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PREGAME: Rd 03 vs Sydney

Demonland
Demonland
in Melbourne Demons

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1 hour ago, Demon Dynasty said:

They are one of the best disposal teams going around, especially that last kick into 50 and love to run & carry as well.

You don't want an open free flowing game against this mob imv.  Don't give them an inch of space.  The Cats mauled them  and worried them out of it in the first two quarters of the Granny and it worked a treat.  They never recovered.  Anyone not using that footage as a reference as to how to beat them would be pretty foolish.

Might be too old style and off the mark but if it was me coaching this week i'd be seriously considering asking the boys to play back of shoulder (heavy pressure man on man) and make sure they get no clean ball or run &  under constant pressure for at least the first half of the match.

Make it a massive heavy hitting scrap with no easy possessions then possibly reset back to a slightly more open / rolling zone style afterwards depending on scoreboard / results of first half lock down strat.

Cover the guts from their kick ins as they love the FB to run it straight up the guts and also make sure there's an extra number defending the wings as they also love to go wide with medium kicks looking for a free out there, then they link up run & carry into 50 for the angled pass.  Not unlike a soccer play down the L/R chanels before crossing the ball in.

This is one of those classic games where a coach has to decide whether we change the way we play to beat the opposition or where we try to play the way we want to play and trust that it's good enough to win. The latter seems to be Goodwin's style. He's shown very little tendency in the past to try and alter the way we play.

However the record says they beat us regularly so it remains IMO an acid test for the coaching staff to see what we have learned from previous games. You could argue that in the H&A 2022 we were unlucky with injuries as we were leading handsomely before they struck. They also kicked goals out of their Jackson from the boundary etc Guys like hayward, Reid and LMcDonald played blinders. Mills was BOG from memory. Their pressure rating for the whole game averaged 190 which is huge. Expect a repeat.

We also led in the finals game and were going well before being overun like all of our losses last year. Sydney laid 14 tackles in our fwd 50 in the last qtr! So the instruction would have been to keep pressuring us and we would wilt.

Its a massive litmus test for us and we can't let them run free. 

 

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    Heads up Casey vs Swans Sunday 2nd at Casey @ 11.00 am

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    41 minutes ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

    will be lucky to be 30k there and 20k will be Swans...our supporters don't show up anymore. Don't know what happened, you'd think the Premiership would have sparked a resurgence, but it feels like some have just become content. Not expecting a big crowd at all, happy to be proven wrong. 

    That's BS there was 48k at the dog's game opening round. Minimum 25-30k would have been Melbourne supporters.

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    1 hour ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

    It’s Clarrie’s 150th game. For all the love and praise he gets from our supporters one would think many of them will turn up. Kinda like a big “thank you.”  What a shame if that’s not the case. 

    Yeah, nah. It’s not the case. Most supporters would be disappointed that the club didn’t organise for his milestone game to be on Kings Bday - when they would attend.

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    15 minutes ago, rpfc said:

    Yeah, nah. It’s not the case. Most supporters would be disappointed that the club didn’t organise for his milestone game to be on Kings Bday - when they would attend.

    But it’s his 150th game on Sunday. We celebrate it on the day it’s played not weeks later. Besides, we shouldn’t need to put it off ‘til King’s Birthday. It’s Clarrie ffs! For all the love he gets there should be way more people there. Milestone games may not mean much to the fans but it means everything to the player. Clarrie’s mum, Michelle, is already hella excited and is thrilled to be invited to banner-raising. How disappointing it will be for his family. It’s a Sunday arvo. It’s at the ‘G. Surely we can make a special effort to be there for him. 
     

    sheeeeeeeet. I hope we haven’t just put the mozz on him. If he gets injured and is out for 10 weeks it’s all rpfc’s fault. K?

    Edited by WalkingCivilWar

    Might be a long shot, but...

    Any AFL Members not attending on Sunday willing to pass on their barcode? Have some friends coming along, just need one more code to avoid paying $40 for guest pass.

    I am an AFL Gold member, well versed in AFL Members etiquette and the like :P 

     

    The Brisbane game has me spooked. They have been our bunnies and we were terrible. I hope it’s an outlier. It doesn’t make it any easier having to back up against Sydney. Sydney games are hard to watch even when we win. I just can’t escape the feeling we might be in trouble this year after seeing us against Brisbane. It is a reflexive position to take as a Melbourne supporter and I hope it’s just that. Our arrogance coming in to week two as supporters and the massive let down feels kinda familiar. Logically I think I’m wrong but emotionally I am concerned.

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    1 hour ago, Bates Mate said:

    That's BS there was 48k at the dog's game opening round. Minimum 25-30k would have been Melbourne supporters.

    I'd actually say minimum was 40k that night, but our crowds have been poor since 2022. It does not help that we play interstate sides at the G as the majority of home games, but it's true that we were outnumbered by Sydney supporters last year...that's an indictment 


    40 minutes ago, Demonsterative said:

    Any update on Schache’s head knock? Could be his opportunity to perform. 

    Definitely out for this match… concussion protocols. 

    52 minutes ago, praha said:

    Might be a long shot, but...

