POSTGAME: Rd 19 vs Adelaide

[drysdale demon 4,837]

18 minutes ago, IRW said:

Why do you think the win the close ones?

Some clown on here said MFC must be hard to coach against!

Of the notional contenders they are far and away the easiest to play against;opposition teams go in knowing that they are always a chance because MFC rarely play 4 quarters at their best ( as good as it is) and are vulnerable to being ground down by failing to capitalise on the leads the establish

 

They obviously give opposition sides plenty of chances to win as they also don't play at their best for four quarters

[Deeoldfart 8,054]

Adelaide were decent, we were just better for slightly longer.  Another game where guts, grit, determination and a ‘never say die’ attitude got us over the line.  These are outstanding qualities to take into the finals, but gee, there remains plenty to work on before September.

The dream lives on!

Edited July 23, 2023 by Deeoldfart
Typo

[pitmaster 3,561]

Smith was enormously effective in his one quarter, whereas BBB, despite pushing upfield and making himself a target at times, seemed unable to get to contests in the F50 which allowed numerous virtually uncontested intercept marks for their defenders.

I suspect Smith's agility would enable him to make those contests BBB could not, so maybe he should be given a full game. The only query is that he seems to fade out of games when he takes the field early. Is he fit enough, mentally sharp enough, to be worth the gamble?

[AllMyTeamsAreWank 564]

10 minutes ago, pitmaster said:

Smith was enormously effective in his one quarter, whereas BBB, despite pushing upfield and making himself a target at times, seemed unable to get to contests in the F50 which allowed numerous virtually uncontested intercept marks for their defenders.

I suspect Smith's agility would enable him to make those contests BBB could not, so maybe he should be given a full game. The only query is that he seems to fade out of games when he takes the field early. Is he fit enough, mentally sharp enough, to be worth the gamble?

Smith offers way more than BBB. He competes harder and applies genuine forward pressure. Should be picked first imho. 

[sue 9,107]

12 hours ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

It was for a push

Melksham (I think) pushed the Adelaide player over line and they ended up close to fence

I thought very little in it at all, but Adelaide player stayed down a few seconds and sucked umpire in, so instead of a ball in, ghere was a free

Melk then stood the mark about 5m out, ump yelling at him to come back to level with end of the square... He was oblivious to it... Just a brainfade

Kossie's 50 just as dumb, confusing handover of who was going to mark the malr, Kossie went and stood the mark about 2m over the actual mark, ump paid 50m immediately 

True, Melmsham did push, but no worse than is often ignored.  It shouldn't be ignored, just paid consistently.   As for the 50m against him (and against others on all teams) how about the AFL digs deep into Gil's retirement fund and pays for enough chalk to put a line across the ground in line with the 9m goal square. 

[Jaded No More 68,969]

55 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

Lets be honest, the season is tight and Crows were always going to throw everything at us. But given their inaccurate kicking, we dodged a bullet in this one. Still a midfielder short even with Oliver and a tall fwd. Maybe two.

How about our inaccurate kicking? We finished on 13 behinds. Crows on 15. 
If we kick straight in the last it’s a 5 goal win. 

[layzie 33,879]

Just now, Jaded No More said:

How about our inaccurate kicking? We finished on 13 behinds. Crows on 15. 
If we kick straight in the last it’s a 5 goal win. 

I think it's a wash. They burned plenty of chances, we burned plenty as well. The end. 

 

[mo64 5,875]

Joel Smith is a perfect sub option because he can play forward or back, but he hasn't proven himself as a forward. BBB is still the best option as our KPF, despite looking a shadow of himself. He gets to the right places to make a contest. At his best, he'd be taking more marks. 

The positive from the last couple of games has been our scoring ability. Fritta in for Woey, and our forward line should be settled. No more experimenting with Grundy. And Chandler is locked in for Spargo. 

The Crows are a good team, and we are still a long way from our best. I'll take the win.

[binman 43,212]

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

They also have the 7th best percentage, only 0.2% worse than the team in 2nd. So they are a plucky young side. And we DID beat them...

Indeed.

A team well and truly on the up who you can see consider themselves contenders.

They have the players, game plan, sytem and fitness to be one too.

I loved Nicks' comments about how they love playing at the g because of its dimensions, jokingly suggesting he is going to ask them to increase the size of Adelaide oval.

My take on those comments was nicks was making a point about their running power and fitness levels.

A point he was even more explicit about when he said he expected them to run the game out and come at us.

Mark my words, they'll beat port next week.

[rpfc 28,551]

9 hours ago, A F said:

What does this look like do you think?

