11 minutes ago, hardtack said:

What I find jaw droppingly confundicating is that in the Match Day thread, the only mentions that ANB got were critical of his play early on, after which there was no mention of him at all??!!! Then, to make matters worse, in the Post Game thread where posters were giving us highly detailed lists of players that impressed them and why, again not one single mention of ANB!!

The guy had 83% game time, was equal second in possessions with 23, and his tackling figures were in the top five. He worked his [censored] off for the entirety of the game, and was one of our most effective players.

He was without a doubt one of the best on ground and certainly deserving of much more credit than the Demonlanders give him.

*Scratches head*

really? i thought a lot of people were saying how incredible his workrate and defensive efforts were

which they were, and have been for a long, long time

Just now, whatwhat say what said:

really? i thought a lot of people were saying how incredible his workrate and defensive efforts were

which they were, and have been for a long, long time

I don’t recall seeing any such comments, but very happy to be proven wrong… by short term memory is pretty much [censored]!

As a bit of a contra to the doomsday sentiments from some after our Richmond practice game, I reckon (with a bit of luck with injuries) that once again I see no reason why we can’t go deep and be serious contenders. Four years running!🤞

Never in my life have I had so much fun barracking for Melbourne and felt so optimistic about our chances as I have had in the last few years. GO DEES!

 

1 hour ago, whatwhat say what said:

really? i thought a lot of people were saying how incredible his workrate and defensive efforts were

which they were, and have been for a long, long time

Ok, yes, I know I’m an idjot, but I went back through both threads and found that in the game day thread, ANB got 11 mentions, 6 negative and 5 positive. In the Post Game thread ANB got two mentions, one positive and one negative.

The thing that surprised me is that there were only two mentions in the Post Game thread which is where you would expect posters to have had time to reflect on the game and post accordingly.

Anyway, that’s my take on it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m right. 

Edited February 28, 20241 yr by hardtack

3 hours ago, Older demon said:

Rumours of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. Wonder if the experts still think we will fall down the ladder.

Only a practice game .. 

I wonder what the blue between Max and Goodwin was about.

Didn't look good.

great to see the boys live and even though it was a praccy match it was nice to leave with the win. havent been to princess park since the nineties 

2 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Howes' height is irrelevant, he's a flanker, could be 180cm for all it matters.

Salo absolutely should be full time (or close to it) mid. Can maybe take a half back rotation when they want to give Riv a go on ball or can do 10% forward alongside Sparrow and Tracc more forward when Clarry is back.

We need skill and balance in the midfield. Oliver doesn't provide that. And Salo needs the challenge. He's lost a yard of pace and is better off in close to the contest and then playing a sweeper midfield role.

Howes is a project that may ultimately not be ready this year. He's still so skinny and iffy at the contest. But it's his speed, endurance and skills that we need to invest in at half back or cover with someone else with fresh legs.

 

The dumbest comment in internet history. 

2 hours ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Montagna has stuck with us the whole summer. Has always said we will be there when the whips are cracking.

Loved how he threw in the bit about us spending only 2 weeks out of the Top 4 the last three seasons. Just to remind everyone about our consistency.

After the match we were packing up and Joey was on the boundary. I called him over to thank him for being one of the very few in the media who rates us. He said, “Oh, it’s a no-brainer… anyone who thinks you guys won’t make the eight this year has rocks in their head!” Right on cue, Kingy happened to walk past. End of convo 😅

I haven't watched the other games but seemed to me the new ruck rule is going have a big effect on clearances and momentum swings of midfields.  Starting rucks can basically shove and out weigh a second string match up now. 

lt will give a huge advantage to Max, but on the other hand our second ruckman is um, yeah, well. 

it's not just about intensity, you can be intense all you want but if the other guy has 15 kg on you.  I say let Josh Schache eat all the meat pies he wants for a while. 

1 hour ago, whatwhat say what said:

really? i thought a lot of people were saying how incredible his workrate and defensive efforts were

which they were, and have been for a long, long time

BTW me there are a lot of knockers for ANB here dating back years but I am with you. Him and Sparrow do a lot of things that go unnoticed and I thought last night both were "wanted" players in our team. 

Dunstall's commentary was appalling. He has absolutely no idea about Melbourne or its players. Deadset numbnuts.

That's all from me.

Hilarious Post

Clubhouse leader

8 hours ago, SPC said:

Carlton have a lot of players who do not run defensively, look for cheap kicks on turnover. Glad they brought in Fantasia 

So many show ponies with many faux pas assists from the umps that kept bringing them back from a smashing.

Nice hit out. 

Out of the younger fellas i particularly liked the games of Sparrow & Bullet (Windsor).

Viney & Max immense.  Best shape ive seen Max in coming into a season aside from 2021.

Kozzy in everything.  Loved the hit on Saad towards the end.

