37 minutes ago, McQueen said:

I’m getting vibes that Woey jnr will be the sub this weekend. 
Whilst I hate the idea of a debut coming off the bench as sub, I still think it’ll happen. 

I get why the media hate this.... but tbf I think a young player would just be happy to be getting a game even if it is as sub.

1 minute ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I get why the media hate this.... but tbf I think a young player would just be happy to be getting a game even if it is as sub.

At least subs this year are virtually guaranteed game time. Under the Medical Sub rules, that wasn't always the case. Having said that, I'm not in favour of a player's first game being as a sub, although I agree that any young player may be delighted. 

3 hours ago, Demons11 said:

I love the narrative around football.  Melbourne haven’t beaten anyone, Freo have found form.  Freo have beat a completely wounded Swans and Cats 

We beat the dogs in round one by 50 points.

Narrative - maybe the dogs are not contenders this year, asterix on that win.

Dogs get beaten the next week by the Saints, who at that point are tipped to finish bottom 3 by many, and certainly not considered the serious finals contender they are now.

Narrative - the dogs are struggling, are not a top 8 team, double asterix on the dees round win.

Round 3 the dogs beat now top of the table Lions, but at that point their round one drubbing by Port still has pundits questioning where they are at, their victory of the dees notwithstanding.

Narrative: the double asterix remains on the dees round one win

Cut to round 10 and the dogs smashes a team in the top 8, everyone's favorite bolter, the crows, for their 5th win on end, and cement their spot in the top 8 on the same number of wins as us (albeit with 30% less percentage - a massive number for two teams on equal wins). Pundits are starting to wake up to the fact that the dogs are a serious team.

Narrative - the double asterix remains on the dees round one win because it is too long ago for the media fishbowl to compute.

 

Edited May 26, 20231 yr by binman

Does anyone know what's actually going on with BB played okay the first 2 games then got injured. Is he still sore, are they trying to play him though it at Casey until it comes good. I don't get it.

6 minutes ago, loges said:

Does anyone know what's actually going on with BB played okay the first 2 games then got injured. Is he still sore, are they trying to play him though it at Casey until it comes good. I don't get it.

I have no idea, but have a sneaky suspicion they are managing his loads for the secon half of the year.  would like to know what his time on ground looks like each game in the VFL

10 minutes ago, loges said:

Does anyone know what's actually going on with BB played okay the first 2 games then got injured. Is he still sore, are they trying to play him though it at Casey until it comes good. I don't get it.

You'd have to think it is the degenerative nature of his knee injuries, something Goody said last year he would have to manage for the rest of his career. 

I worry TMac is now in much the same boat with his foot injury. 

4 minutes ago, Travy14 said:

I have no idea, but have a sneaky suspicion they are managing his loads for the secon half of the year.  would like to know what his time on ground looks like each game in the VFL

Yep, that's my take too.

If true, it would be one example of prioritizing finals success over home and away wins.

23 minutes ago, binman said:

Yep, that's my take too.

If true, it would be one example of prioritizing finals success over home and away wins.

Yes which is were we went wrong last yr, as well as a couple of injuries.

34 minutes ago, loges said:

Does anyone know what's actually going on with BB played okay the first 2 games then got injured. Is he still sore, are they trying to play him though it at Casey until it comes good. I don't get it.

I just think that he offers so little in terms of competing in the air when the ball is not kicked to his advantage.  On the lead, he is a weapon. But sides block his run and drop back in front of him. 
The way the game is played this year, ground ball in our forward 50 is critical, that is why Petty and JVR are our best option. BB will play only when Grundy doesn’t.

Oh the nightmares, drove all the way down to the MCG in 1999 to see Melbourne take on bottom placed Fremantle on a Friday night. Easy win coming up, only to see Tony Modra decide to have a night out at our expense. That was along long drive home. Why is that game still stuck in my head. 

Tomorrow morning in Fed Square a group of us DA members will be packing parcels of dry goods to be sent to disaster zones, namely Ukraine, Syria and Turkey. The aim is to have 100,000 boxes packed in one day. This has nothing to do with footy; the organisers contacted Sophie, one of our leaders, because it’s well known in ‘charity circles’ that when it comes to volunteering the DA will always help. This is not an indulgent trumpet-blowing sesh, just wanted y’all to know that you happen to barrack for a team whose cheer squad is THE BEST. Okay, a little bit of trumpet blowing there. 🤭

2 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Tomorrow morning in Fed Square a group of us DA members will be packing parcels of dry goods to be sent to disaster zones, namely Ukraine, Syria and Turkey. The aim is to have 100,000 boxes packed in one day. This has nothing to do with footy; the organisers contacted Sophie, one of our leaders, because it’s well known in ‘charity circles’ that when it comes to volunteering the DA will always help. This is not an indulgent trumpet-blowing sesh, just wanted y’all to know that you happen to barrack for a team whose cheer squad is THE BEST. Okay, a little bit of trumpet blowing there. 🤭

Great stuff WCW, although according to some, by posting on here you might be compromising the "sport and politics shouldn't mix" issue.

