They are playing such insipid football. They were NEVER in tonights game, Sydney just put the foot down now and then to pile on a few quick goals using direct, pinpoint football (which MFC have not done all year). They are further from a win now than at any other stage this year. Small consolations with the form of Petterd & Davey. How can professional footballers be so indirect and inaccurate in their kicking. You may as well drop Jamar & PJ because what is the point of having ruckmen on the ground when we got absolutley slaughtered out of the centre anyway. Going to be a long, dark winter.

I disagree with Paul Johnson being dropped, he started down back when Everett went there was pushed deep forward and the ball never was kicked to his advantage and went into the ruck and actually competed a lot better than White and Jamar did at the ruck contest. Jamar is the one that needs a stint at Sandy. His ruck work tonight was a disgrace.

They are playing such insipid football. They were NEVER in tonights game, Sydney just put the foot down now and then to pile on a few quick goals using direct, pinpoint football (which MFC have not done all year). They are further from a win now than at any other stage this year. Small consolations with the form of Petterd & Davey. How can professional footballers be so indirect and inaccurate in their kicking. You may as well drop Jamar & PJ because what is the point of having ruckmen on the ground when we got absolutley slaughtered out of the centre anyway. Going to be a long, dark winter.

drop Jamar and keep Johnson, you cannot play both and Johnson is twice as good

I am going to give Colin Sylvia the benefit of doubt due to injuries. However, as much as we all would like to see him become the next Mark Ricciuto. I feel we may be seeing the next Dean Soloman.

could be the first time Port beat us at MCG

How many times have they played us there? We go to AAMI every year.

I didn't feel sorry for the Swans with their injuries. I remember the derision of their supporters last year in the corresp. game, when we lost Neitz and McLean in Q1, and P. Johnson for the season in q3.

PJ showed a lot of endeavour and if you have to keep one of him & Jamar, he is the one, but I cannot actually recall him doing anything to HURT the opposition. Sydney players were far more skillful & accurate in disposal and they hurt us with their kicks into their forward line. Melbourne players seem unable to kick to a forward with any accuracy

things that kill us..

cant be bothered to name the players.we all know them...

but its really the endemic nature of the faults in our play.

Awareness.... you know at times I really wonder whther we have that much...too often they seem to be looking for people instead of instinctly KNOWING where they will (or should be ) ...creates hesitation and opportunities for the op to tackle. time and time again we look like lost souls.

Effective disposal....... or lack there of...now Bruce i will name as he's one of the worrst offenders here... all that effrot to get the ball..and evenknows where to put it...then doesnt...or rather doesnt properly.. I mean..you kick to a running player...not over his bloody head etc.. .

How many times were poor kicks going straight to sydney... and its not just this week. Handballs ...that are just a bit off...making people stretch unecessarily..or worse putting them under the pump when they should have been strides away.

these are BASIC skills.. surely its not too much to ask.

There were definitely a few encouraging signs....but were eclipsed by the other week in week out sloppiness.

Take a bow Petterd...in fact take two !! well done

begs the question though...why did it take so long to get him on the pitch?

Totally agree 59. I wrote it on the Petterd post. So many of our players lack awareness around the contest.

How do you explain it? How is it fixed?

We look stupid around the ball, almost like we are not sure what to do. And then when we get it we don't seem to evaluate what is around us.

Chris Johnson when tackled by in our backline was the perfect example of this.

things that kill us..

cant be bothered to name the players.we all know them...

but its really the endemic nature of the faults in our play.

these are BASIC skills.. surely its not too much to ask.

Totally agree, they seem to have forgotten basic footy skills. If they don't get the basics back on track they will be lucky to win a game this year, even Richmond would have killed us based on todays form

If we look at every match day forum this season the same issues are common each week. We have injuries, but we haven't even looked competitive at all over the past 3 weeks. If we do get a mini run on our skills let us down. We drop chest marks, miss targets by hand and foot, our one %ers don't exist we look slow and we keep getting more injuries. Our defensive side of our game is the worse I've seen for a long time, one area is our defensive pressure on point kick ins. We have to stop kicking points because it usually turns to the other team having a shot on their goal with little pressure on the ball movement from our goal line to theirs.

Petterd was a shining light but the other side some of our more experienced players the light is almost out.

A big positive is Jared Rivers.

My god he is such a good defender, and you forget just how good when he doesn't play for a few games. He is in our top 3 most important players.

Finally, a brain in the backline!

Credit to Godfrey he is doing really well so far. I shook my head in horror when I saw him line up on Goodes, but no complaints as of yet.

TJ is very lucky we are so injured at the moment, or he would be looking at a week at Sandy. Maybe his hand (hamstring?) isn't 100% right, but that is no excuse to argue with the umpires and play like you just don't care.

Finally some recognition, GODFREY was in our best 3 last week & no one applauded him. Go back to last weeks replay, turn the sound off, then watch it again.