    Any AFL Members not attending on Sunday willing to pass on their barcode? Have some friends coming along, just need one more code to avoid paying $40 for guest pass.

    I am an AFL Gold member, well versed in AFL Members etiquette and the like :P 

    Shouldn’t be a long shot at all. There’ll definitely be AFL members not attending this Sunday. I can’t see any reason why someone wouldn’t help you to bring extra people to the game. 

    2 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

    But it’s his 150th game on Sunday. We celebrate it on the day it’s played not weeks later. Besides, we shouldn’t need to put it off ‘til King’s Birthday. It’s Clarrie ffs! For all the love he gets there should be way more people there. Milestone games may not mean much to the fans but it means everything to the player. Clarrie’s mum, Michelle, is already hella excited and is thrilled to be invited to banner-raising. How disappointing it will be for his family. It’s a Sunday arvo. It’s at the ‘G. Surely we can make a special effort to be there for him. 
     

    sheeeeeeeet. I hope we haven’t just put the mozz on him. If he gets injured and is out for 10 weeks it’s all rpfc’s fault. K?

    Sheeeeit War I was loving your article till that last sentence.... Go wash your mouth out with some of Uncle Bitters cure all ellixer girl and never mention that word beginning with i and Clarry Choo Choo again🤯

    Edited by picket fence

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    Haven't read the whole thread, but the popular out for May (if fit) seems to be Tomlinson. I disagree strongly, Petty should go even if he's fit to play. Thommo has played far better than Petty in both matches and is more versatile. Petty has looked really poor on many occasions because he panics when out of position and his sure marking seems to have temporarily deserted him. I can't recall him spoiling either. McDonald will get another chance but JVR must be a near certainty to get a run against the lesser teams in forthcoming rounds. Grundy proved he is fit enough to ruck nearly all game so given Goody's reluctance to change the team, I think May will be the only inclusion, with Petty out.

    • Like 3
    Just now, Flower Magic said:

    Haven't read the whole thread, but the popular out for May (if fit) seems to be Tomlinson. I disagree strongly, Petty should go even if he's fit to play. Thommo has played far better than Petty in both matches and is more versatile. Petty has looked really poor on many occasions because he panics when out of position and his sure marking seems to have temporarily deserted him. I can't recall him spoiling either. McDonald will get another chance but JVR must be a near certainty to get a run against the lesser teams in forthcoming rounds. Grundy proved he is fit enough to ruck nearly all game so given Goody's reluctance to change the team, I think May will be the only inclusion, with Petty out.

    T Mac MUST be dropped, as he has played 2 stinkers. Just does not warrant selection. Cannot turn at all!

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    6 minutes ago, picket fence said:

    Sheeeeit War I was loving your article till that last sentence.... Go wash your mouth out with some of Uncle Bitters cure all ellixer girl and never mention that word beginning with i and Clarry Choo Choo again🤯

    I’m so sorry, PF. I should’ve known better. 

    But washing my mouth out with Uncle’s cure-all elixir… a little harsh dontchya think? It’s not like I wished death on Clarrie. 😑

    14 minutes ago, picket fence said:

    T Mac MUST be dropped, as he has played 2 stinkers. Just does not warrant selection. Cannot turn at all!

    Watched his highlights on stats pro before. Really struggled to cover territory and the only time he was outside the 50 was when he was in the ruck. 

    Need to get to the bottom of it. 

    1 hour ago, Demonsterative said:

    Any update on Schache’s head knock? Could be his opportunity to perform. 

    Concussion. 12 day mandatory out.

    JVR has to come in. It’s his time now surely. With Gawn out and TMac limping to retirement, he’s next in line and has good form in the VFL.

    Edited by Lord Travis

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    18 minutes ago, picket fence said:

    T Mac MUST be dropped, as he has played 2 stinkers. Just does not warrant selection. Cannot turn at all!

    Come on PF, TMac is definitely needed next week at CHF - (at Casey to replace Van Rooyen).

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    Hard to pick this one. The early rounds can throw up some strange results.

    After the embarrassment of friday night i expect a big response.  JVR in for Gawn.  we desperately need some mobility fwd of the ball.

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    1 hour ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

    but it's true that we were outnumbered by Sydney supporters last year...that's an indictment 

    do you have the numbers which sit behind this comment?

    there was a lot of bullcrap spouted on DL after the QF last year about how we were outnumbered by the Swans supporters and they were loudly than us. It certainly didn't look like or sound like that from where I on was sitting on the wing.

    58 minutes ago, picket fence said:

    T Mac MUST be dropped, as he has played 2 stinkers. Just does not warrant selection. Cannot turn at all!

    Petty has been pretty average down back so far imo.

    Drop TMAC, bring in May and have Petty up forward. That’s throwing a bit of a curve ball at them.

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    21 hours ago, rpfc said:

    Also, how is the crowd going to be this Sunday? I was there last year and it felt like an away game. 

    Over/Under on excuses at 5.5 @ $2.

    Thats money for jam.

    My wife and I are flying down Sunday morning so there’s two more, can’t wait.

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