Is it built around a particular player or two, or built around a different system or approach altogether?

I think it is a bit more counter offensive and aggressive with getting an extra to the defensive contest. We are happy to leave May one out against the best he is that good, but we won’t in the future. And I would lean into McVee and Rivers natural desire to run through HB, Salem and Bowey will still be there which is crucial if we want to quicken up the pace - they are elite kicks.

So without the footy; press with wings behind footy trying to cut off short kicks toward top of 50 mitigating Lever going full interceptor. You can do this from a stoppage too without the press.

Then with the footy; run from interception through HB line as quickly as possible. Have forwards deeper to stretch the field and create space left by the press (no one knows where anyone is on either side) for the initial kick off HB. It would be different from stoppage without the press in place of course.

Anyway, high level - lean into Lever and our HBs skill sets as opposed to May. I want opposition mids coming forward to think twice because of how hard they are going to have to work defensively immediately from turnover.

[layzie 33,879]

With Gawn playing his traditional Ruck and kick behind role it allowed O'Brien to do pretty much the same and he took at least 3 good intercept marks as a result. I don't know if Grundy would have helped that or not but it is something you potentially face when you elect to go with Max for a whole game and you hurry those long kicks in. 

[highroller 112]

i think the issue any of the complainers have on here is that what they expect is perfection week in week out. I totally get it i have been guilty of it myself and have to try and snap out of it and remember where we have come from. The 2021 experience in particular the finals series was something that i joke with my Melbourne supporter mates about how it was almost like a video game i have created where we just blitz everyone and everything goes perfect all the time. Like think about it Max kicks 5 goals we stomp the Cats by 80 odd then come  back from the dead and kick 15 in a row in a granny. It's not normal or regular and we all loved it haha. Unfortunately its probably too much to ask for it week in week out but deep down you know the players are capable of it. I saw a glimpse yesterday with the run and gun play from Lever baulking in the backline and it flowed into a goal a few moments later. Whether we can get back to it i dont know but its better than any footy being played right now which is why us supporters get frustrated. We know this group deserve more than one flag!

[Katrina Dee Fan 3,773]

15 hours ago, DutchDemons said:

Nice little percentage booster 

That's the worse thing about close games at the tail end of the season, watching the percentage decrease....!

[Peter Hennig 15]

 I’d love to sit in on the players review to hear their opinions and thoughts as well as the coaches 

ld like to see smith play a whole game forward instead of brown, he appears a lot more agile and better at ground level and has the ability to play in the back if needed 

spargo v chandler geez either or?

that game was as frustrating as the gws game only with a happier ending 

[Smokey 4,389]

For anyone thinking that wasn't a good performance and that we should have won more easily, think again. 

Adelaide are a great team and could easily have been a strong top 8 team this year if a few results went their way in close games, and they were playing for their season yesterday. 

I'm encouraged by a number of young players coming into form, such as Koz, Chin and JVR. Melksham is exceeding my expectations at the moment, which makes for an interesting dilemma when it comes to Fritta when he's fit again. 

The usual suspects were immense, won't even bother naming them because you know who they are. Rivers continues to impress the hell out of me. 

Great result, on to the next! 

[Diamond Tim 291]

I see plenty of upsides to the game,

Kozzie, Chandler and Lingers returned to some better form.

We had a few major players i.e. May, Lever, BBB and Trac below par and still managed the win.

Gutsy effort.

[John Crow Batty 8,871]

Last two weeks we have managed to overcome the two most potent scoring teams with our makeshift forward line despite our defence not up to usual miserly standards. Very impressive has been our ball movement and ability to play a different style of game.

Edited July 24, 2023 by John Crow Batty

[Dee Zephyr 19,267]

That makes it 8-1 at the G this year. 

[Willmoy1947 4,111]

In each game where the opponent comes back into the contest, it is usually at the hands of decision makers (umpires) not at the decisions made by Melbourne's opponents and definitely NOT opposition Coaches.

Why is this?

[roy11 3,858]

21 minutes ago, Peter Hennig said:

 I’d love to sit in on the players review to hear their opinions and thoughts as well as the coaches 

ld like to see smith play a whole game forward instead of brown, he appears a lot more agile and better at ground level and has the ability to play in the back if needed 

spargo v chandler geez either or?

that game was as frustrating as the gws game only with a happier ending 

Smith has that burst of speed and pack marking ability, the two things BBB isn't great at.

When BBB is doing the above, it doesn't look great but he does other work which often goes unrewarded or he's impacting play even if doesn't get a touch on the ball.  He did have a limited game on the weekend but still contributed. 