3 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Great stuff WCW, although according to some, by posting on here you might be compromising the "sport and politics shouldn't mix" issue.

I think my girl Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne said it best when she said, “everyone else can get stuffed!”

😝

1 hour ago, binman said:

We beat the dogs in round one by 50 points.

Narrative - maybe the dogs are not contenders this year, asterix on that win.

Dogs get beaten the next week by the Saints, who at that point are tipped to finish bottom 3 by many, and certainly not considered the serious finals contender they are now.

Narrative - the dogs are struggling, are not a top 8 team, double asterix on the dees round win.

Round 3 the dogs beat now top of the table Lions, but at that point their round one drubbing by Port still has pundits questioning where they are at, their victory of the dees notwithstanding.

Narrative: the double asterix remains on the dees round one win

Cut to round 10 and the dogs smashes a team in the top 8, everyone's favorite bolter, the crows, for their 5th win on end, and cement their spot in the top 8 on the same number of wins as us (albeit with 30% less percentage - a massive number for two teams on equal wins). Pundits are starting to wake up to the fact that the dogs are a serious team.

Narrative - the double asterix remains on the dees round one win because it is too long ago for the media fishbowl to compute.

 

I get what you're saying but my simple minded asterix is that the dogs were so bloody poor in that round 1 game. Really awful with some of the simple unforced turnovers/errors and lack of structure. I do believe the media choose to ignore a lot of the strong points you make but its understandable to a degree as the dogs I've watched closely compared to that round one game are like chalk and cheese. 

I concur, Media pundits will always pick and choose which facts to highlight and ignore to suit their narrative. Its a joke really.

Edited May 26, 20231 yr by Young Blood

2 minutes ago, Young Blood said:

I get what you're saying but my simple minded asterix is that the dogs were so bloody poor in that round 1 game. Really awful with some of the simple unforced turnovers/errors and lack of structure. I do believe the media choose to ignore a lot of the strong points you make but its understandable to a degree as the dogs I've watched closely compared to that round one game are like chalk and cheese. 

Another way of looking at it is that we made them look second-rate. As with Sydney: they were going well at the time but we broke their spirit and since then injuries have also killed them.

1 minute ago, Ollie fan said:

Another way of looking at it is that we made them look second-rate. As with Sydney: they were going well at the time but we broke their spirit and since then injuries have also killed them.

So we can agree it depends on perspective.

Lets just see how we go the next three games and reassess again at the bye. Still too hard for mine to see if we can consistently stack up well against the best sides. 

1 hour ago, Travy14 said:

I have no idea, but have a sneaky suspicion they are managing his loads for the secon half of the year.  would like to know what his time on ground looks like each game in the VFL

His time on ground is substantial but even when TMac is not playing at Casey they have to give forward time to Joel Smith and Jefferson. My guess is that it's between 70 and 80%

17 hours ago, adonski said:

I'm tagging Serong over Brayshaw

That won't be necessary. In Supercoach I've brought in Serong. He's getting the V, or might even go straight up C, just to really screw him.

He'll be lucky to walk off the park in one piece the way I'm going.

Just now, BigBadBustling said:

That won't be necessary. In Supercoach I've brought in Serong. He's getting the V, or might even go straight up C, just to really screw him.

He'll be lucky to walk off the park in one piece the way I'm going.

I've got the vc on Andy

4 hours ago, Demons11 said:

I love the narrative around football.  Melbourne haven’t beaten anyone, Freo have found form.  Freo have beat a completely wounded Swans and Cats 

Yeh, our 50 point belting of a full strength swans doesn't count 😂

1 minute ago, adonski said:

I've got the vc on Andy

Love your work!

On 5/23/2023 at 7:29 PM, bing181 said:

The players themselves bear no responsibility?

Yes they do bear some, but strategic issues not so much 

53 minutes ago, Young Blood said:

I get what you're saying but my simple minded asterix is that the dogs were so bloody poor in that round 1 game. Really awful with some of the simple unforced turnovers/errors and lack of structure. I do believe the media choose to ignore a lot of the strong points you make but its understandable to a degree as the dogs I've watched closely compared to that round one game are like chalk and cheese. 

I concur, Media pundits will always pick and choose which facts to highlight and ignore to suit their narrative. Its a joke really.

Yep, fair points. 

 

3 hours ago, McQueen said:

I’m getting vibes that Woey jnr will be the sub this weekend. 
Whilst I hate the idea of a debut coming off the bench as sub, I still think it’ll happen. 

Smith to Sub

14 hours ago, Nairobi_Demon said:

I’ve also felt that “bees to the honeypot” has crept back into our midfield over the past few weeks.  I think the biggest culprit is Brayshaw when he’s in the middle / stoppage. I’m gonna watch for this and him carefully this week. 

IMV, we're losing more stoppage clearances because we're leaving space open. ie the anti bees to the honey pot.

Watch what our wingers do. They stay out, so our half-backs have room to rebound.