forward. Lack of reliable focal points in attack. Drop off in our pressure game. What was done about it in the second half of the year to buck these trends? Nothing. Goodwin was stubborn. He backed in his game plan. He backed in his core group of players. And by the time it got to last night, we were forced to play banged up players and players in questionable form because it was too late to bring in options from Casey.

 

I am glad the season is over. Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy the year at all. My heart was telling me we could win the thing, but my eyes and brain were telling me something different. The players said all the right things about being hungry, but Sydney showed us last week what it means to be truly hungry for 4 quarters. It is so hard to go back to back.

 

Am I excited for next year? Bloody oath! We finished 5^th in a year where our forward line was broken. We led in 7 of our 8 losses by 20 plus points. When it mattered, our important players were banged up and not at their best. I believe that with a few changes to 22 after an aggressive trade period and some adjustments to the game plan, we can challenge again in 2023.  

Thanks TK Great post with a good mix of hard analysis and optimism

[Kent 2,909]

I'm still not sure whether we have Simon Lyon or Ross Goodwin coaching us this year

Hope it gets sorted

[Neil Crompton 5,535]

25 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

 

I hope it’s the making of a more adaptable side.

"I hope it's the making of a more adaptable coach!"

Edited September 10, 2022 by Neil Crompton

[Tracca 850]

waste of a season?

 

we finished 2nd and played in 2 finals...... you arent a bloody true supporter of this team if you think its a waste of a season.

we limped to the line due to bad coaching decisions and injured players, albeit with a shortened pre season too.

sorry, but you can be angry, without this bs post.

[Ollie fan 3,370]

I believe we are entitled to be disappointed. We have the best list of players and we have had since the 1950s. Our performance in the finals last year was that of a side that was fast superior to every other team in the league.

 

I believe we are entitled to be disappointed. We have the best list of players that we have had since the 1950s. Our performance in the finals last year was that of a side that was far superior to every other team in the league.

 

But it is done now. I agree with the posters that say we were tired – I believe, mentally tired from playing the same group every week. For instance, Clayton Oliver looked too tired to shake his tag after 24 weeks of being harassed each game with no protection from the umpires. And we have a crying need for another KPF – I believe we have to let BBB go; he has helped to bring us a premiership so his job is done. Now, his ground  play is simply an embarrassment. So we need to regroup, tweak the playing list, either get a great trade for Jackson or train him up to play a specific role (perhaps CHF, CHB or ruck-rover) and be much more prepared to turn players over during the season for freshness and motivation.

 

I actually seriously believe that if we treat the next three months correctly, we will be unbeatable next year.

[Return to Glory 8,436]

8 hours ago, Supreme_Demon said:

Just as I am sure many of us here are...I am still in a blind rage after losing to the Brisbane Lions.

What an absolutely disgraceful waste of a season!

Especially after winning the first 10 games of the season and hoping to go back to back as Premiers.

What a pathetic end to the finals too.

Dumb turnovers and decision-making and dumb coaching.

I spent over $500+ on a Melbourne Demons reserve seat Redlegs memberships and also bought finals tickets. Only to be served up a big steaming pile of excrement by the players and coaches.

To go out in straight sets is a utter humiliation.

The players and coaches should be ashamed on themselves for that.

No more pats on the back for a "good effort" by the players. We cannot accept such a disappointing end to the season.

We as Melbourne members and supporters should not tolerate this if we want to be a serious AFL Club that demands success. Clubs like Hawthorn, Geelong, Sydney and Collingwood wouldn't accept this.

The Melbourne Football Club needs to know that we as supporters and members won't put up with this type of garbage.

From now on anything less than a Premiership is a failure.

It is going to take me an extremely long time to cool down after this gigantic embarassment!

I demand a Flag next season!

Rant over.

"If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two impostors just the same" Kipling

Let me ask you this. Did you enjoy the season? I certainly did. There was the whole gamut of emotions, from elation to disappointment. There wasn't a time when I caught the train home where I didn't think I got my money's worth....win or lose. If you think it's a wasted season, I suggest you remind yourself that it's sport and, ultimately entertainment.

Yours in symptomatic of an increasing number of posts that are lacking in humour, self - deprecation and/or brevity. Rather, it feels like it's been written by someone heading to a Trump rally, whipped up into an unnatural frenzy by like-minded knuckle heads. Sure, be disappointed, but get a grip.

Go Dees. 2023 here we come.

 

 

 

 

[layzie 33,796]

Was it a waste of a season or a wasted season? 

Put simply, can you say that this season was enjoyable but that in the end we ultimately failed? I think that is precisely what happened. Winning a final would have been a pass mark but this is not. We have failed and need to learn from it.

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

I predict Goodwins stubbornness to bring this club further down next year before. He will not change the game plan enough and continue with the ‘2021 worked, we just have to execute better’ mindset. For the all the learnings to be had, we did not lean anything out of the 2nd half. He lied saying that spots in the 22 will need to be won and yet we never gave any of our 2s a second shot despite them being almost undefeated.

It is wasted because May & Gawn are our only elite KP players and they have probably another 1-2 seasons of a+ grade output before they start winding down.

 

[Dr. Gonzo 24,214]

9 hours ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

Understand your anger, but what is the point of this post? We won the flag last year and broke the drought. Every club studied our game plan. We became the hunted. We finished in 2nd place. Yep, we were out of form second half of the year and we bowed out of finals in a disappointing manner. We still had some good wins along the way. It just wasn’t to be this year. It’s a failure for me too, but I’ll take this over talking about draft picks in July anyway. We must reset and get some players in to fill some gaps. We also need to see some more of the players in the 2s given opportunities. Too many players were rewarded with games when out of form

We won the flag last year and broke the drought but the circumstances in which it happened makes it feel less tangible. Until we get to witness one in the flesh, at the G, there will still be something missing.

[layzie 33,796]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

We won the flag last year and broke the drought but the circumstances in which it happened makes it feel less tangible. Until we get to witness one in the flesh, at the G, there will still be something missing.

Exactly, that flag was as serious as it gets and no-one can take it away from us. However it satisfies the need 95% for people like you and I. 

For armchair fans nothing really changed last year, they would have watched on TV and enjoyed it the same. I feel like the gameday experience, the chance to go to a Grand Final parade, captain's run, day after celebration  at Gosch's was taken from us. Even the December celebration thing still had losers and journos from other clubs accusing us of milking it for all it was worth and conveniently forgetting that we were robbed of those moments. There will always be that to hunt for now.