Good read, just don't say the following too loudly around here.

" I feel like Melbourne has an explosiveness which even the Magpies can’t necessarily match."

As I said on another thread I hope this kind of commentary is right.... but our (limited) record against sides in contention isn't great so far this season - next 4-6 weeks will give us a proper indication of where we're at.

All these stats are great but 7 of our first 9 games were against teams in the bottom 9 including 3 against the bottom 3 so of course it's going to look good on paper.

Big game Friday night v port!

Here's a nice conclusion to read for a Melbourne supporter and one I agree with. Can't wait for KB.

"That Round 13 Queen’s Birthday clash between the Dees and the Pies is looming as an absolute belter, and not just because of Brodie Grundy’s first game against his old club, nor solely because it’s the much-anticipated “Big Freeze” fundraiser for research into MND.

It’s because right now, simply, they are probably the best two teams in the AFL. Even two years ago, it still felt novel saying that about Melbourne. But no longer. The Demons are a bona fide heavyweight of this competition.

And the longer they take care of business as swiftly and efficiently as they have been lately, the more likely the prospect one very memorable season becomes several."

A real measure for me has three components:

• Keeping opposition to around 60 points per game
• Dees kicking 90+ points per game.
• We win the contested ball differential

It can never be this precise game by game, but when results start to resemble this measure, we are unstoppable. 

A real bummer is Petty going down - he was taking marks inside 50 which is possibly our F50 weakness.

 

Nice article from Ro-Co. Don't mind his Footyology podcast occasionally, does good run downs of games. 

If this viewpoint is right we should clinically put away port on Friday eve....but Im not sure we're quite as good as he's saying . Hope Im wrong. 

55 minutes ago, A F said:

Here's a nice conclusion to read for a Melbourne supporter and one I agree with. Can't wait for KB.

"That Round 13 Queen’s Birthday clash between the Dees and the Pies is looming as an absolute belter, and not just because of Brodie Grundy’s first game against his old club, nor solely because it’s the much-anticipated “Big Freeze” fundraiser for research into MND.

It’s because right now, simply, they are probably the best two teams in the AFL. Even two years ago, it still felt novel saying that about Melbourne. But no longer. The Demons are a bona fide heavyweight of this competition.

And the longer they take care of business as swiftly and efficiently as they have been lately, the more likely the prospect one very memorable season becomes several."

And a Dee’s home game to boot. 
 

Would it be too fanciful to expect 90K at this game?

5 minutes ago, McQueen said:

And a Dee’s home game to boot. 
 

Would it be too fanciful to expect 90K at this game?

Not fanciful at all Steve! 

I reckon somewhere in the 80's is certain - so beyond that ........... ?

With Petty out can we change this thread title to...

Dees are doing it tough again.

Edited May 15, 20232 yr by leave it to deever

58 minutes ago, layzie said:

Nice article from Ro-Co. Don't mind his Footyology podcast occasionally, does good run downs of games. 

Yeah, it’s good this season with Rodney Eade.

14 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

Not fanciful at all Steve! 

I reckon somewhere in the 80's is certain - so beyond that ........... ?

 ……… “The Demons are a bona fide heavyweight of this competition”.   YES!

1 hour ago, deelusions from afar said:

As I said on another thread I hope this kind of commentary is right.... but our (limited) record against sides in contention isn't great so far this season - next 4-6 weeks will give us a proper indication of where we're at.

All these stats are great but 7 of our first 9 games were against teams in the bottom 9 including 3 against the bottom 3 so of course it's going to look good on paper.

Big game Friday night v port!

At this stage kind of reminds me of 2018 when we had a soft draw and beat up on lower sides. We will see where we truly at in a few weeks. Port are hot and this will be as tough a game as going up against Collingwood. 

Edited May 15, 20232 yr by John Crow Batty

I read the thread title and thought we were going back to the tribunal for Sparrow’s tackle.

Good article though.

It's a good article. I find it both ironic and humorous that the staunch republican and lefty still refers to the second Monday in June as Queen's Birthday.

52 minutes ago, McQueen said:

And a Dee’s home game to boot. 
 

Would it be too fanciful to expect 90K at this game?

I reckon if we're both 1st and 2nd and the weather is good, surely we get 90k. You'd get some neutrals to a game like that as well. No reason we can't be pushing 90k+.

Lots of synergy with Rohan Connelly not being party to AFL ‘guidance’ and an objective take on the Dees.

26 minutes ago, John Crow Batty said:

At this stage kind of reminds me of 2018 when we had a soft draw and beat up on lower sides. We will see where we truly at in a few weeks. Port are hot and this will be as tough a game as going up against Collingwood. 

As @Jaded No More has pointed out, we have a very similar formline to Collingwood. Except Collingwood has had to come back from deficits in most of their games, while we've controlled our games. 

It's interesting that you seem to think Collingwood are the yardstick, and to an extent I agree given their recent record over us, however we're in the top 4 for all major scoring routes and Collingwood are top 4 for scores from stoppages (as are we) and that's it.

Collingwood are far more like us in 2018, but aren't scoring as heavily as us. They play the aggressive, all or nothing press and send extra players to the stoppages, exactly what we were doing in 2018, except we used an anchor/goalkeeper out the back. Collingwood do not, which as @binman highlighted on the podcast last night, leaves them very vulnerable out the back - see last year's final against Geelong.

Begrudgingly admire what Collingwood has been able to achieve in the space of 12 months, but I reckon Collingwood should be using us as the yardstick, not the other way around.

Edited May 16, 20232 yr by A F

10 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

It's a good article. I find it both ironic and humorous that the staunch republican and lefty still refers to the second Monday in June as Queen's Birthday.

RC is a republican and a lefty? 

And I'm a Republican and a lefty, and still refer to Queen's Birthday or King's Birthday as such. What else do you want to call it for ease of clarification? 😄

2 minutes ago, A F said:

RC is a republican and a lefty? 

And I'm a Republican and a lefty, and still refer to Queen's Birthday or King's Birthday as such. What else do you want to call it for ease of clarification? 😄

Big Freeze Day, perhaps?

 

1 hour ago, McQueen said:

And a Dee’s home game to boot. 
 

Would it be too fanciful to expect 90K at this game?

 Collingwood supporters are feeling it brewing.
Pie mad mate is tipping a biggest ever home and away crowd.
Regardless whether it is or not, it's gonna be the biggest H&A game we've been involved in that I can remember..... Ever.

 

41 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Big Freeze Day, perhaps?

 

Good idea!  I might use that.

I'm not a fan of the monarchy at all so I can't wait for the BF game.  At least the BF is actually on that weekend, unlike either King or Queen's birthday

There is an article on AFL.com that says we are a better last Q team than the Pies this year

Nice little write up in the Hun today about our drafting the past 10 years.  VERDICT Just Brilliant. 

Can't post it because it is " of course" behind a pay wall.