Just needs to work on set shots, avoid any urge for the speckie & keep his feet for the ground ball contests.  Which he appeared to do in this match to great effect.  His mid minutes also pretty effective.

Chin went ok but still think he's fringe and will need to be performing at a pretty high level (consistently) to justify his place once Spargo & McAdam are ready to go and with Billings chipping away.  Billings went ok but looked a little off the pace at times as well.

Having said that, many players might still be a bit off the pace as they return from injuries or cranking up their loads etc coming into the early phase of the season so probably best to wait until rounds 6 to 8 before making any genuine asssessments.

The dual between Acres & Lingers was interesting.  Thought Acres had the better of him in patches during the first half with Lingers getting more involved & effective as the match wore on.

Reasonable hit out for Verral but appears to be a fair way off the pace.  Early days of course and only a rookie. 

Laurie could alao be counted as a maturing rookie.  Showed glimpses of upside but for mine he remains a big work in progress with more time needed at Casey.  Clarry in for him seems like the most likely change for next week.

Scache's best game in the red & blues so far.  And while i'd need more convincing and plenty of room for improvement, it was the type of game you would want to see from the big fella more often.  Looks like he's put a few kilos on as well.  ANB & Fritta also.

Thought Fritta went ok apart from the kicking, which he'll no doubt get to work on on the track.

A different game (away) at another level next week will give us a somewhat better read on form / game style effectiveness etc 

Edited February 28, 20241 yr by Demon Dynasty

8 hours ago, buck_nekkid said:

All very nice for a February kick and giggle.  ANB took a long time to get up to speed, Schache monstered in the ruck, Tommo struggles 1 on 1, May looks like he has no flexibility through his trunk (body, not proboscis).

Max just dominates.  Midfield setup worked, flatter kicks to target worked nicely, as did ball movement through the corridor.

No injuries and some kids having a run = big win.

I will say do we ever expect Tommo to match up with McKay? His main job is just to try and do enough to let Lever come and intercept, most of the times he got exposed was on turnover which is a big ask for any defender against the likes of Harry. But yeah Schache cannot ruck, JvR is better in almost everyway.

Just me sliding in here to tell everyone I completely forgot there was a game on. Didn't realise until I randomly looked at my phone and saw the social media post from Melbourne lol

7 hours ago, dee-tox said:

Yeah I'm not too sure. Think we need one 193cm defender but two?

We have May, Lever, Bowey, Rivers, McVee. Will Salo be a full time mid if Clarry comes back?

Salo is not the same type of player as Gus but I imagine it will be similar, where he can provide support down back but silky skills to help the offensive. That's the structural similarity that makes me think it will be fine.

PROS:

- MAX GAWN 

- Lowering the eyes going into FWD 50, harder to tell whether it was due to lack of Carlton ability but great to see the bomb it forward approach.

- Defense held strong against the best KPF duo in the league, May will still dominate but need a replacement sooner rather than later, he is on the slight decline but still a monster.

-Sparrow, I forget who it was that said it but Sparrow either has or needs to realize what he can do, Trac knows he can run through tackles and sparrow started to show he can impact, that step was silky.

CONS

- Goal kicking, expect this to get better but too many shanks and Fritta is too good for the return he had today.

- 2nd ruck, Schache doesn't have the mongrel needed to compete 1v1 in the ruck.

- Not seeing Clarry play :(

- Kozzie getting me excited and making me wait 2 weeks to see him play.

Apart from all the points mentioned here, my 2 takeaways were:

- If Max goes down we are well and truly rogered

- come next year’s trade period, we are going to need to sign a new full back, whatever it takes  

 

 

20 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Apart from all the points mentioned here, my 2 takeaways were:

- If Max goes down we are well and truly rogered

- come next year’s trade period, we are going to need to sign a new full back, whatever it takes  

 

My dream would be Sam Taylor or Weitering, both have contracts ending 2025 but I don’t see either leaving. Weitering maybe if the blues capitulate

9 hours ago, Return to Glory said:

Little Goffy, I'm just not sure if you're on too much medication or not enough.

I would say it isn't medication.

7 hours ago, hardtack said:

What I find jaw droppingly confundicating is that in the Match Day thread, the only mentions that ANB got were critical of his play early on, after which there was no mention of him at all??!!! Then, to make matters worse, in the Post Game thread where posters were giving us highly detailed lists of players that impressed them and why, again not one single mention of ANB!!

The guy had 83% game time, was equal second in possessions with 23, and his tackling figures were in the top five. He worked his [censored] off for the entirety of the game, and was one of our most effective players.

He was without a doubt one of the best on ground and certainly deserving of much more credit than the Demonlanders give him.

*Scratches head*

Nibbles is the heart beat of the team.My first picked player every week

3 minutes ago, forever demons said:

Nibbles is the heart beat of the team.My first picked player every week

The Neville Jetta equivalent