THUMBS DOWN:

Brad Miller...still not convinced. Had the chance to get Melbourne back into the game...nothing.

Nathan Carroll...fumbling around a little too much, lost composure, although did well on Hall.

Paul Johnson...drop him. He's contributed nothing.

Nathan Brown...needs to be replaced next week with Clint Bizzell.

Travis Johnstone...playing nothing like we all know he can. MIA.

I agree with all your 'thumbs up' but I think you've been a bit harsh with Brad Miller.

I feel like he improves with every game. Sure he needs some practise in front of the goals but at least he presents very well. And so long as he continues to do this, he's going to get more and more confident and goal accuracy isn't going to be so much of an issue.

I've been quite impressed with him over the last few weeks... but that's just me

I'm just trying to find the positives.

Another display of indirect football by Melbourne. Lost count at the number of times Sydney kicked long and direct which resulted in goals. Melbourne need to seriously consider a new game plan, it's clearly obvious after 0-5 that what they are setting out to do is not working. How many more weeks can they continue to do this.

THUMBS UP:

Ricky Pettard...what a sensational debut match. He's picking up where Nathan Jones left off. Well done Ricky.

Aaron Davey...a great game by him, good to see him finding his form slowly. He tried hard.

Cameron Bruce...played all over the place, good running, great game.

Jared Rivers...did a great job, as well as pick up the pieces Carroll and Bell left behind. Well done Jared.

Almost thumbs up: Pickett, White, Lynden Dunn, Brent Maloney.

THUMBS DOWN:

Brad Miller...still not convinced. Had the chance to get Melbourne back into the game...nothing.

Nathan Carroll...fumbling around a little too much, lost composure, although did well on Hall.

Paul Johnson...drop him. He's contributed nothing.

Nathan Brown...needs to be replaced next week with Clint Bizzell.

Travis Johnstone...playing nothing like we all know he can. MIA.

Next week V Port Adelaide at home...We'll manage to scrape approx 15,000 fans into the G...disgraceful. When are those Demons going to break the drought and win a game. It's strangely feeling like the year 1996 all over again...

Agree all but Carroll. Miller was cr** on him but Baz had the momentum and i recon carroll was OK. Not great and should have got front possie but doesent deserve 'thumbs down'

millers kicking around the ground has improved 150% he hits targets quite well now, hopefully like robbo his % with goal kicking will get better

I was thinking to myself with 2 minutes to go "Gees, first game this season where we sustained no injuries"... trust me to jinx us!

Godfrey was probably BOG tonight, which is scary thought in itself. He did a great job on Goodes, who was clearly playing hurt in the second half, but the fact that he got stuck into him was just gold to watch. Might cop a week for that sly elbow in the back. Sometimes I just love Simon Godfrey (I feel very dirty for saying that!).

once again jaded u fail to give any respect to cameron bruce.... u are the most biest supporter i have met u defend bell week in week out.... yes he trys hard... but i hate to say it he does alot of silly things.... godfrey played well..... Bruce best easily spoilt chased tackled marked goaled and ran alll game.....

I thought Johnno put in and Davey and Yze were not too bad now Bruce is another matter he is NOT interested

bruce not interested ?

get ur eyes checked

agree he has stamped himself on the game/ team more than any other player has in the last 5 year (for melbourne this is)

What?!!!!!

petterd 20 pos

11 kicks, 9 handballs, 1 goal, stood in front of hall

BRILLIANT! ABSOLUTELTY BRILLIANT!

Similar to a certain bloodnut's first game from memory. Don't get me wrong, Petterd was a shining light, and while I expected him to have more impact than Garland (who should NEVER have played) I was STUNNED at how much he did. However I reckon you're overdoing it a bit here with him. We've had McLean, Bate and Jones debut in recent years, and they've easily filled me with more excitement. Each to their own of course, but I hope not TOO many dees supporters cannonise him so soon.

once again jaded u fail to give any respect to cameron bruce.... u are the most biest supporter i have met u defend bell week in week out.... yes he trys hard... but i hate to say it he does alot of silly things.... godfrey played well..... Bruce best easily spoilt chased tackled marked goaled and ran alll game.....

bruce not interested ?

get ur eyes checked

Ok...

Please BB, leave this forum, join another one and never return here. You contribute to nothing but the posters' frustration in an already frustrating time.

For your sake and ours.

Ok...

Please BB, leave this forum, join another one and never return here. You contribute to nothing but the posters' frustration in an already frustrating time.

For your sake and ours.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

I'm glad I arouse such a strong reaction in you BB, but please stop making things up. If you're going to follow me around and attack me, at least make sure you understand what I'm saying first.

Btw, Bruce was good today. If you can quote me saying otherwise, take it up with me. Otherwise, pipe down.

I agree with all your 'thumbs up' but I think you've been a bit harsh with Brad Miller.