The coaches value this work but it doesn't help when Joel comes on and basically seals the game.

Not sure if BBB will stay in this week, got the Tassie game in 2 weeks too. 

 

[drysdale demon 4,837]

1 hour ago, binman said:

Mark my words, they'll beat port next week.

I have had a bet with a doggies supporter mate that they will.

[binman 43,212]

6 hours ago, Radar Detector said:

That wasn’t your argument. You’re changing the story to suit a flawed position.

Also, the dynastic teams like the Hawks and Tigers win flags even when they don’t finish top. Tigers won all their flags from 3rd. It’s extremely hard, and not essential btw, to finish top every year. We’re right in the thick of it.

Agree with all of the above.

Not suggesting you are saying the pies are a dynastic team, but the ridiculous hyperbole around the pies has created this equally ridiculous expectation the flag is theirs for the taking.

Yes, they are an exceptional team, as evidenced by their brilliant home and away record this season and last.

But are they a great team?

Not even close.

Great teams have a body of work and results they can point to as evidence of greatness.

The pies might become a great team, but facts are facts.

There are three other serious contenders for the flag.

They have only beaten one of them (by way of contrast we have beaten two, including the pies).

They have played three finals and lost two. 

The best you could say in terms of evidence of greatness is, after a dominant home and away season, they will finish top this year and will have back to back top 4 finishes.

I'm not saying we are a great team, but we have much better claims to greatness.

A flag in 2021, second after the home and away season in 2022 and top 4 again in 2023 (and I think a real chance to finish second again if the crows beat port).

And on dynastic teams, the 2018 tigers provide an interesting comparison.

The 2018 tigers team also had a dominant season, losing only four games for the season and finishing well on top.

The pies will likely lose even fewer games, which is very impressive, and they deserve enormous credit for their consistently high level of performance. Impressive.

The difference is the tigers were the reigning premiers, so actually had a claim to greatness. 

And as we all know that team DID become a great team, a dynastic team, going on to win the 2019 and 2020 flags to add to their 2017 flag.

But despite their dominance, and being hailed as all but unbeatable come finals (they 1.70 to win the flag right before the finals commenced), they didn't win the 2018 flag.

They didn't even make the GF!

In 2018, the two teams that did contest the flag, the Eagles and ironically the pies, finished the home and away season 2nd and 3rd on the ladder having won two and three fewer games respectively than the tigers.

By the by, an interesting stat from that year is despite winning two more games than any other team, the tigers only had the second most points for - 2143.

Who had the most that season?

The dees with 2239 points for.

And that despite winning four less games than the mighty tigers. 

That was goody's second season as senior coach and is a good reminder of his attacking instincts.

I actually see a lot of similarities between the 2018 dees team and the crows this season. High scoring, aggressive team who can do damage.

Edited July 24, 2023 by binman

[Rab D Nesbitt 8,404]

Come September it won't matter a jot how much we beat Adelaide or lost to GWS by or that Collingwood ran over the top of Carlton, Essendon & St Kilda because none of them will be there. It'll be the same four teams that currently fill the top four positions pitted against each other, winner takes all. 

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,804]

1 hour ago, binman said:

Indeed.

A team well and truly on the up who you can see consider themselves contenders.

They have the players, game plan, sytem and fitness to be one too.

I loved Nicks' comments about how they love playing at the g because of its dimensions, jokingly suggesting he is going to ask them to increase the size of Adelaide oval.

My take on those comments was nicks was making a point about their running power and fitness levels.

A point he was even more explicit about when he said he expected them to run the game out and come at us.

Mark my words, they'll beat port next week.

I was thinking they are a good chance to beat Port, but losing Rankine late and still having Rachele out is a huge loss.

Rankine was easily their best player yesterday.

[binman 43,212]

33 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I was thinking they are a good chance to beat Port, but losing Rankine late and still having Rachele out is a huge loss.

Rankine was easily their best player yesterday.

Yeah, rankin out has certainly dinted my confidence in a crows win a bit. And to be honest I had forgotten about rachelle (geez he would have made a difference yesterday with his class around goals - I'd be filthy with him if I was a crows fan).

But I'm still confident they'll roll them.

And the reason why is the same reason they really tested us yesterday - their ball movement, clearly modelled on they of the pies, really exposes defensive systems and i reckon Port's defence is their biggest weakness.

And I reckon the crows have a good defensive system, which is very much modelled on ours. And they will do good job of negating port's offence.

Edited July 24, 2023 by binman