Jump to content

The '21 again feeling

Wizard of Koz
Wizard of Koz
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

We are right up to our eyeballs in it again this year. The cards are falling nicely with others being found out and a youth led revival propelling the final rounds of which we haven't really seen since 87. Our champions are all in form and hopefully our finest midfielder of all will be fit and firing to go from next week. Add a touch of Fritsch class and knowhow and we could well be on the way.

Embrace the ride, have fun, it's is going to be epic.

** What I post here has absolutely nothing to do with how the team will perform. There are no omens. Supporters simply cant get ahead of themselves and therefore impact the team in some way.  It makes no sense to be pessimistic and stressed. Time for that later.

Edited by Wizard of Koz
typo

  • Quote
    • Like 7
    • Love 3
     

    After last weekend I would certainly say it does have that 2021 feel about it.

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    Clarrie coming back is key. If he hits the finals in form and not all banged up then that’s huge. Also gotta keep Petty and JVR super competitive up forward.

  • Quote
    • Like 4
     

    I’ve started to see some energy that reminds us of 2021.  Actually it was the willingness to run and score.  We had looked strangely defensive at times. Wide and slow. The death of any positive take the corridor style. It’s now looking much better as we attack from half back. A good forward line does also help 👍🏻

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    5 minutes ago, Bates Mate said:

    Can someone please find a lid for this thread 😅

    The lid is that I know some Collingwood supporters who were talking like some of the above posters about two weeks ago.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    29 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

    I’ve started to see some energy that reminds us of 2021.  Actually it was the willingness to run and score.  We had looked strangely defensive at times. Wide and slow. The death of any positive take the corridor style. It’s now looking much better as we attack from half back. A good forward line does also help 👍🏻

    Which was also 2021...

  • Quote
    •  

    Very much doubt we will destroy everyone in finals a la ‘21….this year is going to be a brutal war of attrition to find out who comes out on top

  • Quote

    1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

    I’ve started to see some energy that reminds us of 2021.  Actually it was the willingness to run and score.  We had looked strangely defensive at times. Wide and slow. The death of any positive take the corridor style. It’s now looking much better as we attack from half back. A good forward line does also help 👍🏻

    It's not a willingness to run and score.

    It's is the ability to do so.

    Big difference.

    Impassible to play we have in the last few week when fatgued. 

    Look at port and the pies, the two teams most consider to he the most agressive, high octane teams (I don't- we are). 

    Both look very fatigued yesterday which given how intense their previous two games were is not surprising. The mighty pies scoring machine was 29 points at half time!

    A reminder that in 2022 at this stage we were also trying to score heavily and were also really aggressive with our ball movement. 

    And that followed exactly the same pattern as 2021 ie dour in the middle of the year(because of fatigue) before ramping it up big time as we neared final.

    Which is exactly the same pattern as wer'e seeing agsin this year.

    Coincidence?

    Possibly- but unlikely.

    In 2021 we could only manage to score 65 points in our 20 point loss to the dogs in round 19

    In round 20 we scored 128 to demolish the suns. And didn't score less than a hundred for the rest of the season- including of course our barnstorming finals run

    The common thread in all those wins games was, on the back of phenomenal fitness, running over teams in the last quarter - stronger for longer

    in 2022, we scored 100 points in our loss to the dogs in round 19.

    Hammered freo in Perth in round 20.

    Went out super hard against the pies in round 21 and blitzed them the first half.

    We were less dynamic in our narrow win over the blues in round 22.

    And absolutely destroyed the lions at the gabba in round 23, leading by 11 goals at half.

    The common thread in all four games  in 2022 was running out of gas in the last quarter 

    Signs on that front look so, so much better this year.

    We didn't run out any games in the back half of 2022 like we did against the Lions, Crows and Tigers 

  • Quote
    • Like 7
    29 minutes ago, binman said:

    It's not a willingness to run and score.

    It's is the ability to do so.

    Big difference.

    Impassible to play we have in the last few week when fatgued. 

    Look at port and the pies, the two teams most consider to he the most agressive, high octane teams (I don't- we are). 

    Both look very fatigued yesterday which given how intense their previous two games were is not surprising. The mighty pies scoring machine was 29 points at half time!

    A reminder that in 2022 at this stage we were also trying to score heavily and were also really aggressive with our ball movement. 

    And that followed exactly the same pattern as 2021 ie dour in the middle of the year(because of fatigue) before ramping it up big time as we neared final.

    Which is exactly the same pattern as wer'e seeing agsin this year.

    Coincidence?

    Possibly- but unlikely.

    In 2021 we could only manage to score 65 points in our 20 point loss to the dogs in round 19

    In round 20 we scored 128 to demolish the suns. And didn't score less than a hundred for the rest of the season- including of course our barnstorming finals run

    The common thread in all those wins games was, on the back of phenomenal fitness, running over teams in the last quarter - stronger for longer

    in 2022, we scored 100 points in our loss to the dogs in round 19.

    Hammered freo in Perth in round 20.

    Went out super hard against the pies in round 21 and blitzed them the first half.

    We were less dynamic in our narrow win over the blues in round 22.