I feel like he improves with every game. Sure he needs some practise in front of the goals but at least he presents very well. And so long as he continues to do this, he's going to get more and more confident and goal accuracy isn't going to be so much of an issue.

I've been quite impressed with him over the last few weeks... but that's just me

I'm just trying to find the positives.

Nope not just you.....

Hall was killing him when he was back, but then again the ball was coming down with such ease that there really wasn't much help.

But there was a massive improvement when he went forward. Yes, the kicking still needs more work, but it is getting better and it is just ridiculous to criticise someone who presents all day long and works as hard as he does (unless you want to). The marking seemed better, as well as has the field kicking. And believe me there really wasn't too much of an opportunity for any forward to get us back into the game as there was no pressure against the Sydney goals.

And I actually thought that Carroll was pretty good after he went onto Hall. Not great, but he kept him a little quiet, at least.

The problem as I saw it, and I still haven't seen a replay, is that they seemed to get confused when coming through the middle, which is when the handballing went into overdrive (and badly) and our targets were consistently missed, making any decent, quick, or strong forward movement near impossible.

There was a lot of running in circles and handballing to players either standing still or with three Swans on their tails. There was also no speed of delivery, then the ball tended to just get bombed on top of the forwards, thus the Sydney defenders had tonnes of time to easily make the spoils when needed.

what's destroyed us is our handball frenzy in the preseason and our lost of muscle in exchange for endurance, the mix isn't right and this season doesn't look like it'll get any better. The only thing i will be looking forward to is the youngsters. If we manage to get some wins on the board it'll all be in vein. There's no point in making the 8 unless you are in the top 4. We need to focus and sewing up the deficiencies in our team, our worries are our game plan, rucks and perhaps the need for a big gorilla backman.

Petterd was awesome tonight and i hope he plays out the whole season, he was the only highlight of the match.

i missed jones first games as i was overseas, i thought it was better than bates first game and i really cant remember chookas first game

And I actually thought that Carroll was pretty good after he went onto Hall. Not great, but he kept him a little quiet, at least.

The reason Carroll was so much better than Miller on Hall, is because he got some damn help.

Poor Miller was crucified, being left one out with Hall. He had no help from his teammates, in what was a pathetic defensive set-up. Miller will be abused for his efforts, when really his teammates should apologies to him for their lack of support.

When Carroll was moved onto him, they started to block Hall's path and get in his way. They had 2, sometimes 3 players in Hall's space and that is where the difference was. And that is how you beat Barry Hall, not by trying to beat him one-on-one!

But FFS, why does it take a tiny debutant to run in front of Hall, while other more experienced players just can't be bothered affecting the spoil (with apologies to Rivers and Bell).

Bravo Jaded. Bravo.

Could not have said it better myself.

Totally agree, they seem to have forgotten basic footy skills. If they don't get the basics back on track they will be lucky to win a game this year, even Richmond would have killed us based on todays form

Exactly. Whats more concerning is that we seem to think that injuries to key personnel has something to do with the way our season is panning out. We forget that we were playing [censored] footy in round 1 against the saints BEFORE our first injury even occurred!!!!

As much as we dont want to hear this, we have to go back to the drawing board & look to 2008 - this season is gone. In the pre-season, our players have to bulk up at the expense of speed & concentrate on skills, tackling & more intelligent football.

The reason Carroll was so much better than Miller on Hall, is because he got some damn help.

Poor Miller was crucified, being left one out with Hall. He had no help from his teammates, in what was a pathetic defensive set-up. Miller will be abused for his efforts, when really his teammates should apologies to him for their lack of support.

When Carroll was moved onto him, they started to block Hall's path and get in his way. They had 2, sometimes 3 players in Hall's space and that is where the difference was. And that is how you beat Barry Hall, not by trying to beat him one-on-one!

But FFS, why does it take a tiny debutant to run in front of Hall, while other more experienced players just can't be bothered affecting the spoil (with apologies to Rivers and Bell).

Totally with you Jaded.....

The ball was flying in with no pressure out of the middle and you're right in that there was absolutely no help in defence at that point.

Even Michael Voss in the Channel Ten commentary made a couple of statements about the total lack of support Miller was getting in the opening quarter, and that there was not much else he could be doing under the circumstances.

I was just defending Carroll (not having a go at Miller) who was better in the position, but of course having help helps.

And here lies the problem for me, having now been to a game. There seems to be very little teamwork. Minimal shepherding or spoiling or working for each other. Miller was always going to need help playing on Hall (most defenders bar Rutten do) but did not get it. Thankfully they learned from that and changed, but by then it was probably too late. And on the few occasions there was work off the ball it was relatively successful.

I think the comments Vossy made were along the lines ( logically ) that the midfielders needed to be aware whilst defending and 'someone' needed to drop back into the hole to protect the possible Hall lead.

happy to be corrected , but thats what i remember