    And absolutely destroyed the lions at the gabba in round 23, leading by 11 goals at half.

    The common thread in all four games  in 2022 was running out of gas in the last quarter 

    Signs on that front look so, so much better this year.

    We didn't run out any games in the back half of 2022 like we did against the Lions, Crows and Tigers 

    I agree with all of this Binners except that Port looked fatigued. They looked dynamic playing on the counter and dynamic from stoppages to me, but whenever they were winning the territory battle, it was harder for them to score because a) they had less space in their forward half and b) they only had Marshall as a legitimate tall target (Lord doesn’t count). 

    This is a problem we've seen with us this year at times (and other teams), that when we're winning territory we have no space to work back into when we generate re-entries.

    Upon reflection, Geelong will likely struggle even against a struggling Collingwood, but with finals on the line it should hopefully be a bruising encounter. 

    Edited by A F

  • Quote

    Long way to go.  Thee heartening aspect to this season is that we seem to be building nicely, whilst some of the other leading sides are starting to look a little shakey. See how the next month pans out

  • Quote
    • Like 2

    Our method stands up. we know that. We're building form and some key men to return. It's coming together nicely.

    Fingers crossed with injuries, and we'll be very hard to beat in finals. 

  • Quote
    2 hours ago, sisso said:

    Very much doubt we will destroy everyone in finals a la ‘21….this year is going to be a brutal war of attrition to find out who comes out on top

    Bring it on!

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    finals are going to be carnage this year and at least one of the top 4 will go out in straight sets. bulldogs, cats, blues and yes even saints can cause an upset on their day. 

    i still think it's melb, Collingwood, daylight and the rest, but the finals are going to be very tough this year.

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    1 hour ago, praha said:

    finals are going to be carnage this year and at least one of the top 4 will go out in straight sets. bulldogs, cats, blues and yes even saints can cause an upset on their day. 

    i still think it's melb, Collingwood, daylight and the rest, but the finals are going to be very tough this year.

    Starting to look strong now.

    Edited by YesitwasaWin4theAges

  • Quote
    •  

    The optimist in me says the path is clearing for us to bring home our 14th 🏆

    Many things are going right (despite Petty's injury) and a bunch of teams around us look shakey

    Long may it continue into September!

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
    Reply to this topic...
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • NON-MFC: Round 06

      The Easter Round kicks off in style with a Thursday night showdown between Brisbane and Collingwood, as both sides look to solidify their spots inside the Top 4 early in the season. Good Friday brings a double-header, with Carlton out to claim consecutive wins when they face the struggling Kangaroos, while later that night the Eagles host the Bombers in Perth, still chasing their first victory of the year. Saturday features another marquee clash as the resurgent Crows look to rebound from back-to-back losses against a formidable GWS outfit. That evening, all eyes will be on Marvel Stadium where Damien Hardwick returns to face his old side—the Tigers—coaching the Suns at a ground he's never hidden his disdain for. Sunday offers two crucial contests where the prize is keeping touch with the Top 8. First, Sydney and Port Adelaide go head-to-head, followed by a fierce battle between the Bulldogs and the Saints. Then, Easter Monday delivers the traditional clash between two bitter rivals, both desperate for a win to stay in touch with the top end of the ladder. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

        • Thanks
      • 5 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Essendon

      What were they thinking? I mean by “they” the coaching panel and team selectors who chose the team to play against an opponent who, like Melbourne, had made a poor start to the season and who they appeared perfectly capable of beating in what was possibly the last chance to turn the season around.It’s no secret that the Demons’ forward line is totally dysfunctional, having opened the season barely able to average sixty points per game which means there has been no semblance of any system from the team going forward into attack. Nevertheless, on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval in one of the Gather Round showcase games, Melbourne, with Max Gawn dominating the hit outs against a depleted Essendon ruck resulting from Nick Bryan’s early exit, finished just ahead in clearances won and found itself inside the 50 metre arc 51 times to 43. The end result was a final score that had the Bombers winning 15.6 (96) to 8.9 (57). On balance, one could expect this to result in a two or three goal win, but in this case, it translated into a six and a half goal defeat because they only managed to convert eight times or 11.68% of their entries. The Bombers more than doubled that. On Thursday night at the same ground, the losing team Adelaide managed to score 100 points from almost the same number of times inside 50.

        • Sad
        • Clap
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Essendon

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 14th April @ the all new time of 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect another Demons loss at Kardinia Park to the Cats in the Round 04. Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human.

        • Thanks
      • 52 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Fremantle

      The Demons return home to the MCG in search of their first win for the 2025 Premiership season when they take on the Fremantle Dockers on Saturday afternoon. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 161 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • VOTES: Essendon

      Max Gawn leads the Demonland Player of the Year ahead of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Kade Chandler and Jake Bowey. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

        • Thanks
      • 24 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • POSTGAME: Essendon

      Despite a spirited third quarter surge, the Demons have slumped to their worst start to a season since 2012, remaining winless and second last on the ladder after a 39-point defeat to Essendon at Adelaide Oval in Gather Round.

        • Vomit
        • Sad
        • Thanks
      • 271 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All